This document outlines the research methodology and design for a market survey on customer satisfaction with cement companies. It discusses the following key points in 3 sentences or less: - The type of research is a market research study to understand customer satisfaction levels. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data through interviews. - The objectives are to find customer satisfaction levels through direct customer interactions and interviews using a questionnaire. - The research instrument is a structured questionnaire with closed-ended, open-ended, multiple choice, and rating questions. Data was collected through focus interviews with architects, retailers, wholesalers, industrial customers, and general consumers. - The sampling procedure involved selecting around 100 people for interviews from these customer

1. 0
CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION PAGE NO.
1.1 General 01
1.2 Industry profile
1.3 Company profile
CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND
DESIGN
3.1 Type of Research
3.2 Research Objectives
3.3 Research Instrument
3.4 Questionnaire design
3.5 Data collection
3.6 Sample procedure
3.7 Period of the study
3.8 Sample size
3.9 Pilot survey
3.10 Limitation of the study
CHAPTER-4 SUGGESTIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 Recommendation
4.2 Conclusion
CHAPTER-5 Bibliography
CHAPTER-6 Annexure

2. 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General:
A market survey is a tool used to gather information about existing or customers
satisfaction in a certain market or population. Researchers select a sample of
customers from the population. The information from the survey is then used to assess
attitudes and beliefs, and in turn predict market behavior. Marketing is a social process
by which Dealers, builders, architecture individuals Consumers obtain what they need &
want through creating offering, & freely offering product & services of value with other. It
is the art & science of choosing target makers & getting keeping & growing customers
through creating delivering & communicating superior customer value. Consumers have
their own way of making purchase decisions.
Today in the market there is tough competition and the technologies are changing day
by day, to become successful in modern market the business organization have to be
customer orientated organization have to look after for building customers.
The information about the market was gathered by visiting customers in the market.
While doing the project attempt was made to get correct information from the customers
in the market. After collecting the detailed information about the market analysis has to
be done, the finding and result of the project work is given later in research report.

3. 2
1.2 INDUSTRYPROFILE
INTRODUCTION
The Indian Cement Industry is the world’s second largest producer of cement in the
world just behind China, but a head of the United States and Japan. But, per capita
production and consumption are low as compared to the world standards. On the
technological front, Indian cement Industry can be regarded as highly competitive and is
comparable with the best in the world in terms of quality standards, fuel consumption
etc. Indian cement plants, which depended heavily on wet technologies in the sixties
and seventies, have subsequently shifted to modern energy efficient dry technologies.
This trend is more perceptible in the last decade. The latest surge in the demand for
cement is driven by the boom in the housing sector and infrastructure sector. It is
consented to be a core sector accounting for approximately 1.3%ofGDP and employing
over 0.14million people .The post deregulation scenario is marked by major
reorganization of many of the capacities in the Indian cement industry. Consolidation
has become the latest buzzword of the industry. Acquisitions, mergers and demergers
have been the order of the day for the industry. Many major Indian players have
acquired small companies and MNCs have also entered the industry through have
acquisitions route.
EXPORT
The export of Indian cement has increased over the years mostly after decontrol,
giving the much-required boost to the industry. The demand for cement is a derived
demand, for It depends industrial activity, real estate ,and construction activity.
Since growth is taking place all over the world in these sectors, Indian export of

4. 3
cement is also increasing. India has an immense potential to tap cement markets of
countries in the Middle East and South East Asia due to its strengths of location
advantage, large-scale lime stone and coal deposits, adequate cement capacity
and production of world-class quality of cement with the latest technology.
Hence, the firms in the industry are capitalizing on the opportunities, provided by
the government accompanied by favorable economic conditions .This is evident by
the data, which shows negative ACGR of-5.52% in the control period because of
highly protected markets. The average export volume in the period was around only
1.7 lakh tone cement. As the industry was decontrolled and economy opened
up, cement exports started making rapid strides.
PERCAPITACONSUMPTION
The per capita consumption of 125 kg in the year 2012-13, compares poorly with
the world average of over 350 kg and more than 660 kg in China. Similarly in Japan
it is 631 kg /capita while in France it is 447 kg /capita. The process of catching up
with international averages emphasizes the tremendous scope for growth in the
Indian cement industry in the long term. Also, one of the reasons for strong interest
shown by the foreign players in India is due to its lower per capita consumption of
cement.
PRODUCTDIFFERENTIATION
India is producing different varieties of cement, based on different compositions
according to specific end uses, like Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC), Portland
Pozzolana Cement(PPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement(PBFS), Oil Well
C e m e nt , Rapid Hardening Portland cement, Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement
and White Cement etc. The basic difference liesin the percentage of clinker used.
These different varieties of cement are produced strictly under BIS (Bureau of
International Standards) specification sand the quality is comparable with the best
in the world.

