CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING

Marketing is the process of performing market research, selling products and/or services to

customers and promoting them via advertising to further enhance sales. It generates the

strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments.

It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and

create value for their customers and for themselves.

Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to keep the customer.

With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing

management is one of the major components of business management. Marketing evolved to

meet the stasis in developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the

last 2-3 centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their focus

from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of staying

profitable.

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing

the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that

in order to satisfy its organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs

and wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors.
An orientation, in the marketing context, related to a perception or attitude a firm holds

towards its product or service, essentially concerning consumers and end-users. Throughout

history, marketing has changed considerably in time with consumer tastes.

Contemporary approaches

Recent approaches in marketing include relationship marketing with focus on the customer,

business marketing or industrial marketing with focus on an organization or institution and

social marketing with focus on benefits to society. New forms of marketing also use the

internet and are therefore called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing, online

marketing, search engine marketing, desktop advertising or affiliate marketing. It attempts to

perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing.

Customer orientation

A firm in the market economy survives by producing goods that persons are willing and able

to buy. Consequently, ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firm's future viability and

even existence as a going concern. Many companies today have a customer focus (or market

orientation). This implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer

demands. Generally, there are three ways of doing this: the customer-driven approach, the

market change identification approach and the product innovation approach.

In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing

decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research. Every aspect of

a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential

consumers. The starting point is always the consumer. The rationale for this approach is that

there is no reason to spend R&D funds developing products that people will not buy. History

attests to many products that were commercial failures in spite of being technological

breakthroughs.

A formal approach to this customer-focused marketing is known as SIVA (Solution,

Information, Value and Access). This system is basically the four Ps renamed and reworded

to provide a customer focus. The SIVA Model provides a demand/customer-centric

alternative to the well-known 4Ps supply side model (product, price, placement, promotion)

of marketing management.

Product → Solution

Price → Value

Place → Access
Promotion → Information

If any of the 4Ps were problematic or were not in the marketing factor of the business, the

business could be in trouble and so other companies may appear in the surroundings of the

company, so the consumer demand on its products will decrease.

Organizational orientation

In this sense, a firm's marketing department is often seen as of prime importance within the

functional level of an organization. Information from an organization's marketing department

would be used to guide the actions of other departments within the firm. As an example, a

marketing department could ascertain (via marketing research) that consumers desired a new

type of product, or a new usage for an existing product. With this in mind, the marketing

department would inform the R&D department to create a prototype of a product/service

based on consumers' new desires.

The production department would then start to manufacture the product, while the marketing

department would focus on the promotion, distribution, pricing, etc. of the product.

Additionally, a firm's finance department would be consulted, with respect to securing

appropriate funding for the development, production and promotion of the product. Inter-

departmental conflicts may occur, should a firm adhere to the marketing orientation.

Production may oppose the installation, support and servicing of new capital stock, which

may be needed to manufacture a new product. Finance may oppose the required capital

expenditure, since it could undermine a healthy cash flow for the organization.
Marketing research

Marketing research involves conducting research to support marketing activities, and the

statistical interpretation of data into information. This information is then used by managers

to plan marketing activities, gauge the nature of a firm's marketing environment and attain

information from suppliers. Marketing researchers use statistical methods such as quantitative

research, qualitative research, hypothesis tests, Chi-squared tests, linear regression,

correlations, frequency distributions, poison distributions, binomial distributions, etc. to

interpret their findings and convert data into information. The marketing research process

spans a number of stages, including the definition of a problem, development of a research

plan, collection and interpretation of data and disseminating information formally in the form

of a report. The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate,

reliable, valid, and current information. A distinction should be made between marketing

research and market research. Market research pertains to research in a given market. As an

example, a firm may conduct research in a target market, after selecting a suitable market

segment. In contrast, marketing research relates to all research conducted within marketing.

Thus, market research is a subset of marketing research.

Market segmentation

Market segmentation pertains to the division of a market of consumers into persons with

similar needs and wants. For instance, Kellogg's cereals, Fro sites are marketed to children.

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes are marketed to adults. Both goods denote two products which are

marketed to two distinct groups of persons, both with similar needs, traits, and wants. Market

segmentation allows for a better allocation of a firm's finite resources. A firm only possesses

a certain amount of resources. Accordingly, it must make choices (and incur the related costs)
in servicing specific groups of consumers. In this way, the diversified tastes of contemporary

Western consumers can be served better.

Types of marketing research

Marketing research, as a sub-set aspect of marketing activities, can be divided into the

following parts:

 Primary research (also known as field research), which involves the conduction and

compilation of research for a specific purpose.

 Secondary research (also referred to as desk research), initially conducted for one

purpose, but often used to support another purpose or end goal.

By these definitions, an example of primary research would be market research conducted

into health foods, which is used solely to ascertain the needs/wants of the target market for

health foods. Secondary research in this case would be research pertaining to health foods,

but used by a firm wishing to develop an unrelated product.

Primary research is often expensive to prepare, collect and interpret from data to information.

Nevertheless, while secondary research is relatively inexpensive, it often can become

outdated and outmoded, given that it is used for a purpose other than the one for which it was

intended. Primary research can also be broken down into quantitative research and qualitative

research, which, as the terms suggest, pertain to numerical and non-numerical research

methods and techniques, respectively. The appropriateness of each mode of research depends

on whether data can be quantified (quantitative research), or whether subjective, non-numeric

or abstract concepts are required to be studied (qualitative research).

There also exist additional modes of marketing research, which are:

  Exploratory research, pertaining to research that investigates an assumption.

 Descriptive research, which, as the term suggests, describes "what is".

 Predictive research, meaning research conducted to predict a future occurrence.

 Conclusive research, for the purpose of deriving a conclusion via a research process.

Promotion (marketing)

Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix (product, price, promotion,

distribution). It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of

influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision. Fundamentally,

however there are three basic objectives of promotion. These are:

1. To present information to consumers as well as others

2. To increase demand

3. To differentiate a product.

Marketing strategy

The field of marketing strategy encompasses the strategy involved in the management of a

given product. A given firm may hold numerous products in the marketplace, spanning

numerous and sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan is required in order

to effectively manage such products. For example, a start-up car manufacturing firm would

face little success should it attempt to rival Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, or any other

large global car maker. Moreover, a product may be reaching the end of its life-cycle. Thus,

the issue of divest, or a ceasing of production, may be made.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by

a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the

number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a

firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals." It is seen as a

key performance indicator within business and is part of the four of a Balanced Scorecard. In

a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is

seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy.

Within organizations, customer satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They focus

employees on the importance of fulfilling customers’ expectations. Furthermore, when these

ratings dip, they warn of problems that can affect sales and profitability. These metrics

quantify an important dynamic. When a brand has loyal customers, it gains positive word-of-

mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective. In researching satisfaction, firms

generally ask customers whether their product or service has met or exceeded expectations.

Thus, expectations are a key factor behind satisfaction. When customers have high

expectations and the reality falls short, they will be disappointed and will likely rate their

experience as less than satisfying. For this reason, a luxury resort, for example, might receive

a lower satisfaction rating than a budget motel—even though its facilities and service would

be deemed superior in “absolute” terms.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN 7 STEPS

1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings

This is the most daunting and downright scary part of interacting with a customer. If

you're not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest
assured, though, it does get easier over time. It's important to meet your customers face to

face at least once or even twice during the course of a project.

2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed

This goes without saying really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a

response to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers'

queries within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them

know you've received their message and you'll contact them about it as soon as possible.

Even if you're not able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you're working

on it.

3. Be Friendly and Approachable

A fellow Site Pointer once told me that you can hear a smile through the phone. This

is very true. It's very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like

you're their friend and you're there to help them out. There will be times when you want to

beat your clients over the head repeatedly with a blunt object - it happens to all of us. It's vital

that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients' wishes as best you can, and at all times

remain polite and courteous.

4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy

This may not be too important when you're just starting out, but a clearly defined

customer service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a

customer has a problem, what should they do?

If the first option doesn't work then what? Should they contact different people for billing and

technical enquiries? If they're not satisfied with any aspect of your customer service, who

should they tell? There's nothing more annoying for a client than being passed from person to

person, or not knowing who to turn to. So make sure your customer service policy is present

on your site -- and anywhere else it may be useful.

5. Attention to Detail

Have you ever received a Happy Birthday email or card from a company you were a

client of? Have you ever had a personalized sign-up confirmation email for a service that you

could tell was typed from scratch? These little niceties can be time consuming and aren't

always cost effective, but remember to do them.

Even if it's as small as sending a Happy Holidays email to all your customers, it's something.

It shows you care; it shows there are real people on the other end of that screen or telephone;

and most importantly, it makes the customer feel welcomed, wanted and valued.

6. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go Out Of Your Way to Help Them Out

Sometimes this is easier said than done! However, achieving this supreme level of

understanding with your clients will do wonders for your working relationship.

7. Honor Your Promises

It's possible this is the most important point in this article. The simple message: when

you promise something, deliver. Clients don't like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something

may not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be

late, technology can fail and sub-contractors don't always deliver on time. In this case a quick

apology and assurance it'll be ready ASAP wouldn't go a miss.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Obtaining a thorough understanding of customer loyalty is a prerequisite for the

execution of the research at hand. For that, the development of customer loyalty research

within the framework of relationship marketing will be presented first, before different

customer loyalty concepts will be introduced. From these concepts, a definition of customer

loyalty for use in this study will be derived, before both consequences and antecedents of

customer loyalty will be portrayed.

