“A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS CEMENT

PRODUCTS WITH REFERENCE TO AMBUJA CEMENT LTD”

Project submitted to

BPUT

In partial fulfillment of the requirement of the

Master of Business Administration

Submitted By

ABHISHEK KUMAR

(Raged. No. 2006298001)

Under the guidance of

Dr. DEBARAJ MISHRA

DEPARTMENT OF THE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Gandhi Institute for Technology

(Affiliated to BPUT), ROURKELA ODISHA

2020-2022

1
 DECLARATION

I ABHISHEK KUMAR (Regd.NO.2006298001) studying MBA final year in GANDHI

INSTITUTE FOR TECHONOLOGY, hereby declare that this project report by name “A STUDY
ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS CEMENT PRODUCTS WITH REFERENCE
TO AMBUJA CEMENT“ has been prepared with due diligence maintain full originality, as a part
of partial fulfilment for the award of the Master in Business Administration.

Date: ABHISHEK KUMAR

Place: Bhubaneswar (Regd. NO. 2006298001)

2
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that the Project Report titled “A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
TOWARDSCEMENT PRODUCTS WITH REFERENCE TO AMBUJA CEMENT” has been
successfully completed by ABHISHEK KUMAR under the guidance of SUJIT KUMAR
GOSWAMI in recognition to the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of MASTER OF
BUSINESS ADMINISTARTION (MBA) Gandhi Institute for technology, Bhubaneswar.

Internal Guide External Guide

Dr. DEBARAJ MISHRA Sir. SUJIT KUMAR GOWSAMI
Prof & Dean (Marketing) Senior executive
Gandhi Institute for Technology KANTAR Operations (IMRB)

ACKNKOWLEDGEMEN

3
I would like to express my gratitude for all the people, who extended unending Support at all stages
of the project. I take this opportunity to thank our Dean Dr. DEBARAJ MISHRA, and Head of the
department B.K.N STAYPATI This report is a product of not only my sincere efforts but also the
guidance and morale support given by the management of Gandhi Institute for Technology. I express
my sincere gratitude to my guide SUJIT KUMAR GOSWAMI for sparing his valuable time in
giving the valuable information and suggestions all through, for the successful completion of the
project.

ABHISHEK KUMAR

CONTENTS

CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION PAGE NO.

1.1 General 07
1.2 Organization profile 07
1.3 Need of the study 13
1.4 Scope of the study 13
1.5 Industry profile 14

4
 1.6 Company profile 24

CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 28

CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

AND DESIGN
3.1 Type of Research 35
3.2 Research Objectives 35
3.3 Research Instrument 35
3.4 Questionnaire design 36
3.5 Data collection 36
3.6 Sample procedure 36
3.7 Period of the study 37
3.8 Sample size 37
3.9 Pilot survey 37
3.10 Limitation of the study 37
CHAPTER-4 DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
4.1 Data analysis 42
CHAPTER-5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.1 General Findings 54
CHAPTER-6 SUGGESTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Recommendation 55
6.2 Conclusion 57
CHAPTER-7 Bibliography 59
Annexure 60 - 61

5
 CHAPTER - I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 General:

6
A market survey is a tool used to gather information about existing or customers satisfaction in a
certain market or population. Researchers select a sample of customers from the population. The
information from the survey is then used to assess attitudes and beliefs, and in turn predict market
behavior. Marketing is a social process by which Dealers, builders, architecture individuals
Consumers obtain what they need & want through creating offering, & freely offering product &
services of value with other. It is the art & science of choosing target makers & getting keeping &
growing customers through creating delivering & communicating superior customer value.
Consumers have their own way of making purchase decisions.
Today in the market there is tough competition and the technologies are changing day by day, to
become successful in modern market the business organization have to be customer orientated
organization have to look after for building customers.
The information about the market was gathered by visiting customers in the market. While doing the
project attempt was made to get correct information from the customers in the market. After
collecting the detailed information about the market analysis has to be done, the finding and result of
the project work is given later in research report.

1.2 Organization Profile :

KANTAR IMRB (formerly IMRB International) is a market research, survey and business
consultancy firm. Headquartered in Mumbai, India with operations in over 15 countries IMRB is
a part of the Kantar Group, WPP’s research, insights, and consultancy network.

Established in 1970, KANTAR IMRB was modeled on the lines of the British Market Research
Bureau. IMRB provides market research and insights across South Asia, the Middle East and
North Africa with specialist divisions in quantitative, qualitative, media, retail, industrial,
customer satisfaction, business to business and social and rural research. KANTAR IMRB’s
syndicated research offerings include the Market Pulse, the National Food Survey, Web
Audience Measurement (WAM), ITOps, and I-Cube reports.

With over 1200 employees, KANTAR IMRB is one of the largest providers of market research in
India in an industry estimated to be worth a minimum of $ 187 million. As the oldest extant
market research company in India, KANTAR IMRB has been responsible for establishing the
first and only household panel, the first television audience measurement system and the first
radio panel in the country and has played a key role in the development of market research in
India. It has been rated the 'Best Market Research Company' by industry body Market Research
Society of India (MRSI) for several years.

KANTAR IMRB's specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, business to
business marketing, social marketing, and rural marketing.

7
Kantar is a data and evidence-based agency providing insights and actionable recommendations
to clients, worldwide. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of people around
the world: how they think, feel and act, globally and locally in over 90 markets. We don’t just
help clients understand what’s happened, we tell them why and how they can shape the future.
Kantar IMRB is a highly reputed market research and consumer consulting organization. Kantar
IMRB partners its clients across the entire brand life-cycle through a unique mix of innovation and
analytical thinking to design customized solutions that deliver the greatest impact.

Kantar IMRB’s suites of solutions are designed on frugal, agile innovation and add value, real value,
to help clients make impactful decisions. By leveraging on its large array of syndicated services and
specialist divisions, Kantar IMRB helps clients in crafting marketing and consumer strategies. Kantar
IMRB has created products and frameworks for global clients using the expertise and knowledge of
emerging markets.
Kantar IMRB prides itself on developing and setting industry standards and continued focus on
innovation. This ability to blend innovation and analytical thinking to design custom solutions for its
clients has led to strong and rewarding relationships. Perhaps, this is why its top five clients have
been with the company for over 25 years.
Kantar IMRB is an eight-time recipient of “Agency of the Year”; Kantar IMRB’s footprint extends
to 49 offices across the world, servicing clients in 67 countries.

Mission & vision:

 Our vision at Kantar is to be a brand that inspires success. We want to inspire success in your
business, by bringing consumer and shopper insights to the heart of your decision-making
process. We also want to inspire success in our people, by becoming a unique place to
develop talent. Working as one with you and with our global experts is an essential part of
this vision.

 Kantar is the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company. We help clients
understand people and inspire growth.

Origins and history of KANTAR :

IMRB was established in 1971 (official start date 15 March 1971), to provide market research
services to the clients of Hindustan Thompson Associates, although work was going on from an
earlier date (as early as 1967). Early clients included fast-moving consumer goods companies such as
Unilever, ITC, Pond’s, and Hurlock’s. The initial decade saw rapid expansion into new areas of
business, with the first qualitative study being conducted by the end of the decade, and IMRB

8
pioneering psychology in India through an ongoing series of opinion poll surveys for India Today,
that successfully predicted Congress’ victory in the 1980 general election.

Subsequent decades saw the development of new verticals, with the creation of specialized units and
the offering of several syndicated research products. IMRB also played an important role in the
standardization of market research practice in India, and was responsible for the creation in 1983 of
the Socio-Economic Classification system, a method now used across India to define target
audiences. In 1987, as a founder member of the MRSI, it helped evolve industry wide codes of
conduct, and standards for survey data collection that are still in use today.

With the global acquisition of J. Walter Thompson by Sir Martin Sorrell in 1987, IMRB became a
constituent of WPP and continued its pace of growth, growing over 25% per annum through the
1990s under the leadership of Ramesh Thadani. The 1990s saw the creation of specialized units
focusing on development research, employee satisfaction, loyalty programs, technology and media
and the acquisition of several new multinational clients. IMRB's insights also played a role in the
development of several new products for major Indian brands such as Marico, Bingo Chips, Godrej
and Dabur and by this time supported 40 out of top 50 brands in India.

