PROJECT REPORT

ON

To study the

Customer Relationship

Management

In Retail Sector (Big Bazaar)

Submitted by:

GAURAV VERMA

ROLL NO. 232

SECTION- G

SHRI RAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

AcknowledgementAcknowledgement

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mr.

PADMESHWAR DOLLEY, for his guidance and encouragement

throughout the period of the project study. I am indebted to his guidance,

spirit and valuable suggestions.

I would like to thank everyone who has been a help directly or indirectly

leading to the successful completion of the study report.

Mr. Padmeshwar Dolley Mr. Padmeshwar Dolley GAURAV VERMA

(Project mentor) (Project mentor)

2

Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction

3. Preface

4. Objective of Study

5. Research Methodology

6. Study of CRM

7. SWOT Analysis of BIG BAZAAR

8. Analysis of Data:

Customer survey

Retailer survey

9. Finding

10. Recommendation

11. Conclusion

12. Bibliography

3

Executive Summary

The Indian retail industry is now beginning to evolve in the line with the

transformation that has swept other large economies. The liberalization of the

consumer goods industry initiated in the mid-80 and accelerated through the 90’s

has begun to impact the structure and conduct of the retail industry.

The concept retail which includes the shopkeeper to customer interaction, has

taken many forms and dimensions, from the traditional retail outlet and street

local market shops to upscale multi brand outlets, especially stores or

departmental stores.

The objective being to assess the various parameters that influences a buyer to

visit or shop at departmental store thereby contributing to its turnover (in terms of

sales and profits) hence leading to its overall success.

The extensive research brought me to conclude that departmental stores are

soon emerging on the top priority lists, amongst the shopping spree in Delhi and

NCR, as they seem to derive immense pleasure of convenience and exposure to

variety under one roof, in their extremely busy lives, when they don’t have time

for things.

Though some of the customers perceive departmental stores to be expensive

and only high income category’s cup of tea, the stores make constant efforts to

induce them to at least visit the store at once during the sale period, or discount

offers.

4

The Retail Marketing RevolutionThe Retail Marketing Revolution - - An IntroductionAn Introduction

“Any business that directs its marketing efforts towards satisfying the final

consumer based upon the organization of selling goods and services as a

means of distribution”

BBy 2010, the list of India's top 10 retailers will have at least 5 Indian corporate.

Retail Marketing will go through a tremendous change in India this millennium. It

will change India's cities, its people, and its households. The Indian consumer is

reportedly the largest spender in Singapore and London. It is, therefore, strange

that there have, so far, been few efforts to present the product in the right kind of

environment in India.

Indeed, the right shopping experience does induce Indian consumers to spend

more. This is evident from the experiences of retail-outlets like Music

World, Big Bazaar, Spencer’s, Crosswords, The Home Store, Ebony, Bigjo’s,

Saboos, Standard, Nanz, Vijay Store and Janaki Das & Sons, Westside etc.

5

Factors affecting Retail marketing

The development of organized retail is dependent on the efforts of several

agencies and institutions. A glimpse of the last 2 decades of the previous century

proves illuminating. Large-format retailing started with outlets like Vivek's and

Nalli's in Chennai and Kidskemp in Bangalore, and, at another level, with

manufacturer-retail brands like Bata, Bombay Dyeing, and Titan.

Government: The first among these is the government. In a country as big as

India and with as many states as ours, it is imperative that the Central

government and all state governments bring in Value Added Taxation or a unified

taxation system to ensure that the tax-regimes are the same across the country.

The laws governing retail real estate should also be looked into, so that it is

possible to develop retail-estate beyond the city-limits. Apart from providing

entertainment and retail opportunities, this will also decongest the city center and

facilitate the development of suburbs. The relevant rules should also be

amended to allow retail-stores to operate 7 days a week, 12 hours a day.

Nuclear Families: Given the hours most urban consumers keep at work, and

keeping in mind the increase in the number of nuclear families, this may, indeed,

make sense. This will also help people enjoy their evenings, out at malls.

Developers: The second group, whose participation is essential in making

retail a boom-sector in this millennium, comprises developers. Most properties

are developed without considering the end user; thus, we sometimes find high-

Ceilinged offices and low-ceilinged retail stores. Often, the shopper's

convenience is not taken into consideration while the property is constructed.

