SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

On

(A Study on Customer Satisfaction towards After

Sales Services of Mahindra XUV in Lucknow City)

Towards partial fulfillment of

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

School of Management, Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow

Submitted by

(SWATANTRA KUMAR SINGH)

IIIrd Semester

Roll No- 1200672194

Session 2021-2022

School of Management
Babu Banarasi Das University
Sector I, Dr. Akhilesh Das Nagar, Faizabad Road, Lucknow (U.P.) India
Certificate from the Organization
 DECLARATION

This is to declare that I SWATANTRA KUMAR SINGH student of MBA have

personally worked on the project entitled “A Detail Study on customer satisfaction

towards after sales services of Mahindra XUV in Lucknow City”. The data

mentioned in this report were obtained during genuine work done and collected by me.

The data obtained from other sources have been duly acknowledged. The result

embodied in this project has not been submitted to any other University or Institute for

the award of any degree.

SWATANTRA KUMAR SINGH

DATE: B.B.D.U, Lucknow
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In order to accomplish a task, facts, situations and persons integrate together to form a

background. “Greatness lies in being grateful and not in being great.” This research

report is a result of contribution of distinct personalities whose guidance here made my

effort a producing one, as “no task is a single man‟s effort”.

The experience which is gained by me during this project is essential for me at this turning

point of my career.

I am thankful to my Faculty guides Dr. Jyoti Shukla for kind support and

supervision under whose kind & constant guidance I had the opportunity to expand my

horizons and view the various problems from different prospective. I am also thanking

her for sparing her valuable time to listen my problems and difficulties faced by me

during the completion of this project report.

SWATANTRA KUMAR SINGH

 PREFACE

It was a privilege for me to work in a reputed organization. This has given us an

opportunity to work in a truly professional environment where team work score over

individual effort, where there is a helpful atmosphere. A well planned, properly

executed and evaluated training helps a lot in inoculating good work culture. The project

on “A Detail Study on customer satisfaction towards after sales services of

Mahindra XUV in Lucknow City” has been made to facilitate effective understanding

about the marketing aspects.

The project training has provided me an opportunity to gain practical experience, which

has helped me to increase my sphere of knowledge to a greater extent. I have tried to

summarize all our experience and knowledge acquired up till now, in this report. This

project is a keen effort to obtain the expected results and fulfill all the information

required.

At the end annexure and bibliography are given for effective understanding.

SWATANTRA KUMAR SINGH

 TABLE OF CONTENT

Certificate ii

Declaration iii

Acknowledgement iv

Preface v

I. Introduction to the Topic 1

II. Company Profile 31

III. Objectives of the study 58

IV. Research Methodology 60

V. Data Analysis &Interpretation 63

VI. Findings 78

VII. Conclusion 81

VIII. Suggestion & Recommendations 83

IX. Limitations 86

X. Bibliography 88

Annexure 90
INTRODUCTION

1
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

AN INSIGHT

According to Harold E Edmondson “ Customer Satisfaction” seems to appear in print

more frequently than any other catch phrase used to describe a new found magic for

industrial success. Before we proceed in to the study of the dynamics of Customer

Satisfaction it is important to know about, who a customer is and what satisfaction really

means.

Who really is a Customer?

The question of defining who your customers are seems fairly easy particularly if you

have segmented your market properly and understand who you are trying to

satisfy. However subtlety that frequently goes undetected by many firms is that is that

customer set can be divided into two parts, the apparent customer and the user. The

apparent customer is the person or group of people who decide what product to buy and

basically have control over the purse strings. The user is a person or group who

physically uses the product or is the direct recipient of a service.

What does satisfaction really mean?

As in defining customer above, defining satisfaction also appears simple. However as

with customer there is a subtlety that needs addressing. Satisfaction by most definitions

simply means meeting the customer‟s requirement.

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Customer satisfaction is a concept that more and more companies are putting at the heart

of their strategy, but for this to be successful they‟re needs to be clarity about, what

customer satisfaction means and what needs to happen to drive improvement. Without

this, there is a risk that customer satisfaction becomes little more than a good intention,

with confused objectives failing to address the real issues for customers, one helpful way

to look at the problem is to rephrase the objectives: set the sights on helping the

customers meet their goals.

Customer satisfaction can be defined in many different ways. Finding the right way for a

company depends on understanding your customer and on having a clear vision of the

role that customer satisfaction is to play in the strategy. For example, a focus on

customer satisfaction can work alongside existing segmentations to support revenue

generation from high value customers or it can be a company-wide objective rooted in

the brand values. For the former, it may be sufficient to focus on improving customer

service, but for the latter a broader definition of customer satisfaction is necessary,

closer akin to corporate reputation.

Whatever the strategy for customer satisfaction, it must at least include getting the basics

right. Failing to achieve this can destroy the reputation as well as losing valuable

customers. Every customer, regardless of their economic worth to the business, has the

power to influence – positively or negatively – a company‟s reputation. Once the

objectives for the customer satisfaction strategy are defined there are a number of steps

we can take to make sure the focus on customer satisfaction is effective.

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Building a company around Customer Satisfaction -

With the increase in customer‟s demands and competition it has become a lot more

important to base the entire company on customer service. When doing this one must

first realize that every member of an organization plays an active role in customer

service. This includes both external customers and internal customers within a company.

Customer focused organizations focus both on customer satisfaction and

profit. Achieving customer satisfaction generates the profit. In these organizations top

management has frequent contacts with external customers. The top management uses

consultative, participative, and supportive management styles to get through to the

customer. The staff focuses all of its attention on satisfying the customer‟s

needs. However, the management‟s job is to provide the staff with support necessary to

achieve these goals. The other department and staff in the organization that do not have

direct contact with the external customers deal exclusively with internal customer

satisfaction.

Customer loyalty in service industries has received considerable attention in both

marketing and management theory and practice. As customer loyalty may act as a

barrier to customer switching behaviour it has an impact on the development of a

sustainable competitive edge, (Keaveney, 1995; Gremler and Brown, 1996). During past

decades, customer satisfaction has frequently been advanced to account for customer

loyalty (Newman and Werbel, 1973; Oliver and Linda, 1981; LaBarbera and Mazursky,

1983; Bearden and Teel, 1983; Bitner, 1990; Fornell, 1992; Anderson and Fornell, 1994;

Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1996). Here, an implicit theme is that positive evaluations

on the basis of expectancy disconfirmation of service providers will instigate customers

4
to favour them with their patronage. However, the direct relationship between customer

evaluations of services and loyalty has remained somewhat equivocal. For instance,

Bloemer and Kasper (1995) demonstrate that the satisfaction-loyalty relationship is not

simple and straightforward as the level of elaboration on the part of the customer may

act as a moderator between satisfaction and loyalty. Furthermore, Oliva et al. (1992)

argue that the relationship between service satisfaction and loyalty is non-linear,

meaning that in case satisfaction increases above a certain level, customer loyalty will

increase rapidly. However, it is also shown that loyalty remains unaffected over a

relatively large range of satisfaction levels that fall below that certain level. In this

paper, we investigate how two factors may have a complementary impact on customer

loyalty in relation to varying levels of customer satisfaction; (1) value attainment and (2)

positive mood. Previous research in the context of work experience and turnover

intentions (George, 1991; Judge, 1993; George and Jones, 1996) suggests that

simultaneously considering value attainment, job satisfaction and moods results in a

better understanding of the phenomenological experience of work and its consequences

for employee loyalty towards the organisation. Based on the work of Heskett et al.

(1994) who propose that job satisfaction and customer satisfaction are closely related,

we attempt to test the model of George and Jones (1996) from a mirror image

perspective, i.e. we focus on the role of value attainment and positive mood in relation to

the customer satisfaction-loyalty link in the service profit chain.

Most research in services marketing has ignored the extent to which the service

experience or service process contributes to the attainment of consumer values. One

possible explanation may be that the focus has been dominated by functional contexts,

such as hotel reservations and bank transactions (Price et al., 1995). Moreover,

measurement of service quality has primarily been done from a static rather than a

5
dynamic perspective, as a result of which service process elements have not been

addressed widely (Boulding et al., 1993). This is, for instance, reflected in the

dimensions of the SERVQUAL instrument, which has been designed to evaluate the

quality of services from the consumer's perspective. Some of the original ten dimensions

(see Parasuraman et al., 1990) have to do with the service delivery by the provider (e.g.

credibility, security), while others are more consumer-oriented (e.g. responsiveness,

understanding). As Oliver (1996, p. 155) observes: "all have to do with delivering the

service, none directly assesses what service delivery does for the consumer". Particularly

in services that involve a more phenomenological (i.e. Gestalt) experience with a

sustained sensory and expressive content and ritualistic processes, such as art lessons,

deep sea diving and artistic performance, consumers are motivated by the realisation of

values and in turn these values help consumers to give meaning to the service experience

and this will affect patronage decisions. In the marketing communications and consumer

behaviour literature, the use of personal and social values has been heavily emphasised

(Peter and Olson, 1996; East, 1997). However, in the literature on service evaluations

this aspect is lacking. Therefore, in this paper we attempt to extend our knowledge about

loyalty in services by including value attainment as a factor that is not reflected in the

expectancy disconfirmation paradigm. Value attainment, thus, reflects the extent to

which consumers perceive the service experience to contribute to the achievement of

instrumental goals.

A second factor that we propose to take into account when explaining customer loyalty

in services is positive mood. By considering positive mood we focus on the affective

context for consumer behaviour (Clark and Isen, 1982). This seems especially relevant

for the extended service experience in which consumers spend considerable time in

contact with the service provider and environment. As such, we view mood during the

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service experience as a factor that is independent from the affective elements in the

satisfaction judgement, as mood in this sense is concerned with affective aspects that are

experienced during the service delivery process instead of the emotional component that

is directed towards the service offering itself (cf. George and Jones, 1996).

Following Oliver et al. (1992), we argue that in case of relatively high levels of

satisfaction, satisfaction will be the most important determinant of customer loyalty.

However, especially in the case of extended service encounters it may not always be

possible to attain high levels of satisfaction, as multiple encounters take place. Extended

service encounters have the following characteristics: (1) a temporal duration; (2) an

affective or emotional content; and (3) the spatial proximity of service provider and

customer (Price et al., 1995, p. 83). In these encounters, value attainment and positive

mood may have an additional and even compensatory impact on customer loyalty

intentions, as previous research has demonstrated (George and Jones, 1996). Therefore,

we propose that the phenomenological experience of services as a "Gestalt" can be

multifarious and that a simultaneous consideration of cognition, affect and values holds

substantial promise for a better understanding of customer loyalty. This article is

structured as follows. First, we will offer a brief synthesis of the extant literature on key

conceptual and methodological issues concerning satisfaction, mood, and value

attainment. We subsequently discuss the results of a study designed to provide empirical

evidence on the triple interaction between aforementioned concepts in explaining service

loyalty. We conclude with a discussion of a number of research and managerial

implications of our results.

