CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

At DHL EXPRESS PVT. LTD. A PROJECT REPORT: Submitted in partial fulfillment of degree of requirement for award of BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL) SUBMITTED BY: Nikita

chhabra
ENROLLMENT NO.:03421001711 UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MR. MAYANK SHARMA (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR) (IDEAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY AND SCHOOL OF LAW)

AFFILIATED UNDER; GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY-SECTOR 16C DWARKA

CERTIFICATE
This is to Certify that the Project report on CUSTOMER S A T IS F AC T I O N @ D H L EXPRESS PVT LTD is a bonafide work and submitted by Miss. Nikita Chhabra in partial fulfillment of the degree of

Bachelor in Business Administration, Ideal Institute of Management and Education and School of Law, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha university, during 2011
2014.This certificate is issued based on the declaration by the candidate.

(Project guide) (Head of dpt.)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I consider it a great privilege to be under the guidance of Mr. Mayank Sharma, Assistant

Professor, Ideal Institute of Management and Technology and School of Law, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The contribution
and significant role played by him helped me

in preparation and submission of project report in time. I gratefully acknowledge the team of staff members in B.B.A department for helping me in all aspects and giving their valuable ideas for making my project efficient and effective. Last but not the least I would like to thank my parents and friends for their valuable support and encouragement throughout the course of the project

CONTENTS
Topic a. Introduction b. Company profile c. Relate topic with company page no.

D. Research methodology e. Data analysis and interpretation F. Findings G. Limitations H. Suggestions I. Conclusion J. Bibliography

INTRODUCTION
Research Motivation:A multitude of companies today has already identified the need to create a loyal customer base and acknowledges that m aintaining existing customers and extending business with them is significantly less expensive than acquiring new customers.

Empirical proof of the proliferation of such customer loyalty efforts in the b u s i n es s w o r l d is e . g . P r o v i d ed in t h e f o r m o f l o y a l t y p r o g r a m s , w h i c h m a n y companies have installed during the past years. By engaging in efforts aimed at creating customer loyalty, which in turn fosters financial success in monetary terms; firms react to increasing competitive challenges. Within research, the investigation of customer loyalty gained importance when the classic marketing paradigm with its instrumental and transactional orientation proved unsuitable in the context of longer-term business relationships. Instead, the relationship marketing approach, which is specifically concerned with the study of relational ex-changes, gained importance within research, serving as a conceptual foundation for the majority of customer loyalty researchers. The question of how loyalty develops has been subject to an abundance of research, leading to an expansive body of literature on loyalty determinants. The extant literature exploring different factors and their

constituent effects on loyalty, however, reveals a strong focus on consumer goods and industrial equipment settings, while industrial services have received relatively little attention so far. In addition, the majority of articles incorporates merely a few potential determinants and thus fails to draw a comprehensive picture of the mechanisms of customer loyalty formation.

DEFINITATION:
Customer satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified satisfaction goals." In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71 percent responded

that they found a customer satisfaction metric very useful in managing and monitoring their businesses. "Within organizations, customer satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They focus employees on the importance of fulfilling customers expectations. Furthermore, when these ratings dip, they warn of problems that can affect sales and profitability. . . . These metrics quantify an important dynamic. When a brand has loyal customers, it gains positive word-ofmouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective." Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage customer satisfaction. To be able do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.

PURPOSE
"Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of

consumer purchase intentions and loyalty." "Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold:" 1. "Within organizations, the collection, analysis and dissemination of these data send a message about

the importance of tending to customers and ensuring that they have a positive experience with the companys goods and services. 2. "Although sales or market share can indicate how well a firm is performing currently, satisfaction is perhaps the best indicator of how likely it is that the firms customers will make further purchases in the future. Much research has focused on the relationship between customer satisfaction and retention. Studies indicate that the ramifications of satisfaction are most strongly realized at the extremes." On a five-point scale, "individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '5' are likely to become return customers and might even evangelize for the firm. (A second important metric related to satisfaction is willingness to recommend. This metric is defined as "The percentage of surveyed customers who indicate that they would recommend a brand to friends." When a customer is satisfied with a product, he or she might recommend it to friends, relatives and colleagues. This can be a powerful marketing advantage.) "Individuals who rate their satisfaction level as '1,' by contrast, are unlikely to return. Further, they can hurt the firm

by making negative comments about it to prospective customers. Willingness to recommend is a key metric relating to customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction in 7 steps