 Since the beginning of the 1990s, customer loyalty has gained importance both in

relationship marketing research and in business. In business, this can be attributed to

changing market- and competition-environments. Due to a shift from a sellers’ to a buyers’

market and because of an increasing degree of globalization, most industries find themselves

confronted with new challenges. In a first phase, firms tried to face these challenges by

focusing on their internal processes and organizational structures, trying to achieve cost

reductions by concentrating on internal improvements. A second phase of external focus

followed, where firms directed attention to their customers, trying to retain existing ones and

to win over new ones (churning). Since “acquiring new customers is much more expensive

than keeping them”. And “loyal customers are the bedrock of any business”. A loyal

customer base represents a barrier to entry, a basis for a price premium, time to respond to

competitor innovations, and a bulwark against deleterious price competition. Loyalty is

critical to brand volume, is highly correlated to market share, and can be used as the basis of

predicting future market share; consequently, understanding loyalty appears critical to any

meaningful analysis of marketing strategy.

In marketing research, two trends mark the development of customer loyalty. While

individual transactions initially were in the center of marketing research, the focus shifted

towards analyzing relationships states that the ‘traditional’ marketing concept of the

marketing mix with its ‘4 Ps’, developed in the middle of the last century, had been the

established approach until the 1990s.

This approach, how-ever, focuses solely on transactions, a deficit tackled by the relationship

marketing approach. At the core of it is the study of relationships between buyers and sellers

of goods or services, in contrast to merely examining transactions. An often cited and

comprehensive definition of relationship marketing is provided “Relationship marketing

refers to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing, and maintaining
successful relational exchanges.” Therefore, the relationship marketing approach pro-vides a

suitable environment in which customer loyalty research can be nested.

While the development of relationship marketing began in the early 1970s, it was not

until the late 1980s that works from the ‘Nordic School of Services’. Initiated a paradigm

shift that geared marketing towards the creation, conservation, and extension of buyer-seller

relationships. Although relationship marketing today is widely accepted among marketing

researchers, its promoters do not postulate the replacement of the transactional approach, but

rather juxtapose the two approaches. For example, delineates a strategy continuum, in which

different goods require different degrees of transaction- and relationship-based marketing

strategies. As a result of the focus on relationships in marketing research, customer loyalty

gained importance within research.

Before determining which stream the present study can be associated with, however,

it is important to create a clear understanding of different customer loyalty concepts prevalent

in research. This will be accomplished in the following section.

Customer Loyalty Concepts

Reviewing research, it becomes obvious that the notion of customer loyalty is blurred.

At its core, customer loyalty deals with relationships between suppliers and their customers

and can be distinguished from other loyalty aspects, such as brand loyalty, which refer to a

more abstract attachment, such as that towards a brand. Within German customer loyalty

literature, the notion of customer loyalty is even more faceted, encompasses both ‘customer

loyalty’ and ‘customer retention’ distinguishes an active, supplier-focused component and a

passive, customer focused component of customer loyalty.

In the supplier-focused perspective, customer loyalty is seen as a bundle of measures

that aim at improving relationships with customers. The supplier is in the center of attention
and the customer is only regarded as the factor at which success of customer loyalty becomes

manifest. Here it becomes clear that this approach contains a conceptual deficit. It is the

customer who eventually decides on whether customer loyalty management is successful or

not, because all activities undertaken by a supplier can only be geared at influencing

customers to be loyal. A customer-focused perspective therefore has to be added to evaluate

the success of customer loyalty management.

Within the customer-focused perspective, customer loyalty is conceptualized taking into

account customers’ complex characteristics. These can either be approached as customers’

directly observable actions and/or take into account their attitudes and intentions. Since

customers’ actions are directly influenced by their attitudes and intentions, it is obvious that

these have to be scrutinized to understand and manage loyalty. A third perspective is a

synthesis of the former two approaches. The relationship-focused perspective directly

examines the relationship between suppliers and customers. Accordingly, the objects of study

in this perspective usually are buying behavior in retail contexts and long-term relationships

marked by frequent interaction between suppliers and buyers in industrial contexts.

Behaviorist customer loyalty concepts

Behaviorist concepts of customer loyalty have been at the core of early marketing

research and focus on customers’ observable behavior, as e.g. in purchasing behavior.

Accordingly, customer loyalty is established, when customers demonstrate consistency in

their choice of supplier or brand. “Hard-core” loyalty, when one product alternative is

exclusively repurchased and of “reinforcing” loyalty, when customers switch among brands

but repeat-purchase one or more alternatives to a significant extent. Similarly, customer

loyalty as “the proportion of times a purchaser chooses the same product or service in a

specific category compared to the total number of purchases made by the purchaser in that
category“. Pegging customer loyalty to purchasing behavior, however, is very critical; there

can be a multitude of factors affecting purchasing behavior, such as product availability or

special deals, which are not grasped by looking at purchases alone. A main deficit of the

behaviorist approach thus is that it does not look at the drivers’ behind purchasing behavior.

Another disadvantage of behaviorist customer loyalty concepts is their ex-post approach.

When loyalty is only expressed through purchases, information on customers’ actual loyalty

status in between purchases is not available. Consequently, decreasing loyalty is only

recognized after it manifests itself through changed purchasing behavior. Only in

relationships with frequent interaction can a supplier integrate further aspects, such as

complaints, into customer loyalty management. The reason, why behaviorist concepts may

still be valuable, is because the measurement of customer loyalty in this approach does not

necessitate involvement by the customer. The assessment of attitudes and intentions would

always imply customers’ cooperation through participation in surveys. By simply recording

purchases, e.g. through delivery records in the industrial context or customer cards in a

consumer context; the assessment of customer loyalty poses little difficulty. Particularly in

areas, where most purchases can be easily ascribed to individual customers, as is the case

with mail-ordering or book-stores on the internet, the behaviorist approach is useful for

identifying different customer groups and their characteristics. Such firms, however, can only

assess purchases of their own products, while purchases of competing products go unnoticed.

Firms can therefore neither draw conclusions about relative changes of purchasing behaviors,

nor evaluate their comparative market position.

Neo-behaviorist customer loyalty concepts

These narrow technical definitions do not adequately capture the richness and depth

of the loyalty construct implicit in a relational framework.” Consequently, neo-behaviorist

customer loyalty concepts start at the shortcomings of the behaviorist approach by examining
the causes of loyalty. As early as 1969, Day concluded that “loyalty should be evaluated with

both attitudinal and behavioral criteria” otherwise accidental repeat-purchases, merely

resulting from situational exigencies, would be regarded as indicators of loyalty. There is no

agreement, however, on the question, whether attitudes are part of customer loyalty or merely

an antecedent of it. Some authors propose that only positive attitude can lead to ‘true’

customer loyalty. If attitude then is a necessary prerequisite of customer loyalty, some drivers

of loyalty cannot be explained. Transaction cost theory, for instance, provides the concept of

asset specificity. Relationship-specific investments create economic switching barriers and

therefore increase customer loyalty. However, the mere repeat purchase of goods or services

for reasons of economic constraints would not qualify as loyalty, as positive attitudes are not

involved. In order to avoid the outlined problem, it is useful to abstain from defining positive

attitude to be a necessary antecedent of loyalty. Instead, researchers usually consider

intentions and observable behavior to be the constituting elements of customer loyalty.

Determinants of Customer Loyalty

In order to be able to gear marketing activities towards the creation of customer loyalty, its

determinants and their precise effects have to be known. Accordingly, many researchers have

investigated this topic. In order to gain an overview of the determinants identified in these

works, they can be structured in three dimensions:

(1) Company-related determinants refer to the supplier itself or to the goods or services

offered. It is a prerequisite for the existence of customer loyalty that the offered goods

or services create utility for the customer and that they are available. In this respect, an

assessment is usually performed by examining quality. In order to evaluate the price-

performance ratio, customers will pay attention to prices. Customer loyalty will also be
influenced by the

reputation a company has and ultimately by customer loyalty programs offered.

(2) Relationship-related determinants play a significant role in long-term

relationships. Factors regarding the interaction between supplier and customer,

such as relationship quality, previous experiences, and trust are important. Commitment,

which provides evidence of emotional closeness and moral or normative

feelings of obligation, takes a central role in relationships. Specificity and dependence can

lead to economic, psychological and social switching barriers.

(3) Customer-related determinants are mainly influenced by customers’

characteristics. In this respect, affect and involvement, and consequently

also the importance of the good or service to the customer, are important.

Addition to the above delineated areas, the effects of the market environment and competition

are researched, as is the link between satisfaction and loyalty, which plays an important

role in the research of customer loyalty and is often placed in one of the three dimensions.

However, as most other determinants influence satisfaction, it cannot be clearly

separated and should therefore be listed as a distinct category.

OBJECTIVES OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAMME

Our Programs are research based, built on the three corner stone’s of customer satisfaction:

product quality, process and procedural quality, and relationship quality. Our typical program

assesses specific issues under each component, for example:

Product Quality

          •       meets or exceeds expectations

          •       state-of-the-art technology

          •       validated, tested, & simulated to client specifications

          •       competitive pricing

          •       enhance customer value

Procedural Quality

          •       ease of ordering

          •       accurate fulfillment

          •       inventory meets needs

          •       on time delivery

          •       environmentally friendly packing

          •       packaged to prevent damage in shipment

          •       ease of tracking

          •       appropriate adjustment/return policy

          •       order-through-delivery process bests competition

   Relationship Quality

         •       product knowledgeable contacts

          •       knowledgeable about client needs

          •       communicates at client knowledge level

          •       one-stop problem resolution

          •       problems solved at the root cause

          •       legendary customer service benchmarks competition

The tailored Programs provide direct, statistically valid, comparison data of you to your

competition on the following actionable areas:

•       Responsiveness

•       Competitiveness

•       Innovativeness

•       Quality

•       Customer Service

•       Long Term Partnering

It accurately quantifies your competitive strengths and weaknesses from your customers'

perspective. Using the data, it will help you focus strategic efforts to retain and increase

market share. The programs also provide direct measure of the effectiveness of initiatives

your organization has implemented during prior year (after first year's participation). That is,

you will have quantifiable internal benchmarks (in addition to the external competitive

benchmarks) on the repeat annual surveys to judge progress based on actions you have taken

during the previous 12 months.

