Customer Satisfaction in Relation to Asian Paints Ltd. Data Analysis

Customer Satisfaction In Relation To Asian Paints Ltd.

Customer Satisfaction In Relation To Asian Paints Ltd.[Type the document subtitle][Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.][Year]BIPASHA NATHPGDM 555[Pick the date]

Research Methodology

Research Framework:-The report has been prepared on the basis of information collected from different sources. In order to achieve the objective of the project proper research method was applied. After going through brain storming session, objectives were selected and on the basis of these objectives, a questionnaire was designed giving major emphasis on gathering new ideas or insight so as to determine and figure out solutions to the problems.The research methodology that I followed: Defining the objective Scope and limitation of the studyDevelop the research plan Determine research design Identify data types and sourcesResearch approaches Research InstrumentsDesign data collection questionnaires Determine sample plan and size Contact methodsCollect the data Research design - Marketing research can classify in one of three categories: - Exploratory research Descriptive research Causal research.These classifications are made according to the objective of the research. Exploratory research: - has the goal of formulating problems more precisely, clarifying concepts, and gathering explanations, gaining insight, eliminating impractical ideas, and forming hypotheses.Descriptive research: - is more rigid than exploratory research and seeks to describe users of a product, determine the proportion of the population that uses a product, or predict future demand for a product. In my project I have used this research. This study is a mix of explorative and formal methodologies adopting monitoring and observing to study the Customers.Causal research: - seeks to find cause and affect relationships between variables. It accomplishes this goal through laboratory and field experiments. Method of Data Collection

Data types and sources: - For this project both primary and secondary data were the most valuable source of information.

Secondary Data

Before going through the time and expense of collecting primary data, one should check for secondary data that previously may have been collected for other purposes but that can be used in the immediate study. The secondary data was the most important source for my project to find out the factors in consumer satisfaction in paints industry. In my project the secondary data are collected through online modes and different study materials available on the topic. Secondary data has the advantage of saving time and reducing data gathering costs. The disadvantages are that the data may not fit the problem perfectly and that the accuracy may be more difficult to verify for secondary data than for primary data.

Primary dataOften, secondary data must be supplemented by primary data originated specifically for the study at hand. Primary data are data freshly gathered for a specific purpose. In my project the source of primary data is a survey conducted through Questionnaire Method.

Sample Size

Sampling Plans: - After deciding the research approach and instruments, the sampling plan was one of the important task, Sampling Unit: - who is to be surveyed? And now my task was to define the target population, which will be sampled from the number of people.

Key account (builders comes under key account who already done huge size of project). Contractors (Done smaller projects like repairs or smaller projects than key accounts). Direct Consumers or End Users.Sample Size - large sample give more reliable result than small sample, so for this reason I had taken a sample size of 100 consumers to find out the proper satisfaction level.Sampling Area - Sample collected from the different parts of Kolkata and suburb as follows Garia Tollygunge Dumdum Ballygunge Deshapriya Park

Contact methods: Personal Interview: - this method was the most appropriate way of survey, because by personal interview with the help of questionnaire I came to know their feeling about the Asian paints Company.Online - This method is also used by me because the consumers had no time for me or there was no other option to meet them.

Data Analysis Techniques

Research Design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and solve the research problems.Classification of Research Design - It may be broadly classified as exploratory or conclusive; where exploratory research provides insight and understanding of the problem which helps in development of conclusive research tests and examine relationships regarding the research problem. The cross-sectional design would be used which is a one-shot research study at a given point of time and consists of a sample (cross-section) of the population of interest. The primary advantage of the design is the sample control and quantity of data that can be collected. The main disadvantage of this research design is the high potential for interviewer bias and hence generalizations could be inappropriate. Moreover sensitive information cannot be asked which could be useful to our objectives. Appendix 1 shows the survey questionnaire used for the purpose of this study.The flow of research is as shown below:

Figure -2 Research Design (Malhotra & Dash, 2011)From the two data source which I have mentioned above secondary data are the easiest way to gather and the cost of collecting this data is very low and easily available from the respective association. After collecting the secondary data or information from the secondary sources then I started collecting primary data from consumers to narrow down my research. Survey Research: - This method was the most appropriate way to collect data. The research approach is a widely used method for data collection and best suited for descriptive type of research survey includes research instrument like questionnaire which can be structured and unstructured. And I have used this method in my project to find out the builders satisfaction.Research instrument: - There is various way of research instrument of collecting primary data, the various methods are-I. Questionnaires.II. Psychological tools.III. Mechanical Devices.IV. Qualitative Measures.

