A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS ROYAL ENFIELD WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MALAPPURAM DISTRICT. Mr.FAISAL.T, Research Scholar (M-Phil)

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1 A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS ROYAL ENFIELD WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MALAPPURAM DISTRICT Mr.FAISAL.T, Research Scholar (M-Phil) Thottiyil [H], Kuzhippuram, Iringalloor [post], Vengara [via], Malappuram [dist], Kerala [pin] INTRODUCTION It is being hard to please the present day customers. The market conscious society turned smarter and more priced conscious and in turn more demanding and less forgiving. They checkout the competitors with similar or at times even better offers. So the challenge is not to produce for customers, any firm could do it. The real challenge is to produce delighted customers and more importantly loyal customers. Customers are the king and without satisfying their needs none can exist in the corporate competitive world. Customer perception is a marketing concept that encompasses a customer s impression, awareness and/or consciousness about a company on its offerings. Customer perception is typically affected by advertising, reviews, public relation, social media, personal experience and other channels. By way of analyzing customer perception we can clearly understood how much a firm treats its customers, what is the quality of their products, is it capable to serve the dynamic needs of customers, what will be their future in what way they need to making changes etc The Study report deals with the analysis of customer perception conducted among customers of Royal Enfield who purchased different brands Royal Enfield. REVIEW OF LITERATURE A Study named CUSTOMER PERCEPTION WITH MOTOR CYCLE Conducted by Dr: L. Vijay, Professor in SA Eng. College Chennai and B. Jayachitra associate professor Vel Sreenivasa college Chennai. And published in International Journal of Marketing and Human Resource Management (IJMHRM). It is a comparative study between customers of Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS to know 154

2 customer perception and the reason to a customer opt for a particular brand. The study suggests that it is better to introduce eco- friendly bikes and to reduce cost in case of Hero Honda. Better to Introduce bikes for women and improve mileage incase of Bajaj. And it is better to take necessary step to improve brand image in case of TVS. A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND EXPECTATIONS FOR TATA NANO Conducted by Dr.Garima Malik Asst.Prof in Amity Business School- Noida. Main objectives of the study are, to know general perception and awareness about NANO, factors influencing purchasing decision and customer expectations from NANO, etc... The study reveals that long waiting period, bad word of mouth and reports in the market like Auto-rickshaw, etc...have negative impact on the products demand. Customers are satisfied in price and fuel efficiency, effective sales promotion activities with the theme of Young-car and steps to solve complaints from customers are necessary to improve customers satisfaction. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To evaluate the attitude of young generation towards Royal Enfield. To identify the factors influencing in selection of Royal Enfield. To analyze the problem of Royal Enfield while compared to other Bikes. To know the influence and impact of competitors. To study whether there is any change in perception of new generation towards Royal Enfield. To understand the reasons for change in perception, if any. To analyze the level of preference for new and old model of Royal Enfield. SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study will helps to evaluate the present position of Royal Enfield among the existing customers. The study helps to identify the important reason why youngsters do likes Royal Enfield, which is the most important feature of Royal Enfield, in which way customers need modification on existing models, how is the level of customer acceptance in the areas of product and services. And also is there any kind of dissatisfaction in mind of existing customers and the reason for their dissatisfaction, etc Simply the study makes a chance to the firm to delight their customers, ultimately for the existence and earnings in present corporate competition by way of adjusting their products according to the customer needs, if necessary and also to know the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat of the product or the firm. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research is done for collecting the information that helps to solve certain problems effectively. It is a frame work with a specific logic from the researcher to find out a reasonable solution for a problem. Research is a step by step activity which needs to be accurate and reliable. It is completed when the researcher gets proper solutions for his task. It aims at definite solutions within a particular period. It covers some challenging task such as how, when, where, who and why? Research methodology is way to solve the research problem systematically. It deals with the objective of research study, the method defining research problem, the type of hypothesis formulated, the 155

3 type of data collected, method used for data collection and analysis etc the methodology includes collection primary and secondary data. RESEARCH DESIGN A research design is basis frame work, which provides guidelines for the rest of research process. It is the map or blueprint according to which, the research is to be conducted. The research design specifies the method of study. Research design is prepared after formulating the research problem and need to be most suitable to solve the problem. POPULATION Here the researcher selected 250 customers who purchased different brands of Royal Enfield. SAMPLE SIZE It refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a sample. An optimum sample is one, which fulfills the requirement of efficiency, representative, reliability and flexibility. So the researcher selected 100 respondents as sample from the population. SAMPLING METHOD Sampling technique used in the study is convenient sampling which comes under the purposive sampling which is also called non- random sampling. DATA COLLECTION The collection of data is the primary step in statistical investigation. Collection of data is process of enumeration together with the proper recording of results. The success of an enquiry depends upon proper data collection. The methodology of this study involved collection of the primary data and the secondary data. SOURCE OF DATA Data are the raw materials in which the research works. The task of data collection begins after research problem has been defined and research design chalked out. The data collection is classified as Primary data and Secondary data. A)PRIMARY DATA Primary data are collected directly by way of using questionnaires as well as by meeting the company managers, service head, store keeper and also few sales executives of different agencies. So it will be reliable and accurate and can easily by respondent B)SECONDARY DATA These are data already collected and recorded. Here secondary data were collected from the company s office records like customer register and delivery book, newspapers, official website of Royal Enfield, other web sites, library books and also from previous project reports in related areas. 156

