MARKETING

MANAGEMENT
“TO STUDY THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH
RESPECT TO BIG BAZAAR”
(Assignment towards the partial fulfillment of the assessment in the subject of
Marketing Management)

DATED: - 11 SEPTEMBER, 2012

PREPARED BY: - SUBMITTED TO: -

KARTIKEY JAIN Dr. ARCHI MATHUR

B.B.A. LL.B. (HONS) FACULTY OF

III SEMESTER MANAGEMENT

ROLL NO.: - 866 STUDIES

(ASSOCIATE

PROFESSOR &

ASSISTANT DEAN)

SUMMER SEMESTER (JULY 2012 – NOVEMBER 2012)

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

Page |2
 Page |3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Apart from the efforts put in by me, the success of any project depends largely on the
encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to
the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project.

I would like to show my deepest gratitude to Dr. Archi Mathur, Faculty of Marketing
Management, for giving me an opportunity to work on this project. Without her encouragement
and guidance this project would not have materialized.

I would also like to thank the library staff of NLU Jodhpur for providing me with all the essential
research material which I required during the course of this project.

This acknowledgement will be incomplete without thanking my parents and friends who always
held my back, their encouragement has been instrumental in motivating me and making this
project a success.

Thanking you all once again.

 Page |4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................
SUMMARY.............................................................................................................4
4

OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................................
OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................................................5
5

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................
METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................55

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN RETAIL SECTOR.................................................................

SECTOR.................................................................5
5

BIG BAZAAR.................................................................................................................................
BAZAAR.................................................................................................................................5
5

DATA TABULATION...................................................................................................................
TABULATION...................................................................................................................5
5

ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................
ANALYSIS......................................................................................................................................5
5

CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
5

RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................5
5

ANNEXURES.................................................................................................................................
ANNEXURES.................................................................................................................................5
5

LIMITATIONS................................................................................................................................
LIMITATIONS................................................................................................................................5
5

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................5
5
 Page |5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Customer satisfaction is generally understood as the sense of satisfaction that a consumer feels
when comparing his preliminary expectations with the actual quality of the acquired product.
Thus, satisfaction is closely linked with the quality of the product (service). The quality of
services is extremely difficult to assess, because services is are intangible and heterogeneous. It
is not feasible to develop well-defined quality standards that will allow the manufacturer to
exercise full control and reject "unsuitable" services before they are sold to the consumer. The
direct involvement of consumers in the provision of services leads us to talk about quality not as
the recruitment of certain objective characteristics corresponding to stated standards, but as
quality conceived by the consumer.

“Quality” = “Customer satisfaction” = “Value”/ “Cost”

This definition of quality implies a close relationship between the product or service and the
consumers. In current market conditions, the consumer plays the role of arbiter, so failure will
result if customer satisfaction is not taken into account.
The above defined concept of Customer Satisfaction has been understood with respect to a
supermarket retailing chain, Big Bazaar. In the survey conducted, I came across many factors
that influence the consumers’ perception of a store and their subsequent shopping and buying
decisions. Here, I present a culmination of the findings gathered and the suggestions based on the
data gathered and analyzed.

If set in descending order of influence as indicated by the consumers, the factors can be listed as:
Quality, Affordability, Brand name, All products under one roof, Proximity, Fashion, Loyalty,
Service, Variety and Store atmosphere. These are the factors influencing the satisfaction level of
the customers.

A little more than half of the respondents indicated that they are satisfied with Big Bazaar, while
almost one-forth indicated that they are highly satisfied with the store. However, almost one-
fourth of the number of respondents indicated that they were unsatisfied with Big Bazaar.
 Page |6

This goes to show that although Big Bazaar may have an overall goodwill from the consumers,
there are still some things that they are not doing right. Big Bazaar must identify exactly what the
problem areas are and must address them quickly and swiftly.

OBJECTIVES

 To identify and analyze the factors that influences the buyers to visit Big Bazaar.
 To understand the factors leading to customer satisfaction with respect to Big Bazaar.
 To critically examine the factors leading to customer satisfaction with respect to Big
Bazaar and suggest recommendations, if necessary.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The method of research would be deductive. The nature of data would be both primary and
secondary. The data would be collected through the use of questionnaires. The secondary data
would include information from books, websites, articles etc. The research technique used would
be field study where information would be collected by the use of questionnaires on the topic.
 Page |7

CHAPTER - I

According to Philip Kotler, “satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pressure or

disappointment resulting from product’s perceived performance (outcome) in relation to
his or her expectations. Customer satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state resulting
from comparing a product’s perceived performance (outcome) in relation to the person’s
expectations”.

A major goal of any enterprise is to create a ratings system of customer satisfaction, goods
and services. It is obvious that the company cannot change what is not measured. In order to
get a clearer picture of the preferences of the major consumer groups, this stage should be
based on extensive research, including a variety of interviews and surveys. It is necessary to
know the key benefits, which determine customer satisfaction in the market segment, of the
properties of certain goods and services. It is important to estimate the terms of these
preferences from the viewpoint of the client. This article discusses the importance of
customer satisfaction, and ways of assessing it. 1

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN RETAIL SECTOR

Customer satisfaction is generally understood as the sense of satisfaction that a consumer feels
when comparing his preliminary expectations with the actual quality of the acquired product.
Thus, satisfaction is closely linked with the quality of the product (service). The quality of
services is extremely difficult to assess, because services is are intangible and heterogeneous. It
is not feasible to develop well-defined quality standards that will allow the manufacturer to
exercise full control and reject "unsuitable" services before they are sold to the consumer. The
direct involvement of consumers in the provision of services leads us to talk about quality not as

1
Olga V. Krivobokova, Evaluating Customer Satisfaction as an Aspect of Quality Management, World Academy of
Science, Engineering and Technology,2009
 Page |8

the recruitment of certain objective characteristics corresponding to stated standards, but as

quality conceived by the consumer.

