ABSTRACT

Customer satisfaction is the state of mind that customers have about a company when

their expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or service. The

achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty and product repurchase.

Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires.

Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied

customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a wide range of

services offered by a business.

With the increase market study there is a cut through competition among the businessmen

in the industry some of the other major competitors in this area like Hyundai. Ford. Maruti

Suzuki, and Chevrolet. Hence there is a need for the study. The need or customer satisfaction is

necessary for ail business, large or small. The satisfaction of the customer is an all important

task.

We all know customer satisfaction is essential to the survival of our businesses. How do

we find out whether our customers are satisfied? The best way to find out whether your

customers are satisfied is to ask them. To study the customer satisfaction with the usage of

clothss of PETER ENGLAND (passenger car division).To study the opinion of the owners of

clothss regarding after sales services provided by the dealers and study the response of the

company and dealers on complaints given by the dissatisfied customers

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INTRODUCTION

Measuring customer satisfaction to a relatively new concept to many companies that have

been focused exclusively on income statements and balance sheets Companies now recognize

that the new global economy has changed things forever. Increased competition, crowded

markets with little product differentiation? of continual sales growth followed by two decades of

flattened sales curves have indicate to today’s sharp competitors that their focus must change.

markets shrink, companies are scrambling to boost customer satisfaction and keq? their

current customers rather than devoting additional resources to chase potential new customers}

The claim that it costs live to eight times as much to get new customers than to hold on to old

ones is key to understanding the drive toward benchmarking and tracking customer satisfaction.

competitors that are prospering in the new global economy recognize that measuring

customer satisfaction is key) Only by doing so can they hold on to the customers they have and

understand how to better attract new customers. The competitors who will he successful

recognize that customer satisfaction is a critical strategic weapon that can bring increased market

share and increased profits.

The problem companies face, however, is exactly how to do all of this and do it well.

They need to understand how to quantify, measure, and track customer satisfaction. Without a

clear and accurate sense of what needs to be measured and how to collect, analyze, and use the

data as a strategic weapon to drive the business, no firm can be effective in this new business

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climate. I Plans constructed using customer satisfaction research results can he designed to target

customers and processes that arc most able to extend proofs.

Too many companies rely on outdated and unreliable measures of customer satisfaction.

They watch sales volume. They listen to sales reps describing their customers' states of mind.

They track and count the frequency of complaints. And they watch aging accounts receivable

reports, recognizing that unhappy customers pay as late as possible ~ if at all. While these

approaches are not completely without value, they are no substitute for a valid, well-designed

customer satisfaction survey program.

Customers: people or groups of people who purchase or use or consume your products anti nr

services

Satisfaction: cognitive or affective reaction to overall experience encountered

Customer Satisfaction: customers positive or negative feeling about the perceived value that

was received as a result of using your products and/or services in specific use situation

Business Definition for: Customer Satisfaction

The degree to which customer expectations of a product or service are met or exceeded.

Corporate and individual customers may have widely differing reasons for purchasing a product

or service and therefore any measurement of satisfaction will need to be able to take into account

such differences. The quality of after sales service can also be a crucial factor >n influencing any

purchasing decision. More and more companies are striving, not just for customer satisfaction,

but for customer delight, that extra bit of added value that may lead to increased customer

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loyalty. Any extra added value, however, will need to be carefully casted.

Because the concept of customer satisfaction is new to many companies, it’s important to

be clear on exactly what's meant by the term.

Customer satisfaction is the state of mind that' customers have about a company when their

expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or service. The

achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty and product repurchase There are

some important implications of this definition

Because customer satisfaction is a subjective, non-quantitative state, measurement won't

be exact and will require sampling and statistical analysis.

Customer satisfaction measurement must be undertaken with an understanding of the gap

between customer expectations and attribute performance perceptions.

"Satisfaction” itself can refer to a number of different facts of the relationship with a customer.

For example, it can refer to any or all of the following:

Satisfaction with the quality of a particular product or service

Satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship

Satisfaction with the price-performance ratio of a product or service

Satisfaction because a product service met or exceeded the customer's expectations

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Each industry could add to this list according to the nature of the business and the

specific relationship with the customer. Customer satisfaction measurement variables will differ

depending on what type of satisfaction is being researched. For example, manufacturers typically

desire on-time delivery and adherence to specifications, so measures of satisfaction taken by

suppliers should include these critical variables.

Clearly defining and understanding customer 'satisfaction can help any company identify

opportunities for product and service innovation and serve as the basis for performance appraisal

and reward systems. It can also serve as the basis for a customer satisfaction survey program that

can ensure that quality improvement efforts are properly focused on issues that are most

important to the customer.

Conducting a customer satisfaction survey program is a burden on the organization and

its customers in terms of time and resources. There is no point in engaging in this work unless it

has been thoughtfully designed so that only relevant and important information is gathered. This

information must allow the organization to take direct action. Nothing is more frustrating than

having information that indicates a problem exists but fails to isolate the specific cause. Having

the purchasing department of a manufacturing firm rate the sales and service it received on its

last order on a survey scale of 1 (terrible) to 6 (magnificent) would yield little about how to

improve sales and service to the manufacturer.

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Significance of the study

Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products

and services provided by a business.

Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and

questionnaires. Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business

because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a

wide range of services offered by a business.

Studies carried out by companies like Argos and Cadburys have found very high levels of

customer satisfaction. It is not surprising because these companies emphasize market research

and marketing as the tools to find out what customers want. Knowing what your customer wants

then makes it possible to tailor everything you do to pleasing the customers e.g. providing the

goods that customers want, in the packaging that they want, in retail outlets which are convenient

to use and well placed.

I here are many factors which lead to high levels of customer satisfaction including:

Products and services which are customer focused and then provide high levels of value for

money. Customer service giving personal attention to the needs of individual customers after

sales service Following up the original purchase with after sales support such as maintenance and

updating for example in the updating of computer packages. What is clear about customer

satisfaction is that customers are . most likely to appreciate the goods and services that they buy

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if they are made to feel special. This occurs when they feel that the goods and services that they

buy have been specially produced for them or for people like them.

This relates to .1 wide range of products such as razor that are designed for ease of use

and good quality finish, petrol products that are environmentally friendly and customized to meet

the needs of particular types of engines, etc.

With the increased globalization of markets, competition among market players has

become more severe. In this competitive market, one of the most important factors is the

achievement of customer satisfaction and excellence in service. Although the concept of

customer satisfaction in customer oriented management is not new, the relationship between

customers and corporations has been changing almost daily. Customers arc becoming the

absolute entity for corporations as the final decision makers for business deals and purchases of

products.

Peter Drucker, the highly regarded management scholar and writer, stated. “The only

valid definition of business purpose is to create a customer.” Successful organizations of the

future will be those that can provide goods and services to the customers who want it. where they

want it and in the quantity and at the price they want it. thereby delighting rather than merely

satisfying customers.

Customer delight will lead to loyalty, which is one of the critical indicators used to

measure the success of a marketing strategy. Services cannot, however, be performed without

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some form of relationship between the producer and the consumer and cannot be stored and

retained for later use in the way typical of many tangible goods.

Business corporations make efforts to create and provide their customers with higher

value added, which consists of elements such as lower prices, additional benefits, and uniqueness

in services. With rapid advances in information and communications technology, corporations

can take advantage of the emerging IT systems to create infrastructure within the organization to

improve responsiveness to customer needs and to track those needs, thereby improving customer

satisfaction significantly. Top management should be aware of how to tap the power of IT to

enhance customer services, resulting in better service quality and streamlining of processes. With

advanced technology, competing organizations can rapidly duplicate another organization's

services and products. This process is now accelerated by the Internet and c-mail and can be

achieved in much less time than was possible a few years ago. Organizations are also dealing

with more highly educated customers who are aware of the varied services and levels of quality

available. There is a myriad of options for the customer.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study the customer satisfaction with the usage of Cloths

To study the opinion of the owners of clothss regarding after sales services provided by

the dealers

To study the response of the company and dealers on complaints given by the dissatisfied

customers

To determine overall customer satisfaction with our products or services .

