44401913-25335568-USHA-Dealer-Satisfaction-1-1

DEALERS’ SATISFACTION of USHA INTERNATIONAL LTD

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive summary...............................................................................

1 Introduction................................................................................ 1-3

1.1. Introduction...............................................................................................

...... 1

1.2. Nature of the

problem..................................................................................... 2

1.3. Objective of the

study...................................................................................... 3

1.4. Hypothesis..................................................................................................

...... 3

2. Profile of the Industry and Organisation............................... 4-19

2.1. Industry analysis

2.1.1. Overview............................................................................................

..... 4

2.1.2. Introduction........................................................................................

..... 4

2.1.3. Sector

outlook......................................................................................... 5

1

2.1.4. Classification of consumer

durables........................................................ 6

2.1.5. Scope..................................................................................................

..... 7

2.1.6. Current

scenario...................................................................................... 7

2.1.7. Future

scenario....................................................................................... 7

2.1.8. List of

companies................................................................................... 9

2.1.9. Top

players............................................................................................ 11

2.2. Profile of the

organisation............................................................................. 12

2.2.1. The Shriram group

history..................................................................... 12

2.2.2. The Siddharth shriram

group................................................................. 12

2.2.3. Joint

ventures......................................................................................... 13

2.2.4. Associates...........................................................................................

... 13

2

2.2.5. Mission of the

company........................................................................ 13

2.2.6. History of the

company......................................................................... 14

2.2.7. Divers product

portfolio........................................................................ 15

2.3. UIL’s Distribution

network.......................................................................... 16

2.3.1. Sales

force.............................................................................................. 16

2.3.2. Reach across

India................................................................................. 16

2.3.3. Supply chain

network............................................................................ 16

2.3.4. Sales management

practice.................................................................... 16

2.3.5. UIL fan market in

India......................................................................... 17

2.4. Product line of the

company......................................................................... 19

3. Review of Literature.............................................................. 20-25

3.1. Review of

literature..................................................................................20

3

3.2. Customer

satisfaction................................................................................21

3.3. Measuring customer

satisfaction............................................................22

3.3.1. Sub segments Vs sub

units.................................................................... 23

4. Research Methodology ......................................................... 26-29

4.1. Title of the

study........................................................................................26

4.2. Statement of the problem.......................................................................

26

4.3. Scope of the study..................................................................................

26

4.4. Nature of the

study....................................................................................26

4.5. Research

methodology..............................................................................26

4.6. Universe......................................................................................................

27

4.7. Population..................................................................................................

27

4.8. Sampling.....................................................................................................

27

4

4.9. Source of data

collection...........................................................................27

4.9.1. Primary

data.......................................................................................... 27

4.10. Tools used for the

study............................................................................. 28

4.11. Limitations of the

study............................................................................. 29

5. Analysis and Interpretations.........................................30-40

6. Findings and Suggestions...............................................41-45

6.1. Findings......................................................................................................

..41

6.2. Suggestions.................................................................................................

..43

7. Conclusion.............................................................................46

Annexure..................................................................................... 47-52

1. Questionnaire.....................................................................................

.... 47

2. Bibliography.......................................................................................

... 51

5

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In today’s economy all manufacturers need to pay attention on how to build strong long-term

relationships with their dealers’ chain. In fact, it has been demonstrated that short term

policies aimed to provide dealers immediate benefits (e.g., price discount) may prevent the

6

development of long term and fruitful relationships. Also supporting dealers in promoting

manufacturers’ products has been proved as a sustainable strategy in the long run.

These issues have been debated in then field of Distribution channel management. In

particular, researchers emphasised that manufactures cannot ignore in designing long term

growth-oriented policies, strategies aimed dealers’ satisfaction. Furthermore, in order to

successfully plan business growth, it has been remarked literature the central role played by

communication. In fact, researchers underlined the failure in channel communication is likely

to affect the relationship between organizations and its own dealer structure

Such remarks suggest that in order to effectively build a long term relationship with an own

dealers’ chain, a manufacturer has to adopt a systematic approach aimed to foster market

consensus on aside, and mutual benefits on the other side. In particular, in the innovative and

revolutionary high-tech industry, manufacturers in order to achieve the desired sales revenues

cannot ignore the need to continuously promote activities aimed to both update dealers

employees’ skills and motivation.

This research project conducted by the researcher with a manufacturer operating in the

consumer durable Industry. It is based on the hypothesis that in order to successfully support

dealers, manufacturer has to design long term oriented policies aimed both build up a

growing potential customers’ awareness of company product a side, and increase dealer’s

employee skills and motivation on the other side.

Channel satisfaction and its consequent impact on channel relationships has been an

important concern of both practitioners as well as researchers during the last three decades.

This is in reaction to a world wide trend towards building closer, and more integrated

relationships between manufacturers and channel intermediaries. It is being realized that one

of the major prerequisites for achieving effective integration of channel operations is the

existence of high levels of commitment to the relationships. The focus of managerial

7

decisions with regard to channel management has thus shifted to a large extent on creating

and maintaining relationship commitment. As Morgan and Hunt (1994) in their seminal work

on channel commitment has put it “relationship commitment is central to all the relational

exchanges between the firm and its various partners”.

Drawing from studies from diverse domains such as marriage, social exchange,

organizational behavior etc. they feel that, “Commitment and trust are very important because

they encourage marketers to (1) work at preserving relationship investments by cooperating

with existing partners (2) resist attractive short-term alternatives in favor of the expected

long-term benefits of staying with existing partners and (3) view potentially high-risk actions

as being prudent because of the belief that their partners will not act opportunistically”.

Channel satisfaction is undoubtedly a major factor that could lead to greater levels of channel

commitment. Channel member satisfaction is defined as an overall positive affective state

resulting from the appraisal of all aspects of a firm’s working relationship with another firm

(e.g. Frazier, Gill and Kale 1989, Gaski and Nevin 1985). However, there exists considerable

variation among channel theorists on the exact definition of channel satisfaction (Andaleeb,

1995). In order to reduce this apparent variation in conceptualization, Geyskins and

Steenkamp (2000) proposed a two way classification of channel satisfaction wherein

satisfaction is defined in terms of its economic antecedents and social antecedents. Economic

satisfaction is described as “a channel member’s evaluation of the economic outcome that

flows from the relationship with its partners such as sales volume, margins and discounts”.