Conceptualizing the multifarious service experience

Satisfaction has been recognised as "the central element in the marketing concept"

(Erevelles and Young, 1992, p. 104). In the abundant research literature both process

7
and outcome (or performance) definitions of satisfaction co-exist. With regard to the

former, several conceptualisations of satisfaction have been advanced in the literature

(Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988; Tse and Wilton, 1988; Yi, 1990). The central theme in these

definitions is the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm. According to this paradigm,

consumers form expectations, which act as a standard against which service

performance will be judged. A comparison of expectations and perceptions will result in

either confirmation or disconfirmation. Customers' expectations are confirmed when

product or service perceptions exactly meet expectations. Disconfirmation will be the

result of a discrepancy between expectations and perceptions. Two types of

disconfirmation can be identified: positive disconfirmation occurs when product

performance exceeds prior expectations and negative disconfirmation occurs when

expectations exceed performance. Confirmation and positive disconfirmation will be

likely to result in satisfaction, whereas negative disconfirmation leads to dissatisfaction.

Process definitions of satisfaction enable fast evaluations with respect to brief service

interactions (e.g. buying a train ticket) as well as evaluations from service experiences

that involve consumption periods of considerable duration (e.g. attending an evening

class). As a result, satisfaction can be perceived in terms of a singular occurrence and as

an aggregated impression of a number of events. According to Oliver (1996), this is a

critical feature for service providers.

In addition, outcome definitions of satisfaction exist. Here, satisfaction is viewed as a

state of fulfilment that is connected to reinforcement and arousal. As an end-state,

several types of satisfaction have been discerned in the satisfaction-as-states framework

developed by Oliver (1989). On the basis of level of reinforcement and degree of arousal

the following end-states of satisfaction have been advanced: "satisfaction-as-

contentment", "satisfaction-as-pleasure", "satisfaction-as-relief", "satisfaction-as-

8
novelty" and "satisfaction-as-surprise". Satisfaction is thus perceived to be a post-

consumption evaluation or "a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment"

(Oliver, 1996, p. 13). Particularly in a services context, the service delivery can be

designed in such a way that it exceeds expectations in terms of arousal and

reinforcement as end-states (Rust and Oliver, 1994). However, in the case of extended

services it may be very difficult to reach optimal levels of satisfaction on a continual

basis, because there may be many factors that influence satisfaction formation which are

beyond the control of the service provider.

If we accept that consumers use certain services in order to reach fulfilment of a valued

process of consumption, then values prompt consumers to seek out services that are

value-fulfilling. Services in this sense can be viewed as enhancements, phenomena that

add to the positive value of a consumer's life (Oliver, 1996). Hence, consumer

satisfaction may not be the only contributor to service loyalty. We propose that the

attainment of consumer values should also be viewed as a determinant of service

patronage. Values are an important element of motivational analysis (Pearce, 1993).

They reflect the enduring conviction that a certain type of behaviour or state of existence

are "personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-

state of existence" (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5). Values change only gradually over time and

may have a continual influence on the evaluation of behaviour and/or events as they

draw attention to the product or service attributes which consumers perceive to have

goal satisfying capabilities (Mazanec, 1984; Henry, 1986; Homer and Kahle, 1988). As

such, they help consumers to give meaning to the service experience. Often a distinction

is made between instrumental and terminal values in consumer value systems.

Instrumental values are conceptualised as a means of reaching a goal. Products and

services may provide the benefits that help consumers realise their objectives. Terminal

9
values reflect aspects of self-actualisation, the ultimate goals that consumers desire to

reach in their lives. Services have often been related to instrumental values. For instance,

credit card companies related their services to privileges for members, to independence,

security and power. Therefore, in this paper, we conceptualise value attainment as the

extent to which consumers perceive the service experience to contribute to the

achievement of instrumental values. Examples of instrumental values are independence,

ambition and self-control. Instrumental value attainment thus focuses on the extent to

which a service experience helps consumers in realising preferred modes of conduct or

ways of behaving.

In addition, affect has been identified as a third contributor to the service experience

(Knowles et al., 1993). Affect is conceptually different from the outcome of a cognitive

evaluation process. Affect does not only form a source of motivation but it has also a

significant impact on consumer information processing and eventually consumer choice.

Several taxonomies have been proposed to classify and describe the large number of

subjective feelings consumers may have. Mano and Oliver (1993) suggest that affect can

be described according to valence (e.g. happy vs sad) and intensity of arousal.

Furthermore, the distinction between emotions and moods is often made. Emotions are

notable and intense forms of affect attributable to a specific cause, while moods reflect

mild generalised affective states that are induced by a variety of factors (Clark and Isen,

1982; Gardner, 1985; 1987; Gardner and Hill, 1988). Moods form an affective context

for behaviour (Clark and Isen, 1982). Although moods cannot be controlled by service

providers, they can be influenced by aspects of service provider behaviour, such as, for

example, an employee's smile, an ambient service environment (Cunningham, 1979;

Hochchild, 1983). Moods reflect how consumers feel during their encounters with the

service provider.

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There is increasing evidence that mood can best be characterised in terms of two

independent dimensions: positive and negative. According to Watson and Tellegen

(1985) the positive dimension refers to the extent to which an individual affirms a zest

for life. Clark and Isen (1982) suggest that people continuously strive for positive mood

and avoid negative mood states. This implies that consumers would attempt to avoid

service situations in which they experience a negative mood. Alternatively, if a

consumer experiences positive affect, we would expect this encourages him/her to repeat

the service experience and hence become loyal to the service provider.

Satisfaction, value attainment, moods and consumer loyalty

The connection between satisfaction and loyalty has been one of much debate in the

literature. Oliva et al. (1992), for instance, propose that the relationship between service

satisfaction and service loyalty is nonlinear, resulting from the tendency to remain loyal

in spite of the pressure of switching incentives. The authors present evidence that, in

between critical satisfaction thresholds, loyalty is generally unaffected by varying

degrees of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The absence of unequivocal support for the

relationship between satisfaction and loyalty leads us to incorporate the variables value

attainment and mood as moderators of that relationship. We argue that the parallel

consideration of satisfaction, value attainment and moods will yield a more in-depth and

comprehensive understanding of the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in

services and more generally how the service experience may or may not lead to

consumer switching behaviour.

Values have been related to satisfaction and loyalty in the literature. For example, Oliver

(1996) suggests that values can be seen as predisposing conditions for desires and as

such determinants of consumer expectations, which in turn form a comparison standard

for satisfaction judgements. Oliver (1995) demonstrated that both disconfirmation of

11
expectations and value fulfilment contribute independently to the formation of

satisfaction. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated also that both positive and negative

mood have a direct influence on consumer satisfaction (Oliver, 1993).

Although we recognise the potential impact of value attainment and mood on consumer

satisfaction and this forms an interesting research aim in its own right, we propose to

view value attainment and mood as independent contributors to customer loyalty and not

as causally prior to satisfaction. We argue that mood during the service experience is

distinguishable from the affective component of satisfaction in that mood is concerned

with the affect during the service delivery process rather than affect about or towards the

outcome of the service experience. We do not imply that mood and satisfaction during

the service experience are completely independent. Rather, we propose that mood and

satisfaction are conceptually distinct, non-overlapping constructs, following empirical

evidence available from the field of organisational psychology (Abelson et al., 1982;

George, 1989; George and Brief, 1992; George and Jones, 1996). Abelson et al. (1982)

argue that mood at work is different from the affective component of job satisfaction in

that the former is less cognitively filtered than the evaluative judgements about work.

Likewise, we suggest that value attainment should also be viewed as a construct separate

from consumer satisfaction. As Rokeach (1973, p. 158) argues "values are also

significantly related to all kinds of behaviour". Hence, our concern in this paper is with

the simultaneous effects of satisfaction, value attainment and mood on customer loyalty.

The reason is that there is some empirical evidence of an interaction effect between

mood, value attainment and consumer evaluations of the service experience (Henry,

1986; Homer and Kahle, 1988; Knowles et al., 1993; Swinyard, 1993; Alford and

Sherrell, 1996). In addition, previous research in the context of work experience and

turnover intentions (George, 1991; Judge, 1993; George and Jones, 1996) suggests that

12
simultaneously considering value attainment, job satisfaction and moods results in a

better understanding of the phenomenological experience of work and its consequences

for employee loyalty towards the organisation. This paper should be viewed as an

attempt to replicate these findings from the work experience context for the service

experience domain.

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INTRODUCTION OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

One of the fastest growing industries in the world is automobile industry. This

automobile industry even has its influence on the Indian market. Probably automobile

industries occupy a large market share in the worlds market as well as in the Indian

market. Nearly 18% of the total national income is being incurred from the automobile

industry. From this we can estimate how important the automobile industry in the

improvement of GDP of a country is. In India automobile industry has a growth rate is at

the average of 10-12%.INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1947:

. It‟s fascinating drive through history, which begins as a story of isolation and missed

opportunities to one of huge potential and phenomenal growth. India‟s fixation with

socialism and planned economies had a crippling impact on the automotive industry in

its formative years. The goal at that time for independent India was self-sufficiency.

Issues like quality and efficiency were simply not considered. Dependence of foreign

technology was banned and manufacturers were forced to localize their products; import

substitution became the order of the day. Though relearnt to localize, the cars we made

were all outdated designs with little or no improvements for decades. The automotive

industry stagnated under the government “stifling restrictions and the Indian car buyer

was saddled with cars of appalling quality and even then there was a waiting list that at

one point stretched to eight years! This attempt at self-reliance failed miserably because

of the industry‟s isolation from the best technology. The Japanese and later Korean auto

industries were also highly protected in their formative years but they never shut the

door on technology. Instead, they relentlessly tapped the best talent pools in the world to

absorb the know-how to produce good cars. One of the most important chapters in the

Indian automotive industry‟s history was written by Maruti.

14
It marked the Indian government getting into the far business in the early 1980‟s, a

radical shift in thinking after decades of treating cars with disdain. The maruti 800 went

on to become the staple car of India and put a nation on wheels. This little car set a

benchmark for price, size and quality and structured India as small car market. It wasn‟t

till 1993 that things really started to change for the Indian car buyer. With the

liberalization of the economy, a host of international carmakers rushed in. But most of

them were in for a shock as Indian customers rejected their product. Indian customers

refused to allow the glitter of prestigious brands blind them to the outdated and

overpriced products they were offered. The Indian consumer wanted super value, and

rewarded the brands that delivered it, handsomely. Hyundai and Maruti delivered, and

profited. The period also saw the emergence of the Indian players like Tata Motors and

Mahindra & Mahindra. They rose to the challenge of the MNC‟s and responded

brilliantly with the India and the Scorpio. This was ironically due to the license raj that

forced Indian carmakers to be innovative and develop products frugally. India‟s frugal

engineering skill has now caught the world‟s imagination, and an increasing number of

carmakers are preparing to setup major capacities here. India is changing. And changing

fast. It‟s moving forward.

India‟s largest-selling car is not its cheapest car, the 800. It is the Alto. People‟s

aspirations are rising and so are their mistakes, have got their finger on the pulse of the

market. Get the right product and the rewards are handsome. The Indian auto industry is

today bubbling with promise and confidence. It‟s been a long journey but to see where

the Indian car industry is going. We have to see where it has been.