In 2002, as part of a process of rebranding, it changed its name from the Indian Market Research
Bureau to IMRB International, adopted a new logo, and began a process of rapidly expanding its
international services. This was accompanied by a shift from its offices at Esplanade Mansion to its
current premises in Dadar, Mumbai. As part of geographical expansion, IMRB helped set up LMRB
in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1981 and AMRB in 1999 with headquarters in Dubai and offices
throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

In 1996, along with the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) IMRB
initiated the periodic ITOPS survey which monitors the IT hardware market among households and
businesses. Since 1998, in collaboration with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI),
an industry body IMRB also started providing a series of annual syndicated research reports named
I-Cube which surveys the online and mobile landscape in India. More recently, in 2010 IMRB
launched the Web Audience Measurement (WAM) system, India’s first standardized internet
audience measurement system based on a panel.

Kantar is the Data Investment Management division of WPP and one of the world's largest insight,
information and consultancy groups. It was founded in 1993 and consists of a network of 12
specialized operating brands, with around 30,000 employees working in 100 countries in various
researches, insight and consultancy disciplines. Its global headquarters are in London, UK. Eric
Salama is the current Chief Executive Officer. In September 2016, Kantar rebranded its operating
brands visual identities and added the Kantar prefix to brand names. Major competitors include Gaff,
Nielsen.

The idea of marketing research was developed in the late 1920‟s by a man named Daniel Starch.
This is about the same time that advertising was introduced in the United States. At that time,
copywriters would write what they thought an ad should be, publish the ad, and then hope that
readers would act upon the information provided. During the early 1930‟s Daniel Starch developed
the theory that effective advertising must be seen, read, believed, remembered, and then acted upon.
Soon after, he developed a research company that would interview people in the streets, asking them
9
if they read certain publications. If they did, his researchers would show them the magazines and ask
if they recognized or remembered any of the ads found in them. After collecting the data, he then
compared the number of people he interviewed with the circulation of the magazine to figure out
how effective those ads were in reaching their readers. Thus surveying or marketing research was
born.
As time went on, many marketing research companies began to emerge and began following Starch’s
example and worked to improve his techniques. A man by the name of George Gallup developed a
rival system that was known as the “aided recall” which prompted people interviewed to recall the
ads seen in a publication, without actually showing them the ads. This rival system was later used to
measure the effectiveness of radio and television advertising. In the late 1980‟s a man named Ronald
Lindorf founded what would be the largest marketing research companies in the United States,
Western Wats. The focus of Western Wats was to leverage the current technology of W.A.T.S.
telephone lines to conduct survey research. There was no longer a need to interview people on the
streets or to organize and conduct focus groups. A representative in a call canter could collect all of
the data desired. This greatly increased the number of surveys collected each year and again,
improved the marketing research model tenfold. Over the last 5 to 10 years marketing research has
taken another great leap in terms of how it is collected. Yes, it is still collected via survey research;
however, it is mostly collected via surveys over an internet connection.

Company structure:
IMRB is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Its parent company is Hindustan Thompson Associates,
which in turn is owned by Martin Sorrell's WPP Group plc. Within WPP, IMRB is aligned with
the Kantar Group, an umbrella network of global market research companies that together account
for over $2 billion in revenues and form the world’s second biggest market research conglomerate.

1.2 Organization Profile :

KANTAR IMRB (formerly IMRB International) is a market research, survey and business
consultancy firm. Headquartered in Mumbai, India with operations in over 15 countries IMRB is
a part of the Kantar Group, WPP’s research, insights, and consultancy network.

Established in 1970, KANTAR IMRB was modeled on the lines of the British Market Research
Bureau. IMRB provides market research and insights across South Asia, the Middle East and
North Africa with specialist divisions in quantitative, qualitative, media, retail, industrial,
customer satisfaction, business to business and social and rural research. KANTAR IMRB’s
syndicated research offerings include the Market Pulse, the National Food Survey, Web
Audience Measurement (WAM), ITOps, and I-Cube reports.

10
With over 1200 employees, KANTAR IMRB is one of the largest providers of market research in
India in an industry estimated to be worth a minimum of $ 187 million. As the oldest extant
market research company in India, KANTAR IMRB has been responsible for establishing the
first and only household panel, the first television audience measurement system and the first
radio panel in the country and has played a key role in the development of market research in
India. It has been rated the 'Best Market Research Company' by industry body Market Research
Society of India (MRSI) for several years.

KANTAR IMRB's specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, business to
business marketing, social marketing, and rural marketing.

Kantar is a data and evidence-based agency providing insights and actionable recommendations
to clients, worldwide. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of people around
the world: how they think, feel and act, globally and locally in over 90 markets. We don’t just
help clients understand what’s happened, we tell them why and how they can shape the future.
Kantar IMRB is a highly reputed market research and consumer consulting organization. Kantar
IMRB partners its clients across the entire brand life-cycle through a unique mix of innovation and
analytical thinking to design customized solutions that deliver the greatest impact.

Kantar IMRB’s suites of solutions are designed on frugal, agile innovation and add value, real value,
to help clients make impactful decisions. By leveraging on its large array of syndicated services and
specialist divisions, Kantar IMRB helps clients in crafting marketing and consumer strategies. Kantar
IMRB has created products and frameworks for global clients using the expertise and knowledge of
emerging markets.
Kantar IMRB prides itself on developing and setting industry standards and continued focus on
innovation. This ability to blend innovation and analytical thinking to design custom solutions for its
clients has led to strong and rewarding relationships. Perhaps, this is why its top five clients have
been with the company for over 25 years.
Kantar IMRB is an eight-time recipient of “Agency of the Year”; Kantar IMRB’s footprint extends
to 49 offices across the world, servicing clients in 67 countries.

Mission & vision:

 Our vision at Kantar is to be a brand that inspires success. We want to inspire success in your
business, by bringing consumer and shopper insights to the heart of your decision-making
process. We also want to inspire success in our people, by becoming a unique place to
develop talent. Working as one with you and with our global experts is an essential part of
this vision.

 Kantar is the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company. We help clients
understand people and inspire growth.

11
Origins and history of KANTAR
IMRB was established in 1971 (official start date 15 March 1971), to provide market research
services to the clients of Hindustan Thompson Associates, although work was going on from an
earlier date (as early as 1967). Early clients included fast-moving consumer goods companies such as
Unilever, ITC, Pond’s, and Hurlock’s. The initial decade saw rapid expansion into new areas of
business, with the first qualitative study being conducted by the end of the decade, and IMRB
pioneering psychology in India through an ongoing series of opinion poll surveys for India Today,
that successfully predicted Congress’ victory in the 1980 general election.

Subsequent decades saw the development of new verticals, with the creation of specialized units and
the offering of several syndicated research products. IMRB also played an important role in the
standardization of market research practice in India, and was responsible for the creation in 1983 of
the Socio-Economic Classification system, a method now used across India to define target
audiences. In 1987, as a founder member of the MRSI, it helped evolve industry wide codes of
conduct, and standards for survey data collection that are still in use today.

With the global acquisition of J. Walter Thompson by Sir Martin Sorrell in 1987, IMRB became a
constituent of WPP and continued its pace of growth, growing over 25% per annum through the
1990s under the leadership of Ramesh Thadani. The 1990s saw the creation of specialized units
focusing on development research, employee satisfaction, loyalty programs, technology and media
and the acquisition of several new multinational clients. IMRB's insights also played a role in the
development of several new products for major Indian brands such as Marico, Bingo Chips, Godrej
and Dabur and by this time supported 40 out of top 50 brands in India.

In 2002, as part of a process of rebranding, it changed its name from the Indian Market Research
Bureau to IMRB International, adopted a new logo, and began a process of rapidly expanding its
international services. This was accompanied by a shift from its offices at Esplanade Mansion to its
current premises in Dadar, Mumbai. As part of geographical expansion, IMRB helped set up LMRB
in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1981 and AMRB in 1999 with headquarters in Dubai and offices
throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

In 1996, along with the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) IMRB
initiated the periodic ITOPS survey which monitors the IT hardware market among households and
businesses. Since 1998, in collaboration with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI),
an industry body IMRB also started providing a series of annual syndicated research reports named
I-Cube which surveys the online and mobile landscape in India. More recently, in 2010 IMRB
launched the Web Audience Measurement (WAM) system, India’s first standardized internet
audience measurement system based on a panel.

12
Kantar is the Data Investment Management division of WPP and one of the world's largest insight,
information and consultancy groups. It was founded in 1993 and consists of a network of 12
specialized operating brands, with around 30,000 employees working in 100 countries in various
researches, insight and consultancy disciplines. Its global headquarters are in London, UK. Eric
Salama is the current Chief Executive Officer. In September 2016, Kantar rebranded its operating
brands visual identities and added the Kantar prefix to brand names. Major competitors include Gaff,
Nielsen.

