project on honda two wheelers

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

1-4

Introduction Objectives Limitations of the study Methodology Chapter II Customer Satisfaction

5-14

Chapter III Profile of Honda

15-27

Chapter IV

28-39

Analysis of Study Chapter V Summary & Suggestions

40-41

Questionnaire

42-45

BIBLIOGRAPHY

46

1

CHAPTER - I INTRODUCTION: The two wheeler industry has been expanding rapidly. Gone are the days when processing a two wheeler was seen as a luxury. Now a day it is viewed as a mere necessity. Prior, sale of two wheelers was mainly confined to urban areas but lately in rural areas the bicycles are being replaced by power driven two wheelers such as scooters and motorcycles. Not only this, the industry has also customers ranging from all demographic segments. It has been common that even school going children are driving two wheelers. The women customers are also increasing due to increase in women literacy and employment. If getting a new customer is difficult, then retaining a current customer is more difficult one and not only that it is estimated that the cost of attracting a new customer is five times retaining the current customer. It requires a great deal of effort to induce satisfied customer to switch away from their current preference. Thus customer attitude is been given top priority in today’s competitive world.

NEED FOR THE STUDY: After globalizations, number of two wheeler markets have entered Indian Market. New companies have been set up with foreign, specially Japanese Collaboration by already established companies. Honda motors Japan has set up subsidiary company at Gurgaon , India to offer state of the art Honda two wheelers to Indian makes Honda motors with its wide product range has achieved a respectful market shone with strong dealer network and excellent after sales services. Even though there is waiting period for some products, some are available across the shelf dealerships are upon not only at metros, but also at urban and semi urban areas. This is to 2

provide prompt after sales services .it has opened class of art show rooms and work shops at all the places. There is a need to study to efforts put in by the Company, Dealers and Service network to study the extent to which customers are satisfied with the product, service and allied services etc. Hence it is proposed to study the Customer Satisfaction levels of Honda Customers with respect to the product performance, after sales service and other allied services like finance facility, availability of spares and accessories etc.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY •

To study the profile of Two wheeler Industry in India.

•

To study the marketing activities of Honda Motors.

•

To study the Dealership profile of Vishnu Honda.

•

To study the customer handling practices prior to sale, during sale and after sale and assesses the satisfaction levels of customers.

•

To offer suggestion for improving the customer satisfaction.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: - The study is limited to Honda Motors Customers who have purchased or come for service to M/s Sri Vishnu Honda at Visakhapatnam. - Since a convenient sampling method is adopted, the sample may not be representing all types of customers. - As the study is conducted for a limited period and hence it may not be exhaustive.

3

METHODOLOGY: The study is conducted basing on Primary and Secondary Data Primary data is collected by administering a structured questionnaire to customers who visit the dealer for purchase and service. Data is also collected through personal discussions with the dealer, sales and service staff and personal observation made during sale and service. Secondary data is obtained from company records, web site, published articles etc.

SAMPLING: Convenient Sampling method is adopted for selecting the respondents. Care is taken to cover customers of all types of products and age groups etc.

4

CHAPTER II CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INTRODUCTION Satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure (or) is appointment resulting from comparing a products, perceived performance in relation to his (or) her expectation. Satisfaction is a function of perceived performance and expectations. If the performance falls short of expectation, the customer is dissatisfied. If the performance matches the expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied (or) delighted. Customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool. Companies that achieve high customer satisfaction ratings make sure that their target market knows it. Actual performance by the firm Customer Satisfaction

= --------------------------------Customer Expectations

5

1.

CUSTOMER & HIS IMPORTANCE :-

The essence of the marketing concept is that organizations must adopt customer oriented features and focus their attention of building programs, offering and strategies that satisfy customer needs and wants.

Many organizations maintain their focus on operations or product or sales efforts

and thereby ; get dislocated by mistaking the means for the end. Successful marketing involves companywide transformations in attitude beliefs and perceptions of the people in how they view the customer.

Deep commitment to the customer is what distinguishes successful

marketers from Laggards. The excellent companies really close to their customers, other companies top about it, excellent companies really close to their customers, other companies to about it, excellent companies do it’. The companies, which show extra ordinary concern for the customer, include. American express, Mc donalds, Citibank, IBM who go to the smallest dealers also “Never forget the customer’s attitude is the hull mark of their service strategy. Hence Customers are :1. The most important people in any business. 2. They are not dependent of a business, But business is dependent on them. 3. They are not an interruption to own work, they are the purpose of it. 4. They are doing us favor when they come in, we are not doing them favor by serving them. 5. They are part of our business, they are not outsiders. 6.

They are not just statistic. The customers are human beings with flesh and blood having feelings and emotions.