From the above mentioned research instruments I had used only Questionnaires technique to find out the builders satisfaction towards Asian paints Company.Questionnaire Design:- A questionnaire was developed for the Part-2 of the research.The questions are based on 5-point scale Likard scale and nominal scale (as labels/ categories)..A funnel approach (generic to specific questions) would be used to understand and quantify the views of the users.In this project I formulated the questionnaire in the following manner:-

At the top of the survey questionnaire was formulated to record the demographic details of the respondants.Questionnaire was formulated containing 19 closed ended and open ended questions.Out of 19 questions 1 open ended questions and 18 close ended questions.Out of 18 questions 11 Dichotomous Questions (The dichotomous question is generally a "yes/no" question), 7 Rating Scale Questions were there.Questions were segmented into 5 parts to find out the satisfaction of consumers towards the company, product & services..Sample Analysis: Likard scale is used with five categories for more reliable ratings of satisfaction on various elements. Ratio scale is used for those elements, where the answers are more of specific in nature. Example Yes or No. The data is summarized and compressed into tabulation form used to interpret the tabulated data and the inferences are drawn for each individual question. The cross-sectional design would be used which is a one-shot research study at a given point of time and consists of a sample (cross-section) of the population of interest. The primary advantage of the design is the sample control and quantity of data that can be collected. The main disadvantage of this research design is the high potential for interviewer bias and hence generalizations could be inappropriate. Moreover sensitive information cannot be asked which could be useful to our objectives.

DATA COLLECTION , ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

THE SOURCES FOR THE COLLECTION OF DATA

The data was collected wlth the help of a survey questionnaire (physical as well as online) and personal interviews in different areas of Kolkata on the basis of convenience sampling.The questionnaire was pre-tested using responses from 30 respondents (to ensure questionnaire readability) and then data was collected from 100 respondents using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions relating to respondents' demographic characteristics like age, gender, income etc.

PROCESSING OF THE DATA FOR ANALYSISSampling method: - The sampling method for this study is as far as possible Normally Distributed.

The sampling is done kept in mind to achieve some realistic results. The Qualitative and Quantitative analysis samples were obtained by Probability Sampling Method (where every sample from the population of consumers has equal chances of being selected). Simple Random Sampling. (Samples were randomly selected from the population of builders).Scaling:- A scale is a mechanism by which individuals are distinguished as to how they differ from one another on the variables of interest of our study.I have considered Nominal scale (Customers/end consumers name,) and the rest is Ordinal scale. (Product satisfaction parameters, Service satisfaction parameters and company satisfaction)Rating scale:- I have used a Likert Scale to examine how strongly respondents have agreed or disagreed with the statements given in the Questionnaire on a five point scale with the following anchors:Table c

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

5 4 3

2 1

The following variables are used to construct the questionnaire. Table 5.1VariablesItems

Demographic variables1. Age2. Gender3. Occupation4. Frequency of use5. Annual household income (in Rs.)

Price1. Regarding the price level fixed by Asian Paints did you find it satisfactory?

Service (both online and offline)1. What is your overall satisfaction rating with Asian Paints ltd2. Are you satisfied by online facilities provided by Asian Paints3. Asian Paints provide expert help in makeovers and decorative ideas. Did you find it useful?4. Did you find the response givenby the complaint dept, satisfactory?5. Do you feel satisfied by the after sales services provided by Asian Paints ,in terms of tips on the post application and maintenance, invoice, warranty card, etc 6. Please rate your level of satisfaction with your sales representative.

Quality1. Are you satisfied by the quality of the Asian paints in the terms of smell, shine , texture, colour?2. Are you satisfied by the smooth wall surface you get after using Asian paints?3. Do you experience paint peeling or poor adhesion ?4. Are you facing problems of blistering?5. Do you experience sags and runs?6. After using Royale Asian Paints do you experience Yellowing of the wall colour ?7. Do you experience microbial growth on the walls after using Asian Paints?8. Have you used Asian Paint Primers? (Asian Paints Acrylic Wall Putty, Primer ST, Primer WT, etc)If yes, do you find the Asian Paints Primers satisfactory?9. Did you ever had a complain against Asian Paints products or its services?

Brand1. Do you feel the T.V. commercials of Asian Paints Company are misleading?2. Do you think Asian Paints are more satisfactory than other paints?3. Would you like to give any suggestions to the Asian Paints regarding their product or services?

Colour1. There are various Decorative Paints for Exterior walls, Interior walls, Metal surfaces, Wood surfaces. Have you used any of them ?2. If yes, did you find it satisfactory ?

