CHAPTER- I

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

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 Marketing is the art of creating, satisfying customers by meeting the needs of
customers and by creating value satisfaction for them. As Peter Drucker says “the
essence of marketing is that the entire business has to be seen from the point given of the
customer”. However, customers face a vast array of product and brand choices prices,
supplies and to understand the needs and preferences of the customers it becomes
imperative for us to carry out research together information.

We believe that customers estimate which offer will deliver the most value to
them and which will deliver and maximize value, within the bounds of research costs and
limited knowledge, mobility, and income they form an expectation of value and act on it.
Whether or not the offer lives up to the value expectation affects both purchase and
repurchase probability.

The purpose of any Marketing research is to provide information at a specific

time on customer, trade, competition and the future brands, so as to enable marketers to
formulate successful strategies in their quest for customers mind share and market share.

The research helps the marketers to find out the attributes and variable that
influence the customers behaviour towards a given product offering and it shapes the
attitudes of the customers favorably towards a specific product, thus by analyzing these
undertones the researcher can find out the levels of customer satisfaction, and the results
of the marketing research can help the marketers to analyse the weak spots in their
marketing strategies and can reformulate their strategies so that they can satisfy their
customers and maximize their brand loyalty and profitability.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

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 From the days of industrial revolution when goods & services were produced to
the present day, the emphasis has shifted from the producers to the consumer and his
needs, and with the consumer becoming more involved, in the marketing process there is
greater need for information regarding the consumer needs. Preferences and making
them satisfied of the motor & services, has led to a constant but increasing need to
conduct marketing research.

This research is an insight into the mind of the consumer, with the help of which
the organizations will become aware of their pitfalls and in turn can also make
improvements in the product regarding the level of satisfaction of the consumers towards
their offerings in the market place.

The Telecom industry is highly competitive in nature and due to rapid

advancements in the field of technology. Land line phones have become redundant and
the shift is clearly towards cellular services. As such there has been a greater need to
conduct market research studies. Since no risks can be entertained with regard to the
satisfaction of the people. Hence the need to constantly monitor the changing
preferences, attitudes of the consumers becomes that much more necessary.

The basic need of this project is to know the”Satisfaction” amongst the

respondents, with regard to “VARUN” services and its motor.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 The scope of project work is to get the opinions from respondents on the issues

mentioned earlier.

 It is limited to the twin cities of Hyderabad and is confined to the urban areas as

the respondents are the subscribers of VARUN services is one form or the other.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
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 1) To study the “Customer Satisfaction” amongst the users of “VARUN” motor.
2) To study the ‘Satisfaction’ level of “VARUN” customers with regard to other
motor and services offered by VARUN.
3) To make suggestions for improvement of their motor & their services from
the customer’s point of view based on this research to fulfill customer’s
needs.
4) To know the customers feed back towards the redressed of grievances by
VARUN.
5) To ascertain the role of media in promoting and creating awareness towards
the diversified portfolio of VARUN motor.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research in common pursuance refers to a search for knowledge in a scientific

and systematic way for pursuant information on a specified topic.

Once the objective is identified that next step is to collect the data which is
relevance to the problem identified and analyze the collected data in order to find out the
hidden reasons for the problem. There are two types of data namely.

1. Primary Data
2. Secondary Data

1. PRIMARY DATA

Primary data is to be collected by the concerned project researcher with relevance

to his problem. So the primary data is original in nature and is collected first hand.

Collection of primary data

There are several methods of collecting primary data particularly in surveys and
descriptive researches. Important ones are as follows:

1. Observation Method

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 2. Interview Method
3. Questionnaire
4. Schedules and
5. Other methods which include
 Warranty needs
 Distributor audits
 Pantry audits
 Consumer panels
 Using mechanical devices
 Through projective techniques
 In depth interviews and

1) OBSERVATION METHOD:

It is the most commonly used methods especially in studies relating to behavioral

sciences. This method implies the collection of information by way of investigators own
observation, without interviewing the respondents. The information obtained relates to
what is currently happening and is not complicated by either the past behavior or future
intentions or attitudes of respondents.

2) INTERVIEW METHOD

The interview method of collecting data involves presentation of oral, verbal

stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses. This method can be used through
personal interview and, if possible, through telephone interview.

Personal Interview

The method of collecting information through personal interview is usually

carried out in a structured way. As such we call this interview as structured interviews.
Such interviews involve the use of a set of predetermined questions and of highly
standardized techniques of recording. Thus, the interviewer in a structured interview
follows a rigid procedure laid down, asking questions in a given format and the order
prescribed. As against it, the unstructured interviews are characterized by flexibility of
approach to questioning. Unstructured interviews do not follow a system of pre-
determined questions and standardized techniques of recording information.

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3) QUESTIONNAIRE

The researcher and the respondents do come in contact with each other if this
method of survey is adopted. Questionnaires are mailed to the respondents with a request
to return after completing the same. It is the most extensively used method in various
economic and business surveys & research. Questionnaire to be used must be prepared
very carefully so that it may prove to be effective in collecting the relevant information.

Structured questionnaire

Using structured questionnaire method, which contains close-ended questions,

collected the primary data with respect the problem chosen. The questions have some
options, from which the respondents have to choose a choice. As the answers lie within a
specified range they are called close-ended questions.

Open-ended questions are those questions where no choices are given to

respondents and respondents are free to express their choice or answer.

The following sampling method was used.

Sampling:

A non-probability conclusive sampling method was used in the study for data
collection.

Sample size:

The sample was taken from the universe on random sampling basis in Hyderabad.
The sample size designed for this project is 100 keeping in mind the paucity of time and
also the customer base of the organization in the research area.

Research Methodology

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 A structured questionnaire was prepared and presented to the respondents and
related questions were asked. Questionnaires mainly contained close-ended questions
and a few open ended questions, to identify the reasons for customers satisfaction & their
dissatisfaction.

Secondary data

It is the data already existing, which has gone through some standard analysis.
Under the secondary data, the company’s annual reports, brouchers, pamphlets,
newspapers, journals and internet were taken into consideration.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1) The present research is restricted to the twin cities of Hyderabad city

only.

2) The sample size taken is only 100 and as such is very small as

compared to the universe, this is due to the constraints of time and

effort, and as such may not be enough to generalize to the entire

population, however it is presumed that the sample represents the

universe.

3) Respondents might have responded with the actual feelings of facts

while giving responses to the questionnaire.

4) Time being a limiting factor was not sufficient to gather opinions from

majority of the respondents, who form part of the universal sample.

5) While every care as been taken to eliminate perceptual bias from the

side of the researcher and the respondents however certain element of

bias might have set in to the research inadverantly.

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6) Since this study concentrated on customer satisfaction towards

VARUN no attempt was made to study other activities of the

organization. Such as finance, human resource management etc.,

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 CHAPTER- II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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 Customer Satisfaction
Definition of Customer Satisfaction

Kotler (1997) defines customer satisfaction as follows:

Satisfaction is a person's feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from

comparing a Product’s perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her
expectations.

Brown (1992) defines customer satisfaction as:

The state in which customer needs, wants and expectations throughout the product or
service's life are met or exceeded resulting in repeat purchase, loyalty and favorable
worth-of mouth.