6

Trends In Retail MarketingTrends In Retail Marketing

AAt this point, I can summarize the main development retailers and manufacturers

need to take into account as they plan their competitive strategies.

In India the trends are mainly in three sectors. These sectors are:

Trends in retail marketing

Urban Suburban Rural

New retail forms and combinations continually emerge. Bank branches and ATM

counters have opened in supermarkets. Gas stations include food stores that

make more profit than the gas operation. Bookstores feature coffee shops.

The electronic age has significantly increased the growth of non store retailing

consumers receive sales offers in the mail and over television, computers, and

telephones, to which they can immediately respond by calling a toll-free number

or via computer.

Competition today is increasingly intertype, or between different types of store

outlets. Discount stores, catalog showrooms, and department stores all compete

for the same consumers. The competition between chain superstores and

7

Retail Marketing In IndiaRetail Marketing In India

There are various ways of making goods available to consumers like:

Company to distributor to wholesaler to retailer to consumer

Company to salesperson to consumer

Company to consumers (online/ phone/ catalog ordering)

These three are among the most common ways of making the goods available to

consumers. But in India the three layered system of distributor, wholesaler and

retailer, forms the backbone of the front-end logistics of most of the consumer-

good companies.

There are a number of reasons behind this fragmented retail market. Some of the

major reasons being:

Poverty and lower literacy levels.

Low per capita income.

Savings focused and less indulgence mindset.

Poor infrastructure facilities like roads etc.

Restrictions on intra-state good movement.

High taxes.

No exposure to media.

High import duties on imported goods.

FDI in retailing is not allowed.

8

CRM In Retail Marketing( Big Bazaar)

Customer relationship activities have the most impact on customer retention.

Every customer service encounter has the potential to gain repeat business or

have the opposite effect. The expectation of personalized, relevant offers and

service is becoming a primary driver of customer satisfaction and retention in

financial services.

What Exactly Is CRM?

The first thing you find when looking into the world of Customer Relationship

Management is the number of different definitions in use today.

Here is the one I have chosen for this Project:

"CRM is the business strategy that aims to understand, anticipate,

manage and personalize the needs of an organization's current and

potential customers" -- PWC Consulting

9

Slogan of big bazaar:

(“Come To Big Bazaar- Isse Sasta Aur Achha Kahin Nahin”) 

It is said that a successful CRM implementation will allow your Customer Service,

Sales and Marketing people (and anyone else in your organization) to have a

holistic view of each and everyone of your customers. In theory this will enable

them to make quick, informed decisions, create cross selling and up selling

opportunities, measure marketing effectiveness and deliver personalized

Customer Care. Sound’s great doesn’t it!!!   

The History   of CRM

Following on from Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP (the business strategy

that promised to automate the “back-office”), the term CRM was first coined in

the mid-1990s. CRM in those days referred to the software used to help

businesses manage their customer relationships. From sales force automation

software (SFA) that focused on customer contact management to integrated

knowledge management solutions, these were the early foundations of CRM. 

The last couple of years have seen the term broaden to encompass a more

strategic approach and the investment of billions of dollars worldwide into CRM

solutions and services has followed. 

10

The Right Technology

It is estimated that the global market for CRM services and solutions is currently

worth $148 billion. That means a lot of choice when selecting your technology -

from web-based solutions aimed at small businesses with less than 10

employees to solutions suitable for multi-national enterprises with millions of

customers.   

The Future

CRM has already made a big impact in the world of Customer Service and will

continue to do so. As more and more companies become customer-centric those

that fail to do so will lose competitive advantage. As technology increases to

develop at a startling rate the key emphasis will be how we can fully utilize it

within our business.

However let's not lose sight of the fact that Customer Relationship Management

is about people first and technology second. That’s where the real value of CRM

lies, harnessing the potential of people to create a greater customer experience,

using the technology of CRM as the enabler.

11

Advantages Of CRM for Big Bazaar

Using CRM, the management of Big Bazaar can:

Provide better customer service

Increase customer revenues

Discover new customers

Cross sell/Up Sell products more effectively

Help sales staff close deals faster

Make call centers more efficient

Simplify marketing and sales processes

Challenges For Big Bazaar in CRM implementation:

.Difficulty in acquiring new customers can be a result of any one, or

combination, of the following problems.

.Inaccurate and Slow Quoting Organizations may be unable to accurately

estimate and quickly deliver successful proposals, often leading to missed

opportunities, bad profit margins and upset prospects.