Social satisfaction on the other hand is defined as a channel member’s “evaluation of the

psychological aspects of its relationship in that interactions with the exchange partner are

fulfilling, gratifying and facile”.

When we talk about customer service and/or satisfaction, we talk about creativity. Creativity

allows us to handle or diffuse problems at hand or later on in the process of conducting the

everyday business. We talk about how, or rather what, does the organization have to do to

gain not only the sale but also the loyalty of the customer. We want to know the payoff of the

8

transaction both in the short and long term. We want to know what our customers want. We

want to know if our customers are satisfied. Satisfaction, of course, means that what we

delivered to a customer met the customer’s approval. We want to know if customers are

delighted and willing to come back, and so on. Fleiss2 and Feldman3 present examples of

that delightfulness in their writings. Fleiss has written about Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and

Feldman has discussed excellence in a cab ride.

As important as delightfulness is, some of us minimize it, or even totally disregard it. At this

point, we fail. Some of the issues that will guarantee failure in sales, satisfaction, and loyalty

are:

• Employees must adhere to a rigid chain of command

• Employees are closely supervised

• Conflict—in whatever form—is not allowed

• Rewards are based on carrot-and-stick principles

• Wrong objectives are measured

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction is a key and valued outcome of good marketing practice. According to

Drucker (1954), the principle purpose of a business is to create satisfied customers.

Increasing customer satisfaction has been found to lead to higher future profitability

(Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994), lower costs related to defective goods and services

(Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997), increased buyer willingness to pay price premiums,

provide referrals, and use more of the product (Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000),

and higher levels of customer retention and loyalty (Fornell 1992; Anderson and Sullivan

9

1993; Bolton 1998). Increasing loyalty, in turn, has been found to lead to increases in future

revenue (Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994) and reductions in the cost of

future transactions (Reichheld 1996; Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey 1998). All of this

empirical evidence suggests that customer satisfaction is valuable from both a customer

goodwill perspective and an organization’s financial perspective.

A firm’s future profitability depends on satisfying customers in the present – retained

customers should be viewed as revenue producing assets for the firm (Anderson and Sullivan

1993; Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000). Empirical studies have found evidence

that improved customer satisfaction need not entail higher costs, in fact, improved customer

satisfaction may lower costs due to a reduction in defective goods, product re-work, etc.

(Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997). However, the key to building long-term

customer satisfaction and retention and reaping the benefits these efforts can offer is to focus

on the development of high quality products and services. Customer satisfaction and retention

that are bought through price promotions, rebates, switching barriers, and other such means

are unlikely to have the same long-run impact on profitability as when such attitudes and

behaviors are won through superior products and services (Anderson and Mittal 2000). Thus,

squeezing additional reliability out of a manufacturing or service delivery process may not

increase perceived quality and customer satisfaction as much as tailoring goods and services

to meet customer needs (Fornell, Johnson, Anderson, Cha, and Everitt 1996).

MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

While it seems clear that increasing customer satisfaction is beneficial to a marketing

manager, how to measure it is less clear. Customer satisfaction has been studied from the

perspective of the individual customer and what drives their satisfaction (Oliver and Swan

10

1989; Oliver 1993; Fournier and Mick 1999) as well as from an industry-wide perspective to

compare customer satisfaction scores across firms and industries (Fornell 1992; Anderson,

Fornell, and Lehmann 1994; Fornell et al. 1996; Mittal and Kamakura 2001), while other

research has examined customer satisfaction in a single organization (Schlesinger and

Zornitsky 1991; Hallowell 1996; Loveman 1998) or across several organizations (DeWulf,

Odekerken-Schröder, and Iacobucci 2001). In addition, specific tools for measuring customer

satisfaction have been developed in the past, including SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Berry,

and Zeithaml 1988, 1991). Thus, there exists an ample literature on which to draw when

attempting to measure customer satisfaction.

In attempting to measure customer satisfaction, it is possible that attributes can have different

satisfaction implications for different consumer and market segments – the usage context,

segment population, and market environment can influence satisfaction and product use

(Anderson and Mittal 2000). Failure to take into account segment-specific variation may lead

a firm to focus on the wrong aspect for a given set of consumers (Anderson and Mittal 2000).

Furthermore, consumers with similar satisfaction ratings, yet different characteristics, may

exhibit different levels of repurchase behavior (Mittal and Kamakura 2001). It is clear, then,

that market and consumer segments should be important factors to consider when measuring

customer satisfaction and its implications.

Garbarino and Johnson (1999) did consider segments in the customer base in their study of

satisfaction where they analyzed the different role played by satisfaction between low

relational and high relational customers. Their study, however, involved customers from only

a single organization. Our approach extends this work by studying customers from multiple

organizations, and shares some similarities with Anderson and Sullivan (1993) with respect

to the type of analysis and sampling methods. The goals of their research, however, were to

study the antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction rather than investigate how

different types of satisfaction may influence the overall measure of customer satisfaction. In

11

addition, our theoretical approach shares some similarities to Hutchison, Kamakura, and

Lynch (2000) who posited that unobserved heterogeneity is a problem for interpreting results

from behavioral experiments. The basic point of their argument is that aggregation may

create effects that do not exist in any segments, or may mask effects that do exist. The present

study makes a similar point and provides an analytical method for overcoming such a

problem. Kekre, Krishnan, and Srinivasan (1995) examine heterogeneity of effects across

individual customers of a single company using a random effect ordered profit model. These

models are similar to the hierarchical linear models considered here, and a single customer

could be considered a subunit.

Sub segments vs. Subunits

Other authors have examined the heterogeneity of customer satisfaction effects. Danaher

(1998) shows how latent class regression can be used to segment customers and estimate

regression effects by segment simultaneously. Our work is different in that we assume pre-

defined subunits – our concern is not to define segments that have different effects. For the

problems examined here, the subunits already exist. Danaher (1998) identifies segments of

customers (end users) who place different emphasis on different service attributes. Malthouse

(2002) defines such a process as sub segmentation. A firm has targeted a market segment and

acquired customers/end users. It then sub segments these customers/end users from a market

segment into smaller, more homogeneous groups based on some criteria such as utility for

aspects of the product in the case of Danher (1998).

12

An important conceptual question concerns when one approach should be preferred over the

other. We make two points in response to this question. First, the pre-defined subunit

approach to studying heterogeneity is more appropriate when the resulting managerial actions

will be implemented at the subunit level. Second, managerial actions implemented at the

subunit level are most reasonable when there is homogeneity within a subunit and

heterogeneity across subunits; when this is not the case the organization should seek actions

that can be implemented for sub segments of customers within a subunit. We give several

examples to illustrate these points.

