Consumer Satisfaction EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose and scope of document is to study,analyze and understand the business and marketingpractices of Asian Paints Limited.

Known for its innovative marketing and distributionstrength, Asian Paints is one of the consistentperformers in the Indian corporate scene. The companyhas a track record of profitability, transparency inoperations and strong balance sheet.

The impact of recent issues & trends (like rawmaterial costs, excise duty rationalizations, qualityconsciousness in user segments) on the industrydynamics can also be seen.

The industry has also witnessed increased activity inthe industrial variety of paints with the entry ofMulti-National Companies in auto, consumer durablesetc, which has been gaining steadily over decorativepaints in the last one decade.

Companies need to work on improving internalefficiencies to retain profits which are underpressure on account of dropping prices.

The customer (retailer for the company) is seen to bedictating terms so companies have no choice but tolure more customers through incentives.

At the same time, companies also need to attractfinal consumers by offering value-added services.

The field of my research is Customer Satisfactionwhich focuses on customer’s perceptions. Many firmsare interested in understanding what their customersthought about their shopping or purchase experience,because finding new customers is generally morecostly and difficult than servicing existing orrepeat customers.

INDEXSRNO.

TOPIC PAGE NO.

1 Chapter I:Introduction to Consumer satisfactionMethods for increasing consumer satisfactionBenefits of CRM

2 Chapter II:

Introduction to Asian Paints

Customer satisfaction in

reference to Asian Paints

3 Chapter III:

Research Methodology

Statement of purpose

Objective of the study

Scope and significance

of the study

Review of literature

Formulation of

hypothesis

Research design

- Sample

- Sampling plan

- Reference period

- Geographical area to

be covered

- Tools for collection

of data

- Plan for analysis4 Chapter IV:

Bibliography

CHAPTER I

Introduction to Customer Satisfaction

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

It is the business term of how the products and theservices supplied by the company meet or surpass thecustomer expectation. It is the key performanceindicator within the business - By , Berlin Asong

Customer satisfaction can greatly achieved byimparting Customer Relationship Management (CRM) inthe company

BUSINESS TECNIQUES OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

One of the key customer satisfaction techniquesis the need to provide front line employees withthe ability to respond to customer situationsquickly without the need to ‘ask for permission’.

Innovation drives customers' satisfaction. Ascustomers' needs keep changing, an innovation-driven company is capacitated to exceedcustomers' expectations.

To provide after sale services. Listen actively and carefully. Anticipate that the customer will be asking

questions. They may be easy, they be hard. Butencourage them anyway. If you cannot provide ananswer, promise to find out the answer fromsomeone who can.

Be patient, look from the customer's point ofview and work from there. This point of view willalways give you the best outlook on thesituation.

Always keep a smile on your face when dealingwith customers which can lead to customersatisfaction. This positive attitude can rub off

and turn a potentially negative situation into apositive experience

RECENT METHODS THAT TODAYS FIRM ADOPT TO INCREASE THECUSTOMER SATIFACTION

In order to stay competitive and remain profitable,businesses have to focus on the quality of theircustomer service. Companies that invest time, energyand money into developing and nurturing quality socustomers can have a satisfactory experience aregoing to be more profitable and better likely toexperience more sustained growth over the long-term.

Customer-Centric Attitude: Operations should be customer-centric meaningthat the customer's best interests should alwaysbe foremost. Service should be offered in a helpful way andwith a smile. Both management and employeesshould show interest towards the customer andstrive to give them a good experience.Today's companies must strive even harder thanabiding by this golden rule of customer service.

Customer care:It is that which is done even after the productis purchased. Many companies are interested in knowing thereason why consumers have purchased the goods andservices or even the goods are not purchased. Managers interested in customer care try tocollect a database as to why the customers havepurchased the competitors product and service andwhat will be the level of satisfaction if it isintroduced in our product or service. And alsoto find the level of expectations and their levelof dissatisfaction.

Customer focus:It is attained when everyone in the organizationmake efforts to focus the activities towards thesatisfaction of the customers right from thestage of new product planning and to productmodification to the stage of elimination of thegoods and services everything revolves around thecustomers. All the activities are focused on the customer satisfaction.