According to Jones and Sasser (1995), four basic elements affect customer satisfaction.

They are: The basic elements of the product or service, basic support services, a recovery
process for counteracting bad experiences, and extraordinary service. There are many
definitions of the key elements of the services, but this one is considered appropriate in
the context of care or after sales service.

Satisfaction is a function of perceived performance and expectation. If the performance

matches the expectations the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds the
expectation the customer is highly satisfied and delighted. If the performance does not
match the expectations the customer is dissatisfied. Satisfaction is a person’s feelings of
pleasure of disappointment resulting for comparing a motor perceived performance (out-
come) in relation t his/her expectation. The link between customer satisfaction and
customer loyalty is proportional. Suppose customer satisfaction is rated on a scale from 1
– 5. At a very low levels of customer satisfaction.

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 .Level-1, customers are likely to abandon.

Level-2 to 4, customers are fairly satisfied but still find tit easy to switch when a
better offer comes along.

Level-5, the customer is very likely to repurchase an even spread good word of
mouth about the company.

Customers are very likely to repurchase LEVEL5

Customers are fairly satisfied LEVEL 2-4

Low level of customer satisfaction LEVEL 1

The key to generating high customer loyalty is to deliver high customer value. A
company’s value proposition is much more than it’s positioning on a single attribute.
Most of the successful companies are raising expectations and delivering performances
to match. These companies are aiming for TCS – Total Customer Satisfaction. Customer
satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool. Companies that achieve high customer
satisfaction ratings make sure that their target market is known.

After sales support management system is apart of ERP Enterprise Resource

Planning solution dealing with the support module after the sales of product. It creates an
advanced environment to the organization, which are in to technical support after sales
e.g. Companies offering electronic goods and motor vehicles etc.

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Measuring customer satisfaction

Organizations need to retain existing customers while targeting non-customers;.

Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the
organization is at providing motor and/or services to the marketplace.

Customer satisfaction is an abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of
satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The
state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables
which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level
of satisfaction can also vary depending on other factors the customer, such as other
motor against which the customer can compare the organization's motor.

Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988
delivered SERVQUAL which provides the basis for the measurement of customer
satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of

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performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the researcher
with a satisfaction "gap" which is semi-quantitative in nature. Cronin and Taylor
extended the disconfirmation theory by combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman,
Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation) into a single
measurement of performance relative to expectation.

The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey with a set of statements
using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement in
terms of their perception and expectation of performance of the service being measured.

Methodologies

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a scientific standard of customer

satisfaction. Academic research has shown that the national ACSI score is a strong
predictor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and an even stronger predictor of
Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) growth. On the microeconomic level, research
has shown that ACSI data predicts stock market performance, both for market indices
and for individually traded companies. Increasing ACSI scores has been shown to predict
loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendations, and purchase behavior. The ACSI measures
customer satisfaction annually for more than 200 companies in 43 industries and 10
economic sectors. In addition to quarterly reports, the ACSI methodology can be applied
to private sector companies and government agencies in order to improve loyalty and
purchase intent. Two companies have been licensed to apply the methodology of the
ACSI for both the private and public sector: CFI Group, Inc.applies the methodology of
the ACSI offline, and Foresee Results applies the ACSI to websites and other online
initiatives. ASCI scores have also been calculated by independent researchers, for
example, for the mobile phones sector.

The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed
in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences into five
categories: Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano
model offers some insight into the product attributes which are perceived to be important
to customers. Kano also produced a methodology for mapping consumer responses to

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questionnaires onto his model.

SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into

customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction
Barometer) to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience.

J.D. Power and Associates provides another measure of customer satisfaction, known for
its top-box approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates'
marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the
value of its product awards.

Other research and consulting firms have customer satisfaction solutions as well. These
include A.T. Kearney's Customer Satisfaction Audit process, which incorporates the
Stages of Excellence framework and which helps define a company’s status against eight
critically identified dimensions.

For Business to Business (B2B) surveys there is the InfoQuest box. This has been used
internationally since 1989 on more than 110,000 surveys (Nov '09) with an average
response rate of 72.74%. The box is targeted at "the most important" customers and
avoids the need for a blanket survey.

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Improving Customer Satisfaction

Published standards exist to help organizations develop their current levels of customer
satisfaction. The International Customer Service Institute (TICSI) has released The
International Customer Service Standard (TICSS). TICSS enables organizations to focus
their attention on delivering excellence in the management of customer service, whilst at
the same time providing recognition of success through a 3rd Party registration scheme.
TICSS focuses an organization’s attention on delivering increased customer satisfaction
by helping the organization through a Service Quality Model.

TICSS Service Quality Model uses the 5 P's - Policy, Processes, People, Premises,
Product/Services, as well as performance measurement. The implementation of a
customer service standard should lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction, which in
turn influences customer retention and customer loyalty.

The functional features include:

 Customer complaints tracking

 Service engineers information tracking
 Job scheduling for the complaints
 Spares management
 Online support
 Reports

Customer complaints tracking

Complaint is the start point of any technical support system. With out a client
request the technical support is not initiated. Complaint tracking is done as follows:

 Client may come down or make a phone call or complaint online

 The client is validated. The client may have an annual maintenance contract
or may have a product in warranty or of warranty.
 The intensity of the complaint is to be estimated to allocate resources.
 Expected service type has to be finalized. It may be online assistance indoor
or onsite assistance.

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Service Engineers information tracking:

Information about the engineers is inevitable in job scheduling. Information about

the engineers has to be added, deleted or modified in the database. It may contain the
following: the name, id of the engineer; the skill set of the manager; the status of the
engineer.

Job scheduling for the complaints:

Job scheduling means sequencing the request to its intensity, assignment of a

service engineer and creating a job card. It is done to optimize the technical resources
and to render the best service to the customer. Minor problem are processed by
technicians requests are handled by the expert team.

The job card includes the following:

The compliant id, the assigned engineer id, the data and time of service, the spare
details, no. of man hours required etc.

 The spare part name and serial number

 The available quantity of each spare part
 The prize, warranty and other specifications
 The supplier information.

Online support:

The service is done online also. The client may visit the website to obtain basic
support information about the product and FAQ. He can chat with the service engineer
on phone or online.

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Report:

The report reflects the current status of the system. The reports that can be generated are
as follows:

 Customer request report status of the system. The reports that can be requests.
 Service engineer report provides the information about the skills and strengths of
the support team.
 Job scheduling report states the allotment of engineers to jobs.
 Spares report discloses the availability of all the shapes in the system.
 Receipts and payments report gives information about the cash flow in the
system.
 Bills generation.
Customer satisfaction tracking:

Customer satisfaction is the key concept to dictate the future of the organization.
In order to maximize the customer satisfaction along with quick response and efficient
service some other activities are to be performed.

They may be as follows:

 Reception of the customer with hospitality.

 Entertaining environment to the customer.
 Providing guidance about the usage and maintenance of the product.
 Offering gift and discounts.

