Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 Company Profile Chapter 3 - Literature Review Chapter 4 - Methodology Chapter 5 Data Analysis Chapter 6 Conclusions, Limitations & Recommendations. Bibliography Appendix

Chapter 1 Introduction

Introduction
Introduction to the topic
This chapter will outline and overview the research topic and rational of this study, the objectives and the reason for the personal interest of the author for this study and will help readers to understand what is going to follow in this project

Definitions and theoretical concept framework

Customer loyalty has been examined by many researchers in the past and many of them have given various definitions around this concept. According to Heskett (2002), customer loyalty has been regarded as the sina qua non of an effective business strategy. Dick and Basu (1994, p.99) give a stronger conceptualization for customer loyalty. They view it as the strength of the relationship between an individuals relative attitude towards an entity (brand, Products, store, or vendor) and repeat patronage.

Customer satisfaction What is customer satisfaction?

Social psychologists, marketing researchers, and students of consumer behaviour, have extensively studied the concepts of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The increasing importance of quality in both Products and manufacturing industries has also created a proliferation of research, with more than 15,000 academic and trade articles having been published on the topic of customer satisfaction in the past two decades (Peterson and Wilson, 1992). Several conferences have been devoted to the subject and extensive

literature reviews have been published (Day, 1977; Hunt, 1977; LaTour and Peat, 1979; Smart, 1982; Ross, et al., 1987, Barsky, 1992: Oh and Parks, 1997) The result of all this research has been the development of nine distinct theories of customer satisfaction. The majority of these theories are based on cognitive psychology, some have received moderate attention, while other theories have been introduced without any empirical research. The nine theories include: 1. expectancy disconfirmation; 2. assimilation or cognitive dissonance; 3. contrast; 4. assimilation-contrast; 5. equity; 6. attribution; 7. comparison-level; 8. generalized negativity; and 9. value-precept (Oh and Parks, 1997). Recently, numerous researchers have attempted to apply CS theories developed by consumer behaviourists in the areas of lodging (Barsky, 1992; Barsky and Labagh, 1992; Saleh and Ryan, 1991; Ekinci and Riley, 1998), restaurant (Dube et al., 1994; Bojanic and Rosen, 1994; Lee and Hing, 1995; Oh and Jeong, 1996), foodProducts (Almanza et al., 1994), and tourism (Pizam and Milman, 1993; Danaher and Arweiler, 1996; Ryan and Cliff, 1997; Hudson and Shepard, 1998) in order to investigate CS applicability to the hospitality and tourism industries. For several decades the word or concept customer satisfaction was of crucial importance for marketing, managers and the organizations and it is regarded today central issue to many definitions (Parker and Mathews, 2001). The Oxford Library of Words and Phrases (1993) emphasize satisfaction as a release from uncertainty. Customer satisfaction can be defined in many ways. Kotler (2000, pg.36) defines customer satisfaction as one of which is a person's feelings of pleasure or disappointment from comparing a product's perceived

performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Another conceptualization given from Homburg et al. (2005) is that customer satisfaction is a cumulative, worldwide assessment based on different experiences with a firm. Similarly, Kotler (1991) and Fornell (1992) characterized satisfaction as an evaluation of quality of products after customers purchase them and he argues that high customer satisfaction ratings are widely believed to be the best indicator of a companys future profits (Kotler 1991, pg.19).

Customer perception of value

Theoretical concept framework and definitions: The creation of consumer value has been taken into consideration from many managers during the 1990s and it was the result of companies need to be more competitive and to fulfill the increasing customer demands (Cravens and Piercy, 2003). Consumer perceived value depends on how the customer perceives the benefits of an offering and the sacrifice that is associated with its purchase (Jobber, 2004, pg.13). Thats why, Monroe (1991) and Sweeney (1994) define customer perceived value as the ratio between perceived benefits and perceived sacrifice. Also, Monroe and Chapman (1987) suggest that perceived value is a weighted sum of acquisition and transaction value.

Customer perceived value can be broadly defined as the customers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given (Zeithaml, 1988, p. 14).

Importance of customer perception of value: Many discounters, retail stores and supermarkets now focus to the offering of value-added Productss and highlight the importance of them to become more competitive (Kim and Jin, 2002). Examining the effects and impact of consumers perception of value, generally value is very important and crucial to marketers for the success of companies (Dodds, 1991; Fredericks and Salter, 1995).

The relationship between customer perception of value and customer satisfaction : McDougall and Levesque (2000, p. 394) argued that customers who perceive they received value for money are more satisfied than customers who do not perceive they received value for money.

Chapter 2 Company Profile

ITC FMCG
ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of nearly US $ 19 billion* and a turnover of over US $ 5.1 Billion. ITC is rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by BusinessWorld and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today. ITC ranks among India's `10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands', in a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business Week. ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery. As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived to be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration "a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder value. ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger value chain of which it is a part."

ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating multiple drivers of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies: unmatched distribution reach, superior brand-building capabilities, effective supply chain management and acknowledged service skills in hoteliering. Over time, the strategic forays into new

businesses are expected to garner a significant share of these emerging high-growth markets in India. ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one of the country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in the last decade). The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy, which has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School, is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure, significantly enhancing the Company's marketing reach. ITC's wholly owned Information Technology subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities in providing end-to-end IT solutions, including e-enabled services and business process outsourcing. ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating. ITC employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. The Company continuously endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalising environment to consistently reward more than 3,72,000 shareholders, fulfill the aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-arching vision of the company is expressively captured in its corporate positioning statement: "Enduring Value. For the nation. For the Shareholder." ITCs Lifestyle Retailing Business Division has established a nationwide retailing presence through its Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive specialty stores. Wills Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Wills Classic work wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear, fashion accessories and Essenza Di Wills an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products and Fiama Di Wills - a range of premium shampoos and shower gels. Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed by the leading designers of the country.

With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also established John Players as a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to the male youth of today. The recent launch of Miss Players with its range of trendy fashion wear for young women has been a successful addition to the youthful offering. With its brands, ITC is committed to build a dominant presence in the apparel market through a robust portfolio of offerings.

Wills Lifestyle has been established as a chain of exclusive specialty stores providing the Indian consumer a truly 'International Shopping Experience' through world-class ambience, customer facilitation and clearly differentiated product presentation. Our stores have established themselves as preferred shopping destinations in the prime shopping districts across the country. At Wills Lifestyle, customers can browse at leisure, and shop in a relaxed and pleasing atmosphere. The use of space is refreshing, which is reflected even in the spacious changing rooms. Every store offers an international retailing ambience with the extensive use of glass, steel and granite, reflecting the most contemporary trends in store design, thereby creating a splendid backdrop for the premium offerings.

Wills Lifestyle was named Superbrand 2006 by the Superbrands Council of India recently. Wills Lifestyle has been twice declared 'The Most Admired Exclusive Brand Retail Chain of the Year' at the Images Fashion Awards in 2001 & 2003.

Wills Lifestyle is the title partner of the countrys most premier fashion event - Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week. Taking the celebration of the event to its stores, Wills Lifestyle has partnered with several leading designers including Rohit Bal, Anamika Khanna, Ashish Soni & Rohit Gandhi - Rahul Khanna whose new edition of Designer wear is now available at Wills Lifestyle stores. Wills Sport, fashionable relaxed wear for men and women has, over thirteen seasons, become the vibrant face of contemporary fashion. At the Images Fashion Awards 2001, Wills Sport was declared The Most Admired Brand Launch of the Year'. Following this, Wills Sport was declared 'The Most Admired Women's wear Brand of the Year', at Images Fashion Awards 2002. Wills Sport presents a collection designed as the perfect medley of interesting patterns and premium fabrics. Fine knitted sweaters and trendy mock necks create magic in balmy winter afternoons. The collection also features rich hues of corduroys and premium Italian jackets. Wills Classic work wear was launched in November 2002, providing the premium consumer a distinct product offering and a unique brand positioning. Featuring luxurious fabrics crafted to perfection with the most contemporary styling, Wills Classic work wear is positioned as the brand for new age leaders, who are changing the rules of business and encouraging a dynamic culture of enterprise, innovation and teamwork. Showcasing the epitome of new age luxury, the collection features the finest shirts crafted in Italy. These are complemented by exquisite trousers and jackets made by European master craftsmen. Having established a distinctive presence in the premium apparel segment in a short span of time with Wills Sport premium relaxed wear and Wills Classic new age work wear, Wills

Lifestyle launched Wills Clublife in May 2003 in the growing evening wear segment, thereby strengthening its portfolio in the premium segment. The brand is uniquely positioned to complement the glittering evening life of premium consumers perfectly. The collection is inspired by the allure and intrigue of the dark. The use of sensuous fabrics and seductive patterns add to the magical enchantment.

Wills Lifestyle complements the range of premium apparel with a tempting choice of fashion accessories. This season a wider choice of accessories will be offered across ties, cuff links, socks, caps, hand bags, wallets, belts, eyewear and shoes. With Occasions Gift certificates Wills Lifestyle also presents a premium new way of festive gifting. ITC forayed into the youth fashion segment with the launch of John Players in December 2002 and John Players is committed to be the No. 1 fashion brand for the youth. This foray leverages ITCs proven competencies in understanding consumer insights, brand building and design capabilities.

Hrithik Roshan, Superstar and Youth Icon, with his innate style, vibrancy and playfulness best personifies the core attributes of the brand as its ambassador. John Players offers a complete and vibrant wardrobe of Casual wear, Party wear, Work wear, Denims, Outer wear and Suits & Jackets, incorporating the most contemporary trends, an exciting mix of colors, playful styling, trendy textures and comfortable fits. The brand is available across the country through a nation-wide network of over 240 exclusive stores and over 1500 multi-brand outlets.

At the Images Fashion Awards 2005, John Players was declared 'The Most Admired Shirt Brand of the Year'.

