International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development

Online ISSN: 2349-4182, Print ISSN: 2349-5979
Impact Factor: RJIF 5.72
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Volume 5; Issue 3; March 2018; Page No. 28-31

A study on brand loyalty in Maruthi Suzuki with special reference to Coimbatore city
1
Jisha N, 2 Abishake I
1 Research Supervisor, PG Research & Department of Commerce, CMS College of Science & Commerce, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
2 Research Scholar, PG Research & Department of Commerce, CMS College of Science & Commerce, Coimbatore-27, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract
Indian automobile industry is in the thriving stage. After loosening the restrictions on economic and political system, foreign car
manufacturers emerged into the Indian market and that resulted to a tough competition to the Indian automobile industry. Even
though Maruti Suzuki still exists as giant in Indian automobile industry, the Korean, Japanese, American and Europeans is also
leading fast to the top position in the industry. This study is an attempt to know how much the customer is loyal to the Maruti
Suzuki brand. Today, there is a stiff competition in the automobile industry. Now-a-days Maruti Suzuki in India has faced a
problem of identifying the extent of loyalty of their customers. The main aim of the study is to analyze how much the consumer is
loyal to Maruti Suzuki and what the Maruti Suzuki is doing to improve the brand loyalty and does the company have won in
retaining the customer.

Keywords: Indian automobile industry, customer, brand loyalty, performance

1. Introduction 1.1 Definition of Brand Loyalty

Indian automobile industry is in the thriving stage. After Brand loyalty is defined as positive feelings towards a brand
loosening the restrictions on economic and political system, and dedication to purchase the same product or service
foreign car manufacturers emerged into the Indian market and repeatedly now and in the future from the same brand,
that resulted to a tough competition to the Indian automobile regardless of a competitor’s actions or changes in the
industry. Eventhough Maruti Suzuki still exists as giant in environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors
Indian automobile industry, the Korean, Japanese, American such as positive word of mouth advocacy. Brand loyalty is
and Europeans is also leading fast to the top position in the where an individual buys products from the same
industry. Maruti Suzuki, Indian automobile manufacturer is manufacturer repeatedly rather than from other suppliers.
known to the quality and innovation. Maruti has launched Businesses whose value rests in a large part on their brand
many cars in the Indian market under various segments like loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.
Suv, Muv etc. And all these are capable to face competition in
their similar segment. This study is an attempt to know how 1.2 Purpose of Brand Loyalty
much the customer is loyal to the Maruti Suzuki brand. Today, Brand loyalty is a good measure for managers to use when
there is a stiff competition in the automobile industry. Now-a- trying to predict brand performance outcomes. It also
days Maruti Suzuki in India has faced a problem of highlights the importance of marketing communication when
identifying the extent of loyalty of their customers. The main trying to promote a certain product that's not doing as well as
aim of the study is to analyze how much the consumer is loyal other succeeding products. Marketers are able to look at the
to Maruti Suzuki and what the Maruti Suzuki is doing to patterns of brand loyalty and pick out characteristics that make
improve the brand loyalty and does the company have won in that product thrive.
retaining the customer.
Brand Loyalty is a scenario where the consumer fears 1.3 Benefits of Brand Loyalty
purchasing and consuming product from another brand which Brand loyalty has shown to profit firms by saving them a lot
he does not trust. It is measured through methods like word of of money. Benefits associated with loyal consumers include:
mouth publicity, repetitive buying, price sensitivity,  Acceptance of product extensions.
commitment, brand trust, customer satisfaction, etc. Brand  Defense from competitors cutting of prices.
loyalty is the extent to which a consumer constantly buys the  Creating barriers to entry for firms looking to enter the
same brand within a product category. The consumers remain market.
loyal to a specific brand as long as it is available. They do not  Customers willing to pay high prices.
buy from other suppliers within the product category. Brand  Existing customers cost much less to serve.
loyalty exists when the consumer feels that the brand consists  Potential new customers.
of right product characteristics and quality at right price. Even
if the other brands are available at cheaper price or superior 1.4 Loyalty
quality, the brand loyal consumer will stick to his brand. A second dimension, is whether the customer is committed to