ANALYSIS OF DATA Analysis and Interpretation of Questionnaire no.1 (for general purpose). Observing and studying the questionnaire No.1 the data collected from it is processed into the following tabulation and graph form. Figure - 1

INFERENCE:From the above table, out of the 100 respondents, following is the inferences for different elements. Overall Satisfaction: the overall satisfaction rate is 60%and the total dissatisfaction rate is 40%. The gap between the two is 60% - 40% = 20%. This means the overall satisfaction rate is 20% more than the dissatisfaction rate. That shows improvement but not at the sufficient rate.Sales Representative: the total satisfaction is 30% and the total dissatisfaction is 70% out of which 20% are very dissatisfied. The gap between the dissatisfaction and satisfaction is 70% - 30% = 40%. That means the dissatisfaction level is 40% more that satisfaction level. This indicates that the company need more improvement in this area of business activity.Online Facility: the total satisfaction of the customers is 70%and dissatisfaction is 30% .the satisfaction gap is 70% - 30% = 40%. It means the satisfaction rate is 40% more than the dissatisfaction rate. This means the companys performance is better in this field. But out of 30% , 10% are very dissatisfied and 20%are somewhat dissatisfied. The company must find the reasons for such a dissatisfaction for the total success.Price Level: here the total satisfaction level is 40% and the total dissatisfaction is 60% . Therefore the gap rate is 60% - 40% = 20%.. This means the dissatisfaction rate is 20% more than satisfaction level.

Analysis and Interpretation of Questionnaire no.2 (for specific purpose). Observing and studying the questionnaire No.2 the data collected from it is processed into the following tabulation and graph form.

Figure- 2.1INFERENCE:From the above table, out of the 100 respondents, following is the inferences for different elements;Colour, texture and smell: the total satisfaction level is 50% and the total dissatisfaction is 50%. But out of the total rate of dissatisfied customers 40% are somewhat dissatisfied and 30% somewhat satisfied. And therefore the gap between the former and the latter is 40% - 30%= 10% . It means that the dissatisfaction rate is 10% more than satisfaction level. Though the very satisfied customers are 20% who, are totally satisfied and have no complains regarding this element.Smooth wall surface: total satisfaction level of the customers is 70% ,therefore 30% totally dissatisfied . The gap between the two is 70% - 30% = 40%. This means that the satisfaction level is 40% more than the dissatisfaction level.This shows 70% of the customers agree that after using Asian Paints they get a smooth wall surface.

Figure - 2.2INFERENCE:From the above table , to my analysis, out of the 100 respondents, 10% of the respondents have experienced Adhesion on their walls after using Asian Paints.While the 90% of them have given a positive response, this shows the level of increased improvement.

Figure: 2.3INFERENCE:From the above table, to my analysis, out of the 100 respondents, 10% of the respondents have experienced blistering on their walls after using Asian Paints. While other 90% of them have no complains for this factor.

Figure- 2.4

INFERENCE:From the above table, to my analysis, out of the 100 respondents, 10% of them have experienced yellowing of the wall after using Asian Paints.While 90% of them have given a positive response. But the company must take find the reasons for such yellowing of the walls.

Figure- 2.5.1

INFERENCE: From the above table (2.5) , out of the 100 respondents , 20% and 70% of them are aware of the Asian Paints Primers and Decorative paints respectively. Further 80% and 30% do have much idea regarding the usage of the Asian Paints primers and decorative paints respectively. From the table (2.5.1) , out of the 10 respondents, following is the inference for the different elements.Primers : total satisfaction is 10% and the other 10% are very dissatisfied due to the inhalation of its strong fumes. Decorative Paints: total customers aware are 70%.out of which 40% are dissatisfied customers and total satisfaction is 30%. Therefore the gap that prevails between the two is 40% - 30% = 10% . This means that the dissatisfaction is 10% more than satisfaction rate.

Figure: 2.6

INFERENCE: From the above table , to my analysis, out of the 100 respondents, 30% are not satisfied and do not find the makeover and decorative ideas provided by the Asian Paints useful ,as they feel the Ideas do not work out as is shown in the t.v. commercials.While 70% of the respondents have provided with positive response.

Figure: 2.7INFERENCE: From the above table , to my analysis , out of the 100 respondents, 60% of the respondents feel that the t.v. commercials shown by the Asian Paints are misleading. As they found problems of colour fadedness, blistering, yellowing of the walls etc.. This may bring them on verge of brand shifting. Hence the company must overcome this problem as soon as possible.While other 40% have provided a positive response.