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AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE:

The first motorcar on the streets of India was seen in 1898, Bombay had it first taxicabs

by the turn of the century. In 1903, an American company began a public taxi service

with a fleet of 50 cars. For about 50 years after car arrived in India, cars were directly

imported. Before World War I, around 40,000 motor vehicles were imported. During the

years between the wars, a small start for an automobile industry was made when

assembly plant were established in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. The import/assembly

of vehicles grew consistently after the 1920s, crossing 30, 000 units by 1930. It was

during the end of the war that the importance of establishing an indigenous automobile

in India was realized. Premier Motors, Hindustan Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra set

up factories in the 1940s for progressive manufacture rather than assembly from

imported components. The cars they chose to make were the latest in the world when

they were introduced in India in the formative years of the industry.

POST- INDEPENDENCE:

The government clamped down on imports and foreign investments. Companies like

GMand Ford packed their bags and left. India‟s clock, thereafter, stood still while the

world raced on ahead. It would take nearly 50 years before the Indian auto industry

could catch up with the rest of the world again. BROADBANDING ERA: In January

1985, the government announced it‟s famous „broad banding‟ policy which gave new

licenses to brad groups of automotive products such as two and four-wheeled vehicles.

Through a liberal move, the licensing system was very much intact. Manufacturer had to

submit a phased-manufacturing program to the Ministry of Industry specifying the

indigenization progress and allowing for almost complete indigenization within five to

seven years. The biggest hurdle was the foreign-exchange clearance required for these

projects. Except for MUL, which had direct access to policy-makers, every other

16
manufacturer still faced a series of obstacles. Several new products were launched

during this period. All three traditional carmakers added new models to their ranges –

Standard Motors returned to the car business after 10 years, when in 1985 it introduced

the Standard 2000, a Rover SD1body with the old two-liter Vanguard engine. HM

bought in a 1972 Vauxhall Victor in1985, transplanted its ageing Ambassador engine

into it and the Contest was born. The arrival of MAHINDRA: Recently Mahindra paved

the way for sustainable market activities in India. With the investment agreement signed

at the end of 2006 the brand sets a new course that unites two success stories – Mahindra

and India – in a common future. The German brand and Europe‟s largest automotive

manufacturer will be entering the Indian market to meet the rapidly growing demand for

mobility. Mahindra will be

Developing a vehicle in the foreseeable future specifically tailored to the needs of the

Indian market offering all the features of a genuine Mahindra. It is essential to ensure

“Mahindra quality built in India” as a genuine unique selling proposition and symbol of

quality. The other cars which have their share in the Indian Auto Mobile industry are:

The Indian auto industry has exploded in the last 14 years. And car makers are learning

some very hard truths. While the economic reforms process was kicked ofin1991, it was

only in 1993 that the automobile industry was finally relicensed and the restrictions were

removed. Between 1993 and 95, government regulations limited a foreign company‟s

stake to a maximum of 51 percent of the equity. Hence the only method of entry for an

MNC then was through a joint venture with a local partner. The most preferred partner

was an existing automaker. In 1994-95 saw the announcement of quite a few JV‟s.

Premier and Peugeot to form PAL-Peugeot. GM and CK Birla to form GM

India.Mercedes Benz and Tata Motors.M&M and Ford to form Mahindra-Ford India. In

1995, the government announced its decision to allow foreign auto companies to enter

17
with a 100% stake or wholly-owned subsidiaries. This changed the dynamics of joint

ventures in India. The other automobile industries which play a crucial role in the Indian

automobile industry are: Daewoo Motors India General Motors India Mercedes-Benz

Hyundai Motors Honda SIEL Toyota Skoda India.

Organizations become increasingly customer focused and driven by demand, the need to

gain customer loyalty and retain their loyalty is critical. Customer satisfaction is the

most effective way to achieve customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction and customer

loyalty share many similar traits. Customer value is the customer‟s perception of the

ratio of benefits to what he or she gives to obtain those benefits. The customer Value

Triad is a framework used to understand what it is that customers want. The framework

consists of three parts: (1) perceived product quality, (2) value-based pricing, and (3)

perceived service quality.

Customers are satisfied, when value meets or exceeds expectations. If their expectations

of value are not met, there is no chance of satisfying them. Figuring out what the

customers want, however, is a difficult and complex process. To be able to create and

deliver customer value is important to understand its components. On the most basic

level, value from a customer‟s perspective is the ratio of benefits to the risks being taken

while buying the product.

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Consumer Preferences

Consumer preferences is used primarily to mean to select an option that has the greatest

anticipated value among a number of options by the consumer in order to satisfy his/her

needs or desires. Preferences indicate choices among neutral or more valued options

available. The preference of the consumer is the result of their behaviour they show

during searching, purchasing and disposing the products.

Today‟s society is warm with urbanization and demonstration effect. With a view

towards it, there are drastic changes coming up in all sectors even in the automobile

industries. The following information gives an insight about it. In the present context the

companies operate on the principle of natural selection–“Survival Of The Fittest”. Only

those companies will succeed which at best match to the current environmental

imperatives – those who can deliver what people are ready to buy. But real marketing

does not involve the art of selling what the manufacturers make. Organizations gain

market leadership by understanding consumer needs and finding solutions that delight

consumers. If customer value and satisfaction are absent, no amount of promotion or

selling can be compensating. Hence the aim of marketing is to build and manage

profitable customer relationship

This is a part of the strategic marketing done by every company to achieve its objectives

and goals. To maximize the profits and long term plans every organization has to follow

a strategic planning. Marketing is much more than just an isolated business function – it

is a philosophy that guides the entire organization towards sensing, serving and

satisfying consumer needs. The marketing department cannot accomplish the company‟s

customer relationship-building goals by itself. It must partner closely with other

departments in the company and with other organization throughout its entire value –

19
delivery network to provide superior customer value and satisfaction. Thus marketing

calls upon everyone in the organization to “think customer” and to do all they can to

help build and manage profitable customer relationship. Marketing is all around us, and

we need to know that it is not only used by manufacturing companies, wholesaler and

retailers, but also by all kinds of individuals and organizations. There are four major,

powerful themes that go to the heart of modern marketing theory and practice, they are:

 BUILDING AND MANAGING PORFITABLE CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIPS.

 BUILDING AND MANAGING STRONG BRANDS.

 HARNESSING NEW MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS DIGITAL

AGE.

 MARKETING IN A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY AROUND THE

GLOBE.

What marketing is what it does and what it offers? “Marketing is a social and

managerial process whereby individual and groups obtain what they need and want

through creating and exchanging products and value with others.” “Marketing

management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion

and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual

and organizational goals.” “Marketing offers some combination of products, services,

information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want” Marketing is

an orderly and insightful process for thinking about and planning for markets. The

process starts with researching the market place to understand its dynamics. The

marketer uses research methodologies to identify opportunities, that is, to find

individuals all groups of people with unmet needs or latent interest in some products or

20
service. The marketing process consists of the following: Analyzing marketing

opportunities. Developing marketing strategies.Planning marketing programs managing

the marketing efforts. Before taking any decision and achieving the goals, it has to make

analysis of what to do, how to do, when to do, where to do and who is to do it. This is

nothing but strategic planning. Goals indicate what a business unit wants to achieve

whereas strategy is how to get there. Marketing strategies in simple terms are the

complete and unbeatable plans designed specifically for attaining the marketing

objectives of the firm. Marketing can be called as a game plan for achieving its goals.

Strategy choice will depend on whether the firm or the marketer plays the following

roles: Market leader A challenger A follower A niche The identification of objectives,

both in quantitative and qualitative terms, is an essential backdrop to strategy

formulation. Goals have a quality and time frame attached to them. These are typically

spelt out in terms of financial return, market share, market presence, etc. Thus, the

concept of market oriented strategic planning arises with the link between the products

the manufacturer is dealing in and the market conditions. In this direction, our study

deals only with the marketing strategies i.e. promotional strategies of the MAHINDRA

automotive.

21
Customer loyalty in service industries has received considerable attention in both

marketing and management theory and practice. As customer loyalty may act as a

barrier to customer switching behaviour it has an impact on the development of a

sustainable competitive edge, (Keaveney, 1995; Gremler and Brown, 1996). During past

decades, customer satisfaction has frequently been advanced to account for customer

loyalty (Newman and Werbel, 1973; Oliver and Linda, 1981; LaBarbera and Mazursky,

1983; Bearden and Teel, 1983; Bitner, 1990; Fornell, 1992; Anderson and Fornell, 1994;

Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1996). Here, an implicit theme is that positive evaluations

on the basis of expectancy disconfirmation of service providers will instigate customers

to favour them with their patronage. However, the direct relationship between customer

evaluations of services and loyalty has remained somewhat equivocal. For instance,

Bloemer and Kasper (1995) demonstrate that the satisfaction-loyalty relationship is not

simple and straightforward as the level of elaboration on the part of the customer may

act as a moderator between satisfaction and loyalty. Furthermore, Oliva et al. (1992)

argue that the relationship between service satisfaction and loyalty is non-linear,

meaning that in case satisfaction increases above a certain level, customer loyalty will

increase rapidly. However, it is also shown that loyalty remains unaffected over a

relatively large range of satisfaction levels that fall below that certain level. In this

paper, we investigate how two factors may have a complementary impact on customer

loyalty in relation to varying levels of customer satisfaction; (1) value attainment and (2)

positive mood. Previous research in the context of work experience and turnover

intentions (George, 1991; Judge, 1993; George and Jones, 1996) suggests that

simultaneously considering value attainment, job satisfaction and moods results in a

better understanding of the phenomenological experience of work and its consequences

for employee loyalty towards the organisation. Based on the work of Heskett et al.

22
(1994) who propose that job satisfaction and customer satisfaction are closely related,

we attempt to test the model of George and Jones (1996) from a mirror image

perspective, i.e. we focus on the role of value attainment and positive mood in relation to

the customer satisfaction-loyalty link in the service profit chain.

Most research in services marketing has ignored the extent to which the service

experience or service process contributes to the attainment of consumer values. One

possible explanation may be that the focus has been dominated by functional contexts,

such as hotel reservations and bank transactions (Price et al., 1995). Moreover,

measurement of service quality has primarily been done from a static rather than a

dynamic perspective, as a result of which service process elements have not been

addressed widely (Boulding et al., 1993). This is, for instance, reflected in the

dimensions of the SERVQUAL instrument, which has been designed to evaluate the

quality of services from the consumer's perspective. Some of the original ten dimensions

(see Parasuraman et al., 1990) have to do with the service delivery by the provider (e.g.

credibility, security), while others are more consumer-oriented (e.g. responsiveness,

understanding). As Oliver (1996, p. 155) observes: "all have to do with delivering the

service, none directly assesses what service delivery does for the consumer". Particularly

in services that involve a more phenomenological (i.e. Gestalt) experience with a

sustained sensory and expressive content and ritualistic processes, such as art lessons,

deep sea diving and artistic performance, consumers are motivated by the realisation of

values and in turn these values help consumers to give meaning to the service experience

and this will affect patronage decisions. In the marketing communications and consumer

behaviour literature, the use of personal and social values has been heavily emphasised

(Peter and Olson, 1996; East, 1997). However, in the literature on service evaluations

this aspect is lacking. Therefore, in this paper we attempt to extend our knowledge about

23
loyalty in services by including value attainment as a factor that is not reflected in the

expectancy disconfirmation paradigm. Value attainment, thus, reflects the extent to

which consumers perceive the service experience to contribute to the achievement of

instrumental goals.