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Operationalisation of Customer Satisfaction

As customer needs and expectations are changing all the time, this will lead to a
situation whereby customers keep setting ever higher standards, and therefore to achieve
perfection is impossible. Markets should be seen as a group of individual companies, and
each of them must be treated individually with different requirements, experiences,
commitments, and relationships. Implementing customer satisfaction philosophy means
identifying customers, then identifying their needs and expectations and finally,
measuring their perceptions. Knowing the needs of the customer makes it easier to
anticipate the ideal set of motor and services. A major flaw for all the companies has
proved to be their inability to understand other ways that customers can be satisfied. By
implementing direct and continuous employee contacts with the customers, the
customers' requirements and expectations can be determined. This employee-customer
connection additionally conveys the message that the company cares about their
customers.

Customer needs can be determined through marketing research, customer

interviews, reading customer concerns, or involving customers in the design of services

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and service deliveries. In order to decide if the service can be provided at a profit, it is
necessary to link value equation to the strategic service vision. Working together with
both supplier and customer can increase profitability by expanding margin potential.

A customer satisfaction study should begin by asking about the factors affecting
customer satisfaction, how important those factors are for the whole, and the level of
customer satisfaction. A problem with customer satisfaction surveys (Naumann, 1994) is
that a poor customer satisfaction programme yields vague data and raises customer
expectations. If customer expectations are raised and a company's performance remains
the same, the customer's overall satisfaction will decrease.

Business Definition for: After-sales Service

 Customer support following the purchase of a product or service. In some cases,

after-sales service can be almost as important as the initial purchase. The
manufacturer, retailer, or service provider determines what is included in any
warranty (or guarantee) package. This will include the duration of the warranty
traditionally one year from the date of purchase, but increasingly two or more
year’s maintenance and/or replacement policy, items included/excluded, labor
costs, and speed of response. In the case of a service provider, after-sales service
might include additional training or helpdesk availability. Of equal importance is
the customer's perception of the degree of willingness with which a supplier deals
with a question or complaint, speed of response, and action taken.

After Sales Excellence

After Sales Excellence is a key driver for customer satisfaction and loyalty but also a
very important source of revenues and profits throughout a vehicle lifecycle. Our after
sales experts support our clients in all relevant areas of after sales service to improve the
internal cost base, the retail attractiveness as well as customer satisfaction. Our results
are measurable - significant improvements on key indicators such as warranty costs,
service quality, and fixed first visit rate.

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Supply Chain Excellence

Our Supply Chain Excellence service enables you to realize substantial improvements in
your supply chain performance in terms of cost, efficiency, lead times, demand
management, customer service and working capital requirements. We measure, improve
and qualify supply chain organizations and processes and support our clients by
identifying and rapidly implementing cost and efficiency savings in the entire supply
chain. This can be achieved with the comprehensive, cross-functional redesign of all
logistics processes leveraging the entire supply chain including customers and suppliers.
With our proven Integrated Supply Chain Excellence Audit we quickly identify gaps to
proven best practices and benchmarks within, and beyond, the Automotive Industry.

Value Chain Design

Constantly reviewing the companies’ value chain in a rapidly evolving environment;

deriving required core competencies and partnerships is a key management
responsibility. We help our clients design their value chain in terms of a global
engineering footprint, production and service network, thereby improving efficiency and
customer satisfaction in alignment with corporate strategy.

Customer Contacts and Relationships

In all cases, the supplier had been involved with the customer since the beginning
of the network building. It is difficult to distinguish whether some of the changes in
customer-supplier relationship were due to the duration of the relationship between the
two parties and whether some of the changes were caused by changes in the customer's
needs resulting from the customer's new position in the network life cycle curve. For the
results of this research, that question in terms of the underlying factors has not addressed,
but for future studies, it would be relevant to clarify which of these two factors is the
more significant or in fact, whether they can be distinguished.

Relation of the Care to Customer Satisfaction

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 Innis and La Londe (1994) discovered that several customer satisfaction variables
significantly affect a customer's total customer satisfaction. Customer service attributes
received high ratings for the importance of customer satisfaction. Attributes for physical
distribution of customer service were rated higher than many marketing attributes.

Most Important Services

Barsky (1995) proposed that what is important for one customer may not be
important for another. Barsky proposes this in the area of priority marketing, and the idea
was applied to different services in general. When a buyer considers closer integration
with a supplier, they may consider that it will most likely limit the number of potential
suppliers and fear that the partner may take advantage of this by increasing prices or
delivering poorer quality or poorer service. Interlocking with the supplier can limit the
opportunity to acquire innovations if the supplier lacks the capability of being a leading-
edge supplier. Research has shown that there are frequently differences between the
views of the supplier's management on customer value and the customers' views on what
they say they value. This was studied in the present study as well.

Customer Satisfaction is supreme in business. It focuses on how to satisfy people

who are using our product or services. Delivering great customer satisfaction is no

accident. exceptional management practices. At any help desk; customer satisfaction is a

key indicator of success.

Theoretical over view on customer satisfaction

Satisfaction in person’s feelings of pleasure of disappointment resulting from

comparing a product’s perceived performance (out come) in relation to his or her

expectations.

Customer perceived value

Our premise is that customers will buy from the firm that they see as offering the

highest perceived value. Customer perceived value (CPV) is the difference between the

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prospective customer’s evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and

the perceived alternatives.

Total customer Value is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic,

functional and psychological benefits customers expect from a given market offering.

Total Customer Cost is the bundle of costs customers expect to incur in evaluating,

obtaining, using and disposing of the given market offering.

Total Customer Satisfaction

Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends on the offer’s performance

in relation to the buyer’s expectations. In general, satisfaction is a person’s feelings of

pleasure of disappointment resulting from comparing a product perceived performance

(or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. If the performance falls short of

expectorations, the customer is dissatisfied. It is the performance matches the

expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds the expectations, the

customer is highly satisfied or delighted.

Measuring Satisfaction

Although the customer centered firm seeks to create high customer satisfaction,

that is no its main goal. If the company increases customer satisfaction by lowering its

price or increasing its services, the result may be lower profits. Even bad-mouth it. At

levels two or four, customers are fairly satisfied but still find it easy to switch when a

better offer comes along.

At level five, the customer is very likely to repurchase and even spread good work of

mouth about the company. High satisfaction or delight creates an emotional bond with

brand or company.