“Quality” = “Customer satisfaction” = “Value”/ “Cost”2

This definition of quality implies a close relationship between the product or service and the
consumers. In current market conditions, the consumer plays the role of arbiter, so failure will
result if customer satisfaction is not taken into account. The potential financial benefits of an
increased number of satisfied customers are often quite substantial. The greater the satisfaction
of the buyer's company, the more willing he will be to buy again from the same provider.
However, these benefits are not immediately apparent, and the company needs to be able to see
the prospects. In contrast, the consequences of consumer dissatisfaction may be felt much faster
and can be very severe. One disappointed buyer will talk about the problems he has encountered
with another 35 potential clients, on average, and this secondary effect can impact future sales.
The production of quality products helps to increase profitability and the return on capital
expenditure. It also increases the prestige of the firm. If its products are widely perceived to be of
high quality, the company need not spend so much on advertising or offer an expensive package
to attract buyers.

The interests of manufacturers in improving the quality of products are as follows:

 Promote their products to new markets, expand market share;

 Increase labor productivity by eliminating the shortcomings of technological processes,
reducing defects;
 Reduce the risk of loss during the warranty period;
 Obtain a higher profit.

2
T.Glushakova, Evaluation of Customer Satisfaction and Company Management, Ri-Vita Marketing
 Page |9

For the manufacturer, the quality of the company’s product is the determining factor in all its
industrial and economic activities. The process of improving quality has to be aimed at
consumers. In this task, the manufacturer must do the following:

 Identify customers and define their requirements for products;

 Transform the customer requirements into technical terms;
 Identify the stages in the technological process of manufacturing products, and develop
criteria of the process;
 Assess the results and the level of customer satisfaction.

It is important to provide for the customer:3

 User-friendly and reliable devices

 Qualified technical services on time
 Characteristics that correspond to product prices

Typically, improved quality of a product is accompanied by an increase in the cost of

establishing it, but this trend can be reduced by using scientific and technological advances, by
introducing innovations, by improving the production management, and by increasing labor
productivity. Moral aging of products also leads to a relative decrease in quality, though the cost
of production remains unchanged.

This satisfaction level is a function of difference between perceived performance and

expectations. If the product’s performance, exceed expectation the customer highly satisfied or
delighted. If the performance matches the expectations the customer is satisfied. If the products
performance fall shorts of expectations the customer is dissatisfied.

1. Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who are just
satisfied still find it easy to switch when a better offer comes along. High satisfaction or
delight creates an emotional affinity with brand.

3
A. Nikiforov, Quality Management, Drofa, 2004
 P a g e | 10

2. Variety of factors that affect customer satisfaction includes product quality, product
availability and after sales support such as warranties and services. Customer satisfaction
is seen as a proof of delivering a quality product or service. It is believed that customer
satisfaction brings sales growth, and market share. A company can always increase
customer satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services but this may result in
lower profits. Thus the purpose of marketing is to generate customer value profitability.
3. India is on the threshold of a new millennium. India chose for global economy, exposing
her to winds of change in the market place, which has expanded vastly and become
fiercely competitive. In the changed environment, decision makers view the marketing
concept as the key to success. Marketing in practice has to manage products, pricing,
promotion and distribution.
4. A successful product can be developed by exploding these opportunities. While
delivering the value of the consumer we make use of marketing support. This support is
based on the knowledge of consumers and distribution. Marketing support both at the
introduction of products and maturing is considered
5. Marketing, as suggested by the American Marketing Association is "an organizational
function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to
customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization
and its stakeholders".
6. The two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers (acquisition)
and the retention and expansion of relationships with existing customers (base
management). Marketing methods are informed by many of the social, particularly
psychology, sociology, and economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing,
influence. Market research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also
related to many of the creative arts.
7. For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps" i.e. product, price, place,
promotion must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market.
Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they don't want is extremely
expensive and seldom successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal
and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for.
Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive advantage.
 P a g e | 11

Marketing management is the practical application of this process. The offer is also an
important addition to the 4P's theory.

SKILLS OF MARKETER

Marketers have 4 main skill sets that they bring to an enterprise:

1. Opportunity Identification
Marketing begins before there is a product to sell. Many people think marketing is just
selling whatever comes out of the manufacturing plant. It's the job of marketing to decide
WHAT comes out of the manufacturing plant in the first place. Before a business can
make money there must be opportunities for money to be made and it's marketing's job to
define what those opportunities are. Marketers analyze markets, market gaps, trends,
products, competition, and distribution channels to come up with opportunities to make
money.

2. Competitive strategy/positioning

Markets consist of groups of competitors competing for a customer's business. The job of
marketing is to decide how to create a defensible sustainable competitive advantage against
competitors. Marketers conceive strategies, tactics, and business models to make it hard if
not impossible for competition to take away customers from their business.

3. Demand generation/management

It's the job of marketing to create and sustain demand for a company's products. Marketers
manage demand for a company's products by influencing the probability and frequency of
their customer's purchase behavior.

4. Sales

The ultimate goal of marketing is to make money for a business. In most company’s sales is a
different discipline and department from marketing. But in order for salespeople to have any
 P a g e | 12

long term success in a company they must be led by marketing. The better job a company
does of identifying opportunities, creating a differential sustainable competitive advantage,
and generating demand for their products the easier it will be for salespeople to make sales.

EVALUATION METHOD OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Evaluations of customer satisfaction are based on an examination of two major factors:

Firstly, how well the staff of organizations focused on the consumer understand the relationship
between consumer satisfaction and stability of consumers on the one hand, and profit on the
other. Employees of these organizations know how to use market research in order to achieve a
competitive advantage. However, they are aware that there is no simple model of management
and no research methodology that will give a clear and unambiguous answer to the question:
what drives customer satisfaction and consumer constancy?