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1.3 COMPANY PROFILE
AMBUJA CEMENT
Ambuja Cements Limited was set up in the late 80s. The cement industry presented
an opportunity of steady growth and ethical competition to the promoters. However, a
decade later, it became one of world’s most efficient cement companies producing the
finest cement in the world at the lowest cost while adhering to the most stringent
international pollution-control norms. Today, Ambuja is the 3rd largest cement company
in India, with an annual plant capacity of 18.5 million tonnes including Ambuja Cement
Eastern Ltd. and revenue in excess of Rs.3298crores. More importantly, its plants are
some of the most efficient in the world. With environment protection measures that are
on par with the finest in the developed world. But the company’s most distinctive
attribute is its approach to the business. Ambuja believes its most valuable assets aren’t
cement plants. They are the people who run the plants.
This unique vision is encapsulated in the company’s homegrown philosophy of giving
people the authority to set their own targets, and the freedom to achieve their goals.
This simple vision has created an environment where there are no limits to excellence,
no limits to efficiency. And has proved to be a powerful engine of growth for the
company. As a result, Ambuja has consistently raised the bar in all aspects of the
cement industry. Be it transportation, plant efficiency, brand building or human resource
development.

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First plant set up in record time
When Ambuja set up its first plant in 1986, the accepted time period for installing a plant
was 3 years. Ambuja did it in less than 2 years and with a significantly lower capital
expenditure. In 1993 the company went a step further and bettered its own record.
Ambuja's second plant was installed in a mere 13 months - the quickest time for setting
up a one million tonnes cement plant.
A whole new way of transporting cement
in the early 90s, almost all cement in India travelled by rail or road and in bags .A mode
that involves deterioration of both, the quality and volume of cement. In 1993, Ambuja
Cement set up a complete system of transporting bulk cement via the sea route making
it the first company in India to introduce bulk cement movement by sea. Others followed
and today, about 10% cement travels by this new route.
The facility comprises: A dedicated port at the Gujarat plants, capable of berthing
40,000 DWT vessels, three bagging terminals at Mumbai, Surat and Sri Lanka, and
seven special bulk cement vessels. This capability has enabled us to supply fresh
cement to many coastal markets – domestic and international.
Branding a commodity
Cement is a commodity, sold largely on price. Ambuja Cement was the first company to
create a brand out of cement and command a premium.
It was also the first to introduce a special cell, providing technical services to consumers
and masons. Today, this has become the norm in cement marketing.

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The trick of course was to provide a consistently high quality of cement, backed
by excellent service. This was reinforced by a strong dealer network. The result is
that customers are ready to pay 2-3% premium for Ambuja Cement for the value they
receive. Ambuja Cement is the top brand in Western, Northern, Central and Eastern
India.
Exports
Ambuja Cement exports almost 17% of its production in a very competitive international
environment. For the last ten years, Ambuja Cement remains India’s highest exporter
of cement.
This has been possible for two reasons –
1. The quality of cement matches the best in the world.
2. The dedicated bulk cements transportation capability at our Gujarat plant.
The Environment
From the outset, Ambuja has believed that a cement plant cannot flourish at the cost of
the environment. That’s why it adheres to the most rigorous international environmental
norms. The pollution levels at all its cement plants are even lower than the rigorous
Swiss standards of 100 mg/NM3 .At the Gujarat plants, surface miners have been
employed to scrape the surface of the mines.
Thus ensuring that all the mining is totally blast free.There is no noise or air pollution.
Similarly at the Himachal Pradesh plant, Ambuja has employed techniques that have
made mining absolutely safe and pollution free.Not surprisingly then, the company has
consistently won awards for its pollution free plants. Awards as prestigious as the
National Award for Outstanding Pollution Control and The Eco-Gold Star of Tata Energy
Research Institute (TERI).

8. 7
Corporate Social Responsibility
In 1991, the company set up Ambuja Cement Foundation to trigger all-round
development of the people around its cement plants. The Foundation decided to
traverse the difficult but more productive path of helping the people to help themselves.
With great dedication and commitment, the foundation energized the local people to
participate and own their development process. It became a facilitator and catalyst,
rather than a one-time fund provider. It developed easily replicable and sustainable
modules for water management, sustainable agriculture and healthcare. All this effort in
discharging its social responsibility has earned the company recognition across Asia.
Milestones
 Building of a cement plant in record 13 months.
 Kilometer conveyor belt running through three hills was constructed in just 9
months.
 Introduced a completely new system of transporting cement in India – the bulk
cement transportation by sea.
 Introduced complete blast free limestone mining by using the surface miner in
limestone mining for the first time in India.
 Created water reservoirs in used up mines and raised the water table in arid
areas.
 Our plants have achieved the lowest pollution levels –comparable with the
strongest Swiss standards.