7. People come to us with their needs and wants. It is our job to fulfill them. 8. They are the lifeblood of every business without whom the door of the business would have been closed. 9. Non customer functions in particular must be made customer oriented. Customer needs and requirements should be tracked on regular basis.

6

II.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends upon the offer performance in relation to the buyer’s expectations. Customer satisfaction can be defined as :Satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance in relation to the person’s expectation’s satisfaction level is a function of the different between perceived performance and expectations some of the successful business firms are aiming for total Customer Satisfaction which increase customer loyalty towards the product or service offered by the firm.

III.

IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

MISSION AND PURPOSE OF BUSINESS: The need to satisfy customer for achieving success in any commercial enterprise is so obvious, one wonder if there is any need to establish the importance of customer satisfaction. However one often finds that what should be obvious everyone also needs to be explained and establish. The income of commercial enterprise is derived from the payment received for the products and services supplied to its external customers. If there are no customers, there is no income, there is no business. In other words, customers are the sole reason for the existence of commercial establishments, as the function is extremely important for the success of the organization, the senior management as well as the leaders of other departments or Divisions should also realize the importance of customers to the organization and for its growth. It is therefore no surprise that Peter Drucket, the renowned management guru said “ to satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business :.

7

IV.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROCESS

Companies seeking to win in today’s market must track their customer’s expectations perceived company performance and customer satisfaction not only for them but for their competitions as well. Brand loyalty and Customers satisfaction on the other hand are almost synonymous and their impact on market share is statistically varifiable.

The relationship

between market share

profitability as well as profitability and share holder value creation have been the subject of considerable research over the years and the linkages have been proven many times.

Customer satisfaction and Business Results Licensing to Voice of the

Brands customer Service Quality

Service Quality

Customer

Customer

Satisfaction

Retention

Product Quality

Competitive Innovation

Growth Rate

Market Share

Shareholder

Profitability

Value Creation

8

It has been found that some customers are, by native tendency, more likely to move while others are not. Therefore even for some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, some customer will remain with the brand they are loyal to while others will switch. Simply because they are more prone to taking risks and more easily susceptible to the blandishments of competitors and inherently more fickle. This can be represented in four way matrix as given below.

High

1. Safe Customer

Habitual Switches

Satisfaction with

3. The Patient ones

Highrise

Production Low Customer Classification by Satisfaction and Mobility

1.

The Safe Customers are those who are satisfied and not likely to move.

2.

The habitual switches are happy and still likely to switch.

3.

The patient ones will stay on regardless but should not be taken for granted. Their satisfaction can be improved profitably as they are inherently less likely to switch..

Today’s customers are global and have high degree of need for congrition, recognition, approval and respect. So many companies believe that customer satisfaction can make the company more profitable to some extent as 

It as a more process aimed at enhancing customer share.



It builds goodwill in the market, which in turn generates additional traffic to the outlet.



It is a real experience and a rich insight is to customer’s min to hit the bull’s eye with carefully designed marketing strategies



A highly effective technique is to keep of buying habits, intentions, self image, spending patterns, customer develops a sense of belonging in then and a soft corner for the company itself. 9

Higher customer retention index, customer lifetime value, loyalty and satisfaction level



increase transactions with the same customers again and again. A highly effective system of communication helps in developing positive attitude in



customer mind about the company its offerings. WHAT MARKETING SHOULD DO Companies should establish a separate relationship market to prepare, implement and



monitor their relationship marketing program. Company should not rely totally on technical people but employ relationship managers



who well equipped with marketing Communication and interpersonal skills. An integrated marketing system is a pre-requisite for building relationship with



customers. Companies should continuously search for value building approaches through a system of



quality management review process, etc., because only by exceeding customer expectations, marketers can build a value laden relationship with customers. As said before to satisfy a customer and to retain customer relationship marketing is



important. Methods of Tracking and Measuring Customer Satisfaction The various methods generally adopted to track customer satisfaction are : a)

Complaint & Suggestion system

b)

Customer satisfaction survey

c)

Ghost Shopping

d)

Lost Customer analysis

a)

Complaint & Suggestion system

A Customer’ centered organization would make it easy for its Customers to deliver suggestion and complaints. Some customer centered companies – P & G, General Electric, Whirlpool established “Customer hot lines” with toll free 800 telephone numbers to maximize the ease with

10

which customers can enquire make suggestion, or complaints. Their information flows provides these companies with many good ideas and enable them to act more rapidly to resolve problems. b)

Customer satisfaction surveys

A company must not conclude that it can get a full picture of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction by simply relaying on a complaint and suggestion system. Studies show that customer are dissatisfied with one out of every four purchases and less than 5% of dissatisfied customers will complaint customer may feel that their complaints are minor, and they will be made to feel stupid or that no remedy will be offered. Most customers will by less or switch the supplier than complaint. The result is that the company has needlessly lost customers. Therefore, companies can’t use complaint level as a measure of customer satisfaction. Responsive companies obtain a direct measure of customer satisfaction by conducting periodic surveys. They send questionnaire or make telephone calls to random sample of their recent customers to find out how they feel about various aspects of the company’s performance. Customer satisfaction can be measure in a number of ways. It can be measured directly by asking “indicate how satisfied you are with service” on the following scale, highly dissatisfied, indifferent satisfied, highly satisfied (Directly reported satisfaction). Respondents can be asked as well as to rate how much they expected of a certain attribute and also much.