Secondly, the business device that helps the organization to understand problems related to the
perception, attitude and behavior of their customers. Some of these tools are located inside the
company, and others are located in the professional agencies involved in market research. Those
two teams have to cooperate with each other to help customer-oriented companies fully realize
their potential. To achieve this goal, market researchers should be the “right hand” of business,
rather than just “information providers”. Market researchers must therefore extend their
knowledge into other business disciplines: from finance to manufacturing processes, from
marketing to strategic planning, and from the relationships among employees to customer
service.

Options for analyses:

 Non-recurrent - Individual assessment of customer satisfaction is used to compare a

product or service with the products or services of major competitors
 Periodic (every three, six or twelve months) - Periodic evaluation of customer satisfaction
is applied in order to compare the product/service with the products/services of
competitors, to evaluate the dynamics of changes in satisfaction that occurred following
the market activities or implementation of changes, etc.
 P a g e | 13

In the case of a periodic study, the customer satisfaction rating is evaluated on the basis of a
comparison of the composition (conditions of selection, sex, age, etc.) and the size of consumer
audiences.

In the evaluation, the following indicators are measured:

 Overall satisfaction with products/services
 Satisfaction with the parameters of a product or service (an example of the attributes -
price, range of assortment, speed of supply, shopping convenience, etc.)
 The parameters of the product/service are based either on results of earlier studies (e.g.,
quality) or they are established by an expert.

The method can be expanded by including in the study not only an evaluation of satisfaction with
the various parameters of a product or service, and also an evaluation of the importance each
parameter to the consumer. Methods for evaluating satisfaction with a product/service provide an
opportunity to:
 Evaluate the overall satisfaction of customers
 Identify “narrow” points of a product or service (i.e., aspects that do not evoke enough
satisfaction)

In addition, the evaluation of customer satisfaction with a product or service provides an

opportunity to:

 Evaluate the importance that consumers attach to a particular parameter

 Define the strategic direction of work with the parameters of a product or service4

It is therefore advisable to use several methods simultaneously. It is important to remember that

when choosing the direction for improving the company it is necessary not only to have a
reliable evaluation of satisfaction, but also to take into account the importance for clients of each
of the criteria by which they evaluate the effectiveness of the company.
4
Cronin J.J. and Taylor S.A., Measuring Service Quality - A Reexamination And Extension, Journal of Marketing,
Vol 56 (July 1992), pp.55-68
 P a g e | 14

1. The Likert scale, Likert’s multi-evaluation method, in which respondents have to make
choices, using the suggested answers: completely satisfied, somewhat satisfied, etc.
2. The Importance-Satisfaction (I-S) model.
3. SIMALTO (Simultaneous Multi-Attribute Level Trade-Off) - a descriptive verbal scale5;
4. Customer Satisfaction Measurement

Customer satisfaction affects the efficiency of the company’s operation as a whole. Statistics
confirm that the cost of attracting new customers is many times higher than the cost of retaining
existing customers (depending on the business sector, but in the service sector this is the most
important parameter). The current service market leaves no other choice, because of:
1. Excess supply - A wide range of services in the market makes consumers more readable
and weaker
2. High quality - The massive improvement in the quality of products and services as a
result of the development of new management systems in all market segments.
3. Information - Modern consumers have almost full information about products and
services and are able to compare prices, the characteristics of the goods, etc. They can
adequately assess what value they get for their money.
4. Education - The rising level of education has led to the formation of consumer confidence
in their range of consumer rights
5. Service suppliers - Suppliers are forced to engage in tough competition for each
customer, and therefore make more efforts to meet the requirements of customers.6

Thus objective and accurate indicators of customer satisfaction are the best and the main
indicator of consumer loyalty.

METHOD TO MEASURE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Companies use the following methods to measure customer satisfaction.

5
K.Seryakov, Four Methods of Customer Satisfaction Evaluation, Business Excellence Magazine
6
I.Vasiljeva, Customer Satisfaction Measurement
 P a g e | 15

1. Complaints and suggestion system: companies obtaining complaints through their

customer service centres, and further suggestions were given by customers to satisfy their
desires.
2. Customer satisfaction surveys

Responsive companies obtain a direct measure of customer satisfaction by periodic

surveys. They send questionnaires to random sample of their customers to find out how
they feel about various aspects of the company’s performance and also solicit views on
their competitor’s performance. It is useful to measure the customer’s willingness to
recommend the company and brand to other persons.

3. Lost Customer Analysis

Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or who have switched to
another supplier to learn why this happened.

4. Consumer Behavior Vs Consumption Behavior

Consumer behavior refers to the manner in which an individual reaches decision related
to the selection, purchases and use of goods and services. Walters and Paul says that,
consumer behavior is the process where by the individuals decides what, when, how and
from whom to purchase goods & services.

Consumer behavior relates to an individual person (Micro behavior) where as

consumption behavior relates to and to the mass or aggregate of individuals (Macro
behavior) consumers behavior as a study focuses on the decision process of the individual
consumer or consuming unit such as the family.

In contrast the consumption behavior as a study is to do with the explanation of the

behavior of the aggregate of consumers or the consuming unit. Consumer is a pivot,
around which the entire system of marketing revolves. The study of buyer behavior is one
of the most important keys to successful mark.
 P a g e | 16

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The most obvious reason why companies have to worry about customer satisfaction is that they
need customers to be ready to repurchase their services in future. A positive evaluation of
products that have been purchased helps to retain customers. People who evaluate a product or
service negatively are unlikely to use them and pay for them again. It is usually cheaper to retain
existing clients than to attract new ones. Therefore, companies focus on ensuring that their
customers have a satisfactory experience of using their products.