The idea of marketing research was developed in the late 1920‟s by a man named Daniel Starch.
This is about the same time that advertising was introduced in the United States. At that time,
copywriters would write what they thought an ad should be, publish the ad, and then hope that
readers would act upon the information provided. During the early 1930‟s Daniel Starch developed
the theory that effective advertising must be seen, read, believed, remembered, and then acted upon.
Soon after, he developed a research company that would interview people in the streets, asking them
if they read certain publications. If they did, his researchers would show them the magazines and ask
if they recognized or remembered any of the ads found in them. After collecting the data, he then
compared the number of people he interviewed with the circulation of the magazine to figure out
how effective those ads were in reaching their readers. Thus surveying or marketing research was
born.
As time went on, many marketing research companies began to emerge and began following Starch’s
example and worked to improve his techniques. A man by the name of George Gallup developed a
rival system that was known as the “aided recall” which prompted people interviewed to recall the
ads seen in a publication, without actually showing them the ads. This rival system was later used to
measure the effectiveness of radio and television advertising. In the late 1980‟s a man named Ronald
Lindorf founded what would be the largest marketing research companies in the United States,
Western Wats . The focus of Western Wats was to leverage the current technology of W.A.T.S.
telephone lines to conduct survey research. There was no longer a need to interview people on the
streets or to organize and conduct focus groups. A representative in a call canter could collect all of
the data desired. This greatly increased the number of surveys collected each year and again,
improved the marketing research model tenfold. Over the last 5 to 10 years marketing research has
taken another great leap in terms of how it is collected. Yes, it is still collected via survey research;
however, it is mostly collected via surveys over an internet connection.

Company structure:
IMRB is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Its parent company is Hindustan Thompson Associates,
which in turn is owned by Martin Sorrell's WPP Group plc. Within WPP, IMRB is aligned with
the Kantar Group, an umbrella network of global market research companies that together account
for over $2 billion in revenues and form the world’s second biggest market research conglomerate.

13
A diagrammatic chart representing IMRB's ownership structure:
In India, IMRB International operates out of its five full service offices in Ahmadabad,
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore and is supported by 15 other regional centers for
collection of survey information. Overseas, IMRB functions through its associates AMRB-MENA in
the Middle East and North Africa, with offices in Algiers, Dubai, Jeddah, Casablanca and Cairo; and
LMRB, with offices in Colombo and Sirius, headquartered in Dhaka.
IMRB is currently headed by Preeti Reddy. As the oldest market research company in India, it has
served as the training ground of many industry leaders including Dorab Sopariwala, Ranjit Chib and
Meena Kaushik, who went on to found their own companies

SWOT ANALYSIS:

14
STRENGTH:

1. The world's leading research, data and insight companies

2. Plans to transform data into insights
3. Conducts large scale of studies
4. Brand presence across verticals
5. Brand presence across geographic areas
6. Nearly 30,000 people are employed with the organization
7. Its subsidiaries include IMRB, Added Value, Light speed Research etc.

A diagrammatic chart representing IMRB's ownership structure:

In India, IMRB International operates out of its five full service offices in Ahmadabad,
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore and is supported by 15 other regional centers for
collection of survey information. Overseas, IMRB functions through its associates AMRB-MENA in
the Middle East and North Africa, with offices in Algiers, Dubai, Jeddah, Casablanca and Cairo; and
LMRB, with offices in Colombo and Sirius, headquartered in Dhaka.
IMRB is currently headed by Preeti Reddy. As the oldest market research company in India, it has
served as the training ground of many industry leaders including Dorab Sopariwala, Ranjit Chib and
Meena Kaushik, who went on to found their own companies

15
SWOT ANALYSIS:

STRENGTH:
1. The world's leading research, data and insight companies
2. Plans to transform data into insights
3. Conducts large scale of studies
4. Brand presence across verticals
5. Brand presence across geographic areas
6. Nearly 30,000 people are employed with the organization
7. Its subsidiaries include IMRB, Added Value, Light speed Research etc.

16
S
G
N
E
R
T
H
Weakness:-

1. Sometimes not providing proper data of the clients.

2. Delay in payment of freelancer.
3. Presence of many consulting companies means limited market share.
4. Brand recall is lesser compared to some global consulting companies.

Opportunities:-

17
1. Build a solid brand image.
2. Stay away from controversies.
3. Conducting research with full care so as to avoid discrepancies.
4. More advertising & brand building can boost business.

Threat:-

1. Overhaul of the business model.

2. Acquisitions by more established players.
3. Consumer faith issues.

1.3 NEED OF THE STUDY:

Customer is one for whom you satisfy and or need return for some of payment. The payment may be
money may be time or may be goodwill but there is some form of payment Satisfaction is the level
of person felt state by comparing products perceive in relation’s expectations.

Satisfaction level is function of the difference between perceived performance and expectations. If
the performance falls short of expectation, the customer is not satisfied. If the performance matches
the customers are highly satisfied. If the performance is beyond his expectations the customer is
thrilled.

Customer satisfaction is customer’s positive or negative feeling about the value that was perceived as
are salt of using particular organization.

 To knowing the perception of the customers.

 To finding out the effective and ineffective factors of AMBUJA cement.

 To knowing the current position of the AMBUJA cement in cement industry.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

18
 This study includes direct interaction with the customers and this helps to know the customer
satisfaction level to great accuracy. This study is of importance to the company which will know the
following factors:-

a. price factors
b. fineness of the cement
c. setting time
d. attractive packaging
e. brand image
f. quick delivery time
g. wide availability

1.4 INDUSTRY PROFILE

INTRODUCTION

The Indian Cement Industry is the world’s second largest producer of cement in the world just
behind China, but ahead of the United States and Japan. But, per capita production and consumption
are low as compared to the world standards. On the technological front, Indian cement Industry can
be regarded as highly competitive and is comparable with the best in the world in terms of quality
standards, fuel consumption etc. Indian cement plants, which depended heavily on wet technologies
in the sixties and seventies, have subsequently shifted to modern energy efficient dry technologies.
This trend is more perceptible in the last decade. The latest surge in the demand for cement is driven
by the boom in the housing sector and infrastructure sector. It is consented to be Acores sector
accounting for approximately 1.3% of GDP and employing over 0.14 million people. The post
deregulation scenario is marked by major reorganization of many of the capacities in the Indian
cement industry. Consolidation has become the latest buzzword of the industry. Acquisitions,
mergers and demergers have been the order of the day for the industry. Many major Indian players
have acquired small companies and MNCs have also entered the industry through have acquisitions
route.

EXPORT:

19
The export of Indian cement has increased over the years mostly after decontrol, giving the
much-required boost to the industry. The demand for cement is a derived demand, for it depends
on industrial activity, real state, and construction activity. Since growth is taking place all over
the world in these sectors, Indian export of cement is also increasing. India has an immense
potential to tap cement markets of countries in the Middle East and South East Asia due to its
strengths of location advantage, large-scale limestone and coal deposits, adequate cement
capacity and production of world-class quality of cement with the latest technology.
Hence, the firm sin the industry are capitalizing on the opportunities, provided by the
government accompanied by favorable economic conditions. This is evident by the data, which
shows negative ACG Rof-5.52% in the control period because of highly protected markets. The
average export volume in the period was around only 1.7lakh tones cement. As the industry
was decontrolled and economy open up, cement exports started making rapid strides.

PERCAPITA CONSUMPTION:

The precipitance on gumption of 125 kg in the year 2012-13, compares poorly with the world
average of over 350 kg and more than 660 kg in China. Similarly in Japan it is 631 kg/capita
while in France it is 447kg/capita. The process of catching up with international average
emphasizes the tremendous scope for growth in the Indian cement industry in the long term.
Also, one of the reasons for strong interests how by the foreign players in India is due to it
slower precipitance on assumption of cement.

PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION:
India is producing different varieties of cement, based on different composition
according to specific end uses, like Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC), Portal and Pozzolana
Cement(PPC), Portal and Blast Furnace Slag Cement(PBFS), Oil Well C e m e n t , Rapid
Hardening Portland cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement and White Cement etc. The
basic difference lies in the percentage of clinker used. These different varieties of cement are
produced strictly under BIS (Bureau of International Standards) specifications and the quality is
comparable with the best in the world.
Indian environment of growing competition with eased in the posted control era, one of the
major developments has been the introduction of higher grades of cement. Grade is the 28 days
compressive strength of Ordinary Portland cement, when tested as per Indian Standards under

20
standard conditions.
Depending upon the strength requirement, OPC is thus classified as OPC-33 grade, OPC-43
grade and OPC-53 grade. However, realization is growing fast amongst the consumers at large,
that the properties of durability are of greater importance than strength.

HISTORY OF GRADES OF CEMENT:

In the earlier days, we had only one cement ordinary Portland cement. Subsequently, the availability
in abundance of fly ash in thermal power stations and slag in steel plants led to the production of
pozzolana cement and slag cement to conserve energy in the production of cement and to utilize the
available by-products. India was perhaps one of the few countries which produced as much as 76 per
cent of the total cement produced as blended cement, which is the common name of pozzolanic
cement as well as slag cements as early as in 1982. Then the industry was under the control of
controller of cements. After de-control, the production of ordinary Portland cement increased and
consequently the percentage of blended cement came down, currently it is somewhere around 30 per
cent.
The introduction of precast /prestressed sleepers for the railways necessitated the production of a
special grade ordinary portl and cement because with the then available cement, it was not possible
to obtain the desired strength as well as the rate of gain of strength for the production of sleepers.
Cement industry was permitted to manufacture the special grade ordinary portl and cement and it
was commonly known as sleeper cement. Subsequently, the Bureau of Indian Standards came
forward to grade the ordinary Portland cement into grade 33 cement, grade43 cement and grade53
cement. This grading closely followed the U.K. grading which was 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 as well as
62.5, some of Indian companies are also trying to make and persuade the Bureau of Indian Standards
to introduce grade 63.

These higher grades of cements are specifically introduced to cater to the needs of the industry
engaged in the construction of long span bridges, high rise structures and other structures of gigantic
magnitude requiring high grades of concretes. With the cement then available, it was very difficult to
design a mix for obtaining concrete of grade 4.5 and above commonly used in such structures.
Hence, Bureau of Indian Standards classified ordinary portly and cement into the above 3 grades that
is now available in the market.

21
After total de-control of cement industry in 1989 and abolishing of licensing system for setting up of
cement plants in 1992, there has been phenomenal growth in the production of cement. With the
many fold increase in the production of cement, cement manufacturers adopted an aggressive
marketing strategy, each projecting their product as the best. Manufacturers of 53 grade cement
invaded the market and created an impression amongst the consumers that 53 grade OPC could be
used by them as it is the best cement and grade 33 and grade 43 cements, are inferior.

In fact, all cements are one and the same but for minor changes in the characteristics.

 Grade 33 cements would meet the structural requirements of ordinary and small scale
consumers.
 Grade 43 cements may be utilized for precast concrete production besides the sleeper
manufacturers and other building components producers.
 Grade 53 cements may be utilized by builders of heavy infrastructure such as bridges,
Flyovers, large span structures and high rise structures.

The common man's perception that 53 grade cement is the best cement is not only due to the
aggressive marketing strategies of the cement manufacturers but also on the presumption that the
heat generated during hardening of concrete is an index of its quality. When 53grade cement is used
the heat generated is very high. Hence, Consumers believe that it is a better cement when actually it
is not so.Each cement has to be chosen for a particular use. While 53grade cement is actually best
only for producing concretes of grade 53 and above, it is not to be used in ordinary structures where
concrete grade 20 is normally adequate. The total de-controls and competition amongst
manufacturers and the market forces have actually eliminated 33 grades in the market. It may be
necessary to enforce the partial regulation or self-discipline among the manufacturers of cement to
produce at least 1/3rd of the cement in the OPC category as grade 33 cement and 1/3rd another as
grade 43 cement and balance 1/3rd as grade 53 cement and partially regulate the price for these 3
grades so that, in the market 33 grade cement will become available to the common consumer.
Though originally introduced to save energy in the cement plants and to make use of the available
industrial by products, research and experience have shown that blended cements have more
durability characteristics than the OPC of even higher grades. Cement is primarily used to produce
concrete. Concrete is mainly produced in ready mixed plants the world over. Most of the producers
of the concrete use OPC and a substantial quantity of cement iridous materials like pozzolana or
granulated blast furnace slag. In countries like U.S. and U.K. where 90 percent of the concrete

22
produced is in the ready mixed plants and the cementations materials are blended in the concrete
plants rather than in the cement manufacturing units.

In India ready mixed concrete has just had the beginning. The blending of cementations materials at
site is not advisable now. Hence, blended cement production is very essential. At present production
of blended cement is around 30 percent. This has naturally to increase to at least 50 per cent.

The blended cement does not gain strength immediately and also do not generate heat like OPC.
Hence, the common belief has been that blended cement is inferior cement. Actually it is not so. No
doubt, the rate of gaining strength is slow in the case of blended cement. But, ultimately, in the long
run it gains as much strength as any OPC. Blended cements give better workability in fresh concrete
and during the hardened stage, give better durability. The consumer is to be adequately educated on
the advantages of blended cement. The reluctance on the part of builders to opt for blended cement is
to an extent justifiable because many builders were forced to use PPC when the production of PPC
was as high as 76 percent during the control days.

They found to their dismay that they have to retain their shuttering for much longer duration and
sometimes the quality of PPC was of doubtful nature because the fly ash blended with the PPC was
of varying quality. However, of late, the selection of pozzolanic materials has been more stringent
and the quality of blended cement is more consistent.

The builders can shed their past memories and start using blended cement. Manufacture of blended
cement results in substantial savings in energy and product cost. Hence, industry must pass on to the
consumers the benefits derived to the users of blended cement.

In short, every cement has its own role to play and there is no reason to believe one cement is
superior to the other cement. For ordinary structure.OPC grade 33cement or PPC could meet the
requirements. For producing concretes of higher grades, mixes have to be designed using OPC as
well as cementations materials concrete chemicals and sometimes additional fillers and even
viscosity agents.

For non-structural uses such as masonry and plastering mortar, cement of much lower strength than
OPC 33 grade classified as masonry cement is the best suitable material. But, unfortunately, no
manufacturer produces this type of cement. More than the choice of the cement, the control exercised
in production of concrete in regard to the selection and proportioning of materials, use of the

23
minimum required quantity of water, careful handling of the mix during transportation and placing,
compacting well to get a dense concrete, having an engineered formwork, continuous curing and the
like contribute greatly to the quality and durability of concrete.

VARIETIES OF CEMENTS IN INDIA:

There are some varieties in cement that always find good demand in the market. To know their
characteristics and in which area they are most required, it will be better to take a look at some of the
details given below. 

 Portland Blast Furnace slag cement (PBFSC): The rate of hydration heat is found lower in
this cement type in comparison to PPC. It is most useful in massive construction projects, for
example - dams.
 Sulphate Resisting Portland cement: This cement is beneficial in the areas where concrete
has an exposure to seacoast or sea water or soil or ground water. Under any such instances, the
concrete is vulnerable to sulphate attack in large amounts and can cause damage to the
structure. Hence, by using this cement one can reduce the impact of damage to the structure.
This cement has high demand in India.
 Rapid Hardening Portland cement: The texture of this cement type is quite similar to that of
OPC. But, it is bit more fine than OPC and possesses immense compressible strength, which
makes casting work easy.
 Ordinary Portland cement (OPC): Also referred to as grey cement or OPC, it is of much use
in ordinary concrete construction. In the production of this type of cement in India, Iron
(Fe2O3), Magnesium (MgO), Silica (SiO2), Alumina (AL2O3), and Sulphurtrioxide (SO3)
components are used.
 Portland Pozolona Cement (PPC): As it prevents cracks, it is useful in the casting work of
huge volumes of concrete. The rate of hydration heat is lower in this cement type. Fly ash, coal
waste or burnt clay is used in the production of this category of cement. It can be availed at
low cost in comparison to OPC.
 Oil Well Cement: Made of iron, coke, limestone and iron scrap, Oil Well Cement is used in
constructing or fixing oil wells. This is applied on both the off-shore and on-shore of the wells.

24
 Clinker Cement: Produced at the temperature of about 1400 to1450 degree Celsius, clinker
cement is needed in the construction work of complexes, houses and bridges. The ingredients
for this cement comprise iron, quartz, clay, limestone and bauxite.
 White cement: It is a kind of Ordinary Portland Cement. The ingredients of this cement are
inclusive of clinker, fuel oil and iron oxide. The content of iron oxide is maintained below
0.4% to secure whiteness. White cement is largely used to increase the aesthetic value of a
construction. It is preferred for tiles and flooring works. This cement costs more than grey
cement.