A second factor that we propose to take into account when explaining customer loyalty

in services is positive mood. By considering positive mood we focus on the affective

context for consumer behaviour (Clark and Isen, 1982). This seems especially relevant

for the extended service experience in which consumers spend considerable time in

contact with the service provider and environment. As such, we view mood during the

service experience as a factor that is independent from the affective elements in the

satisfaction judgement, as mood in this sense is concerned with affective aspects that are

experienced during the service delivery process instead of the emotional component that

is directed towards the service offering itself (cf. George and Jones, 1996).

Following Oliver et al. (1992), we argue that in case of relatively high levels of

satisfaction, satisfaction will be the most important determinant of customer loyalty.

However, especially in the case of extended service encounters it may not always be

possible to attain high levels of satisfaction, as multiple encounters take place. Extended

service encounters have the following characteristics: (1) a temporal duration; (2) an

affective or emotional content; and (3) the spatial proximity of service provider and

customer (Price et al., 1995, p. 83). In these encounters, value attainment and positive

mood may have an additional and even compensatory impact on customer loyalty

intentions, as previous research has demonstrated (George and Jones, 1996). Therefore,

we propose that the phenomenological experience of services as a "Gestalt" can be

multifarious and that a simultaneous consideration of cognition, affect and values holds

substantial promise for a better understanding of customer loyalty. This article is

24
structured as follows. First, we will offer a brief synthesis of the extant literature on key

conceptual and methodological issues concerning satisfaction, mood, and value

attainment. We subsequently discuss the results of a study designed to provide empirical

evidence on the triple interaction between aforementioned concepts in explaining service

loyalty. We conclude with a discussion of a number of research and managerial

implications of our results.

Conceptualizing the multifarious service experience

Satisfaction has been recognised as "the central element in the marketing concept"

(Erevelles and Young, 1992, p. 104). In the abundant research literature both process

and outcome (or performance) definitions of satisfaction co-exist. With regard to the

former, several conceptualisations of satisfaction have been advanced in the literature

(Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988; Tse and Wilton, 1988; Yi, 1990). The central theme in these

definitions is the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm. According to this paradigm,

consumers form expectations, which act as a standard against which service

performance will be judged. A comparison of expectations and perceptions will result in

either confirmation or disconfirmation. Customers' expectations are confirmed when

product or service perceptions exactly meet expectations. Disconfirmation will be the

result of a discrepancy between expectations and perceptions. Two types of

disconfirmation can be identified: positive disconfirmation occurs when product

performance exceeds prior expectations and negative disconfirmation occurs when

expectations exceed performance. Confirmation and positive disconfirmation will be

likely to result in satisfaction, whereas negative disconfirmation leads to dissatisfaction.

Process definitions of satisfaction enable fast evaluations with respect to brief service

interactions (e.g. buying a train ticket) as well as evaluations from service experiences

that involve consumption periods of considerable duration (e.g. attending an evening

25
class). As a result, satisfaction can be perceived in terms of a singular occurrence and as

an aggregated impression of a number of events. According to Oliver (1996), this is a

critical feature for service providers.

In addition, outcome definitions of satisfaction exist. Here, satisfaction is viewed as a

state of fulfilment that is connected to reinforcement and arousal. As an end-state,

several types of satisfaction have been discerned in the satisfaction-as-states framework

developed by Oliver (1989). On the basis of level of reinforcement and degree of arousal

the following end-states of satisfaction have been advanced: "satisfaction-as-

contentment", "satisfaction-as-pleasure", "satisfaction-as-relief", "satisfaction-as-

novelty" and "satisfaction-as-surprise". Satisfaction is thus perceived to be a post-

consumption evaluation or "a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment"

(Oliver, 1996, p. 13). Particularly in a services context, the service delivery can be

designed in such a way that it exceeds expectations in terms of arousal and

reinforcement as end-states (Rust and Oliver, 1994). However, in the case of extended

services it may be very difficult to reach optimal levels of satisfaction on a continual

basis, because there may be many factors that influence satisfaction formation which are

beyond the control of the service provider.

If we accept that consumers use certain services in order to reach fulfilment of a valued

process of consumption, then values prompt consumers to seek out services that are

value-fulfilling. Services in this sense can be viewed as enhancements, phenomena that

add to the positive value of a consumer's life (Oliver, 1996). Hence, consumer

satisfaction may not be the only contributor to service loyalty. We propose that the

attainment of consumer values should also be viewed as a determinant of service

patronage. Values are an important element of motivational analysis (Pearce, 1993).

They reflect the enduring conviction that a certain type of behaviour or state of existence

26
are "personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-

state of existence" (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5). Values change only gradually over time and

may have a continual influence on the evaluation of behaviour and/or events as they

draw attention to the product or service attributes which consumers perceive to have

goal satisfying capabilities (Mazanec, 1984; Henry, 1986; Homer and Kahle, 1988). As

such, they help consumers to give meaning to the service experience. Often a distinction

is made between instrumental and terminal values in consumer value systems.

Instrumental values are conceptualised as a means of reaching a goal. Products and

services may provide the benefits that help consumers realise their objectives. Terminal

values reflect aspects of self-actualisation, the ultimate goals that consumers desire to

reach in their lives. Services have often been related to instrumental values. For instance,

credit card companies related their services to privileges for members, to independence,

security and power. Therefore, in this paper, we conceptualise value attainment as the

extent to which consumers perceive the service experience to contribute to the

achievement of instrumental values. Examples of instrumental values are independence,

ambition and self-control. Instrumental value attainment thus focuses on the extent to

which a service experience helps consumers in realising preferred modes of conduct or

ways of behaving.

In addition, affect has been identified as a third contributor to the service experience

(Knowles et al., 1993). Affect is conceptually different from the outcome of a cognitive

evaluation process. Affect does not only form a source of motivation but it has also a

significant impact on consumer information processing and eventually consumer choice.

Several taxonomies have been proposed to classify and describe the large number of

subjective feelings consumers may have. Mano and Oliver (1993) suggest that affect can

be described according to valence (e.g. happy vs sad) and intensity of arousal.

27
Furthermore, the distinction between emotions and moods is often made. Emotions are

notable and intense forms of affect attributable to a specific cause, while moods reflect

mild generalised affective states that are induced by a variety of factors (Clark and Isen,

1982; Gardner, 1985; 1987; Gardner and Hill, 1988). Moods form an affective context

for behaviour (Clark and Isen, 1982). Although moods cannot be controlled by service

providers, they can be influenced by aspects of service provider behaviour, such as, for

example, an employee's smile, an ambient service environment (Cunningham, 1979;

Hochchild, 1983). Moods reflect how consumers feel during their encounters with the

service provider.

There is increasing evidence that mood can best be characterised in terms of two

independent dimensions: positive and negative. According to Watson and Tellegen

(1985) the positive dimension refers to the extent to which an individual affirms a zest

for life. Clark and Isen (1982) suggest that people continuously strive for positive mood

and avoid negative mood states. This implies that consumers would attempt to avoid

service situations in which they experience a negative mood. Alternatively, if a

consumer experiences positive affect, we would expect this encourages him/her to repeat

the service experience and hence become loyal to the service provider.

Satisfaction, value attainment, moods and consumer loyalty

The connection between satisfaction and loyalty has been one of much debate in the

literature. Oliva et al. (1992), for instance, propose that the relationship between service

satisfaction and service loyalty is nonlinear, resulting from the tendency to remain loyal

in spite of the pressure of switching incentives. The authors present evidence that, in

between critical satisfaction thresholds, loyalty is generally unaffected by varying

degrees of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The absence of unequivocal support for the

relationship between satisfaction and loyalty leads us to incorporate the variables value

28
attainment and mood as moderators of that relationship. We argue that the parallel

consideration of satisfaction, value attainment and moods will yield a more in-depth and

comprehensive understanding of the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in

services and more generally how the service experience may or may not lead to

consumer switching behaviour.

Values have been related to satisfaction and loyalty in the literature. For example, Oliver

(1996) suggests that values can be seen as predisposing conditions for desires and as

such determinants of consumer expectations, which in turn form a comparison standard

for satisfaction judgements. Oliver (1995) demonstrated that both disconfirmation of

expectations and value fulfilment contribute independently to the formation of

satisfaction. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated also that both positive and negative

mood have a direct influence on consumer satisfaction (Oliver, 1993).

Although we recognise the potential impact of value attainment and mood on consumer

satisfaction and this forms an interesting research aim in its own right, we propose to

view value attainment and mood as independent contributors to customer loyalty and not

as causally prior to satisfaction. We argue that mood during the service experience is

distinguishable from the affective component of satisfaction in that mood is concerned

with the affect during the service delivery process rather than affect about or towards the

outcome of the service experience. We do not imply that mood and satisfaction during

the service experience are completely independent. Rather, we propose that mood and

satisfaction are conceptually distinct, non-overlapping constructs, following empirical

evidence available from the field of organisational psychology (Abelson et al., 1982;

George, 1989; George and Brief, 1992; George and Jones, 1996). Abelson et al. (1982)

argue that mood at work is different from the affective component of job satisfaction in

that the former is less cognitively filtered than the evaluative judgements about work.

29
Likewise, we suggest that value attainment should also be viewed as a construct separate

from consumer satisfaction. As Rokeach (1973, p. 158) argues "values are also

significantly related to all kinds of behaviour". Hence, our concern in this paper is with

the simultaneous effects of satisfaction, value attainment and mood on customer loyalty.

The reason is that there is some empirical evidence of an interaction effect between

mood, value attainment and consumer evaluations of the service experience (Henry,

1986; Homer and Kahle, 1988; Knowles et al., 1993; Swinyard, 1993; Alford and

Sherrell, 1996). In addition, previous research in the context of work experience and

turnover intentions (George, 1991; Judge, 1993; George and Jones, 1996) suggests that

simultaneously considering value attainment, job satisfaction and moods results in a

better understanding of the phenomenological experience of work and its consequences

for employee loyalty towards the organisation. This paper should be viewed as an

attempt to replicate these findings from the work experience context for the service

experience domain.

30
COMPANY
PROFILE

31
 COMPANY PROFILE

Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (M&M) is an Indian multinational automobile

manufacturing corporation headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is one of the

largest vehicle manufacturers by production in India and the largest manufacturer of

tractors across the world. It is a part of Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate.

It was ranked 21st in the list of top companies of India in Fortune India 500 in 2011.

Its major competitors in the Indian market include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Ashok

Leyland and others

Mahindra & Mahindra, branded on its products usually as 'Mahindra', produces SUVs,

saloon cars, pickups, commercial vehicles, and two wheeled motorcycles and tractors. It

owns assembly plants in India, Mainland China (PRC), the United Kingdom, and has

three assembly plants in the United States. Mahindra maintains business relations with

foreign companies like Renault SA, France.