Consider the case of a newspaper owner, discussed in more detail below. An owner in the

U.S. has multiple newspapers and wants to know whether to invest in improving either the

service or the content of its individual papers. Investing in content could involve hiring

additional reporters so that local news can be covered more thoroughly, adding pages to

existing sections, adding special-interest sections, etc. For most newspapers in the U.S. these

actions would have to be taken at the subunit level. One might object by suggesting, for

example, that large metropolitan newspapers (which represent only a small percentage of

U.S. newspapers) could improve content for specific suburban communities by hiring

reporters and adding customized local sections. We would argue that the suburban “zone”

would be a subunit.

A second example can be when actions primarily involve reach media. If a company is

communicating a single message with, for example, television, newspapers, billboards, etc.,

the message must be tailored to the subunit reached by the media. A third example is

managerial actions that are most naturally applied at the subunit level of retail stores, car

dealerships, supermarkets, and bank branches, as discussed previously. A corporation could

send employees of certain subunits, but not all, for specialized customer service training

programs. Corporations often choose where to locate subunits, and might opt for more

expensive locations in regions where “convenience” is more important. In addition, pricing

13

strategies often must be executed at the subunit level (Singh, Chintagunta, and Dube

2002).Of course; there are numerous examples of situations where customer sub

segmentations are more appropriate. See Danaher (1998) or Malthouse (2002) for further

discussion and examples.

The present research represents the first study of which we are aware to measure customer

satisfaction from a representative sample of customers who are in turn from a representative

sample of organizations in a single industry. The analysis was replicated in a second industry

to confirm that the findings are not unique to a single industry.

14

2. PROFILE

2.1 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

2.1.1 OVERVIEW

With the increase in income levels, easy availability of finance, increase in consumer

awareness, and introduction of new models, the demand for consumer durables has increased

significantly. Products like washing machines, air conditioners, microwave ovens, color

televisions (CTVs) are no longer considered luxury items. However, there are still very few

players in categories like vacuum cleaners, and dishwashers.

Consumer durables sector is characterized by the emergence of MNCs, exchange offers,

discounts, and intense competition. The market share of MNCs in consumer durables sector

is 65%. MNC's major target is the growing middle class of India. MNCs offer superior

technology to the consumers, whereas the Indian companies compete on the basis of firm

grasp of the local market, their well-acknowledged brands, and hold over wide distribution

network. However, the penetration level of the consumer durables is still low in India. An

important factor behind low penetration is poor government spending on infrastructure. For

example, the government spending is very less on electrification programs in rural areas. This

factor discourages the consumer durables companies to market their products in rural areas.

2.1.2 Introduction

15

Some Facts

1. Bargaining power of suppliers in consumer durables sector is limited due to threat of

imports and intense competition.

2. Some of the entry barriers in consumer durables sector are distribution network, capital,

and ability to hire purchases.

3. Demand is seasonal and cyclical.

4. Competition among players is on the basis of difference in prices and well-acknowledged

brands.

16

2.1.3 Sector Outlook

There has been strong competition between the major MNCs like Samsung, LG, and Sony.

LG Electronics India Ltd. has announced its extension plan in 2006. The company is going

to invest $250 million in India by 2011 and is planning to establish a manufacturing facility

in Pune. TCL Corporation is also planning to establish a $22 million manufacturing facility

in India. The Indian companies like Videocon Industries and ONIDA are also planning to

expand. Videocon has acquired Electrolux brand in India. Also, with the acquisition of

Thomson Displays by Videocon in Poland, China, and Mexico, the company is marking its

international presence. According to Isuppli Corporation (Applied Market Intelligence),

country's fiscal policy has encouraged Indian consumer electronic industry. The reduction on

import duty in the year 2005-06 has benefited many companies, such as Samsung, LG, and

Sony. These companies import their premium end products from manufacturing facilities that

are located outside India. Indian consumers are now replacing their existing appliances with

frost-free refrigerators, split air conditioners, fully automatic washing machines, and color

televisions (CTVs), which are boosting the sales in these categories. Some companies like

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics India Ltd. are now focusing on rural

areas also. These companies are introducing gift schemes and providing easy finance to

capture the consumer base in rural areas.

TABLE 2.1

17

Sector Financials (In Rs)

  31/03/2002 31/03/2003 31/03/2004

Sales 37,331m 30,100m 43,096m

Sales Growth - -19.4% 43.2%

Gross Profit Margin 10.7% 6.6% 4.3%

Profit After Tax (PAT) 1,019m 940m -1,202m

PAT Growth - -4.3% -209.5%

Market Capitalization 1,787m 2,392m 2,359m

P/E Ratio 7.0 7.6 -7.9

Return on Capital Employed 13.9% 23.1% 6.9%

Growth in 2005-06

TABLE 2.2

Consumer Durables Growth

Air Conditioner 20-25%

Refrigerator 5-10%

Microwave Ovens 25%

Washing Machines 5-10%

Color Televisions (CTVs) 15-20%

Black & White Televisions -20%

18

Clock 10%

Watch 10%

VCDs 30%

Consumer Electronics (Overall) 9%

2.1.4 Classification of Consumer Durables

Consumer durables Sector can be classified as follows:

1. Consumer Electronics includes VCD/DVD, home theatre, music players, color

televisions (CTVs), cameras, camcorders, portable audio, Hi-Fi, etc.

2. White Goods include dishwashers, air conditioners, water heaters, washing machines,

refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances, non-kitchen appliances,

microwaves, built-in appliances, tumble dryer, personal care products, etc.

3. Moulded Luggage includes plastics

4. Clocks and Watches

5. Mobile Phones

2.1.5 Scope

In terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), India is the 4th largest economy in the world and

is expected to overtake Japan in the near future to become the 3rd largest. Indian consumer

goods market is expected to reach $400 billion by 2010. India has the youngest population

19

amongst the major countries. There are a lot of young people in India in different income

categories. Nearly two- thirds of its population is below the age of 35, and nearly 50 % is

below 25. There are 56 million people in middle class, who are earning US$ 4,400- US$

21,800 a year. And there are 6 million rich households in India. The upper-middle and high-

income households in urban areas are expected to grow to 38.2 million in 2007 as against

14.6 million in 2000.