Frustrated consumers not only have a negative experience and share it with their friends and
relatives, but may even go to court to seek redress. Companies will receive negative publicity
that will affect their prestige and will require extra effort, time and money to be invested in
protecting the reputation of the business, including dealing with court cases and the press. In a
tough competitive environment, rival firms can take advantage of the situation.

“The gulf between satisfied customers and completely satisfied customers can swallow a

business.”
 P a g e | 17

CHAPTER - II

BIG BAZAAR

Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarket in India. As of June 2, 2012 there are 214 stores across 90
cities and towns in India covering around 16 million square feet of retail space. Big Bazaar is
designed as an agglomeration of bazaars or Indian markets with clusters offering a wide range of
merchandise including fashion and apparels, food products, general merchandise, furniture,
electronics, books, fast food and leisure and entertainment sections.

Big Bazaar is part of Future Group, which also owns the Central Hypermarket, Brand Factory,
Pantaloons, eZONE, HomeTown, futurebazaar.com, KB's Fair Price to name a few and is owned
through a wholly owned subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail India Limited(BSE: 523574 523574),
that is listed on Indian stock exchanges.

Big Bazaar has clearly emerged as the favorite shopping destination for millions of its
consumers, across the country, it’s success is a true testament to the emotional bonding it has
established with the Indian consumer, on account of its value offerings, aspirational appeal and
service levels.

Shop till you drop! Big Bazaar has democratized shopping in India and is so much more than a
hypermarket. Here, you will find over 170,000 products under one roof that cater to every need
of a family, making Big Bazaar India’s favorite shopping destination.
 P a g e | 18

At Big Bazaar, you will get the best products at the best prices from apparel to general
merchandise like plastics, home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods, car
accessories, books and music, computer accessories and many, many more.

Big Bazaar is the destination where you get products available at prices lower than the MRP,
setting a new level of standard in price, convenience and quality.

If you are a fashion conscious buyer who wants great clothes at great prices, Big Bazaar is the
place to be. Leveraging on the company’s inherent strength of fashion, Big Bazaar has created a
strong value-for-money proposition for its customers. This highlights the uniqueness of Big
Bazaar as compared to traditional hypermarkets, which principally revolve around food,
groceries and general merchandise.

Boasting of an impressive array of private labels, Big Bazaar is continually striving to provide
customers with a ‘complete’ look. So be it men’s wear, women’s wear, kids wear, sportswear or
party wear, Big Bazaar fashions has it all!

HISTORY

Big Bazaar was launched in September, 2001 with the opening of its first four stores in Calcutta,
Indore, Bangalore and Hyderabad in 22 days. Within a span of ten years, there are now 161 Big
Bazaar stores in 90 cities and towns across India. By September 2012 BIG BAZAAR will have
two more stores in North east namely SILCHAR and JORHAT in Assam.

Big Bazaar was started by Kishore Biyani, the Group CEO and Managing Director of Pantaloon
Retail India. Though Big Bazaar was launched purely as a fashion format including apparel,
cosmetics, accessory and general merchandise, over the years Big Bazaar has included a wide
range of products and service offerings under their retail chain. The current formats include Big
Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Electronic Bazaar and Furniture Bazaar. The inspiration behind this entire
retail format was from Saravana Stores, a local store in T. Nagar, Chennai
 P a g e | 19

The stores are customized to provide the feel of mandis and melas while offering the modern
retail features like Quality, Choice and Convenience. As the modern Indian family's favorite
retail store, Big Bazaar is popularly known as the "Indian Walmart".

On successful completion of ten years in Indian retail industry, in 2011, Big Bazaar has come up
a new logo with a new tag line: ‘Naye India Ka Bazaar’, replacing the earlier one: 'Isse Sasta Aur
Accha Kahin Nahin'.

STRATEGY

3-C Theory

According to Kishore Biyani's 3-C theory, Change and Confidence among the entire population
is leading to rise in Consumption, through better employment and income which in turn is
creating value to the agricultural products across the country. Big Bazaar has divided India into
three segments:

India one: Consuming class which includes upper middle and lower middle class (14% of India's
population).

India two: Serving class which includes people like drivers, household helps, office peons,
liftmen, washermen, etc. (55% of India's population) and

India three: Struggling class (remaining 31% of India's population).

While Big Bazaar is targeted at the population across India one and India two segments, Aadhaar
Wholesale is aimed at reaching the population in India three segment. With this, Future Group
emerged as a retail destination for consumers across all classes in the Indian society.

OPERATIONS
 P a g e | 20

Most Big Bazaar stores are multi-level and are located in stand-alone buildings in city centers as
well as within shopping malls. These stores offer over 200,000 SKUs in a wide range of
categories led primarily by fashion and food products.

Food Bazaar, a supermarket format was incorporated within Big Bazaar in 2002 and is now
present within every Big Bazaar as well as in independent locations. A typical Big Bazaar is
spread across around 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of retail space. While the larger metropolises
have Big Bazaar Family centres measuring between 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) and 160,000
square feet (15,000 m2), Big Bazaar Express stores in smaller towns measure around 30,000
square feet (2,800 m2).

Big Bazaar has the facility to purchase products online through its official web page, and offers
free shipping on some of their products.

INNOVATIONS

Wednesday Bazaar

Big Bazaar introduced the Wednesday Bazaar concept and promoted it as “Hafte Ka Sabse Sasta
Din”. It was mainly to draw customers to the stores on Wednesdays, when least number of
customers is observed. According to the chain, the aim of the concept is "to give home makers
the power to save the most and even the stores in the city don a fresh look to make customers
feel that it is their day".