M&M has a global presence and its products are exported to several countries. Its global

subsidiaries include Mahindra Europe S.r.l. based in Italy,Mahindra USA Inc., Mahindra

South Africa and Mahindra (China) Tractor Co. Ltd.

Mahindra started making passenger vehicles firstly with the Logan in April 2007 under

the Mahindra Renault joint venture. M&M made its maiden entry into the heavy trucks

segment with the Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, the joint venture with International

Truck, USA.

32
Mahindra produces a wide range of vehicles including MUVs, LCVs and three wheelers.

It manufactures over 20 models of cars including larger, multi-utility vehicles like the

XUV and the Bolero. It formerly had a joint venture with Ford called Ford India Private

Limited to build passenger cars.

At the 2008 Delhi Auto Show, Mahindra executives said the company was pursuing an

aggressive product expansion program that would see the launch of several new

platforms and vehicles over the next three years, including an entry-level SUV designed

to seat five passengers and powered by a small turbodiesel engine. True to their word,

Mahindra & Mahindra launched the Mahindra Xylo in January 2009, selling over 15,000

units in its first six months.

Also in early 2008, Mahindra commenced its first overseas CKD operations with the

launch of the Mahindra XUV in Egypt, in partnership with the Bavarian Auto Group.

This was soon followed by assembly facilities in Brazil. Vehicles assembled at the plant

in Bramont, Manaus, include XUV Pik Ups in single and double cab pick-up body styles

as well as SUVs.

Mahindra planned to sell the diesel SUVs and pickup trucks starting in late 2010 in

North America through an independent distributor, Global Vehicles USA, based in

Alpharetta, Georgia. Mahindra announced it would import pickup trucks from India in

knockdown kit (CKD) form to circumvent the Chicken tax. CKDs are complete vehicles

that were assembled in the U.S. from kits of parts shipped in crates.On 18 October 2010,

however, it was reported that Mahindra had indefinitely delayed the launch of vehicles

into the North American market, citing legal issues between it and Global Vehicles after

Mahindra retracted its contract with Global Vehicles earlier in 2010, due to a decision to

sell the vehicles directly to consumers instead of through Global Vehicles.However, a

33
November 2010 report quoted John Perez, the CEO of Global Vehicles USA, as

estimating that he expected Mahindra's small diesel pickups to go on sale in the U.S. by

spring 2011, although legal complications remained, and Perez, while hopeful, admitted

that arbitration could take more than a year. Later reports suggested that the delays may

be due to Mahindra scrapping the original model of the truck and replacing it with an

upgraded one before selling them to Americans. In June 2012, a mass tort lawsuit was

filed against Mahindra by its American dealers, alleging the company of conspiracy and

fraud.

Mahindra & Mahindra has a controlling stake in Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles. In

2011, it also gained a controlling stake in South Korea's SsangYong Motor Company.

Mahindra launched its relatively heavily publicised SUV, XUV, code named as W201 in

September 2011. The new SUV by Mahindra was designed in-house and it was

developed on the first global SUV platform that could be used for developing more

SUVs. In India, the new Mahindra XUV 500 came in a price range between 1,140,000–

1,500,000. The company was expected to launch 3 products in 2015 (2 SUVs and 1 CV)

and an XUV 500 hybrid. Mahindra's two wheeler segment launched a new scooter in the

first quarter of 2015. Besides India, the company also targeted Europe, Africa, Australia

and Latin America for this model. Mahindra President Mr. Pawan Goenka stated that the

company planned to launch six new models in the year.The company launched the CNG

version of its mini truck Maxximo on 29 June 2012.A new version of the Verito in

diesel and petrol options was launched by the company on 26 July 2012 to compete with

Maruti's Dzire and Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Etios.

On 30 July 2015, Mahindra released sketches of a new compact SUV called the

TUV300 slated to be launched on 10 September 2015. The TUV300 design took cues

34
from a battle tank and used a downsized version of the mHawk engine found on the

XUV, XUV and some models of the Xylo. This new engine was christened as the

mHawk80.

Organization Structure:

CEO Secretary
Anand Mahindra NS

Chairman of the Board CFO

Keshub Mahindra Bharat Doshi

Director Automotive Sector

A.Ganguly PG

Director Farm Equipment Sector

R.Kulkarni AC

Director Finance, Legal & Financial Services

Anupam Puri UP

Director Human Resources, After-Market &

Naraynan Vaghul Corporate Services
RD

Director Information Technology Sector

M.Murugappan UY

Director Infrastructure Development Sector

Arun Dasgupta AN

Director Systems & Technologies Sector

Deepak Parekh HL

Director Trade, Retail & Logistics Sector

Nadir Godrej RM

35
SWOT Analysis of Mahindra & Mahindra with USP, Competition, STP (Segmentation,

Targeting, Positioning) - Marketing Analysis

Mahindra & Mahindra

Parent Company Mahindra

Category Sedans, SUV‟s, Two-wheelers

Sector Automobiles

Tagline/ Slogan Rise; Every 2 minutes a Mahindra is born

Mahindra SUV‟s have a stronghold in the Indian

commercial taxi market which have good performance o

USP tough terrains

STP

Segment Complete automobile segment including sedans & SUV‟s

Target Group Young executives from the upper-middle income bracket

A brand which promotes new thinking, accepts no limits and

Positioning drives positive change

Product Portfolio

1. Mahindra Bolero 2. Mahindra Renault Logan

3. Mahindra XUV 4. Mahindra Verito

Brands 5. Mahindra Xylo

36
 SWOT Analysis

1. Mahindra has been one of the strongest brands in the

Indian automobile market

2. Mahindra group give employment to over 110,000

employees

3. Excellent branding and advertising, and low after sales

service cost

Strengths 4. Sturdy SUV‟s good for Indian roads and off-road terrain

1. Mahindra‟s partnership with Renault did not live up to

Weaknesses international quality standards through their brand Logan

1. Developing hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars for the

future

2.Tapping emerging markets across the world and building a

global brand

3.Fast growing automobile market

4.Growing in the market through electric car Reva

Opportunities (controlling stake) and entry into two-wheeler segments

1. Government policies for the automobile sector across the

world

2. Ever increasing fuel prices

3. Intense competition from global automobile brands

4. Substitute modes of public transport like buses, metro

Threats trains etc

37
 Competition

1.Honda

2.Toyota

3.Nissan Motors

4.Hyundai Motors

5.Fiat

6.Mitsubishi

7.Maruti Udyog

8.Tata Motors

9. Skoda

10. Toyota

11. Volkswagen

Competitors 12. Ford

38
HISTORY OF MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA AUTOMOTIVE

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was established in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohammed.

Later on, after the partition of India, one of the partners - Ghulam Mohammad - returned

to Pakistan, where he became Finance Minister. As a result, the company was renamed

to Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948.

M&M started its operation as a manufacturer of general-purpose utility vehicles. It

assembled CKD jeeps in 1949. Over the passing years, the company expanded its

business and started manufacturing light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and agricultural

tractors.

Apart from agricultural tractors and LCVs, Mahindra & Mahindra also showed its

dexterity in manufacturing army vehicles. Soon, it started its operations abroad, through

its plants set up in China, the United Kingdom and the USA.

M&M partnered with companies prominent in the international market, including

Renault SA, International Truck and Engine Corporation, USA, in order to mark its

global presence. M&M also started exporting its products to several countries across the

world. Subsequently, it set up its branches including Mahindra Europe Srl (based in

Italy), Mahindra USA Inc., Mahindra South Africa and Mahindra (China) Tractor Co.

Ltd.

At the same time, M&M managed to be the largest manufacturer of tractors in India, by

holding leadership in the market of the country, for around 25 years. The company is an

old hand in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing tractors as well as farm

implements. It made its entry to the passenger car segment in India, with the

manufacture of Logan (mid-size sedan) in April 2007, under the Mahindra Renault

collaboration.

39
Soon after the considerable success of Logan, M&M started launching a wide range of

LCVs and three wheelers as well as SUVs including Scorpio and Bolero. In the present

time, Bolero has gained immense popularity in India. It is one of the most opted vehicles

in its class.

MAHINDRA BOLERO

Mahindra Bolero is one of the most successful and popular utility vehicle of the

Mahindra and Mahindra Group. The car is robust in appearance and it has been

elegantly designed, keeping in mind the conditions of the Indian roads.

Mahindra Bolero is also among the best fuel-efficient cars of India as the manufacturer

has equipped it with a 2500 cc diesel engine with5- speed transmission.

MAHINDRA SCORPIO

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited launched Mahindra Scorpio as its first Sports Utility

Vehicle in India in 2002.

This SUV has redefined the expectations for the design of SUVs with its sturdy looks

and powerful performance, the sophisticated interior design adds to the further glory to

the appearance.

MAHINDRAINGENIO

Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to launch a new multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) to take

on the Toyota Innova and the Chevrolet Tavera in both the individual buyer and taxi

segments. Mahindra has currently named the project Ingenio. The vehicle is expected to

hit the market in 2009

40
MAHINDRA RENAULT LOGAN

Much awaited Mahindra-Renault Logan has been launched in India. This compact sedan

is a spacious, practical and affordable vehicle. The outlook of Logan is impressive and

the basic version is a value for money, however the top-end versions are a bit high on

price. The prominent feature of this car is its performance, interiors and economy.

MAHINDRA XYLO

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited launched their latest Multi Utility Vehicle (MUV)

“Xylo” in India on January 13, 2009. The car boasts of having all the luxurious features

that are seen in today‟s sedans, with the ample space of a utility vehicle. Xylo's muscular

stance contributes to its commanding road presence. Fully packed with the latest

features, the MUV is sure to impress Indian consumers and provide a stiff competition

to the other vehicles within its class.

Performance Of Mahindra XYLO

Under the hood of Mahindra Xylo lies a 4-cylinder turbocharged, mEagle diesel engine,

which generates a power of 112bhp @ 3800 rpm and a peak torque of 24 kgm @ 1800-

3000 rpm. The powerful engine is developed on the NEF CRDe platform and is mated to

5-gears manual transmission. The car accelerates from rest to 60 km/h in just 5.8

seconds.

MILSTONE, AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

M&M’s 61st year was studded with a number of noteworthy

achievements, prestigious prizes and glittering awards.

41
DUAL HONOURS FOR CHAIRMAN MR. KESHUB MAHINDRA

Chairman, Mr. Keshub Mahindra was awarded the “Business Visionary Award 2006”

instituted by the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai.

Chairman, Mr. Keshub Mahindra was also awarded the prestigious IBS Kolkata

Lifetime Achievement Award for his „unparalleled contribution to industrial growth and

social and economic development of the community‟.

The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India‟s (ICFAI) India Business School

(IBS) presented it, Kolkata, at the Strategy Summit 2007, held in Kolkata.