Customer Service Training:Another strategy to improve customer satisfactionis to invest in customer service training. All employees should be on board with how totreat customers and help them gain a valuedexperience. The quality of customer service can easily makeor break a business

The experience the people have received is themost important aspect in selling pure services orservices with tangible goods. Once the customer is satisfied with the servicehis loyalty towards that product or company is atits peak. Companies today are doing a lot of self-introspection that they are really giving thesaid services to the customers. The important question asked is “Is service ourtop Priority?” Are the customers satisfied?”Are we improving on the quality of the servicesregularly?” Companies are spending more money and time to seethat the services are evaluated and improved asper the expectations of the customers. In fact, the companies globally known for theirservices are always in the process of findingopportunities to improve on the quality of theservices.Better results can be seen when the organizationsmakes use of external, internal, and interactivemarketing

Communication: Communication with customers is also important. It's a good idea to always provide customers withways they can contact you and offer ways tocontact them (if they choose). Offering e-mail, telephone line, web contact orother ways for customers to offer comments and/orcomplaints is of value.

Customer Relationship Management Software: Customer Relationship Management is a process ofmanaging detail information about individualcustomer and carefully managing all the customerstouch points with the aim of maximizing customersatisfaction and customer loyalty.Customer relationship management (CRM) softwarehas become a strategy many companies employ tohelp increase customer satisfaction. Throughusing CRM tools and accompanying philosophy,businesses can examine and analyze what customerswant and strive to meet this demand before theyeven walk in the door.

BENEFITS

- CRM aims at individual customers. It tries todevelop customer’s relationship by looking into hisneeds and requirements.

- CRM helps in two way communication by understandingthe messages of the customers and responding to it.Thereby gaining customer loyalty.

- CRM helps to customize the products and therebyreducing the rate of customer defection.

- CRM tells the company what product or service thecustomer needs today and what it will need infuture.

Ask for Feedback: Being interested in customer feedback is always avaluable practice to engage in to increasecustomer satisfaction. What better strategy and

technique to find out how to satisfy yourcustomers than to ask them?Surveys, questionnaires, talking to customers asthey shop, and then following up with calls or e-mails are all good ways to get feedback.

Quality Control:Quality is important to customer satisfaction andthe level of quality directly plays into abusiness' ability to meet customer expectations.Quality should be monitored for both service andthe type of products offered; as a part of thisguarantees and the willingness to stand behindservice and/or products is necessary.

Creating Customer Delight:Customer delight is when the standard of thegoods and services are much higher than theexpectations of the customers , this not onlysatisfies them but surprise and delight them. To create customer delight the company will notonly increase the standard of service but willtrain its personnel to deliver in its bestpossible manner the services as expected by thecustomers.Customer delight depends on the reliabilityfactor of the company. This is the ability to perform what has beenpromised to the customer.Companies who focus on customer delights shouldbe dependable and have accuracy in delivering theservices to the customers.

Companies with much attitude of empathy andalways paying individual attention to itscustomers which in turn builds customer delight. The advantage is manifold because it createsbrand loyals and customer loyalty.

CHAPTER II

Introduction to Asian Paints

Asian Paints is India's largest paint company andranked among the top ten Decorative coatingscompanies in the world with a turnover of INR 66.80billion. Asian Paints along with its subsidiarieshave operations in 17 countries across the world with23 paint manufacturing facilities, servicingconsumers in 65 countries through BergerInternational, SCIB Paints – Egypt, Asian Paints,Apco Coatings and Taubmans.

While working towards enhancing customer experiencethe management at Asian Paints looks at the biggerpicture by being aware about environmental hazards.All manufacturing plants and units are certifiedenvironmentally safe.

Asian Paints formulates, manufacture & sell thefinest paints (the most suitable for each need andgiving good value for money to users) & provide thebest possible service to its customers characterizedby Reliability & Responsiveness. The products providesurface protection & good appearance for allconsumers while being safe to apply, not harmful tohealth and not adverse to the environment.

Customers - the very core of all the businessactivities. From the beginning, Asian Paints hasfostered a customer-centric approach to business. Asimple but unbeatable concept of "going where thecustomer is" drives all its retail strategies.

VISION

Asian Paints aims to become one of the top fiveDecorative coatings companies world-wide byleveraging its expertise in the higher growthemerging markets. Simultaneously, the company intendsto build long term value in the Industrial coatingsbusiness through alliances with established globalpartners.

