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INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FORD INDIA RECALLS 1.66 LAKH UNITS OF FIGO, CLASSIC
11-DECEMBER -2013
Submitted by:
Introduction
Ford India had issued a recall of a total of 1.66 lakh cars to rectify issues related to Rear Twist Beam (RTB) and Power Assisted Steering (PAS) Hose. Till date there has been no reported injuries or accidents related to the RTB or PAS. With respect to RTB, all cars will be inspected first and if necessary will be replaced while for PAS all cars produced and sold in that time span will be inspected and then replaced. Ford has declared a potential crack in the RTB which manifests itself in the form of an abnormal noise from the rear. If the vehicle continues to be driven and the noise symptoms are ignored, it could lead to the RTB unit breaking, resulting in diminished ride and handling and brake performance - potentially rendering the vehicle inoperable. In the case of the PAS Hose issue, the company had said there was a potential for development of an oil leak, which could result in potential fumes being emitted from the area causing the leak. It may also be possible for power steering fluid to come into contact with the vehicle's exhaust components creating a potential for smoke and, in extreme cases, fire. The spate of auto recalls has increased since the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers announced a voluntary auto recall code, pre-empting the governments own mandatory code.
Research Problem
Its been reported that last year, 1.28 lakh units of Ford (all Compact Figo and Classic Sedan produced and sold in India) were recalled by Ford over the same problem and recalling for the same problem may lead to complete loss of customers trust. Also Reuters reported that Ford Motor Co is recalling 2,618 Focus Electric cars because of potential loss of power to the wheels while driving. The automaker said nearly all the cars from model years 2012 to 2014 were sold in the United States. Two recalls within two consecutive years for same problem of almost 3 lakh cars can really have immense effect on its future market and sales. Moreover recalling in other segments like electric cars can lead to change in customers overall perception about Ford quality. With presence of market leaders like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors together accounting for more than 75% of passenger vehicles, GM with 5% and increasing such steps can create blunder for Ford.
Research Objective
The main objective is to study and determine customer satisfaction levels with Ford and their current perception about its quality. How to retain customers value and change their current mind-set towards Fords quality aspect? How to ensure customers safety and satisfaction level, what additional features to be installed?
Research Methodology
Data collection approaches for qualitative research usually involves: Direct interaction with individuals on a one to one basis Or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting
Qualitative research data collection methods are normally more time consuming, difficult to achieve and access. Therefore qualitative data is usually collected from a smaller sample than would be the case for quantitative approaches and hence, qualitative research are far more expensive. The benefits of the qualitative approach are that the information is richer and has a deeper insight into the phenomenon under study and hence provides better understanding of the problems in term of customers perspective. The main methods for collecting qualitative data are: Individual In-depth Interviews Focused Group discussions Observations Other Data Gathering Methods
Data Collection
Focused Group Discussions Customers/Car Owners
Focus group discussion (FGD would be useful to get information from customers in the context to figure out the relative importance of factors that can help Ford to target their audience in an effective manner. Customers sometimes cannot exactly figure out the reasons behind What went wrong? in the particular brand. In such a case focus group discussion helps them reveal detailed information and generate deep insights into their buying behaviour. A well-executed FGD creates an accepting environment that puts participants at ease allowing them to thoughtfully answer questions in their own words and add meanings to their answers. Defining a focus group The first and foremost issue in conducting a FGD is recruiting the participants. In this case, I would first like to segment my target customers. The term target customers here means any person who is well educated or knowledgeable about the product, market, environment and who is looking forward to buy a new car or is already having a car (may be Ford or difeerent) The segmentation should be done on the basis of age. Mainly the categories would be Nuclear Family Member (for Compact Ford Figo) in the age group of 30-45 years and Executives for the Classic Sedan in the age group of 25-60 years. So basically we are dealing with Adults and Older Adults. These categories would be further classified into Males and Females. There should be separate FGDs for participants in different categories and different gender. For example 1 FGD would have participants from Nuclear Family and Only Males. Here the focus is on maintaining the homogeneity of the group and at the same time trying to get
Individual Assignment | Research Methodology 3
QMR FORD INDIA RECALLS together participants who are unknown to each other. This would also help in capturing the issues related with individual group separately which may not come out in heterogeneous FGD. Recruiting and preparing the participants For recruiting participants we would use the following techniques: Nomination- Individuals nominate people they think would make good participants. The estimated time for FGD would be around 2 hours. So nomination criteria should be that the participant should be willing to devote 2 hours of his time Random selection- If participants belong to a large but defined group (e.g. school children) then random selection could help Volunteers- Incentivize people to volunteer for the FGD Once a group of viable recruits has been established, call each one to confirm interest and availability. Give them times and locations of the focus groups and secure verbal confirmation. To avoid short attendance we would invite 10- 20% more participants. The number of participants would be eight for FGD. But around ten participants are also fine.
Conducting the focus group discussion
Before starting a FGD a team consisting of moderator and assistant would be selected for conducting a FGD. A moderator would moderate the FGD whereas assistant would take notes and at the same time record the discussions for further analysis.
Starting off with the FGD
We would like to remind the participants that the response to the questions should be short and to the point. With all the above preparation we need to moderate the discussion with following questions. The questions would be adaptive in nature. The questions mentioned below will just serve as a pointer to moderate the discussion. The questioning should be done in three ways as follows 1. Engagement questions: a. What is your favourite brand when it comes to buying a car? b. What do you notice when you look at other people cars? c. What is most important for you when it comes to driving? Is it safety, brand, mileage, price, speed, style, colour, or class? Exploration questions: a. Who in particular has influenced your choice of cars? b. How to do you define a good car? What attributes do you look for when buying a car? c. Does brand matters while buying a car? d. How do you differentiate between brands? Is it by the product specifications or by the visibility of the brands? e. Are the events sponsored by a brand creates visibility for that brand? f. Is money a constraint in buying a car? Does a brand command a higher premium for the similar attributes? g. Do you believe branded products are of high quality even if they are of similar attributes? Exit questions: a. Is there anything you would like to add to the discussion on your preference for a particular brand?
Individual Assignment | Data Collection 4
2.
3.
Compile data
Use a separate Excel data base spreadsheet for each group. Within each spreadsheet, use one sheet per question. Label three columns on each sheet. One column for coding, One column for the participant ID#, One column for responses Enter each separate response or idea on a separate line with participant ID attached. The coding column is filled in during the next phase - analysis.
Coding Categories A B