At the Images Fashion Awards 2007, John Players was awarded the 'The Most Admired Fashion Campaign of the Year' award. The launch of Miss Players has added to ITCs youthful portfolio. The range which spans trendy tops, funky denims, smart trousers and stylish dresses along with a whole range of cool fashion accessories has been designed keeping in mind the tastes of the young Indian woman. Well known film actor Amrita Rao, with her vibrant and youthful personality, is the face of the brand. In the brand marketing campaign, she stylishly brings alive the spirit of fun and playfulness. Miss Players is currently available at select exclusive stores and at leading John Players stores in key cities. The availability of the brand will be rapidly enhanced to reach exclusive stores and multi-brand outlets in malls & high-street locations in the key consumption centres of the country. Having built a powerful brand portfolio that is making waves across the country, ITC's Lifestyle Retailing is poised to grow and build a dominant presence in the country's fashion industry.

ITC's Lifestyle Retailing Business has won numerous awards for its quality, marketing and product excellence: LRBD has won several Images Fashion Awards over the years: 2007: Most Admired Fashion Campaign - John Players. 2005: Most Admired Shirt Brand of the Year - John Players. 2004: Rising Star Brand of the Year - John Players.

2003: Most Admired Exclusive Brand Retail Chain of the Year - Wills Lifestyle. 2002 : Most Admired Women's Wear Brand of the Year - Wills Sport. 2001 : The Most Admired Brand Launch of the Year - Wills Sport. The Most Admired Exclusive Brand Retail Chain of the Year - Wills Lifestyle. Retailer of the Year Award to Wills Lifestyle in Fashion & Lifestyle category at Asia Retail Congress 2008. Wills Lifestyle rated amongst the top 5 Luxury brands in the country in a Global Luxury Survey conducted by TIME Magazine. Front runner Award - 2007 to Wills Lifestyle in the Retail category by Real Estate Observer & Trammel Crow Meghraj. Superbrand 2006 awarded to Wills Lifestyle by the Superbrands Council of India. The "Best Supply Chain Practices Award 2006" for time-effective and cost-efficient Logistics management in Organized Retail. The awards were organized by Retailers Association of India (RAI) in association with ITW Signode - the International leaders in packaging solutions. The Division's Product & Quality Testing facilities were awarded the prestigious accreditation by the National Accreditation Board of Laboratories of the Department of Science and Technology, GOI (affiliated to the International Laboratories Accreditation Cooperation - Geneva) in 2006. This accreditation is awarded after rigorous procedures confirmed that LRBD's Testing facilities truly conform to international standards in terms of quality and technical competence. The Division also obtained ISO 9001:2000 certification in the area of Receipt, Storage & Distribution of Merchandise / Finished Goods by Det Norske Veritas, Netherlands.

NID Awards for Design Excellence for Best Packaging Design In The FMCG Category for John Players.

Cigarettes
ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable brands, it has a leadership position in every segment of the market. It's highly popular portfolio of brands includes Insignia, India Kings, Classic, Gold Flake, Silk Cut, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake. The Company has been able to build on its leadership position because of its single minded focus on value creation for the consumer through significant investments in product design, innovation, manufacturing technology, quality, marketing and distribution. All initiatives are therefore worked upon with the intent to fortify market standing in the long term. This in turns aids in designing products which are contemporary and relevant to the changing attitudes and evolving socio economic profile of the country. This strategic focus on the consumer has paid ITC handsome dividends. ITC's pursuit of international competitiveness is reflected in its initiatives in the overseas markets. In the extremely competitive US market, ITC offers high-quality, value-priced cigarettes and Roll-your-own solutions. In West Asia, ITC has become a key player in the GCC markets through growing volumes of its brands. ITC's cigarettes are produced in its state-of-the-art factories at Bengaluru, Munger, Saharanpur and Kolkata. These factories are known for their high levels of quality, contemporary technology and work environment

Foods business

ITC made its entry into the branded & packaged Foods business in August 2001 with the launch of the Kitchens of India brand. A more broad-based entry has been made since June 2002 with brand launches in the Confectionery, Staples and Snack Foods segments. The packaged foods business is an ideal avenue to leverage ITC's proven strengths in the areas of hospitality and branded cuisine, contemporary packaging and sourcing of agricultural commodities. ITC's world famous restaurants like the Bukhara and the Dum Pukht, nurtured by the Company's Hotels business, demonstrate that ITC has a deep understanding of the Indian palate and the expertise required to translate this knowledge into delightful dining experiences for the consumer. ITC has stood for quality products for over 98 years to the Indian consumer and several of its brands are today internationally benchmarked for quality. The Foods business carries forward this proud tradition to deliver quality food products to the consumer. All products of ITC's Foods business available in the market today have been crafted based on consumer insights developed through extensive market research. Apart from the current portfolio of products, several new and innovative products are under development in ITC's state-of-the-art Product Development facility located at Bengaluru. Leadership in the Foods business requires a keen understanding of the supply chain for agricultural produce. ITC has over the last 98 years established a very close business relationship with the farming community in India and is currently in the process of enhancing the Indian farmer's ability to link to global markets, through the e-Choupal initiative, and produce the quality demanded by its customers. This long-standing relationship is being leveraged in sourcing best quality agricultural produce for ITC's Foods business.