SLEW OF HONOURS FOR MR. ANAND MAHINDRA

Mr. Anand Mahindra, VC & MD, Mahindra Group, received a number of prestigious

awards in 2006-07, including:

o The prestigious CNBC Asia Business Leader of the Year Award for the Year 2006

as well as the CNBC TV India “Business Leader of the Year Award”.

o The „CEO of the Year‟ award at the India Brand Summit 2006 co-sponsored by

Business Standard and ITM Business School in association with Times Now and

DNA newspaper.

o The LMA Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 award, instituted by the Ludhiana

Management Association (LMA).

o The Most Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year‟ Award by NDTV Profit

o The NDTV Profit – Car & Bike Award 2007 for Automobile Man of the Year.

42
Mr. Anand Mahindra was also nominated as a Member of the Council of the

Executive Committee of the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) of the Govt. of

India. He was featured in the list of 50 Most Influential Indians in Business Week‟s

edition dated August 13, 2007

HIGHEST CRISIL RATING FOR M&M

M&M has received the highest Governance & Value Creation rating, CRISIL GVC

Level - I from CRISIL for the ability to create value for all stakeholders, while adopting

sound corporate governance practices.

DUN & BRADSTREET AMERICAN EXPRESS CORPORATE

AWARDS 2006

Mahindra & Mahindra was rated as the leading Indian company in the Automobile -

Tractors sector in the „Dun & Bradstreet – American Express Corporate Awards 2006‟.

The Automobile Sector comprises of three categories – Passenger Vehicles, Commercial

Vehicles and Tractors.

These awards recognize the virtues of size and growth in the awards methodology.

M&M ranked No. 1 in these two segments in the premier Dun & Bradstreet India

publication, India‟s Top 500 Companies 2006.

43
MAHINDRA RECEIVES AMITY HR EXCELLENCE AWARD

Mahindra & Mahindra was honored with the Amity HR Excellence Award at the Fourth

Amity Global HR Summit 2007 held at the Amity International Business School, Noida.

The Amity HR Excellence Award recognized Mahindra as one the most admired

companies across the global on account of its innovative strategies for Human Resources

Management and Development.

GLOBAL HR EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR M&M

Mahindra & Mahindra won the Global HR Excellence Award for Innovative HR

practices (Manufacturing Sector), in the Asia Pacific HRM Congress, held in Mumbai.

These awards recognize organizations and individuals who have embraced change,

encouraged constructive challenges and demonstrated entrepreneurial skills in the

corporate world.

M&M WINS BOMBAY CHAMBER GOOD CORPORATE CITIZEN

AWARD 2006-07

M&M was presented with the coveted Bombay Chamber Good Corporate Citizen

Award 2006-07 at a glittering ceremony held to celebrate the Chamber‟s 172nd

Foundation Day on September 21, 2007. Mr. Bharat Doshi, Executive Director, M&M

Ltd. and Mr. Rajeev Dubey, Member of the Group Management Board and Chairman,

Mahindra & Mahindra CSR Council, received the award on behalf of the company.

This Award recognizes and honors conspicuous achievement by corporate organizations

by way of service to the civic community, in addition to outstanding operational

performance. It takes into account several parameters, including Business Performance,

Corporate Interests, Employee Welfare, Customer and Stakeholder Satisfaction and

Social Investment.

44
GOLDEN PEACOCK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Mahindra & Mahindra won the coveted Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in

Corporate Governance 2006. This award validates the company‟s „Best-in-Class‟

corporate governance practices and reflects its transparent and ethical dealings with

stakeholders across the entire value chain. It recognizes the Management‟s commitment

to the highest standards of corporate conduct and its commitment to Corporate Social

Responsibility as a distinct activity that helps build commendable social values and adds

to the ethical fiber of the organization.

BEST AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAIN

EXCELLENCE AWARD

Mahindra & Mahindra has been awarded as the organization with the “Best

Automotive Manufacturing Supply Chain Excellence”. The awards were presented by

India Times Mindscape (Times of India Group) along with the Business India Group

at the Express, Logistics & Supply Chain Awards held in Mumbai on September 28,

2007. A. C. Neilson is accredited with the research for the award nominees and

winners.

HIGH RANKINGS FOR MAHINDRA

M&M was ranked second in the prestigious e Most Trusted Car Company in India study

conducted by TNS. M&M scored 127 points, just seven points below the top ranking

company, according to a TNS communiqué.

 M&M was ranked 14th in The Economic Times prestigious „ET 500‟ list of top

achieving companies in India. The company has moved up four ranks from last

45
 year. To quote from the „ET 500‟ write-up: “M&M‟s „art-to-part‟ strategy of

diversification into the auto parts value chain and its plans for new platforms for

utility vehicles and joint venture with Renault for Logan have led to a gain in

ranks.”

 M&M was ranked 22nd in Business India‟s annual survey of the country‟s top

companies - Super 100

 M&M was ranked 31st in Business Today‟s annual survey of India‟s most

valuable companies

46
Marketing mix of Mahindra and Mahindra
India is one of the fastest growing markets for the automobile industry and the company

Mahindra and Mahindra is one such automobile company that has revolutionized the

markets. Founded in the year 1945, it is one of the leading brands for agricultural

tractors in terms of manufacturing and volume. This multinational manufacturing

organization has its headquarters in Mumbai and is a public limited company. It faces

stiff competition and its chief competitors are as follows-

 Toyota

 Tata Motors

 Honda

 Hyundai

 Maruti-Suzuki

 Ashok Leyland

47
Product in the Marketing mix of Mahindra and Mahindra

Mahindra and Mahindra deal with farm equipment, utility vehicles and commercial

vehicles. Its portfolio includes a wide range of products that comprises heavy trucks,

light trucks, two wheelers, SUV‟s, tractors and school buses.Mahindra has also built

military vehicles and its Willys jeep was used for transportation in World War II. The

esteemed company has also entered into partnership deal with Renault S.A and its result

was the beautiful Mahindra Renault Logan. The various Mahindra products are-

 Mahindra Scorpio

 Mahindra Scorpio Getaway

 Mahindra Bolero

 Mahindra Pick-up

 Mahindra Quanto

 Mahindra XUV 5oo

 Mahindra Xylo

 Mahindra XUV

 Mahindra e2o

 Mahindra- Renault Verito

48
Place in Marketing mix of Mahindra and Mahindra

Mahindra owns many assembly plants and manufacturing plants. Its assembly plants are

located in China, India, Brazil and United Kingdom. It has a global presence and its

products are sent to countries like Italy, China, South Africa, USA and UK. It has

proved its capabilities by sending strong messages. To test the markets of China it sent

tractors to one single province and managed to sell them at 20% higher price than its

local rival because of its shrewd business sense and the superior quality of the products.

This is how it captured the markets in China with determination and ample business

sense. In India, its plants are located in Bangalore, Chakan and Nasik in Maharashtra,

Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Its manufacturing facilities are distributed and spread over a large area of

500,000sq.meters. The company‟s infrastructure includes 30 offices for sales, 500

dealers, 600 stock points, 500 service points and all these are connected by an all-

encompassing IT structure. It has opened various showrooms all over the country that

have experienced and qualified salesperson with a distinctive market knowledge. The

offices are well-furnished and spare parts, equipment, services are available to the

customers at one go.

49
Price in the Marketing mix of Mahindra and Mahindra

The pricing policy of Mahindra and Mahindra is dependent upon various factors that

determine the sales price of the vehicles. The costs incurred at every stage includes

manufacturing to assembling the parts and making them a whole product and the costs to

reach the product to the consumer. The company has infiltrated in every corner of the

country with products that are reasonably priced and show quality.

The company follows the policy of both the premium pricing and the flexible pricing to

grasp the maximum consumer value. The rates of all its products are very competitive,

as it has taken a lot of market research as well as the cost factors and the competitor‟s

rates to arrive at a particular sales price. In order to cater to the whims of every section

of the masses they have launched products with different prices that are suitable for

different sections. These noticeable changes are consciously taken decisions with

appropriate prices to balance their portfolio and garner more customers.

50
Promotion in the Marketing mix of Mahindra and Mahindra

Mahindra and Mahindra have taken various steps in order to promote their vehicles

throughout the world. It has decided to use the visual media and the print media fully so

that the people become aware of its potential and products. Advertisements featuring

attractive models with its products have been handled gracefully so that Mahindra and

Mahindra becomes a household name.

In 2011, Mahindra launched Kareena kapoor Khan, the famous actor, as its brand

ambassador for Mahindra two wheeler‟s advertisements where she asks the consumers

to buy a two-wheeler as INR 1500 of petrol was being supplied free with it. This highly

entertaining and engaging campaign shows a peppy and charming Kareena enjoying her

ride. Advertisements have been placed in newspapers and various magazines as well as

television and internet.

Under additional activities for sales promotion, it has organized exhibition where

catalogues are distributed and contests are held. The company has also implemented

different programs where they have rewarded the best talent in the industry in terms of

cash and job offers. These have also proved to be a good promotional and beneficial

move.

51
How the XUV stormed the market
The hybrid sports utility vehicle found a niche by enabling consumers to realise their

aspiration for quality life experiences

Mahindra XUV used pricing as a key differentiator in the category of sports utility

vehicles. In an interview with Vivek Nayer, CMO, automotive division, Mahindra and

Mahindra, authors Anisha Motwani and Ranjan Malik get behind the wheels of the XUV

to find how the brand gathered speed. Excerpts:

Some markets/segments have norms that haven‟t changed for years, leading to

almost commoditised offerings, ritualised operations and thin margins. What were

such pre-existing norms in your category?

The Indian SUV market was still evolving in 2011 when the XUV was launched. There

was no premium SUV at a price point suited to value-conscious Indian consumers who

really aspired to upgrade but had to settle for a sedan. Mahindra saw an opportunity to

introduce a global SUV placed between Mahindra‟s own Scorpio priced at around ₹10

lakh and Toyota‟s Fortuner priced in the above-₹20 lakh price bracket.

What was your breakthrough and what insight was it based on?

We wanted to offer an SUV with international appeal so we did research among

consumers from five continents to arrive at a theme that led to the product development

and design. The outcome of the study was „Feel the Power‟, with connotations of

„power‟ ranging from sheer physical power to aggressive styling. Hence the first

monocoque SUV from an Indian OEM was created with a cheetah-inspired design and

offered the experience of a powerful SUV with a car-like handling.

52
The brand‟s positioning strategy was based on the consumer insight that life‟s

experiences, and not materialistic abundance, was the new „wealth‟ that increasingly

defined an individual‟s success in today‟s world. The XUV was positioned as an enabler

of memorable stories and life experiences by empowering one to go out anywhere to

seek them. The sign-off line for the brand, „May your life be full of stories‟, captured

this aptly.

To become a true game-changer, the new concept must trigger a storm and for

that, it must hit the critical mass at a certain pace. What did you do to hit the

critical mass?

The XUV launch was unique in the way it reached critical mass very early in its launch

cycle. The pre-launch and launch strategy created so much hype that the first ever print

ad for it, released within 10 days of launch, said, “XUV is out, sold out! Thank you for

the overwhelming response”. We called it „Mudal Naal Madness‟ which was meant to

signify the craze on the first day of a Rajnikant movie in the South.