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 High satisfaction or delight creates an emotional bond with the brand or
company, not just a rational preference.
Customer expectations
From past buying experience, friends and associates advice, and marketers and
competitors information and promises. If marketers raise expectations too high, the buyer
is likely to be disappointed. However, if the company sets expectations too low, it won’t
attract enough buyers (although it will satisfy those who do buy).
Delivering high customer value
The key to generating high customer loyalty is to deliver high customer value.
According to Micheal planning, in his delivering profitable value, a company must
design a competitively supervalue proposition aimed at a specific market segment,
backed by a superior value-delivery system.
The value proposition consists of the whole cluster of benefits the company
promises to deliver, it is more than the core positioning of the offering.
According to PETER DRUCKER “Marketing is so basic that it cannot be
considered a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view its
final results, that is from the consumers point of view business success is not determined
by the producers but by the consumers.
The definition of marketing management as approved by the American Marketing
Association in 1985 is “Marketing Management is the process of planning and executing
the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods and services and ideas to
create exchange with target group that satisfy consumer and conditional objectives.
The definition recognize that marketing management is a process involving analysis,
planning implementation and control that it covers goods, services and ideas that it rests
in the notion of exchange and that the goods is to produce satisfaction for the parties
involved.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
The buyer forms a judgment of volume and acts. Whether the buyer is satisfied
after purchase depends upon the offers performance in relation to the buyers
expectations. According to PHILLIP KOTLER, the definition of customer satisfaction is
the level of a persons felt state resulting from comparing a product perceived
performance (or outcome) in relation to the persons expectations.
Thus the satisfaction level is a function of the difference between perceived
performance and expectations. A consumer could experience may be three broad levels
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of satisfaction. It the performance falls short of expectations. If the performance
matches the expectations, the consumer is satisfied. It the performance exceeds
expectations, the consumer is highly satisfied, pleased or delighted.
Companies are aiming high because who are just satisfied with still find it easy to
switch supplies when a better offer comes along. The fact is that high satisfaction or
delight creates an emotional affinity with the brand not just a rational preference, and
they creates high consumer loyalty.
The challenge is to create a company culture such that everyone within the
company aims to delight the consumer. Companies seeking to win in today’s markets
must track their consumers expectations perceived company performance and
consumable satisfaction that need to monitor this for their competitors as well.
For consumer centered companies, customer satisfaction is both a goal and a
marketing tool. Companies that achieve high customer satisfaction ratings make sure
that their customer satisfaction ratings make sure that their target market knows it.
Although the consumer centered firm seeks to create high consumer satisfaction. It is
not all to maximum consumer satisfaction. First, the company can increase customer
satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services, but his may result in lower
profits. Second, the company might be able to increase it profitability in other ways,
such as by improving its manufacturing or invest in more in R & D. Third, the company
has many stock holders including.

employees, dealers, supplier and stock holders. Spending more to increase customer
satisfaction of other “partners” Ultimately the company must operate on the philosophy
that it is trying to deliver a high level of customer satisfaction subject delivering at lest
acceptable levels of satisfaction to other stock holders within the constraints of its total
resources.

METHODS OF TRACKING AND MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

A company’s tools for tracking and measuring customer satisfaction range from
the primitive to the sophisticated. Companies use the following methods to measure how
much customer satisfaction they are creating.

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COMPLAINT AND SUGGESTIONS SYTEMS
A consumer-centered organization would make it easy for its consumer to deliver
suggestions and companies with many good ideas and enable them to act more rapidly to
resolve problems.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS
A company must not conclude that it can get a full picture of customer
satisfaction and dissatisfaction by simply running a complaint and suggestion system
consumer may feel stupid, or that no remedy will be offered. Most consumers will buy
less or switch rather tan complain. The result is that the company as needlessly lost
consumers.
Therefore, companies cannot use complaint levels as a measure of consumer
satisfaction. Responsive companies obtain as direct measure of customer satisfaction by
conducting periodic surveys. They send questionnaires or make telephone calls to
random sample to their recent consumers to find all how they feel about various
aspectsofthecompany
performance. They will also solicit buyers views on their competitors performance.
Consumer’s satisfaction can be measured in a number of ways. It can be measured
directly by asking. “Indicate how stratified you are with service X on the following scale
; highly dissatisfied, indifferent, satisfied, highly satisfied, (directly reported
satisfaction) respondents can be asked as well to rate how much they expected of a
certain attribute and also how much they experienced (derived dissatisfaction). Still
another method is to ask respondents to list any problems they have had with the offer
and to list any improvements they could suggest (problem analysis) finally, companies
could ask respondents to rate various elements of the offer in terms of the importance of
each element and how well the organiza5tion performed each element (importance
performance ratings). This last method helps the company to know it is under
performing on relatively unimportant elements. While collecting consumers satisfaction
data, it would also be useful to ask additional questions to measure consumers
repurchase intention. This will normally be high, if the customer satisfaction is high. A
highly positive word of month score indicates that the company is producing high
consumer satisfaction.
GHOST SHOPPING
Another useful way to gather a picture of customer satisfaction is to hire persons to
pose as potential buyers to report their findings on strong and weak points they
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experienced in buying the companies and competitors products. These ghost shoppers
can even pose certain problem to test whether the company’s sales personnel handle the
situation well.

LOST CONSUMER ANALYSIS

Companies should contact consumers who have stopped buying or two have
switched to another supplier to learn why this happened. They mount a through effort to
learn where they failed – is their price too high, their service deficient, their products
unreliable and so on.

SOME CAUTIONS IN MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

When consumers rate their satisfaction with an element of the company’s
performance say delivery, we need to recognize that consumers will vary in how they
define good delivery; if could mean early delivery, on time delivery, order completeness
and so on yet if the company had to spell out every element in detail, consumers would
force a huge question nose. We must also recognize that two consumers can report being
“highly satisfied for different reasons. One may be easily satisfied most of the time and
other might be hard to please but was pleased on this occasion.
Companies should also note that managers and sales persons can manipulate their
rating on consumer satisfaction. They can also try to exclude unhappy consumers from
being included in the survey.
One danger is that if consumers know that the company will go out of its way to
please consumers. Some consumers may want to express high dissatisfaction (even if
satisfied) in order to receive more concessions.

OBSERVATIONS ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The measured value of industrial output is not necessarily a measure of customer
satisfaction with that output. Here are some of Professor fornells’ findings on the
industrial level;
 Customer satisfaction will be lower in industries where the industry offers a
homogeneous product to a heterogeneous market. On the other hand, industries
that supply a high quantity homogeneous product to a heterogeneous market will
register high satisfaction.

26
  Customer satisfaction is lower in industries where repeat buyers force high
switching costs. They have to buy from the supplier even thought their
satisfaction is low.
 Industries, which depend upon repeat business generally, create a high level of
consumer satisfaction.
 As a company increases its market share, customer satisfaction can fall. This is
because more consumers with heterogeneous demands are drawn into buying a
fairly homogeneous product.
Marketing is a societal process by which individuals & groups obtain what they
need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging the products and services
of value with others.
Marketing has often been described as the art of selling products. The aim of
Marketing is to know and understand the customers so well that the product or service
fits him and sell it-self.

Marketing is typically seen as the task of creating, promoting and delivering the
goods and services to the customers & businesses
Marketing people are involved in marketing the goods, services, experiences,
events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas.
The American Marketing Association defined the marketing management as the
process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of
ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizations
goals.
Marketing includes marketing environment, marketing philosophy, marketing
mix, market segmentation, market targeting and market positioning etc.
Marketing environment is the actors and forces outside the marketing that affects
marketing management ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target
customers.
Marketing philosophy are the competing concepts under which organizations
conduct marketing activities. They are :
1. Production Concept.
2. Product Concept.
3. Selling Concept.

27
 4. Marketing Concept and
5. Societal Marketing Concept.