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To identify customer perceptions of "key areas of weakness” and "key areas of strength”

To measure and prioritize areas where improvement will most affect customer

satisfaction

To identify key competition and determine competitive position

To determine the extent pricing affects repeat customer sales

To develop a means to measure over time, the effect that increased customer satisfaction

has on repeat customer sales

To discover if customers are satisfied with (service, quality, etc.)

NEED FOR THE STUDY

In the modern times the business organizations are adopting new techniques and methods

for the growth of the business. The organizations are giving better services to there customers to

face challenge posed by the competitors for every business, it is not only important to retain the

present customers but also attract the new customers. So there is need to ascertain the customers

use regarding the services providing by reputed organization like PETER ENGLAND.

With the increase market study there is a cut through competition among the businessmen

in the industry some of the other major competitors in this area like Twills, Woodland. Spyker,

Basics, and Fast Track Hence there is a need for the study.

The need for customer satisfaction is necessary for all business, large or small. The

satisfaction of the customer is an all important task We all know customer satisfaction is

essential to the survival of our businesses. How do we find out whether our customers are

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satisfied? The best way to find out whether your customers are satisfied is to ask them.

When you conduct a customer satisfaction survey, what you ask the customers is

important. How, when, and how often you ask these . questions are also important. However, the

most important thing about conducting a customer satisfaction survey is what you do with their

answers.

No matter what type of business you operate, you have to have customers. Whether your

customers are other companies, or individuals they are vital to your business's success.

“Customers are what make a business successful".

The quality of your customer service at any point can affect the overall relationship a

customer has with your company.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Customer satisfaction is the buzzword of the 1990s. Unfortunately, many managers still

think of satisfying their customers as a nice thing to do rather than a critical component of

success. To maximize profits and productivity, you must recognize five facts:

As senior managers, you only know about the tip of the iceberg, a small fraction of all the

problems your customers encounter.

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Service can be a major marketing tool-reconverting problem situations into incremental

revenue.

Customer problems can cost you not only an immediate lost sale, but also future

purchases by that customer and by other customers as a result of negative word-of-mouth

behavior.

You can and must quantify the expected payback from service and/or quality

improvements.

The market transaction (sale) often is not the key point of customer pain and lost revenue.

Often, both the product offering (product itself, how it is offered, and fulfillment) and

customer expectations are major contributors to problems, even though the problem

surfaces in the customer service area.

SCOPE OF THE STDUY

The data analysis and evaluation of the fourth step in the research process. The data arc

first edited, coded and tabulated for the purpose of analyzing them. The editing, coding and

tabulating is a most when the interviewer has amassed a huge amount of data consuming the

research project at hand. The analysis can be conducted by using simple statistical tools like

percentages, averages and measures dispersion, the collected data may be analyzed by using

diagrams, graphs, charts, picture etc.. finally meaning data may be extracted from the analysis

thus conducted.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

As the time constraint was there to complete this and as there was also finance restriction

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to spend on the promotional activities. So for promoting the product's I have limited myself to

customers who brought their clothss in specified period only.

Regarding the customer satisfaction about the clothss a list of customers was selected

who purchased the clothss in three months of May to July from the reports of the dealer the

response will be taken. And the other customers who purchased the clothss from the Peter

England or from any other dealers will not be considered.

The study is confined to only tri cities of Warangal (Warangal, Kazipet and

Hanamkonda) only.

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RESEARCH & METHODOLOGY

I he systematic designs, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific

marketing situation facing an organization.

Defining the problem and objectives.

Developing the research plan for collecting information.\

Implementing the research plan collecting and analyzing the data.

Interpreting and reporting the findings.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

Defining the problem and research objectives is often the hardest step in the research

process.

The marketing problem on which the survey is expected to focus should be clearly

defined. Before this clear definition is possible, it may be necessary to undertake some

exploratory research into certain aspects of the client s business. Example, the sales organization

method of publicity, distribution arrangements etc. In an attempt to pinpoint area of significance

of the enquiry. Preparatory work of nature carried out conscientiously and objectively, is an

essential element in the systematic study of marketing problems. Management and researchers

should work closely together in this crucial task of developing survey objectives.

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DEVELOPING RESEARCH PLAN

A research design is purely and simply the frame work of plan for a study that guides the

collection and analysis of the data. According to u hieh the research is to be collected. The

research design specifies the methods for data collection and data analysis.

How the data be collected.

Which instruments for data collection would be used, and What sampling plan would be

used?

The researcher has to carefully decide and make a choice from the group of different

alternatives an available to him

FIELD WORK/DATA COLOLECTION

This stage will be central point of the research activities. An effective sampling plan

would have been devised in stage two and the efficiencies of various methods of collecting data

would have been evaluated At this stage, the survey methodology has to be put into proactive.

Since time constraints an inevitable, it would be advisable to plan operations on a time schedule.

Since so much of the efficiency of the company research progress depends on reliable and valid

data being gathered by research, activities during this stage of research should be carefully

planned and executed.

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REPORTS PRESENTATION

The last state in the research process should be done thoroughly. During the proceeding

stage research will be planning how to present their findings. Tables, graphs and other diagrams

data to illustrate the principle landings of the researchers.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

Marketing research has a choice of two wail research instruments in collecting the

primary data. They are questionnaires and shopal devise.

QUESTIONNAIRE

lt is a formalized instrument for asking information directly from the respondent

concerning behavior, demographic characteristics, level of knowledge and or attitude, belief, and

feelings. Because of its flexibility, it is by and large the most common instrument used to collect

the primary data.

Questionnaires contain two types of questions or a combination of closed-end questions

and open-end questions. Closed-end questions include all the possible answers, and subjects

make choices among them.

Open-end questions allow respondents lo answer in their own words. In this research I

used closed-end questions and open-end questions. In closed-end I used multiple choice

questions, rating scale question and dichotomous questions.

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Data collection

Data constitute the foundation of statistical analysis and interpretation. Hence the first step in

statistical work is to obtain data. Data can be obtained from two important sources, namely:

Primary data

Secondary data

Primary Data:

Primary data are measurements observed and recorded basic part of an original study.

When the data required for particular study can be found neither in the internal records of the

enterprise, nor in published sources, it may become necessary to collect original data, i.e., to

conduct firs' hand investigation. The work of collecting original data is usually limited by time,

money, and manpower available for the study. The actual procedures used in collecting primary

data are essentially the same whether all the items are to be included or only some items are

considered.

So the current study includes the primary data because its characteristics and are

collected on rise following basis.

There are three basic methods of obtaining primary data, namely:

Observation

Questionnaire

Direct personal interview

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Secondary data

The following sources are used to obtain the secondary data for the present project study.

They are:

Reports from the Dealers

Magazines

Company website

Marketing author's books.

Observation

When data are collected by observation, the investigator risks no questions. Instead, he

observes the objects or actions in which he is interested. Sometimes individuals make

observations, on other occasions; shopal dev ices observe and record the desired information.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire as the name suggest, is distinguished by the fact that data arc collected by asking

question from people who are thought to have the desired information. Questions may be asked

in person, or in writing. A format list of such questions is called a Questionnaire

The questionnaire is the tool which has been used to collect the data from the customers

The need for adequate and reliable data is ever increasing for taking wise decisions in

different fields of human activity and business is no exception to it. There are two ways in which

the required information may be obtained:

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Census method

Sampling method

Census Method

Under this data arc collected for each and every unit (person, household, field, shop,

factory, etc.., as the case may be) belonging to the population or universe which is the complete

set of items which are of interest in any particular situation.

Sampling Method '

The sampling method involves selecting the sample observations from population and

studying these observations in order to obtain complete characteristics of population. The

sampling methods are basically classified into probability and non-probability sampling

methods. In order to select the sample observations (customers) for the present project study,

simple random sampling method is applied which involve s each and every sample observation

(customer) has an equal chance of being selected. While collecting data from the marketers some

times, convenient sampling method is applied also to collect the data from sample observations.