Figure- 2.8INFERENCE: Regarding the Service Sector of the Asian Paints, to my analysis, out of the 100 respondents, For Response to Complaints: 60% of the respondents have given do find optimum satisfaction from this sector of the company, out of which 20% are very dissatisfied, as they have not received any response to their complaints.While 40% have given a positive feed back. After Sales Service: 50% of the respondents have derived optimum satisfaction but the other half are not satisfied by the after sales services provided by the company. Out of which 20% are very dissatisfied.

Figure- 2.9INFERENCE: Form the above table, out of the 100 respondents, 60% of them are giving more preference to the other paints company like NEROLAC Paints company. As they have found satisfaction for a longer period of time in terms of paint quality as well as in price level. While 40% of the respondents have preferred Asian Paints over other paints. Therefore this shows an alarming situation for the company, where the company may lose their existing customers.

RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSIONFINDINGS:The findings from this research shows that the company is working hard to maintain the quality of its paints as the least number of the customers have some problems regarding blistering , adhesion or yellowing of the wall. Almost 70% of the respondents have agreed that after using Asian Paints they get a smooth wall surface. But the certain dissatisfaction still prevails regarding the texture and smell of the primers. One out of the ten respondents is totally disinclined towards Asian Paints the reason found out was the fumes of the primers affecting the health. Another have experienced cracks in the wall paints and have complained against the durability of the paints. Such dissatisfied customers have shown positive inclinition towards other brands such as Nerolac paints. Regarding the service department of the Asian Paints. This include, the services provided by sales representative of which the total satisfaction prevailing is just 30% and the level of the dissatisfaction is 40%, more as the respondents have reported, the local dealers and team leaders are care free and do not respond to their complains. And in the fields of feedback to the complains, 20% more of dissatisfaction is prevailing than satisfaction. The After Sales Services shows equal levels total satisfaction and total dissatisfaction but 20% of then show that they are very dissatisfied.Incase of Online Facilities the respondents have provided with positive feedback. 40% rate of satisfaction level is more than the dissatisfaction level. This shows that the online facilities have upward moving scale.Regarding the promotional activities, 6:10 is the ratio for dissatisfaction . That means out of ten respondents undertaken six respondents feel that the commercials are misleading because according to them they have not got the same effects as shown in the t.v. commercials. And the other activities such as innovative ideas and makeovers its satisfactory ratio is 7:10 which shows effective efforts are being taken.Regarding the price level, 60% of the respondents feel that the prices of the Asian Paints are high. Out of which 20% are very dissatisfied as they are reluctant after comparing the prices with end results.Regarding the inclination towards the Asian paints brands , 6:10 respondents prefer Asian Paints over other paints. But still there are four other respondents who are preferring other paint brands. The overall satisfaction of the Asian Paints ltd in general judged by the respondents and brought down in this report is, 20% more than the overall dissatisfaction.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Asian Paints must improve its service sector. If there are any complaints regarding the product of the Asian paints, the line officers must follow up with calls or emails , if required they must send their workers to repair the damaged caused due to the company's product.

There are complaints by the customers regarding the care- free behavior of the team leaders, resulting in poor customer satisfaction. To avoid this the management must try to change the behavior of the officers as well as team leaders. This can be done by bringing Change Management.

Asian Paints Co. must re-treat its primers, in its research laboratories to avoid the inhalation of the harmful fumes and make the products eco-friendly.

Asian Paints is one of the best paints , but certain weaknesses still persist, regarding its colour fadedness, adhesion & smoothness. Therefore to avoid this the company must have a regular check on its production department and quality department and every activity related to the development of the product. They can do this on regular intervals by adopting techniques like Kaizen technique and Total Quality Management.

The customers feel that the advertisements are misleading and fraud. Therefore to remove this negative attitude of the customers the company can demonstrate how to use a particular product and how to utilize and maintain it at its maximum level. At last how to obtain an advertisement look.

LIMITATIONS

Few personal interview could be conducted as most of the respondents of the questionnaire were able to answer it only through mail. A limited sample size of 100 customers was considered because of time constraint and certain limited boundaries. Research might not reflect the real target market as the total sample size is comparatively less to represent the entire population. The marital status and locality the consumer was not considered. As information of residence was not provided by customers. Hence the level of satisfaction and purchase utility may vary due to this factor. This research is carried on random basis, therefore the customers are from different areas. Hence the results of this research should not be taken for one particular market place. This data is collected at primary level therefore it might be subjected to bias.