Consumer Behavior Project Work

Group 3

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mr. Jones Mathew Abhishek Kumar Upadhyay (PG20095223)

Hemraj Ahirwar (PG20095118)
Pankaj Bhatt (PG20095317)
Ratna Jyoti Baruwati (PG20095283)
Satadal Chanda (PG20095040)
 Acknowledgement
The entire body of work as it stands today is largely due to the rich contribution, through
discussions and practical exposure, made by all the members of our group.
It is our pleasure to gratefully acknowledge the help and advice rendered by a number of
people, who in their ways tried to realize our hope of completing the project. It is impossible
to grade or classify the assistance provided by them, howeversmall, for it is the thought that
counts, not the extent to which they have helped. So we are pleased to thank everyone who
has helped us in bringing the project to reality.
We are thankful to Mr. Jones Mathew [Associate Professor & Area Chair (Marketing)], for
helping us on each and every step of the project work and guiding us towards the right path,
so that, we were able to understand the topic and thereby complete the project more
efficiently.
We are also very thankful to all the respondents who contributed their precious time to fill
the questionnaire and complete our survey.
 Executive Summary
Samsung Electronics is the world's largest electronics company with 2009 revenue of $117.4
billion, headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It is the flagship subsidiary of
the Samsung Group. In 2009, the company took the position of the world’s biggest IT maker by
surpassing the erstwhile leader Hewlett-Packard. Its sales revenue in the areas of LCD and LED
displays and computer chips is the world’s No. 1

Consumer behavior involves the psychological processes that consumers go through in

recognizing needs, finding ways to solve these needs, making purchase decisions (e.g., whether
or not to purchase a product and, if so, which brand and where), interpret information, make
plans, and implement these plans (e.g., by engaging in comparison shopping or actually
purchasing a product).
A major part of this project dwells with the research done by filling up a questionnaire from a
relevant group of respondents.One can define research as a scientific andsystematic search for
pertinent information on a specifictopic. In fact, research is an art of scientific
investigation. Redman and Morydefine research as a “systematized effort to gain
newknowledge.” Some people consider research as a movementfrom the known to the
unknown.

The group of respondents are students of IILM, Gurgaon 2009-11 batch who are using Samsung
R418 model for the past one and half years.

Major attributes of customer satisfaction that are being observed by the survey results are:

 Product Quality
 Product Packaging
 Keeping delivery commitments
 Price
 Responsiveness and ability to resolve complaints

Project Report Stage 1

Need for Uniqueness

Consumers acquire and display material possessions for the purpose of feeling differentiated
from other people and, thus, are targeted with a variety of marketing stimuli that attempt to
enhance self-perceptions of uniqueness. The uniqueness quotient for electronic products is
presumed to be high as each new entrant in the electronic market is competing with highly
established players like DELL, HCL, SONY, Samsung etc. From the customers point of view owing
a product is just not about comforting one’s lifestyle but establishing oneself as a individual
who is known for owning gadgets and gizmos that differentiate and make them unique and
someone to reckon with a high social acceptability. Also the need to be technologically ahead
in recent times, uniqueness is a concern, because if we look at the demographic specification
(age, location etc.) of the respondents they are referred as the “youth” who are much
concerned about the looks, style, user friendliness and technological advancement of products
such as laptops, mobiles, ipods etc.

Problem Definition
Determining drivers of need for uniqueness: This part deals with the individual difference, need
for uniqueness (NFU), on buyer decision-making. The present is the era of customers.
Customers are more knowledgeable than ever before and because the customer is more
knowledgeable, companies must be more agile and more creative than as they were few years
back. So companies should strive to enhance customer satisfaction through knowing their
expectations regarding products. For selling of any product, there is needed to build
relationship with customer. For building a relationship there is need for knowing the customer
behavior and how will be they satisfied?

Research Methodology

 26 item Questionnaire

 Sample Size 30

 The research was conducted by intercepting students of IILM, Gurgaon and a few
respondents from malls particularly customers visiting or about to electronic stores.

 In this research the type of data collection is primary data and secondary data. In order
to make the research more effective and to provide the respondents with some ease the
questionnaire involves closed ended and option based questions
 Project Report Stage 2
Customer Satisfaction Index

Customer Satisfaction is the measure of how products and services supplied by a company
meet or exceed the customer expectations. Satisfaction is simple, if the customer gets what
he/she wanted, if the requirements are meant, the customer is satisfied. It is one of the key
performance indicators for any organization. It is simply an average of all attributes that are
believed to contribute to customer satisfaction. Since different attributes can contribute
differently to the overall customer satisfaction, the individual attributes are weighted to reflect
this reality. This is the essence of a customer satisfaction index. Everything else is detail. The
Customer Satisfaction Index represents the overall satisfaction level of that customer as one
number, usually as a percentage. Plotting this Satisfaction Index of the customer against a time
scale shows exactly how well the supplier is accomplishing the task of customer satisfaction
over a period of time.