The Foods business is today represented in 4 categories in the market. These are:

Ready To Eat Foods Staples

Confectionery Snack Foods

In order to assure consumers of the highest standards of food safety and hygiene, ITC is engaged in assisting outsourced manufacturers in implementing world-class hygiene standards through HACCP certification. The unwavering commitment to internationally benchmarked quality standards enabled ITC to rapidly gain market standing in all its 6 brands:

Kitchens of India Aashirvaad Sunfeast mint-o Candyman Bingo!

Chapter 4 Literature Review

Literature Review
After we have referred to the Introduction (Chapter 1) about the background of this research project and determine the research problem that we are going to analyze, we are moving to the part of the Literature Review. In this chapter we are going to find and say about the relevant past research in regard to our research problem, a fact that will help to the better understanding and clarification of the topic and how we proceed in the next chapters. Customer satisfaction is a psychological concept that involves the feeling of well-being and pleasure that results from obtaining what one hopes for and expects from an appealing product and/or Products (WTO, 1985). While there are a variety of approaches to the explanation of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, the most widely used is the one proposed by Richard Oliver who has developed the expectancy disconfirmation theory (Oliver, 1980). According to this theory, which has been tested and confirmed in several studies (Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988; Tse and Wilton, 1988), customers purchase goods and Productss with pre-purchase expectations about anticipated performance. Once the product or Products has been purchased and used, outcomes are compared against expectations. When outcome matches expectations, confirmation occurs. Disconfirmation occurs when there are differences between expectations and outcomes. Negative disconfirmation occurs when product/Products performance is less than expected. Positive disconfirmation occurs when product/Products performance is better than expected. Satisfaction is caused by confirmation or positive disconfirmation of consumer expectations, and dissatisfaction is caused by negative disconfirmation of consumer expectations. Customer satisfaction can also be defined as satisfaction based on an outcome or a process. Vavras (1997, p. 4) outcome definition of customer satisfaction characterizes satisfaction as the end-state resulting from the experience of consumption. This end state may be a cognitive state of reward, an emotional response to an experience or a comparison of rewards and costs to the anticipated consequences. Vavra also puts forth a definition of customer satisfaction based as a process, emphasizing the perceptual, evaluative and

psychological processes contributing to customer satisfaction (1997, p. 4). In this definition, assessment of satisfaction is made during the Products delivery process. A minority of researchers perceive the satisfaction process to be subjective in expectations but objective in the perceptions of the product attributes, or outcome. Thus, Klaus (1985, p. 21) defines satisfaction as the customers subjective evaluation of a consumption experience, based on some relationship between the customers perceptions and objective attributes of the product. Others point out that both what is perceived (outcome) and what is expected are subjective and therefore psychological phenomena - not reality (Maister, 1985). The importance of the subjective nature of the process cannot be overstated. Since both expectations and perceptions are psychological phenomena, they are both susceptible to external influences and manipulation. As an illustration of how expectations can be explicitly manipulated Sasser et al. (1979, p. 89) note that: Some restaurants follow the practice of promising guests a waiting time in excess of the expected time. If people are willing to agree to wait this length of time, they are quite pleased to be seated earlier, thus starting the meal with a more positive feeling (Maister, 1985, p.114). An example of creating low customer expectations is a restaurant in Orlando, Florida, which calls itself Warm Beer & Lousy Food. Once a customer has experienced a reasonable meal at the above restaurant he/she is pleasantly surprised and comes out very satisfied. Manipulating perceptions of outcome is also a common practice in some hotels where front office clerks mention nonchalantly that a particular suite in the hotel is a favorite of a famous personality. The intention here is to influence the perception of the customer and suggest that the hotel must be good since an expert regularly frequents it. Satisfaction is not a universal phenomenon and not everyone gets the same satisfaction out of the same hospitality experience. The reason is that customers have different needs, objectives and past experiences that influence their expectations. To a student on a limited budget, a lunch composed of fast food items at the crowded and noisy school cafeteria may be a highly satisfying experience, while the same experience may be perceived as totally dissatisfying to an affluent executive discussing a business transaction. The same customer may also have different needs and expectations on different meal occasions, or at different times of the day (Davis and Stone, 1985, p. 31). The student in our previous example will

