Customer Satisfaction in Small Car Segment in Andhra Pradesh, a Comparative Study of Select Companies

Impact of Customer Satisfaction in Small Car Segment: A Comparative Study

by Murali Krishna Reddy*, P. Balaji Prasad,

- Published in International Journal of Information Technology and Management, E-ISSN: 2249-4510

Volume 12, Issue No. 1, Feb 2017, Pages 128 - 130 (3)

Published by: Ignited Minds Journals


ABSTRACT

The customer play a role of backbone for success of any Industry. The establishment and progress of any industry is completely depending on customer and its satisfaction. The increment and decrement in the no. of customer is totally depending on customer satisfaction. As we all know that a lot of competitors in the market who manufacture the same product but of varying cost. Not also varying cost they also provide some additional features in the quality of their product. For example if we consider two different cars of different brand in same segment then we see that there are some differences in many of the areas in terms of look, comfort, mileage, additional features and many more. But there are some differences between expected service and the perceived service. This paper deals with the importance of customer satisfaction in small car segment in Andhra Pradesh and also presents a review on customer satisfaction, service quality and factors which affect customer satisfaction in Select Companies in Andhra Pradesh. This paper also gives an idea about latest techniques and methods used by the previous researchers in different years.

KEYWORD

customer satisfaction, small car segment, Andhra Pradesh, comparative study, select companies, increment and decrement, competitors, varying cost, additional features, service quality

INTRODUCTION

In the present time automotive industry is one the largest competitive industry. In the automotive industry there are a lot of competitions in the market who manufacture the same product but it is different in terms of design, development, manufacturing methods, marketing strategies etc. Here we are talking about the four wheeler automotive service industry. Each and every service industry try to provide best in class service and they uses the best methods of servicing or it may vary from brand to brand. Similarly the steps followed by the particular brand also vary. In the present time most of the person uses vehicle either two wheeler or four wheeler and they also try to maintain their vehicle by proper servicing and for servicing they trust only on the authorized service centre but we see that there are some differences in between expected service and perceived service quality of the service centre and this thing is directly affects the customer satisfaction (Rao, V. R., 2012).

General Steps followed by the Service centre

1

customer satisfaction and service quality are as follows Peng-Chan et. al. [2015] Examines the four major variables of Perceived Quality (PQ), Service Quality (SQ), Customer Satisfaction (CS), and Customer loyalty (CL). For assessment of SQ, the five SERVQUAL dimensions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles are adopted as the evaluation criteria. In the assessment of CS in the automobile industry, after-sales service plays a crucial role, as an automobile is a tangible and durable product purchased for long-term use. The study adopted judgmental sampling and found its samples among consumers using a sedan as the principal travel tool. Upon the completion of the first draft questionnaire, 20 sedan users were invited to participate in a trial test so as to reduce questions that might confuse or mislead respondents. Questions that took respondents a longer time to answer were properly modified. A total of 300 copies of the revised questionnaire were distributed, and 282 effective questionnaires were completed and collected. The five point Likert scale was used for measurement, and data analysis incorporated both basic and overall analyses. Basic analysis was conducted using SPSS 16.0 and included multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), reliability, validity, and related analyses. MANOVA was first performed to examine the influences of demographic characteristics on the four major variables of PQ, SQ, CS. Analysis show that users of sedans of different brands reported significant differences in all four variables. Prof Archana et. al. [2013] studied the factors affecting customer satisfaction in Maruti Suzuki. The study is based on the primary and secondary data. Primary data is gathered using on field survey methods. Secondary data is collected from the different journals, internet and periodicals, car manufacturers‘ websites. A detailed questionnaire is designed and surveyed with 5 point likert scale. The independent and dependent variables are identified and there is one question for each of the variables. The questionnaire is pre-tested several times to arrive at appropriate wording, format, length and sequencing of the questions. Pre-test feedback is used to refine the questionnaire until it is ready for data collection. After fixing the questions for the independent and dependent variables based on the type of questions different values are assigned to the Likert scale. Kavita Dua et. al. [2013] Studied the customer satisfaction for TATA motors passenger vehicle. They have evaluated the car owner‘s perception and pertaining to the purchase and the uses of cars and also find the customer loyalty and competitive positions of TATA motors with other brand. A sample size of 100 respondents is chosen who are using the TATA cars. Convenience sampling technique was collected has been analysed with help of various tools and techniques. These include percentage table, frequency table, and mean keeping in context with the objective of the study. It was further suitably analysed by Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) method and the statistical techniques, SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 18 for windows has been used. K. J. Vindoni et. al. [2014] studied the ideas and expectations of the customers for the improvement in dealer performance and find the most prominent area of dissatisfaction and also provide possible suggestions based on findings. This survey helps to identify the satisfactory level of customers after sales, service and overall satisfaction. A structured questionnaire of questions related to customer satisfaction is designed for the survey. A sample size of 50 respondents is taken for the research. After collection of data obtained from questionnaire is analysed with the help of some statistical tools such as Percentage analysis, Chi-square test, weighted average, Ranking analysis.