Sabse Sasta Din

With a desire to achieve sales of Rs 26 Crore in a one single day, Big Bazaar introduced the
concept of "Sabse Sasta Din". The idea was to simply create a day in a year that truly belonged
to Big Bazaar. This was launched on January 26, 2006 and the result was exceptional that police
had to come in to control the mammoth crowd. The concept was such a huge hit that the offer
was increased from one day to three days in 2009 (24 to 26 Jan) and to five days in 2011 (22-26
Jan).
 P a g e | 21

Maha Bachat

Maha Bachat was started off in 2006 as a single day campaign with attractive promotional offers
across all Big Bazaar stores. Over the years it has grown into a 6 days biannual campaign. It has
attractive offers in all its value formats such as Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Electronic Bazaar and
Furniture Bazaar - catering to the entire needs of a consumer.

The Great Exchange Offer

On February 12, 2009 Big Bazaar launched "The Great Exchange Offer", through with the
customers can exchange their old goods in for Big Bazaar coupons. Later, consumers can redeem
these coupons for brand new goods across the nation.

TIMELINE

2001

 Three Big Bazaar stores launched within a span of 22 days in Kolkata, Bangalore and
Hyderabad.

2002

 Big Bazaar - ICICI Bank Card is launched.

 Food Bazaar becomes part of Big Bazaar with the launch of the first store in Mumbai at
High Street Phoenix

2003

 Big Bazaar enters Tier II cities with the launch of the store in Nagpur
 Big Bazaar welcomes its 10 million-th customer at its new store in Gurgaon

2004
 P a g e | 22

 Big Bazaar wins its first award and national recognition. Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar
awarded the country’s most admired retailer award in value retailing and food retailing
segment at the India Retail Forum
 A day before Diwali, the store at Lower Parel becomes the first to touch Rs 10 million
turnover on a single day

2005

 Initiates the implementation of SAP and pilots a RFID project at its central warehouse in
Tarapur
 Launches a unique shopping program: the Big Bazaar Exchange Offer, inviting
customers to exchange household junk at Big Bazaar
 Electronic Bazaar and Furniture Bazaar are launched
 Big Bazaar and ICICI Bank launched ICICI Bank-Big Bazaar Gold credit card program
to reward its loyal customers.

2006

 Mohan Jadhav sets a national record at Big Bazaar Sangli with a Rs 1,37,367 shopping
bill. The Sangli farmer becomes Big Bazaar’s largest ever customer.
 Big Bazaar launches Shakti, India’s first credit card program tailored for housewives
 Navaras – the jewellery store launched within Big Bazaar stores

2007

 The 50th Big Bazaar store is launched in Kanpur

 Big Bazaar partners with Futurebazaar.com to launch India's most popular shopping
portal
 Big Bazaar initiates the "Power of One" campaign to help raise funds for the Save The
Children India Fund
 Pantaloon Retail wins the International Retailer of the Year at US-based National Retail
Federation convention in New York and Emerging Retailer of the Year award at the
World Retail Congress held in Barcelona.
 P a g e | 23

2008

 Big Bazaar becomes the fastest growing hypermarket format in the world with the launch
of its 101st store within 7 years of launch
 Big Bazaar dons a new look with a fresh new section, Fashion@Big Bazaar
 Big Bazaar joins the league of India’s Business Super brands. It is voted among the top
ten service brands in the country in the latest Pitch-IMRB international survey
 Big Bazaar initiated the Mega Saving "Monthly Bachat Bazaar" campaign, to provide
exceptional deals on groceries and food items during the first week of every month.

2009

 Big Bazaar opens its second store in Assam at Tinsukia

 Big Bazaar initiates Maha Annasantarpane program at its stores in South India – a unique
initiative to offer meals to visitors and support local social organizations
 Big Bazaar captures almost one-third share in food and grocery products sold through
modern retail in India
 Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Asin, youth icons of India, were chosen as the brand
ambassadors of Big Bazaar
 Big Bazaar announced the launch of 'The Great Exchange Offer'
 Formed a joint venture with Hidesign to launch Holii, a new brand of handbags, laptop
bags and other accessories.

2010

 Future Value Retail Limited is formed as a specialized subsidiary to spearhead the

group’s value retail business through Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and other formats.
 Big Bazaar wins CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards for the third consecutive year.
Adjudged the Most Preferred Multi Brand Food & Beverage Chain, Most Preferred Multi
Brand Retail Outlet and Most Preferred Multi Brand One Stop Shop
 Big Bazaar connects over 30,000 small and medium Indian manufacturers and
entrepreneurs with around 200 million customers visiting its stores
 Big Bazaar opens its third store in Kanpur at Z Square Mall
 P a g e | 24

 Big Bazaar opens its fourth store in Kanpur at Jajmau which is the largest leather tannery
garrison of Asia
 Vidya Balan was chosen as the brand ambassador of Big Bazaar's Price Challenge
exercise
 Ranked 6 among the Top 50 Service Brands in India.

2011

 Big Bazaar forays into the rural wholesale and distribution business through ‘Aadhaar
Wholesale’ store at Kalol, Gujarat.
 Big Bazaar has come up a new logo with a new tag line: ‘Naye India Ka Bazaar’.
 200th store opened in India.
 Future Group has launched its latest venture, Foodhall – a premium food destination
across 10 metros in India
 For the convenience of the online customers, Big Bazaar has started free shipping on all
orders above Rs. 1000
 Entered into an agreement with Hindustan Unilever to co-develop and co-brand bakery
products, which would be sold exclusively at Big Bazaar stores.

2012

 Big Bazaar entered into a five year multi-million dollar deal with Cognizant Technology
Solutions for IT infrastructure services that support Future Group's network of stores,
warehouses, offices, and data centers.
 Partnered with Disney to launch "Kidz Cookies", exclusively for kids across India.
 Big Bazaar is planning to add further value to its retail services by offering Value added
services like grinding, de-seeding, vegetables cutting at free of cost.
 P a g e | 25

CUSTOMER PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS

GUIDELINES

Problem Identification 2. Involve Managers - Who manage process that touch

3. Do customers
Customer research
Identify a problem faced by customer. Regarding problem faced & customer history if pos

ecord keeping of various problem & solution provided for future reference. 4. Find Alternatives
Various solutions, which can be provided for problem

sfaction level. 6. Implementation. 5. Select the best solution.