HISTORY

1ST February 1942

Armed with little knowledge and great determination,Champaklal H. Choksey, Chimanlal N. Choksi, SuryakantC. Dani and Arvind R. Vakil got together tomanufacture paint in a garage on Foras Road, Bombay.They name their company 'The Asian Oil & PaintCompany', a name that they picked randomly from atelephone directory.

1945

Asian Paints touches a turnover of Rs. 3,50,000, withan innovative marketing strategy "to reach consumersin the remotest corners of the country with smallpacks."

1954

Asian Paints mascot, Gattu, the mischievous kid, isborn.

1957 - 66

The family-owned company makes the transition to aprofessionally managed organization.

British company Balmer Lawrie rejects the products ofa giant British paint company in favor of AsianPaints.

Asian Paints embarks on an ambitious grassrootsmarketing campaign, partnering with thousands ofdealers in small towns all over India.

1967

Asian Paints emerges as India's leading paint companyahead of any international competition.

CURRENT STATUS

Asian Paints becomes the 10th largest decorativepaint company in the world

Asian Paints is more than twice the size of itsnearest competitor

It is one of the most admired companies in India

Present in 22 countries with 27 manufacturinglocations, over 2500 SKU's, Integrated SAP - ERP& i2 - SCM solution

Rated Best Employer by BT-Hewitt survey, 2000Bluest of the blue chips by Hindu Business Line;Most admired company to work for by ET-BT survey,2000

On the recommendations of Booz, Allen andHamilton, Asian Paints restructured itself intoGrowth, Decorative and International businessunits and adopted SCM and ERP technology

Asian Paints aims to become the 5th largestdecorative paint company in the world

FUTURE PLANS

Asian Paints to accelerate growth of its non-decorative coatings business

Approves plans to enhance its relationship with PPG,to accelerate growth of the non-decorative coatingsbusinesses in India.

Asian Paints Signs MOU with Maharashtra Government toset up a Mega Project for manufacture of Paints andIntermediates at Kesurdi in Maharashtra

The Asian Paints Helpline introduced few years ago isa toll free service where consumers call and askqueries related to painting.

The company has now extended this service to ASIANPAINTS HOME SOLUTIONS, which offers painting servicesin addition to the paint. This service is available

in 10 cities viz - Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata,Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Coimbatore &Cochin

Products

The products of the paint industry can be classifiedinto two major segments – decorative (architectural)paints and industrial paints. While the decorativepaints are used in protecting valuable assets likebuildings, the industrial paints are used forprotection against corrosion and rust to steelstructures, on vehicles, white goods and appliances

Decorative paints:

The decorative paint segment can be classified intointerior paints and exterior or cement paints. 80% ofthe decorative paint segment (about Rs. 3640crores inthe organized sector) accounts for interior paints,which consists of premium, medium and economycategories.

The premium category consists of plastic emulsions,the medium-priced category consists of syntheticenamels and the economy category consists ofdistempers

The products under the decorative finishes can belimestone coatings, primers, distempers, cementpaints, matt/luster finishes, enamels, emulsions(first quality), and premium emulsions.

Within the decorative segment, the exterior category,particularly exterior emulsions, is the fastest

growing segment 20 % for the last three years.Consumption of paints is skewed towards decorativepaints which account for 70% of paints sold in India.

This is in a sharp contrast to the trend in developedcountries, where the ratio is skewed towards theindustrial segment. This segment is marked by thepresence of a large number of players from theorganized as well as unorganized sector

Competition is high and margins tend to be low inthis segment. Products of this segment are relativelyprice sensitive.

Asian Paints is the market leader in this segment.Demand for decorative paints is seasonal with bulk ofsales taking place during the festival seasons fromSeptember to December.

Besides, sales remain slack during the monsoon monthsfrom June to August. Entry barriers in terms oftechnological and funds requirements are relativelylower in the paints sector. It is estimated that aplant of 1 mtpa will cost around Rs 120 m. However,decorative paints are marketing-savvy products andbacked by large advertisement campaigns anddealership networks.

These serve as high cost entry barriers for newcompanies in this business.

The huge investments required in setting up a vastmarketing and dealership network, to advertise anddevelop a brand over a period of time can only beafforded by companies in the organized sector.

It is for this reason that smaller companies andsmall scale sector units are slowly losing marketshare to the organized sector.

Industrial Paints:

Industrial paints comprising 30% of the marketinclude automotive paints, high performance coatings,coil coatings, powder coatings, marine paints andgeneral industrial coatings.