not be highly satisfied when his college friends take him out for a birthday meal celebration at the school cafeteria. Therefore it is important to gain a clear idea of the customer needs and objectives that correspond to different kinds of satisfactions. This necessitates the segmentation of the market, because no Products or product can offer everyone the same degree of satisfaction (WTO, 1985). To recapitulate what we have established by now is that an individuals satisfaction with outcomes received from a hospitality experience results from a comparison of these outcomes with expectations. Expectations can be described as a mutable internal standard which is based on a multitude of factors including needs, objectives, past personal or vicarious experiences with the same establishment restaurant, with similar establishments, and the availability of alternatives (i.e. are there any other establishments in town?). This view is supported by Mazursky who suggests that: Experiences beyond those with the focal brands may lead to different normative standards employed by consumers in evaluating performance. Possible norms, according to this view, include perceived best brand, the most recently used brand, a brand used by a reference person, products competing for the same needs, and the like (p. 338). Changes in satisfaction with the meal experience may result from changes in the perception of the actual quality of outcomes received, or from changes in the expectations against which these outcomes are compared. Alterations in the expectations can result from change in needs (i.e. hungry versus full; tired versus rested) change of objectives (i.e. business trip vs leisure trip), new personal or vicarious experiences (i.e. recently had a superb hospitality experience at another hotel) and any other influences that make salient a particular quality of outcomes (i.e. its a very hot day and the restaurant is not air conditioned) (McCallum and Harrison, 1985). Past research in customer satisfaction and Products quality has resulted in increasing research efforts to look at new ways to evaluate these concepts. Historically, the assumption has been that a linear relationship exists between satisfaction/dissatisfaction and disconfirmation or performance evaluations. Researchers such as Oliva et al. (1992) proposed a catastrophe model theorizing the nature of the relationship of satisfaction with

transaction costs and brand loyalty. This theory hypothesizes that satisfaction and dissatisfaction occur at different points, specifically these behaviours are associated with transaction costs and brand loyalty and are not monotonic. Research by various authors (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Oliver and Swan, 1989; Cadotte et al., 1987) using structural modelling, found underlying causal dynamics among Customer Products model constructs. The result of this discovery is that CS researchers must, determine a generalizable causal relationship among model constructs and identify a representative parsimonious CS structural model.

The components of satisfaction

Unlike material products or pure Productss, most hospitality experiences are an amalgam of products and Productss. Therefore it is possible to say that satisfaction with a hospitality experience such as a hotel stay or a restaurant meal is a sum total of satisfactions with the individual elements or attributes of all the products and Productss that make up the experience. There is no uniformity of opinion among marketing experts as to the classification of the elements in Products encounters. Reuland et al. (1985, p. 142) suggest that hospitality Productss consist of a harmonious mixture of three elements: the material product in a narrow sense which in the case of a restaurant is the food and beverages; the behaviour and attitude of the employees who are responsible for hosting the guest, serving the meal and beverages and who come in direct contact with the guests, and the environment, such as the building, the layout, the furnishing, the lighting in the restaurant, etc. Czepiel et al. (1985) on the other hand, suggest that satisfaction with a Products is a function of satisfaction with two independent elements. The functional element, i.e. the food and beverage in a restaurant, and the performance-delivery element, i.e. the Products. To prove the independence of the two elements from each other, the authors claim that restaurant clients are quite capable of having responses to each element that differ one from the other: The Products was great, the food poor or conversely... (p. 13).

Davis and Stone (1985, p.29) divide the Products encounter into two elements: direct and indirect Productss. For example, direct Productss may be the actual check-in/check-out process in hotels, while the indirect Productss include the provision of parking facilities, concierge, public telephones for guests use, etc. Lovelock (1985) divides the Products attributes into two groups: core and secondary. Airline Products provides a good example, with customers first making inquiries and reservations, then checking in their baggage, getting seat assignments, being checked at the gate, receiving on-board Products in flight, and retrieving their baggage at the destination airport. Each of these activities is an operations task that is secondary to the core product of physically transporting passengers and their bags between two airports. But these secondary tasks have a greater potential to generate customer dissatisfaction if performed poorly (p. 272). In a restaurant situation Lovelocks core will be composed of the food and beverage, while his secondary will be composed of everything else, including Products, environment, etc. Lewis (1987), too, classifies the Products encounter attributes in two groups: essential and subsidiary. The essential attributes are identical to Czepiels functional, Davis and Stones direct, Reuland and colleagues product, and Lovelocks core, i.e. the food and beverage in the meal experience. On the other hand Lewiss subsidiary attributes are more comprehensive than either Davis and Stones indirect, Czepiels performance- delivery, or Lovelocks secondary, and include such factors as: accessibility, convenience of location, availability and timing and flexibility, as well as interactions with those providing the Products and with other customers. It is equivalent to a combination of the behaviour and environment elements in the Reuland et al. model. Yet other researchers support the idea that the Products encounter attributes are situationspecific and as such cannot be classified into universal elements. For example, Fiebelkorn (1985) doing a study at Citibank found that overall satisfaction with Citibank as one of the customers banks (or his bank only) is based on satisfaction with the last encounter with the bank in five main areas: teller encounter, platform encounter, ATM (automatic teller

machines) encounter, phone encounter, problem encounter. He then concludes that the common thread running through all five Products-encounter types is that customers want: prompt Products by people who know what to do and how to do it, and who care about them as valued customers (Fiebelkorn, 1985, p. 185).

