A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON KTM MOTORCYCLES, SILIGURI

CHAPTER – 1

PART – A

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Definition:

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) Board of Directors, Marketing is the
activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and
exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Dr.
Philip Kotler defines marketing as “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering
value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit.

1.2 Meaning of Marketing:

Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product
or service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other
businesses.

1.3 Functions of Marketing:

The 7 main functions of marketing are the following:-

• Finding the Best Distribution Channels

Distribution is about how to get the goods or services that you want to sell to the people who
want to buy them. It's great to have an idea for a product, but if you can't get it to the customers,
you won't make money.

• Financing Your Business

It takes money to make money as the saying goes. As a business owner, finding the money
through investments, or loans, or your own personal capital to finance your business and the
marketing and advertising of your goods or services is a very important function of marketing.

• Deep Market Research

The aim of market research is to collect information about your target customers. Who are the
people you would like to sell to? How, in comparison to a competing company, would they buy
from you? For answer these questions, you need to analyze market trends and competing
products in your niche.

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• Setting Prices

It can be a challenge to set the right value for your product or service. If you're pricing it too
high, you might lose customers – but if you're pricing it too low, you may be taking money from
yourself. Usually the "right" price comes from trial and error and some work on the marketing
research involved.

• Product and Service Management

Once the target market is decided and the cost of your product or service is set, the goal then
becomes to manage the product or service effectively. It involves listening to consumers,
adapting to their wishes and desires and keeping your product up to date with your customers’
needs and objectives.

• Promotional Channels

Promotional strategies often overlap with other business units and awareness-building activities,
such as advertising and public relations. From a marketing perspective, promotion can include
everything from content marketing and email marketing to social media and influencer
marketing.

• Matching Products to Customers

Although we tend to think that sales and advertising are closely linked to each other, selling is
the last on the list of the seven core marketing functions. This is because sales can only occur
after you have established your customer base desires and needs and are able to respond at the
right price point and time frame with the right products or services.

Nature of Marketing:-

Nature of Marketing may be studied under the following points:

• Both Art and Science: Creating demand for the product among consumers is an art and
understanding human behavior and psychology is a science.

• Customer-Centric: Marketing strategies are framed with the motive of customer acquisition.

• Consumer-Oriented: It practices market research and surveys to know about consumer’s taste
and expectations.

• Goal-Oriented: It aims at accomplishing the seller’s profitability goals and buyer’s purchasing
goals.

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• Interactive Activity: Marketing is all about exchanging ideas and information among buyers
and sellers.

1.4 Scope of Marketing:

Some of the most important scope of marketing are as follows:

• Study of marketing research and consumer needs:

Marketing research involves identification of need and preference of the potential consumer,
analyzing consumer’s behavior to marketing mix strategies, business environment, and
competitor’s marketing processes in order to plan the marketing activities of future efficiently.
Customer satisfaction is also a major part of marketing management.

• Determination of objectives and development: Marketing management has the task of

determining the objective of profit maximisation. It deals with attracting new customers,
retaining existing customers, and expanding the current customer base by product planning and
development of new products, commercialisation of products ideas, improvement of old products
ideas, etc.

• Planning Marketing activities:

Marketing activities help in systematically executing the planned objectives. It relates to defining
product line policies, product diversification, commercial and promotional activities, planning
related to the selling and distribution process.

• Distribution:

Study of distribution process and channels is also essential to hit maximum sale and profits
while delivering the goods and services at minimum cost. The distribution process provides
products to the consumer in a convenient time span depending upon the nature and price of the
product, availability of suppliers for distribution, and rate involved in the distribution process.

• Pricing policies:

Pricing policies differ within a range of products. It depends on the cost of manufacturing and
distribution, availability of products, number of competitions, competitors’ strategy, the life
cycle of the products, customer’s perspective about the product and demand, and marketing
agenda and goals.

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• Promotion:

Promotional strategy is crucial in accomplishing intended marketing goals. It includes sales

promotion and advertisement. The main goals of promotion are to educate new customers about
products and retain the existing customers, to provide information about product improvement or
the introduction of new brands. The scope of marketing expands in this area as marketing
management develops new techniques and strategies to keep their customers invested.

