INTRODUCTION

The topic of research is ‘’A STUDY ON CUSTOMER CHOICE AMONG THE HEAVY VEHICLE
TOOLS SUPPLIERS IN TIRUCHENGODE WITH REFERENCE TO K.R. TOOLS CENTRE’’.so the

project is to study the preference of the customers.

Customer choice

Marketing research studies find that respondents unequivocally report that they want choices.
But that clear message masks complexity. Consumers want alternatives but often find it
difficult to settle on one. In some circumstances, the ramifications of making a bad decision
may even provoke fear. Freedom of choice can be paralyzing. So, in a market full of choices,
how can a brand optimize a product or service to give consumers the freedom to choose that

they say they want, benefiting the bottom line without creating decision dilemmas?

Consumers say they want choices in a general sense, but digging deeper reveals that they
actually only value opportunities to choose when they perceive meaningful difference between
the options they are offered. Permission, or compulsion, to choose among alternatives that are
numerous but seem essentially similar might inhibit choice or even lead to rejection of an

opportunity to choose.

How might this more complex freedom of choice affect the company’s revenue? With the
predefined package offerings, it seemed likely that some customers were paying for some
services at higher levels than they preferred in order to obtain another service that they
wanted. So customers might express their increased freedom by choosing cheaper options
and reducing their monthly spending. On the other hand, if people valued choice as much as
they say they do, would these expanded options attract customers from competitors? Thus, a

study on CUSTOMER CHOICE at KR TOOLS PVT.LTD.

Here the term ‘customer’ means an individual or business that purchases another company's
goods or services. Customers are important because they drive revenues; without them,
businesses have nothing to offer. Most public-facing businesses compete with other
companies to attract customers, either by aggressively advertising their products or by

lowering prices to expand their customer bases.

Understanding Customer

Businesses often honor the adage "the customer is always right" because happy customers are
more likely to award repeat business to companies who meet or exceed their needs. As a
result, many companies closely monitor their customer relationships to solicit feedback on
methods to improve product lines. Customers are categorized in many ways. Most commonly,

customers are classified as external or internal.

External customers are dissociated from business operations and are often the parties
interested in purchasing the final goods and services produced by a company. Internal
customers are individuals or businesses integrated into business operations, often existing as

employees or other functional groups within the company.

Customer service

Customer service, which strives to ensure positive experiences, is key to a successful

seller/customer dynamic. Loyalty in the form of favourable online reviews, referrals, and future
business can be lost or won based on a good or bad customer service experience. In recent
years, customer service has evolved to include real-time interactions via instant message chats,
texting, and other means of communication. The market is saturated with businesses offering
the same or similar products and services. What distinguishes one from another is customer
service, which has become the basis of competition for most businesses. This is a key element

of Sigma Six.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR:

The individual determinants that effect customer behaviour are:

 Motivation and involvement

 Attitudes
 Personality and self-concept
 Learning
 Information processing

The external influences or factors are:

 Cultural influences
 Sub-cultural influences
 Social class influences
 Social group influences
 Family influences
 Personal influences
 Other influences

Objectives of study

 To know about the marketing skills use while convincing the customers.
 To examine preference of customers in selected tools suppliers on the basis of
price , brand name and quality.
 To find out the market share of these tools suppliers in the market.
 To find the extent of brand loyalty that exists among the customers.
 To study the influence of various factors on the purchase of tools:

1. Price.
2. Quality.

 To study the effect of after sales on purchasing tools.

Literature review
According to Hawkins, Mothersbaugh and Best, (2007)31in the book
„Consumer Behaviour, Building Marketing Strategy‟ states that consumer
behaviour is also the study of processes and consumers used to select, dispose
and consume services and products. All decisions of marketing are concerned
on consumer behaviour‟s knowledge and assumptions. Researching consumer
behaviour is a critical process, but understanding consumer behaviour is
difficult to marketers and the marketers can use it to: 1) target customers
effectively; 2) offers customer satisfaction and value; 3) expand base of the
knowledge in the marketing field; 4) create competitive benefit; 5) develop
services and products; 6) develops company‟s value; 7) applies strategies of
marketing towards positive effect on society i.e. motivate people to support
charities, lower down usage of drugs, enhance healthy habits, etc.; and 8)
understand how customers look their rivalries products versus their products.
Consumer behaviour is the study of organizations, individuals or groups and
the processes they use to choose, use, dispose and protect services, products,
ideas or experiences to satisfy the influences and requirements that these
processes have on the society and customers. This view of consumer behaviour
is wider than the traditional one which focused much more on the purchaser
and the immediate consequences and antecedents of the buying process
(Hawkins, 2008)32 this view will lead to investigate indirect impact on
consumption consequences as well as determinations that involves more than
the seller and purchaser.

According to the Webster(1975)28 in his article “Determining the

Characteristics of the Socially Conscious Consumer” expressed that the
behaviour of buyer is all psychological, physical and social of potential
customers as they become aware of evaluate purchase consume and tell other
people about products and services.” Kurtz and Boone (2007) 29, in the book
“Contemporary marketing‟ describes that consumer behaviour consists of the
acts of individuals obtaining and using goods and services, including the
decision processes that proceed and determine these acts”.

Aaker, David and George (1971)22in the book „Consumerism: Search for the
consumer Interest‟ makes an effort to evaluate influence on the buyer from
their close group such as friends, reference groups, family as well as in general
the society. The general definition of consumer behaviour is that one of the
studies a marketer uses to understand a consumer better and forecast on how
their behaviours change when coming to buying decisions.

Walter and Paul (1970)27 in the book „Consumer Behaviour: An Integrated

Framework‟ has emphasized consumer behaviour as „the process whereby
individuals decide whether what, when, where, how and from whom to
purchase goods or services.‟ Behaviour at large is a sign of 55 precise
mannerism as well as technique. Consequently consumer behaviour connotes
consumer‟s expression or say attitude whilst purchasing the products. In
further terminology consumer behaviour is the outcome of such purchase, at
the same time as a consumer does on behalf of the contentment of his
requirements.

Lake (2009)33 in his paper „Consumer Behaviour for Dummies‟ noted that
consumer behaviour describes the study of individuals and the tasks that exists
to satisfy their identified requirements. That satisfaction exists from the
processes used in choosing, protecting and using services or products when
the advantages acquired from those processes meet or exceed customer‟s
expectations. In other words when an individual identifies that he has a
requirement the psychological process initiates the decision process of
customers. Through this process the individual sets out to predict ways to fulfill
the requirement he has recognized. That process consists of the individual‟s
feelings, behaviour and thoughts. When the process is finished the customer is
faced with the activity of analyzing and digesting entire information which
decides the actions he will take to fulfill the requirement.