Dimensions of satisfaction
In Products organizations, the assessment of the quality of a Products is made during the actual delivery of the Products usually an encounter between the customer and a Products contact person. Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988, 1991) identified the following five generic dimensions of Products quality (SERVQUAL) that must be present in the Products delivery in order for it to result in customer satisfaction:

Reliability the ability to perform the promised Productss dependably and accurately. Responsiveness the willingness to help customers and provide prompt Products. Assurance the knowledge and courtesy of employees as well as their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers, and Tangibles, the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials.

The model conceptualizes Products quality as a gap between customers expectations (E) and the perception of the Products providers performance (P). According to Parasuraman et al. (1985), Products quality should be measured by subtracting customers perception scores from customer expectation scores (Q = P E). The greater the positive score represents the greater the positive amount of Products quality or visa versa. The gap that may exist between the customers expected and perceived Products is not only a measure of the quality of the Products, but is also a determinant of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Measuring the gap between expected and perceived Products is a routine method of utilizing customer feedback. Zeithaml et al., (1988) suggested a model

that details the gaps between customer expectations and the actual Products delivered. (see Figure 1). Vavra (1997, p. 91) identified a sixth gap namely the difference between the customers desired Products and their expected Products. Since its introduction in 1988, SERVQUAL has been used in hundreds of studies including numerous studies in the hospitality and tourism industries (Fick and Ritchie, 1991; Saleh and Ryan, 1991; Luk et al., 1993; Bojanic and Rosen, 1994; Lee and Hing, 1995; Ryan and Cliff, 1997). SERVQUAL was also used by Knutson et al. (1991) to create a lodgingspecific instrument called LODGSERV which is a 26 item index designed to measure consumer expectations for Products quality in the hotel experience. LODGSERV, however, is not as popular among hospitality and tourism researchers as SERVQUAL and was used only in a limited number of studies (i.e. Patton et al., 1994; Ekinci et al., 1998). But SERVQUAL has also been seriously criticized (Carman, 1990; Finn and Lamb, 1991; Babakus and Boller, 1992; Brown et al., 1993; Smith, 1995). The main criticisms of the model relate to the application of expectations and the gap scoring. First, the conceptualization of expectation as a comparison standard in the model is a difficult concept to quantify. Second, if the variables are difficult to quantify then, by implication, the gap score becomes that much less secure as a measurement. Third, some methodological issues arise. Finally, doubt has been expressed as to the universal quality of the dimensions. (Eckinci and Riley, 1998, p. 355)

Chapter 5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter will discuss the research design and process, and methodology used in this investigation which can be done in the following manner.

Research Design and Process Sampling Issues Types of Research Type of Data Data Collection Methods Method Used in this Research Questionnaire Design and Development Pre-Testing Data Collection Procedure Limitation of Method

Avoid Ambiguity PROBBLEM DEFINITION Be specific but not too rigid Watch for Symptoms Measurable RESEACH OBJECTIVES Specific

Exploratory

RESEARCH DESIGN

Descriptive

Causative

Secondary SOURCES OF DATA Primary

DATA COLLECTION

Techniques Tools

Observation Experimentation Survey Focus Groups Ouestionnaire Schedule Association p

DATA ANALYSIS (PRIMARY) SECONDARY Projection tests (TAT) AND ADAVNCED &Project TES

REPORT AND PRESENTATION

Marketing research process

Research Design And Process Association and

Projection tests (TAT) In the most elementary sense, the design1 is the logical sequence that connect the empirical data in the studys initial research questions and ultimately, to its conclusions. The research design is much more a than a work plan. There are three types of research designs, namely: (a) Exploratory (b) Descriptive, (c) Causative2

Exploratory Research:

Exploratory research is conducted when the researcher

does not know how and why a certain phenomenon occurs, for example, how does the customer evaluate the quality of a bank, hotel or an airline? While in the case of a manufactured product, quality is assessed on the basis of tangible features, replacement policy, warranty, and so forth in the case of Productss, there are no tangibles. To understand this phenomenon, several researchers have conducted focus group discussions to identify these quality parameters. For example, Zeithaml, Parsuraman and Berry identified variables which they clubbed under five groups. In doing so, they used focus groups. Since the prime goal of an exploratory research is to know the unknown, this research is unstructured. Focus groups, interviewing key customer groups, experts and even search for printed or published information are some common techniques.

Descriptive Research:

Descriptive research is carried out to describe a

phenomenon or market characteristic. For example, a study to understand buyer behavior and describe characteristics of the target market is a descriptive research. Continuing the
1

above example of Products quality, a research done on how customers evaluate the quality of competing Products institutions can be considered as an example of descriptive research. Likewise, research done on media habits and TV viewing habits is an illustration of descriptive research. Generally, descriptive research is carried out only when the researcher understands the phenomena or behavioral characteristics.

Causative Research: Causative research is done to establish a cause and effective

relationship, for example, the influence of income and life style on purchase decision. Here the researcher may like to see the effect of rising income and changing life style on consumption of select products. He/she may test the hypothesis that as income increases or life-style changes, more elite and state-of-the-art products are likely to be bought. Or in other words, choice of technology is a function of the customer's income and life style. Likewise, a firm may like to test the effect of a 10 percent raise in its product's prices. In a causative research, unlike exploratory or descriptive, hypotheses are tested.