4 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS This is the simplest way to analysis different types of data in this method percentage rate of each data was found that and with respect to total and with the help of the percentage (%) rate the analyzing the data was carried out. Pie Diagram. Doughnut Bar Diagram CHI-SQUARE TEST Chi square test is the important type of non parametric tests. Non parametric tests are used when assumptions required by the parametric counterpart tests are not met are questionable. All test involving ranked data are non parametric. In non parametric tests no assumptions are made about the parameters of population from which we draw our samples are made. These tests are distribution free. It explains the magnitude of difference between observed frequencies and the theoretical or expected frequencies under certain assumptions. With the help of chi square test we are able to find out whether such differences are significant or insignificant and could have arisen due to sampling fluctuations. ANALYSIS OF DATA TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ROYAL ENFIELD TABLE-1 SL NO OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE 1 YES % 2 NO 0 0% TOTAL % Source : Primary Data FIGURE-1 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% YES NO PERCEN INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that the whole respondents under the study had already heard about the Royal Enfield. 157

5 TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING RESPONDENTS SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT ROYAL ENFIELD TABLE-2 SL NO OPTIONS NO OF PERCENTAGE RESPONDENTS 1 ADVERTISEMENTS 2 2% 2 FRIENDS & RELATIVES 76 76% 3 DEALERS 8 8% 4 BY SEEING ON ROAD 14 14% TOTAL % Source : Primary Data FIGURE-2 ADVERTISEMENTS 2% BY SEEING ON ROAD 14% DEALERS 8% FRIENDS & RELATIVES 76% INTERPRETATION: From the above table and figures it is clear that 76% of customers had heard about Royal Enfield from their friends and relatives, 14% by seeing on road, 8% from dealers and rest of 2% from advertisement. 158

6 TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING THE MODEL OF ROYAL ENFIELD WHICH ARE USED BY RESPONDENTS TABLE-3 SL NO MODEL NO.OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE 1 BULLET STANDARD 60 60% 2 ELECTRA 18 18% 3 CLASSIC 350 CC 8 8% 4 CLASSIC 500 CC 4 4% 5 DESERT STORM 0 0% 6 CHROME 0 0% 7 TBTS 350 CC 6 6% 8 TBTS 500 CC 4 4% TOTAL % Source : Primary Data FIGURE-3 BULLET STANDARD ELECTRA CLASSIC 350 CC CLASSIC 500 CC DESERT STORM CHROME TBTS 350 CC TBTS 4% 500 CC 4% 0%6% 8% 18% 60% INTERPRETATION: It is clear that 70% of respondents are using Bullet Standard, 18% are using Electra, 8% are using Classic 350 CC, 4% are using Classic 500 CC, 6% are using TBT 350 CC, 4% are using TBT 500 CC and no respondents under study are using the models like Chrome and Desert Storm. 159

7 TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING THE MOST REQUIRED FEATURE FOR RESPONDENTS WHILE PURCHASE A BIKE TABLE-4 SL NO REQUIRED NO OF FEATURE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE 1 COST 2 2% 2 STYLE & POWER 70 70% 3 FUEL EFFICENCY 19 19% 4 RESALE VALUE 9 9% TOTAL % Source : Primary Data FIGURE-4 COST STYLE FUEL EFFICENCY RESALE VALUE 9% 2% 19% 70% INTERPRETATION: It is clear from the study that 70% of respondents provide importance to style & power, 19% provide importance to fuel efficiency, 9% provide importance to re sale value and only 2% of respondents provide importance to cost. 160