2.1.6 Current Scenario

Rural sector offers huge scope for consumer durables industry, as it accounts for 70% of the

Indian population. Rural areas have the penetration level of only 2% and 0.5% for

refrigerators and washing machines respectively. The urban market and the rural market are

growing at the annual rates of 7%-10%and 25% respectively. The rural market is growing

faster than the urban market. The urban market has now largely become a product

replacement market. The bottom line is that Indian market is changing rapidly and is showing

unprecedented business opportunity.

2.1.7 Future Scenario

With easy availability of finance, emergence of double-income families, fall in prices due to

increased competition, government support, growth of media, availability of disposable

incomes, improvements in technology, reduction in customs duty, rise in temperatures,

growth in consumer base of rural sector, the consumer durables industry is growing at a fast

20

pace. Given these factors, a good growth is projected in the future, too.

The penetration level of consumer durables is very low in India, as compared with other

countries. This translates into vast unrealized potential.

For example, in case of color televisions (CTVs), the penetration level of various countries is:

21

TABLE 2.3

PENETRATION LEVEL IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

India 24%

Brazil 11%

China 98%

US 333%

France 235%

Japan 250%

TABLE 2.4

Demand and Penetration Level of White Goods in India

  1995-1996 2005-2006 2009-2010

Demand 3.43 million 8.72 million 13.14 million

Penetration level149 per 1,000

households

319 per 1,000

households

451 per 1,000

households

22

In a study conducted by Frost & Sullivan and commissioned by India Semiconductor

Association (ISA), the demand for Electronic Appliances is projected to grow exponentially

at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30%.

In billions

FIGURE 2.1

2.1.8 List of Companies

Some of the companies in consumer durables sector are:

1. AIWA

2. Akai India

3. BenQ Corporation

4. Blue Star Ltd.

5. Bose Corporation

23

6. BPL

7. Canon India

8. Carrier Aircon Ltd.

9. Daewoo India

10. Electrolux-Kelvinator

11. Godrej

12. Haier India

13. Hitachi Ltd.

14. Khaitan India Ltd.

15. LG Electronics India Ltd.

16. MIRC Electronics Ltd.

17. Mitsubishi Electronic Corporation

18. Nokia India

19 Pace Micro Technology

20. Panasonic

21. Philips India

22. Samsung India

23. Samtel

24. Sansui India

25. Siemens

24

26. Sony India

27. Thomson Ltd.

28. Titan Industries

29. Toshiba Corporation

30. Videocon Industries

31. Whirlpool Appliances

2.1.9 Top Players

The top 10 players in consumer durables sector are:

Nokia India

LG Electronics India Ltd.

Philips India

Titan Industries

Samsung India Electronics

Whirlpool Appliances

Siemens

Sony India

Videocon Industries

Blue star

25

2.2 PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION

Usha International Limited. The Group's principal activity is to manufacture and sale of home

appliances and automotive components. The products include fans, sewing machines,

appliances, power products, auto components, water coolers. The Company export fans,

sewing machines, diesel engines, diesel engine parts and other automotive components. The

Group operates in four segments, namely, Consumer durables, Engines, pump sets and

motors, Auto products and others.

USHA international is one of the India’s known consumer durables marketing and

distribution companies. It started in 1957 and marketing its products for over 50 years under

the brand name USHA company majorly Manufacturing of Electric Fans and Fuel Injection

Equipment. Presently USHA have Over 50 million customers. They have a large distribution

network in core categories. It is the First Indian Company to be awarded ISO 9001:2000 for

Marketing practices.

USHA international is a company under the flagship of Siddhartha Shriram group.

2.2.1 The Shriram group history

The group was incorporated by Lala Shriram (grandfather of Siddhartha Shriram) in 1889.

Over the next 100 years, the group expanded into textiles, chemicals, sugar, automobiles,

engines, rayon’s / nylon tyre cord, automotive components, edible oils, heavy chemicals

(fertilizers/ chlor caustic), engineering foundries, sewing machines, fans, home appliances

and other kind of items.

26

In 1989, the group was split amongst the descendants of Lala Shriram and the businesses that

came to Siddhartha Shriram’s group have been mentioned below.

2.2.2 The Siddhartha Shriram group

Siddhartha Shriram group is one of India’s renowned business groups with interests as

diverse as sugar, edible oils and industrial chemicals to fans, appliances and automobile.

2.2.3 Joint ventures

Company has joint ventures with

Hunter Fan Company, USA (Fans)

Janome Sewing Machine Company, Japan (Sewing Machines)

2.2.4 Associates

Company associates with

Honda Siel Power Products Ltd.

G.D.Midea Environment Appliances Manufacturing Company Ltd., China

27

NGK India

CIXI Three Circle Diesel Engine Company Ltd. (Diesel Engines)

2.2.5 Mission of the company

Usha International's mission is to pursue excellence in all its spheres of business activity. It

believes in providing reasonable returns to its shareholders and adding value to the principal's

business operations through effective marketing. Thus, making it one of the leading

marketing organisation in India. This must be achieved by meeting customer requirements,

providing them satisfaction thereby building their trust in the company and its products.

2.2.6 History of the company

1934 India's first indigenous sewing machine marketed.

1946 The first Indian Sewing Machine is exported.

1948 Fans are added to the product range.

1950 The first Indian Fan exported.

1966 Dr. Charat Ram appointed as Chairman of the board of UIL.

1968 Diesel Engines are added to the Usha product range.

1975 Usha becomes a Public Ltd. Company.

1979 Fuel Injection Equipment is introduced to the Usha Auto Components range.

1982 Usha Sales is renamed to Usha International.

28

1984 Launches a range of Home Appliances.

1994 Fourth generation fully automatic Sewing Machines in collaboration with Janome

Sewing Machine Company of Japan is added to the product range.

1994 Monoblock pumps followed by a complete range of water lifting equipment are

launched.

1996 Introduces a new range of diesel engines for power generation.

2000 Commences marketing of Light Weight Kerosene pump sets powered by Honda

engines.

2001 Tie-up with Hunter Fan Company of USA for marketing of premium Usha Hunter

ceiling fans.

2005 Purchase of Water Cooler factory from DAIPL.

2007 Appointed as super distributor for 2 and 3 wheeler spark plugs in India by NGK

Spark Plug Company Limited, Japan.

2008 Amalgamation of Usha International Limited and Shriram Fuel Injection Industries

Limited with The Jay Engineering Works Limited. The new merged entity called

Usha International Limited.