1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings: - T h is i s t h e m o s t d a u n t i n g a n d d o w n r i gh t s c a r y p a r t o f i n t er a c t i n g w i t h a customer. If you're not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest assured,

though, it does get easier over time. It's important to meet your customers face to face at least once or even twice during the course of a project. 2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your

Clients Informed: - This goes without saying

really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a response to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers' queries within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them know you've received their message and you'll contact them about it as soon as possible. Even if you're not able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you're working on it. 3. Be Friendly and Approachable: - A fellow Site Pointer once told me that you can hear a smile through the phone. This is very true. It's very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you're their friend and you're there to help them out. There will be times when you want to beat your clients over the

head repeatedly with a blunt object- it happens to all of us. It's vital that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients' wishes as best you can, and at all times remain polite and courteous. 4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service

Policy: - This may not be too important when

you're just starting out, but a clearly defined customer service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a customer has a problem, what should they do? If the first option doesn't work, then what? Should they contact different people for billing and technical enquiries? If they're not satisfied with any aspect of your customer service, who should they tell? There's nothing more annoying for a client than being passed from person to person, or not knowing who to turn to. Making sure they know exactly what to do at each stage of their enquiry should be of utmost importance. So make sure your customer service policy is present on your site -- and anywhere else it may

be useful. 5. Attention to Detail (also known as 'The Little

Niceties'):- Have you ever received a Happy

Birthday email or card from a company you were a client of? Have you ever had a personalized sign-up confirmation email for a service that you could tell was typed from scratch? These little niceties can be time consuming and aren't always cost effective, but remember to do them. Even if it's as small as sending a Happy Holidays email to all your customers, it's something. It shows you care; it shows there are real people on the other end of that screen or telephone; and most importantly, it makes the customer feel welcomed, wanted and valued. 6. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go out Of

Your Way to Help Them Out: - Sometimes this

is easier said than done! However, achieving this supreme level of understanding with your clients will do wonders for your working

relationship. 7. Honour Your Promises:I t 's p os s i b le t h i s i s t he m o s t i m p o r t a n t p o i n t i n t h i s ar t i c l e. T h e s i m p l e message: when you promise something, deliver. Clients don't like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something may not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be late, technology can fail and subcontractors don't always deliver on time. In this case a quick apology and assurance it'll be ready.

Company profile
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. Deutsche Post is

the world's largest logistics company operating in all four corners of the globe. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail. Originally founded in 1969 to deliver documents between San Francisco and Honolulu, the company expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s. The company was primarily interested in offshore and inter-continental deliveries, but the success of FedEx prompted their own intra-US expansion starting in 1983. DHL aggressively expanded to countries that could not be served by any other delivery service, including the Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, Iraq, Iran, China, Vietnam and North Korea. In 1998, Deutsche Post began to acquire shares in DHL. It finally reached majority ownership in 2001, and completed the purchase in 2002. Deutsche Post then effectively absorbed DHL into its Express division, while expanding the use of the DHL brand to other Deutsche Post divisions, business units and subsidiaries. Today, DHL Express shares its wellknown DHL brand with other Deutsche Post business units, such as DHL Global Forwarding and DHL Supply Chain. The DHL Express Service has ceased domestic operations in the United States of America, as of February 2009.

They are still highly popular for international shipments, for example to Iraq.