Marketing Mix is the set of controllable and tactical marketing tools which are
used by the firm to gain the customers. It is also referred as
4 Ps
1. Product.
2. Price.
3. Place.
4. Promotion.
Market Segmentation means dividing a market in to distinct group of buyers with
distinct needs, characteristics or behavior who might require separate products or
marketing mix.
Target Marketing is the process of evaluating each market segment’s
attractiveness and selecting one or more to enter.
Market Positioning is creating a clear and distinct image of products in the minds
of the target customers relating to the competing products.
The measured value of industrial output is not necessarily a measure of customer
satisfaction with that output. Here are some of Professor fornells’ findings on the
industrial level;
 Customer satisfaction will be lower in industries where the industry offers a
homogeneous product to a heterogeneous market. On the other hand, industries
that supply a high quantity homogeneous product to a heterogeneous market will
register high satisfaction.

 Customer satisfaction is lower in industries where repeat buyers force high

switching costs. They have to buy from the supplier even thought their
satisfaction is low.
 Industries, which depend upon repeat business generally, create a high level of
consumer satisfaction.

28
  As a company increases its market share, customer satisfaction can fall. This is
because more consumers with heterogeneous demands are drawn into buying a
fairly homogeneous product.
 In present scenario there exists a severe competition among the various Broking
Companies. It is the customers who decide the fate of any business organization
so there is a need to study the satisfaction of customers.
 In the Indian scenario the phrase “Customer is the king” has much value and it is
important for every company to satisfy the customer. Until and unless the
customer is satisfied one can’t be loyal towards the company. He in turn
publicizes the company’s product. s
Any product that prepared by the manufacture should contain unique features where it
should attract different ages, incomes and styles which high quality and low prices,
marketing has often being described as the art of selling product where the company
should meet with the expectations of the customers.
There are 3 levels of performances where the customer will expect, that are:
 Performances fall short of expectations.
 Performance match’s with expectations.
 Performance exceeds the expectations.
CUSTOMERISATION

Today consumer is looking out for value for money. The challenge before the
marketer is to identify what value would appeal and convince the consumer. Marketers
are trying to enhance the concept of value through unique delivery methods. They have
realized that product service characteristics, customer's aspirations and perceptions and
the availability of competing alternatives can be used to enhance customer value.

But the focus and challenge before every firm is to rebuild itself around its
customer. It should be able to perceive, interpret, serve and satisfy the customer with the
type of products and services he/she desires and arm itself so as to gain a competitive
edge of customerisation.

Customerisation will help a firm in:

• Providing the quality of service to match the customer requirement.

29
 • Help to focus on consumers needs so as to add value and offer benefits to the
customer.

 To identify new customers, new market segments and new applications for
existing products.
 Work towards total dealer/customer satisfaction and maximum customer delight.

MANUFACTURING
Manufacture low-cost
customerised product
Reduce cycle -Times at shop
floor level

MARKETING DEVELOPING
Target & market to individual Customer focused products
customer Dealer Reduce development period
Reduce order processing cycle- Interaction
time

DELIVERING
Deliver customized products to
individual customer
Reduce delivery period

Expectations

Dealer expectations though may look realistic is very often build up on a very
high platform. Then the quality of the product or service may not match the expectations.
This again will affect the dealer’s satisfaction level.

So as to reduce the level of dissatisfaction amongst the dealers, the marketing

decision maker could adopt an approach wherein he can classify markets in relation to
the degree of opportunity to deliver dealer satisfaction. He could establish a list of
common factors and then evaluate each market opportunity against these. The most
probable factors which influence, dealer behavior are:

30
  Market size.
 Rate of growth of the market.
 Stability of demand.
 The due importance attached to price by the consumer before making a purchase
decision.
 Dealer emphasis and the due importance given to the quality aspect.
 The dealer’s expectations of pre and post purchase service.
 Dealer desire for product innovation.
 The level of competition.
 The firms competitive strength in terms of price and product performance.
Importance of Regular Research

Regular research is necessary to keep a track of the changing levels of dealer

satisfaction. Market-research will give excellent clues to the firm about what existing or
prospective dealers think. At the same time they will also provide information on how
they rate one's competitor. This will indirectly indicate where the firm stands. In short,
market research will help the firm to enter into a dialogue with their dealers and also help
in avoiding loosing sight of them. Very often companies have found themselves in deep
trouble for neglecting the very reason for their business-dealer/customer.

Firm
Delivery of Feedback,

product, Market research

Communication

Dealers

DealerLeads
Satisfaction
to

31
 The inter-relationship between 'firm’ and the dealer so as to enhance dealer
satisfaction.

The firm must understand the real dealer satisfaction indicator—value. Value can
be said to be what the buyer is willing to pay for. The concept of value though universal,
its delivery has to be unique. In today's competitive scenario, with plenty of modern and
economical alternatives available, the marketer should provide value and add to dealer
satisfaction. They can do this by offering superior value products at lesser price than
their competitors or by providing benefits that more than offset a higher price.

Feedback

Many of the companies are encouraging their dealers to give a feedback and use
this as a means of maintaining regular contact and dialogue. Having realized the
importance of obtaining a feedback from their dealers, rather than avoiding comment,
companies are encouraging their dealers to talk. As mentioned above, feedback helps the
marketer and firm to get an idea about the dealers viewpoint on their products or services
and more important is that this information will help them to take action and deal with
any problems immediately.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SERVICE MARKETS

Today, a very powerful driver of any business is very similar to Murphy's first
law of business. "Every dealer has a choice". In India also the range of choices has gone
much beyond only competing players in the same service category to new competitive
services from different categories so as to satisfy the same need.

Of course, 'changing dealer behavior by educating him' may be a part of every service
provider's plan to differentiate in the competitive environment. But unless the dealer is
convinced about the benefits it will be a losing game. The dealer spends more time
deciding what is good for him.

The Indian customer can no longer be taken for granted. He/she will no longer be
contented with average service. He is aware that he is being charged for every little odd

32
job and thus expects top quality treatment. Thus if he/she feels their well being is not
being taken care of, he may look out for other options.

Inhibiting and Facilitating Factors

It is also important to make a note of the dimension of satisfaction and

dissatisfaction. Sometimes since satisfaction may have more than one dimension, a
distinction between facilitations and inhibition is necessary. Too high a price may deter
dealers (inhibition) whereas a reasonable price may not stimulate them enough to
purchase or accept the product. At times it may be an unfriendly salesman who may put
off a prospective buyer, at the same time a friendly sales person may not act as a
sufficient reason for buying. But manufacturers or producers have to remember to
dispose off inhibition factors and create facilitating factors.

Likewise presence of inhibiting and facilitating factors can influence consumer

satisfaction. Here also inhibiting factors cause dissatisfaction and removal of these
though may prevent dissatisfaction may not create satisfaction. Facilitating factors cause
satisfaction provided inhibition is absent.

(-negative) (+positive)

Inhibition Facilitation

Zero Point

(No dissatisfaction level)

Role of inhibition and facilitation

A good example of dissatisfaction caused by inhibition can be illustrated with the

public transport system at Bangalore. All the daily commuters or travelers are

33
dissatisfied if the bus is late or if no seats are available, but this is taken for granted if the
bus arrives on time (or schedule) and if they are able to procure seats. So the priority of a
public transport management is to avoid or remove inhibition and not the creation of
facilitation. Another example is the inconvenience caused to air travelers when the staff
of Indian Airlines resort to flash strikes or adopt a 'go-slow' agitation. These inhibition
factors are causes of dissatisfaction for the customers. Here a facilitating factor such as
providing snacks or lunch at the airport cannot compensate the inhibition caused by the
delay in departure of the flights. So the management in the above instances should make
all attempts to remove inhibiting factors, then only will facilitating factors have a
positive effect.