2.2.7 Diverse product portfolio

UIL is a multi product consumer durable marketing and distribution company with a

diverse product portfolio that includes the following six product lines:

TABLE 2.5

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

29

Electric Fans

Sewing Machines

Home Appliances

Engines, Electrical motors & Pump

sets.

Drinking water coolers & dispensers

Generators

Auto components.

2.3 UIL’s DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

30

2.3.1 Sales force

Separate sales force for 6 product lines and 3 different channels (traditional, modern retail

and government sales)

16 Locational offices across India, with a Location Head to ensure capture of synergies

across product lines

Strong experienced middle management in charge of sales.

2.3.2 Reach across India

Dealerships in all urban centres with population greater than 20,000

Penetration in important modern retail outlets (Future Group, Metro, Reliance)

Presence in rural India is contributing approximately 20% of the total sales.

2.3.3 Supply chain network

33 warehouses leased and managed in-house

SAP enabled across all UIL locations (head office, location offices, and warehouses)

2.3.4 Sales management practices

31

SBU led sales organization structure, with regional segregation of market

Coverage of dealers by trained sales staff

2.3.5 UIL Fan market in India

The fan market was a well developed and mature market. Fans were the 4th largest owned

consumer durable after watches, bicycles and radio sets. In the year 1993, the electrical fan

market was more than Rs 1000 crores.

The market was dominated by the top 5 brands- Usha, Orient, Crompton, Polar and Khaitan -

who controlled 70% of the market. They also enjoyed 95% awareness in the market.

However, they were gradually losing market share in a low growth stagnating market, where

the rapid growth of the unorganized sector (10% annually) was giving them stiff competition.

The organized fan industry had witnessed a decline of 30 per cent in production last year

because of competition from small scale units which escaped excise duty. Despite this Usha

International had sold more last year and gained market share.

The size of the market is Rs. 1,300-1,400 crores in value terms including the small scale

sector and Usha's share is half of this. On import threat from China, company pointed out that

there was duty protection of 40 per cent.

On the other hand in the plastic table and wall fans segment there may be a serious problem

as China can make them much cheaper. The company will continue to focus on strategic tie

ups only in fans, sewing machines, small appliances, engines and motors, auto components,

air-conditioners and exports. It has no intention to get into white goods.

32

At the top end, the company has joined hands with the U.S.-based Hunter Fan Company,

biggest ceiling manufacturer in the world. It will exclusively market the Hunter range of fans

in India under the joint branding of Usha Hunter. The tie up has enabled Usha to enter and

create a high-end premium category in the ceiling fans market.

The premium end ceiling fans costing Rs. 5,000 - 10,000 are meant for hotels, guest houses

and air-conditioned houses. The consumers can now look forward to super premium ceiling

fans with wooden blades with an option of imported Belgian and Italian light fittings to

enhance the decor of any room. Around eight models will be introduced in the first year.

The company last year had a turnover of Rs. 400 crores and a profit of Rs. 9.8 crores. This

year would witness marginal growth in the top line segment.

In an effort to expand its market share in the lower-end, the largest consumer durable

marketing company, Usha International is planning to launch low-cost fans christened ‘Zipp’,

shortly. The company is preparing a new marketing strategy to enhance the market share in

the domestic fan market by creating price points for targeted customers. Without

compromising on the quality, the company is planning to offer a range of fans to suite to the

needs and paying capacity of the customers.

Company had launched 19 fan models between April and May 2003, besides the company

will also launch 10 models in the home appliances segments, he added. The models include:

Ceiling fans range-Opera, Optima, Sea Breeze, Sonata Decorative, Ultimate, Zipp, Table fans

range-Mist Air EX, Zipp table fan, Pedestal Fans range-Mist Air ultra, Mist Air Pedestal

remote fan, Mist Air EX pedestal fan.

The company last year had a turnover of Rs. 400 crores and a profit of Rs. 9.8 crores. This

year would witness marginal growth in the top line segment.

33

On the financial front, the company hopes to achieve a turnover of over Rs 500 crore in the

current year as against Rs 400 crore turnovers reported in the last year.

2.4 PRODUCT LINE OF THE COMPANY

There are 6 types of fans marketed by the company:

TABLE 2.6

PRODUCT LINE

34

Ceiling Fans Table Fans Pedestal Fans

Wall Fans Exhaust Fans Other Fans

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY

A Study on DEALERS’ SATISFACTION of USHA INTERNATIONAL LTD

GHAZIABAD

1.2 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

The efficiency and success of many organizations may be strongly based on the distribution

channels. This structure involves different agents and distinct organizations that, despite the

convergence in the objective to offer a certain product, may have conflicting interests.

A marketing channel or distribution channel is a “set of interdependent organizations

involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption” and

the members of the channel depend on each other to make their job (idem). The correct

management of these agents is, therefore, a fundamental issue.

Attending their purpose of providing products and services for the use or consumption and

satisfying the final market users – no matter if they are consumers or industry buyers – a

large amount of the channel structure make use of brokers that execute some kind of role on

the products and service distribution.

It emphasize the importance of channels that link specific activities which are connected to

the functions of distribution and final users necessity serving, dividing these causes based on

the demand and supply. Therefore it is obvious to keep the channel members satisfied and

35

motivated to keep the momentum of the business going. Any disturbance on this may cause

loss on the sales or even losing the channel member.

Considering this fact, the study was pertaining to the satisfaction of the dealers of Usha

International Ltd who belongs to the class II and Class III towns. In many times the

companies fail to give good service to those dealers because of the lack of resources or the

reachability etc. this study is to find out the satisfaction level of these dealers of UIL since

nearly the 20% of the sales of UIL is from the rural market.

OBJECTIVES

1. To find the dealers’ satisfaction of the Class II & Class III who deals with USHA

fans

2. To find out how the dealers rate the promotional activities carried down by UIL

3. To find out whether there is any co relation between the experience and the type of

promotion they needed.

4. To know the impact of after sales service provided by UIL and the satisfaction level

of the dealers

5. To know how effective are the employees in dealing with the dealers

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem for the study was to estimate the dealers’ satisfaction of Usha International

Limited and if not in which areas they are not satisfied with the service of the company.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

36

This study covers respondents form the class II and Class III towns in Ghaziabad district who

are the dealers of Usha fans. The result of the study can be used as a support data for UIL’s

comprehensive marketing programme.

NATURE OF THE STUDY

The type of research followed is mainly analytical and to a certain extent descriptive in

nature. Analytical research is the method used to analyze and draw inference from a set of

facts or collected data. This analysis is used to arrive at new information and facts.