The audacious aim was to make the XUV the most anticipated brand and create a one-

year booking pipeline even before its launch. And the strategy was to engage the

consumer at every stage – the design, the logo, the price, the pre-launch and the launch

itself.

In the pre-launch phase we adopted the strategy to reveal the product bit by bit and to

create an anticipation of a price of at least ₹17-18 lakh for the XUV so when it was

launched at an extremely competitive price of ₹10.8 lakh, it was simply irresistible and a

delight price. The result - more than 5 lakh website visits before launch, 1.5 lakh

webcast views of the launch event, more than 40,000 test-drive requests on Day 1 and

53
finally advance bookings for more than 18 months. The critical mass was already

reached.

Talk about the fresh, vibrant market you created for XUV.

M&M created a distinct brand identity for XUV by retaining the Mahindra DNA of

creating tough and rugged vehicles but at the same time, appealing to the urban,

sophisticated consumers who did not consider Mahindra earlier or considered only

sedans. It successfully sourced volumes from different categories of sedans and the

high-end SUVs. It was the first time that the product was relevant and appealing to

people who owned a ₹7-8 lakh sedan as well as the people who owned a premium

vehicle priced above ₹15-20 lakh!

If we look at the numbers, the XUV created a category in itself. It sold more than double

the sales of all the premium sedan brands put together in its price band. The sales of all

premium sedans put together (with brands such as Altis, Cruze, Civic and Elantra) in a

similar price range dropped by 29 per cent from 4,118 (October 2010 to September

2011) to 2,934 (October 2011 to September 2012) after the XUV launch (Figure 1).

Further, the XUV dominated the HSUV segment with a 56 per cent market share in

2012-13 (Figure2).

What qualities, according to you, separate the „Market Stormers‟ from the rest?

A strong understanding of the consumers and getting the right insight to fulfil the unmet

needs of the relevant consumer is the first step. In the case of XUV, both the product

design and its positioning were rooted in extremely relevant consumer needs and

54
insights. Once we got the pulse of the consumer, it was backed by a clear vision,

audacious goal-setting and execution excellence.

How has the brand been able to sustain the excitement around it? How have you

managed to stay relevant to the audiences even after four years of being in the

market that has been flooded with new products every year?

Mahindra realised that two things would be very critical: The experience of owning the

product and the brand‟s ability to reinvent itself

High-end sales and service experience: To create a fitting high-end experience at

dealerships, Mahindra deployed specialised manpower recruited from outside the auto

industry, from categories such as hospitality and retail. These personnel were trained in

technical and soft-selling skills and were enabled with technology aids such as tablets

and kiosks for the first time in the auto industry. We call them „experience executives‟,

not salespersons.

Purple Club: In an industry-first initiative, XUV owners were assigned their very own

personal relationship manager, their main point of contact. Some unique benefits include

privileged access to lifestyle events such as the „Mahindra Great Escape‟, invitations to

popular auto-related shows, holidays to exotic locations by Mahindra Holidays, golf and

photography workshops and a host of service- related benefits such as car spa and

monsoon wash. Purple Club has redefined the way consumers look at the vehicle

ownership experience.

Till 2015, four „Torque Day‟ events had been conducted since launch at Budh

International Circuit and Madras Motor Race Track, where the Purple Club owners had

a once in a lifetime experience of driving their own XUVs on a race track.

55
Pro-active upgrades: In this era of rapidly changing technology, consumer expectations

are very dynamic. Unless the product can pro-actively match up to these changing

needs, it is easy for it to lose its relevance over time. Through regular upgrades and

improvements in the XUV and through several special editions, Mahindra made sure

that the product met the expectations of the fast-evolving Indian consumer.

The latest such product development has been the launch of the New Age XUV in May

2015 and the automatic variant launched later in November.

Keeping the core cheetah DNA of the product intact, the New Age XUV comes with

more aggressive and muscular front styling. The interiors have been changed to match

new customer preferences. It now has several new and hi-tech features such as the

electric sunroof, six-way power adjustable driver‟s seat, push button start, keyless entry,

logo projection lamps on the ORVMs, reverse camera and a new-age 7”-touchscreen

infotainment system.

Most importantly, staying true to its core promise of being a brand that provides an

international experience at disruptive prices, the features included in the New Age XUV

are seldom found even in vehicles priced above ₹30 lakh on Indian roads.

How did you arrive at the storyline of the TV communication? How did it help the

brand?

Mahindra wanted to create a communication that was clutter-breaking, conveyed the

differentiated positioning of „May your life be full of stories‟ and had world-class

production values.

The first theme TVC helped establish the cheetah connect and the story helped us to

create an aspirational appeal by showing premium and aspirational landscapes, flora and

56
wildlife. The advertisement exhorts the young at heart to seek out memorable

experiences. The XUV was seamlessly integrated to showcase its on-road and off-road

capabilities.

The surprise element of two cheetahs emerging and one of them jumping on the bonnet

of the car towards the end of the film leaves the viewers thinking of those incredible

experiences that make for life‟s memorable stories and thus ties in with the positioning

of the brand.

The second one was produced and released with the launch of the New Age XUV in

May 2015. It had to live up to the high benchmarks set by the first TVC shot in South

Africa. Besides reinforcing the positioning, Mahindra also wanted to focus on the new

and hi-tech features.

The story was again about a group of friends who lose a camera in Thailand. The TVC

again brought alive the scenic and aspirational locales that are associated with the

vehicle‟s premium positioning.

Both the TVCs have helped enforce the differentiated and premium positioning in the

minds of the consumer. Like the product, even the TVCs have won several awards such

as best creative advertising by Prime Time 2016, Effies bronze (Auto) in 2015 and Gold

award at PRCI 2014, to name a few.

Storm The Norm is a business book authored by Anisha Motwani with a unique

innovation framework by Ranjan Malik. It contains case studies of brands that wrote or

rewrote the norms of their respective industries. In a special series for cat.a.lyst, the

authors will interview these brand custodians every fortnight.

57
Objectives of the
study

58
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To study the level of satisfaction towards of Mahindra XUV in Lucknow City.

2. To Study the customers requirement from the Mahindra.

3. To Study customer opinion about Performance of Mahindra XUV

4. To Study problem faced by customers.

5. To study the factors those satisfy and delight the customer.

59
 Research
Methodology

60
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Definition:

Research methodology is a process to systematically solve the research problem. It may

be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. Why a

research study has been undertaken, how the research problem has been defined. In what

way and why the hypothesis has been formulated, what data have been collected and

particular method has been adopted. Why particular technique of analyzing data has

been used and a host of similar other questions are usually answered when we talk of

research methodology concerning a research problem or study.

A research design serves as a bridge between what has been established (the research

objectives) and what is to be done, in the conduct of the study. In this project research

done is of conclusive nature. Conclusive research provides information that help in

making a rational decision.

Descriptive design was choose to measure the satisfaction level of customers on the

basis of different parameters such as quality, price, features, technology, after sale

services etc.

This design ensured complete clarity and accuracy. It also ensured minimum bias in

collection of data and reduced the errors in data interpretation. Statistical method was

followed in this research because the data was of descriptive nature and it also enabled

accurate generalizations.

61
SOURCES OF DATA

Primary data:

Primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time, and thus happen
to be original in character. It was collected through questionnaire and personal
interviews.

Secondary data:

The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and
which have already been through the statistical process. The data were collected in the
form of company profile and produce profile from the web sites and news paper. Some
of the books were referred for theoretical concepts.

Research Design – Descriptive Research Design

Data source- Primary data

Research Approach- Survey Approach

Research Instruments- Questionnaire

Sample collection- 100 customers, Lucknow

Sample Technique- Random Sample Technique

Sample Area: Lucknow

Sample Size- 100

Primary Data- Questionnaire

62
Data Analysis
&
Interpretation

63
 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Demographic profile

1) What is your age gap less than 20 age group

Age Group No. of Respondents % of Respondents

Less than 20 4 4

20-30 42 42

30-40 36 36

40-50 14 14

50 & above 4 4

Total 100 100

% of Respondents

4 4
14
Less than 20
20-30
42 30-40
40-50

36 50 & above

Source - Questionnaire

Interpretation: 42 %Of the Respondents Are Belonging To Age Group 20-30 and 36%
of the respondents are belongs to 30-40 age group and 14 % respondents are belongs to
40 -50 age group. Most of the respondents belong to 20–30 age groups.

64
2) What is your occupation

a) Student

b) Professional or service

c) Govt. Employee

d) Business man

No. of respondents % of respondents

Student 0 0
Professional or service 36 36
Govt. Employee 4 4
Business man 60 60
Total 100 100

No. of respondents
0%

36% Student
Professional or service
Govt. Employee
Business man
60%

4%

Source - Questionnaire

Interpretation: 36 %Of the Respondents Are Belonging To professional or services and

60% of the respondents are belongs to business man group and 4% belongs to other.

65
3) Under which income level you came

a) Less than 50 k

b) 50k – 1 lakh

c) 1 lakh – 2 lakh

d) 2 lakh or more than

No. of respondents % of respondents

Less than 50 k 0 0
50k – 1 lakh 0 0
1 lakh – 2 lakh 32 32
2 lakh or more than 68 68
Total 100 100

No. of respondents
Less than 50 k 50k – 1 lakh 1 lakh – 2 lakh 2 lakh or more than

0% 0%

32%

68%

Source - Questionnaire

Interpretation: 32 %Of the Respondents Are Belonging To income group 1 lakh – 2

lakh and 68% of the respondents are belongs to income group 2 lakh or more than.

66
Table No.-4 Table showing Pre-Purchase satisfaction level of the customers of
Mahindra XUV.

Customers remark % of Respondent

Excellent 54%
Good 26%
Average 14%
Below average 6%

% of Respondent

6%

14%
Excellent
Good

54% Average

26% Below average

Interpretation –
It is observed that, 54% of the customers are highly satisfied with the Pre-purchase
services and 6% are dissatisfied with the Pre purchase services.

67
Table No.-5 Table showing customers opinion about the Mahindra XUV for Value
for Money

Respondent's Remark % of Respondent

Above Expectation 38%
As per Expectation 42%
Below Expectation 20%

Value for Money

Above Expectatiom As per Expectation Below Expectation

20%

38%

42%

Interpretation –
42% of the respondents are of opinion that vehicles are as per expectation & 20% are of
the opinion that the vehicle are below expectation.

68
Q6) Does quality of Mahindra XUV more superior then others?

Strongly Agree 60%

Agree 20%
Neutral 10%
Disagree 10%

PERCENTAGE

10%

10%

Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
20% 60% Disagree

Interpretation
 On the basis of Analysis 80% of the respondents believe in the superior quality
of Mahindra XUV.