TABLE SHOWING KEY FACTORS FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

COMPANY FUNCTION QUALITY FACTORS

Product

Sales Knowledge

Brochure detail

Marketing Mailing frequently

Order Delivery time

Distribution Order Completeness

Problem Response Time

After Sales Time to Resolve

Accuracy

Accounts Problem Response

Courtesy
CUSTOMER CARE AND SALES PROCESSES

Service organizations are particularly dependent on levels of customer care, as the ‘people’

element in the marketing mix reflects. Customer care can play an equally important role,

however, in manufacturing, production and other organizations providing goods and services.

For customer care programs to be successful they need to span the entire organization.

Popular guarantees 100% customer satisfaction and has, over the years, developed a more

conscientious approach to individual customers. There is Customer care training provided.

Though this may initially be a very lengthy process as the ball starts rolling through all

sectors of the organization and costs will grow too, as further investment is required to update

and maintain the initiative in the future. To provide an effective customer care services, every

employee is highly motivated. There are frequent internal newsletters circulated which

strengthens the bond throughout the organization. Frequent performance appraisal throughout

the organization is conducted to evaluate the employees and provide career developmental

opportunities to potential employees. The customer care program at Popular mainly have six

main stages, as follows:

1. Objectives setting: For every month, target sales will be fixed by the Sales Manager at

the showroom.

2. Current situation analysis: Present industrial trend is observed closely and various

promotional offers are introduced to boost sales if there is a chance for a slump in sales.

Also, a customer service audit is conducted both internally and externally. Monthly

sales targets fixed by the Sales Manager.

 3. Strategy development: Develop a strategy for raising levels of both customer service

and sales from the current to the desired standard based upon any change in trends and

the economic conditions prevailing. Each region is divided into 4 zones. Each zonal

level will be under the charge of a supervisor under whom there are four sales

executives. It is the duty of these sales executives to generate on field enquiries and to

follow up the customers based on the appointment fixed.

4. Functional planning: Define training needs and other requirements such problem-

solving sessions or teambuilding exercise to execute the strategy. Daily, a meeting of all

the staffs at their respective branch is convened. Here they discuss their daily programs

and targets to meet plus they also discuss about their previous day’s work among the

team. They consider the response of all the individual customers met.

5. Implementation: Implement training and other initiatives through workshops,

seminars. The prospective customers are segregated and the issues raised by certain

customers will also be addressed. Some customers may not be satisfied with the present

offers and price. In such cases efforts will be put up to make maximum adjustments and

convert it to sales.

6. Monitoring: Results are tested through customer and employee surveys and evaluation

of the training methods is also conducted. The program is improved and updated on a

continuous basis.

HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

A complaint is any measure of dissatisfaction with your product or service, even if it’s

unfair, untrue, or painful to hear! Complaints may be about:

• Service Content, Delivery or Quality • Response Time

• Documentation • Personnel

• Billing • Communication

• Follow Up • Requests

This is a customer complaint resolution process that anyone can implement:

 Focus on the Customer

If you can’t immediately solve the problem, respond to the customer and identify an “owner”

who will be responsible for final resolution. Complete the communications loop with

customer. If you’ve referred the complaint to others, make sure there’s closure. If you’ve left

the customer hanging without a response, you’ve become part of the problem.

 Focus on the Complaint

Collect all complaints from all external customers and categorize them in a way that allows

you to analyze data to see trends, patterns, concentrations, tendencies, etc.

 Focus on Process Improvement

Use the database of complaints to define processes that are important from the customer’s

perspective and to improve the most critical ones. Based on analysis of the database, make

appropriate investments to prevent issues that result in customer complaints. If you can think

of complaints as useful data for making process improvements in your organization, you will

go a long way towards making changes that will differentiate you and make your work life

easier, more fun, and more responsive to customer needs.

SIX STEPS TO DEALING WITH DIS-SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

1. Listen carefully to what the customer has to say, and let them finish-Don't get

defensive. The customer is not attacking you personally; he or she has a problem and is upset.

Repeat back what you are hearing to show that you have listened.
2. Ask questions in a caring and concerned manner-The more information you can get

from the customer, the better you will understand his or her perspective. I’ve learned it’s

easier to ask questions than to jump to conclusions.

3. Put yourself in their shoes-As a business owner, your goal is to solve the problem, not

argue. The customer needs to feel like you’re on his or her side and that you empathize with

the situation.

4. Apologize without blaming-When a customer senses that you are sincerely sorry, it

usually diffuses the situation. Don't blame another person or department. Just say, "I'm sorry

about that.”

5. Ask the customer, "What would be an acceptable solution to you?"-Whether or not the

customer knows what a good solution would be, I’ve found it’s best to propose one or more

solutions to alleviate his or her pain. Become a partner with the customer in solving the

problem.

6. Solve the problem, or find someone who can solve it— quickly!-Research indicates that

customers prefer the person they are speaking with to instantly solve their problem. When

complaints are moved up the chain of command, they become more expensive to handle and

only add to the customer's frustration.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY TILL DATE

The automobile industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. Being a major revenue

and job generating sector it drives the economies of some of the superpowers of the world. In
India the automobile industry has grown by leaps and bounds since the advent of the

liberalization era the automobile industry and especially the two wheeler segment has grown

by leaps and bounds.

The liberalization has done away with primitive and prohibitive practices of licensing and

restricted foreign investment have been done away with. The result of which was the entry of

foreign players into the Indian market. The two wheeler segment was largely dominated by

Automobile Products of India (API) and Enfield in the 50s. Later on towards the end of the

50s Bajaj Autos began importing Vespa scooters from Italian company Piaggio. In the

following decades the automobile industry in India was mainly dominated by scooters with

API and later Bajaj dominating the market. There were very few products and choices

available as far as motorcycle is concerned and Enfield bullet and Rajdoot dominated the

market. The 80s saw the entry of Japanese companies in the Indian market with the opening

up of the market to foreign companies. Hero Honda and TVS Suzuki are companies formed

in this era of market reform. The market was still predominantly scooter dominated and Bajaj

and LML were the leading brands producing the products at that time.

The Japanese companies not only collaborated with Indian companies to produce the already

existing products but also brought in new technology as a result of which the ever conquering

100cc bikes which were extremely fuel efficient with 4 stroke engines were launched in

India. These proved to be highly successful as they provided a cheap and affordable means of

personal transport to all those who could not buy a car. The flourishing middle class took a

great liking for these bikes and the bike sales in India began to grow exponentially year on

year leading to Hero Honda becoming the leader in the two wheeler industry in India and the

largest producer of two wheelers in the world. The post 90s era was the era of liberalization

and weakening of restrictive measures. The government went on an overdrive to support the

industry and all FDI regulations and licensing was abolished. 100% FDI was allowed in the
automobile industry and the excise duty was also considerably reduced to its current level of

12% on two wheelers. All these factors combined with the rising fuel prices, the increasing

dispensable incomes of households, easy access to finance, etc. have led to two wheeler

industry becoming the backbone of the automobile industry in India. The two wheeler

industry in India forms a major chunk of the automobiles produced in India. According to

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers statistics for the year 2009 – 2010, two –

wheelers comprise 76.49% of market share among the vehicles produced in India. The

production share of two wheelers is quite similar to the market share. The two wheeler

industry comprises around 74% of the total automobiles produced in India. The SIAM data

for the year 2009-10 states that 8,418,626 two wheelers were produced during the year

against a total of 11,175,479vehicles produced during the year.

India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of automobiles, behind Japan, South Korea

and Thailand. India’s automobile sector consists of the passenger cars and utility vehicles,

commercial vehicle, two wheelers and tractors segment. The total market size of the auto

sector in India is approximately Rs 540 billion and has been growing at around 8 percent per

annum for the last few years. Since the last four to five years, the two wheelers segment has

driven the overall volume growth on account of the spurt in the sales of motorcycles.

However, lately the passenger cars and commercial vehicles segment has also seen a good

growth due to high discounts, lower financing rates and a pickup in industrial activity

respectively. Major automobile manufacturers in India include Maruti Udyog Ltd., General

Motors India, Ford India Ltd., Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Daewoo Motors India, Hero Honda

Motors, Hindustan Motors, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Royal Enfield Motors, TVS Motors

and Swaraj Mazda Ltd.

With the economy growing at 9% per annum and increasing purchasing power there has been

a continuous increase in demand for automobiles. This, along with being the second largest

populated country, makes the automobile industry in India a very promising one.

INDIAN TWO WHEELER MARKET

Ever since the old Lambretta scooter was replaced with the flurry of vibrant two wheeler

models, Indian two wheeler industry has seen a phenomenal change in the way they perceive

the Indian market. Two wheeler manufacturers are now competing in an ever growing

consumer market by bringing out new products and features. The country has now grown into

the second largest producer of two wheelers in the world. Currently there are around 10 two-

wheeler manufacturers in the country, and they are Bajaj, Hero, Hero Honda, Honda,

Mahindra/Kinetic, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, TVS, and Yamaha. There have been various

reasons behind this growth. Because of poor public transport system, the citizens found

convenience in two wheelers. Added to this is the fact that the average Indian still does not

have the purchasing capacity for a more expensive, four wheeler. The story of Mr. Ratan

Tata inspired by a family of four members travelling in Indian roads, not concerned about

safety and the evolution of the idea of TATA Nano has been quite famous globally. The

Indian two wheeler industries can be divided into motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. The

consumer has changed his preference from mopeds to scooters and then to motorcycles. The

trends seen in the past few years include females increasingly using two-wheelers for their

personal commutation and various two wheeler manufacturers designing vehicles specially to

cater to needs of this segment. One of the earliest revolutions in this industry was Kinetic’s

introduction of the concept of electronic/self-start and automatic gears which made two

wheelers comfortable and useable by women, when compared to old Bajaj Chetak

advertisements which showed middle aged females riding a Bajaj Chetak scooter.
A recent trend in the industry has been electric vehicles, which mostly leverage on their eco-

friendliness and low operating costs, but is still not accepted well due to the lack of reputation

of the manufacturers and lack of trust on technology, which is still being perceived in the

nascent stages, especially battery and inverters which prove to be very expensive

components. TVS recently leveraged this opportunity by launching a hybrid model of their

non geared scooter – TVS Scooty. The end of the last decade saw Bajaj taking a radical

decision to do away with the Scooter range and completely concentrate on motorcycles,

especially stating change in customer’s preference as the main reason. The customers are left

without a choice in most cases than to migrate from the traditional scooters of the Indian

family to the all youthful bikes.