Take
e level of customer satisfaction; appointment,
whether he/she ispersonally
delighted?meet the customer
Select and provide solution.
the optimum solution considering customer lifeti
 P a g e | 26

CHAPTER - III

DATA TABULATION

1. HOW DO YOU RATE BIG BAZAAR PRICES?

BIG BAZAAR PRICES

10% 10%

Excellent
Very Good
10% 50% Good
Fair
Poor

20%
 P a g e | 27

2. HOW DO YOU RATE QUALITY & VARIETY OF PRODUCT?

QUALITY AND VARIETY OF PRODUCTS

10% 10%

Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree/Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
20% 60%
 P a g e | 28

3. HOW DO YOU RATE OUR OFFERS & DISCOUNTS?

OFFERS AND DISCOUNTS

10%

40%
Strongly Agree
Agree
30% Neither Agree/Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

20%
 P a g e | 29

4. HOW DO YOU RATE STAFF’S BEHAVIOR?

STAFF BEHAVIOR
20%
10% 10%

Excellent
Very Good
10% Good
Fair
Poor

50%
 P a g e | 30

5. HOW DO YOU RATE STORE’S AMBIENCE & CLEANLINESS?

AMBIENCE AND CLEANLINESS

10% 10%

Strongly Agree
Agree
50%
Neither Agree/Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
20%

10%
 P a g e | 31

6. HOW DO YOU RATE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK & IN-STORE

ANNOUNCEMENTS?

OFFERS AND DISCOUNTS

10% 10% 10%

Strongly Agree
Agree
30% Neither Agree/Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

40%
 P a g e | 32

7. HOW WAS YOUR BILLING EXPERIENCE?

BILLING EXPERIENCE

10% 10%

40%
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree/Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
20%

20%
 P a g e | 33

8. HOW DO YOU RATE SECURITY’S BEHAVIOR?

SECURITY BEHAVIOR
20%
10%

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
40%

30%
 P a g e | 34

9. HOW WAS YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE IN STORE?

OVERALL EXPERIENCE
10% 30%

20%
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

20% 20%
 P a g e | 35

10. HOW DO YOU RATE PARKING FACILITY AT BIG-BAZAAR?

PARKING FACILITY
30% 30%

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

10% 20% 10%

 P a g e | 36

11. WHICH IS THE FACTOR THAT APPEALS YOU THE MOST?

Most Influencing Factor

10%
5% 30%

10% Quality
Brand
Price
Store Layout
Proximity
5% One-Stop Shop
Staff Behavior

25% 15%
 P a g e | 37

CHAPTER - IV

ANALYSIS

There are several ways to gather input from customers. The simplest way to find out how
customers’ feel about the brand is to gather information through questionnaire. If you have only
20 customers, you can talk to each one personally. The advantage of this approach is that you'll
get a personal "feel" for each customer.

The disadvantage is that you'll gather different information from each customer depending on
how the conversation goes.

Therefore, in order to overcome the disadvantage, a close-ended questionnaire has been prepared
using measurement tools such as Likert’s Scale and Rating Scale. Customer surveys with
standardized survey question insure that you will collect the same information from everyone.
Remember that few of your customers will be interested in "filling out a questionnaire". It's work
for them without much reward. By launching a customer survey as an attempt to find out "how
we can serve you better" -- your customers will feel less put upon.

Here are a few of the possible dimensions that one could measure:

 Quality of product
 Pricing
 Offers and discounts
 Staff’s behavior
 Complaints or problems
 Billing experience
 Security’s behavior
 Store’s ambience & cleanliness
 Overall experience in store
 Parking Facility
 P a g e | 38

Using satisfaction Surveys to achieve a Competitive advantage

Consider these statistics:

 Only 4% of all customers with problems complain

 The average person with a problem eventually tells 9 other people
 Satisfied patients and customers tell 5 other people about their good treatment
 Cost of acquiring a new customer is usually 5-7 times greater than retaining current ones
 Cost of hiring and training a new employee is up to 10 times greater than retaining
current ones.

These facts underscore the need to satisfy your current customers so they remain with your
organization. Ensuring their satisfaction is vital to your long-term business survival and
profitability. The technology available to both you and your competitors has made it easier to
duplicate each other’s products or services.

Because of this, it is increasingly difficult to rely on features alone to differentiate yourself from
the competition. Excellent customer satisfaction is one of the few ways to achieve a sustainable
competitive advantage.

Satisfaction (and dissatisfaction) affects your organizations bottom line

The value of satisfaction is often underestimated. Loyal customers affect an organization’s

success, which can be difficult to quantify. Loyal customers grow your business by increasing
market share. Over a lifetime, a loyal customer purchases more, purchases at a premium (they
are less sensitive to price), costs less to sell to, and refers your business to others.

An essential part of assessing satisfaction includes identifying dissatisfaction. Dissatisfied

customers often hold the information you need to succeed. Understanding when and why
dissatisfaction occurs, helps you implement changes to gain and retain future customers. No
matter what type of business you are in, surveys are an important tool to help you collect the
information you need to understand and evaluate satisfaction.
 P a g e | 39

Questionnaire Analysis

The questionnaire is close-ended and most of the questions are based on Likert’s Scale and
Rating Scale for objective measurement. Since there is no standard tool for measuring
satisfaction, therefore, the above questionnaire has been prepared for objective analysis. This
questionnaire has been filled by 20 random Big Bazaar’s customers without prejudiced by age,
sex, race caste or religion.

