Pi and Csi of Mf 7250 Customers in Mp Region

TITLE
To find out the Profile index and Customer Satisfaction Index of MF 7250 customers migrated from competition in terms of Product and service levels in the state of Madhya Pradesh

ORGANISATION

TAFE

Report Submitted By

Abhiroop Das

PGP/20/064

PI and CSI of MF 7250 customers in MP region

ABSTRACT

MF 7250 is the latest 50HP model launched by Massey Ferguson to compete in the rapidly increasing 50HP tractor market in India. In light of falling market share in the 50HP segment in Madhya Pradesh the main objective of the project was to identify the profile index and the customer satisfaction index of the customers of 7250 in MP region. It also involved identifying the points of differentiation of 7250 MF 50HP against its competitors. The methodology adopted for the study was designing an appropriate questionnaire and conducting field interviews of the important stakeholders like customers, field officers, DSPs of both MF and its competitors in the high industry regions of Madhya Pradesh. Based on the results of the survey the satisfaction levels was found to be mostly on the positive side and few recommendations were made both on product and service levels to further improve the satisfaction levels. It is hopeful that this project will be helpful in improving the satisfaction levels of the existing customers and also arrest the falling market share of MF in the 50HP segment in Madhya Pradesh.

Keywords: Profile index, Customer Satisfaction Index, Points of Differentiation, industry, Dealer Service Persons

Objective

The project primarily delves into following:-

• Customer Profile Index of 7250 customers migrated from competition customers in Madhya Pradesh – Income levels, Land size, prosperity level, type of crops/ implements being used, position in society, education level, number of tractors owned, brand loyal but was upset with previous brand or brand switcher.
• Customer Satisfaction Index of the same

Approach

Questionnaire Design: A separate questionnaire (Exhibit 1) was designed for gauging the profile index of the customers of MF 7250 50 HP model which primarily had information regarding land size, prosperity levels, income levels, types of crops grown, brand loyalty etc. and the customer satisfaction index, which contained two factors namely product and service satisfaction levels. Product satisfaction levels dealt with product and performance parameters like fuel efficiency, power of hydraulic shaft, clutch and brake performance etc. ,while service satisfaction involved door step service feedback, Door Step Installation feedback etc. Finally the customers were asked about their overall satisfaction, main reason to buy and also the most distressing problem.

Determining the areas to be covered: The second phase was to determine which areas to be covered to maximize the number of customer surveyed.We studied the RTO data of 2016 and plotted in Excel the districts based on the total number of 45-50HP tractors in those districts(industry) vs the percentage of 7250 tractors sold in the same district(market share). From the Exhibit 2 to maximize our survey incidence rate we chose to start off with areas having high industry (more than 90) and high market share(more than 7%).

Meeting the different stakeholders and data collection: We visited Sehore,Bhopal,Vidisha,Itarsi,Pipariya,Dhanmod,Indore,Dhar,Ujjain and Hatpipliya and collected data from 152 customers. We also met with competition dealers of Mahindra and Mahindra, Kubota ,New Holland, John Deere etc  and gained some valuable insight.

Data Analysis and Insights:

Profile Index: The major crops grown in the area were wheat, soyabean and chickpea.23% of customers had land size between 0-10acres,31% between 20-30acres,22% between 30-40 acres and so on(Exhibit 3).Majority of the customers were first time buyers or had one tractor.(Exhibit 4)

Customer Satisfaction Index: 46%, 45%, 48% of the customers felt that the product, service and overall satisfaction levels were good enough. The figures were 2%, 4% and 5% for the customers who felt poor product, service and overall satisfaction levels (Exhibit 5).The major problems were Slow Hydraulic lift(26%),poor service(23%) and tyre wear(17%) respectively (Exhibit 6).The major points of satisfaction/selling points were fuel efficiency(42%),reputation as agro-tractor (22%) and low maintenance (13%)(Exhibit 7)

Recommendations

Based on the above analysis and also from the customer interviews the following recommendations were made to improve the product and service satisfaction levels of the MF 7250 customers:

Product Level Recommendations:

1. Solve the problem of slow hydraulic lift through engineering solutions.
2. Provide MRF tyre to all customers and change the existing damaged tyres which are in warranty.
3. Provide the option of 16.8 tyres in MF 7250.
4. Introduce aesthetic variations like the smart series look to differentiate from the previous MF 7250 47HP model
5. Provision of detachable front wheel weights to prevent front wheel lift problem.
6. Preinstalled accessories like distributor kit for ease of customers.

Service Level Recommendations:

1. More service centres where one dealer is handling a large area
2. DSI implementation to be more strictly enforced
3. Stock-out of tractors(834 model) and also spares should be controlled by appropriate inventory management
4. More publicity events like demonstrations, tractor competition etc
5. Farmers should be made aware of the toll-free number and it should be highly responsive
6. Company financial support to the weak dealerships so that they can compete with the high exchange prices offered by completion dealerships

EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1

Profile Index