TOP EXPORT DESTINATIONS

The Indian Automobile industry has attained new heights in the last ten years. It has

seen the vehicle production growing rapidly and industry has been making significant

contribution to the employment, directly and indirectly, and also to kitty of indirect taxes.

Today, all major OEMs are in India and many of them have made India a hub for their small

cars and exports.

In December 2006, Government had formulated a ten-year Automotive Mission

Plan with an aim to achieve domestic vehicle market of $82-119bn by 2016 and $12bn export

of vehicles. It also aimed at making India 7th largest vehicle producing country in the world

by 2016. And, we have already achieved this milestone in 2010, which is good six years

ahead of the target.

 In this category, SAARC countries have been one of the key destinations for Indian

exports with three of the SAARC countries, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal featuring
 in the top 6 export destinations for Indian two wheelers segment. However, exports to

Sri Lanka, which used to be the largest importer of two wheelers from India in 2006-07,

have fallen by almost 20% since 2006-07 to reach a level of $ 63mn of exports in 2009-

10.

 The top most destinations for exports in this segment is Nigeria which imported two

wheelers worth $ 103mn in the year 2009-10 up from $ 85mn in 2008-09, a growth of

21% approximate. In fact, Nigeria has emerged as one of the fastest growing destination

for Indian two wheeler exports over past 4 years. India exported two wheelers worth

merely $ 6mn in Nigeria in 2006-07 which has grown by 15 times to reach an export

level of $ 103mn in 2009-10. Amongst the top 5 export destinations in this segment,

Colombia experienced the highest increase in growth of imports from India in 2009-10.

Exports of two wheelers to Colombia increased by 45% in 2009-10 over 2008-09.

FUTURE PROJECTIONS

 The Indian automobile industry is expected to grow to US$ 40bn by 2015 from the

current level of US$ 10bn in 2009. By the year 2016 the industry is expected to

contribute 10% of the nation’s GDP. The industry manufacturers over 11mn vehicles a

year employing more than three million people.

 The greatest challenge and competition would be from the Chinese automobile industry.

It has been able to give stiff competition to India in terms of productivity, cost of

manufacturing and technology. Again the present trend of excess manufacturing

capability, reduced margins put additional pressure on the industry.

  On the positive side, India’s strength in software sector, combined with skilled labor

and low cost of manufacturing should place it in a favorable position globally.

 Two wheeler industry gains more profit Considering the scenario of traffic and roads in

India, and the rate at which infrastructure is growing in comparison with the market,

any fool will prefer to travel in a two wheeler (for regular use, not for picnic or time

pass or once in a while trips). For the simple reason that, with a two wheeler, sneaking

anywhere is far easier than a four wheeler. And definitely faster too. And then comes

the bigger problem of parking. Two wheelers can be parked anywhere on the road, but

that’s not the case with a four wheeler. So, the whole point is unless there is some way

where these two issues are addressed, I don’t think anything significant is going to

happen.

 It gives the optimistic view about the industry and the overall industry shows positive

growths which recommend the investors to keep a good watch on the major’s players to

benefit in terms of returns on their investments.

RECENT TRENDS IN TWO WHEELER SECTOR

 The international trends suggest that the growth of the two-wheeler markets will

continue unabated for some time. In value terms, the BRIC motorcycles market grew

by 14.7% between 2006 and 2010 to reach a value of $32.4 billion (Brazil alone

growing by 32% pa). By 2013, the market is forecast to have a value of $54.7 billion.

 The global motorcycle demand has been growing at 6-7% pa and is estimated to be

about 80-85 million units per annum. India has emerged as one of the key players

with a domestic market that is nearly about 11% of the global market and growing

significantly faster. The high base implies that India and Indian companies are set to
 enter a stage where they are likely to be the preferred suppliers for motorcycles. This

is likely to lead to further innovations and efficiency gains.

 Of course, the Indian market is significantly different with the segment below 150 cc

being the dominant segment. This is unlike the developed world, where it is the larger

bikes that dominate the market volumes. Indian consumption is also likely to shift

significantly toward international trends, but in the foreseeable future, it is the smaller

bikes that will remain the mainstay.

 At present as many as 72% of the bikes are in the entry segment (defined as 75 to 125

cc), and 27% are in the executive segment (defined as 125-250 cc). Only 1% of the

bikes are in the premium segment.

 The premium segment is expected to continue to be a niche segment and its share is

not expected to grow beyond 2-2.5% over the next decade. However, that itself

implies that it will be a market of about 200,000 to 250,000 annual units, which is

substantial and attractive. (As a comparison, the declining Japanese market currently

consumes only about 350,000 motorcycles annually in the above-250 cc category,

having fallen sharply over the past few years).

 CHAPTER 2

RESEARCH DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

Royal Enfield one of the popular brand and highest selling bike in India and outside

India (USA, Europe, Australia etc). Royal Enfield motorcycles had been sold in India from

1949. In 1955, the Indian government looked for a suitable motorcycle for its police and

army, for use patrolling the country's border. As far as the motorcycle brand goes, though, it

would appear that Royal Enfield is the only motorcycle brand to span three centuries, and still

going, with continuous production. Product range has widened and the customer has evolved.

TITLE OF THE STUDY

“A Study on Customer Satisfaction towards ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES, Mumbai”

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Customer satisfaction plays a crucial role in enabling an organization to change and

develop with customers. Keeping the existing customer contended is generally much easier,

takes less time and involves less expense. The reason for this is that it takes more time to find

new prospective customer. In this context study is conducted with special reference to

customer satisfaction. A company can earn more profits only when it has strong customer
care towards product and services offered by the company. So to have strong customer care it

has to provide a competitive price further advertising to increase.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To understand the reasons for purchasing Royal Enfield bikes.

2. To know about the experience after purchase relating various parameters (Service,

bike performance, mileage etc).

3. To ascertain the barriers to purchasing a Bullet for a prospective customer.

4. To ascertain the factors that affects the choice of a Bullet as a motorcycle for common

man.

5. To propose an effective Promotional campaign plan for brand Royal Enfield.

6. To determine the customer’s satisfaction regarding bikes and after sales service.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study includes Customer’s response and awareness towards the brand, products and

services of Royal Enfield. The results are limited by the sample size 75 numbers and

therefore the opinion of only selected customers is taken into consideration. Mainly this study

is conducted in Bangalore and the scope is limited.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
 1. Customer- A customer (also known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is usually used to

refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or

organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor.

2. Customer Satisfaction- A business term, is a measure of how products and services

supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is

defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose

reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds

specified satisfaction goals."

3. Respondents- A person who replies to something, esp. one supplying information for

a survey or questionnaire or responding to an advertisement.

4. Objective- An end that can be reasonably achieved within an expected timeframe and

with available resources.

5. Bike- A motor vehicle with two wheels and a strong frame.

6. Buying- To acquire in exchange for money or its equivalent purchase.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 The research will be carried out in various phases that constitute an approach of

working from whole to part. It includes subsequent phases trying to go deeper into the user’s

psyche and develop a thorough understanding of what a user looks for while buying a bike.

The first phase is completely internal where it is stormed over the most effective route of

action, considering that Bullet users in Bangalore are more in number.

The second phase is with some of the seasoned bikers who have been using Bullets for some

time now and are generally known and respected amongst the Bullet community.

The third phase is with some respondents who will be interviewed with the help of

questionnaire keeping in mind the time and cost constraints.

TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

The information relevant for study was drawn from Primary data collected through survey

method, which alone was not sufficient. Hence Secondary data was collected to study

successfully.

 Primary data- In order to find out customer satisfaction regarding bikes of Royal

Enfield Primary Data was collected by personally visiting the dealerships and

showrooms. With the help of a well laid questionnaire, I took the feedback from the

customers who were coming for the services of their bikes at the dealerships. As well

as I contacted some of the customers through telex calling by taking the data about the

customers from the customer data register of the dealership. I interviewed them and

discussed with the showroom staff as well as with the employees at Royal Enfield

which helped me to prepare the research Report.

  Secondary data- The Secondary Data collection involved internet search, browsing

magazines, newspapers and articles and papers related to the two wheeler industry in

India. Numerous Journals and books related to the topic were also browsed to

understand the dynamics of the industry.

SAMPLE DESIGN

The research was carried out in various phases that constituted an approach of

working from whole to part. It included subsequent phases trying to go deeper into the user’s

psyche and develop a thorough understanding of what the user looks for while buying a bike.

In order to get a perspective from non-Bullet riders as to what are the reasons for not

choosing a Bullet, I administered the same questionnaire to riders who used other

motorcycles keeping in mind the time and cost constraints. For the customer satisfaction

study a sample of 75 persons was chosen from the in Bangalore city. The sample was

judgmental and methodology was convenient random sampling.

Size of Sample 53

Sampling Convenient

technique Random

Sampling

method

Location from KALYAN

which samples

were taken

PLAN OF ANALYSIS

 Raw Primary data has been collected with help of questionnaire. The raw data has

been tabulated with the help of table. From the tables, concept, analysis and

inferences are drawn which in turn was used for interpretation. Based on, these charts

were prepared to better pictorial understanding of the study.