4.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it

constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The data was

collected from 50 dealers from Ghaziabad district. A scheduled questionnaire was used to

collect primary data on the other hand; secondary data was collected using books, magazines

and websites. Graphical tools including bar diagrams, pie charts and statistical tools including

percentage & chi-square analysis were used in the process of analysis and interpretations of

the collected data.

UNIVERSE

The dealers of UIL in the entire district concertedly contributed to the universe.

POPULATION

37

50 dealers from the universe were selected randomly for the survey.

SAMPLING

Simple random sampling was the method adopted for the selection of sample from the above-

mentioned universe.

SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION

Both primary and secondary data were used for the data collection

PRIMARY DATA

The primary data was generated through the questionnaire by soliciting the response of the

dealers of UIL. The questionnaire has been tested for its validity before the research is been

conducted. The reliability test has given an Alpha value of 0.604. The reliability statistics has

been given below.

38

TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY

Various statistical tools have used for the study.

1. Statistical tables, Charts and Diagrams are used for the presentation of the data.

2. Analysis being carried down by the help of statistical software like SPSS

4.11 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Since the study was within a period of 8 weeks, time factor was a major constraint.

The study was based on the assumption that the respondents will always be truthful

and correct. But this assumption might not be true always.

The study depends upon responses of the respondents, who are believed to be giving

the right information. Thus the accuracy of the survey and its findings depends a lot

on the respondents and their responses.

This sample size cannot represent the features and characteristics of the universe to its

entirety.

The study was confined to the Erankulam district, so the results may not be the same

in other parts of Kerala which are having different market conditions.

39

5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

TABLE 5.1

EXPERIENCE IN DEALERSHP

Sl No. Criteria No. of respondents

1 1 – 3 years 2

2 4 – 7 years 8

3 8 – 10 years 15

4 Above 10 years 25

TOTAL 50

FIGURE 5.1

INFERENCE:

40

The experience of the dealers matters a lot in this analysis to find the degree of dealers’

satisfaction. The percentage analysis gives the percentage of their experience in their

dealership and if it is higher the analysis have the higher value.

Of about 50 dealers 50% of are having above ten years experience and 30% are in the

business of about 8-10 years. The other 16% have 4-7 years of experience and the rest 4%

of the dealers have 1-3 years experience. Since the chart above shows the dealers have

considerable experience and their answers are valued much and their statements are very

much helpful for the analysis to come effective.

TABLE 5.2

QUALITY OF USHA FANS

Sl No. Criteria No. of respondents

1 VERY GOOD 24

2 GOOD 18

3 SATISFACTORY 8

4 POOR 0

TOTAL 50

41

FIGURE 5.2

INFERENCE:

The chart above shows the degree of reliability on the quality of USHA products the dealers

have. From this inference we can analyse the quality USHA offers to their customers. Most

of the dealers said the quality of USHA is unbeatable. Around 48% dealers have the opinion

that it is very good, 36% of the dealers say the quality is good and only a mere 16% of them

have the opinion Satisfactory. No one reported on poor quality products from USHA.

TABLE 5.3

CREDIT PERIOD ALLOWED

Sl

No.Criteria No. of respondents

% of

respondents

1 VERY GOOD 18 36

42

2 GOOD 22 44

3 SATISFACTORY 10 20

4 POOR 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

FIGURE 5.3

INFERENCE:

This table shows the degree of dealers’ satisfaction on the credit period allowed by USHA to them.

Most of the dealers are satisfied with the credit period allowed. 36% of the dealers are very much

satisfied about the credit period offered to them. 44% of the dealers are voted “Good” and 20% of the

dealers find no faults and almost satisfied with the credit period allowed. None of the dealer has

reported that the credit period allowed is not matching with them.

TABLE 5.4

43

RATING OF PROMOTION ACTIVITIES

Sl No. Criteria No. of respondents

1 VERY GOOD 3

2 GOOD 15

3 SATISFACTORY 27

4 POOR 5

TOTAL 50

FIGURE 5.4

INFERENCE:

The promotion, one of the P’s of marketing is most important for the survival of any business

concern, be it public or private, service or production. From the analysis, the promotion

activities carried out by USHA is found to be satisfactory. 6% of dealers found it extremely

44

well and 30% of the dealers have reported as “Good”. 54% of the dealers are satisfied and the

rest 10% of the dealers are reporting “poor”. According to them the competitors are giving

good promotion for their products compared to Usha.

TABLE 5.5

OPINION ABOUT PRICING

Sl

No.Criteria No. of respondents

% of

respondents

1 VERY HIGH 10 20

2 HIGH 24 48

3 AVERAGE 16 32

4 LOW 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

INFERENCE:

This table shows the opinion of the dealers and customers about the price of the USHA

products. At any time, the price of a company’s product is always discussed; even it is

maintained at a low cost. But when asked to a lot of customers the real fact is revealed.

Among the 50 dealers, 20% of them reported that the product is priced the highest, 48% of

them are reporting it is higher but not the highest.

32% of the dealers are satisfied with the price, because of the product’s quality. And none of

the dealers have reported that the price is lower and no problem to deal with that.

45

To compete with the low cost products available in the market, the company has recently

launched products like Zipp, Atom etc.

TABLE 5.6

Employees relationship to dealers

Sl

No.Criteria No. of respondents

% of

respondents

1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 12 24

2 SATISFIED 28 56

3 MODERATE 10 20

4 DISSATISFIED 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

INFERENCE:

In the pursuit of marketing, maintaining good relationship with the dealers is essential. The

employees of the firm should maintain a good rapport with the dealers in order to carry on

their business in a smooth fashion.

This table shows that no dealer has a trouble in dealing with the employees of USHA, which

is also a main factor affecting the dealership and their satisfaction. The friendly relation with

the dealers helps much better for an organization to flourish.

46

Here, in the case of USHA, the replies depicts that they have understood this concept very

well. 24% of the dealers are proud to be the dealers of USHA and 56 % are much satisfied.

20 % produce average results and none of them have reported a poor relationship with the

employees of the company.

TABLE 5.7

OPINION ABOUT AFTER SALES SERVICE

Sl No. Criteria No. of respondents

1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 3

2 SATISFIED 10

3 MODERATE 35

4 DISSATISFIED 2

TOTAL 50

FIGURE 5.5

47

INFERENCE:

After sales-service, is very much important for a manufacturing company to bloom. In that

matter, Usha finds a little problem with the dealers. They are quite satisfied, because, no

product will be of under-quality and a very few if found to be defective, are replaced and

repaired sooner.