They

experienced (desired dissatisfaction) still another method to ask respondents to list any problems they had with the offer and to list any improvements they could suggest (Problem analysis) finally, companies could ask respondents to rate various elements of the offer in items of the importance of the each of and how were the organization performed each element (important performance ratings). Its last method helps the company to know if it is under performing on important elements and over performing on relatively unimportant elements. C)

Ghost shopping

Another useful way to gather a picture of customers satisfaction is to hire persons to pose as potential buyers to report their finds on strong and weak points they experienced in buying the company’s and competitors products.

11

d).

Lost Customer Analysis

Companies should contact who stopped buying or who have switch to another supplier to learn why this happened. When IBM loses a customer, they amount through effort or learn where they failed is their price too high, their service deficient their products unreliable and so on. Not only it is important to conduct exit interviews but also to monitor the customer loss rate, which if its increasing clearly indicated that the company is failing to satisfy customers.

Some cautions in Measuring Customers Satisfaction When customers rate their satisfaction with an element of the company’s performance say delivery, we need to recognize that customers will vary in how they define food delivery ; it could mean early delivery on time ; delivery order completeness, and so on. Yet if the company had to sell out every element in detail customers would face huge questionnaire. Companies should also note that managers and sales persons could manipulate their ratings on customer satisfaction. They can be especially nice to customers just before the survey. They can also try excluding unhappy customer form being included in the survey. Some customers may want to express high dissatisfaction in order to receive more concession.

E. Lost Customer Analysis. Companies should contact who stopped buying or who have switch to other supplier to learn why this happened. When IBM loses a customer, they amount through effort or learn where they failed is their price too high, their service deficient their products unreliable and so on. Not only it is important to conduct exit interviews but also to monitor the customer loss rate, which if its increasing clearly indicated that the company is failing to satisfy customer.

Some caution in Measuring Customers Satisfaction When customers rate their satisfaction with an element of the company’s performance say delivery, we need to recognize that customers will vary in how they define food delivery; it could mean early delivery on time; delivery order completeness and so on. Yet if the company had to sell out very element in detail customers would face huge questionnaire. 12

Companies should also note that managers and sales persons could manipulate their ratings on customer satisfaction. They can be especially nice to customers just before the survey. They can also try excluding unhappy customers from being included in the survey. Some customers may want to express high dissatisfaction in order to receive more concession.

Observation on customer satisfaction 1.

Customer satisfaction will be lower in industries where the industry offers a homogenous product to a heterogenous market. On the other hand. Industries that supply a high quality homogenous product to homogenous market will register high satisfaction.

2.

Customer satisfaction is lower an industries where repeal buyer faces high switching costs. They have to but from the supplier even through their satisfaction is low.

3.

Industries which depend upon repeat business generally, create a higher level of customer satisfaction.

4.

As the company increase its market share customer satisfaction call fall. This is because more customers with heterogeneous demands are drawn into buying a fairly homogenous product.

Post Product Behavior After purchasing the product the customer will experience some level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The customer will engage in post purchase actions and product uses of interest to the marketers. The marketers job does not end when the product is bought but continue into the post purchase period. The buyer’s satisfaction is function of the closeness between the buyer’s product expectations the customer buts the product again and talks favorably or unfavorably about the product to others. Customers from their expectations on the basis of received. Messages from sellers, friends and other information sources. If the seller exaggerates the benefits, consumers will experience disconfirmed

expectations, which lead to dissatisfaction.

The larger the gap between

expectations and performance, the greater the consumer’s dissatisfaction. 13

Post Purchase Action The Customer’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product will influence subsequent behavior. If the customer is satisfied, he or she will exhibit a higher probability of purchasing the product main. The satisfied customer will also tend to say good things about the brand to others. Marketers lay ‘or best advertisements is the satisfied customer :. A dissatisfied consumer responds differently. The dissatisfied consumer will try to reduce the dissolvance because a human being strives to establish internal harmony “ consistency or congruity among his opinions, knowledge and values. Marketers

should be aware of the full range of ways consumers handle dissatisfaction.