 From the set of inferences and interpretation, conclusion have been drawn which is

followed by suggestions, keeping the objectives in mind throughout the study.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 This research is geographically restricted to Bangalore city only. Hence the result

cannot be extrapolated to other places.

 The study is restricted only to the organized sector of two wheeler industry.

 Sample size was confined to 75 respondents keeping in view of time and cost

constraints.

 Findings are based on sample survey. The information executed by respondents may

or may not be true because some respondents may not be serious. However all

possible has been made to collect the information as authentically as possible.

  All interview questions are undisguised or direct. Hence there is a scope for the

respondents to be biased or pretentious.

 This project has been taken up at the undergraduate level and the knowledge and

experience of the student is limited and hence may not be professional enough.

OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER SCHEME

Chapter-1 Introduction- It’s all about the Introduction part. It mainly consists of

introduction to Marketing with its types, approaches, research and market segmentation. Then

comes introduction about Customer Satisfaction with its steps, customer loyalty and

concepts, handling customer complaints, how to deal with dissatisfied customers and

objectives of customer satisfaction program. Later about automobile industry till date, Indian

two wheeler market and its recent trends.

Chapter-2 Research Design- It consists of the title of the study, statement of problem,

objectives and scope of the study, operational definitions, research methodology, data

collection, sample design, plan of analysis and finally the limitations of the study.

Chapter-3 Company Profile- This chapter contains the historical background of the

company Royal Enfield, company’s vision and objective, Royal Enfield products,

organizational chart and SWOT analysis of Indian two wheeler markets and Royal Enfield.
Chapter-4 Data Analysis and Interpretation- This chapter consists of the analysis and

interpretation from the data collected through questionnaires, tables and graphs representing

it.

Chapter-5 Findings and Conclusion - This chapter contains the findings drawn from the

study and final conclusion about the whole project. Also few suggestions are posted.

Chapter-6 Suggestions- This chapter contains some suggestions to the company.

 CHAPTER 3

COMPANY PROFILE

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

Mid 19th century England The firm of George Townsend & Co. opened its doors in the tiny

village of Hunt End, near the Worcestershire town of Redditch. The firm was specialized in

sewing needles and machine parts. In the first flush of enterprise, flitting from one

opportunity to another, they chanced upon the pedal-cycle trade. Little did they know then

that it was the beginning of the making of a legend. Soon, George Townsend & Co. was

manufacturing its own brand of bicycles. And in 1893 its products began to sport the name

‘Enfield’ under the entity Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited with the trademark

‘Made Like a Gun’. The marquee was born.

INDUSTRY Motorcycles, Lawnmowers

SUCCESSOR Royal Enfield Motors (formerly

Enfield of India)

FOUNDED 1893, as Enfield Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

DEFUNCT 1971

HEADQUARTERS Redditch, Worcestershire, England

KEY PEOPLE Founders Albert Eadie and Robert Walker Smith

PRODUCTS Royal Enfield Clipper, Crusader, Bullet, Interceptor.

Profile of the Organization

Royal Enfield is the makers of the famous Bullet brand in

India. Established in 1955, Royal Enfield (India) is among

the oldest bike companies. It stems from the British

manufacturer, Royal Enfield at Redditch. Royal Enfield

has its headquarters at Chennai in India. Bullet bikes are

famous for their power, stability and rugged looks. It

started in India for the Indian Army 350cc bikes were imported in kits from the UK and

assembled in Chennai. After a few years, on the insistence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the

company started producing the bikes in India and added the 500cc Bullet to its line. Within

no time, Bullet became popular in India.

Bullet became known for sheer power, matchless

stability, and rugged looks. It looked tailor-made for

Indian roads. Motorcyclists in the country dreamt to

drive it. It was particularly a favorite of the Army

and Police personnel. In 1990, Royal Enfield

ventured into collaboration with the Eicher Group, a leading automotive group in India, in

1990, and merged with it in 1994. Apart from bikes, Eicher Group is involved in the

production and sales of Tractors, Commercial Vehicles, and Automotive Gears. Royal

Enfield made continuously incorporating new technology and systems in its bikes. In 1996,

when the Government of India imposed stringent norms for emission, Royal Enfield was the

first motorcycle manufacturer to comply. It was among the few companies in India to obtain
the WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) for meeting the European Community norms.

Today, Royal Enfield is considered the oldest motorcycle model in the world still in

production and Bullet is the longest production run model.

2010 AWARDS

The New Year saw the dawn of India's most prominent automotive show, the Auto Expo

2010. Held between January 5th and 11th at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the event saw

more than 400 global brands showcasing new technology, products and show-off concepts.

Royal Enfield was also a part of the event, displaying the recently launched Royal Enfield

Classic 500 EFI and the Royal Enfield Classic 350. The main stays of the Royal Enfield

display were the soon to be launched variants of the Classic - the Royal Enfield Classic

Chrome and the Royal Enfield Classic Battle Green.

The Expo turned out to be a rather rewarding experience for Royal Enfield with the Royal

Enfield Classic and the Marketing team picking up as many as five awards.

Awards 2010:

- Apollo Auto India Awards 2010: Best Brand

- Zigwheels.com Viewers Choice Bike of the Year 2009

- Zigwheels.com Bike of the Year above 251cc

- NDTV Profit Car & Bike Awards 2010: Motorcycle of the Year above 250 cc.

- NDTV Profit Car & Bike awards 2010: Best PR Communications Team.

EVOLUTION OF ROYAL ENFIELD

THE BEGINNING (1851 – 1890)

Hunt End, England was a village of several small mills manufacturing

needles and fish-hooks. It was here in 1851 that George Townsend put up his needle-making

mill, which he named Givry Works. But it wasn’t until his passing away that his son, George

Jr. and his half-brother brought into Givry Works one of the first 'boneshakers' – a crude

cycle. It had a backbone of iron, with wooden wheels, iron tires and pedals of triangular

pieces of wood! Though the bike was a source of some amusement, George and his team felt

they could easily improve on it. The earliest modern safety bicycle with two wheels of equal

size had appeared in about 1880. All manufacturers were trying their hand at this new

venture. So was George Townsend Jr. By luck, he chanced upon an invention in his

neighbourhood – a saddle that only used one length of wire in the two springs and in the

framework. This was adopted, patented and marketed as the 'Townsend Cyclists Saddle &

Spring'. He had entered the bicycle parts trade!

From bicycle parts, Townsend slowly moved on to producing bicycles himself. He was also

supplying a wide range of parts to other manufacturers - Givry Works was growing rapidly.

Over the next three years he developed his own range of over two-dozen machines. Each

machine, known locally as the 'Townsend cycle' was reputed for its sturdy frame, a character

that all Enfield bikes would follow.

THE COMING INTO BEING (1891 – 1900)

1891 A Little Trouble-Townsend got himself into a bit of financial trouble in about 1890

and called in some financiers from Birmingham.

Unfortunately, they didn’t quite see eye to eye. So

Townsend parted ways with the financiers leaving the

company to them. The financiers then brought in Albert

Eadie and R.W. Smith. They took control of Townsend’s

in November 1891. The following year the firm was re-christened ‘The Eadie Manufacturing

Company Limited’. Soon after, Albert Eadie got a lucrative contract to supply precision rifle

parts to the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, Middlesex.

1892 Kick Starting Royal Enfield-A new company was

created to market these new design bicycles called ‘The

Enfield Manufacturing Company Limited’. By October 1892,

the Enfield bikes were announced to the public. The following

year the word Royal (after the Royal Small Arms Company) was added and thus Royal

Enfield began. Then in 1893 the Royal Enfield trademark ‘Made like a Gun’ appeared.

Britain was caught up in a patriotic fervor and the slogan caught the spirit of the time. In

1899 the first mechanical vehicle was advertised by Enfield Cycle Company. It was available

in both tricycle and quadric cycle form, powered by a De Dion 1.5 hp engine. The high

wheels, solid tires, block chains and heavy cross frames had by then given way to Diamond

frames, the Hyde Freewheel, Enfield 2 speed hub and the well known Eadie Coaster. Then

came the ‘Riche Model’ with more refined fittings. By 1907, the cycle industry was still

headquartered at Redditch, producing run-of-the-mill conventional cycles.

1897-Quadricycles

In 1897, R. W. Smith built himself a quadric cycle – a

simple bike with four wheels and a French engine placed

under the saddle between the rear wheels. During the

next two years several developments were made. About

then, an Enfield quadric cycle completed the 1,000-miles road trial of 1900 organized by the
Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland. The Enfield vehicle was awarded the silver

medal, although it had its share of troubles and breakdowns.

MOTORCYCLES (1900 - 1910) 1904-Four Wheelers and Three

Buoyed by success, Smith and Eadie decided to extend the

range of quadric cycles and tricycles to include motorcars.

The first Royal Enfield cars were built in 1901 and were

on the road in 1902. It was an 8hp, using a DE Dion

engine. The body was made in Leicester and painted

yellow hence car was known as ‘The Yellow Car’. But this was just a temporary phase, a

wild romance that was soon to die.

1909-Motorcycle Craze

It would be interesting to note here that motorcycling was

thought to be a temporary enthusiasm that would soon

fade out! A brief spin on a motorbike then took several

hours of preparations - tuning the tiny water-cooled engine, getting the tires pumped, the

gears oiled and a supply of spare parts packed. In 1909, Royal Enfield took the biking world

by surprise. At the motorcycle show that year, they displayed a small 2 1/4 hp V twin-engine

machine built in the Swiss tradition, which ran very well. A slightly larger model was

developed in 1911. A 2 3/4 hp, with all chain drive incorporating the well-known Enfield

two-speed gear. This model stood up until 1914.