• Evaluating and controlling marketing activities:

Marketing management also accomplishes the task of regulating and assessing marketing
activities. Evaluation enables to categories the effectiveness and reach of the marketing
campaigns and actions.

1.5 Importance of Marketing:

(1) Marketing Helps in Transfer, Exchange and Movement of Goods:

Marketing is very helpful in transfer, exchange and movement of goods. Goods and services are
made available to customers through various intermediaries’ viz., wholesalers and retailers etc.
Marketing is helpful to both producers and consumers. To the former, it talks about the specific
needs and preferences of consumers and to the latter about the products that manufacturers can
offer.

(2) Marketing Is Helpful In Raising And Maintaining The Standard Of Living Of The
Community:

Marketing is above all the giving of a standard of living to the community. Paul Mazur states,
“Marketing is the delivery of standard of living”. Professor Malcolm McNair has further added
that “Marketing is the creation and delivery of standard of living to the society”. By making
available the uninterrupted supply of goods and services to consumers at a reasonable price,
marketing has played an important role in raising and maintaining living standards of the
community. Community comprises of three classes of people i.e., rich, middle and poor.
Everything which is used by these different classes of people is supplied by marketing.

(3) Marketing Creates Employment:

Marketing is complex mechanism involving many people in one form or the other. The major
marketing functions are buying, selling, financing, transport, warehousing, risk bearing and
standardization, etc. In each such function different activities are performed by a large number of
individuals and bodies. Thus, marketing gives employment to many people. It is estimated that
about 40% of total population is directly or indirectly dependent upon marketing. In the modern
era of large scale production and industrialization, role of marketing has widened.
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(4) Marketing as a Source of Income and Revenue:

Marketing does provide many opportunities to earn profits in the process of buying and selling
the goods, by creating time, place and possession utilities. This income and profit are reinvested
in the concern, thereby earning more profits in future. Marketing should be given the greatest
importance, since the very survival of the firm depends on the effectiveness of the marketing
function.

(5) Marketing Acts as a Basis for Making Decisions:

Marketing decision-making also involves manipulating such concepts as marketingmix (to see
how it affects sales), reasoning, developing decision alternatives, abstract thinking, and
sometimes carrying out computations.

(6) Marketing Acts as a Source of New Ideas:

The concept of marketing is a dynamic concept. It has changed altogether with the passage of
time. Such changes have far reached effects on production and distribution. With the rapid
change in tastes and preference of people, marketing has to come up with the same. Marketing as
an instrument of measurement, gives scope for understanding this new demand pattern and
thereby produce and make available the goods accordingly.

(7) Marketing Is Helpful in Development of an Economy: Adam Smith has remarked that
“nothing happens in our country until somebody sells something”. Marketing is the kingpin that
sets the economy revolving. The marketing organization, more scientifically organized, makes
the economy strong and stable, the lesser the stress on the marketing function, the weaker will be
the economy.

1.6 Marketing Management:

Marketing management is a process of controlling the marketing aspects, setting the goals of a
company, organizing the plans step by step, taking decisions for the firm, and executing them to
get the maximum turn over by meeting the consumers' demands.

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1.7 Objectives of Marketing:

1. Creation of Demand:

The marketing management’s first objective is to create demand through various means. A
conscious attempt is made to find out the preferences and tastes of the consumers. Goods and
services are produced to satisfy the needs of the customers. Demand is also created by informing
the customers the utility of various goods and services.

2. Customer Satisfaction

The marketing manager must study the demands of customers before offering them any goods or
services. Selling the goods or services is not that important as the satisfaction of the customers’
needs. Modern marketing is customer- oriented. It begins and ends with the customer.

3. Market Share: Every business aims at increasing its market share, i.e., the ratio of its sales to
the total sales in the economy. For instance, both Pepsi and Coke compete with each other to
increase their market share. For this, they have adopted innovative advertising, innovative
packaging, sales promotion activities, etc

. 4. Generation of Profits: The marketing department is the only department which generates
revenue for the business. Sufficient profits must be earned as a result of sale of want-satisfying
products. If the firm is not earning profits, it will not be able to survive in the market. Moreover,
profits are also needed for the growth and diversification of the firm.