Sampling frame:

The sampling frame for the present project study constitutes customers of Peter England,

marketers belongs to tri cities of Warangal district only.

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Sample Size:

For the purpose of obtaining information. 100 sample observations are selected, hence the

sample size is 50 only.

Hypothesis:

Set up an experiment or situation to test

Suggest relationships (or lack thereof) between and among variables

Predict causes and relationships prior to testing.

Null

No relationship exists between levels of funding and staffing and the existence of

a formal marketing plan.

Alternative

Formal marketing plans exist in institutions with greater levels of funding and

staffing.

H0:[Null Hypothesis]: To determine overall customer not satisfied with our products or

services

H1:[Alternative Hypothesis]: To determine overall customer satisfied with our products

or services

Hence the project accepted [H0:Null Hypothesis]

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IMPORTANCE OF THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Company's primary task is “to create customers" But today's customers face a vast array

of product and brand choices, prices and suppliers. How do customers make their choices?

We believe that customers estimate which offer will deliver the most value. Customers

are value- maximizes, within the bounds of search costs and limited knowledge, mobility, and

income. They form and expectation of value and act on it. Then they learn whether the offer

lived up to the value expectation and this affects their satisfaction and their repurchase

probability.

CUSTOMER VALUE

Customer delivered value is the difference between total customer value and total

customer cost. And total customer value is the bundle of benefits customers expects from a given

product or service.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting from comparing a product's

performance in relation to the person’s expectations.

The satisfaction level is a function of the difference between perceived performance and

expectations. A customer could experience one of three broad levels of satisfactions. If the

performance falls short of expectation, the customer is dissatisfied. If the performance matches

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

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is highly satisfied, pleased, or delighted.

Companies are aiming high because customers who are just satisfied will still find it easy

to sy itch suppliers when a better offer comes along. In one consumer packaged-goods category,

44% of those reporting satisfaction subsequently switched brands. Those who are highly satisfied

are much less ready to switch. One study showed that 75% of Toyota buyers were highly

satisfied and about 75% said they intended to buy a Toyota again. The fact is that high

satisfaction or delight creates and emotional affinity with the brand, not just a rational

preference, and this creates high customer loyalty.

The challenge is to create a company culture such that everyone within the company aims

to delight the customer. Unisys, the computer company, recently introduced the term

‘customize*' in its ads. and defined it as follows : ’* To make a company more responsive to its

customers and better able to attract new ones.” Unisys sees this as a matter of extending

information's system capabilities to field locations and other points of customer contact and

support. But “customizing" a company calls for more than providing good information to

customer contact employees. The company's staff must be “converted" to practicing a strong

customer orientation. Company's staff must be “converted” to practicing a strong customer

orientation. Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, wisely observes : “ Our people

( employees) are first line of customers.

Companies seeking to win to today's markets must track their customer's expectations,

perceived company performance, and customer satisfaction. They need to monitor this for their

competitors as well. Consider the following.

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For customer-centered companies, customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing

tool. Companies that achieve high customer satisfaction ratings make sure that their target

market knows it.

Although the customer-centered firm seeks to create high customer satisfaction, it is not

out to maximize customer satisfaction. First, the company can increase customer satisfaction by

lowering its price or increasing its services, but this may result in lower profits. Second, the

company might be able to increase its profitability in other ways, such as by improving its

manufacturing or investing more in R &. D. Third; the company has many stakeholders

including employees, dealers, suppliers, and stockholders. Spending more to increase customer

satisfaction would divert funds from increasing the 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 to delivering at least acceptable levels of satisfaction to the other

stakeholders within the constraints of its total resources.

COMPLAINT AND SUGGESTION SYSTEMS

A customer centered organization would make it easy for its customer to deliver

suggestions and complaints. Many restaurants and hotels provide forms for guests to report their

like and dislikes. A hospital could place suggestion boxes in the corridors, supply comment bikes

ads to existing patients, anil hire a patient advocate to handle patient grievances. Some customer-

centered companies- P & G. general Electric. Whirlpool-establish “ customer hot lines" to

maximize the case with which customers can inquire, make suggestions or complain.

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A company must not conclude that it can get a full picture of customer satisfaction and is

satisfaction by simply running a complaint and suggestion system. Studies show that customers

are dissatisfied with one out of every four purchases and less than 5% of dissatisfied customers

will complain. Customers may feel that their complaints jrc minor, or that they will be made to

feel stupid, or that no remedy will he offered. Most customers will buy less or switch suppliers

rather than complain. The result is that the company has needlessly lost customers

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 experienced in buying

the company’s and competitor's products. These ghost shoppers can ever, pose certain problems

to lest whether the company’s sales personnel handle the situation well.

LOST CUSTOMER ANALYSIS

Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or who have switched to

another supplier to learn why this happened. When IBM losses a customer, they mount a

thorough effort to learn where they failed- is their price too high, their service deficient, and their

products unreliable, and so on. Not only is it important to conduct exist interviews but also to

monitor the customer loss rate, which if it is increasing, clearly indicates that the company is

failing to satisfy its customers.

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SOME CAUTIONS IN MEASURING CUSTOMERS SATISFACTIONS

When customers rate their satisfaction with an element of the company's performance,

say delivery, we need to recognize that customers will vary in how they define good delivery. It

could mean early delivery, on-time delivery, order competences, and so on. Yet if the company

had to spell our every element in detail, customers would face a huge questionnaire. We must

also recognize that two customers can report being “highly satisfied" for different reasons. One

may be easily satisfied most of the time and the other might he hared to pleasure but was pleased

on this occasion.

OBSERVATIONS ON CUSTOMERS SATISFACTION

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- quality homogeneous product to a homogeneous market will register high satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is lower in industries where repeat buyers face high switching

costs. They have to buy from the supplier even though their satisfaction is low. Industries which

depend upon repeat business generally create a higher level of customer satisfaction.

As a company increases its market share, customer satisfaction can fall. This is because

more customers with heterogeneous demands arc drawn into buying a fairly homogeneous

product.

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DELIVERY CUSTOMER VALUE AND SATISFACTION

Given the importance of customer value and satisfaction, what does it take to produce

and deliver it? To answer this, we need lo introduce the concepts of a value chain and value -

delivery systems.

VALUE CHAIN

New product realization process: all the activities involved in identifying, researching,

developing, and successfully laughing new products with speed, high quality, and target cost

attainment. Inventory management process: all the activities involved in developing and

managing the right inventory locations of raw materials, semi finished materials, and finished

goods so that adequate supplies are available while avoiding the costs of high overstocks. Order-

to-remittance process: all the activities involved in receiving orders, approving them, shipping

the goods on time, and collecting payment. Customer service process; all the activities involved

in receiving orders, approving them, shipping the goods on time, and collecting payment.

Customer service process: all the activities involved in making it easy for customers to reach the

right parties within the company and receive quick and satisfactory service, answers, and

resolutions of problems.

RETAINING CUSTOMERS

Companies .ire not only seeking to improve their relations with their partners in the

supply chain. Today they are intent on developing stronger bonds and loyalty with their ultimate

customers. In the past, many alternative suppliers were just as deficient in quality and service, or

the market was growing so facts that the company did not worry about fully satisfying its

customers. The company could lose 100 customers .1 week and gain another 100 customers and

a consider its sales to be satisfactory.

Customer satisfaction is a term frequently used in marketing. While it's often abbreviated as

CSAT, it is more correct to abbreviate it as CSat. It is a measure of how products and services

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

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

firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals." In a survey of

nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71 percent responded that they found a customer

satisfaction metric very useful in managing and monitoring their businesses.

It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is often part of a Balanced

Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer

satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business

strategy.

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

focus employees on the importance of fulfilling customers' expectations. Furthermore, when

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

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

mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective."

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Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage customer satisfaction. To be

able do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.

"In researching satisfaction, firms generally ask customers whether their product or

service has met or exceeded expectations. Thus, expectations are a key factor behind satisfaction.