History
Larry Hillblom was studying law at University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law and had little money. He started running courier duty between San Francisco and Los Angeles, picking up packages for the last flight of the day, and returning on the first flight the next morning, up to five times a week. When he graduated, Hillblom decided to go into the courier business himself. He found a niche that no other company was filling, offering to fly bills of lading from San Francisco to Honolulu. By flying the documents ahead of the freight they could be processed prior to vessel arrival and save valuable time after arrival. Hillblom put up a portion of his student loans to start the company, bringing in his two friends Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn as partners, with their combined initials as the company name. All three shared a Plymouth Duster that they drove around San Francisco to pick up the documents in suitcases,

and then rushed to the airport to book flights using another relatively new invention, the corporate credit card. As the business took off, they started hiring new couriers to join the company. Their first hires were Max and Blanche Kroll, whose apartment in Hawaii often became a makeshift flophouse for their couriers. The company started expanding their service through the early 1970s, first to the Philippines, then Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. For lower-volume routes the company would hire couriers on a one-off basis, trading airline tickets for the delivery. This simple expedient would repeatedly save the company many legal hassles in the future, when would-be investigators would take them up on the open offer and make a delivery while taking their family on vacation. The first was when the FBI was tipped off about the groups of briefcase-carrying young men making repeated trips to Hawaii, and when they investigated and found nothing amiss, several agents became regular couriers for the company.

Services

DHL Express's global headquarters are part of the Deutsche Post headquarters in Bonn. Headquarters for the Americas are located in Plantation, Florida, USA, while its Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets headquarters are located in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The European hub is in Leipzig. Most of DHL Express' business is incorporated as DHL International GmbH. Major competitors include FedEx, UPS, TOLL, TNT and national post carriers such as United States Postal Service and Royal Mail. However, DHL has a minor partnership with the USPS, which allows DHL to deliver small packages to the recipient through the USPS network. It is also the sole provider for transferring USPS mail in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. DHL offers worldwide services, including deliveries to countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Burma. As it is German-owned, DHL is not affected by U.S. embargoes or sanctions and will ship to Cuba, Iran and North Korea. However there are

strict codes for delivering to North Korea, as the country has shaky relations with the West. As DHL is not a US company, it is not allowed to make domestic flights between U.S. airports. DHL contracts these services to other providers.

Relate topic with company

Our Vision

Customers trust DHL as the preferred global express and logistics partner, leading the industry in terms of quality, profitability and market share.

Our Mission DHL enhances the business of our customers by offering highest quality express and Logistics solutions based on strong local expertise combined with the most extensive global network presence. DHL attracts, develops and retains exceptional people by creating a truly global working environment and placing value on our multi-cultural heritage. DHL delivers above-average returns by providing superior quality and solutions at all levels of the business processes. DHL is a responsible corporate citizen in all countries in which we operate, taking into account the social and environmental needs of our employees, local communities and the public.

Our 7 Corporate Values What are our values?

DHL has seven values that shape our priorities, helping us focus on what is important. Why are values important? These 7 Values form the foundation of our business by ensuring that the diverse group of people working within IT Services share common goals and work in unity together. They act as a compass that helps us steer into the right direction while our organization continues to evolve on the path to success.

Research methodology
Objective of the study - A study on customer level of satisfaction in towards DHL Express Pvt. Ltd.

- To identify loyalty of customers towards DHL Express Pvt. Ltd. - To measure specific reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction in with DHL Express. - To identify recommendations of DHL Express to others by existing loyal customers

Scope of the study - Scope of study mainly to know current level of customer satisfaction. - Scope of study mainly to know loyalty of customers towards the company. - To give suggestions regarding improvement of performance standard of company. - To inform management about current level. Research designT h e o bj ec t i v e o f t h e st u d y h a s be e n a c h i ev ed by u s i n g b o th P r i m a r y a n d S ec o n d a r y D a t a s . T he d a t a s o bt a i n e d f o r t h e s t u d y w a s pr i m a r i l y f r o m f i e l d investigation carried out among the customers of DHL.

Sampling Sample design is a definite plan for obt a i n i n g a s a m p l e f r o m a g i v e n population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for samples. Samples are studied for the population who are the customers of DHL Express Pvt. Ltd. Research design is needed because it facilitates the smooth railing of the various research operations thereby making research as effective as possible yielding maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money.

