CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
Report on
Customer Retention at Hyundai Motor India
Ltd.

Submitted to:
Prof. R Sugant
Associate Professor – Marketing
SDMIMD, Mysuru.

By Group 7:
Devaki Skanda – 18010
Megha P - 18054
Tejas Taunad-18085
Vikas J – 18126
Yerpula Haripriya – 18145
Vrishabh Kumar - 18177
1. What are the methods by which Hyundai can identify prospects/ customers?
 Existing customers are their prospective customers as they may buy new car after few
year, hence providing good service to them is important and maintaining their trust
 Having customer engagement activity can fetch them few potential buyers
 Prospective customer can be one who visit their showroom and also they can collect
data from their dealers
 Using secondary data from digital search done by the customer, they can identify the
potential buyer and initiate the engagement with them
 Kiosk can bring in some leads which they can later follow-up using their customer
relation team
With proper CRM in place, it can aid the process of identifying potential customer and
maintain the existing customer for further business.

2. What are the challenges in retaining customers in the automobile industry?

Challenges in automobile industry
 Customers rarely buy car, usually once they buy car they would like to change once in
5 years.
 The customers buy maximum 2 purchases of same brand car, this shows that lifetime
profitability for company by customer comes on from maximum of 2 purchases.
 Most of the results of customer satisfaction about the company comes by providing
after sale services for their car.
 The customers keep shifting from one company to another due to low switching cost in
automobile sector.
 The dealers provide proper service, who are responsible for direct contact with
customers due to decline in margins for them.
 After the sale of car, the company will rarely contact with customers, so retention of a
customers for second purchase is less.
 The automobile sector has high risk of rivals, so the shifting of customers to another
brand is high, hence there is a high risk of capturing the market by competitor.
 The big challenge to the company is to communicate customers constantly to
understand the needs of customers which is a difficult task.
 The change in technology will play the vital role in retaining the customers.
3. What are the customer retention methods adopted by Hero Honda? What are the
reasons behind the success of the same?
 Passport Program was the loyalty program initiated in 2000 by Hero Honda - It
benefited the middle-class people who thought passport was a high inspirational value.
 On the other hand, company would create database to study the consumer behaviour.
 It was renamed by GoodLife program in 2008.
 As charging customers for loyalty program would increase the usage of it.
 Customer touch points were increased (Email, Text messages etc)
 Training sessions were held for the dealers as they maintain a close relationship with
the customers.

4. Why did Maruti’s loyalty card scheme fail? What are the corrective measures taken
by Maruti to overcome the failure?
For the following reasons, Maruti's loyalty card system failed:

 Banking difficulties like loss of credibility for Citibank customers.

 Customer complaints about fraudulent credit card operations.
 General adverse perception of Citi Bank loan cards.
 Customer complaints have not been adequately dealt with.
 Faulty credit card machines from Citi Bank.
 Dealers were unaware of how their Auto Card functions could be performed.
 Involvement and training required by the retailer was lacking throughout the
process.

Maruti's corrective action to solve the failure is as follows:

 Integration of dealers and comprehensive training of dealers

 McCann World group was been selected as the main processing organization to
fulfill all support tasks and maintain a structured database.
 The amount of cards sold was linked to a bonus scheme and managers were driven
by quarterly zonal competitions.
 Promotional Auto Card executives to be allocated to sell the card
5. Should Hyundai launch a loyalty card? Why?
Hyundai should launch a loyalty card as the intensifying competition were taking away
market share from the traditional leaders in India. A long-term customer retention program
was necessary to bind the customers until their next purchase. Ensuring continuous
satisfaction to the customer was essential. Since Hyundai had acquired a good market share
in the Indian market and the sales of the passenger car grew at 12% (CAGR) over the
decade. The company should focus on the retention of the customers and also target to new
and potential customers. The loyalty card should be well planned and structured without
any complications and also a well-trained service enabler with the right technology to
access and benefit the service should be present to enable a smooth functioning and
effectiveness of the loyalty card.

The launching of a well-planned and designed loyalty card will help the company boost the
sales and also retain the customers by providing value added services and satisfaction which
will help the company sell more cars through the loyalty program and keep the customers
within the HMIL network.

6. What customer retention strategies and techniques would you suggest to Hyundai?

 Encourage future repair appointments- Selling a car with a service package leads to a 50%
higher retained margin over the customer lifetime.
 Set reminders to send non business messages to past clients- Birthdays, anniversaries,
holiday greetings.Research client demographics to refine marketing efforts
 Improve client response time
 Design and implement attractive service plans
 Give Loyal Customers a Head Start
When your customers go out of their way to recommend your product or service to others,
let them know that you’ve noticed it and sincerely appreciate it as well. Consumer research
studies have conclusively shown that the biggest pitfall in preventing customer loyalty
programs from succeeding is getting people started in the first place. Another way to
recognize your loyal customers is with a referral program, which gives them a monetary
reward when they refer someone who becomes a customer.

 Meet Expectations First

 Many dealers assume that customer delight can only be achieved by going above and
beyond, providing exceptional service. In truth, showy gestures may not be the way to
trigger customer delight. Studies have shown that customer retention and loyalty improve
when their problems are solved quickly and easily. This should be the goal of your
dealership’s customer service strategy, and if it is followed, you will see customer retention
rates going up automatically. Focus on meeting expectations and avoiding unpleasant
surprises first, and only then go the exotic extra mile.

 Know Your Clients

Having your team spend more time with each customer may seem foolish, but smart car
dealers know that this isn’t true. Numerous studies have shown that customers view their
dealership experience as more positive when they don’t feel ignored or rushed. Have
employees spend time attempting to find out key customer traits, which can then be used to
move the sales process along. Additionally, utilize the conversation channels your
customers prefer the most. Contrary to popular belief, email marketing is still going strong
and has a lot of potential to connect with your client base, if you use it to send out relevant,
interesting information without spamming them.