Attribution

Dissatisfaction with a product or service offered will occur if in reality there is a

mismatch between the dealers expectations regarding the same and also on the basis of
the availability of alternatives in the particular product/service category. Whenever
dissatisfaction occurs, the dealers try to attribute the cause of dissatisfaction.

Tools for tracking and measuring Dealer/customer satisfaction

( 1 ) Complaint and suggestion systems

A Dealer/customer centered organization makes it easy for its customers to deliver

suggestions and complaints for instance many restaurants and hotels provide forms for
guests to report likes and dislikes through toll-free telephone numbers, web pages and e -
mail to facilitate two-way communications. These information flows provide the
companies with many good ideas and enable them to act quickly to resolve problems.

(2) Dealer/Customer satisfaction surveys

Studies show that although Dealer/customers are dissatisfied with one out of every four
purchases, less than 5 per cent of dissatisfied customers will complain. Most
Dealer/customers will buy less or switch suppliers. Complaint levels are thus not a good
measure of customer satisfaction. Responsive customer centered companies will measure
Dealer/customer satisfaction directly by conducting periodic surveys on regular basis.

34
 CHAPTER III

COMPANY PROFILE

35
 COMPANY PROFILE
Founder and Managing Director, Mr. V. Prabhu Kishore holds a three decade
Automobile experience in 'S'elling, 'S'ervicing and retailing 'S'pare parts of 2 wheelers, 3
wheelers and 4 wheelers of top OEM's in India.

The start of automobile business for Mr. Prabhu Kishore began with Padmaja
Commercial Corporation, his family business in 1970's.

In 1992, Mr. Kishore established his own undertaking  VARUN MOTORS withBajaj

Auto dealership at Visakhapatnam in 1992. This dealership had marked the birth of
the Varun group.

Varun later ventured into 4 wheeler business with  Maruti dealership at Visakhapatnam in

1996 and at Hyderabad in 1998. Soon after, Varun Motors also started its Bajaj
dealership at Vijayawada in 1999.With its aggressive expansion, Varun Motors was soon
referred to as the Varun Group.

Varun has a construction company Varsha Builders Pvt.Ltd through which it builds its

own showrooms and workshops. Varun has also engaged in various other diverse
businesses such as Varun Leasing, Varun Finance, Lakshmi Finance and
Communications. Varun today supports over 2500 families and boasts of extensive
neFOURrk of showrooms, workshops, office buildings and residential apartments.

The management practices at Varun complements the pursuit of perfection. The speed of
adaptation to change and commitment to growth largely boosted the operational
efficiency of the organisation. Varun's Zero Defect approach that has driven it to upgrade
its operating systems continuously earned it the 180 certification and No.1 position in the
market. Behind the success of Varun Group lies the saga of team work, aggressive
marketing, dedication, discipline, higher levels of sensitivity towards customers and
excellent HR practices.

Varun's immense focus on service and customer care blitzes the competition whilst its
showrooms and workshops are also top notch. For example, Varun's Maruti showroom in
Visakhapatnam is the largest showroom in India whilst Varun's workshops are equipped
with up to date technology, modern inventory and world class facilities. Our Maruti
dealership at Vijayawada is in an outstanding 3S facility.

Awards

Our practices and performance have made us the largest automobile dealer in A.P and
one of the top dealers for Bajaj and Maruti in the country. Below are few of our
dealership achievements at the national level.

Varun Motors was awarded Maruti PLATINUM thrice consecutively for the past 3 years

36
in Balanced Scorecard ( Platinum award is the highest rated award in
Maruti). Adjudged India 's No.1 Maruti dealer in Balanced Scorecard in 2003-2004.

Our very successful best practices like Customer Education Meet, Exclusive Test Drive
Team and few other HR practices have been adopted by other dealerships across the
nation.Committed customer service got us the ISO 9001-2000 Certification.

Some Of Other Strategies:

At Varun, the management interacts directly with customers, and communication is seen
across all levels of management.We keep enough stock for customers to touch, feel and
see.

Many innovative and flexible finance schemes are tailor made to make the motor easily
available to all segments of customers. This is the main reason for highest sales in our
outlets and has also raised the affordability levels of customers.We focus more on
service than mere sales because we believe in getting back what we sow, and even more.

Varun's philosophy of serving the customer at his door step is the main reason behind its
expansion plan of workshopsAs the Indian economy is a 60% agricultural economy,
emphasis is given to rural marketing, mobile showrooms and rural service centres with
spares parts back up. Varun also has driving schools.All services are under one roof, for
ex: RTA, Insurance, extended warranty, accessories, exchange and true value
departments.

Varun Group- Service Statistics:

We are currently servicing 18,000 Bajaj's range of 2- wheeler and 3- wheeler vehicles
per month and 5700 Maruti cars per month. Varun Motors has serviced 10, 00,000 Bajaj
vehicles and 2, 00,000 Maruti cars till date.

Models

Maruti introduced the superior 16 * 4 Hypertech engines across the entire Maruti Suzuki
range. This new technology harnesses the power of a brainy 16-bit computer to a fuel-
efficient 4-valve engine to create optimum engine delivery. This means every Maruti
Suzuki owner gets the ideal combination of power and performance from his car.

Our other innovation has been the introduction of Electronic Power Steering (EPS) in
select models. This results in better and greater maneuverability. In other words, our cars
have become even more pleasurable to drive.

Our practices and performance have made us the largest automobile dealer in A.P and
one of the top dealers for Bajaj and Maruti in the country. Below are few of our
dealership achievements at the national level.

37
Varun Motors was awarded Maruti PLATINUM thrice consecutively for the past 3 years
in Balanced Scorecard ( Platinum award is the highest rated award in
Maruti). Adjudged India 's No.1 Maruti dealer in Balanced Scorecard in 2003-2004.

Our very successful best practices like Customer Education Meet, Exclusive Test Drive
Team and few other HR practices have been adopted by other dealerships across the
nation.Committed customer service got us the ISO 9001-2000 Certification.

Some Of Other Strategies:

At Varun, the management interacts directly with customers, and communication is seen
across all levels of management.We keep enough stock for customers to touch, feel and
see.

Many innovative and flexible finance schemes are tailor made to make the motor easily
available to all segments of customers. This is the main reason for highest sales in our
outlets and has also raised the affordability levels of customers.We focus more on
service than mere sales because we believe in getting back what we sow, and even more.

Varun's philosophy of serving the customer at his door step is the main reason behind its
expansion plan of workshopsAs the Indian economy is a 60% agricultural economy,
emphasis is given to rural marketing, mobile showrooms and rural service centres with
spares parts back up. Varun also has driving schools.All services are under one roof, for
ex: RTA, Insurance, extended warranty, accessories, exchange and true value
departments.