Sample Size The Customers, to whom DHL provides service is taken into consideration. The sample size is 85. Primary Data Primary data was collected through Online Survey http://dhl-customerloyalty.surveyconsole.com/

Survey Research Survey research as name suggests, is distinguished by the facts that the data a r e c o l l e c t e d f r o m t h e p eo p l e w h o a r e t ho u g h t t o h av e t h e d es i r ed i n f o r m a t i o n , through questionnaire.Q u e s t i o n n a i r e w a s p o s t e d o v e r the internet and sent to the respective customers in order to collect information related to the topic. The questionnaires so designed for this purpose were structured. Secondary Data Secondary data was collected through company websites and records. And analysis on various aspects has been done using different statistical techniques. The methods followed for the analysis and interpretation of data are: Uni variate Percentage Analysis Weighted average method Univariate Percentage Analysis-

Percentage refers to a special kind of ratio. It is used to make comparison between two or more series of data. They can be used to compare the relative items, the distribution of two or more series of data, since the percentages reduces everything to a common base and there by allow meaningful comparisons to be made. Here only one factor is considered. Percentage= no. of respondents 100 Total respondents

Weighted Average Method: This method is a used when the relative importance of the different items is not the same. The term weighted stands for the relative importance of the different items. It is assumed that inventory costs should be assigned on the

basis of average costs of identical units. An average cost unit is determined by dividing the total costs of the units by the number of units. The weighted average method is logical when assigning costs to units that become mixed together, thereby making separate identification difficult or impossible. The formula is X = WX W

Where; X = W e i g h t e d A r i t h m e t i c m ea n X= Frequency or no of respondents W= Weighted allotted to each factor

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL representative through Telephone:OPTIONS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

16 EXCELLENT 16 VERY GOOD 32 GOOD 16 FAIR 0 POOR 80 TOTAL TABLE-1

20% 20% 40% 20% 0% 100%

INTERPRETATION:2 0 % o f t he c u s t o m e r s r e s p o n d ed t h a t t h e i r ov er a l l e x p er i e n c e t o accessibility and responses through Telephone is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service is fair.

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

Figure
(Chart showing Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL representative through Telephone)

Customers overall experience to accessi b i l i t y a n d r e s p o n s e o f D H L representative through E-mail

OPTIONS RESPONDENTS 16 Excellent 16 Very good 32 Good 16 20 40 20 PERCENTAGE 20

Fair 0 Poor 100 Total Table-2 100 0

Interpretation: 2 0 % o f t he c u s t o m e r s r e s p o n d ed t h a t t h e i r ov er a l l e x p er i e n c e t o accessibility and responses through E-mail is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service is fair.

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

Figure

(Chart showing Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL representative through E-mail)

Clearance representative ability to help customer issue/need

Options Excellent Very good Respondents 15 17 Percentage 19 21

Good Fair Poor Total

22 19 7 80 Table-3

28 24 9 100

Interpretation: 9 % of the customers responded t h a t t h e i r o v e r a l l e x p e r i e n c e t o a b i l i t y to help resolve issue or need is Excellent. Next 21 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 28 % of the customer. 24 % is somewhat satisfied so they

said that the service is fair. 9 % is not satisfied with the service

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

Figure

(Chart showing Clearance representative ability to help customer issue/need

Customers Overall experience with DHL Clearance Department

Options Excellent Very good Respondents 17 15 Percentage 21 19

Good Fair Poor Total

14 30 4 80 Table-4

18 38 5 100

Interpretation: 21 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance department is Excellent. Next 19 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 18 % of the customer. 38% is somewhat satisfied so they

said that the service is fair. 5 % is not satisfied with the service.

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

Figure

(Chart showing Customers Overall experience with DHL Clearance Department)

Customers Overall experience with DHL Shipment Delivery at doorstep

Options Excellent Very good Respondents 9 25 Percentage 11 31

Good Fair Poor Total

40 4 2 80 Table-5

50 5 3 100

Interpretation: 11 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance department is Excellent. Next 31 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 50 % of the customer. 5 % is somewhat satisfied so they

said that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service.

Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor

Figure

(Chart showing Customers Overall experience with DHL Shipment Delivery at doorstep)

Customer Satisfaction level with DHL Express Pvt Ltd

Options Extremely satisfied Respondents 15 Percentage 19

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied Total

20 22 18 5

25 28 23 6

80 Table-6

100

Interpretation: 19 % of the customers responded they are Extremely Satisfied with the s er v i c e . N e x t 2 5 % t h e y a r e s a t i s f i ed . N eu t r a l i s 2 2 % o f t he c u s t o m e r. 2 3 % i s somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service.

Extremely satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied

Figure

(Chart showing Customer Satisfaction level with DHL Express Pvt Ltd)

Customer Responses or Reasons for satisfaction with DHL Express Pvt Ltd

- Less transit time - Clear tracking - Advance furnishing of documents

- Keeping customers fully informed - Timely clearance - Good shipment delivery at doorstep

Interpretation: Various reasons are given by customers for satisfaction like less transit time, Clear tracking, Advance furnishing of documents, keeping customer fully informed, Timely clearance, Good Shipment delivery at doorstep etc.

Customer Responses or Reasons for Dissatisfaction with DHL Express Pvt Ltd

- Original Bill of Entry getting only after 3 days after our follow up, this should come along with delivery.

- Freight Bill received 30 days after delivery this should deliver within 24 hrs, so that your payment will not be delayed. - T h e c u rr en c y s o m e t i m e s w r o n g l y m en t i o n i n t h e B / E be f o r e f i l i n g w i t h C u s t o m s, ch ec k t h e i n v o i c e o r c he c k w i t h t h e c u s t o m e r - t hi s w i l l h e l p avoiding mistake. - In some of the instances your response is not proper. - Since express service is preferred only when there is some urgency, though the cargo reaches at airport. Clearance team takes minimum 7-25days takes for customs clearance. - Commitment not met in several cases.

Interpretation: Various reasons are given by customers for dissatisfaction. The company need more focused approach for satisfying the customers.

Recommend DHL Express to others:-

Options Yes No Total

Respondents Percentage 51 29 80 Table-7 64 36 100

Interpretation: 64 % of the customer responded in favour of recommending DHL Express to others. On the other hand 36 % of the people say No to recommend DHL Express to others

Yes No

Figure

Chart showing Recommendation DHL Express to others)

(

Over the past years loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger

Options Yes

Respondents Percentage 55 69

No Total

25 80 Table-8

31 100

Interpretation: 69 % of the customer responded in favour that loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger. On the other hand 31 % of the people say No that loyalty towards DHL Express has not grown stronger.

Yes No

Figure

Chart showing status of loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger

DHL Express Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals

Options Yes

Respondents Percentage 41 51

No Total

39 80 Table-9

49 100

Interpretation: 51 % of the customer responded in favour that DHL Express Values people &Relationships ahead of Short-term goals. On the other hand 49 % of the

people say No that DHL Express do not Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals.
percentage

Yes No

Figure

(Chart showing DHL Express Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals)

FINDINGS
- 20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility and

responses through Telephone is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service is fair - 20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility and responses through E-mail is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service is fair. - 19 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to ability to help resolve issue or need is Excellent. Next 21 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 28 % of the customer. 24 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 9 % is not satisfied with the service. - 21 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance department is Excellent. Next 19 %

says it is very good. Good being awarded by 18 % of the customer. 38% is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 5 % is not satisfied with the service. - 11 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance department is Excellent. Next 31 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 50 % of the customer. 5 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service - 1 9 % o f t he c u s t o m e r s r e s p o n d ed t h e y a r e E x t r e mel y S a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e service. Next 25 % they are satisfied. Neutral is 22 % of the customer. 23 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service. - 64 % of the customer responded in favour of recommending DHL Express to others. On the other hand 36 % of the people say No to recommend DHL Express to others

- 69 % of the customer responded in favour that loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger. On the other hand 31 % of the people say No that loyalty towards DHL Express has not grown stronger. - 51 % of the customer responded in favour that DHL Express Values people &Relationships ahead of Short-term goals. On the other hand 49 % of the people say No that DHL Express do not Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals.