THE ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES (1911 - 1920)

 1911-Enfield and the War

The First World War began in 1914. Royal Enfield was

called on to supply motorcycles to the British War

Department and even awarded a contract to build bikes

for the Imperial Russian Government during the same period. The machine gun combination

and the 6hp stretcher-carrying outfit were some of the models produced for the war purpose.

Enfield started using its own engines - a 225cc two-stroke single and a 425cc V-twin about

this time. Post-war, it produced a larger 976cc twin and continued to produce the two-speed

225L until 1929. In 1917, the officers of the Women’s Police Force were issued with a 2

1/4RE 2 stroke. Interestingly, the models of this period featured 600cc, inlet-over-exhaust,

closed valve gear, hand-operated oil pump, two-speed countershaft gearbox and chain final

drive. In the 1913-1914 Enfield V-Twin the lubricating oil was contained in a glass tank

attached to the frame tube that ran from the seat to the rear of the engine. This worked

perfectly and had the added advantage of providing an instant visual check of oil levels. The

1915 make 675cc in-line 3-cylinder 2-stroke prototype was the worlds’ first with this

configuration and engine type.

THE INTERWAR YEARS (1921 - 1930)

1924 The First Four-stroke-The interwar year was a

period when the sidecar reached its zenith. In July 1925,

the Royal Enfield V-Twin-engine Dairyman’s Outfit

took part in the ACU Six Days’ Trial for Commercial

Sidecars and obtained a Special Certificate of Merit for

completing an arduous course without loss of marks. The

year 1924 saw the launch of the first Enfield four-stroke 350cc single using a JAP engine.
 1928-The Depression

In 1928, Royal Enfield adopted saddle tanks and center-

spring girder front forks – one of the first companies to do

so. The bikes now with a modern appearance and

comprehensive range meant continuous sales even during

the dark days of depression in Great Britain towards the

end of 1930. In 1927 Royal Enfield produced a 488cc with a four-speed gearbox, a new

225cc side-valve bike in 1928, and a four-stroke single in 1931. Several machines were

produced in the next decade, from a tiny two-stroke 146cc Cycar to an 1140cc V-twin in

1937. Can you even imagine that Royal Enfield’s range for 1930 consisted of 13 models!

ESTABLISHING BULLET (1931 - 1940)

1933 The Bullet Arrives-In 1931 a four-valve, single-

cylinder was introduced, and christened 'Bullet' in 1932. It

had an inclined engine and an exposed valve gear. It was

then that the first use was made of the now famous Bullet

name. Longer stroke, four-valve head exposed valves and heavily finned crank case were the

features that ran from 1932 until the end of 1934.

1940 The Second World War-The most well known

offering for the Second World War was no doubt the

‘Flying Flea’. Also known as the ‘Airborne’, this

lightweight 125cc bike was capable of being dropped by

parachute with airborne troupes. The Flea was fitted into a steel tubular cage called the ‘Bird

Cage’, which had a parachute attached to it. The cage aided in packing turning handlebars

easily.
POST WAR BULLETS (1941 - 1950)

1948 Bigger and Better-The 1939 Bullet 350 kick-

started the post-war models. They used two rocker boxes

for the first time. This enabled better gas flow and

consequently higher volumetric efficiency. Royal

Enfield’s own designed and manufactured telescopic front fork placed the Redditch marquee

at the very forefront of motorcycle design. The biggest advancement introduced by the new

Bullet was its swinging arm rear suspension system and hydraulic damper units themselves.

In 1947 Enfield made a J2 - the first model with a telescopic front end, followed in 1948 by a

500cc twin (Enfield's 25bhp answer to the Triumph Speed Twin), which stayed in production

until 1958.

1949 The Indian Debut-In 1949, the 350cc Bullet was

launched in India, when Madras Motors won an order

from the Indian Army for the supply of motorcycles. It

was the beginning of the reign of the Bullet in the subcontinent. The Madras Motor Company

started off by receiving the Bullet in kits and simply assembling them. Then they began

making the frames. After this Enfield started sending the engine in parts to be assembled in

India. Eventually they were also manufacturing the engines, which meant that they were

making the complete bike. For the next thirty years, the design of their bike remained

unchanged! In 1950, several models were introduced: the 650cc Meteor twin; a 250cc

Clipper; a short stroke 250cc Crusader; 250cc Trials; Super 5; Continental; 500 Sports Twin;

Super Meteor; Constellation and the Interceptor.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1951 - 1960)

1951-In the UK…Never before in British automobile history had so much been done in a

single decade, not just by Royal Enfield, but the every

other marquee of the time. All new engines, all new

configurations, new paint schemes, new capacity

classes… the motorcyclist had never had such a wide

choice ever before. The 1950s saw the market open up both ways, downwards for smaller

capacity, light and maneuverable machines, and upwards for larger capacity, high powered

and reliable motorcycles. The Royal Enfield showrooms in the UK saw everything from

125cc two strokes to the mighty700ccMeteor.

1955-Meanwhile in Madras…The Indian Army, the sole

reason why the Bullet was brought to India in the first place,

insisted that they would continue doing business with Madras

Motors only if the Bullet was produced indigenously. The

Enfield India Bullet of the late fifties was quite a different motorcycle from the one we are

used to today. Using the famed Lucas Magdyno ignition system, the 1955 Bullet was almost

a clone of the 52 Redditch Bullet. The frame, electric tin ware and rolling chassis, however,

were to undergo many changes over the next ten years, with the Bullet slowly evolving into

the familiar form we know and love today.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES. NO… THREE! (1961 - 1970)

1961-Back in the UK…In 1960, the badge arrangement

with Indian (Of America) had ended, so Enfield was no

longer sold under the Indian marquee (Royal Enfield

rival, British AMC company, acquired the Indian Sales

Corp. in 1959). However, in 1961, Eddie Mulder won the Big Bear Enduro on an Enfield,

which

gave the company a new foothold in the U.S. under its own name and started a new

marketing of the product. Models available in the U.S. that year included a 700cc twin and

six street scramblers, ranging from the 250cc Hornet to the 500cc Fury (essentially the single-

cylinder Bullet) to the 700cc Interceptor. Elliot Shulz also dominated the half-mile dirt track

in Los Angeles on an Enfield that year. Enfield won 31 out of 39 races in 1961 and had

several spectacular victories in 1964.Royal Enfield had arrived on The Continent! But things

at Redditch had hit a bad patch.

 1963-But back home in Madras…By 1970, Enfield India was a company established in its

own right, and with a production line going full steam,

the need for collaboration with Enfield of the UK and

Villiers of the UK was no longer seen. But the Bullet

flew true and strong. A number of changes had already

been made to the tin ware on the Bullet. Mudgaurd

design took on different forms, taking into account the wet, slushy and messy road conditions

during the Indian monsoon. The Magdyno also gave way to the alternator ‘Delco’ ignition

system. And front and rear hubs were designed to provide more efficient cooling for Indian

conditions, and thus improve braking performance.

ALL THAT ENFIELD'S ISN'T A BULLET (1971 - 1980)

1973 The Mini Bullet-With the success of the Sherpa,

Enfield India launched the 173cc Villiers-powered

Crusader in India in 1973. A totally indigenous effort,

this small motorcycle used many Bullet chassis parts,

including fork legs and mudguards, and instantly found a market among the many that

wanted a Bullet, but were diffident about handling it’s weight and size. The Mini Bullet too

was introduced this year. This motorcycle was a 200cc two stroke sporting ‘contemporary’

design. Enfield India attempted to reach out to the young market, providing them with a

zippy, reliable and economical two-stroke.

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD (1981 - 1990)

1983 Here comes the Lightweights-Like the adage that

goes, "when the going got tough, that's when the tough

get going". Enfield India got squarely into the fray with a

slew of lightweight machines. The 50cc Silver Plus step-through and Explorer motorcycle are

launched. Powered by the Zundapp-engineered 50cc, 6.5hp two stroke motors, these bikes

redefined the entry-level segment. The Silver Plus, initially a two-speed and then later a three

speed, found a ready market not only among the young office going male, but among an

increasing number of women who found the step-through design convenient. The Explorer,

with its contemporary bikini fairing and 'fastback' tailpiece. Both bikes sported alloy wheels,

a first in India. Close on the heels of the little wonders came the Fury 175. Powered by a 175

Zundapp two-stroke engine with a five-speed gearbox, this refreshingly quick motorcycle

came fitted with a hydraulic disc brake. Again a first in the country. And a bike, many feel,

much too early in INDIA.

1984 Brand New Vintages-The 80s also saw the Bullet in

many different avatars. The Deluxe models appeared, in

resplendent chrome and metallic colors, and 12 volt

electrical were offered as an option, to aid in brighter

lighting and easier starting. It was also the year when

Enfield India grew confident enough about their flagship product to begin sending 'coals back

to Newcastle'. Owing to their status as 'brand new vintages', Enfield Bullets found a strong

niche market in the UK and Europe, among people looking to come back to motorcycling.

ENFIELD BECOMES ROYAL ENFIELD (1991 - 2000)

1990 Heavy Fuel-The 1990's saw many revolutionary models from the company. The Taurus

Diesel was the first production Diesel motorcycle in the world.

1993 Bullet 500-The Bullet 500 was launched in June this

year. It went on to become the most coveted model.

1994 Eicher acquires Enfield-In March the ailing

company got a new lease of life when Eicher group

acquired Enfield India Company. The company name

changed to Royal Enfield Motors Limited.

ROYAL ENFIELD (2001 - 2010)

2001-The Dare Devils, the motorcycle display team of the

Corps of Signals, Jabalpur forms a Human Pyramid of 201 men on 10 Enfield 350cc bikes

and rides a distance of more than 200 meters.

2002- India’s first Cruiser – The ‘THUNDERBIRD’- is

launched.BBC Wheels awards it ‘The Best Cruiser 2002’

title. The Bullet Machismo enters commercial production.