CEMENT INDUSTRY ANALYSIS:

There are five forces driving cement industrial competition. Porter (1979) suggests (figure shown below)
that when the forces are weak collectively, there is a major opportunity for superior performance.
Therefore, we can conclude that the cement industry is unattractive in mature markets, but attractive in
emerging markets

25
CEMENT COMPANIES SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY:

Supply Chain (SC) operational objectives can be classified in three groups:

 Asset utilization,
 Customer response and
 Efficiency
We believe that the cement industry is concentrated on asset utilization with some level of
efficiency. The main reason for this location is that cement companies are focused in minimizing
cost based on the economies of scale generated by their investment in large manufacturing plants.
This is a given condition for all large cement companies in the industry. Some cement companies are
moving towards the other operational objectives to gain differentiation in the market. One key
success factor is the required supply chain transformation to support this decision.

SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATING MODEL OF CEMENT (PROCESSOR ANALYSIS):

Cement industry planning process is centralized and optimization oriented. There is no constraint in
the availability of cement main raw materials with the exception of some countries where subsoil
ownership regulations applied. Cement manufacturing is capital and energy intensive where cement
truck delivery is restricted due to its low value-to-weight ratio.

26
SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATING MODEL OF CEMENT (PRODUCT ANALYSIS):

Cement can be characterized as bulk and bagged as shown below. Bulk cement is dominant in
developed countries and its demand is generated by large construction companies and government.
Bagged cement is dominant in emerging markets and is generated by Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
customers and small contractors. Relatively speaking, bulk cement is functional while bagged
cement is innovative. Functional products should have an efficient supply chain while innovative
products should have a responsive supply chain.

LOGISTICS ISSUE:

Besides strong demand, eastern and northern region also witnessed price hike due to wagon
unavailability and logistics issues, while demand in southern and the western region remained
tepid ,declining off-take from the government infrastructure spending. The capacity utilization
continued to remain higher as the new capacities that came on stream where not fully stabilized and
as it happens we may expect falling capacity utilization levels and consequent impact on pricing and
margins. Cement manufacturing is capital and energy intensive where cement truck delivery is
restricted due to its low value-to-weight ratio. Functional products should have an efficient supply
chain while innovative products should have a responsive supply chain.

27
CEMENT SUPPLY CHAIN (BUILD TO STOCK):

Two alternatives were proposed to migrate from BTS (Build to Stock) to CTO (Configure to order),
moving the push-pull boundary back in the cement supply chain. First, Grind-to-Order where cement
is kept in clicker (intermediate product of the cement manufacturing process) and then grinded as
orders appear. Second, Pack-to-Order, where cement is kept in bulk and then packed as orders appear
.Further research should be made to confirm the feasibility of these alternatives.

28
1.5 COMPANY PROFILE

AMBUJA CEMENT:

Ambuja Cements Limited was set up in the late 80s. The cement industry presented an opportunity
of steady growth and ethical competition to the promoters. However, a decade later, it became one of
world’s most efficient cement companies producing the finest cement in the world at the lowest cost
while adhering to the most stringent international pollution-control norms. Today, Ambuja is the 3rd
largest cement company in India, with an annual plant capacity of 18.5 million tones including
Ambuja Cement Eastern Ltd. and revenue in excess of Rs.3298crores. More importantly, its plants
are some of the most efficient in the world. With environment protection measures that are on par
with the finest in the developed world. But the company’s most distinctive attribute is its approach to
the business. Ambuja believes its most valuable assets aren’t cement plants. They are the people who
run the plants. This unique vision is encapsulated in the company’s homegrown philosophy of giving
people the authority to set their own targets, and the freedom to achieve their goals. It’s called ‘I
can’’ This simple vision has created an environment where there are no limits to excellence, no
limits to efficiency and has proved to be a powerful engine of growth for the company. As a result,
Ambuja has consistently raised the bar in all aspects of the cement industry. Be it transportation,
plant efficiency, brand building or human resource development.

First plant set up in record time:

When Ambuja set up its first plant in 1986, the accepted time period for installing a plant was 3
years. Ambuja did it in less than 2 years and with a significantly lower capital expenditure. In 1993
the company went a step further and bettered its own record. Ambuja's second plant was installed in
a mere 13 months - the quickest time for setting up a one million tones cement plant.  

A whole new way of transporting cement:

in the early 90s, almost all cement in India travelled by rail or road and in bags .A mode that involves
deterioration of both, the quality and volume of cement. In 1993, Ambuja Cement set up a complete
system of transporting bulk cement via the sea route making it the first company in India to introduce
bulk cement movement by sea. Others followed and today, about 10% cement travels by this new

29
route. The facility comprises: A dedicated port at the Gujarat plants, capable of berthing 40,000
DWT vessels, three bagging terminals at Mumbai, Surat and Sri Lanka, and seven special bulk
cement vessels. This capability has enabled us to supply fresh cement to many coastal markets –
domestic and international.

Branding a commodity:

Cement is a commodity, sold largely on price. Ambuja Cement was the first company to create a
brand out of cement and command a premium. It was also the first to introduce a special cell,
providing technical services to consumers and masons. Today, this has become the norm in cement
marketing. The trick of course was to provide a consistently high quality of cement, backed
by excellent service. This was reinforced by a strong dealer network. The result is that customers
are ready to pay 2-3% premium for Ambuja Cement for the value they receive. Ambuja Cement is
the top brand in Western, Northern, Central and Eastern India.

Exports: Ambuja Cement exports almost 17% of its production in a very competitive international
environment. For the last ten years, Ambuja Cement remains.

 India’s highest exporter of Cement :

This has been possible for two reasons: –

1. The quality of cement matches the best in the world.

2. The dedicated bulk cements transportation capability at our Gujarat plant.

The Environment: From the outset, Ambuja has believed that a cement plant cannot flourish at the
cost of the environment. That’s why it adheres to the most rigorous international environmental
norms. The pollution levels at all its cement plants are even lower than the rigorous Swiss standards
of 100 mg/NM3 .At the Gujarat plants, surface miners have been employed to scrape the surface of
the mines Thus ensuring that all the mining is totally blast free There is no noise or air-pollution
Similarly at the Himachal Pradesh plant, Ambuja has employed techniques that have made mining
absolutely safe and pollution free. Not surprisingly then, the company has consistently won awards
for its pollution free plants. Awards as prestigious as the National Award for Outstanding Pollution
Control and The Eco-Gold Star of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI).

30
Corporate Social Responsibility:

In 1991, the company set up Ambuja Cement Foundation to trigger all-round development of the
people around its cement plants. The Foundation decided to traverse the difficult but more
productive path of helping the people to help themselves. With great dedication and commitment, the
foundation energized the local people to participate and own their development process. It became a
facilitator and catalyst, rather than a one-time fund provider. It developed easily replicable and
sustainable modules for water management, sustainable agriculture and healthcare. All this effort in
discharging its social responsibility has earned the company recognition across Asia.

Milestones:

 Building of a cement plant in record 13 months.

 Kilometer conveyor belt running through three hills was constructed in just 9 months.
 Introduced a completely new system of transporting cement in India – the bulk cement
transportation by sea.
 Introduced complete blast free limestone mining by using the surface miner in limestone
mining for the first time in India.
 Created water reservoirs in used up mines and raised the water table in arid areas.
 Our plants have achieved the lowest pollution levels –comparable with the strongest Swiss
standards.

Recognition:

 National Award for commitment to quality by the Prime Minister of India.

 National Award for outstanding pollution control by the Prime Minister of India.
 Eco-Gold Star by TERI
 Best Export Award by CAPEXIL.
 Award for Corporate Social Responsibility by Business World – FICCI
 International Award For Rural Development by Asian Management Institute (AIM)
 ISO 9002 Quality Certification.
 ISO 14000 Certification for environmental systems.

31
Technical Details:

 Established – 1986.
 Total Capacity – 18.5 million tones.
 Infrastructure – Dedicated port at Gujarat. Capable of berthing 40,000 DWT vessels
with carrying capacity of 20,000 tones.

 Packing terminals at Mumbai, Surat and Sri Lanka.

 Seven dedicated bulk cement ships.