9. 8
Recognition
 National Award for commitment to quality by the Prime Minister of India.
 National Award for outstanding pollution control by the Prime Minister of India.
 Eco-Gold Star by TERI
 Best Export Award by CAPEXIL.
 Award for Corporate Social Responsibility by Business World – FICCI
 International Award For Rural Development by Asian Management Institute
(AIM)
 ISO 9002 Quality Certification.
 ISO 14000 Certification for environmental systems.
Technical Details
 Established – 1986.
 Total Capacity – 18.5 million tonnes.
 Infrastructure – Dedicated port at Gujarat. Capable of berthing 40,000 DWT
vessels with carrying capacity of 20,000 tonnes.
 Packing terminals at Mumbai, Surat and Sri Lanka.
 Seven dedicated bulk cement ships.

10. 9
2.0 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Customer satisfaction begins with a difficult faith; it starts with a commitment to deliver
the result for each customer which is also a concern of the dealers. Hence for a
manufacturing company, in order to satisfy its customers, it is highly important to satisfy
its dealers, as they are the direct customers to them. Establishing satisfaction as the
ultimate goal is like the other ultimate goals of business pursuit of higher profits or
shareholders wealth. Perfect dealer service or satisfaction is one that meets the
combined need satisfaction is a systemized service that involves the entire organization.
But many organizations have yet to develop this kind of awareness of dealer
satisfaction strategy.
Dealer Satisfaction begins with the following specific assumptions about company’s
relationship with the customers.
1. The dealer service activities focus mainly on existing dealers.
2. Some dealers are more important than others
3. They are the assets.
4. The dealer is always specific.
The dealer needs and value should influence every aspect of the organization strategy,
employee safety and performance, product and organization strategy, employee safety
and performance, product and service development, sales and marketing programs,
operational procedures and information and measurement system.
Understanding the dealer is critical to the success of any customer focus initiative, the
first step in understanding the dealers is to listen to them.

11. 10
.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing, which is the world's largest marketing
body,defines marketing as "The management process responsible for identifying,
anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably."
Marsha Peter (2OO2) examines temporal changes in post-purchase product
satisfaction for durable goods purchase. Involvement and satisfaction variables were
measured in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study of car owners. Overall,
consumers with high product involvement showed slightly greater satisfaction with their
cars than low-involvement consumers over the term of ownership. However, in the 2-
month period after purchase, consumers with high product involvement showed a
decline in satisfaction, whereas low-involvement consumers' satisfaction increased. The
role of disconfirmation in these changes was investigated. Benefits and problems
disconfirmation were found to make independent contributions to satisfaction
judgments, and the strength and form of contribution varied with product involvement.
These findings suggest that benefits and problems disconfirmation need to be
measured separately in satisfaction research.
Yooshik Yoon(2004) studied the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination
loyalty: a structural model and investigates the relevant relationships among the
constructs by using a structural equation modeling approach. Consequently, destination
managers should establish a higher satisfaction level to create positive post-purchase
behavior, in order to improve and sustain destination competitiveness.
Diane Halstead (1993) studied the Focuses on a group of unsatisfied car owners.
Examines the roles of the car warranty and the post-purchase service received during
the complaint process in terms of their effects on customers' satisfaction with complaint
resolution. Presents some suggestions for customer service policies, complaint handling
procedures, and warranty fulfillment service.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & DESIGN
3.1 Type of research
Market Research
Definition of marketing research is approved by the board of American marketing
association (AMA) “Marketing Research is a function which links the customer and
public to marketer thought information used to identity and defines market opportunity
and problems; generate define and evaluate ,marketing action monitor marketing
performance and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
Simply marketing research is a systematic design collection analysis and reporting of
data feeding relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company, careful
planning thought all stage of the research is a necessary. Objectivity in research in all
important the heart of the scientific method is the object gathering and analysis of the
information. The function of marketing g research within a company is to provide the
information and analytical input necessary for effective planning of future marketing
activity control of marketing operation in the present.
3.2 Objective of study
 To find out the customer satisfaction level through scientific tools like interviews
and questionnaire.
 To finding the customer satisfaction level through direct interaction with the
knowing their preference. This will include all the processes like asking
questions from the customer through questionnaire which will be included in the
primary survey once the primary survey is done.