When customers have high expectations and the reality falls short, they will be disappointed and

will likely rate their experience as less than satisfying. For this reason, a luxury resort, for

example, might receive a lower satisfaction rating than a budget motel—even though its facilities

and service would be deemed superior in 'absolute' terms."

The importance of customer satisfaction diminishes when a firm has increased bargaining

power. For example, cell phone plan providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, participate in an

industry that is an oligopoly, where only a few suppliers of a certain product or service exist. As

such, many cell phone plan contracts have a lot of fine print with provisions that they would

never get away if there were, say, 100 cell phone plan providers, because customer satisfaction

would be far too low, and customers would easily have the option of leaving for a better contract

offer.

A business ideally is continually seeking feedback to improve customer satisfaction.

"Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of consumer purchase intentions and

loyalty." "Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of

market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold:"

1. "Within organizations, the collection, analysis and dissemination of these data send a

message about the importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a

positive experience with the company's goods and services."

2. "Although sales or market share can indicate how well a firm is performing currently,

satisfaction is perhaps the best indicator of how likely it is that the firm’s customers will

make further purchases in the future. Much research has focused on the relationship

between customer satisfaction and retention. Studies indicate that the ramifications of

satisfaction are most strongly realized at the extremes."

On a five-point scale, "individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '5' are likely to

become return customers and might even evangelize for the firm. (A second important metric

related to satisfaction is willingness to recommend. This metric is defined as "The percentage of

surveyed customers who indicate that they would recommend a brand to friends." When a

customer is satisfied with a product, he or she might recommend it to friends, relatives and

colleagues. This can be a powerful marketing advantage.) "Individuals who rate their satisfaction

level as '1,' by contrast, are unlikely to return. Further, they can hurt the firm by making negative

comments about it to prospective customers. Willingness to recommend is a key metric relating

to customer satisfaction."

"In literature antecedents of satisfaction are studied from different aspects. The

considerations extend from psychological to physical and from normative to positive aspects.

However, in most of the cases the consideration is focused on two basic constructs as customers

expectations prior to purchase or use of a product and his relative perception of the performance

28

29

of that product after using it.

Expectations of a customer on a product tell us his anticipated performance for that

product. As it is suggested in the literature, consumers may have various "types" of expectations

when forming opinions about a product's anticipated performance. For example, four types of

expectations are identified by Miller (1977): ideal, expected, minimum tolerable, and desirable.

While, Day (1977) indicated among expectations, the ones that are about the costs, the product

nature, the efforts in obtaining benefits and lastly expectations of social values. Perceived

product performance is considered as an important construct due to its ability to allow making

comparisons with the expectations.

It is considered that customers judge products on a limited set of norms and attributes.

Olshavsky and Miller (1972) and Olson and Dover (1976) designed their researches as to

manipulate actual product performance, and their aim was to find out how perceived

performance ratings were influenced by expectations. These studies took out the discussions

about explaining the differences between expectations and perceived performance."

In some research studies, scholars have been able to establish that customer satisfaction

has a strong emotional (i.e., affective component). Still others show that the cognitive and

affective components of customer satisfaction reciprocally influence each other over time to

determine overall satisfaction.

Especially for durable goods that are consumed over time, there is value to taking a

dynamic perspective on customer satisfaction. Within a dynamic perspective, customer

satisfaction can evolve over time as customers repeatedly use a product or interact with a service.

The satisfaction experienced with each interaction (transactional satisfaction) can influence the

overall, cumulative satisfaction. Scholars showed that it is not just overall customer satisfaction,

but also customer loyalty that evolves over time.

The Disconfirmation Model

"The Disconfirmation Model is based on the comparison of customers’ [expectations] and their

[perceived performance] ratings. Specifically, an individual’s expectations are confirmed when a

product performs as expected. It is negatively confirmed when a product performs more poorly

than expected. The disconfirmation is positive when a product performs over the

expectations(Churchill & Suprenant 1982). There are four constructs to describe the traditional

disconfirmation paradigm mentioned as expectations, performance, disconfirmation and

satisfaction." [3] "Satisfaction is considered as an outcome of purchase and use, resulting from the

buyers’ comparison of expected rewards and incurred costs of the purchase in relation to the

anticipated consequences. In operation, satisfaction is somehow similar to attitude as it can be

evaluated as the sum of satisfactions with some features of product." "In the literature, cognitive

and affective models of satisfaction are also developed and considered as alternatives(Pfaff,

1977). Churchill and Suprenant in 1982, evaluated various studies in the literature and formed an

overview of Disconfirmation process in the following figure:"

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31

Construction

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

Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at

providing products and/or services to the marketplace.

"Customer satisfaction is measured at the individual level, but it is almost always

reported at an aggregate level. It can be, and often is, measured along various dimensions. A

hotel, for example, might ask customers to rate their experience with its front desk and check-in

service, with the room, with the amenities in the room, with the restaurants, and so on.

Additionally, in a holistic sense, the hotel might ask about overall satisfaction 'with your stay.'"

Customer Satisfaction Measurement Touch Screen Device In a Hotel

As research on consumption experiences grows, evidence suggests that consumers purchase

goods and services for a combination of two types of benefits: hedonic and utilitarian. Hedonic

benefits are associated with the sensory and experiential attributes of the product. Utilitarian

benefits of a product are associated with the more instrumental and functional attributes of the

product (Batra and Athola 1990)

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and 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 options the customer may have and other products

against which the customer can compare the organization's products.

Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L)[9] between 1985 and 1988

provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap

between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of

performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and

quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation /

disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry

as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single

measurement of performance according to expectation.

The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey using a Likert scale. The

customer is asked to evaluate each statement in terms of their perceptions and expectations of

performance of the organization being measured

Good quality measures need to have high satisfaction loadings, good reliability, and low

error variances. In an empirical study comparing commonly used satisfaction measures it was

found that two multi-item semantic differential scales performed best across both hedonic and

utilitarian service consumption contexts. A study by Wirtz & Lee (2003), found that a six-item

7-point semantic differential scale (for example, Oliver and Swan 1983), which is a six-item 7-

point bipolar scale, consistently performed best across both hedonic and utilitarian services. It

loaded most highly on satisfaction, had the highest item reliability, and had by far the lowest

error variance across both studies. In the study, the six items asked respondents’ evaluation of

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33

their most recent experience with ATM services and ice cream restaurant, along seven points

within these six items: “pleased me to displeased me”, “contented with to disgusted with”, “very

satisfied with to very dissatisfied with”, “did a good job for me to did a poor job for me”, “wise

choice to poor choice” and “happy with to unhappy with”. A semantic differential (4 items) scale

(e.g., Eroglu and Machleit 1990), which is a four-item 7-point bipolar scale, was the second best

performing measure, which was again consistent across both contexts. In the study, respondents

were asked to evaluate their experience with both products, along seven points within these four

items: “satisfied to dissatisfied”, “favorable to unfavorable”, “pleasant to unpleasant” and “I like

it very much to I didn’t like it at all”. The third best scale was single-item percentage measure, a

one-item 7-point bipolar scale (e.g., Westbrook 1980). Again, the respondents were asked to

evaluate their experience on both ATM services and ice cream restaurants, along seven points

within “delighted to terrible”.

Finally, all measures captured both affective and cognitive aspects of satisfaction,

independent of their scale anchors. Affective measures capture a consumer’s attitude

(liking/disliking) towards a product, which can result from any product information or

experience. On the other hand, cognitive element is defined as an appraisal or conclusion on how

the product’s performance compared against expectations (or exceeded or fell short of

expectations), was useful (or not useful), fit the situation (or did not fit), exceeded the

requirements of the situation (or did not exceed).

Recent research shows that in most commercial applications, such as firms conducting

customer surveys, a single-item overall satisfaction scale performs just as well as a multi-item

scale. Especially in larger scale studies where a researcher needs to gather data from a large

number of customers, a single-item scale may be preferred because it can reduce total survey

error

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.[17] On the microeconomic level, academic studies have shown that

ACSI data is related to a firm's financial performance in terms of return on investment (ROI),

sales, long-term firm value (Tobin's q), cash flow, cash flow volatility, human capital

performance, portfolio returns, debt financing, risk, and consumer spending.[18][19] 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. ASCI scores have also been calculated by independent researchers, for example,

for the mobile phones sector, higher education, and electronic mail.