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the brand. Philip Kotler, again, defines four patterns of marketplace. It increases the brand loyalty and equity for the
behavior: Maruti Suzuki.
 Hard-core Loyals - who buy the brand all the time?
 Split Loyals - loyal to two or three brands. 1.9 Limitations of the Study
 Shifting Loyals - moving from one brand to another. 1. The results may not represent the whole population, as
 Bandwagons - with no loyalty (possibly 'deal prone', convenient sampling and a relatively small sample size of
constantly looking for bargains or 'vanity prone', looking 250 were used.
for something different). Again, research shows that 2. The data were collected only from Coimbatore city.
customer commitment is a more nuanced a fine-grained 3. Due to time constraint the study was conducted only for
construct than what was previously thought. Specifically, the period of 6 months.
customer commitment has five dimensions, and some 4. Limited technical tools has been used to interpret the data
commitment dimensions (forced commitment may even collected.
negatively impact customer loyalty). 5. Accuracy of data is subjected to the respondent’s
statements and views.
1.5 Statement of Problem
In the current competitive world, automobile sector plays a 1.10 Hypothesis of the Study
vital role in the development of a country. Nowadays more A hypothesis is a statement capable of being tested and
number of imported car models are moving inside the country thereby verified or rejected
and it leads to a decreasing trend of sales to Indian automobile H1: There is no significant association between demographic
manufacturing sectors nowadays. While considering the variables and overall satisfaction on product quality
Indian passenger car segment, Maruti Suzuki holds the largest H2: There is no significant association between demographic
chunk of the market share and one of the oldest automobile variables and overall satisfaction on price
company of the country servicing to the needs of all classes. H3: There is no significant association between demographic
In order to bring improvements in sales ratio of Maruti Suzuki variables and overall satisfaction on Perceived quality
and creating brand value to project their products and to H4: There is no significant association between demographic
sustain in the market it is very essential to know the variables and overall satisfaction on showroom
determinants and measurement of brand equity and its environment
implication on value of the Maruti Suzuki. The present study H5: There is no significant association between demographic
was carried to identify the relationship between demographic variables and overall satisfaction on designs and models
factors and brand loyalty towards Maruti Suzuki.
1.11 Research Methodology
1.6 Objectives of the Study Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the
1. To study on brand loyalty of Maruti Suzuki with special research problem. It may be understood as a science of
reference to Coimbatore city. studying how research is done scientifically. The scope of
2. To Study on Brand Loyalty of Maruti Suzuki towards research methodology is wider than that of research methods.
Product Quality, Price and Perceived quality It includes Title, significance of the study, statement of the
3. To Study on Brand Loyalty of Maruti Suzuki towards problem, aims and objectives, research hypothesis, research
Showroom Environment and availability of models. design, tools for data collection, statistical testing, definitions,
4. To identify models of Maruti Suzuki cars based on the limitation of the study, chapterisation of the study.
quality and features.
5. To identify the level of satisfaction with the Maruti Suzuki Area of Study
features. The study conducted at Coimbatore city.
6. To give feasible solutions based on the findings analyzed.
Period of the Study
1.7 Need of the Study The study period covered the period of six months (June-
The main need of the study is to analyze the effectiveness of November 2017)
brand loyalty towards Maruti Suzuki with various factors
including product quality, price, perceived quality, showroom Population of the Study
environment, design and availability of models. And also to The targeted population is 250 respondents, are mainly from
study the impact of brand loyalty on customer retention in Maruti Suzuki customers from Coimbatore city.
automobile sector and further explore the quality and features
including the level of satisfaction in Maruti Suzuki. Research design
“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for
1.8 Scope of the Study collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to
The scope of the study is to identify and study the various combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in
factors that influence brand loyalty at Maruti Suzuki. The procedure”. The researcher used Descriptive research design,
research will be helpful in understanding the current position because it helps to describe a particular situation prevailing
of the Maruti Suzuki in customers’ point of view according to within a company. Descriptive study was necessary to ensure
the brand loyalty. It is helpful to enhance the number of new the complete interpretation of the situation and to ensure
customers. It provide a platform in the competitive minimum bias in the collection of data.