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3.3 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
The research instrument used in this study is a structured questionnaire’
structured questionnaire are those questionnaire in which there are definite, concrete
and predetermined questions relating to the aspect, favor which the researcher collects
data. The questions are presented with exactly the same order to all the respondents.
3.4 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN
The structured questionnaires that were framed and designed consist of close
ended, open ended, multiple choice, and Dichotonomos, rating and raking questions.
3.5 Data collection
 Selected around 100 persons for the interview.
 To help of the questionnaire, personal and telephonic interview.
 Collected the data through focus interviews. Concentrated on taking interview
mainly from the following group of people.
 Architects/engineers----25%
 Retailer stockiest-------15%
 Wholesale -------10%
 Industrial bulk consumer-----20%
 General consumer------30%
The survey was descriptive and sample chosen was mainly on the judgments of the
researcher with the help and proper consultation of project guide.
In this kind of sampling method, the population elements are based on the judgments of
the researcher. There searchers’ exercises judgment or expertise chooses the elements
to be included in the sample, because he or she believes appropriate.
In this survey, visited the dealers of the cement also to know the strategy of the
companies, especially Ambuja cement to satisfy the customer as they buy the cement

14. 13
of any particular company…The main purpose of the descriptive research is description
of the state of affairs as they exist at present.
3.6 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Random sampling has been used in this study. Random sampling is used for selection
of homogeneous sample for the study. It refers to selecting a sample of study objects on
randomly. Thus research study may include study objects, which are randomly located.
Research findings based on random sampling however, cannot be generalized.
3.7. PERIOD OF THE STUDY
The duration of Study is 45 days and during the period, the following steps were taken.
 Objectives were set and questionnaire was finalized
 Data were collected and recorded
 Data were analyzed and interpreted
 Reports were generated
3.8. SAMPLE SIZE
Pertaining to the limitations of the study, and in consultation with the company
guide and the project guide, the sample size is taken as 100. Due to time and resource
constrains the sample size is taken as 100 People in consultation with the industry
Project guide.
3.9 PILOT SURVEY
A pilot survey with 30 samples was conducted for testing the validity of the
questions. It was found that there was no need for changed in the questionnaire and
hence the same questionnaire was used for final survey also.

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3.10 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
 Some customers were not able to understand some of the questions.
 The sample size was not enough and it failed to give the picture or the result of
the survey (sample size=100)
 Some customers or dealers did not co-operate well.
 The questionnaire did not cover the whole aspect of the market potential of
Ambuja cement.
4.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
 Customer satisfaction with respect to the AMBUJA CEMENT is satisfactory.
 Despite the increasing cost of the raw material the company is able to bring down
the cost of the manufacturing through procurement of raw materials by the mines
which are located nearby.
 Customers come to know about AMBUJA CEMENT mainly from hoardings many
people are illiterate.
 Customers want more prizes and dealers want more incentives,gift and tours.
 Dealers also want more meeting with officials of the cement companies.
 Bulk consumers want more and more cash discount.

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4.1 RECOMMENDATIONS
 The company should concentrate on more aggressive advertisement to
promote their products.
 The company should launch more and more promotional schemes like two
for the price of one “or more discount coupons.
 Company should do more to promote their brand as customers prefer
good brand while buying any cement.
 Customer prefer price as an important factor while buying any cement so
the company should fix the price accordingly.
4.2 CONCLUSIONS
 Company should concentrate on direct meeting with the customer as they
are the most vital element in deciding the growth or decline of any
company.
 Company should decrease the response time to the complaint received.
 The company should fix certain amount of cement especially for the
dealers and give them free of cost as incentives.
 The company should appoint more and more persons for the promotions
of the brands.
 Company should decrease delivery time of the cement
5.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Books referred:
 Marketing research-----Naresh kumar malhotra,Pearson edition.
 Marketing management --------Philip kotler,Pearson edition.
 Customer satisfaction research management------Derek allen,Pearson edition
Journals/newspapers:
 Annual journal of ambuja cement
 Labour and industrial chronicle
 Indian cement review
Web sites:
 www.ambujacement.com
 www.google.com
 www.wikipedia.com
6.0 Annexure

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S.No: Date:
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of……………………………………………………………………………………..
customer..........................................................................Center..............................
Postal address...........................................................................................................
Contact no……………………………………………………………………………………
Q.1 Have you purchased AMBUJA CEMENT ever?
YES [ ] NO [ ]
Q2.IF YES, How did you come to know about AMBUJA CEMENT?
a.TV commercial b.Dealer/wholesaler
c.Archi/Eng d.Builder
Q3.What are the influencing factors for your preferences?
a.Price b.Quality
c.Convenience d.All of above
Q4.Are you satisfied with AMBUJA CEMENT?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
Q5.Do you think convenience is matter?
YES [ ] NO[ ]
Q6.IF the AMBUJA CEMENT is not convenience to you than will you shift to other
brands?

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YES [ ] NO [ ]
Q7. Are you satisfied with the price as per the quality?
YES [ ] NO [ ]
Q8.IT is reliable as compare to the competitors?
YES [ ] NO [ ]
Q9.IF YES, Do you think the quality is better as compare to the competitors?
YES [ ] NO [ ]
Q10.Out of 5 which rank you want to give to the AMBUJA CEMENT?
a.GOOD b.BETTER
c.AVERAGE d.BAD
e.NO REPLY