From the above figure, it is evident that from the after – sales service offered by the

company 6 % and 20%, so totally 26 % of the dealers have no problem and they are satisfied

well. But 70 % of the dealers voted that the service is only moderate and 4% of the dealers

find some problems in the after sales service.

On observation, the dealers are having problem with the after sales service which is

unavoidable. They say that it takes time for the product to get repaired and having

comparatively less problems with the replacement; hence they do use local mechanics for the

sudden repair.

48

TABLE 5.8

DEALERS’ EXPECTATION ON PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY

Sl

No.Criteria No. of respondents

% of

respondents

1 DISCOUNT 32 64

2 GIFT 4 8

3 PRIZE 5 10

4 OTHER OFFERS 9 18

TOTAL 50 100

FIGURE 5.6

INFERENCE:

49

Some dealers have the suggestions, and the suggestions about the promotional activities are,

shown in the table. It becomes essential for the manufacturing organization to satisfy its

dealers by the way to sustain and compete.

USHA already offering discounts and they are satisfied with it. Hence the 64 % of the dealers

find no problem with the promotional activity and they get what they expect. 18% of the

dealers expect offers when they purchase in bulk. 8% expect for the gift items and 10%

expect prizes to be offered.

TABLE 5.9

PROMOTING FACTOR

Sl No. Criteria No. of respondents

1 PROMOTION 5

2 BRAND NAME 25

3 COMPANY POLICY 3

4 MARGIN 12

5 SCHEMES 5

TOTAL 50

50

FIGURE 5.7

INFERENCE:

While talking with the dealers about the main factors which drive them to deal with USHA, it

came out that most of the dealers prefer on Brand name to be the first factor. About 50% of

the dealers are dealing with Usha products because of its Brand name. 24 % of the dealers

have voted for margin and 10% for the promotional schemes and 6% for the company

policies. Though the dealers prefer margin, promotional schemes etc apart from the Brand

name, they believe that it is the Brand name of the company and its products which are the

main factors behind their promotion of the brand.

TABLE 5.10

DEALING WITH COMPETITORS

Sl

No.Criteria No. of respondents

% of

respondents

1 YES 50 100

51

2 NO 0 0

TOTAL 50 100

INFERENCE:

Most of the dealers deal with the competitors also. This is because it is very essential for

them to satisfy their various kinds of customers who have different brand and product

preferences.

Most of them are dealing in products of companies like Crompton Greaves, Havell’s, Bajaj,

Khaitan, Polar and many other local brands. Many of them are dominated by Crompton

Greaves.

FINDINGS

52

Usha have got an array of well established dealers. The dealers have a good track

record of their business.

The dealers are satisfied with the quality of the products which are offered by Usha.

None of the dealers said that the products are of poor quality.

It is found that the price is a little higher for the Usha products but when considering

about the quality, the product is worth the price. Most of the dealers are satisfied with

the price, because of the product’s quality and none of the dealers reported that the

price is lower so no problem to deal with that.

The friendly relation helps much better for an organization to flourish. Here, in the

case of Usha, the feedback depicts that they have understood this concept very well.

The dealers are happy with the involvement of the employees of UIL.

On observation, some of the dealers are having problem with the after sales service

which is unavoidable. They say that it takes time for the product to get repaired, hence

they do use local mechanics for the sudden repair but no problem faced on the

replacement front.

Most of the dealers also deal with the competitors. This is because it is very essential

for them to satisfy the customers who have different brand and product preferences.

53

From the observation, it is found that there are complaints about the profitability and

price of Usha products. Because the margin they are getting is less compared with the

immediate competitors.

There is a significant relation between the dealers’ experience and their Satisfaction

Level on the Credit Period allowed and most of the well experienced dealers are

satisfied with the credit period. The company gives less credit period to the new

dealers. When they prove to be good with their payment pattern, the company gives

extension on the credit period and payment modes.

There is a significant relation between the dealers’ experience and their Satisfaction

Level on the Promotional Activities, and most of the well experienced dealers are

satisfied with the promotional activities given by the company such as hoardings,

name boards, display aids etc.

While talking with the dealers about the main factors which drive them to deal with

USHA, it came out that most of the dealers prefer on Brand name to be the first factor

other than the profitability.

54

CONCLUSION

Competing is the global brand and it is difficult one. From the survival point of view, UIL

should enter into all aspects of marketing activities to improve the product life in the future

market. The company has mostly achieved in satisfying its dealers and as well as its

customers. It is evident from this study and UIL is advised to maintain its Quality on its

products so as to retain this stage forever. The study has been successful in knowing the

Dealers’ Satisfaction with Usha International Limited.

In order to successfully design long term policies aimed to foster manufacturers-dealers

relationships, it has been demonstrated that manufacturers must give up decisions exclusively

oriented to generate immediate benefits. In fact such policies may disclose future company

failure.

The study is not entirely devoid of limitations. The sampling methodology deviates

substantially from a pure random sampling based methodology and therefore reduces the

generalisability of the study. Future studies could look at different contexts as well as

inclusion of other moderators.

55

SUGGESTIONS

The main objective of every analysis is to find the faults and road blocks of a business.

Some of the suggestions, based on the 4P’s of marketing are:

PRODUCT

Usha fans are well known for their durability, but the imported Chinese fans called

the Mist Air series are having a shorter life. More complaints are arising from this

imported Mist Air series. The company should be careful about these series fan;

otherwise the brand name may be affected.

Trendy designs should be adopted to have an aesthetical appeal which is lacking for

Usha fans compared with the competitors’ products, especially Havell’s and

Crompton Greaves

Most of the dealers are not highly satisfied with the after-sales service given by the

company. It should be taken care of because it is the vital factor in every business. For

this, a Gap analysis can be done to find out where the company is lacking in

delivering the after sales service activities, and the effective measures can be taken.

Opening more service centers across Kerala is needed for the better after sales

programme. The major towns like Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Palakkad are not

having a service centre for the company at present. By opening service centers at

56

these places, the company can cater to the needs of a wide customer base across

Kerala.

Periodic training programs should be conducted for the technicians as the company is

extending the product line periodically. They should become familiarized with the

technical specifications of the products for providing better after sales service.