 The first pie diagram deals with the prices of products sold by Big Bazaar. As per the
findings, 80% of the customers are satisfied with the pricing of the hyper-market. Rest
20% of the respondents feel that prices not justifying the quality.
 The second pie diagram deals with quality and variety of products offered by Big Bazaar.
This is the most satisfying prospect for the organization as 90% of the customers feel that
quality offered is very good.
 The third pie diagram deals with offers and discounts. The survey says that 60% agree
that the offers and discounts are one of the major constituents determining the levels of
satisfaction whereas 40% doesn’t agree.
 The fourth pie diagram deals with behavior of the staff employed in the retail store. 80%
of the survey population says that the behavior is decent whereas 20% of the respondents
say that the staff behavior is rude and indecent. This aspect also influences satisfaction
levels; therefore, it is good for the organization as majority is in favor.
 The fifth pie diagram deals with the ambience and cleanliness of the retail chain. As per
50% of the sample, it plays a very important role in determining satisfaction of the
customers whereas 20% of the customers think it to be an unimportant factor. Rest of the
population of the survey is indifferent towards this factor of satisfaction.
 The sixth pie diagram deals with customer desk service and in-store announcements. 40%
of respondents do not care about the announcements. 20% of them say that it is a good
feature and 40% of them don’t agree with announcements made. They feel that the sound
is unclear and hazy and this needs to be worked upon.
 The seventh pie diagram deals with billing experience. 60% of the respondents say that
the billing experience is not at all satisfactory. The long queue and the inefficiency of the
 P a g e | 40

billing staff is a prospect which harms the reputation of the store. 20% of the sample is
fine with it and rests of the respondents are indifferent.
 The eighth pie diagram deals with the behavior of security personnel. The number of
respondents favoring are equal to number who are against it. Therefore, since everybody
has to go through security checks this prospect is also lowering down the satisfaction
levels of the customers.
 The ninth pie diagram deals with overall experience in the store. 20% of the customers
say that the overall experience was good, 20% of them say it was very good, 30% say it
to be excellent and rest say it to be bad.
 The tenth pie diagram deals with parking facility at the store. As per the 60% of the
respondents, the parking spacious and more uniform and systematic. Rest of the sample
says that it is not very much hazzle free.
 The last pie diagram deals with the factors which influences the satisfaction level of the
buyers. The order of preference of the respondents is as below:
o 30% - Quality
o 25% - Price
o 15% - Brand
o 10% - Proximity & One-Stop Shop
o 5% - Store Layout & Staff Behavior


 P a g e | 41

CHAPTER – V

CONCLUSION

Big bazaar is a major shopping complex for today’s customers. It is a place where customers find
variety of products at a reasonable price. Big bazaar has a good reputation of itself in the market.
It has positioned itself in the market as a discounted store. It holds a huge customer base. The
majority of customers belong to middle class family. The youth generation also likes shopping
and moving around big bazaar. Volume sales always take place in big bazaar. Impulse buying
behavior of customers comes in to play most of the times in big bazaar.

Big bazaar is a hypermarket as it provides various kinds of goods like apparels, grocery,
stationary, food items, electronic items, leather items, watches, jewellery, crockery, decorative
items, sport items, chocolates and many more. It competes with all the specialty stores of
different products which provide goods at a discounted rate all through the year. It holds a large
customer base and it seemed from the study that the customers are quite satisfied with big
bazaar. As of now there are 30+ big bazaars in different cities of India, it seems that there is a
vast growth of big bazaar lying as customers demand is increasing for big bazaars.

PROS:

1. Variety: Big Bazaar offers a wide variety of products of different prices and different
qualities satisfying most of its customers.
2. Quality: Providing quality at low prices and having different types of products for
different income customers is another advantage.
3. Price: As noted the prices and offers in Big Bazaar have been one of the main attractions
and reasons for its popularity. The price ranges and the products offered are very
satisfying to the customers.
4. Location: The location of Big Bazaar has been mainly in the heart of the city or in the out
skirts giving a chance to both the City and the people living outside the city to shop.
 P a g e | 42

5. Advertisements: Big bazaar has endorsed very popular figure like M S Dhoni and other
famous personalities which has attracted a lot of customers. This has resulted in increase
of sale and the outdoor advertising techniques have also helped Big Bazaar.
6. Middle class appeal: Considering the fact that there are a lot middle class families in
India, Big bazaar has had a huge impact on the middle class section of India, the prices,
quality and sales strategy has helped in getting the middle income groups getting
attracted towards Big Bazaar.
7. Attractive sales: Big bazaar has been known for its great sale and great offers. Big bazaar
has had long lines of people waiting to get into the store for the sale. Therefore, the sales
that Big Bazaar has had has increased sales in a huge way due to the sales and offers, thus
this has been one of the main advantages of Big Bazaar.

CONS:

1. Store layout: The store layout and the assortment of goods is not the best at Big Bazaar,
as the quantity of goods sold is more the arrangement and assortment of goods in the
store is the greatest. Hence at times customers find it hard to find what they require, this
leads to dissatisfaction of customers.
2. Lower quality of goods: As Big bazaar aims more toward the middle income group, the
quality of goods is not of the highest quality, and this is sometimes a disadvantage as
some would prefer better quality to the price, making customers to search for different
places. Moreover, as the sore is trying to concentrate on the middle income group the
type of products used is not of the most superior quality and most of the times nor
branded, this may dissatisfy certain customers
3. Does not appeal to the elite: As mentioned above, the main customers are middle income
and a few high income groups, the elite do not like to shop at Big Bazaar as the quality of
goods is lower and they would prefer a higher price and get a better brand, this decreases
sales from the elite class
4. Not acclaimed for very good service: Big Bazaar is not known for high class service. The
staff recruited is not very well trained and the billing queues take a long time to move,
this irritates customers which makes them visit the store more seldom
 P a g e | 43

5. Consumer satisfaction: Long queues and lower quality leads to dissatisfaction of

customers. Due to factors mentioned above Big Bazaar shoppers are not always satisfied,
this is not a positive for the store.