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35

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.

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,[25] which incorporates the Stages of

Excellence framework and which helps define a company’s status against eight critically

identified dimensions.

For B2B customer satisfaction surveys, where there is a small customer base, a high

response rate to the survey is desirable.[26] The American Customer Satisfaction Index (2012)

found that response rates for paper-based surveys were around 10% and the response rates for e-

surveys (web, wap and e-mail) were averaging between 5% and 15% - which can only provide a

straw poll of the customers' opinions.

INDUSTRY PROFILE & COMPANY PROFILE

Peter England established first factory in 1889 at Derry, Ireland. Upon the special request

by the British Military, Peter England provided the troops fighting the English front lines with

battle ready apparel. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle gained the world rights for the brand in 2000.

Peter England is the largest menswear brand in India with over 5 million garments sold every

year. First launched by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (then known as Madura Garments) in the

mid-price shirt segment in 1997, the company acquired the world rights for the brand in the year

2000. Today, Peter England has a strong national presence with 643 exclusive stores and over

1600 multi-brand outlets in more than 300 towns.

Peter England is universally accepted amongst its millions of consumers for its

standardised fits, superior quality, wide range and 'fashion-right' styles in its segment, making it

the most trusted brand amongst consumers in the readymade apparel category, as per a recent

study conducted by Brand Equity, Economic Times.

With offerings in the mid-priced value for money range, Peter England brings formal

wear for young men in the early years of their career. The product assortment includes shirts,

trousers, suits, blazers and accessories for everyday and special occasions.

It also offers relaxed office wear and weekend casual wear through its Peter England

Elements line. This is an eclectic and stylish casual wardrobe including washed cotton shirts,

denims, cargoes, jackets, sweaters and accessories.

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37

Peter England Elite Peter England also offers a complete range of sub-premium formals

through its sub-brand Peter England Elite, meant for the young manager. The wardrobe includes

a complete array of fine-crafted formal shirts and trousers, sharp suits and blazers, and

accessories. The look is progressive, international, and one of understated elegance.

Peter England partners with the IPL team, Chennai Super Kings, as the official off-the-

field apparel sponsor. Building on that relationship, the brand has launched an exclusive product

line called PE-CSK, which reflects the sporty-casual attitude of the team.

A recent foray for Peter England has been in the world of clubwear, called Peter England

Party. This line offers affordable club wear with mainstream sensibilities.

Peter England etched its beginnings in the latter half of the 19th century, when the

foundation for a five-storey building was laid in Londonderry, Ireland, in the summer of 1885.

By the turn of the century, the British war ministry placed an order with Peter England to outfit

the troops being sent to fight in the Boer War. This marked a turning point in the history of the

brand. The order meant that the highest quality apparel had to be delivered at a good price, a

challenge that Peter England met with outstanding success. Charged with the honourable duty of

outfitting British troops for battle, Peter England was born, donning the soldiers in the finest

khaki. Since then, Peter England's popularity has filled chapters of clothing history, by offering

excellent quality at honest-to-goodness prices. Today, Peter England is the largest menswear

brand in India with over 10 million garments in sales.

Core value, mission and vision of the brand: The brand's vision is to become the most loved

apparel brand of India offering clothes and accessories of unmatched value, to help young

consumers realise their full potential. Its core values lie in its goal to be its consumers' preferred

choice while being the country's most trusted as well as the most exciting brand to be present in

the retail sector.

The brand's USP: Peter England, specifically PE Jeans, is imagined and built on three basic

philosophies: sustainability, fusion and fashion. Peter England sensitises fashion and evokes an

emotion that truly symbolises the brand as most exciting as well as most trusted amongst

consumers in the readymade apparel category.

First to the brand's credit: In its journey of 17 years in India, Peter England has registered

many firsts to its credit. Peter England was the first mid-priced menswear apparel brand in India.

The brand was one of the first to introduce wrinkle-free shirts and trousers with adjustable

waistbands. English Cottons, one of Peter England's first signature collections, made up of

premium cotton blends, found immediate acceptance with consumers. It is also the only brand in

India to have a design patent for one of its own products — Cordeans, by PE Jeans. Cordeans is

a hybrid between corduroy and jeans. This is indeed a 'first' not only to the brand's credit but a

first in the retail industry as a whole. Peter England's innovative Oxygeans saves 80 litre of water

during its production phase and it has several awards and accolades to its credit.

Razor sharp is a hugely popular shirt from the brand's stable. The product is a formal shirt

with extremely sharp and crisp stripes like none other. This sharp nature of stripes is achieved by

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a special technique of weaving. Among others, the brand has at quick intervals launched

innovative products for specific occasions, such as Aqua Tech shirts (it keeps the wearer cool

and comfortable due to a unique enzyme wash), Smart Pants (a collection of trousers with smart

features like anti-wrinkle, water resistance and anti-microbial wash among others and N9 finish

on jeans (which keeps the jeans free from odour and microbes).

Awards and achievements registered by the brand: The brand started 2014 with 3

consecutive wins at the most prestigious awards in the retail industry. These included Gold for

the 'Best Store Front' and 'Best Store Front Signage', along with a Merit 2 for 'Western Fashion

Apparel - Specialty Store' at the visual merchandising and Retail Design (VM&RD) awards,

2014. The brand was also awarded winner of the 'Images Most Admired Fashion Design Concept

of the Year' for its innovative product 'Oxygeans' at the Images Fashion Awards 2014, held in

Mumbai. Peter England was also awarded the most trusted brand award by ET for 6 consecutive

years and the most exciting brand by ET for 2 years in a row.

Target consumers: As the brand has a diverse range of products in its portfolio, they meet the

needs of a wide variety of audience. The target audience of the brand would stand as:

PE Jeans & Casuals: They are between 18-25 years.

Peter England Traditions & Ethnic: It is for the 25-30 years customers.

Elite & Elite Sport: This targets 30 years and above customers.

Product assortment: It provide its customers a diverse collection along with unique

innovations. Championing the concept of 'Young Formals' — smart and stylish formalwear for

young men in the early years of their career — Peter England has collection that comprises a

diverse range of casuals, semi-formals, wedding and ethnic wear (suits and blazers, and party

wear) among various others. In addition, Peter England's Elite and Elite Sport collection is a

range that exudes confidence and authority and is meant for the suave and the sophisticated.

Most iconic collection from the brand: One of the most iconic collections from Peter England

is the Oxygen’s collection, which is an eco-friendly line of jeanswear that saves approximately

80 litres of water, per pair through indigenously developed washing methods. The same product

was recognised as the winner of the 'Images Most Admired Fashion Design Concept of the Year',

earlier this year.

Top advertising campaigns from the brand: Peter England has been associated with quite a

number of celebrities ever since its launch in India. Parvin Dabbas and Shiney Ahuja were

among the first faces of the brand in the country. Since then, the brand has formed associations

with MS Dhoni and the team of Chennai Super Kings and Siddharth. Kareena Kapoor Khan was

also associated with Peter England when the brand launched the suits for the first time in early

2004.

Total no. of EBOs: The brand has over 600 EBOs currently.

Total no. of MBOs and LFS: The brand has more than 2,000 MBOs in its network. The brand

also has presence in over 300 shop-in-shops in key large format stores like Max, Reliance

Trends, Central, Pantaloons and family-owned large format stores.

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Online retail: Peter England market their products through their in-house fashion portal

trendin.com; and through leading portals like Myntra, Flipkart and Snapdeal. The brand inspires

visitors on the online space with PE styling and showcases the best of PE products on the

medium. The brand has strengthened its social media presence engaging and conversing real-

time with customers and creating and fostering inspirational stories. It has been conversing,

engaging and educating customers about what Peter England is all about.

