Rural Passenger Awareness of the Marketing Schemes in APSRTC - A n Assessment

Abstract

The study is undertaken to understand the present marketing practices or business strategies of APSRTC and chronicle them to enable the enthusiastic sister organizations working in the same / similar industry to make use of them so that the wheel need not be reinvented. The study also endeavors to find gaps, if any, in the organization and to make required recommendations. The emergence of marketing concept in respect of serxnces is a recent phenomenon. Let’s produce, what we think, the market wants; the sales department will manage to sell. This was the focus prior to the beginning of the Marketing concept in the conte.xt of selling the services. The end of decade 1950s paved avenues, for service marketing as organizations like banking, insurance and others felt that application of Marketing strategies while managing and selling the service would make possible qualitative improvement. Services are essentially intangibles. Their purchase does not result in ownership of something physical. They are often described as ephemeral and experiential. A substantial portion of our purchasing is of services. For instance, leasing an Automobile, living in a rented accommodation, utilizing the facilities provided by a Banker, lunching in a restaurant, making telephone call, traveling by an Airline etc. The customer pays for an experience, or a service provided by a service firm. Service in most cases involves transfer of some intangible benefits which results from the activities of service providers.