Lack of Product Knowledge Within their Sales Force

Problems can arise when products were sold that didn’t fit company's

profitability strategy such as selling a customer one product when another

would be better for the customer and more profitable for you.

Difficulty and Delay in Updating Pricing and Product Information

12

Customer Satisfaction Is Big Bazaar

“The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of

long-term success you will achieve in business.” - --- Training Mantra for

Sales Force

Customer Satisfaction their Top Priority

Don't just make sales. Create customers - satisfied customers. In addition to the

immediate profit they provide on the first sale, satisfied customers help you build

your business in 2 other important ways:

1. They become a reservoir of repeat buyers. For some businesses that means

repeat buyers for more of the same product or service. For every business, it

means buyers for additional products and services.

2. They automatically refer more business to you from their friends and business

contacts. This is highly profitable business for you because it doesn't cost you

any time or money to get it.

PROCESS OF CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process of bringing the

customer and the company closer together. There are many different

13

areas in which Customer Relationship Management can be implemented.

The goal of CRM is to help a company maintain current customers, as well

as gain new customers.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Options : Consumers are more likely to choose an alternative after

a relatively inferior option is added as a choice. For example,

Simonson says, participants in one study were given a choice

Between $6 and an elegant Cross pen. A second group chose

among $6, the

Same Cross pen, and a second pen that was clearly less attractive

than the Cross pen. As was predicted, the addition of the

unattractive pen increased the share of the Cross pen at the

expense of the $6.

Alternatives: Consumers prefer alternatives that are compromise

choices. Given a choice between two alternatives, one priced lower than

the other, the addition of a third choice, priced higher than both, will

increase the market share of the more expensive of the original two. This

finding suggests that companies can increase their overall sales and shift

purchases to higher-margin items by carefully designing the sets of

alternatives that their customers consider.

14

SWOT Analysis of Big BazaarSWOT Analysis of Big Bazaar

Strength

Prime location

Large floor space allowing for better visual merchandising

Large area also allows to stock a large variety of products under one

roof

Experienced and competent management

Highly trained and motivated sales force

Brand equity

Large scale operations in various cities throughout the country allows

them to reap the benefits of “economies of scale”

Weakness

Large scale of operations sometimes acts as a barrier to personalized

customer relations

Large scale operations lead to reduced flexibility by increasing the

amount of overheads and a huge commitment in terms of fixed costs

A large organization structure leads to delayed decisions. This can

prove fatal for a business in the dynamic fashion industry. Mumbai, this

fact sometimes results in delayed decisions in adapting to changing

market trends

15

Opportunities

Apart from the metros, cities like Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Indore

and Coimbatore have shown substantial retail presence. Most sport

modern retail formats like supermarkets, department stores and

specialty chains. These markets are expected to show exponential

growth in the next few years. Thus Food Bazaar has the opportunity to

explore new markets

According to the Consumer Outlook study, consumers are generally

satisfied with the service that organized retailers extend to them. More

importantly, they are increasingly regarding these organized retailers

as providing `value-for-money’. These findings indicate that large

retailers will capture most of the higher consumer spending

Threats:

The time when retailers had to worry about competition only from their

peers down the street has come to an end. Food Bazaar is now facing

increased competition in the form of international retail chains that are

making a beeline towards the highly potential Indian markets.

Moreover many big Indian business houses are also vying a space in

the Indian retail scene

16

RESULT OF SURVEY ON CRM IN RETAIL

MANAGEMENT

(BIG BAZAAR)

CUSTOMER SURVEY

1. Are you satisfied with the services provided by Big-Bazaar?

YES NO CAN’T SAY

Result:

From the above table it is clear that customers are satisfied with the services of Big Bazaar because out of 30 customers 20 has given the positive answer in favor of Big Bazaar.

17

5520

2. How do you find the Shopper Assistant’s behavior?

HELPING NOT HELPING RUDE

Result:

From the above table it is clear that customer are satisfied with the attitude of the

shopper’s .Out of 30 customer all 18 customer are satisfied.

18

18 7 5

3. How would you rate the Shopper Assistant’s behavior on the scale of five? 5 4 3 3 2 2 1 1

Result:

Out of 30 customers, 11 customers have given the 5 marks to shopper. Assistant

behavior while 14 has given 4 marks & 5 have given 3 marks.