Furthermore, with brands constantly looking for ways to connect with their target

audience and engage with them. By actively involving their consumers on social media, Peter

England has been able to create a two-way communication system, which connects the brand

with its target audience in a better way, resulting in an enhanced consumer experience. The

perfect example for the above is #TweetaGoal where Peter England invited fans to play the

world's first game of football on Twitter.

A platform where style met passion, the concept was so unique and engaging that it

started trending on trendsmap within a day itself! With double fun and excitement, this contest

showed that by thinking out of the box one could really get people to connect and engage with

the brand on a different level. Following an initial buzz about the campaign, a micro site was

launched that gave the details on how to play besides telling about winning goodies and the list

of winners.

To stimulate the actual intensity of a football match, 'on field' rules were replicated on the

online space as well. This activity received overwhelming response from the audience and the

brand successfully used this medium to win over its target consumers across the country. The

brand went out the extra mile to create a real life experience, which truly was a 'goal in one'! The

site saw a high level of interest and involvement from the audience as a total impression of 26.7

million and a total reach of 5.17 lakh was reached.

The love and enthusiasm that was received by the fans was overwhelming as the virtual

presence of the game was so lifelike, that people felt they were actually playing on the field!

Export markets for the brand include many Middle East countries like Dubai, Bahrain, Quwait,

Doha, Saudi Arabia as well as SAARC countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal. The brand has about

50 shop-in-shops in these markets.

Market share and future aspirations: The brand sells about half a million denims per year and

it plans to take it up to a million in the next 2-3 years.

Green initiatives: Peter England was one of the first brands in the country to create 'Sustainable

Jeans Fashion'; its Oxygen’s has been a part the portfolio for over 5 seasons now. It sold 62,748

Oxygeans in 2013, and saved 13,26,101 gallons of water, making it a one of a kind of

achievement.

Expert take on the Indian denim market: The denim market specifically is growing at 50-60

per cent year-on-year and is a category that continues to expand. As the market increasingly

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moves towards casuals and denims, PE Jeans has helped reach out to the younger working

professionals of India. At Peter England, the team believes that jeans is not only the most

exciting but the fastest growing lifestyle evolution.

Trends for the upcoming season: The Autumn-Winter '14 collection is built around the theme

'Young India' or 'India Cool'. With its cool and refreshing look, the collection promises to be as

quirky, fun and original as the brand itself.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, a division of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, is one of

India’s fastest growing branded apparel companies and a premium lifestyle player in the retail

sector. After consolidating its market leadership with its own brands, it introduced premier

international labels, enabling Indian consumers to buy the most prestigious global fashion wear

and accessories within the country.

The company’s brand portfolio includes product lines that range from affordable and

mass-market to luxurious, high-end style and cater to every age group, from children and youth

to men and women. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle is defined by its brands — Louis Philippe, Van

Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and People — that personify style, attitude, luxury and

comfort.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle reaches its discerning customers through an exclusive

network comprising 1,980 stores (as on September 2015), covering 2.5 million sq ft of retail

space, and is present in more than 3,800 premium multi-brand stores and 490+ departmental

stores.

The company's lifestyle store, The Collective, offers a unique blend of global fashions,

international trends and innovative customer services, to customers in Bangalore, Mumbai,

Delhi, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Pune and Chennai.

With 231 stores across 164 towns, Planet Fashion is one of the largest apparel retail chain

of its kind in the country. The winning retail model has been successful not only in premium

locations, but also in smaller towns such as Udupi, Bareilly and Dehradun. Planet Fashion is one

of the largest chain of stores of its kind in India, with an average store footprint that ranges from

1,500-6,000 sq ft depending on its location.

Recently, Planet Fashion decided to overhaul its brand identity to cater to the discerning

tastes of today’s urbane Indian male. As part of this re-branding exercise, Planet Fashion’s new

logo features the ‘Infinity’ symbol in red and white, with a black accent. Crafted on the

principles of formals, fashion, fun and friends, Planet Fashion’s new brand identity is youth-

centric and symbolises unlimited fashionable and stylish options for the progressive Indian man.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle marked its foray into the luxury mono brand business in India by

launching the quintessential British men's luxury clothing and accessories brand Hackett London

through a joint venture with the UK firm.

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Recently, the company launched Trendin.com, a one-stop shopping destination for the

style conscious. As the official online store showcasing the widest range of merchandise from

Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and People, Trendin.com caters to both

men and women. With the best talent in the fields of design, manufacturing and product

development, Trendin.com brings contemporary, chic, fashion forward sensibility at price points

that work with every budget.

Each of the company’s brands has an integrated Design Department, which is constantly

at work on innovating designs, concepts and products by incorporating the latest international

trends in fashion and clothing styles.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, an IT and web-enabled organisation, is the first-ever apparel

company to have successfully implemented the ERP SAP system. It is also the first company

globally to integrate Retek ERP with SAP ERP.

Always at the cutting edge of fashion and innovation, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle has

for over a decade now sourced technology, fabrics and garments globally. Madura Fashion &

Lifestyle is a global supplier for premium international brands such as Esprit, S’Oliver,

MONOPRIX.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle harnesses the power of young, driven professionals from the

country’s best professional institutes and companies. For years now, empowered and motivated

employees have propelled Madura Fashion & Lifestyle towards achieving quality, customer

service, design and brand equity comparable to the best worldwide.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle has ISO-9001-2000 accreditation with periodic internal

audits. It's manufacturing division recently became the first apparel manufacturing unit to win

one of India's most prestigious quality excellence award, the Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality

award, instituted jointly by the Indian Merchants Chamber and the house of Bajaj.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle sources only from factories that are compliant with the

Factory Act, and each factory is independently audited by the International Textile Services

(ITS) and Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) for international clients such as Louis

Philippe, Marks & Spencer and Van Heusen.

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle is one of the fastest growing branded apparel companies,

recording a blistering growth rate of over 25 per cent year-on-year.

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DATA ANALYSIS

I. Customer's response on age group

S.No AGE NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Less than 30 19 38

2 30-35 13 26

3 35-40 12 24

4 40 & above 6 12TOTAL 50 100

Less Than 30 30-35 35-40 40 & Above02468

101214161820

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on Age group.

ANALYSIS:

From the data of the samples collected regarding the age of the customers, it is clearly

understand by the data collected are that nearly 38% of the age group are under below 30 years

and 26% of the age group under between 30 and 35 years of age group. 24% of the age group

under between 35-40 and rest of them are above the age group of the 40 years.

2. Customer's response on Income per annum.

S.No

INCOME IN Rs.

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPON DENTS (%)l Less than 150000 8 16

2 150000-200000 12 24

3 200000-250000 19 38

4 250000 & above 11 22

TOTAL 50 100

Lessthan 150000

150001-200000

200000-250000

250000 & Above

02468

101214161820

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on Income per annum.

ANALYSIS:

From the samples collected above regarding the income of the customers, it has been clearly

understood by the data collected that nearly 16% of the customers are earning income around

less than Rs. 150000 per annum. 24% of the customers are earning income between Rs.l50000-

Rs.200000. 38% of the customers are earning income under between Rs.200000-Rs.250000 and

rest of them are earning income more than Rs.250000.

48

49

3. Customers response on Number of Kilometer traveled/Covered.

S.No KMSNO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)l Less than 10000 11 22

2 10000-15000 22 44

3 15000-20000 12 24

4 20000 & above 5 10

TOTAL 50 100

Lessthan 10000

10000-15000 15000-20000 20000 & Above

0

5

10

15

20

25

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on Number of Kilometer traveled Covered.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the kilometers traveled till the date by the cloths of the

customers, it has been clearly understand by the data collected are that nearly 22% of the clothss

of the customers arc traveled less than 10000 kms, 44% of the clothss of the customers are

traveled between 10000Km-15000kms. 24% of the clothss of the customers traveled between

15000-20000 and rest of the clothss are traveled above the 20000kms.