Consumers have a choice between taking and not taking any action. If the former, they can take public action or private action. If the former, they can take public action or private action. If the former, they can take public action or private action. Public action includes complaining to the company going to lawyer or complaining to other groups that might help the buyer gets satisfaction. Such as a business private or government agencies or the buyer might simply stop buying the product or warn friends. In all these cases the seller losses in having done a poor job of satisfaction to the customer.

System for complaints handling & service recovery Studies of Customer dissatisfaction show that customer are dissatisfied with their purchases about 25% of the time. But surprising finding is that only about 5% complain. The other 95% either feels that it is not worth the effort to complain or that they don’t know how to whom to complain. Of the 5% of customers who complain, only about 50% report a satisfactory problem resolution. Yet they need to resolve a customer problem in a satisfactory manner is critical where as on average a satisfied customers tells three people about a good product experience dissatisfied customer groups to people. If each of them tells still other people the number of exposed to bad work of mouth may grow exponentially. 14

CHAPTER III Profile of Honda HONDA MOTOR COMPANY LTD. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda surpassed Nissan in 2001 to become the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer As of August 2008, Honda surpassed Chrysler as the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States Honda is the sixth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power generators, amongst others. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also ventured into Aero space with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420HondaJet, scheduled to be released in 2011. Honda spends about 5% of its revenues into R&D.

History From a young age, Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda (November 17, 1906 -August 5, 1991) had a great interest in automobiles. He then established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Calling upon 18,000 bicycle shop owners across Japan to take part in revitalizing a nation torn apart bywar, Soichiro received enough capital to engineer his first motorcycle, the Honda Cub. This marked 15

the beginning of Honda Motor Company, which would grow a short time later to be the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964.

Philosophy HMSI operates on a principle, which is followed worldwide by all Honda companies. Maintaining a global viewpoint, we are dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality, yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction. Honda's philosophy is based on the company's guiding principle and advocates 2 fundamental beliefs:

Respect for the Individual Honda recognizes and respects individual differences. The respect for individual stems from the following three points: •

Initiative

•

Equality

•

Trusts

It is the contribution from each individual in the company that has made our company what it is today and that, which will take us into the future.

The Three Joys •

The joy of manufacturing high quality products.

•

The joy of selling high quality products.

•

The joy of buying high quality products.

Motorcycles Honda is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and has been since it started production in 1955 At its peak in 1982, Honda manufactured almost 3 million motorcycles annually. By 2006 this figure had reduced to around 550,000 but was still higher than its three domestic competitors 16

During the 1960s, when it was a small manufacturer, Honda broke out of the Japanese motorcycle market and began exporting to the U.S. Taking Honda’s story as an archetype of the smaller manufacturer entering a new market already occupied by highly dominant competitors, the story of their market entry, and their subsequent huge success in the U.S. and around the world, has been the subject of some academic controversy. Competing explanations have been advanced to explain Honda’s strategy and the reasons for their success. The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was commissioned by the UK government to write a report explaining why and how the British motorcycle industry had been out-competed by its Japanese competitors. The report concluded that the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a very high scale of production (they had made a large number of motorbikes) in order to benefit from economies of scale and learning curve effects. It blamed the decline of the British motorcycle industry on the failure of British managers to invest enough in their businesses to profit from economies of scale and scope. The second explanation was offered in 1984 by Richard Pascale, who had interviewed the Honda executives responsible for the firm’s entry into the U.S. market. As opposed to the tightly focused strategy of low cost and high scale that BCG accredited to Honda, Pascale found that their entry into the U.S. market was a story of “miscalculation, serendipity, and organizational learning” – in other words, Hondas success was due to the adaptability and hard work of its staff, rather than any long term strategy. For example, Honda�s initial plan on entering the U.S. was to compete in large motorcycles, around 300 cc. It was only when the team found that the scooters they were using to get themselves around their U.S. base of San Francisco attracted positive interest from consumers that they came up with the idea of selling the Super cub.

Awards 2011 "Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2011 (IMOTY) Jury:BS Motoring , Bike India , BBC Top Gear , Overdrive , AutoBild India ." 17

Bike of the Year – CNBC TV18 Overdrive Awards 2011 Bike of the Year - Bloomberg/UTV Autocar Award 2011 Viewer’s Choice Award: Bike of the Year - Bloomberg / UTV Autocar Awards 2011. CB Twister "The Most Awarded Motorcycle of the Year - 2011" Bike of the Year - BS Motoring Award 2011 . Bike of the Year upto 110CC – Bike India . Motorcycle upto 110CC - NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2011. Premium 100CC Motorcycle - Zigwheels Awards. Entry Level Motorcycle of the Year - Auto Bild Golden Steering Awards.