BENEFITS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

1. It is the key parameter for success of any Industry. 2. It increases the brand loyalty and equity for the Industry. 3. It provides a platform in the competitive marketplace. 4. It is helpful to enhance the no. of new customers. 5. It is beneficial that there is no need to expand a lot of money on advertisement and promotion, whereas a satisfied customer always promotes their brand by word to mouth communication. 6. It gives the idea about their weaknesses and problems associated with Our industry. Service Quality is another term associated with the customer satisfaction. Service quality is defined as the quality of services provided by the industry. The service quality for any industry generally measured with the help of the SERVQUAL model. The SERVQUAL model is developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in (1985; 1988) and this model contains 22 points to assess customer expectation related to the service quality (Rao & Kumar, 2012). This model is depending on five service quality dimensions as shown in the fig 1.

Murali Krishna Reddy1* P. Balaji Prasad2 1

Fig 1.Service quality model

CONCLUSION:

As it is seen above that a lot of researchers tell us about the importance of customer satisfaction and its role in the automobile service industry and it is concluded from the above discussion that the customer satisfaction is the key parameter for success of any industry. For being number one in the market the company regularly try to improve their quality of service according to the feedback obtained from the customer about their product and its quality. After doing this exercise when the company provides the best in class service in the segment to the customer then it will become the no.1 in the market automatically. And after that the company need not to expand any extra money on promotions of their product while the satisfied customer is always promote the brand and service quality of the company by word top mouth communication. The word to mouth communication is the best and very reliable way of promotion of any product. So the success of any industry is completely depending on customer satisfaction and the customer perception behavior according to the services provided by the company or service providers.

REFERENCES:

K. J. Vinodini & Dr. P. Umarani (2014). ―Analysing Customer Satisfaction towards Quality of Service and Sales at Lanson Toyota, Chennai‖, IJAMBU ISSN 2348-1382 Volume 2 Issue 1Jan-Mar 2014 Kavita Dua & Savita (2013). ―A STUDY OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH REFERENCE TO TATA MOTOR PASSENGER VEHICLES‖, International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences ISSN: 2278-6236 Vol. 2 | No. 4 | April 2013. Peng-Chan Changa, Chun-Ling Chuangba, Wang-Ching Chuangc and Wei-Ching Lind (2015). ―An examination of the effects of quality on customer loyalty: the automobile industry in francis, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 203–217. Prof. Archana Singh & Mili Srivastava (2013). Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction: ―A Study on Maruti Suzuki‖, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Science and Software Engineering ISSN: 2277 128X Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013. Rao, V. R. & Kumar, R. V. (2012). ―Customer Satisfaction towards Tata Motors‖, South Asian Journal of Marketing and Management Research, 2(4), pp. 127-150

Corresponding Author Murali Krishna Reddy*

Research Scholar, Management Studies SV University, Tirupathi

E-Mail – lilasingh.2007@gmail.com