LIMITATIONS

- Time limit restricts detailed survey work for this particular topic of research. - The survey is restricted to the customers of DHL Express I Pvt. ltd. who are involved in imports.

- Some customers have lack of time, so they may not communicate properly.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

- Communicate. Whether it is an email newsletter, monthly flier, a reminder c a r d f o r a t u n e u p , o r a hol i d a y g r e e t i n g c a r d , r ea c h o u t t o y o ur s t e a d y customers. - Customer Service. Go the extra distance and meet customer needs. Train the staff to do the same. Customers remember being treated well . - Employee Loyalty. Loyalty works from the top down. If you are loyal to your employees, they will feel positively about their jobs and pass that loyalty along to your customers. - Employee Training. Train employees in the manner that you want them to interact with customers. Empower employees to make decisions that benefit the customer.

- Customer Incentives. Give customers a reason to return to your business. For instance, because children outgrow shoes

quickly, the owner of a childrens shoe store might offer a card that makes the tenth pair of shoes half price. Likewise, a dentist may give a free cleaning to anyone who has seen him regularly for five years. - Product Awareness. Know what your steady patrons purchase and keep these i t em s i n s t o c k . A d d o t h er p r o du c t s an d / o r s e rv i c e s t h a t a c c o m p a n y o r compliment the products that your regular customers buy regularly. And make sure that your staff understands everything they can about your products.

- Reliability. If you say a purchase will arrive on Wednesday, deliver it onW e d n es d a y . B e r e l i a b l e . I f s o m e t h i n g g o e s w r o n g, l e t c u s t o m e r s k n o w immediately and compensate them for their inconvenience.

- Be Flexible. Try to solve customer problems or complaints to the best of your ability. Excuses such as "That's our policy" will lose more customers then setting the store on fire. - People over Technology. The harder it is for a customer to speak to a human being when he or she has a problem, the less likely it is that you will see that customer again. - Know Their Names. Remember the theme song to the television show Cheers? Get to know the names of regular customers or at least recognize their faces.

CONCLUSIONS
In addition to suggestions and findings, this study also provides several scopes for further research, which will be addressed in the following paragraphs:-

- While the customer loyalty model validated in this study possesses g o o d power for explaining repurchase intentions and referral behavior, only partial explanation of the construct of additional purchase intentions is achieved. As stated before, factors not contained in the model such as strategic outsourcingc o n s i d e r a t i on s c a n b e as s u m e d t o a f f ec t t h e i n t e n t i o n o f cu s t om e r s t o outsource additional logistics activities to the currently most important LSP.For this reason, future studies should explore additional determinants of this loyalty dimension. - Measurement model assessment reve a l e d t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f fai rness in this study does not achieve sufficient discriminance from other constructs, especially from trust and relational satisfaction. As there is a strong theoretical indication that fairness is i m p o r t a n t i n c u s t o m e r l o y a l t y consider ations, further studies should modify

fair-ness measurement model, e.g. by more strongly recurring to the concept of inequity. - Within this study, four relational characteristics were examined. In addition, analyses were conducted for a multitude of other contingency factors that are not included in the present study. Overall, however, no conclusive moderations were identified. Nevertheless, it may be assumed that customer diversity still has moderating effects on the formation of customer loyalty. Thed e t er m i n a n t s c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s s t u d y , ho w ev er , c a p t u r e r a th e r g e n e r a l evaluati ons of relationships between LSPs and their customers, which may be too broad to be subject to moderating effects. For this reason it would be sensible to examine antecedents of the employed determinants, as

moderating effects could surface when this level of detail is added to the analyses.

BIBLOGRAPHY
BOOKS:-

- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY- KOTHARI

- THE LOYALTY GUIDE REPORT SERIESPETER CLARK - MARKETING MANAGEMENT- PHILIP KOTLER WEBSITES:www.google.com www.wikepedia.com www.dhl.com www.scribd.com