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Type of Sampling way anova or multiple anova depending upon the type and
Convenient sampling has been followed. Convenience arrangement of the data.
sampling (also known as grab sampling, accidental sampling,
or opportunity sampling) is a type of non-probability sampling 2. Review of Literature
that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the Rumit Kumar Sahu et al. (2017) [1], conducted a study to
population that is close to hand. analyze the preference of customers for purchasing the car.
And also to ascertain the major factors of a customer
Sample Size preference of purchasing a light motor vehicle. The study
For a research study to be perfect the sample size selected founds that facilities, self esteem, performance, publicity and
should be optimal i.e. it should neither be excessively large service orientation influencing the customer overall preference
nor too small. Hence the sample size selected for the study about light motor vehicle cars, the more factor loading is
was 250 customers of Maruti Suzuki from Coimbatore city. associated with the self esteem factor. The majority of
customers prefer Maruti Suzuki brand of car in Bhilai-Durg
Pilot Study city. The author suggested from the study that the car
The purpose behind the pilot study was to find out the manufacturers should emphasize on self esteem factors which
feasibility and suitability of the study and to formulate the consist of comfort, style and model variants as by and of itself
problem more specifically. The researcher tested the customers will have a superio recognition of aspect of the
questionnaire with 20 respondents and checked the suitability brand. The author concluded that there is tough competitions
and aptness of the questionnaire. The necessary changes were in the market so it is must to always studied and launch the
made, questionnaire is enclosed in the appendix. cars according to the customer’s preference.

Data Collection Method 3. Profile of Maruti Suzuki India ltd.

Both the Primary and Secondary data were used in the project. Overview of Maruti Suzuki India limited
In this research the primary data was collected by means of a Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly known as
Structured Questionnaire. Data which has already gone Maruti Udyog Ltd) is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor
through the process of analysis or were used by someone else Corporation, Japan. Maruti Suzuki has been the leader of the
earlier is referred to secondary data. Secondary data was Indian car market for over two and a half decades. It is largely
collected from the books, journals, company records, website, credited for having brought in an automobile revolution to
and magazine etc. India. Maruti Suzuki India Limited accounting for nearly 50
percent of the total industry sales. In terms of number of cars
Tools Used produced and sold, the company is the largest subsidiary of
This study deals with various technical tools to interpret the Suzuki Motor Corporation, cumulatively; the company has
data collected. After data collection special software produced over 10 million vehicles since the roll out of its first
SPSS16.0 is applied to analyze the data. The appropriate vehicle on 14th December, 1983. Maruti Suzuki is the only
statistical tools and techniques used are Indian company to have crossed the 10 million sales mark
since its inception. The company has two manufacturing
Percentage Analysis facilities located at Gurgaon and Manesar, south of New
Percentage method refers to a specified kind which is used in Delhi, India. Both the facilities have a combined capability to
making comparison between two or more series of data. produce over a 1.5 million (1,500,000) vehicles annually.
Percentages are based on descriptive relationship. It compares Maruti Suzuki offers 16 brands and over 150 variants ranging
the relative’s items. Since the percentage reduces everything from people’s car Maruti 800 to the latest Life Utility
to a common base and thereby allow meaning comparison. Vehicles, Ertiga. Maruti Suzuki’s portfolio includes Maruti
800, Alto, Alto K10, A-Star, Estilo, Wagon-R, Ritz, Swift,
Percentage = Number of respondents in each clause/ Total no Swift Dzire, SX4, Omni, Eeco, Kizashi, Grand Vitara, Gypsy
of respondents x 100 and Ertiga. The company employs over 9000 people (as on
31st March 2012). Maruti Suzuki’s sales and service network
Weighted Average is the largest among car manufacturers in India. The company
The weighted average is similar to an arithmetic mean of a set has been rated first in customer satisfaction in the JD Power
of numbers in which some elements of the set carry more survey for 12 consecutive years
importance (weight) than others.
4. Analysis and Interpretation
This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of study
on brand loyalty in Maruti Suzuki with special reference to
Coimbatore city. The data collected from the samples have
systematically applied and presented in the tables under
One-Way Anova various headings in the following pages. They were also
Anova is a statistical test which analyzes variance. It is helpful arranged in such a way that, a detailed analysis can be made
in making comparison of two or more means which enables a so as to present suitable interpretation for the same. The
researcher to draw various results and predictions about two or following tools and techniques were used for analysis of the
more sets of data. Anova test includes one-way anova, two- data collected.