32
CHAPTER - II

33
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Marketing is “The management process which identifies anticipates and supplies customer
requirements efficiently and profitably”.

“Marketing is a total system of interesting business activities defined to Plan, piece, promote and
distribution want satisfying products & services to present and potential consumers”

“Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the follow of goods and services
from the producer to the consumer or user”

A social and managerial process, by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want,
through creating and exchanging product and value with others.

Customer satisfaction begins with a difficult faith; it starts with a commitment to deliver the result
for each customer which is also a concern of the dealers. Hence for a manufacturing company, in
order to satisfy its customers, it is highly important to satisfy its dealers, as they are the direct
customers to them. Establishing satisfaction as the ultimate goal is like the other ultimate goals of
business pursuit of higher profits or shareholders wealth. Perfect dealer service or satisfaction is one
that meets the combined need satisfaction is a systemized service that involves the entire
organization.

But many organizations have yet to develop this kind of awareness of dealer satisfaction strategy.

Dealer Satisfaction begins with the following specific assumptions about company’s relationship
with the customers.

1. The dealer service activities focus mainly on existing dealers.

2. Some dealers are more important than others

3. They are the assets.

4. The dealer is always specific.

The dealer needs and value should influence every aspect of the organization strategy, employee
safety and performance, product and organization strategy, employee safety and performance,

34
product and service development, sales and marketing programs, operational procedures and
information and measurement system.

Understanding the dealer is critical to the success of any customer focus initiative, the first step in
understanding the dealers is to listen to them.

A company needs to hear what its dealers are saying about its people, product service and vision.
Their information helps to develop meaningful product and service.

Organizations need to listen to their dealer satisfied, dissatisfied neutral and prospective. As one
company executive said, “talking to a satisfied customer is talking to me”. In the past, dealer
satisfaction and service was the responsibility of a separate organization that supported the dealer
primarily after the sale.

Today, service is also likely to be interested with the every product accompany offers.

High dealer satisfaction comes from providing effective services. But giving that service is a
continuous activity. It means being efficient, reliable, courteous, curing and professional every time.

Marketing is a communication process that has the purpose of individuals or groups - that are
directly or indirectly able to purchase - aware of products and services that may satisfy their existing
or newly-identified needs and wants.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing, which is the world's largest marketing body,defines marketing
as "The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer
requirements profitably."

Marsha Peter (2OO2): examines temporal changes in post-purchase product satisfaction for
durable goods purchase. Involvement and satisfaction variables were measured in a cross-sectional
and a longitudinal study of car owners. Overall, consumers with high product involvement showed
slightly greater satisfaction with their cars than low-involvement consumers over the term of
ownership. However, in the 2-month period after purchase, consumers with high product
involvement showed a decline in satisfaction, whereas low-involvement consumers' satisfaction
increased. The role of disconfirmation in these changes was investigated. Benefits and problems
disconfirmation were found to make independent contributions to satisfaction judgments, and the

35
strength and form of contribution varied with product involvement. These findings suggest that
benefits and problems disconfirmation need to be measured separately in satisfaction research.

Yooshik Yoon(2004): studied the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a
structural model and investigates the relevant relationships among the constructs by using a
structural equation modeling approach. Consequently, destination managers should establish a higher
satisfaction level to create positive post-purchase behavior, in order to improve and sustain
destination competitiveness.

Diane Halstead (1993): studied the Focuses on a group of unsatisfied car owners. Examines the
roles of the car warranty and the post-purchase service received during the complaint process in
terms of their effects on customers' s satisfaction with complaint resolution. Presents some
suggestions for customer service policies, complaint handling procedures, and warranty fulfillment
service

James Y.L. Thong (2006): studied the effects of post-adoption beliefs on the expectation-
confirmation model for information technology continuance .The expectation-confirmation model
(ECM) of IT continuance is a model for investigating continued information technology (IT) usage
behavior. This paper reports on a study that attempts to expand the set of post-adoption beliefs in the
ECM, in order to extend the application of the ECM beyond an instrumental focus. The expanded
ECM, incorporating the post-adoption beliefs of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and
perceived ease of use, was empirically validated with data collected from an on-line survey of 811
existing users of mobile Internet services. The data analysis showed that the expanded CM has good
explanatory power (R2=57.6% of continued IT usage intention and R2=67.8% of satisfaction), with
all paths supported. Hence, the expanded ECM can provide supplementary information that is
relevant for understanding continued IT usage.
The significant effects of post-adoption perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment signify that
the nature of the IT can be an important boundary condition in understanding the continued IT usage
behavior. At a practical level, the expanded ECM presents IT product/service providers with deeper
insights into how to address IT users’ satisfaction and continued patronage.

Marsha L. Richins (2002): Post-purchase product satisfaction: Incorporating the effects of

involvement and time describes changes in post-purchase product satisfaction for a durable goods
purchase. Involvement and satisfaction variables were measured in a cross-sectional and a

36
longitudinal study of car owners. Overall, consumers with high product involvement showed slightly
greater satisfaction with their cars than low-involvement consumers over the term of ownership.
However, in the 2-month period after purchase, consumers with high product involvement showed a
decline in satisfaction, whereas low-involvement consumers' satisfaction Increased. The role of
disconfirmation in these changes was investigated. Benefits and problems disconfirmation were
found to make independent contributions to satisfaction judgments, and the strength and form of
contribution varied with product involvement. These findings suggest that benefits and problems
disconfirmation need to be measured separately in satisfaction research.

Claes Fornell (1992): examines that many individual companies and some industries monitor
customer satisfaction on a continual basis, but Sweden is the first country to do so on a national
level. The annual Customer Satisfaction Barometer (CSB) measures customer satisfaction in more
than 30 industries and for more than 100 corporations. The new index is intended to be
complementary to productivity measures. Whereas productivity basically reflects quantity of output,
CSB measures quality of output (as experienced by the buyer) The author reports the results of a
large-scale Swedish effort to measure quality of the total consumption process as customer
satisfaction. The significance of customer satisfaction and its place within the overall strategy of the
firm are discussed. An implication from examining the relationship between market share and
customer satisfaction by a location model is that satisfaction should be lower in industries where
supply is homogeneous and demand heterogeneous. Satisfaction should be higher when the
heterogeneity/homogeneity of demand is matched by the supply. Empirical support is found for that
proposition in monopolies as well as in competitive market structures. Likewise, industries in general
are found to have a high level of customer satisfaction if they are highly dependent on satisfaction
for repeat business. The opposite is found for industries in which companies have more captive
markets. For Sweden, the 1991 results show a slight increase in CSB, which should have a positive
effect on the general economic climate.

Richard Oliver (2000): Response determinants in satisfaction judgment, examines that the effects
of five determinants of satisfaction are tested as well as individual differences in satisfaction
formation. Manipulations of attribution, expectancy, performance, disconfirmation, and equity are
written into stock market trading scenarios in a full factorial design. Results show that all main
effects and four ordinal two-way interactions are significant. Then, an individual level analysis is
performed on the repeated measures data. Three clusters of subjects sharing

37
Similar response tendencies (disconfirmation, performance, and equity) are identified and related to
investment attitudes, outcome attitudes, and demographics. No consistent relationships are
discovered, suggesting that the response differences reflect deeper behavioral tendencies.
Implications of this approach for satisfaction paradigms, satisfaction theory, and individual
satisfaction response orientations are presented.

38
CHAPTER - III

39
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & DESIGN

3.1 Type of research

Market Research:

Definition of marketing research is approved by the board of American marketing association

(AMA) “Marketing Research is a function which links the customer and public to marketer thought
information used to identity and defines market opportunity and problems; generate define and
evaluate ,marketing action monitor marketing performance and improve understanding of marketing
as a process.

Simply marketing research is a systematic design collection analysis and reporting of data feeding
relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company, careful planning thought all stage of
the research is a necessary. Objectivity in research in all important the heart of the scientific method
is the object gathering and analysis of the information. The function of marketing g research within a
company is to provide the information and analytical input necessary for effective planning of future
marketing activity control of marketing operation in the present.

3.2 Objective of study:

 To find out the customer satisfaction level through scientific tools like interviews and
questionnaire.
 To finding the customer satisfaction level through direct interaction with the knowing their
preference. This will include all the processes like asking questions from the customer
through questionnaire which will be included in the primary survey once the primary survey
is done.

3.3 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT:

The research instrument used in this study is a structured questionnaire’ structured

questionnaire are those questionnaire in which there are definite, concrete and predetermined
questions relating to the aspect, favor which the researcher collects data. The questions are presented
with exactly the same order to all the respondents.