8 SL NO TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS ORDER OF PURCHASING PREFERENCE OPTION S 1 ST PLACE 2 ND PLACE TABLE -5 3 RD PLAC E 4 TH PLACE 5 TH PLAC E 6 TH PLAC E TOTA L 1 ROYAL ENFIELD 79% 0% 7% 0% 14% 0% 100% 2 HONDA 7% 50% 43% 0% 0% 0% 100% 3 YAMAH A 0% 36% 29% 7% 7% 21% 100% 4 HERO 7% 7% 21% 43% 22% 0% 100% 5 BAJAJ 7% 7% 0% 36% 36% 14% 100% 6 TVS 0% 0% 0% 14% 21% 65% 100% TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Source : Primary Data FIGRE ROYAL HONDA YAMAHA HERO BAJAJ TVS ENFIELD 1ST PLACE 2ND PLACE 3RD PLACE INTERPRETATION: The above table and figure shows respondents order of selection from different companies.79% of respondents provided 1 st place to Royal Enfield and none opined 6 th place to Royal Enfield. None of the respondents provides 1st place to Yamaha and TVS. Only 7% of respondents provided 1 st place in case of Honda, Hero and Bajaj. It is noted that a majority of 65% of respondents provides only 6th place to TVS. 161

9 TABLE AND FIGURE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS OPINION ABOUT THE REDUCTION IN USE OF ROYAL ENFIELD AMONG YOUNGSTERS TABLE-6 SL NO OPINIONS NO OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE 1 STRONGLY AGREE 0 0% 2 AGREE 29 29% 3 DISAGREE 57 57% 4 STRONGLY DISAGREE 14 4% TOTAL % Source : Primary Data FIGURE PERCENTAGE STRONGLY AGREE AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE INTERPRETATION: The above table shows that none of respondents strongly agree, 29% are agree, a majority of 57% are disagree and 14% are strongly disagree that there is a reduction in use of Royal Enfield among youngsters 162

10 CHI-SQUARE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACTORS INFLUENCING THE BUYING DECISION AND MAIN ATTRACTION OF ROYAL ENFIELD AIM: This test is done to find out the significant relationship between the factors influencing the twowheeler buying decision the main attraction of Royal Enfield Most required Feature Main attraction COST FUEL EFFICIENCY STYLE & POWER RESALE VALUE TOTAL STYLE FUEL EFFICIENCY RESALE VALUE EASINESS OF USE TOTAL NULL HYPOTHESIS (HO) There is no significant relationship between the factors influencing buying decision and the main attraction of Royal Enfield. ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS (H1) There is significant relationship between the factors influencing buying decision and the main attraction of Royal Enfield. 163

11 Chi-square calculation O E O-E (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E Level of significance of χ2 =0.05 choose to test Formula is χ2=(o-e)2/e O=Observed frequency E=Expected frequency 164

12 E=Row total*column total/grand total Degree of freedom=(r-1)(c-1)=(4-1)(4-1) =3*3 =9 Table value of Chi-square at 5% level of significance at 9 degree of freedom(chi square value)= Computed value= INFERENCES Since the calculated value is greater than the table value, we accept the alternative hypothesis (H1) that there is no significant relationship between the factors influencing buying decision(required feature) and the main attraction of Royal Enfield. FINDINGS It is clear from the study that a majority having 76% of respondents had heard about Royal Enfield from their friends and relatives. Advertisement is rare in case of Royal Enfield. Majority of Royal Enfield customers are giving importance to style and power. Style and power is the main attraction of Royal Enfield. Whole customers are satisfied in the resale value of Royal Enfield. It also shows that the second hand market for Royal Enfield is satisfactory. CONCLUSION By the Study entitled A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS ROYAL ENFIELD WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MALAPPURAM DISTRICT was undertaken with the objective of finding out customer s perception level on Royal Enfield bikes. Here adopted suitable methodology for data collection and analysis. It is clear from the study that the most customers of Royal Enfield are highly satisfied in almost all areas offered by Royal Enfield. And most majorities among the satisfied customers are delighted customers. This study reveals that by way of reducing the lead-time, improving fuel efficiency, service and advertisement and by introducing new models capable to compete with the fresher s in the market, Royal Enfield can easily make the whole customers into highly delighted customers. 165

13 REFERENCES TEXT BOOKS MARKETING MANAGEMENT. -Kotler Philip Pearsons Education-Singapore. Pvt.Ltd. (12 th edition-2006). -Rajan Saxena Tata Mc Graw, Hill publishing Co. New Delhi (2 nd edition-2002). -Sonatakki.C.N Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi SERVICE MARKETING. -S.M.Jha Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai (2009). MARKETING AND BRANDING; THE INDIAN SCENARIO. -Ramesh Kumr.S Pearsons Education-Singapore. Pvt.Ltd (2007). RESEARCH METHODOLOGY -C.R.Kothari WEBSITES New Age publication-new Delhi (2 nd Edition-2005) Google Official website or Royal Enfield. Investopedia. Wikipedia. 166