Therefore, in order to keep its brand image and improve the level of satisfaction, these cons
must be countered through policy decisions and provide greater services to the customers
through improvised mechanisms and greater choice.
 P a g e | 44

CHAPTER - VI

RECOMMENDATIONS

 Billing should be hassle free.

 There should be no security hassles before entering the store.
 There should be a delivery desk so that Customer receives the goods from delivery desk
and does not have to carry the same.
 Home delivery should provide with area limitations.
 Allow the carrying of water bottles in the store.
 There should be a customer care number to solve any problems faced by customers.
 Parking should be more spacious, organized and hassle free.
 The announcements must be audible.
 The staff should be properly trained and must be polite.
 Increase the range of other company product, especially in apparels and food items.
 Big bazaar should include more of branded products its product category so as to attract
the brand choosy people to come in to big bazaar.
 It should make different cash counters for different customers. Cash counter and credit
card payment counter should be placed differently in order to reduce the rush and save
the customer’s time. This will be a kind of motivator for the customers of big bazaar.
 During the off peak hour’s big bazaar should provide some offers to its customers so that
people would be encouraged to come to big bazaar during off peak hours. The customers
who are present in the mall during the off peak hours of big bazaar will definitely go in to
big bazaar if surprise offers are made at that time.


 P a g e | 45

ANNEXURES

QUESTIONNAIRE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

(USING LIKERT’S SCALE AND RATING SCALE)

NAME: - ……………………………………………..
ADDRESS: - ………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………..

1. HOW DO YOU RATE BIG BAZAAR PRICES?

o Excellent

o Very Good

o Good

o Fair

o Poor

2. HOW DO YOU RATE QUALITY & VARIETY OF PRODUCT?

o Strongly Agree

o Agree

o Neither Agree/Disagree
 P a g e | 46

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

3. HOW DO YOU RATE BIG-BAZAAR’S OFFERS & DISCOUNTS?

o Strongly Agree

o Agree

o Neither Agree/Disagree

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

4. HOW DO YOU RATE STAFF’S BEHAVIOR?

o Excellent

o Very Good

o Good

o Fair

o Poor

5. HOW DO YOU RATE STORE’S AMBIENCE & CLEANLINESS?

 P a g e | 47

o Strongly Agree

o Agree

o Neither Agree/Disagree

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

6. HOW DO YOU RATE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK & IN-STORE

ANNOUNCEMENTS?

o Strongly Agree

o Agree

o Neither Agree/Disagree

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

7. HOW WAS YOUR BILLING EXPERIENCE?

o Strongly Agree

o Agree
 P a g e | 48

o Neither Agree/Disagree

o Disagree

o Strongly Disagree

8. HOW DO YOU RATE SECURITY’S BEHAVIOR?

o Excellent

o Very Good

o Good

o Fair

o Poor

9. HOW WAS YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE IN STORE?

o Excellent

o Very Good

o Good

o Fair

o Poor

10. HOW DO YOU RATE THE PARKING FACILITY AT BIG-BAZAAR?

 P a g e | 49

o Excellent

o Very Good

o Good

o Fair

o Poor

11. WHICH IS THE FACTOR THAT APPEALS YOU THE MOST?

o Quality

o Brand

o Price

o Store Layout

o Proximity

o One-Stop Shop

o Staff Behavior

12. WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
 P a g e | 50

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………
 P a g e | 51

LIMITATIONS
These are limitations with respect to the market survey and the instruments used for the market
research.
 The study is limited to the areas of Jodhpur.
 Data collected is based on questionnaire and other secondary information.
 The information collected by the method adopted is limited.
 Non availability of adequate data also limited the scope of the study to some extent.
 Respondents were reluctant to go into details because of their busy schedules.
 The result would be varying according to the individuals as well as time.
 Some respondents hesitated to give the actual situation.
 The findings and conclusions are based on knowledge and experience of the respondents
sometime may subject to bias.
 Some respondents level of seriousness while filling the Questionnaire is doubted
(although effort was made to make the process more interactive and interesting).
 Since there is no standard scale to measure level of satisfaction, therefore, the findings
cannot be said to be accurate.
 Due to time constraint and other imperative work load during the t period it could not be
made possible to explore more area of concern pertaining to study.
 Also impossible for company to prove information is confidential.
 Due to fast pace of life, some customers were not able to do justification to the
questionnaire.
 P a g e | 52

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Books: -

1. Kotler Philips, Marketing Management, 11th Edition, Prentice Hall of India, 2002;
2. C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd revised
Edition, New Age International Publishers, 2008
3. Derek R. Allen, Customer Satisfaction Research Management, ASQ Quality
Press, 2004
4. Berman B and Evans J.R, Retail Management (Pearson education, 10th edition)
5. Louden D.L. & Bitta Delia, Consumer Behavior (Tata Mc. Graw hill, 4th edition )
6. Newman A.J. and Cullen P, Retailing, Environment and Operations(Vikas,1st Ed.)

 Articles: -

1. Olga V. Krivobokova, Evaluating Customer satisfaction as an Aspect of Quality

Management, 2009

 Websites: -

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bazaar
2. http://www.learnmarketing.net
3. http://www.scribd.com/doc/21349941/Big-Bazaar-Project
4. http://www.qualtrics.com/university/researcsuite/survey-types/market-
survey/customer-satisfaction-theory
5. http://www.docstoc.com/?doc_id=46500277&download=1
6. http://www.scribd.com/doc/49255595/Customer-Satisfaction-in-Big-Bazaar