5. Creation of Goodwill and Public Image: To build up the public image of a firm over a period
is another objective of marketing. The marketing department provides quality products to
customers at reasonable prices and thus creates its impact on the customers. The marketing
manager attempts to raise the goodwill of the business by initiating image- building activities
such a sales promotion, publicity and advertisement, high quality, reasonable price, convenient
distribution outlets, etc…

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1.8 Types of Marketing:

Marketing has been around since the 1800s, and there are many different marketing techniques
that a company can use. The most effective marketing strategies are the ones that are based on
careful marketing research and understanding of the target audience. Here are some examples of
common marketing tactics.

• B2C marketing

B2C marketing stands for "business to consumer." This means that the target audience is a direct
consumer of the product or service. Depending on the type of product, the sales cycle for a B2C
product can be very short and the decision making process those consumers goes through is not
as involved.

Most advertisements that people see are types of B2C marketing. For example, B2C marketing
strategies include:

➢ A TV advertisement for a candy bar

➢ Instagram ads for a clothing shop

➢ Direct mail coupons for a store

. • B2B marketing

B2B marketing stands for "business to business." This means that the company's target audience
is another company. B2B marketing typically requires a much longer buying cycle, and is
extremely strategic in terms of what customers want and need. B2B purchases often also have
extremely high purchase intent. This means that the target audience will be doing a lot of
research before purchasing the final product.

Examples of B2B marketing include:

➢ Event marketing at trade shows

➢ Inbound marketing strategies

➢ Account-based marketing campaigns

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• The 10 most common types of traditional marketing:

Traditional marketing encompasses strategies that have been used since the invention of
marketing itself back in the 1800s. These strategies are much more overt, and sometimes less
targeted.

Take a look at the 10 most common traditional marketing strategies.

➢ Outbound marketing

When a marketing strategy is referred to as "outbound," it's focused on how the message is being
delivered. Outbound marketing happens when a company shares their message out to an
audience. Billboard advertisements are a good example of outbound marketing—in the case of a
billboard, the company is trying to share certain information out to the people driving by.

➢ Personalized marketing

Personalized marketing is a strategy in which the company uses historical data to create a
personalized experience for you. This could include direct mail that uses your name in marketing
materials or grocery stores that offer you coupons for items you regularly purchase.

➢ Direct mail

Direct mail is when companies send advertisements to a specific address. This allows businesses
to target a specific area. A good example of direct mail marketing is a weekly grocery store
advertisement.

➢ Partner marketing

The partner marketing strategy requires two companies to work together to create one cohesive
message. A common example of this is a company sponsoring something at another company.
For example, a cafe may provide free Wi-Fi courtesy of Google.

➢ Telemarketing

Telemarketing is when a company reaches out to individuals via phone calls. This is still a
common tactic, but since cell phones and caller ID have become the norm, the success of this
marketing strategy has dwindled.

➢ Public relations (PR) marketing

PR marketing is a strategy where you partner with a news source to generate more buzz around
your business. PR marketing is commonly used when a company launches a new product, has a
major change of leadership, or announces an expansion.

➢ Word of mouth marketing

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Word of mouth marketing is a marketing strategy that relies on existing customers referring your
business to new customers.

➢ Stealth marketing Stealth marketing is the act of marketing a good or service to someone
without them realizing they're being marketed to. A good example of this is product placement in
a movie or TV show. You may notice that certain characters in the show only use a certain type
of computer, or only drive a certain type of car. This is because those companies paid to be
featured.

➢ Brand marketing Brand marketing is a long-term form of marketing in which the goal is to
become recognizable and establish a good reputation. Brand marketing encompasses many
different facets, from visual branding to tone and voice.

➢ Cause marketing Cause marketing is a strategy in which a company chooses to back a certain
cause as a way of strengthening their brand's core values. A good example of this is Patagonia.
They pledge 1% of sales to restoration and preservation of earth's natural environment.

What is customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction refers to how well you, as a product or service provider, fulfill the needs
and expectations of your customers. This applies to any interactions before and after the sale as
well as during it.

The following customer satisfaction definition comes from Cambridge Dictionary:

“A measure of how happy customers feel when they do business with a company.”

How can you measure customer satisfaction?

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