Sampling Issues
Sampling may be defined as the selection of some part of an aggregate or totality on the basis of which a judgment or inference about the aggregate or totality is made (C.R. Kothari, 2005, p-152). It is the method of obtaining information about a complete population by examining only a part of it. In this research work, the approach has been made to draw inferences based on samples taken from the Indian population. Since India is the second largest populated country in the world so it is next to impossible to take the data from even apart of its population. Hence it is best to adopt the Sampling method. That is why the sample data will enable us to estimate the population parameters. Here care has been taken to select the sample so that it should be truly representative of population characteristics without any bias as a result that it may outcome in valid and reliable conclusions (Research Methodology, C.R. Kothari, 2005). Some of the decisions to be taken here by us is one the most difficult step faced during the entire dissertation are the size of the sample (number of people to be contacted), how their responses will be tabulated, analyzed or interpreted (sample stratification), and how the sample will be drawn (sampling procedure).

Determining the Target Population Sampling is intended to gain information about a population. In this study the population is clearly defined as 30 samples from Bhopal. Selecting a Sampling Procedure According to Fink & Arlene (2002), a researcher should first choose between using a Bayesian procedure and a traditional sampling procedure. Non-probability samplingAccording to Aaker, Kumar & Day (2001), In probability sampling, the theory of probability allows the researcher to calculate the nature and extent of any biases in the estimate and to determine what variation in the estimate is due to the sampling procedure. Convenience Sampling- To obtain information quickly and inexpensively, a convenience sample may be employed. The procedure is simply to contact sampling units that are convenient. Considering various limitations attached with this study like time, cost etc the most appropriate method would be to have a non-probability sample of 30 from Bhopal.

Types of Data collected for the Study

This research combines both secondary and primary data to achieve research objectives. Collection of Primary Data In descriptive type of research the data is collected through surveys, whether sample surveys or census surveys. In this research the researcher has resorted to sample survey. Then the researcher can obtain primary data either through observation or through direct communication with respondents in one form or another or through personal interviews.

Chapter 6 Data analysis & Interpretation

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

For any research the purpose of achieving the objectives is a very important criterion. Unless the information drawn from the survey is properly interpreted and explained the very purpose of a research cannot be served. Hence data analysis and interpretation is a very important aspect in a project report. Analysis of data is the process of orderly research objectives. The primary data collection is in accurate form that is not ready for analysis. So the researcher must take some measures to bring the data to a form where it can be easily analyzed. The various steps include editing (modifying, correcting the collected data), coding and tabulation (arranging similar data together). The analysis is carried using statistical tools like percentages. Percentage is a special kind of ratio. Percentage is used in making comparison between two or more series of data. Thus the analysis is totally based on frequency and percentage calculation. Finally meaningful information is extracted from the analysis. The collected data is illustrated using pie

1.

Do you have purchase products of Wills life Style? No. of Respondents 30 0 30

3 0 2 5 2 0 1 5 1 0 5 0 No. of R espondents a Yes ) b) No

Option a) Yes b) No Total

Percentage 100 0 100

Interpretation:- 100% of respondents purshase the Products of Wills life Style .

2. Are you satisfied with the Products provided by Wills life Style ? Option a) Yes b) No Total No. of Respondents 30 0 30
percentage

Percentage 100 0 100

100 90 80 70 No. of 60 Respondent 50 s 40 30 20 10 0 a) yes options b) No

Interpretation:- 100% of respondents satisfied with the Products provided by Wills life Style .

3.

How will you rate the Products of Wills life Style ? No. of Respondents 3 10 17 0 30 Percentage 10 33 57 0 100

Option a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad Total 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Series1

a)Excellent b) Very Good

c) Good

d) Bad

Interpretation: 10% of respondents feel that the Products provided by Wills life Style are Excellent where as 33% thinks that they are very good, 57% respondents think that it is good.

3. How have you found the quality of products? Option a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad Total No. of Respondents 4 8 18 0 30 Percentage 13% 27% 60% 0% 100%

18 16 14 12 No of 10 respondents 8 6 4 2 0 a)Excellent

No of respondents

c) Good options

Interpretation:- 13% of respondents found the quality of products are excellent & 27% of the respondents found it very good, 60% of the respondents found the quality of printouts is good. No one is with the opinion that the products are of bad quality.

4. What do you think regarding the personal attention by the direct distributors towards the customers? Option a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad Total No. of Respondents 9 7 14 0 30 Percentage 30% 23% 47% 0% 100%

14 12 10 No of respondents 8 6 4 2 0 a)Excellent c) Good options No of responde nts

Interpretation: - 30% of respondents found the personal attention by the staff member towards customers are excellent & 23% of the respondents good, 47% of the respondents found are good. found it very

1. What do you think about the accuracy of the personal products of Wills life Style ? Table No.6 Option a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad Total No. of Respondents 11 11 8 0 30 Percentage 37% 37% 26% 0% 100%

12 10 8 No. of Respondents 6 4 2 0 a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad No. of Respondents

Options

1) Interpretation:- 37% of respondents found the quality of products excellent & 37% of the respondents found it very good, 26% of the respondents found the quality of products is good .