CB Unicorn Dazzler Motorcycle upto 160CC – NDTV Car & Bike Awards 2011. Sporty Motorcycle upto 180CC – Zigwheels Awards . Premium Motorcycle of the Year - Auto Bild Golden Steering Awards. VFR 1200F Superbike of the Year – TopGear Automotive Technology of the Year - Zigwheels Awards Brand Honda " Most Reliable Brand - Advanced Technology Brand by Auto India Best Brand Survey Awards 2011"

Motorsport Honoured for 'Promoting 2Wheeler racing in India'

2010 18

Brand " Most Reliable Brand - Advance Technology - Quality By Apollo Auto India Best Brand Awards 2010" Trusted Brand Award (Gold) for Two-wheeler: Readers' Digest. CB1000R Import Two - Wheeler of the Year NDTV Profit Car & Bike Awards 2010. CB1000R Import Bike of the Year - AutoCar Awards 2010. CBR1000RR Fireblade Performance Bike of the Year - CNBC TV 18 Overdrive Award.

2009 CBF Stunner Bike of the Year - NDTV Profit Award 2009 Aviator Scooter of the Year - NDTV Profit Award 2009 Activa Scooter of the Year - ET ZigWheels Awards 2009

2008 Aviator Scooter of the Year - Zigwheels.com CBF Stunner Motorcycle of the Year (125 C C ) - Zigwheels.com Activa Scooter Customers Satisfaction No.1 - CNBC TV18 - Auto Car "Auto Awards 2008. Brand -Well Made Bike 2008 19

-Advanced Technology 2008 -Overall 2008 Honda -Eco-Friendliness 2008 -Resale Value 2008 By Apollo Tyres - Auto India "Best Brand Survey Awards 2008.

2007 Enter no Best automobile brand of India 2007 (Planman Media) Activa Best automobile brand of India 2007 (Planman Media)

2006 Shine TNS Voice of The customer Award 2006 (TNS)

2005 Unicorn Motorcycle of the Year 2005 (B.S. Motoring & auto car) Unicorn TNS Voice of the Customer Award (TNS) Enter no Scooters of the Year 2005 (B.S. Motoring & Overdrive)

2004 Enter no Best Scootes of the Year (B S. Motoring & ICICI Bank, Overdrive Magazine)

2003 Dio Scooter of the Year 2003 (BBC)

2002 Activa Scooter of the Year by Overdrive Magazine

20

2001 Activa Scooter of the Year 2001 (BS Motoring). Tokyo, April 28, 2010--- Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced its consolidated financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010.

Fourth Quarter Results Honda’s consolidated net income attributable to Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010 amounted to JPY 72.1 billion (USD 776 million), an increase of JPY 252.1 billion from the same period in 2009. Basic net income attributable to Honda Motor Co., Ltd. per common share for the quarter amounted to JPY 39.78 (USD 0.43), an increase of JPY 138.95 from the corresponding period last year. One Honda American Depository Share represents one common share. Consolidated net sales and other operating revenue (herein referred to as “revenue”) for the quarter amounted to JPY 2,279.5 billion (USD 24,501 million), an increase of 27.8% from the same period in 2009, due primarily to increased revenue in all of the business segments and currency translation effects. Honda estimates that had the exchange rates remained the same from the corresponding period in 2009, revenue for the quarter would have increased by approximately 25.4%. Consolidated operating income for the quarter amounted to JPY 96.0 billion (USD 1,033million), an increase of JPY368.2 billion from the same period in 2009, due primarily to increased profit attributable to increased revenue, reduction in vehicle costs as a result of increased production and decreased SG&A expenses. Consolidated income before income taxes and equity in income of affiliates for the quarter amounted to JPY 93.5 billion (USD 1,006 million), an increase of JPY 392.2 billion from the same period in 2009.

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Equity in income of affiliates amounted to JPY 23.8 billion (USD 257 million) for the quarter, an increase of JPY 21.1 billion from the corresponding period last year.

Fiscal Year Results Honda’s consolidated net income attributable to Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 totaled JPY 268.4 billion (USD 2,885 million), an increase of 95.9%from the previous fiscal year. Basic net income attributable to Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Per common share for the period amounted to JPY 147.91 (USD 1.59), an increase of JPY 72.41from the previous fiscal year. Consolidated revenue for the period amounted to JPY 8,579.1 billion (USD 92,210 million), a decrease of 14.3% from the previous fiscal year, primarily due to unfavorable currency translation effects and decreased revenue in the automobile business. Honda estimates that had the exchange rate remained the same as the previous fiscal year, revenue for the period would have decreased by approximately 7.5%. Consolidated operating income for the period totaled JPY 363.7 billion (USD 3,910 million),an increase of 91.8%, due primarily to decreased SG&A expenses and R&D expenses and continuing cost reduction efforts, despite decreased profit attributable to decreased revenue ,the unfavorable impact of currency effects and the increase in fixed costs per vehicle as a result of reduced production. Consolidated income before income taxes and equity in income of affiliates for the period totaled JPY 336.1 billion (USD 3,613 million), an increase of 107.9% from the previous fiscal year. Equity in income of affiliates amounted to JPY 93.2 billion (USD 1,003 million) for the period, a decrease of 5.8% from the previous fiscal year.