40
3.4 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN:

The structured questionnaires that were framed and designed consist of close ended, open ended,
multiple choice, and dichotonomos, rating and raking questions.

3.5 Date collection:

 Selected around 100 persons for the interview.

 To help of the questionnaire, personal and telephonic interview.
 Collected the data through focus interviews. Concentrated on taking interview mainly from
the following group of people.
 Architects/engineers----25%
 Retailer stockiest-------15%
 Wholesale -------10%
 Industrial bulk consumer-----20%
 General consumer------30%

The survey was descriptive and sample chosen was mainly on the judgments of the researcher with
the help and proper consultation of project guide. In this kind of sampling method, the population
elements are based on the judgments of the researcher. The researchers’ exercises judgment or
expertise chooses the elements to be included in the sample, because he or she believes appropriate.
In this survey, visited the dealers of the cement also to know the strategy of the companies,
especially Ambuja cement to satisfy the customer as they buy the cement of any particular company.
The main purpose of the descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as they exist at
present.

3.6. PERIOD OF THE STUDY:

The duration of Study is 45 days and during the period, the following steps were taken.

 Objectives were set and questionnaire was finalized

 Data were collected and recorded
 Data were analyzed and interpreted
 Reports were generated

41
3.7. MATEHOD OF CHOOSING SAMPLING:

According to study of KANTAR IMRB, we adopt a technique in which we had to start the interview
by Right Hand Rule (RI-IR) arid we had to skip street shops / outlets in left hand side after
successful interview of a right hand side in specific area we have to take consideration in between 5-
10. When again we started interviewing of the fourth one according to this we had given a starting
address and from that we consider all the street and outlets from right hand side as per the technique.
We had to consider the owner of the particular shop or manager etc of the respondents.

SAMPLING:
Sampling is a group of people, objective, or items that are taken from a large population for
measurement. The sample should be representative of the population to ensure that we can generalize
the findings from the research sample to the population as a whole.

 Data content
 Random sampling
 Booster sampling/purposive sampling
 Intercept sampling

RANDOM SAMPLING:
 Random sampling is one of the sampling methods which refer to the technique through which
a sample of people is selected randomly.
 The universe must be defined with confined demarked area.
 That universe had to be defined in 4/5 zones.
 All four zones are E, W, N, S and five zones are E, W, S, N & C.
 In this study I covered all the eligible respondents under random sampling.

FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW:

For the interview one Lenovo TAB was provided in which a sophisticated questionnaire was
prepared. This questionnaire was somehow lengthy one hour approximately. It was asked to
respondent very carefully and cordially. All the response was very important for this study and every
Reponses were noted down in the tab. Most of them time I faced lots of challenges due to long
questioner but I take all of' those as an experience and try to make a cordial relationship with the
respondents through which i can get my required data or responses.

42
Modules:

In this study there are two modules:

 Listing Only: In this segment I collect the basic data about the respondents and their usage of
internet.
 Listing +Raider (Accounting, Digital, Payment)

In Listing + Main raider there are 3 segments:

Listing module:
In this segment first listing was completed then riders are applied as per the responds in listing. In
this module -date was collected about type of device, type of connection, payment methods, business
accounts, accounts maintained, software used in organization etc.

Payment module:
After completion of listing process, payment segment was started. In this segment, data was
collected about the internet usage of the respondents for the purpose of payment like UPI app
(Google pay, Paytm, phone pay, BHIM etc) net banking etc.

Accounting module:
After completing listing, Accounting Segment was started. In this segment, data was collected about
the internet usage of the respondents for the purpose of maintaining accounts of their business like
tally, khatabook, ZOHO books, my books, vyapar etc.

Digital module:
After completing listing, Digital segment was started. In this segment, data was collected about the
usage of internet usage or adoption of technology or the presence in online platform like Google
listing, Google Ads, Google Map, Online mode of payments etc.

43
3.8. LIMITATIONS:
The exploratory nature of this study results in several LIMITATIONS that future
studies can address.

• The respondent feels uneasy to give all the information about them to me.

• They don’t know, what this survey is all about, for that I have to give some idea
regarding this study and try to give some feelings for their benefits.

• Some of them said that their business doesn’t need any types of internet connections
to run except payment.

• Some said that they don’t have the time for me and they don’t respond to us.

• Most of the respondent feels awkward to share their information related to IT

questions.

• Some of respondent thought of any types of fraud activities we are doing for their
clarification I have presented my assignment and also they took snap of it for further
quarries.

• Sometimes respondent respond to us but after such a lengthy questions they get
frusted and ask to leave.

• They most problem, I saw in field that in this IT questions makes respondent think
twice to share due to malpractices in market.

Many of this type of problem were faced throughout the data collection. So for study
there is lot of challenges come on the way which oppose the study.

SWOT Analysis of AMBUJA CEMENT

Strengths:

44
 Leading position in attractive Raipur cement market:

 Based on CMA data, Raipur cement manufacturing have consistently operated at the highest
levels of capacity among Raipur regions.
We believe this reflects the strong demand in the Raipur region. For cement products relative
to supply .further, based on capacity expansions announced by cement manufacturers. We
expect cement plants in Raipur to continue to operate at high utilization levels and anticipate
continued strong demand for our cement product in the near and medium-term. We believe
that we well positioned to take advantages of this demand as the fourth cement manufacturer
in Raipur region. Quality of products and strong brand name we believe that brand name and
reputation are important to retail purchases of cement in India. We have built a strong
reputation among cement purchases by consistently providing high quality products. We
believe that there is strong customer awareness of our brand Ambuja cement. We believe that
our brand name and our reputation for consistently supplying high quality products provide
us with a competitive in ensuring that cement dealers carry our products. Extensive marketing
and distribution network. We have a wide distribution network in Raipur. We also have a
strong all India distribution network. Our distribution network consists 44 depots serviced by
seven regional sales office sine Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh Gujarat, Chatishgad, and Maharashtra.

Experience and technical knowhow:

We have 30 years of experience in the India cement industry, which we provide us with the
skills to maximize production deficiency, expand production capacity quickly and reduce
costs. Over the years we believe that we have developed long-term customer relationship and
a strong reputation for quality in addition.
We have a proven track record of upgrading and modernizing our production capacities
efficiently, having increased our production capacity at nimbahera by more than 80% from
1.54 million tons in 1998 to 2.8 million tons as of September 2005.

Weakness:

 It is at relatively low position in other parts of country.

45
  Low attention on customer relationship management in some parts of the India.
 Due to the presence of other cement producers in Raipur and its adjoining areas the market
share of the ambuja cement remains low.

 It has its own mines reserves but it has to consistently renew the lease failing which it will
have no source of production at its major production site.

Opportunities:

 Rural project of state and central governments like dams and bridges can be a major
opportunity for the company.
 Company is a part of reputed and huge Ambuja group. So it can expand its market in foreign
areas also utilizing its brand leverage.

 Prestigious project can be major opportunities.

 It has major opportunities in real estate due to boom the related projects.

 Indian infrastructure is seeing a twofold so there is also a lot of opportunity in the consumed
sector.
 Major foreign project of governments can also be a major opportunity.

Threats:

46
  Cost of production is high. So, company needs to reduce the cost of production and should
concentrate on promotional schemes too.

 Presence of other big players in Raipur region threat for the company.
 Rising cost of new material is also a threat for the company.

MARKETING STRATEGY AMBUJA CEMENT LIMITED:

 Segmentation:
The company has segmented the market geographically. it sells its products all over in India
with major presence in Raipur region.

 PRICING STRATEGY:
Before deciding the price of the cement company has

Considered the following points:

COST FACTOR:

 Manufacturing cost
 Transporting cost
 Storing and material handling
 Other cost
 Officer expenses
 Other expenses
 Tax and interest
 Competitors price and offering


47
MARKETING STRATEGY:

Company conduct market survey to identify market and customers response, company
position in the market etc. there is R and D department which continuously trying to improve
the quality of the product at the minimum cost and trying to meet the demand of the
customer.

MARKETING STRATEGY FOR COMPETITORS:

Company always keeps an eye over its competitor’s activities and its offerings like different
promotional schemes; product price etc. It also takes proper action according to competitor’s
strategy.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY:

The company is distributing cement by following ways:-

 Direct to customer
 Depot
1. Whole seller
2. Retailer
Director General of sales and disposal
1. Tender sales
2. Government department
Non trading sales
1. We gone load
2. Institutional sales
Method for developing dealers:
Company conducts the survey also to motivate the sub dealer and advertise the programmer.
The company takes profile of the dealers and gives dealership only to those in a particular
area where the company is not having already existing dealer.

