Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jun 24, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jun 24, 2005 |
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Marketing
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Marketing Research Industry & Economy - Two/Three Wheelers Bajaj, Hero Honda, Enfield top customer satisfaction: Study Our Bureau
New Delhi , June 23 BAJAJ CT100, Honda Unicorn, Hero Honda Splendor Plus and Royal Enfield Bullet 350 cc rank the highest in their respective segments in the 2005 Motorcycle Total Customer Satisfaction (MTCS) study conducted by the TNS specialist division, TNS Automotive. According to the study, Hero Honda Splendor Plus leads the competitive `executive' bikes, while Royal Enfield Bullet dominates the niche `cruiser' bikes segment. The study represents the responses of more than 7,000 new-motorcycle buyers towards the performance of 40 models in the key areas of sales satisfaction, product quality, motorcycle performance and design, after-sales service, brand image, and cost-of-ownership. The TCS index score provides a measure of the satisfaction and loyalty a given model or brand enjoys with its customers. "The overall industry average TCS score remains unchanged compared to 2004. The gains recorded by most premium and cruiser bikes are nullified by the lack of improvements in the high volume standard and executive segments. "Among the new models, Honda Unicorn receives the best ratings to overtake Bajaj Pulsar in the premium segment. Product quality and cost of ownership perception emerge as Unicorn's key strengths. While newness generally has a positive rub-off on customer perceptions, this phenomenon is not universally true. Hero Honda Splendor Plus defies the general trend with a strong performance on all measures of customer satisfaction," said Mr Rajeev Lochan, General Manager - Asia Pacific of TNS Automotive. The study points out that the Indian market is sensitive to mileage/fuel efficiency — a trend seen since TNS' inaugural study in 2003. While this sensitivity is generally seen among all types of owners, it is particularly relevant for `standard' and `executive' bikes where customers attach importance to fuel efficiency. "Bajaj CT100 benefits from its segment leading the rating on fuel efficiency with its owners also reporting industry-best mileage of 70 km per litre. However, it is important to diffuse focus from fuel efficiency due to the heightened customer expectations. This is reflected by TVS Centra's performance where satisfaction with fuel efficiency is relatively lower despite strong mileage figures reported by its owners," added Mr Lochan. In addition to the customer evaluations on various aspects of their ownership experience, this study also finds that 14 per cent of the motorcycle owners surveyed indicate their preference for a car in the next three years, while 28 per cent of the current motorcycle owners intend to buy an additional or replacement motorcycle in the future.
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