Varun Group- Service Statistics:

We are currently servicing 18,000 Bajaj's range of 2- wheeler and 3- wheeler vehicles
per month and 5700 Maruti cars per month. Varun Motors has serviced 10, 00,000 Bajaj
vehicles and 2, 00,000 Maruti cars till date.

Models

Maruti introduced the superior 16 * 4 Hypertech engines across the entire Maruti Suzuki
range. This new technology harnesses the power of a brainy 16-bit computer to a fuel-
efficient 4-valve engine to create optimum engine delivery. This means every Maruti
Suzuki owner gets the ideal combination of power and performance from his car.

Our other innovation has been the introduction of Electronic Power Steering (EPS) in
select models. This results in better and greater maneuverability. In other words, our cars

38
have become even more pleasurable to drive.

     

Car Loans

The country's largest bank and the largest car maker have joined hands to
make affordable car finance available to more and more people across the
country.
The mega alliance makes car loans available at lower interest rates to a
wider section of people, with transparent terms and conditions. It is
supported by the unmatched combined neFOURrk of SBI branches and
Maruti outlets.

The Unbeatable Advantages of SBI-Maruti Car Loans

 FOUR market leaders in their respective industries with trusted

brand names.
 Lowest interest rates 
 No processing fees or hidden costs to ensure transparency
 Car loans available for diverse categories of customers including
government employees and agriculturists
 More loan amount available as it is extended on the basis of the car's
39
 on-road price, not ex showroom price.
 Longer loan repayment period -- upto seven years

We Varun Motors value our customers' comments and we at Varun Motors

Provide quality service to all our customers. We do that by giving our customers all
the undivided atention they desire. But we believe you can always help us improve
your experience with us. We would like to hear anything you might have to sVarun
Motor's road to success is bound by various factors such as market demand, customers,
quality motor, service, human resources etc. While each factor plays a pivotal role in
shaping and strengthening the organisation, we consider Human Resources to be a
central aspect in every activity today as it helps gauge outcomes and organisational
performance.

Thus, we believe that staff should be well trained, well motivated and most importantly
well taken care of in order to contribute efficiently to Varun. Varun will make every
effort to make you feel comfortable, happy and content. Your well being is most
important to us and hence we aim to look after you as far as possible. Work at Varun not
only aims at the company's growth, but also guarantees your own personality
development and growth.

With fierce and disruptive competition today, we emphasise on achieving targets on

time, ability to complete huge amounts of work in a short time when required and
focussing on details whilst still seeing the bigger picture.

We provide extensive training and analyse each employee's performance at regular

intervals. Good rewards for performance and other benefits such as Bonuses or Ince
ntives create a challenging, motivating and intriguing work atmosphere at Varun. Work
environment ought to be healthy, yet tough for better results and hence Varun constantly
strives to strike a balance between the FOUR.

Varun is known for its best HR practices and highest retention rate of employees. It is
our human resources that creates the competitive edge and hence it our duty to keep our
staff happy. We regularly send staff on company sponsored trips. We also provide

40
housing and genuine health care facilities to staff. There have been cases where the
company spent huge amounts of money on serious medical and emergency cases. We are
like family to you and therefore will go beyond our policies when needed. Should you
have any problems you might want to discuss with us, please do not hesitate to call on
us. We are here for you.

We ensure 24 hour availability of our CEO at all times to all our employees. We
encourage employees to be creative, and use discretion whenever required. Delegation of
powers and Empowerment of staff is a key ingredient to our good human resource
management practices.

We also provide subsidised lunch to staff. At Varun, all employees from floor workers to
the Managing Director follow the same uniform dress code in order to create a sense of
equality, discipline and belongingness to the company. We hold regular staff meetings
and occasionally arrange picnics and dinners for staff over weekends.

Varun primarily focuses on Discipline, Hardwork, Empowerment and Performance. We

emphasize on a disciplined conduct right from Wearing uniform, shaving, polishing
shoe, wearing a helmet while driving a 2 wheeler, coming on time and attendance, to,
meeting various demands of the job such as clarity in communication, interpersonal
relationships, inquisitiveness, understanding organisational requirements and steering
ahead wit team work.

We like our staff to be friendly, honest, pleasing and simple. We welcome new ideas,
and instil staff to be innovative. We advise staff to observe and grasp good virtues from
every person, be it a co-employee or a customer. After all, none of us possess a package
of the best qualities!.Have a good interview. We look forward to working with you.

Thus, we believe that staff should be well trained, well motivated and most importantly
well taken care of in order to contribute efficiently to Varun. Varun will make every
effort to make you feel comfortable, happy and content. Your well being is most
important to us and hence we aim to look after you as far as possible. Work at Varun not
only aims at the company's growth, but also guarantees your own personality
development and growth.

41
Varun later ventured into 4 wheeler business with Maruti dealership at Visakhapatnam in
1996 and at Hyderabad in 1998. Soon after, Varun Motors also started its Bajaj
dealership at Vijayawada in 1999.With its aggressive expansion, Varun Motors was soon
referred to as the Varun Group.

At Varun, the management interacts directly with customers, and communication is seen
across all levels of management.We keep enough stock for customers to touch, feel and
see.

42
 CHAPTER - IV

DATA ANALYSIS
&
INTERPRETATION

43
ANALYSIS

Analysis and findings

The total number of respondents of the survey is 100 from Hyderabad city only.

The main aim of the survey is to know the satisfaction level of the VARUN

Services.

The data collected is through primary source, through interviewing the concerned

respondents by giving them a structured questionnaire, which includes few open-ended

questions.

44
1) How did you come to know about VARUN motor?

No. of respondents Percentage

Electronic media 22 22%

Print media 28 28%

Road shows 20 20%

Hoardings 30 30%

Total 100 100%

Knowing about the product:

22%
30%

Electronic media
Print media
Road shows
Hoardings

28%
20%

Interpretation:

30% of the respondents came to know about VARUN motor from hoardings

while 28% of the respondents came to know from print media and electronic media was

assumed by 22% of the respondents. A small significant 20% of the respondents replied

that road shows have helped them in understanding VARUN motor.

45
 2) Since how many months have you been using this service?

No. of respondents Percentage

0-6 months 23 23%
6-12 months 37 37%
1-2 years 36 36%
More than 2 years 04 04%
Total 100 100%

Using of the service (in months):

4%
23%

0-6 months
36%
6-12 months
1-2 years
More than 2 years

37%

Interpretation:

From the above table it is seen that 37% of the respondents have been using

VARUN motor for past one year. While 36% have been using it for more than 1 year,

and a significant 23% of respondents have been using the service for less than six

months. Only 4% of the respondents have been using VARUN motor for more than 2 –

years.

46
 3) What is the reason for choosing this service?

No. of respondents Percentage

Less price 20 20%

Quality service 56 56%

Brand image 24 24%

Total 100 100%

Reason for choosing the service:

24% 20%

Less price
Quality service
Brand image

56%

Interpretation

From the above table it is shown that 56% of the respondents are citing quality of

service as the factor. While 24% cited brand image as the reason for choosing the

service. As far as price is concerned only 20% of the respondents have quoted it as the

reason for choosing this service.

47
4) Why do you prefer for this service?