Dan Holmes and Johnny Szoldrak won the National Road Race Championship (60’s Class)

on a Bullet.
2003

The first ‘RIDER MANIA’ gets together is held in Goa.

REDS are formed in Pune.

The Bullet enters the Automotive ‘Hall of Pride’ at the ICICI

Overdrive awards.

1000 Riders descend on Redditch for the Royal Enfield Owners Club 25th Anniversary.

Royal Enfield is one of the top ten 125-500 cc brands in UK.

2004-The 2004 Bullet Electra is launched.

The retro styled Bullet Machismo is rated ‘No.1Cruiser’ in

TNS Auto car survey.The Bullet Electra International with a

lean-burn engine is launched in the UK.34 men ride simultaneously on a Bullet, setting a new

world record.

2005

Royal Enfield India Celebrates 50 glorious years of

motorcycling and unveils a blueprint for the future.

The 2005 Bullet Electra features a revolutionary 5-

Speed left side gear shift that makes the marquee more accessible to motorcyclists. The

Legend rides on…

2006

Royal Enfield develops a fully integrated Twin Spark, 5-Speed engine that delivers a

dramatic increase in performance and efficiency. The new engine will power all domestic and

International models from 2007 onwards.

 2007

Royal Enfield launches the all new limited edition

Machismo 500LB with customized accessories.

The legendary Bullet 350 needs no introduction. Now Bullet 350 is

with all new UCE engine. This classic machine has kept place with

advances in engineering and ergonomics without diluting its

impeccable pedigree. 

 A long wheel base and bigger tires provide increased stability and

road grip, making it ideal for long distance travel.Its aristocratic black & gold livery and

thumping engine beat remind passers-by that they are in the presence of automotive royalty.

2008

The Thunderbird Twins Park will be the first model to

feature Royal Enfield’s revolutionary Unit Construction

Engine. All the well loved features of the Thunderbird

have been retained and enhanced in some cases. Also, the twin benefit of improved

performance and engine efficiency makes this motorcycle hard to beat in terms of pure riding

pleasure and visual delight. The evolutionary mix of old and new features in this motorcycle

will surely delight its owners.

2009
The smaller twin of the Classic 500, the Classic 350 will hold its own against any other

motorcycle and then pull some more. The Classic 350 shares its power plant with the

Legendary Thunderbird. The torque to flatten mountains and the fuel efficiency to cross

entire ranges comes in the same understated yet charming styling. This is a motorcycle that

does not need to shout to be heard. Born of a rich heritage and bred with Royal Elegance this

350cc thumper has all the qualities of a typical Royal Enfield. Appreciated then, appreciated

now...

Why ride a lesser bike. Nothing more to be said.

The Classic 500 comes to India. Armed with a potent fuel injected 500cc engine and clothed

in a disarmingly appealing post war styling, this promises to be the most coveted Royal

Enfield in history. For those who want it all. The power, the fuel efficiency, the reliability and

simple, yet drop dead gorgeous classic styling. The classic turns heads not because it wants to

but because it can’t help it. You will appreciate the beat not just for the music it creates but

also for the muted feeling of strength and power that it signifies. The view is simply better

when you are astride a Royal Enfield Classic 500 – whether moving or still. Nothing more to

be said.
 Army's stunt riders break record- ARMY

PERSONNEL IN BANGALORE SET RECORD OF

CARRYING 48 PERSONS ON ONE BIKE Indian Army

personnel broke a world record by being the only team in the world

to cross a staggering distance of 1000 meters carrying 48 persons on

a single moving 500 cc Royal Enfield motorcycle. 'Tornadoes', the

motorcycle display team of Army Service Corps today broke two world records by being the

only team to achieve a staggering distance of 1100 meters with 54 persons on a single bike.

They broke the record of Corps of Military Police who carried 48 persons on a single moving

500 CC motorcycle here recently. The team while exhibiting extraordinary skill, courage,

endurance and mental strength, entered the annals of record books by performing this

breathtaking feat on a 500 CC Royal Enfield motorcycle at the Runway of Air Force Station

Yelahanka in the presence of a large number of military and civil dignitaries. The 'Tornadoes'

was raised in 1982 after having given a stupendous display of daredevilry in the 1982 Asian

Games. "Since then the men of the Tornadoes Team by their sheer grit, determination and

spirit of adventure have created a niche for themselves by rewriting various records," the

release said. The team at one point of time had achieved the distinction of holding seven

world and national records of varying degrees of complexity and fortitude, it said.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

GENERAL MANAGER
(Proprietor)
 Sales Manager Service Manager Service Manager

Showroom Service Accountant

In charge Supervisor
charge

Team Service Assistant

Manager Staffs Accountant

Sales

Representative

SWOT ANALYSIS

MAJOR PLAYERS IN INDIAN TWO WHEELER MARKET

GROUP PLAYERS ATTRIBUTES COMPETITIVE FORCES

A Bajaj, Hero Honda Highly diversified - High buyer power

Aggressive promotion - High competitive

rivalry

- High entry barriers

B TVS Selectively diversified - Low entry barriers

Aggressive Promotion - Narrow product lines imply

that aggressive promotions can
eat into market share

C Honda, Yamaha Selectively diversified -High threat of

Moderate Promotion substitution (Rs 1 lakh car)

- Low entry barriers

D Royal Enfield Highly specialized - Low buyer power, high brand

loyalty
Low Promotion
- Product diversification will
imply risk of brand dilution

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE TWO WHEELER INDUSTRY

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

 Established brands  Extremely price sensitive

 Strong Brand Name  Short PLC
 Fuel efficient  High R and D costs
 Style statement
 Convenient in heavy traffic
 Cheap and affordable
 Easy and cheap finance availability
 Patents
 Good reputation among customers

OPPURTUNITIES THREATS

 Growing premium segment  The Rs.1 Lakh car

 Increasing dispensable income
 Environmental concerns
 Exports increasing
 Very strong demand in the 100cc.
segment dominated by limited
players.
 Cut throat competition
 Increasing number of players in the
market
 Rising raw material costs
 Increasing rates of interest on finance

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR ROYAL ENFIELD, INDIA

STRENGTHS
 Size and scale of parent
company
 Effective Advertising
Capability
 Committed and dedicated staff
 High emphasis on R and D
 Experience in the market
 Established brand
 Established market channel
 Power, Speed & Acceleration
OPPURTUNITIES
 Growing premium segment
 Global expansion into the
Caribbean & Central America
 Expansion of target market
(include women)
 Increasing dispensable income
 1st mover advantage
CHAPTER 4
WEAKNESSSES
 Small showrooms
 Not much emphasis on
aggressive selling
 Weak product diversity
THREATS
 Cut throat competition
 Increasing number of players in
the market
 Rising raw material costs
 Increasing rates of interest on
finance
DATA ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Age Group No of percentage

Respondents

15 – 20 30 56.6%

21 - 25 20 37.7%

25 and 3 5.7%
above

Total 53 100%

Interpretation
The responses taken were mostly from age group of 15-20 which is 56.6% After this the
age group of 21-25 responded 37.7% followed by the age group of 25 and above which
gave respond of 5.7%.

GENDER DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONENTS

Gender No of percentage
Respondents

Male 44 83%

Female 09 17%

Prefer not to 0 0%
say

total 53 100%
Interpretation

Response to my research questions were answered mostly by male that is 83% followed
by females that is 17%

Q.1 Do you consider other motor cycle while buying the royal Enfield bike?

NO OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENT

YES 27 50.9%

NO 26 49.1%

TOTA 53 100%
L
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 50.9% respondents answered yes and rest of 49.1%
respondents were answered no of above statement

Q.2 Please specify your source of awareness of Royal Enfield while buying your bike?

No of respondents Percentage
Tv Adds 16 30.2%
Newspapers 2 3.8%
Magazines 2 3.8%
Friends 31 58.5%
Long distance rally 1 1.9%
Dream bike 1 1.9%
Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my Research question 1.9%respondents were answered long distance rally

58.2 respondents were answered friends and 30.2% respondents answered Tv Adds
3.8% respondents answered newspaper and 3.8% also answered Magazines 1.9%
respondents answered Dream bike

Q.3 Please specify your bike’s mileage?

Kilometers No of respondents Percentages

45Km/lit& above 17 32.1%

40-45 9 17%

30-35 12 22.6%

35-40 9 17%

Below 30 6 11.3%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my Research Questionnaires 32.1% respondents answered 45km/lit & above ,

17% respondents answered 40-45 and 22.6% respondents answered 30-35 and 17%
respondents were answered 35-40 and rest of respondents answered below30.

Q.4 Which place did you prefer to purchase your Royal Enfield bike?

No of respondents Percentage

Showroom 50 94.3%

Direct second hand 2 3.8%

Used vehicles dealership 1 1.9%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my Research questionnaire 94.3% respondents were answered showroom

and 3.8% respondents were answered direct second hand and rest of 1.9% respondents
were answered used vehicles dealership

Q.5 How about the availability of spare parts?

No of respondents percentage

Readily available 39 73.6%

Don’t get them readily 5 9.4%

Don’t have good spares 4 7.5%

Major headache 5 9.4%

Total 53 100%

Interpretation
According to my research questionnaire 73.6% respondents were answered Readily
available 9.4% respondents were answered Don’t get them readily and 7.5%
respondents were answered Don’t have good spares supply and 9.4% respondents
answered Major headache

Q.6 How does you friend say to your Royal Enfields bike?

No of respondents Percentage
Trendy 20 37.7%
Macho 16 30.2%
High cost 9 17%
Low mileage 3 5.7%
Expensive spare parts 2 3.8%
It royal like it’s name 1 1.9%
Show off 1 1.9%
Baap 1 1.9%
Total 53 100%

Interpretation
According to my research questionnaire 37.7% respondents were answered Trendy
30.2% respondents were answered Macho and 17% respondents answered high cost
and rest of respondents were answered low mileage , expensive spare parts , its royal
like it’s name , show off , and baap etc.