4. Customers response on preventive maintenance regularly.

S.No WHETHER PREVENTIVE

MAINTENANCE UNDERTOOK

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

OF RESPONDENTS

1 YES 50 100

2 NO 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

YES NO0

10

20

30

40

50

60

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION;

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on preventive maintenance regularly.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the maintenance of the clothss by the customers are

clearly indicating that of. all the customers are regularly taking preventive maintenance

regularly.

50

5. Customers response on selection of preventive maintenance.

S.No PREVENTIVE

MAINTENANCE

AT WHERE

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Authorized 34 68

2 Road side shop 16 32

TOTAL 50 100

Authorozed Road Side Shop0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.55

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on selection of preventive maintenance.

ANALYSIS:

From the above data which has been collected regarding the maintenance of the clothss of the

customers are clearly indicating that of 68% of the customers are regularly taking preventive

maintenance at Authorized work shop and rest are at them taking their maintenance at road side

shop

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52

6. Customers response on whether the cloths taken under finance.

S.NoWHETHER TAKEN

UNDER FINANCE

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 YES 26 522 NO 24 48

TOTAL 50 100

Yes No23

23.524

24.525

25.526

26.5

No. of Respondents

No. of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on whether the cloths taken under finance.

ANALYSIS:

From the data of the samples collected regarding the finance taken by the customers are clearly

indicating that of 52% of the customers are taken under finance and rest of the customers are

taken their cloths own.

7. Customers response on level of satisfaction.

S. NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTIONNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Highly satisfied 4 152 Satisfied 10 39

3 Average 6 234 Dissatisfied 2 85 Highly dissatisfied 4 15

TOTAL 26 100

Highly S

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly D

issati

sfied02468

1012

N. Of Respondents

N. Of Respondents

INTER PRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on level of satisfaction.

ANALYSIS:

From the above data which has been collected regarding the customers who are taken their cloths

under finance, are been understood that 15% of the customers arc been highly satisfied. 39% of

the customers are satisfied. 23% of the customers arc average. 8% of the customers are been

dissatisfied with the finance and the rest of them are been highly dissatisfied with the financial

services provided by the company.

8. Customers response on rate of satisfaction regarding customer Relationship Management

S.NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Highly satisfied 10 202 Satisfied 21 42

3 Average 12 244 Dissatisfied 4 85 Highly dissatisfied 3 6

TOTAL 50 100

Highly S

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly D

issati

sfied05

10152025

No. Of Respondent

No. Of Respondent

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen than majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response on rate of satisfaction regarding customer Relationship Management

(CRM).

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the customer relationship management with the dealer

has been identified that 20% of the customers are highly satisfied, 42% of the customers are been

satisfied. 24% of the customers are average. 8% of the customers are been dissatisfied, and rest

of the customers are highly dissatisfied with customer relationship management with the dealers.

54

55

9. Customer’s response on satisfaction regarding the availability of the spares.

S.No LEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS

1 Highly satisfied 12 24

2 Satisfied 20 40

3 Average 12 24

4 Dissatisfied 4 8

5 Highly dissatisfied 2 4

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

10152025

NoOf Respondents

NoOf Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents arc satisfied with the results of.

Customer’s response on satisfaction regarding the availability of the spares.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the satisfaction of the customers regarding the availability

of spares of the cloths it has been identified that 24% of the customers are highly satisfied, 40%

of the customers are satisfied. 24% of the customers are been average, 8% of the customers are

been dissatisfied, and rest of the customers are highly dissatisfied with the availability of spares

of the cloths.

10. Customers response regarding price of the cloths.

S.NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTIONNO OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

OF RESPONDENTS

1 Very reasonable 13 26

2 Reasonable 22 44

3 Not so costly 6 ' 12

4 Costly 7 14

5 Very costly 2 4

TOTAL 50 100

Very re

asonab

le

Reasonab

le

Not so co

stlyCostly

Very co

stly05

10152025

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be been that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response regarding price of the cloths.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the price of the cloths that how well they are satisfied

with the price it has been identified that 26% of the customers are said that it is very reasonable,

44% of the customers are said that it is reasonable. 12% of the customers are said that it is not so

costly, 14% of the customers are said that it is costly and rest of the customers are said that it is

very costly.

61

11. Customers response on satisfaction regarding services provided by the dealer.

S.NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Highly satisfied 13 26

2 Satisfied 24 48

3 Average 7 14

4 Dissatisfied 4 8

5 Highly dissatisfied 2 4

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

1015202530

No.Of Respondents

No.Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents arc satisfied with the results of

Customers response on satisfaction regarding services provided by the dealer.

ANALYSIS:

From the samples collected about the services provided by the dealer that how well they are

satisfied with the service it has been found that 26% of the customers are highly satisfied, 48% of

the customers are satisfied. 14% of the customers are * average. 8% of the customers are

dissatisfied, and the rest of the customers are highly dissatisfied.

62

12. Customers opinion on satisfaction regarding services provided by the company.

S.No LEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OK

RESPONDENTS (%)

l Highly satisfied 14 28

2 Satisfied 25 50

3 Average 9 18

4 Dissatisfied 2 4

5 Highly dissatisfied 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

1015202530

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers opinion on satisfaction regarding services provided by the company.

ANALYSIS:

From the samples collected about the services provided by the company that how well they are

satisfied with the service it has been identified that 28% of the .customers are highly satisfied,

50% of the customers are satisfied. 18% of the customers arc average, and the rest of the

customers are dissatisfied.

63

13. Customers response on crucial factor in satisfying the customer?

S. NoCRUCIAL

FACTOR

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Price 22 44

2 Company Service 8 16

3 Dealer Service 6 12

4 Company reputation 14 28

TOTAL 50 100

Price Company Service

Dealer Service

Company Reputation

0

5

10

15

20

25

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can he seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response 011 crucial factor in satisfying the customer.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the crucial factor in satisfying the customer has been

identified as that 44% of the customers arc said that price is that crucial factor, 16% of the

customers are said that company service as the crucial factor. 12% of the customers are said that

dealer serv ice is the crucial factor and the rest of the customers are said that company reputation

is been the crucial factor in satisfying the customer.

64

14. Customers response on overall satisfaction level in purchasing the Peter England product.

S. No LEVEL OF

SATIFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OK

RESPONDENTS (%)1 Highly satisfied 14 28

2 Satisfied 26 52

3 Average 8 16

4 Dissatisfied 2 4

5 Highly dissatisfied 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

1015202530

No. of Respondents

No. of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results ot

Customers response on overall satisfaction level in purchasing the PETER ENGLAND product.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the overall satisfaction regarding the purchase of the

PETER ENGLAND product it has been clearly identified that how well they are satisfied with

the PETER ENGLAND product it has been identified that 28% of the customers are highly

satisfied. 52% of the customers are satisfied. 16% of the customers are average, and the rest of

the customers are dissatisfied.

65

15. Customers response recommending PETER ENGLAND product to the others.

S.No RECOMMENDED

TO OTHERS

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)I YES 28 562 NO 22 44

TOTAL 50 100

Yes No0

5

10

15

20

25

30

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customers response recommending PETER ENGLAND product to the others.

ANALYSIS:

In the study which has been conducted that to know whether the customer has recommended the

PETER ENGLAND cars to any other person it has found that 56% of the customers are been

already recommended the PETER ENGLAND cars to their friends and other neighbors and rest

are till the date not recommended to any other person.

66

I6.Customer Satisfaction Level In Purchasing of the Peter England Product?

S.NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Highly satisfied 14 28

2 Satisfied 26 523 Average 8 164 Dissatisfied 2 45 Highly dissatisfied 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

1015202530

NO. Of Respondents

NO. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the results of

Customer Satisfaction Level In Purchasing of the Peter England Product.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the overall satisfaction regarding the purchase of the

PETER ENGLAND product it has been clearly identified that how well they are satisfied with

the PETER ENGLAND product it has been identified that 28% of the customers are highly

satisfied, 52% of the customers are satisfied. 16% of the customers are average, and the rest of

the customers are dissatisfied.

67

17.Crucial Factor in Satisfying I he customer?