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Racing Honda has always played an important role in motor sports, believing it to be the springboard for technological advancement. It has also been an aggressive force in the endurance, motocross and trial races held around the world. We, at Honda, are not allowing this momentum to let up, as we pursue even greater achievements. Honda has always loved racing, ever since Sochiro Honda took his company into motorcycle competition, sometime in the 1950s. Hondas engineers have tested themselves on the international stage, proving their technology to be the best in the world. These technologies are tested in the extreme conditions of motorcycle racing, to adapt them for use in vehicles that ply on roads today. In the past, Honda has powered some of the all time great racers, including Redman, Hail wood, Spencer, Gardner, Capirossi and Doohan, to 39 riders titles. Even today, some of the greatest motorcycle racers, like Alex Baros, Max Biaggi, Nicky Hayden ride on Honda bikes, at the races. Honda enters the Isle of Man TT Races in 1959 Honda is an active participant in many off-road races Michael Doohan riding Repsol Honda's NSR 500. Technologies like these are not just for the race tracks, but are also incorporated in our everyday vehicles. They are first tested, refined and proven under the trying conditions in the races, and then finally adapted in the vehicles, so that two wheelers like Activa and Dio can utilise and benefit from such technologies.

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PROFILE OFVISHNU HONDA.

HISTORY : SRI Vishnu Honda motors Authorised dealer of Honda Company in Visakhapatnam. Operation in October 2007. which is now popularly known as Vishnu Honda? From Monthly Sale of 160 Two wheelers initially it has reached a monthly sales volume 250nos. (3000 per annum). This spectacular growth is mainly due to aggressive, clear headed management and with sheer hard work of every staff member and above all out standing customer support. Vishnu Honda captured 25% of Visakhapatnam two and wheelers market successfully standing with the challenges from competition. As of now Vishnu Honda. has a work force of 70 members, with an annual turnover of Rs. 12 crores. They have also opened a separate service station for better customer care.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES OF VISHNU H0NDA The promotional activities adopted by Vishnu Honda motors are: 1.

Test Rides

2.

Exchange Melas

3.

Mileage Contest

4.

Loan Melas

5.

Harding & Wall Paintings

6.

Sponsoring youth Events.

7.

Financing in the spot

8.

Distributing pamphlets

9.

Advertising in news paper

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SERVICE DEPARTMENT Head : Shiva 1..

6 Free Services and nine Paid Services for active aviator dio shine cbr250etc.

2.

6 Free Services and 14 Paid Services for 125CC and 150CC Vehicles.

3.

Extended warranty also giving to all models. except twister

4.

Free Checkup Camp. For every.sunday

5.

Engine over hauling for all Post Warranty Vehicle.

6.

We are giving warranty for fuel adultration for single time.

7.

Total Workers are 42 members.

8

After Free Services 200 rupees Charged. WORKING TIME MORNING 8AM TO 1P.M EVENING 2PM TO7:30 P.M. PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN Vishnu Honda motors

S.No. Scooter 1

Dio

2

Activa

3

Aviator

Motor Cycle

Shine

5

Unicorn

6

Stunner

8 9

3 wheelers. nil

4

7

Mopeds

Dazzler Twister CBR 250

Spare Parts Spare Parts Incharge – SIVA Input :

Every Month Purchase of of Spare Parts Company of Honda Motor (Delhi) 25

Out put:

Sols of Spare parts – work shop of Honda Show Room out side Mechanics and

Customers . Total Spare Parts above 11,000 Parts.

Finance Level 1. The VISHNU HONDA Provides sum finance facility to the customers. The finance facility Banks are a. HDFC b. Family Credit (Pvt) c. Sriram Finance d. fulletron The finance lever provides interest rate Rs. 1per 100. The customer paid minimum 30% of the Vehicle Amount. The finance facility taken by the above 6000 people of them.

Sales Team Sales Manager :S.K..V CHANDARA SEKHAR

There are four executives monthly they are

sold 400 vehicle. They provide 12% Interest rate. Incentive given by company per vehicle 1000 to 1500 Rupees of them. The demand is very more for Honda Bikes there are 50% of Bikes Purchase by spot cash 50% Vehicle side Finance Purchase. They are not giving any offer to vehicle some times company giving insurance offer. More sales for shine.unicorn

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ACHIEVEMENTS They are good in Customer Dealership Enquiries and giving good facilities to Customer.

