A project on "Furtados"

I would like to thank Dr. Anshu Jalora (NMIMS, Mumbai) for his motivation and support, my team mates - Munaf Kapadia, Mridul Tyagi, Shubhangi Joshi and Akash Mittal for their efforts and, Furtados' officials for their valuable insights.

Furtados’ first Retail Music store was established in1865. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Online purchase :  http://www.furtadosonline.com/

Product

From print music to digital equipment, having a complete spectrum of musical instruments in the Western and Indian categories, Furtados today retails every major brand of musical instrument (String (Guitar, Violin), Percussions (Drums), Keys (Keyboard, Piano), and Electric Instruments). It has evolved into a one-stop shop for any music-oriented person, be it the student, the tutor or the virtuoso. Instruments are imported from all across the globe including the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, France, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Music books are imported from virtually every major music publisher.

Price

It caters to a wide range of musicians by stocking affordable, intermediate, as well as highly expensive and professional instruments. Eg: Acoustic guitar range: Rs 2,500 – Rs 2,89,000 and Drum sets: Rs 15,000- Rs 2,00,000

Promotion

Furtados doesn’t invest in television and print ads. Instead it sponsors major music events: concerts, competitions etc. It has tie ups with local music teachers in cities that promote Furtados to their students. Also, it has a strong presence in Facebook & Twitter.

Place

Furtados has over the last two decades established a nationwide distribution network covering every part of the country and currently distributes to over 350 dealers across the country. State of the art showrooms showcasing a variety of musical instruments are now present in Gurgaon, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Mangalore and Nagaland. It also sells through its website: www.furtadosonline.com.

Product Shipment

Generally all orders are processed and shipped within 3-4 working days, once payment is confirmed and the product is in stock. However, certain categories of products have different lead-times for delivery due to the nature of the product. If the delivery of a product is delayed for an extended period of time the same is informed to the user. Orders placed on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays is processed the next business day. All shipments are delivered to doorstep. The following modes of dispatch are available:

Express Shipping – This mode is generally delivered by air and is the speediest mode of shipment. Some bulky and oversized items may not be deliverable by this mode.

Standard Shipping – This mode is generally delivered by road/rail and takes longer than Express shipping.

Value Payable Post – This mode is delivered by India Post and requires no payment in advance nor by Credit Card. Payment requires to be made to the postman on delivery.

Custom Delivery Option – This mode is applicable for oversize and large items like Acoustic Pianos and Organs. A quote will be provided for the item keeping in mind the location of dispatch, etc. Only on acceptance of this quote and completion of the shopping process will the product be delivered.

Utilization of Customer Database

Furtados uses customers’ information to

1.      Provide services and to understand their needs and interests.

Specifically, the information is utilized to :

2.      Complete a transaction or order.

3.      To communicate.

4.      To provide service and support

5.      To update on services and benefits.

6.      To personalize promotional offers.

Occasionally information is also used for :

7.      Market research regarding Furtados products or services.

Customer Delight

At the core of Furtados’ business motto is ‘Trusted Service’. In customer surveys conducted in major cities, three factors characterized Furtados – Quality, Reliability and Trust. Not only does it make available world-class products at affordable prices but also proactively invests in the development of musical knowledge through teacher-training workshops, master classes, clinics, demonstrations and exhibitions, and the sponsoring of local talent and artistes. The organisation also conducts itself as a responsible business enterprise with a social consciousness. In this effort, Furtados invests in community development and supports several organisations and groups across the country, including school and college events and festivals, musical activity in religious organisations, charitable organisations and social upliftment projects involving a musical element. Furtados has of late introduced a magazine devoted to music development – PLAY. This magazine aims at covering various happenings in the world of music across India.

 Consumer Survey

The survey was conducted separately for the two sets of customers : Existing and Potential.

For the existing customers, NPS was calculated which came very high 0.8 pointing towards loyal customers. The common positive trend came out to be exhaustive range of brands for each instrument and the service is good and prompt. But some gaps identified were small range in accessories, less variety in low to mid priced segment and slow turnaround time in after sales servicing.