The automotive segment is further bifurcated intoOEMs and auto refinishes. The automotive and generalindustrial coatings occupy top slot in terms ofproduction. Goodlass Nerolac is the market leader inthis segment.

Most Indian companies have tied up with or are in theprocess of tying up with international paint majorsto have access to the latest technology.

A tie-up with a global paint manufacturer alsoenables the domestic company to supply to localcustomers of its partner.

For example, Goodlass Nerolac is a major supplier toMaruti Suzuki because of Kansai, its Japanesecollaborator and Suzuki relations. It is for the samereason that Asian Paints (tie-up with PPG Industries,USA) is a major supplier of paints to Opel Astra

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

- Awarded the "Sword of Honor" by the British SafetyCouncil for all the paint plants in India. Thisaward is considered as the pinnacle of achievementin safety across the world.

- Forbes Global magazine, USA ranked Asian Paintsamongst the 200 'Best Small Companies of the world'in 2002 and 2003 and amongst the top 200 'Under aBillion Firms' of Asia in 2005.

- Ranked 24th amongst the top paint companies in theworld by Coatings World - Top Companies Report2006.

- The Asset - one of Asia's leading financialmagazine ranked Asian Paints amongst the leadingIndian companies in Corporate Governance in 2002and 2005.

- Received the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of theYear - Manufacturing" award in 2003.

Efforts taken by Asian Paints to improve their CustomerSatisfaction

A Customer Care Executive will record yourrequirement, interest in the service and schedule anappointment for a site visit.A Sales Associate willvisit the home on the appointed date & time.:

- To understand your painting requirements.

- To explain the various products and paintingsystems available and suggest options given yourneed.

- To conduct a thorough site evaluation to understandpresent condition of the paintable area.

- With the customer’s consent, he will getmeasurements done for the chosen paintable areathrough a panel applicator assigned for the job.

- To finalize the Painting Estimate as per themeasurements, painting systems chosen and thestandard rate card.

- The Sales Associate will introduce the customer tothe Relationship Associate who will be responsiblefor the execution of the job, and handover allpoints discussed with customer so far, before startof the actual painting job.

- The panel applicator assigned will initiate thejob, with regular supervision by the RelationshipAssociate.

- The Relationship Associate will set a work schedulein consultation with the applicator for the job andshare with customer; this will provide the timelinefor the completion of the painting job, in a phasewise manner.

- The RA will supervise and ensure that the qualityof painting is as per recommended guidelines andthe painters are taking due care of things apartfrom painting - eg. Covering and masking of non-paintable surfaces, ensuring a clean job, takingcare of furniture and fixtures, etc.

- After completion of painting the RA will ensureprofessional handover of the site to customer postrequired cleaning.

- Post completion - the invoice & warranty card witha validity of 1 year on paint & application will becouriered to you.

- An independent agency will contact the customer forconfirming satisfaction rating on differentparameters.

- During or after the painting process if there isany problem faced,, customer may get in touch withour customer care at 1800-209-5678 or mail thecompany at customercare@asianpaints.com

CHAPTER 3

Research Design and Methodology

Statement of purpose

The purpose of the study is to understand thedifferent strategies of customer centricityimplemented by Asian Paints to promote their brand inthe market.

Scope of the study

The study is mainly focused on the consumer –manufacturer relationship.

Objective of the study

The objective of the study is to understand thecustomer satisfaction on the brand Asian Paints.

Review of Literature

The specific relationship between employeesatisfaction, service quality and customersatisfaction has been the subject of a number ofempirical studies. The relationship is oftendescribed as the ‘satisfaction mirror’ reinforcingthe idea that business success results from employeesatisfaction being ‘reflected’ in terms of customersatisfaction.(Schlesinger & Heskett, 1991; Norman &Ramirez, 1993; Liedtka et al, 1997).

Paul S. Goldner (2006) Grigoroudis, E and Siskos, Y(2009) defines, “…a customer is any organization orindividual with which you have done business over thepast twelve months”.