Q.7 What do you think is the major barrier for not purchasing Royal Enfield bikes by
non-bullet riders?

No of respondents Percentage
High maintenance 26 49.1%
Poor after sales 3 5.7%
service
High price 9 17%
Low mileage 4 7.5%
Poor promotion 4 7.5%
Noisy vehicle 7 13.2%
Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 49.1% respondents were answered high

maintenance 5.7% respondents were answered poor after sales service , 17%
respondents were answered high price and 7.5 % respondents answered low mileage
and 7.5% respondents were answered poor promotion and rest of 13.2% respondents
were answered Noisy vehicle.

Q.8 Where do you service your Royal Enfield bikes?

Number of Percentage
respondents
Showroom 30 56.6%

Well known 14 26.4%

bullet mechanic

Nearby garage 7 13.2%

Self Service 2 3.8%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 56.6%respondents were answered showroom

and 26.4% respondents were answered well known bullet mechanic and 13.2% were
answered nearby garage and rest of respondents were answered self service.

Q.9 Do you agree that company takes action towards the complaints lodged by the
customer?

No of Percentage
respondents

Yes 40 75.5%

No 13 24.5%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 75.5% respondents were answered yes and rest
of 24.5% respondents were answered no. of above statement

Q.10 How many times have you suggested your friends or relative to purchase of Royal
Enfield bikes?

Number of Percentage
respondents
1-2 22 41.5%

3-4 11 20.8%

More than 5 20 37.7%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 41.5% respondents were answered 1-2, 20.8%

respondents were answered 3-4 and rest of 37.7% were answered more then 5. of above
statement.

Q.11 Would you like to participate in the Rider Mania organized by the Royal Enfield
club?

No of Percentage
respondents

Yes 38 71.7%

No 15 28.3%

Total 53 100%
Interpretation

According to my research questionnaire 71.7% respondents were answered yes and

28.3% respondents were answered no of above statement.

CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

FINDINGS

1. It is revealed that majority of users are between 20 to 29 years. From this we can

conclude younger generation and middle age are more interested in Royal Enfield may

be because this is the age where they start earning.

2. It is clear that most of the users of Royal Enfield are males mostly because of the

manly look of the bikes.

3. Users are mostly Professional males, 20-35 years of age including some students

because of the looks and power of the bike.

4. Royal Enfield is placing their products in the appropriate price range. As the people of

this income bracket less than 1,20,000 can easily afford this Bike.

5. Customers are not attracted to only one particular model due to the variants available

and because the Classic 500/350 is the newly released models they are fast moving

now.

6. Customers are easily affording the price of Royal Enfield bikes and they are not

feeling much problem with the amount and purchasing way of most of the customers is

leading in cash sector.

7. Majority of the customers directly chose Royal Enfield as their bike and dint even have

a look at the nearest alternative bike and this shows the loyalty of the customers

towards the brand Royal Enfield.

8. Advertisements are rarely recalled and are highly ineffective amongst non-Bullet

riders. It’s clear that Royal Enfield should concentrate on its advertising campaign to

reach the customers.

9. It clearly shows that mileage of the Royal Enfield bikes is economical & mileage

between 35 and 40 that too on Indian roads with heavy traffic is a great deal.

10. Most of the Royal Enfield bikes doesn’t breakdown at all, it is not problematic and not

involved into repair always.

11. It is clear that most of the respondents prefer to buy their bike brand new from

showroom only and majority of the customers are very much satisfied with the place of

purchase of their Royal Enfield bike. This also shows there is more demand for new

bikes.
12. It is clear that majority of the respondents are satisfied with spare parts availability

and we can say that Royal Enfield has good distribution channel for spare parts in the

city.

13. It is clear that majority of the people who choose Royal Enfield as their bike doesn’t

have any problems or issues with their bike’s performance.

14. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with their bikes power and pick up. This

shows Royal Enfield has an excellent satisfaction level within the customer

15. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with their bikes comfort and safety. This

shows Royal Enfield has an excellent satisfaction level within the customers.

16. Majority of the respondents are satisfied with their after sales service and few

respondents are not at all satisfied. This shows Royal Enfield has a good satisfaction

level within the customers.

17. It is clear that People who choose not to buy Bullets do so because of low promotion,

high price and maintenance. So Royal Enfield should concentrate on their promotional

campaigns and make sure it reaches the common man.

18. It is clear that most of the respondents service their bikes in the showrooms and also

with a well known bullet mechanic. There is no much difference but this shows people

have less trust with the showroom service.

19. Most of the respondents agree that the company takes action towards the complaints

lodged by the customers and also the satisfaction level of the customers is very high.

This shows Royal Enfield checks at the complaints registered by their customers on

regular basis to maintain its brand value.

 20. Majority of the respondents are very much interested in Rider Mania and also shows

that respondents are very passionate Enfield fans.

CONCLUSION

The study has helped Royal Enfield dealers to understand whether the customers are
satisfied or not. If not what are main reasons for dissatisfaction of customer towards the
dealer and what are the ways of improving the satisfaction level of customer towards dealer.

We can conclude younger generation and middle age are more interested in Royal
Enfield, the buying behavior is governed predominantly by the need for Power and respect
for the iconic Brand and users are mostly Professional Males, 20-35 years of age, including
some students. Most of the customers are attracted to newly released Classic 350/500, also
customers are easily affording the price of Royal Enfield bikes and customers are very loyal
towards the brand Royal Enfield.

Royal Enfield should concentrate on its advertising campaign to reach the customers,
mileage of the Royal Enfield bikes is very economical and most of them prefer to buy their
bike brand new from showroom with the spare parts available in market easily.

Royal Enfield has an excellent satisfaction level within the customer for its power,
pick up, comfort, safety and with after sales service.

CHAPTER 6

SUGGESTIONS

SUGGESTIONS

 Aggressive selling- The Company should follow an aggressive selling concept. A

non-aggressive selling concept which is clearly visible in its advertising campaign

 which does not hit on the customer rather aims to provide information in a subtle

manner.

 Promotional campaign- The Royal Enfield ads seen on electronic and print media are

absolutely out of touch with the Indian culture and thought process. An Indian

consumer irrespective of their income level has a soft corner for traditions and culture

of India. Hence, all companies including market leaders like Hero Honda and Bajaj

capitalize on this behavior of customers and design their ad campaigns keeping India

in mind.

 Weak follow up from dealerships- It was observed during the study that Royal Enfield

was quite weak in following up with prospective customers.

 Measures should be taken to improve its dealership- Showrooms are very small in

size and do not reflect the quality and scale of Royal Enfield in the market.

 Should improve the after sales service- During the survey it was found that Royal

Enfield is not satisfying all their customers in after sales services, employees at

dealership sometimes use harsh words and become rude to the customers, parts of the

bike are not easily available in the market. This is the major drawback in capturing the

market share so Royal Enfield should take some better steps to satisfy and retain their

customers.

 Increase in customer query response- During the study it was found that dealers are

not satisfying the queries of customers and so suggested to increase customer query

response by dealers.

 Youth oriented promotion- Company should focus more on younger generation as it

can increase sales and market share in Bangalore.

 Purchasing way of customers- Customers are easily affording the price of Royal

Enfield bikes and they are not feeling much problem with the amount. But the
 company should also take some steps towards making purchase easier through bank

loans and EMI’s.

 Marketing communication- It should focus on satisfying the needs for Respect,

Power, Safety and Comfort.

 Brand ambassador- A non-flamboyant well-built brand ambassador may be chosen to

represent the Brand. It is necessary for Royal Enfield to have a brand ambassador

from India to connect with the Indian customer.

 Build iconic status- Royal Enfield should concentrate on building around the iconic

status it already enjoys if it plans to attract customers migrating to other

manufacturers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Referred

 Marketing Management, 13th edition - Philip Kotler

 Survey Research Methods - Charles Babbie

 Magazines Referred

 The Bullet-In, The Magazine For All Royal Enfield Bullet Enthusiasts.

 Royal Enfield Magazine, The BEAT.

Websites Referred

 www.google.com

 www.royalenfield.com

 www.wikipedia.org

 www.enfieldmotorcycles.com

Questionnaires

Q.1 Do you consider other motor cycle while buying the royal Enfield bike?

 Yes

 No
Q.2 Please specify your source of awareness of Royal Enfield while buying your bike?

 Tv Adds
 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Friends
 Long distance rally
 Dream bike

Q.3 Please specify your bike’s mileage?

 45km/lit & above

 40-45
 30-35
 35-40
 Below 30

Q.4 Which place did you prefer to purchase your Royal Enfield bike?

 Showroom
 Direct Second hand
 Used vehicle dealership

Q.5 How about the availability of spare parts?

 Readily available
 Don’t get them readily
 Don’t have good spares supply
 Major headache

Q.6 How does your friend say to your Royal Enfield bike?

 Trendy
 Macho
 High cost
 Low mileage
 Expensive spare parts
 Baap
 Show off
 It royal its name
Q.7 What do you think is the major barrier for not purchasing Royal Enfield bikes by
non-bullet riders?

 High maintenance
 Poor after sales service
 High price
 Low mileage
 Poor promotion
 Noisy vehicle

Q.8 Where do you service your Royal Enfield bikes?

 Showroom
 Well known bullet mechanic
 Nearby garage
 Self service

Q.9 Do you agree that company takes action towards the complaints lodged by the
customer?

 Yes
 No

Q.10 How many times have you suggested your friends or relative to purchase of Royal
Enfield bikes?

 1-2
 3-4
 More then 5

Q.11 Would you like to participate in the Rider Mania organized by the Royal
Enfield club?

 Yes
 No