Importance of Customer Satisfaction Index

Customer Satisfaction Index is a very important tool to measure Consumer Behavior. Customer
wants and needs drive competitive advantage, and statistics show that growth in market share
is strongly correlated with customer satisfaction.

The importance of CSI can summoned up into the following points:

 To assess if customers are happy with us.

 To be forewarned about problems.
 To compensate employees, departments and branch offices
 To tackle the ever-increasing competition
 Problem Definition
Many of us have heard of the current trend for businesses to become 'customer-centric', that
is, to put the customer at the centre of our business in terms of our strategies, actions and
processes. For most of us, old truths still hold good, such as it's easier and more profitable to
sell to existing customers than to find new ones. In practice, organizations are increasingly
setting themselves strategies to measure and ensure customer retention, and charging their
staff to be more customer-focused and service-oriented. Many organizations now approach the
'lifetime value' of customers (calculated as the typical number of purchases per year multiplied
by the average purchase value multiplied by the expected number of years of the customer
relationship) and seek to increase it. In the modern era building customer satisfaction and
loyalty is a key we say to profitable business - but do many of us really know why? And what we
should really be doing to achieve this goal?

Implication of CSI for Manufacturers

Following are some of the statistical findings that shows how important can be CSI for acquiring
and retaining customers (courtesy Customer Satisfaction Research Management: A
Comprehensive Guide by Derek R. Allen)

 It costs between five and six times more to attract a new customer than to keep an
existing one.
 Companies can boost profits anywhere from 25 to 125% by retaining merely 5% more
existing customers.
 Almost 80% of 25 dissatisfied customers will express dissatisfaction.
 Happy customers tell 4 to 5 others of their positive experience. Dissatisfied customers
tell 9 to 12 how bad it was.
 Two-thirds of customers do not feel valued by those serving them.
 Research Methodology:
The essential starting point for a CSM survey is to carry out exploratory research to access the
lens of the customer. A research must get customers to explain the main criteria on which they
base their satisfaction judgment (and supplier selection decision) in the market A survey is no
different to a product. If it is no designed well it won’t work- in other words its all about asking
the right questions to the right people.

 7 Item Questionnaire keeping in mind the following factors:-

 Product Quality
 Product Packaging
 Keeping delivery commitments
 Price
 Responsiveness and ability to resolve complaints

 Sample Size 30 ( All respondents are from IILM, Gurgaon who are using Samsung R418
laptops for the past one and a half years)

 The survey was conducted by intercepting students of IILM, Gurgaon (2009-11 batch),
this group of respondents is assumed ideal for this survey as they have been using
Samsung laptops and it was a much convenient group for us to get unbiased
information.

 The inexpensive incentivizing part of this project was reduced by mere selection of a
group of respondents who are more then willing to help and also enough
knowledgeable to cross question the questionnaire and give highly appreciable inputs.
 Performance Matrix

W
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G
H
T
I
N
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SCORE
 Research Findings

Parameter Weighting Score Weighting (avg of 1) Weightin (avg of

1)* Score

P1 2.3 3 0.90 2.699832309

p2 2.43 2 0.95 1.901621017
p3 3.03 0 1.19 0
p4 2.5 1 0.98 0.978200112
p5 2.87 2 1.12 2.245947457
p6 2.23 5 0.87 4.362772499
p7 2.53 3 1.17 3.521520402
2.555714 2.285714 CSI- 2.244270542
 6

0
p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 p7

The CSI is 2.24. Since the scale used was 1-5, CSI= 44.8% (in percentage terms).

Recommendations
The customer satisfaction index was calculated to be 44.8% which according to the industry
standards will be considered a pretty lower one. After going through the responses on the
questionnaire we have come terms with the following recommendations for Samsung laptops.

 Samsung laptops should focus more on the technical aspects of computing and come
out with models of superior technology.

 Respondents seemed quite dissatisfied with the after sales services of Samsung laptops;
they should emphasis more on customer service to ensure retention of customers.

 The style and look of a Samsung laptop is not considered very slick or happening, thus
they should come up with certain color schemes and additional features to enhance the
look of a Samsung laptop

 The quality and durability of certain components like Speakers; DVD/CD Drives etc. need
improvement.
 Conclusion
Consumer Behavior is always certain to change, the acceptance of a product friendly behavior
from the customer is possible only if the needs, wants and demands are either met or
exceeded. This project helped us to get a deep insight of management functions like Customer
Satisfaction Index.

After analyzing the questionnaire and calculating CSI we can conclude that Samsung laptops
have a long way to cover to attract new and retain old customers. A CSI of 44.8% percent
indicates that a majority of its customers are not satisfied with the laptop they are using and
are very much susceptible to change.

The need of “better technology”, “slicker looks”, “effective customer care” and “more value
added services” are prominent for Samsung laptops, if they want to hold a strong position in
the market.