“Customer means the party to which the goods are tobe supplied or service rendered by the supplier”.Provide definition for ‘customer’ upon twoapproaches: With reference to loyalty, “A customer isthe person that assesses the quality of the offeredproducts and services” and on process orientedapproach, “the customer is the person or group thatreceives the work output” (p.9)

Satisfaction has been broadly defined by Vavra, T.G.(1997) as a satisfactory post-purchase experiencewith a product or service given an existing purchaseexpectation. Howard and Sheth (1969)

According to Westbrook and Reilly (1983) definesatisfaction as, “The buyer’s cognitive state ofbeing adequately or inadequately rewarded for thesacrifices he has undergone” (p.145). , customersatisfaction is “an emotional response to theexperiences provided by, associated with particularproducts or services purchased, retail outlets, oreven molar patterns of behavior such as shopping andbuyer behavior, as well as the overall market place”(p.256).

The paramount goal of marketing is to understand theconsumer and to influence buying behavior.

One of the main perspectives of the consumer behaviorresearch analyses buying behavior from the so-called“information processing perspective" (Holbrook andHirschman 1982).

According to the model, customer decision-makingprocess comprises a need-satisfying behavior and awide range of motivating and influencing factors. Theprocess can be depicted in the following steps(Engel, Blackwell et al. 1995):

Need recognition – realization of the differencebetween desired situation and the currentsituation that serves as a trigger for the entireconsumption process.

Search for information - search for data relevantfor the purchasing decision, both from internalsources (one's memory) and/or external sources.

Pre-purchase alternative evaluation - assessmentof available choices that can fulfill the

realized need by evaluating benefits they maydeliver and reduction of the number of options tothe one (or several) preferred.

Purchase - acquirement of the chosen option ofproduct or service Consumption - utilization ofthe procured option.

Post-purchase alternative re-evaluation -assessment of whether or not and to what degreethe consumption of the alternative producedsatisfaction.

Divestment - disposal of the unconsumed productor its remnants. Besides the informationprocessing perspective, marketing analysesconsumer behavior by employing a psychologicallygrounded concept of attitudes (Balderjahn 1988;Ronis, Yates et al. 1989; Luzar and Cosse 1998).

It is consumer attitudes that re usually named asthe major factor in shaping consumer behavior anda wealth of studies is available on the topic ofhow attitudes can predict behavior.

Hypothesis 1

H0 – Asian Paints is the most preferred brand.

H1 – There are other companies preferable than AsianPaints.

Significance of the Study

To understand the different strategies involved. To also analyze the customer satisfaction

Geographical area to be covered

It is to be conducted in Chembur with 100respondents.

Reference period

The research study will be conducted from Nov- 14till Jan – 15.

Research Methodology

Sampling plan

It will include customers in Chembur. A survey methodwill be used. The survey for customers would be tounderstand the consumer’s decision making process.

Sample

The respondents will be family members, friends, andpeople of all ages including the regular customers ofAsian Paints and also of other brands.

Tools for collection of data

Collection of data will be done from primary andsecondary sources.

Primary: The primary sources will includeQuestionnaires

Secondary: The secondary sources will includejournals, websites, and newspapers.

Plan for analysis

The data will be summarized and compressed intotabulation form. Bar graphs and pie diagrams will beused to interpret the tabulated data and conclusionswill be drawn accordingly. Ratio scale analysis willbe used for those elements where the answers are moreof specific in nature. For eg:- Yes or No.

CHAPTER IV

Bibliography

Paul S. Goldner (2006). Red-hot Cold Call Selling:Prospecting Techniques that Really Pay Off. USA:AMACOM Div American Mgmt. Assn. p.27. Grigoroudis, E& Siskos, Y (2009).

Customer Satisfaction Evaluation: Methods forMeasuring and Implementing Service Quality. Springer.

Definitions of customer. Retrieved fromwww.en.wiktionary.org/wiki/customer

Vavra, T.G. (1997), Improving your Measurement ofCustomer Satisfaction: A guide to creating,conducting, analyzing, and reporting CustomerSatisfaction Measurement Programs. American Societyfor Quality.

Howard John, A., & Sheth, J.N. (1969), The Theory ofBuyer Behavior, New York: John WileyTse, David K. &Wilton, P.C. (1988), “Models of ConsumerSatisfaction: An Extension,” Journal of MarketingResearch, May 25, pp.204-212.

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Grover, V. Kettinger, W.J. Teng, J.T.C. (2000),‘Business process change in the 21st century’,

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Engel, J. F., R. D. Blackwell, et al. (1995).Consumer Behavior. Forth Worth, Dryden Press

Ronis, D. L., J. F. Yates, et al. (1989). Attitudes,decisions, and habits as determinants of repeatedbehavior. Attitude structure and function. A. R.Pratkanis, S. J.

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