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

PROPRIETOR

CHIEF EXECUTIV

GENERAL MANAGER

SALES Dept.

Group Leaders Accts

Sales Executive

Accts. Dept

Work Dept.

Works Manager

service Manager

Supervisors

Mechanics

27

Spares Dept.

spare in Charge

Asst. Spares

CHAPTER - IV ANALYSIS OF STUDY AGE Number of Age Group

Respondents

%

18-25

28

43

26-35

10

15

36-45

09

14

46 above

17

26

TOTAL

64

100

From this table, we can infer that 43% of the two wheeler users are between 18 to 25 years of age and another 14% are between 36 to 45 years of age. 15% of the bike users are between 26 to 45 years of age. 26%users are above 46 years of age.

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EDUCATION Number of Qualification

Respondents

%

School Education.

07

11

Under Graduate

32

50

Graduates

11

17

Post Graduates

14

22

TOTAL

64

100

17% of the respondents are Graduates and 50% are Under Graduates. From this we can infer that 67% of the bike users are under graduates or Graduates. 11% have only school education. Only 22% are post graduates.

FAMILY ANNUAL INCOME 29

Number of Income

Respondents

%

Below 50 K

0

0

51 K - 1 Lakh

39

61

1 Lake - 2 Lakhs

22

34

2 Lakes - 5 Lakhs

3

5

above 5 Lakhs

0

0

TOTAL

64

100

It is surprising to note that 95% of the bike owners are having annual income less than 2 lakhs. In this 5% are having income between 2 lakhs

to 5lakhs. Though this looks un reliable,

generally respondents do not reveal their real incomes. They have quoted their incomes as per the Ration Cards they possess.

OCCUPATION

30

Number of OCCUPATION

Respondents

%

Students

51

80

Employee

00

00

Business

11

17

Any other

02

03

TOTAL

64

100

80% of the bike owners are students and 17% are buiness people. Only 3% are any other.

Duration of Usage of the Vehicle Number of Duration

Respondents

%

Less than 1 year

24

37

31

1 year to 2 years 2 years to 5 years

00 11

00 17

5 years to 10 years

29

46

above 10 years TOTAL

00 64

00 100

37% of the vehicle owners are using the vehicle from less than a year. 17% are using the vehicle since 5 years. 46% of the users are using a vehicle for a maximum of 5 years.

BRAND PATRONAGE Number of BRAND Activa Dio Aviator Shine

Respondents 15 08 02 15 32

% 23 13 03 23

Unicorn Dazzler Twister Stunner CBR TOTAL

14 01 02 06 01 64

22 02 03 09 02 100

Activa and shine are the most popular models of Honda each contributing 23%. Next popular is unicorn with 22%.67% of the two wheelers sold are either Activa Shine or Unicorn.

REASONS FOR CHOSING HONDA Number of REASON Price Promotion Appearance Technology Any other TOTAL

Respondents 52 00 12 00 00 64

33

% 82 00 18 00 00 100

While choosing Honda and a particular model, the customers are influenced by the price of the bike. Limited importance is given to Appearance of the vehicle.

INFLUENCER Number of Person

Respondents

%

Self

02

04

Family members

02

04

Friends

60

92

Any other

00

00

TOTAL

64

100

92% of the customers have decided to buy Honda Vehicle influenced by their friends. 4% are influenced by their family members and Self.

34

REASON FOR CHOSING THE DEALER Number of REASON Local Dealer Service Dealer Schemes Finance Facility Any other TOTAL

Respondents 37 27 00 00 00 64

% 58 42 00 00 00 100

58% of the customers have brought the vehicle from the particular dealers because he is alone dealer. 42% have preferred because the dealer is also a service dealer. Schemes and finance facility have no impact on dealer choice.

35

SERVICE RATING Number of Rating

Respondents

%

Excellent

00

00

Good

19

30

Average

18

29

Not Satisfied

27

41

TOTAL

64

100

41% of the customers are not satisfied services of the dealer Sree Vishnu Honda motors. 30% as Good and 29% are average.

36

COST OF SPARES & SERVICE Number of Rating High Slightly high Reasonable

Respondents 04 51 09

% 06 79 14

Cheap TOTAL

00 64

0 100

79% of the customers perceive the cost of service and spares slightly high. Only 6% and 14% are felt that it is high and reasonable.

37

LOYALTY TO DEALER Yes

16

25

No

48

75

TOTAL

64

100

75%of the customers not satisfied with service of Vishnu Honda. They do not want to get service from this dealers after free services.