48
 Marketing strategy:

 To increase sales in high realization.

 To develop stockiest consisting of retailer or final outlet which directly sells to customer.
 Increasing sales of the branded cement, ambuja cement.
 Marketing distribution network more efficient and cost effective.
The company has a dedicated team of highly skilled professionals and experienced
application engineering. They are functioning in an advisory capacity. Besides handling their
constructional problem the cell offering all kind of assistance in the selection of the right
cement for different application to insure coat effective, durable and date construction

49
CHAPTER – IV

50
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Data Analysis:

The data after collection has to be processed and analyzed in accordance with the outline laid
down for the purpose at the time of developing the research plan. This is essential for a scientific
study and for ensuring that we have all the relevant data. Processing implies editing, coding,
classification and tabulation of collected data so that they acquiescent to analysis.

The term analysis refers to the computation of certain measures along with searching for
patterns of relationship that exists among data – groups. Thus “in the process of analysis,
relationships or difference supporting or conflicting with original of new hypothesis should be
subjected to statistical tests to significance to determine with what validity data can be said to
indicate any conclusions”.

Analysis of data in a general way involved a number of closely related operations that are
performed with the purpose of summarizing the collected data and organizing them in such a manner
that they answer the research questions.

1. Have you purchased Ambuja Cement ever?

Parameters YES NO
No. of 70 30 100
respondents
% 70 30 100

51
 NO
30%

YES
70%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 70% of the customers respondents they are purchased Ambuja cement and
30% of the customers respondents they are not purchased Ambuja cement ever.

2. IF YES, how did you come to know about AMBUJA CEMENT?

parameters No. of respondents %

1.TV COMMERCIAL 40 40
2. DEALER/WHOLE SELLER 20 20
3. ARCHITECTURE/Eng. 25 25
4. Builder 15 15

52
 45% TV COMMERCIAL;
40%
40%

35%
ARCHITERCURE; 25%
30%
DEALER; 20%
25%

20%
BUILDER; 15%
15%

10%

5%

0%
TV COMMERCIAL DEALER ARCHITERCURE BUILDER

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the Bar graph 40% of the customers respondents they got information about Ambuja
cement from T.V. COMMERCIAL and 20% of the customers got information about Ambuja cement
from DEALER,25% of the customer got information about Ambuja cement from
ARCHITERCURE/ENG/ and 15% of the customer got information about Ambuja cement from
BUILDER.

3. What are the influencing factors for your preference?

Parameters No of respondents %
1.price 20 20
2.quality 60 60
3. convenience 15 15
4.all of above 05 05

53
 All of the above
5% Price
20%
Convenience
15%

Quality
60%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 60 % of the customers preferring Ambuja cement for its better quality, 15%
of the customers preferring Ambuja cement for its convenience, 5% of the customers preferring
ambuja cement for purchased Ambuja cement for its all quality and 20% of the customers
preferring Ambuja cement for its price.

4. Are you satisfied with AMBUJA CEMENT?

Parameters No. of respondents %

Yes 90 90
No 10 10

54
 NO
10%

YES
90%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 90% of the customers are satisfied with the Ambuja cement and 10% of
the customers are not satisfied with the Ambuja cement.

5. Do you think convenience is matter?

Parameters No of respondents %
Yes 80 80
No 20 20

55
 NO
20%

Yes
80%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 80% of the customer’s respondent’s convenience is important and 20% of
customer’s respondent’s convenience is not matter.

6. If AMBUJA CEMENT is not convenience to you than will you shift to any other brand?

Parameters No. of respondents

Yes 95
No 05

56
 NO
5%

YES
95%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 95% of the customer respondents they want to change their brand as per
their convenience and 05% of the customer’s respondents they don’t want to change their brand.

7. Are you satisfied with the price as per the quality?

Parameters No. of respondents %

YES 90 90
NO 10 10

57
 NO
10%

YES
90%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 90% of the customer’s respondents they are satisfied with the price as per
quality of Ambuja cement and 10% of the customers respondents they are not satisfied as with the
price as per quality of Ambuja cement.

8. If Yes, Do you think the quality is better as compare to the competitors?

Parameters No. of respondents %

YES 70 70
NO 30 30

58
 NO
30%

YES
70%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 70% of the customer’s respondents the quality is better than as compared to
other cement company and 30% of the customers are respondents the quality of Ambuja cement is
not better as compared to the competitors.

9. It is reliable as compare to the competitors?

Parameters No. of respondents %

YES 96 96
NO 04 04

59
 NO
4%

Yes
96%

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the pie chart 96% of the customers respondents the Ambuja cement is reliable as
compared to the competitors and 40% of the customer’s respondents the Ambuja cement is reliable
as compared to the competitors.

10. Out of 5 which rank you want to give to AMBUJA CEMENT?

Parameters No. of respondents %

Good 40 40

Better 15 15

Avg. 30 30

Bad 05 05

60
 No reply 10 10

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
GOOD BETTER AVG. BAD NO REPLY

INTERPRETATION:

As given in the Bar graph 40 of the customers respondents the Ambuja cement is GOOD, 15
customers respondents its Better, 30 customers are respondents its AVERAGE,5 customers are
respondents its BAD and 10 customers are not responds.

61
 CHAPTER – V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

62
 Customer satisfaction with respect to the AMBUJA CEMENT is satisfactory.

 Despite the increasing cost of the raw material the company is able to bring down the cost of
the manufacturing through procurement of raw materials by the mines which are located
nearby.

 Customers come to know about AMBUJA CEMENT mainly from hoardings many people
are illiterate.

 Customers want more prizes and dealers want more incentives, gift and tours.

 Dealers also want more meeting with officials of the cement companies.

 Bulk consumers want more and more cash discount.

 KANTAR IMRB has demonstrated its vision and leadership in the Indian market by
establishing several industry wide measurements and rating systems

 KANTAR IMRB has deep market research strategy with the help of all his tool and
techniques

63
CHAPTER – VI

RECOMMENDATIONS

64
 The company should concentrate on more aggressive advertisement to promote their
products.

 The company should launch more and more promotional schemes like two for the
price of one “or more discount coupons.

 Company should do more to promote their brand as customers prefer good brand
while buying any cement.

 Customer prefer price as an important factor while buying any cement so the
company should fix the price accordingly.

CONCLUSIONS

65
 Company should concentrate on direct meeting with the customer as they are the most
vital element in deciding the growth or decline of any company.

 Company should decrease the response time to the complaint received.

 The company should fix certain amount of cement especially for the dealers and give
them free of cost as incentives.

 The company should appoint more and more persons for the promotions of the
brands.

 Company should decrease delivery time of the cement.

66
 CHAPTER – VI1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books referred:

67
  Marketing research: Naresh Kumar Malhotra, Pearson edition.
 Marketing management: Philip Kotler, Pearson edition.
 Customer satisfaction research management: Derek Allen, Pearson edition

Journals/newspapers:

 Annual journal of Ambuja cement

 Labour and industrial chronicle
 Indian cement review

Web sites:

 www.ambujacement.com
 www.google.com
 www.wikipedia.com

Annexure:

68
 S. No: Date:

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of……………………………………………………………………………………..
Customer..........................................................................Center..............................

Postal address...........................................................................................................

Contact no……………………………………………………………………………………

Q1. Have you purchased AMBUJA CEMENT ever?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

Q2. IF YES, How did you come to know about AMBUJA CEMENT?

(a.) TV commercial (b.) Dealer/wholesaler

(c.) Arch/Eng (d.) Builder

Q3.What are the influencing factors for your preferences?

(a.) Price (b.) Quality

(c.) Convenience (d.)All of above

Q4.Are you satisfied with AMBUJA CEMENT?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Q5.Do you think convenience is matter?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

Q6.IF the AMBUJA CEMENT is not convenience to you than will you shift to other brands?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

69
Q7. Are you satisfied with the price as per the quality?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

Q8.IT is reliable as compare to the competitors?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

Q9.IF YES, Do you think the quality is better as compare to the competitors?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

Q10.Out of 5 which rank you want to give to the AMBUJA CEMENT?

(a.) GOOD (b.) BETTER

(c.) AVERAGE (d.) BAD

(e.) NO REPLY

70