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Percentage Analysis 6. Conclusion

Percentage method refers to a specified kind which is used in The results discussed above shows the brand loyalty of Maruti
making comparison between two or more series of data. Suzuki with special reference to Coimbatore city.
Percentages are based on descriptive relationship. It compares Accordingly; it was found that Coimbatore region have strong
the relatives’ items. Since the percentage reduces everything influence on the product quality, price, perceive quality,
to a common base and thereby allow meaning comparison. showroom environment and availability of models towards
Percentage = Number of respondents in each clause / Total no Maruti Suzuki. When making a four wheeler purchase
of respondents x 100 decision, the personal factors and product characteristics are
important for consumers in India. In order to know the level of
Table 1: Age of the Respondents satisfaction, quality and features have been discussed and also
Age of the Respondents Age No of Respondents Percent enquired about various factors towards the satisfaction level.
18-25 years 65 26.0 The problems towards Maruti Suzuki are identified with the
26-35 years 96 38.4 feedback of consumers in Coimbatore city. The present study
36 - 45 years 49 19.6 is an attempt to know about the brand loyalty towards Maruti
Above 45 years 40 16.0 Suzuki in Coimbatore city. On the basis of the findings of the
Total 250 100.0 study, some practicable and viable suggestions are given.

7. References
1. Gupta SC. Fundamentals of Statistics, Himalaya
Publishing House, New Delhi, 2007.
2. Gupta SP. Statistical Methods, Pub-Sultan Chand & Sons,
New Delhi-110 002, 1992.
3. Kothari CR. Research Methodology. Methods &
Techniques, Vishwa Prakashan India Edition, 2.
4. Krishnaswami OK, Ranganathn M. Methodology of
Research in Social Science, Himalaya Publishing House,
New Delhi, 2007.
5. Saravanavel P. Research Methodology Pub: Keshav
Fig 1: Age of the Respondents Prakashan, Allahabad, 2001.

5. Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion

5.1 Findings
Percentage Analysis
Among the 250 respondents, majority 38.4 percent of the
respondents are between ‘26-35 years’ of age. 51.2 percent of
the respondents are ‘Male’ only and 53.6 percent of the
respondents are ‘Single’ only. 43.6 percent of the respondents
are qualified upto ‘Under Graduate’ level, 25.2 percent of the
respondents qualified only in ‘School Level’, 23.6 percent of
the respondents are qualified upto ‘Post Graduate’ and finally
7.6 percent of the respondents are coming under ‘Others’
category. Majority 24 percent of the respondents are doing
‘Own Business’ and 32 percent of the respondents’ annual
income is between ‘Rs.2 Lakhs to Rs.4 Lakhs’.
42.8 percent of the respondents’ family members are between
‘3 to 4’. Majority 40.4 percent of the respondents’ source of
awareness about Maruti Suzuki are through ‘Digital Media’.

5.2 Suggestions
 Marketing strategy should concentrate more in general
Advertisements and the digital media awareness should be
extended to reach the public more.
 In order to maintain brand loyalty towards product quality,
Maruti Suzuki has to introduce numerous varieties which
are customized to customer access and also the company
should bring variants in color in the forthcoming model
wise.

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