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CHAPTER-V SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS SUMMARY

39

Honda is a major player in Two wheeler market. In India almost every second motor cycle sold is from Honda. It is has many award to its credit How strong the brand may be, every organization has to strive to improve customer satisfaction. With increasing competition and customer expectations, Customer Satisfaction is the key to success of any organization. Dealers play a very important role in the marketing of any product. Their role is vital mainly in the case of consumer durables in general and automobiles in particular. Unlike majority of consumer durables, automobiles need periodic maintenance. Two wheelers have a peculiar feature as they are used by common man who hardly has any knowledge of the functioning or repairing of the vehicle, dealers’ role is very important. Dealers can enhance or tarnish the image of the company and the product how ever good it may be. The strength of Honda motors is its channel partners, and service availability every where. The findings of the study are summarized below: •

Majority of the Honda customers are in the age group of 18 to 25 years.

•

Majority of them are under graduates.

•

Honda two wheeler customers are middle class and upper middle class.

•

Normally a customer uses a Honda vehicle to a maximum period of 10 years

•

Activa, Unicorn and Shine brands are bread winners to Honda.

•

Customers buy Honda for its technical features like mileage, easy maintenance, superior technology etc., •

Customers buy Honda influenced by their friends.

•

Customers normally prefer local dealers and service dealers for buying a vehicle.

•

The dealer at Visakhapatnam Vishnu Honda motors is rated high by the 40

customers for service and are not loyal to them for after free services are over •

Cost of spares and service is slightly high.

SUGGESTIONS Regular availability of all models should be ensured. Efforts have to be taken to ensure no stock outs for Activa, Unicorn and Shine. Dealer has to put efforts to improve quality of after sales service as majority opined that they would not prefer the dealer after free services. Dealer and Company should ensure availability of flagship brand Activa. Due to non availability, majority of the prospective customers are shifting to other company brands. Customers are suspecting the dealers role in sticking to booking schedule. Efforts to be taken to ensure transparency in booking. Customer feedback system after sale and service would improve the image of the dealer. Dealer has to tie up with banks to provide finance at competitive interest rates. Dealer has to be aggressive in marketing the vehicles as they face a very tough competition from local Honda Dealer i.e., Jupiter Honda Dealer as well as the company has to put all efforts to enhance the image of the brand as well as the dealership.

Questionnaire

Name Reg. No.

:

Town/Village: Model

Year of Manufacture: 41

1. Age ( Years)

:

2. Qualification

:

a. 18-25

c. 35-45

b. 25-35

d.45 above

a. Under Graduate b. Graduate

C. Post Graduate

d. Any Other

3.Family annual Income :

a. below 50,000 b. 50,000 to 1,00,000 c. 1-2lakhs.

d. 2-5lakhs.

e. above five lakhs.

4.Occupation

:

a. Student

b. Government Employee

C. Private Employee. d. Business e. Any Other (Specify)

5. What type of two wheeler do you own? a. Scooter b. Motorbike c. Any Other(specify)…………………….

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6. Since how long are you using the particular two wheeler ? a. Less than 1 year b. 1-2 years c. 2-5years d 5-10years e. Above 10 years

7. Specify the brand of two wheeler do you own ? a. Activa b. Dio c. aviator d. shine e.Dnicorn f.Dazzler g. twister h. Stunner i. CBR250

8. You preferred the particular brand because of a. Price b. Promotion c. Appearance d. Technical Factors e. Any Other (Specify)…………………………………..

9. Who influenced you to purchase the two wheeler ? a.Self b.Family c. Friends d.Advertisement e. Any Other (Specify)

10. Why did you choose ‘Vishnu Honda . a. Local dealer.

b. Service dealer. c. Schemes

43

d. Finance availability. e. Any Other (Specify)………………………

11. Are you satisfied with the Vehicle ?

a. Yes b. No

12. If No. The reason is a. More petrol consumption/less Mileage. b. Less Pick Up c. Non availability of spares d. Any other (Specify)………………………………..

13. How would you rate service offered by ‘Vishnu Honda., for your two wheeler ? a. Excellent b. Good c. Average d. Not satisfied

14. How do you rate the cost of spares and service charges charged by ‘Vishnu Honda , a. Highb. Reasonable c.Competitive

15. Do you prefers to get your Vehicle serviced at Vishnu Honda , after free services also. a. Yes

b. No.

44

BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

45

Philip kotler- Principels of Marketing ,Prention-Hall of India. Pvt ltd New Delhi(1999).

Jagdish N.Sheth Atul Parvatiyar –Relationship Marketing-A division of stage publication New Delhi.(2000).

Philip Kotler- Marketing Management-– (In India, Bangladesh, Nepal).

Pearl , Jack & Robyn. Marketing Channels A Division of Holt, Rinehart & Wiston(1978).

V.V.Rama Swamy,S.Namakumari – Marketing Management(Planning & Implementation & Control)- Rajiv Beri for Macmillan Indian ltd .New Delhi(2002).

www.Honda2wheelers India,com.

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