How will you rate the after sale facilities provided by the Wills life Style?

Option a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad Total

No. of Respondents 8 12 10 0 30

Percentage 26% 40% 34% 0% 100%

12 10 8 No. of 6 Respondents 4 2 0 a)Excellent b) Very Good c) Good d) Bad No. of Respondents

Options

Interpretation:- 26% of respondents found the rate after sale facilities provided by the Wills life Style are excellent & 40% of the respondents found it very good, 34% of the respondents found the is good.

8. Are you satisfied with the number of Wills life Style outlets in different retailer shops? Table No.8 Option a)Yes b) No Total No. of Respondents 30 0 30 Percentage 100% 0% 100%

30 25 20 No of 15 Respondents 10 5 0 Yes Options NO

Interpretation :- 100% respondents are you satisfied with the number of Wills life Style outlets in different retailer shops.

2) 9. Are you satisfied with the MRP price of Wills life Style . Table No.9 Option a)Yes b) No Total No. of Respondents 29 1 30 Percentage 97% 3% 100%

30 25 20 No of 15 Respondents 10 5 0 Yes Options NO

Interpretation :- 97% respondents are satisfied with the charges of Wills life Style where as 3% are not satisfied.

10. How will you rate the overall Products of Wills life Style?

Option a)Yes b) No Total

No. of Respondents 28 2 30

Percentage 93% 7% 100%

30 25 20 No of 15 Respondents 10 5 0 Yes Options NO

Interpretation :- 93% respondents thinks that rate the overall Products of Wills life Style ?

11. Are you satisfied with the charges? Option a)Yes b) No Total No. of Respondents 28 2 30 Percentage 93% 7% 100%

30 25 20 No of 15 Respondents 10 5 0 Yes Options NO

Interpretation :- 93% respondents are satisfied with the charges.

12. Do you think this is the only company which provides Products in low price? No. of Respondents Option a)Yes b) No Total 29 1 30 Percentage 97% 3% 100%

30

No of Responde nts

25 20 15 10 5 0

Yes Options

NO

Interpretation :- 97% respondents satisfied with the only company which provides Products in low price.

CONCLUSIONS
Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and Productss supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives 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. For this we have done project on customer satisfaction of Wills life Style . Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or Productss to the marketplace. 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/Products to product/Products. 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. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and 1998[3] defined ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value,

Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Products Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a Products 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. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance.

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY

Published Sources
www.willslifestyle.com
Aaker (1991) Building Strong Brands; New York: Free Press C.R. Kothari (1985) Methods of Data Collection: Research

Methodology Methods & Techniques, pp 95-96.

C.R. Kothari (1985), Research Design: Research Methodology

Methods & Techniques, pp 31-32.

David. A. Aaker, V. Kumar & George S. Day, (2001) Sampling

fundamentals : Marketing Research, pp 379

Fink, Arlene (2002). How to sample in surveys, Vol. 7.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

APPENDIX
Personal Details:
NAME : AGE : SEX :

QUESTIONS:
1. What type of Wills life Style Products have you purchase? casuals formals semi formal all product

2. Are you satisfied with these Products? Yes No 3. How will you rate the Products of Wills life Style ? Excellent Very Good Good 4. How have you bind the quality of products? Excellent Very Good Good

Bad

Bad

5. What do you think regarding the personal attention by the direct distributors towards the customers? Excellent Very Good Good Bad 6. What do you think about the accuracy of the personal products of Wills life Style ? Excellent Very Good Good Bad

7. How will you rate the after sale facilities provided by the Wills life Style ? Excellent Very Good Good Bad

8. Are you satisfied with the number of Wills life Style outlets in different retailer shops? Yes No 9. Are you satisfied with the MRP price of Wills life Style ? Yes No

10. How will you rate the overall Products of Wills life Style ? Excellent Very Good Good

Bad

11. Do you think this is the only company which provides Products in low price? Yes No

OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

100% of respondents purshase the Products of Wills life Style . 100% of respondents satisfied with the Products provided by Wills life Style . 10% of respondents feel that the Products provided by Wills life Style are Excellent where as 33% thinks that they are very good, 57% respondents think that it is good. 13% of respondents found the quality of products are excellent & 27% of the respondents found it very good, 60% of the respondents found the quality of printouts is good. No one is with the opinion that the products are of bad quality.

HYPOTHESIS:To know that the consumer are satisfied or not.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY:1. To analyze the consumer satisfaction.

2. To Study the Factors Influencing consumer.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:In this project I will follow the Descriptive Research.

SAMLPE SIZE:50 Consumers

CONCLUSION:SUGGESTIONS:BIBLIOGRAPHY:-