PRICE

The company is offering discounts and allowances in the form of trade discounts to

the dealers. But the existing trade discount packages are benefiting the dealers who

are doing big volumes of business. The dealers in the class II and Class III towns may

not be able to do that much volume. In order to improve the rural sales, existing trade

discounts should be made in that way which should be motivating those dealers to do

the business.

Cash discounts are offered to the dealers who are making advance payments. It is now

merely 2%. Increasing that level may motivate the dealers for the cash purchase as

they are getting this benefit other than the trade discounts.

PLACE

57

The company should focus more on the rural market as it contributes nearly 20% of

the total sales and is an untapped market too. It can be beautifully done through the

newly introduced low cost products like Zipp, Wind, Zen and Atom etc.

The company is having a different channel for the low end model like Zen. Either by

adding members to this channel or by using the existing Members the rural market

can be captured.

It will be better to have a feedback from the dealers at regular intervals, to minimize

the communication gap in the distribution process between the dealers and company

people.

The dealers have some complaints about the delivery of goods. The company is using

road transport for the delivery of goods with the help of different transporting

companies. It should be taken care of while selecting the transporter. So that the

deliveries can be made in time.

PROMOTION

The company is now mainly focusing on the Push strategy for promotion. Since the

competition is strengthening, Pull strategy also can be used along with this.

58

The existing trade promotion schemes are not offering much to the small scale

dealers. There should be good trade promotion schemes which support the smaller

dealers too.

The immediate competitors are far ahead of Usha in using the Pull strategy. Usha

should concentrate more on advertising through Visual Media.

Billboards or hoardings can be used as an outdoor promotional method instead of the

existing wall paintings. The billboards are to be more attractive.

In store advertising can be designed to increase the number of spontaneous buying

decision. Studies revealed that nearly 70% of all buying decisions are made in the

store.

To encourage repeated purchases, Usha can take many short-term actions such as

price promotions, coupons, displays, and repetitive advertising.

Admissibility of brand ambassadors plays an important role in the advertising

campaign. Presently Usha is not having a brand ambassador for the promotion.

59

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Drucker, Peter F. (1954), The Practice of Management, New York: Harper & Row.

JOURNALS

Andaleeb, S. S. (1995) “Dependence Relations and the Moderating Role of Trust:

Implications for Behavioural Intentions in Marketing Channels”, International

Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol 12 No 2, pp. 157-172

Anderson, Eugene W., Claes Fornell, and Donald R. Lehmann (1994), “Customer

Satisfaction, Market Share, and Profitability: Findings from Sweden,” Journal of

Marketing, 58 (3), 53-66

Anderson, Eugene W., Claes Fornell, and Roland T. Rust (1997), “Customer

Satisfaction, Productivity, and Profitability: Differences Between Goods and

Services,” Marketing Science, 16 (2), 129-145.

Anderson, Eugene W. and Vikas Mittal (2000), “Strengthening the Satisfaction-

Profit Chain,” Journal of Service Research, 3 (2), 107-120

Danaher, Peter J. (1998), “Customer Heterogeneity in Service Management,”

Journal of Service Research, 1 (2), 129-139.

Fornell, Claes (1992), “A National Customer Satisfaction Barometer: The Swedish

Experience,” Journal of Marketing, 56 (1), 6-21.

60

Frazier, G.L., James D. Gill and Sudhir H. Kale (1989) “Dealer Dependence Levels

and Reciprocal Actions in a Channel of Distribution in a Developing Country”,

Journal of Marketing, Vol.53, pp:50-69

Geyskens, I; Steenkamp(1999), J.E.M.; Kumar, N. A meta-analysis of satisfaction

in marketing channel relationships. Journal of Marketing Research. Chicago: Mai,

Vol.36. p. 223.

Mittal, Vikas and Wagner A. Kamakura (2001), “Satisfaction, Repurchase Intent,

and Repurchase Behavior: Investigating the Moderating Effect of Customer

Characteristics,” Journal of Marketing Research, 38 (1), 131-142.

Parasuraman, A., Leonard L. Berry, and Valarie A. Zeithaml (1988),

“SERVQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of

Service Quality,” Journal of Retailing, 64 (Spring), 12-40.

Singh, Vishal, Pradeep Chintagunta, and Jean-Pierre Dube (2002), “Balancing

Profitability and Customer Welfare: An Application to Zone Pricing by a

Supermarket Chain," Working Paper.

Srivastava, Rajendra K., Tasadduq A. Shervani, and Liam Fahey (1998), “Market-

Based Assets and Shareholder Value: A Framework for Analysis,” Journal of

Marketing, 62 (1), 2-18

WEBSITES

http://naukrihub.com/india/consumer-durables

http://ushainternationallimited.com

61

62

ANNEXURE

A Study on DEALERS’ SATISFACTION of USHA INTERNATIONAL LTD

Questionnaire

Name:

Address:

1. How long you are dealing with USHA products?

1-3 years 4-7 years 8-10 years above 10 years

2. Are you dealing with other companies?

Yes No

If Yes, specify

BRANDS

CROMPTON

HAVELLS

USHA

BAJAJ

63

KHAITAN

POLAR

OTHERS

3. How do you feel about Quality of USHA products?

Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor

4. Which factor enables you to be the dealer of USHA products?

Promotion Schemes Company Policy

Margin Brand Name

5. How do you rate Price of USHA products compared with the following competitors?

BRANDS Very High High Average Low

CROMPTON

HAVELLS

USHA

BAJAJ

KHAITAN

POLAR

6. What do you feel about credit period given by USHA?

64

Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor

7. How do you rate the Promotional Activities given by USHA?

Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor

8. What type of promotional activity do you prefer with USHA products?

Discount Gift Prize Offers Others (Specify)

……………..

9. Whether the expected quantity of USHA products is supplied to you in time?

Yes No

10. What do you feel about the employees dealing with you in USHA?

Highly Satisfied Satisfied

Average Dissatisfied

11. What are the factors that you expect from USHA?

65

Promotional Sales follow-up Scheme

Service Credit Facility Others

12. Do you have any complaints about USHA products?

Yes No

If Yes, specify the reason,

Delivery of goods Quality of products

After sales service Pricing

13. Do you recommend your customers about USHA products?

Yes No

If No, specify the reason,

14. What do you feel about after sales service given by USHA?

Highly Satisfied Satisfied

66

Moderate Dissatisfied

15. Do you have any suggestions to improve the quality of USHA products?

Yes No

If Yes, specify,

67