No. of respondents Percentage

Convenience 53 53%

Economical 30 30%

Security 04 04%

Features 13 13%

Total 100 100%

Preferring for this service:

13%

4%

Convenience
Economical
53% Security
Features
30%

Interpretation

In today’s busy world convenience seems to be the most overriding factor while
preferring a cellular service. It is clear that 53% of the respondents have preferred this
service due to easy & hands free availability, making it convenient to use it. On the other
hand 30% have said economy of the service, while 13% of the respondents have given

48
features as their choice. While a meager 4% of the said security as the reason for
preferring the service.

5) Are you satisfied with the quality of service being provided?

No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 85 85%

No 5 5%

To some extent 0 0%

Can’t say 10 10%

Total 100 100%

Satisfaction l with the quality of service:

10%
0%
5%

Yes
No
To some extent
Can’t say

85%

Interpretation:

49
 From the above table it is clear that 85% of the respondents are satisfied with the

quality of service while a significant number i.e., 10% of the respondents couldn’t say

anything and 5% of the respondents replied they are not satisfied with the quality of

service.

6) While buying VARUN product that has influenced your purchase decision?

No. of respondents Percentage

Colleagues 25 25%

Friends 60 60%

Family members 15 15%

Others 0 0%

Total 100 100%

Influence on purchase decision:

0%
15%
25%

Colleagues
Friends
Family members
Others

60%

Interpretation:

From the above table it is shown that 60% of the respondents were influenced by

their friends, 25% by their colleagues and 15% by others.

50
 7) Where do you pay your bills?

Periods No. of respondents percentage

At showrooms 100 100%

Don’t know exactly 00 00%

Total 100 100%

Place of paying Bills:

120
100
100

80

At showrooms
60
Don’t know exactly
40

20
0 100% 0%
0
1 2

Interpretation:

51
 It is clear from the above analysis that the respondents have to pay their post paid

bills at the True-Paid shops only. So 100% of the respondents pay at their dealer outlets

only.

8) How do you feel about the pricing of VARUN services as

compared with other?

No. Of respondents Percentage

Expensive 00 00%

Competitive 96 96%

Can’t say 04 04%

Total 100 100%

Pricing of VARUN indicim services:

52
 120

100 96

80
Expensive
60 Competitive
Can’t say
40

20
4
0
0
1

Interpretation:

The feelings of customers of VARUN about the pricing of the services is, 96%

of them are satisfied and feel the prices are comparable with others and 4% of them are

not satisfied with the pricing of the company as they feel the prices are not competitive

enough.

9) Are you satisfied with the time given for the payment of your bills?

No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 10 10%

No 00 00%

To some extent 90 90%

Total 100 100%

Satisfaction with the time given for the payment:

53
 10% 0%

Yes
No
To some extent

90%

Interpretation:

With the above analysis, from the 100 respondents, only 10% are satisfied with

the time given to them for payment of bills, and the remaining 90% of respondents are

not fully satisfied.

10) Do you feel that the instruments being provided along with the services is ok
or you want a change (as per choice)?

No. of respondents Percentage

Yes, we want change 10 10%

No, it is OK 90 90%

Total 100 100%

Instruments provided with service are ok or not:

54
 10%

Yes, we want change

No, it is OK

90%

Interpretation:

From the above table it is clear that 90% of the total 100 respondents doesn’t

want any change in the instruments being provided by the company, they want as it is.

But the remaining 10% of the respondents are willing to have change in that at some

choice, in terms of certain features as compared with the competitors.

11) Do you recommend these services to your friends, Colleagues & Family?

No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 63 63%

No 37 37%

Can’t say 00 00%

Total 100 100%

55
 Recommendation of the service:

70
63
60

50

40 37

30

20

10
0
0
Yes No Can’t say

Interpretation:

It is clear that 63% of the respondents would recommend the service, while a

significant 37% of the respondents do not want to recommend the service to their friends,

colleagues & family.

12) Do you want any additional features to be included to you service in future?

No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 67 67%

No 23 23%

Total 100 100%

Any additional features:

56
 80 67
60

40
23
20

0
Yes No

Interpretation:

From the above table it is clear that 67% of the total respondents are desirous of

having some new features like call waiting, GPRS, MMS etc., to be included in this

service in future, and the remaining 23% respondents do not want any changes as far as

the additional features are concerned.

57
CHAPTER - V

SUGGESTIONS
&
CONCLUSIONS

58
 FINDINGS

2. VARUN should create awareness amongst its customers regarding various services
that are being offered by it by increasing its sales promotion reach.

1. Special promotional schemes to be launched especially to target youth segment

who take up the new product by having special packages

4. VARUN try to focus on the after sales customer support as this is perceived to be a

weak spot, by the consumes and should have responsive call centers to address the needs

of its customers.

59
 SUGGESTIONS

 VARUN should vigorously promote its fixed line services as compared with

the competition and should concentrate on individual customers and non-

commercial customers.

 VARUN should aggressively promote its offerings in various media and

should concentrate on hoardings and road shows and electronic media.

60
 Conclusions

 The respondents are subscribers of VARUN, and they came know about the

service from hoardings, print media, primarily and through electronic media

and road shows secondarily.

 The respondents are using VARUN since 1 year and below 1 year in most of

the cases.

 The mobile service provided by VARUN is used by majority of the

respondents and the reason for choosing it is the quality of the service,

followed by brand image.

 Customer satisfaction of the respondents towards VARUN is high; however a

significant number of the respondents are dissatisfied with its services.

 In purchasing VARUN motor family appear to be the prime motivators of the

respondents in making their purchase decisions, due to the special offers

being targeted by the company at this segment.

 The respondents are paying their bills at the company show rooms, and these

are also acting as customer care centers for all queries and needs of the

consumers.

61
BIBILOGRAPHY

62
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. MARKETING MANAGEMENT

- Philip Kotler

2. PRINCIPLE OF MARKETING

- Philip Kotler & Gray Armstrong

3. MARKETING MANAGEMENT

- Stanton

4. BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

- C.R. Kothari

5. www.VARUN.com

63
QUESTIONNAIRE

64
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of the respondent :

Age :

Gender :

Address :

Signature

1) How do you come to know that About VARUN motor?

a) Electronic Media b) Print media

b) Road shows c) Hoardings

2) Since how many months have you been using this?

a) 0-6 months b) 6-12 months

c) 1-2 years d) more than 2 years

4) What is the reason for choosing this service?

a) Less price b) Quality service

b) Brand image

5) Why do you prefer this service?

a) Convenience b) Economical

c) Security e) Features

6) Are you satisfied with the quality of service being provided?

a) Yes b) No

c) To some extent d) can’t say

65
12) How do you feel about the pricing of VARUN Services as compared with other?

a) Expensive b) Competitive

c) Can’t say

along with the services is OK or you want any change? (As per your choice)

a) Yes, we want change b) No, it is ok

17) Do you recommend this service to your friends, colleagues & family?

a) Yes b) No

18)Do you want any additional features to be included to your services in future?
a) Yes b) No

19) What is the reason for avoiding activation charges and disconnecting phone connection?

Please__________________________________________________________________
_______________________________

20) What are the common problems, which you face while using this
service:_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

66