S.NoCRUCIAL

FACTOR

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Price 22 44

2 Company Service 8 16

a Dealer Service 6 12

4 Company reputation 14 28

TOTAL 50 100

Price Company Service

Dealer Service Company reputation

0

5

10

15

20

25

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the Customer

Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Dealer.

ANALYSIS:

As per the samples collected regarding the crucial factor in satisfying the customer has been

identified as that 44% of the customers are said that price is that crucial factor, 16% of the

customers are said that company service as the crucial factor, 12% of the customers are said that

dealer service is the crucial factor and the rest of the customers are said that company reputation

is been the crucial factor in satisfying the customer.

68

I

S.No LEVEL OF SATISFACTION NO Of

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)l Highly satisfied 13 26

2 Satisfied 4 48

3 Average 7 14

4 Dissatisfied 10 8 1

5 Highly dissatisfied 21 4

TOTAL 50 10018. Customer Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Dealer?

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

10152025

NO. Of respondents

NO. Of respondents

INTERPRETAT1QN:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents arc satisfied with the Customer

Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Company.

ANALYSIS:

From the samples collected about the services provided by the dealer that how- well they are

satisfied with the service it has been found that 26% of the customers are highly satisfied. 48% of

the customers are satisfied. 14% of the customers are average, 8% of the customers are

dissatisfied, and the rest of the customers arc highly dissatisfied

69

19.Customer Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Company?

S.NoLEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)

1 Highly satisfied 14 28

2 Satisfied 25 50

3 Average 9 18

4 Dissatisfied 2 4

5 Highly dissatisfied 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied05

1015202530

No. Of Respondents

No. Of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From graph it can be seen that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the Factor in

Satisfying The customer.

ANALYSIS:

From the samples collected about the services provided by the company that how w ell they are

satisfied with the service it has been identified that 28% of the customers arc highly satisfied,

50% of the customers ;ire satisfied. 18% of the customers are average, and the rest of the

customers are dissatisfied.

70

20.Customer Satisfied with the Financial Services?

S.No LEVEL OF

SATISFACTION

NO OF

RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS (%)1 Highly satisfied 16 15

2 Satisfied 10 39

3 Average 6 23

4 Dissatisfied 8 8

5 Highly dissatisfied 10 15

TOTAL 50 100

Highly s

atisfied

Satisfied

Averag

e

Dissati

sfied

Highly d

issati

sfied048

1216

No. of Respondents

No. of Respondents

INTERPRETATION:

From the above data which has been collected regarding the customers who are taken their cloths

under finance, are been understood that 15% of the customers arc been highly satisfied, 39% of

the customers are satisfied. 23% of the customers are average. S% of the customers are been

dissatisfied with the finance and the rest of them are been highly dissatisfied with the financial

services provided by the company.

71

FINDINGS

The majority of the customers are in the age group below 30 which shows the PETER

ENGLAND products are attracting the younger generation.

In the income wise it has been found out that the majority of the customers arc canting

more than Rs.200000 to Rs.250000 per annum

By the clothes which are brought in the time period it has been concluded that the more

number of cars arc traveled more than 10000 kilometers till date.

All of the customers are regularly taking the preventive maintenance and among them the

more percentage of the customers are going to the company’s authorized workshops

rather than the road side shops.

It has been understood their half of the customers arc utilized the financial services

providing by the company and among them the half of the cloths owners who brought

their cloths in finance arc satisfied with the financial services of the company

72

SUGGETIONS

Since younger generation is being attracted more towards PETER ENGLAND products,

it is suggested that the company gives more importance to this sector in designing the

product and in advertising the product

It is suggested to maintain the same type of Customer Relationship Management since

the customers are satisfied with this It has been found out that the price is the key factor

in the satisfying the customers which follow by the company reputation as an key factor

in the study.

When coming to the overall satisfaction level of the customers in the buying of the I A i

A product it has been found that more percentage of the customers are satisfied with the

PETER ENGLAND product.

More than half of the customers are suggested the PETER ENGLAND cars to their

friends, relations ctc.

73

Conclusion

Customer satisfaction is addressed as a strategic business development tool. Customer

satisfaction does have a positive effect on an organization's profitability, satisfied customers

form the foundation of any successful business as customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchase,

brand loyalty, and positive word of mouth. Satisfied customers are most likely to share their

experiences with other people to the order of perhaps five or six people. Equally well,

dissatisfied customers are more likely to tell another ten people of their unfortunate experience.

Research has demonstrated that even a difference between a totally satisfied customer and a

somewhat satisfied customer could lead to an increased revenue contribution of a factor 2.6.

Quite often fundamental causal modelled interdependencies among B2B customer

satisfaction processes are lacking. Instantly this makes it difficult to point out the antecedents

and relationships of customer satisfaction. Estimation of the extent of customer satisfaction is

habitually based on the collective interpretation of customer complaints handled as administrated

and individual interpretation of face-2-face meetings between employees and customers. For that

reason statistical confidence, accuracy and representativeness easily lack quantitative

significance and lead to unreliable quantitative trend analyses.

74

Bibliography

Book references:

Hill, N. (1996). Handbook of Customer Satisfaction Measurement. Aldeshot: Gower Publishing

Howard, J.A. and Seth, J.N. (1969). The Theory of Buyer Behavior. N.Y.: John Wiley and Sons.

McDaniel, C. Gitman, L. . (2008). The future of business: The essential. Southwestern.

Wallard, K. V. (2005). Loyalty myths. Maryland, Virginia: Wiley and Sons.

Internet Sources:

Company profile. (2008). Retrieved March 24, 2009, from http://www.davidsalon.com.ph/.

About Ricky. (2008). Retrieved March 24, 2009, from http://www.rickyreyes.com/.

Info-Tech Research Group (2003). Questions for employee satisfaction surveys. Retrieved

January 29, 2009, from http://www.hrpao.org/files/surveyquestions.pdf.

75

A questionnaire on

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS PETER ENGLAND

Respondent's name

Occupation:

Address

1.

Which age group does you belongs to? ( )a. Less than 30 b. 30-35 c. 35-40 d. 40 & above.

2. Select the Income per annum which you arc obtaining? ( )

a. Less than 1. 50.000 b. 150000-200000 c. 200000-250000 d.250000

&above.

3. Select the number of kilometers travelled? ( )

a. Less than 10000 b. 10000-15000 c. 15000-20000 d.20000 & above.

4. Do you take preventive maintenance regularly? ( )

a. Yes b. No.

5.

Select the place in which you take the preventive maintenance? ( )a. Authorized Workshop b. Road side shop.

6. Do you take you cloths under finance? ( )

a. Yes b. No.

7 If yes. select the level of satisfaction with the financial services? ( )

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

8. Select the rate of satisfaction regarding Customer Relationship Management? ( )

76

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Highly dissatisfied.

9. Select the satisfaction level in which you feel on the availability of the spares?

(

)

a. Highly satisfied b. satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied

10. Select the satisfaction in which you have on price of the cloths? ( )

a. Very reasonable b. Reasonable c. Noise costly d. Costly e. Very costly

11. Select the level of satisfaction which you have on services provided by the dealer?

(

)

a. Hi gill y satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied.

12. Select the level of satisfaction which you have on services provided by the Company?

(

)

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Averse d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

13.

In your perception what is the crucial factor in satisfying the customer ? ( )a. Price b. Company Service c. Dealer Service d. Company

reputation

14. What is ycur overall satisfaction level in purchasing the PETER ENGLAND product?

(

)

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

77

15. Can you recommend others to buy PETER ENGLAND car? ( )

a. Yes b. No.

16. Crucial Factor in Satisfying The customer? ( )

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

17. Crucial Factor in Satisfying The customer? ( )

a) price b) company services c) dealer services d)company reputation

18. Customer Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Dealer? ( )

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

19. Customer Satisfaction Regarding Services Provided by the Company? ( )

a. Highly satisfied b. Satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

20. Customer Satisfied with the Financial Services? ( )

a. Highly satisfied b. satisfied c. Average d. Dissatisfied e. Highly dissatisfied.

78