69
Table No: 7 Factors affecting marketing strategy towards Mahindra XUV

Factor No. of Respondent Percentage

Features 12 12%
Low Maintenance 34 34%
Comfort 18 18%
Style 16 16%
After Sales Service 20 20%

Source: Questionnaire
Figure:4

12
20

Features
low maintenance
16 34 comfort
style

18

Source - Questionnaire

Interpretation : The sample drawn on the probability basis clearly shows that 34%
(51respondents) are the opinion that low maintenance is the satisfaction factor Mahindra
XUV and 20 %( 30 respondents) of them who view After Sales Service as a vital factor
for customer satisfaction. Followed by Comfort which corresponds to 18 %( 27
respondents), Style with 16%(respondents) and only 12%(18 respondents) of them view
that feature of Mahindra XUV as satisfaction factor.
As such, Mahindra should focus on the aspects, which will enhance the customer
satisfaction and thus the market share

70
Table No: 8 Customer opinions towards fuel consumption.

Factor Percentage
Extremely Satisfied 27%
Satisfied 49%
Neutral 17%
Dissatisfied 7%
Total 100%

Source: Questionnaire
Figure: 5

Consumer Opinions toward Fuel

Consumption
7%

27%
17%
More Satisfied

Satisfied

Not Satisfied &

Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
49%

Source - Questionnaire

Interpretation : 100% of the respondents 49% of the respondents approached were

satisfied with the fuel consumption of the Mahindra XUV. Followed by 27% was
extremely satisfied, 17% are neutral and rest of the 7% is more dissatisfied with fuel
consumption of Mahindra XUV.

71
Table No: 9 Customer opinions toward Safety and Comfort.

Factor Percentage
Extremely Satisfied 23%
Satisfied 47%
Neither Satisfied & Dissatisfied 20%
Dissatisfied 10%
Total 100%

Source: Questionnaire

Customer Opinions toward

Safety and Comfort

10%

23%

20%
Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied

47%

Interpretation: 100% of the respondents 47% of the respondents approached were

satisfied with the safety and comfort feature of the Mahindra XUV. Followed by 27%
was extremely satisfied, 17% are neutral and rest of the 7% was dissatisfied with safety
and comfort feature of Mahindra XUV.

72
Table No: 10 Customer opinions toward Design.

Factor Percentage
Extremely Satisfied 20%
Satisfied 40%
Neutral 27%
Dissatisfied 13%
Total 100%
Source: Questionnaire
Figure: 7

Customer Opinions Toward

Design
13%
20%

Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
27%
Neutral
Dissatisfied

40%

Interpretation: 100% of respondents 40% of the respondents approached were satisfied

with the Design of the Mahindra XUV. 20% were more satisfied, 27% of them neutral
and 13% are dissatisfied with the design of the Mahindra XUV.

73
Table No: 11 Customer opinions toward space availability in Mahindra XUV.

Factor Percentage
More Satisfied 27%
Satisfied 53%
Neither Satisfied & Dissatisfied 17%
Dissatisfied 3%
Total 100%
Source: Questionnaire

Figure: 8

Customer Opinions Toward

Space Availability
3%

17%
27%

Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied

53%

Interpretation: The sample drawn on the probability basis shows that out of 100% of
respondents 53% of the respondents approached were satisfied with the space
availability of the Mahindra XUV. 27% were more satisfied, 17% of neither satisfied
and dissatisfied and 3% are dissatisfied with the space availability of the Mahindra
XUV.

74
Table No: 12 Marketing Strategies toward Maintenance of Mahindra XUV.

Factor Percentage
Extremely Satisfied 23%
Satisfied 51%

Neutral 21%
Dissatisfied 5%
Total 100%

Source: Questionnaire
Figure:9

Marketing Opinions Toward

Maintenance

5%

23%
21%
Extremely Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied

51%

Interpretation: The sample drawn on the probability basis shows that out of 100% of
respondents 51% of the respondents approached were satisfied with the maintenance of
the Mahindra XUV. 23% were extremely satisfied, 21% of neutral and 5% are
dissatisfied with the maintenance.

75
Table No: 10 Customer awareness about power steering.

Option No. Of No. Of Respondents (%)

Respondent
Aware 80 80%
Unaware 20 20%
Total 100 100%

Source: Questionnaire
Figure: 10

Customer Awareness
About Power Steering

20%

Aware
Unaware

80%

Interpretation: Out of 100% of respondents, 80% of the respondents approached were

aware of the power steering present in some variant of Mahindra XUV and 20% were
not aware of the power steering present in some variant of Mahindra XUV.

76
Table No: 11 Customer perceptions about Mahindra XUV

Very Good Good Average Bad Very Bad

20% 47% 21% 12% -

Source: Questionnaire
Figure: 11

Customer Perception
About Mahindra Thar

12%
20%

21% Very Good

Good
Average
Bad

47%

Interpretation: The sample drawn on the probability basis shows that out of 100% of
respondents 47% of the respondents gave Good response to Mahindra XUV. 20% gave
Very Good response, 21% gave Average response and 12% gave bad response to
Mahindra XUV.

77
FINDINGS

78
 FINDINGS

 Mahindra XUV should focus on the aspects, which will enhance the customer

satisfaction and thus the market share

 Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the fuel consumption of Mahindra

XUV, the company should maintain the same standard and it is suggested to

come up with suitable measure to reduce the negative opinion among the

consumer who are of the opinion that the fuel consumption is a dissatisfying

factor.

 Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the safety and comfort feature of

Mahindra XUV, the company should maintain the same standard and it is

suggested to come up with suitable measure to reduce the negative opinion

among the consumer who are of the opinion that the fuel consumption is a

dissatisfying factor.

 Majority of the respondents are satisfied with the design of Mahindra XUV, the

company should maintain the same standard and it is suggested to come up with

suitable measure to reduce the negative opinion among the consumer who are of

the opinion that the fuel consumption is a dissatisfying factor.

 80% of the respondents are happy with the space availability of the Mahindra

XUV vehicle, it can be conducted that the company has undertaken proper R&D

in this aspect.

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 The 20% of the respondents who have answered negatively may be comparing

with the vehicle in the same category launched very recently.

 Though majority of the customer are satisfied that the maintenance cost of

Mahindra XUV is less, around 20% are not satisfied which may be because of

comparison of Mahindra XUV with the newly launched competing brands

coming with even lower maintenance cost.

 Most of the respondents approached were aware of power steering system

introduced in some variants of Mahindra XUV.

 67% of the respondents are satisfied that they are happy with Mahindra XUV, it

satisfies that the customer satisfaction levels are very high. If the company were

to identify the pitfalls in their product and undertake remedial measure, thus it

will lead to more good word of mouth publicity.

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CONCLUSION

81
 CONCLUSION

Mahindra XUV has a very good market share in the state of U.P. for the SUV segment.

The company is offering good services, which is reflected on the satisfaction of the

customer. Majority of the customer are satisfied with the design of the vehicle.

Mahindra and Mahindra Motors have a very good market share in the state of Uttar

Pradesh(Lucknow City) for the SUV segment. The company is offering good services,

which is reflected on the satisfaction of the customer.

Majority of the customer are satisfied with the design of the vehicle. Mahindra &

Mahindra motors are providing better facilities compare with other brand.

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RECOMMENDATION

83
 RECOMMENDATION

 Mahindra XUV has to implement good customer relationship management strategy

that enhances customer satisfaction level.

 The company can undertake R&D to improve the existing feature which helps to

increase the customer satisfaction.

 Mahindra XUV should promote about the entire features offered by it. As majority

of the customer give opinion that they are satisfied by the factor, services and

design of the product, the company should not only maintain the existing standard

but also enhance them.

 As majority of the respondents are satisfied with the safety and comfort feature of

Mahindra XUV, the company should maintain the same standard and it is suggested

to come up with suitable measure to reduce the negative opinion among the

consumer who are of the opinion that the fuel consumption is a dissatisfying factor.

 Mahindra Company has to implement good customer relationship management

strategy that enhances customer satisfaction level.

 The company can undertake R&D to improve the existing feature which helps to

increase the customer satisfaction.

 The company should promote about the entire features offered by it. As majority of

the customer give opinion that they are satisfied by the factor, services and design

of the product, the company should not only maintain the existing standard but also

enhance them.

84
 As majority of the respondents are satisfied with the safety and comfort feature of

Mahindra XUV, the company should maintain the same standard and it is suggested

to come up with suitable measure to reduce the negative opinion among the

consumer who are of the opinion that the fuel consumption is a dissatisfying factor.

 As such, Mahindra XUV should focus on the aspects, which will enhance the

customer satisfaction and thus the market share.

85
LIMITATIONS

86
 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The scope of study is limited to the respondents are selected from in and around

Lucknow, U.P

The project is carried out for the period of 45 days only.

 Measurement of customer satisfaction is complex subjects, which uses non-

objectives method, which is not reliable.

 The sample unit was also 100 respondents.

 There may be some biased response from the respondents.

 Some respondents did not provide the full data.

87
BIBLIOGRAPHY

88
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books :
 Kothari. C.R (2004): Research Methodology Methods & Techniques‟, New Age
International Publishers, New Delhi, 2nd Edition.

 Richard I. Levin, David S. Rubin (2004): „Statistics for Management‟, Prentice Hall of India
Private Limited, New Delhi, 7th Edition.

 Jayaram, N. and Sandhog, R.S. (1998), Housing in India - Problems, Policy

andperspectives, B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi.

 Jeffrey Gitomer (1998), Customer satisfaction is worthless: Customer loyalty is

priceless: How to make customers love you, keep them coming back and tell everyone
they know, Austin TX: Board Press.

Websites:
 http://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/automobiles/1298-mahindra-a-

mahindra.html

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahindra_%26_Mahindra

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahindra

 http://www.mahindra.com/business/automotive

 http://www.mahindra.com/about-us

89
ANNEXURE

90
 QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Customer profile
a) Name b) Occupation
c) Age d) Income
e) Address:-

1. Are you satisfied with services before purchasing cars in Mahindra XUV Show

Room?

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Average

d) Below average

2. What is your opinion about the Mahindra XUV for Value for Money?

a) Above Expectation

b) As per Expectation

c) Below Expectation

3) Does quality of Mahindra XUV is more superior then others?

a) Strongly agree

b) Agree

c) Neutral

d) Disagree

e) Strongly disagree

91
4) Are you a satisfied with Mahindra XUV?

a. Yes

b. No

5)If “Yes” Which factor you consider is satisfies you most?

a. Feature

b. Low Maintenance

c. Looks

d. After Sales Service

6) Are you satisfy with the fuel consumption of Mahindra XUV?

a. Extremely Satisfied

b. Satisfied

c. Neutral

d. Dissatisfied

7) Are you satisfied with the Safety and Comfort of Mahindra XUV?

a. Extremely Satisfied

b. Satisfied

c. Neutral

d. Dissatisfied

8)Are you satisfied with the Design?

a. Extremely Satisfied

b. Satisfied

c. Neutral

d. Dissatisfied

92
9) Are you satisfied with space available in Mahindra XUV?

a. Extremely Satisfied

b. Satisfied

c. Nor Satisfied & Dissatisfied

d. Dissatisfied

10) Are you satisfied with Maintenance cost?

a. Extremely Satisfied

b. Satisfied

c. Neutral

d. Dissatisfied

11) Are you aware about power steering present in Mahindra XUV?

a. Yes

b. No

12) Your general perception about Mahindra XUV.

a. Very Good

b. Good

c. Average

d. Bad

93