When we conducted survey on potential customers, we came out with following outcomes which have been divided into following three categories based on weight:-

Criteria of High Importance

·         Product variety : 4.5

·         Service and Customer friendliness: 4.3

·         Availability of testing space in outlet: 4.7

·         Big and well known name of outlet: 4.2

·         Free delivery and service on high priced instruments: 4.8

·         Display of awards and accolades won: 4.2

·         If recommended by friends/family: 4.8

·         Music being played/Instruments being tested inside store: 4.8

·         Information about music events and tips on playing instrument: 4.5

·         Discount on next purchase from the same retail outlet: 4.5

 Criteria of Somewhat Importance

·         Wide Price range : 4.0

·         Display of posters of musicians endorsing products from that retail: 4.0

·         Association with music academy and other organizations : 4.0

·         Good parking space: 4.0

·         Retail outlet organizes music events etc: 3.5

·         Display of instruments outside store: 3.8

·         Online assistance and product information: 3.1

Criteria of Low Importance

·         Glittering exteriors: 2.4

·         Ambience of the outlet : 2.7

·         Proximity of outlet: 2.2

The Ideas and Recommendations

Idea ONE | The Soft Board

A Soft board put inside the store and maybe on the website - where people can put up requests for 'Band members' or put up their own profile

FEEDBACK

“It's okay.. Might help someone!”

“like the idea....it can help bands to find members a get the show started..make sure that bands mention the genre of music they play,the area theyre from (for eg. CP in delhi or gurgaon) and leave multiple contact numbers”

“Good enough but might not bring in more customers if the band members are not renowned enough. But in a way, it might create interest amongst local bands.”

“makes sense to have inside each store.. region centric. not sure about putting it online.“

“good concept, but not a new idea. restricting yourself to people who are shopping around for new gear/regulars who just come and hang out. start an online thing on fb or a independent site for aspiring band members”.

Idea TWO | Threadless.com = Furtados.com

You have an original song/ audio file/ video - upload it on www.furtadosonline.com - others from the 'rock' community can vote on it. Files with the maximum votes will be published by 'Furtados' and sold in store

FEEDBACK

“Difficult to take off.. popular media sharing files are a difficult competitor to face.”

“good idea, make sure that even during voting, the candidate-bands are seggregated according to genres, so that voters can sift thru and vote vote diff genres”

“i think is is a great idea coz this will give people more opportunities to show their talent”

“Better idea. May be, it can also be posted on Facebook for a poll as it is a much bigger platform for viral marketing.”

“Very Good”

“published? you mean the sheet music? instead of selling, maybe furtado's can press demo cds and hand them out for free to anyone who's willing to listen. or try to put together a sponsored amateur night for the winners from time to time.”

“hmmm, good idea. but you might need some more filters... who is the rock community and how often can they vote?”

Idea THREE | Trial Rooms

Small sound proof trial rooms inside 'Furtados' - allowing customers to try out instruments with a certain degree of privacy

FEEDBACK

“Great idea. To test a top-of-the-line instrument needs a measure of solitude not found in most shops.”

“its already there in the gurgaon store”

“This is the best idea so far. Much needed for Furtados”

“i''ve noticed many customers who are embarassed to play in front of everyone - so this makes a lot of sense”

“thats pretty much standard in any instrument shop abroad. i suppose space constraints here are overwhelming, but its always a good idea to have demo rooms.”

Idea FOUR | Rent-a-Jam Room

Small Room rented out by 'Furtados' to startup bands for 1-2 hr Jamming Sessions

FEEDBACK

“Great idea. Small startup bands have difficulty finding such spaces - they usually can't afford a studio!”

“sounds great. make sure you dont charge too much...amateurs musicians are usually broke”

“Brilliant if the cost can be covered. Furtados can sell the recorded CDs if the start up bands are good. ( May be ones which win Mood I )”

“best 1“

“I like this.. maybe .. "Contact furtados if you have a place - and its getting wasted. Furtados can rent it out on your behalf to musicians"

“lot of places providing this service already, but theres plenty of scope i reckon.”

Idea FIVE | Request Music

Request specific music cd's which are currently unavailable in India - allow others to vote on these requests - sufficient votes and 'Furtados' gets it for you

FEEDBACK

“Probably won't take off on a big enough scale. People can buy such music online with international credit cards at no extra charges.”

“dont know if this would really work...i think theres already a way by which you can make personal requests to the shop managers for an album, and , if youre a regular, theyl get it”

“i think this is a good idea coz in india generally people dont listen to metal and rock music so albums from bands like messugah,bullet for my valentine and lamb of god are hard to find”

“Already in place.”

“Might make sense to partner up with existing international record labels - and offer that catalogue on a pay-to-order basis.. if its infeasible to allow people to ask for any random music from anywhere.”