19

10 14 05 1 00

4. Do you find the Layout of Food-Bazaar helpful in Shopping Experience?

YES NO CAN’T SAY

Result:

Out of 30 customers, 18 have told that they like the layout of Big Bazaar while 8 told that they do not like very much.

20

20 8 2

5. What do you like most about Big-Bazaar? CREDIT FACILITY TRANSPORTATION FACILITY

DELIVERY SERVICES

Result:

Out of 30 Customer, 18 customers like delivery services of Big Bazaar while 7 customers like the credit facility&5 customers like transportation facilities. So it is clear that customer wants delivery services most.

21

7 5

18

6. How often do Big-Bazaar services exceed your expectations? (Customer Delightness)

ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER

Result:

Out of 30 Customers, 18 customers said that Big Bazaar always provides better services &it exceeds their expectation.

22

18 9 3

7. Do you think that Big-Bazaar follow the Ethical Marketing Practices like right pricing, right quality and right quantity?

YES NO CAN’T SAY

Result:

Since 25 customers surveyed feel that big bazaar follows ethical marketing practices so we can fairly conclude that they are following so.

23

25 5 0

FindingsFindings

IIn this survey the findings are given below:

1. Most of the stores are targeting almost all the segments of the

society with their USP being “Price benefit”

2. All the stores are in Prime Location.

3. Every Big Bazaar outlet have motivated and trained sales force.

4. Large variety of products is available ranging from clothes, food

items, electronic goods etc.

5. Staff is provided constant training for various peculiarities of

customer behavior.

6. Some of them offer discount sales and also send greetings to its

loyal customers.

7. Not much difference in the Layout of the floor designs in the

various branches. They try to maintain a similarity to maintain comfort

levels of customers.

8. These stores maintain Word of Mouth.

9. Customers are satisfied with the provided services.

10. International shopping experiences can be achieved from these

stores.

24

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

1) Convert your customers into publicity agents. Develop an incentive for

them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or

services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of

advertising - and it is much cheaper.

2) Surprise your customers with unexpected value. If you sell products,

include an "unadvertised bonus" with every order. If you sell services, get into

the habit of doing something extra for every customer or client without

charging for it.

3) Reward them each time they refer someone who becomes a customer.

Your reward can be as simple as a credit toward their next order from you.

4) The management of Big Bazaar can improve their understanding of the

role and capabilities of advertising to improve customer relation and enhance

loyalty. This understanding should in turn results in a more effective and more

efficient advertising campaign.

5) Visual Merchandising: It is often seen that the people come to the store to

browse rather than buy.

6) Schemes: In store Promotions: The people visiting the store should be

encouraged to visit the store again and again. So it is necessary to delight

the shoppers with the shopping experience. It has been observed in

25

CONCLUSION

“Customer Service is a critical factor for keeping your clients coming

back and ensuring they’ll refer you to others”.

1: Growing your business will be a difficult task at best if you don’t perform,

meet and exceed your client’s expectations, and provide service that creates

customers for life.

2: Customer service is all about the customer’s perception. You have to do

more than just get the job done. You must deliver on all the things (big and

small) that affect the relationship with your client. Consider opportunities for

improvement in the following areas.

3: Setting/Reviewing Expectations: Do you work with your client to set clear,

appropriate, realistic expectations that you can always meet or exceed? Are

you clear about the responsibilities (both yours’ and the client’s), timelines,

and expectations of results? Are you then willing to go back and review these

expectations with the client at key points along the way?

4: Communication: Do you have mechanisms in place to ensure you’re

communicating with clients at every stage of the engagement, from the sales

process through to completion of the project? Being clear about where you’re

26

Big Bazaar-Marketing Mix

Product Branding Price

Packaging Cost of goods

Product Design Business Expenses

Assortment Gross Margin

Services Profit

Promotion Distribution

Advertising Logistics

Personal Selling Store Location

Sales Promotion Site Evaluation

Public Relations Transportation

Visual Merchandising Storage of goods

They seem to follow this to the core for effective Customer reach and encourage

customer loyalty.

27

Bibliography

Marketing Management

- Philip Kotlar

Research Methodology

- C. R. Kothari

Retail Marketing

- J.A.Lamba

Customer Relationship Management

- Jagdish and Seth

www.indiainfoline.com

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bazaar

www.financialexpress.com/news/future-group-to-hive-off-big-bazaar

www.businessline.com

28