“impractical. if the cd is not already available in music stores, its probably because not enough people would buy it. its highly unlikely that the few people who up and vote for it thru furtado's will provide sufficient business for furtado's to make this venture profitable. nor will furtado's bleed itself to provide cds that individuals can prolly order off amazon or get someone to bring in from abroad. i face the same problem with music dvds but i just don't see myself worrying about/waiting to get enough peoples' votes for it.”

“think its a good idea to get them anyway and make public the part that they're here. if we wait for other people to want the same cds might never get them... perhaps you can have a "new arrivals" flyer/mailer that goes out to all those interested with new albums you have imported and please extend these to concert DVDs as well. “

Idea SIX | Sell Event Passes

Furtados should re-sell event passes for performances which are 'inconvenient' or 'physically difficult' to get passes for

FEEDBACK

“If you can figure out how to get the passes yourself, and how to sell them in a fair manner...!”

“yeah but i dont know how many shops furtadoes has in cities..but yah it would be more convinient this way”

“this is a good idea coz many people cant go to the hosts of the concert because they maybe living far from where the tickest are being sold”

“Yes but not much of an impact on its volumes or brand”

“woww!!”

“like what? for ordinary gigs, bms and the like are doing a reasonable job. if furtado's wants to play ball, it should get a frequent flyers type thing going and then offer the members passes/vip entries for events which its sponsoring/providing equipment to.”

“sure... they should home deliver also. (otherwise bookmyshow has too much of an advantage).”

Idea SEVEN | Furtados DIY Series

DIY = Do it your self

In conversation with various wannabe musicians we realized that most want to try and learn music themselves. i.e. They would prefer to try their hands at it themselves – before making any major investments in classes and instruments.

In this lies ‘Furtados’ opportunity.

They should cater to this audience by providing them with DIY Videos and materials – and rent out beginner guitars – allowing wannabe musicians to gauge their actual interest levels.

FEEDBACK

“Not much good. People go for online resources, and instruments-for-rent can't beat instruments-borrowed-from-a-friend”

“but they shouldnt rent their expensive instruments due to risj of chipping, damaging....reserve only the fuddy duddy guitars which are still good for beginners for renting”

“i think that this idea is good as many people can learn an instrument by just watching a video but i dont think that instruments should be rented”

“This could be a good promotional campaign if right channels are chosen for distribution.”

“this is a good idea! like have an acoustic guitar sunday, or a drums saturday - a half day workshop for people to come and try the instruments, get a feel , talk to people, maybe meet teachers, try them out and then figure out how to proceed with getting better. “

“yes! but why cant you just arrange adhoc classes also? with cool/inspiring instructors.
a week this and a week that for people to try it out and see if its an instrument they want to learn more?”

Idea EIGHT | The JAM Network aka Local Jamming Chapters

Furtados creates a POC at the college level. With the help of the student POC they create a database of students at each college – who play music (or would like to) – their instrument of choice – and whether they would be interested in meeting others and “Jamming!”

This database will be shared with everyone on the list – allowing them to self-start Local Jamming Chapters.

FEEDBACK

“Could work. Maybe too informal for a professional music store.”

“good stuff...this should definitely happen.. way...make sure to cover loads of colleges and schools”

“Great idea. Name it JAMsters and share the info”

“again this is not a bad idea, but i feel it might be redundant in a way. an online forum could do a much better job, more efficiently and a lot easier. the idea should be to connect like-minded people and promote music in all forms and shapes. then, being the quality outfit it is, furtado's is sure to profit from the increased interest. it doesn't have to be blatant marketing/advtg”

“dont need furtados right? there a 1 million online portals that do this, faster.”

Ideas by Respondents

“have a competition for local bands or something...have a "furtados local band of the week: by which you have a competition that gets many musicans together, and then whoever wins, click their pics and put the up in a big banner or something in the most visible part of shop..and wirite the bands info, genre, etc..i dont know how this will help but it will rustle up some excitement for sure”

“develop a iphone/bb/symbian app which could let people check out the furtado's catalogs, post msgs to the website that you develop (for the jammers/profiles whatever) and generally interact somehow.”

“tap the corporate space? usually music, instrument learning etc. gets left behind at college... corporate music lessons? jam sessions? inspiration by music, listening room (imagine if a office gave 1 room to furtdos where their employees could go to unwind/destress. furtados provides equipment. furtados gets branding/sales.  concert screenings off DVD's “