ACHIEVING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY
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ACHIEVING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The goal of a business is to acquire and retain consumers. If a company successfully acquires and retains clients at a low cost, it will profit while remaining viable and thriving. If a company fails to attract or retain a sufficient number of consumers, it will suffer losses. Too many losses will spell the end of the business.
According to Philip Kotler, customer satisfaction refers to feelings of pleasure or disappointment caused by comparing a product’s perceived performance (or outcome) to his or her expectations as a potential user of a product.
According to the Balanced Scorecard Institute (Marketing Metrics), current management philosophy demonstrates a growing recognition of the importance of customer focus and happiness in any firm.
These are leading indicators: if clients are dissatisfied, they will eventually discover alternative suppliers who can suit their needs. Poor performance in [customer satisfaction] is thus a leading signal of future deterioration, even if the current financial picture appears to be positive.”
Many businesses around the world are focused on maximising profits. However, profit cannot be maximised without the interchange of ideas, value, and other human characteristics, including those accountable for performing other marketing activities.
Ideally, every organisation that wishes to break even in a competitive atmosphere should first adequately encourage its employees to ensure smooth commercial transactions.
When management satisfies its employees, effort is directed towards satisfying customers in order to gain their loyalty. Customers are king in terms of marketing concepts. As a result, they must be satisfied so that their patronage can be validated.
The factors could include producing exactly what the consumers need at reasonable prices, providing after-sales services where applicable, and other significant factors that stimulate demand through consumer satisfaction. The majority of these factors will be revealed using the approaches described in Chapter 2 of this study.
It is logical and scientific to add that the interactions of sales managers and representatives with their environments, such as the public and customers, play a significant role in achieving strong and viable consumer patronage in all multinational/manufacturing companies or industries.
Behaviour issues related to contacts with outsiders of the corporate organisation, such as consumers, are of concern. Because every action of a company’s employees has an impact on the rate of consumption of its customers. Behaviour can be stated mathematically as follows:
B=f(P.E)
This expression states that behaviour is determined by how a person interacts with his surroundings.
Finally, good consumer satisfaction is dependent on a ‘through-life’ awareness of the business need and corresponding user requirements for a future system, as well as the capacity to communicate those requirements to the system developer.
Furthermore, customer satisfaction and confidence are determined by the level of system assurance provided throughout the system development lifecycle.
Problems with requirements understanding ultimately result in unsatisfactory consumer-supplier interactions, unnecessary reworks, and cost and/or time overruns.
Finally, the measures taken to assure consumer pleasure are either emotive or cognitive. Affective measures record a customer’s attitude (liking or disliking) towards a product, which can be influenced by any product knowledge or experience.
In contrast, a cognitive measure is an assessment or judgement about how well the product performed in comparison to expectations. A clear definition and knowledge of customer satisfaction may assist any firm in identifying potential for product and service innovation,
as well as serving as the foundation for performance rating and reward systems. It can also serve as the foundation for a customer satisfaction surveys programme, ensuring that quality improvement efforts are correctly directed towards the issues that are most important to the consumer.
1.2 Statement of Problem
In more general terms, consumer satisfaction has no specific definition, but it can be interpreted as the pleasingness or gratification provided to a consumer in order to gain his or her loyalty, or as a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or exceed customer expectations.
This study will attempt to investigate the challenges connected with consumer satisfaction in Nigerian Bottling Company Plc using the methodologies outlined.
One of the noticed issues is that most salespeople from various organisations are occasionally unconcerned with the practice of civility before customers at the point of purchase.
Another issue is the sales managers’ incapacity to identify and select the appropriate and capable salesforce for the implementation of marketing operations.
Consumer dynamism in accepting an idea and a lack of positive encouragement from sales representatives to secure repurchase.
Furthermore, the lack of knowledge about customers’ natural characteristics, social growth, and surroundings poses a significant challenge to accomplishing the stated goal of consumer satisfaction.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
This research aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. Identify the various ways for achieving consumer satisfaction in international firms, with a focus on Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.
2. To introduce salespeople to methods of ensuring acceptance through humility during sales calls.
3. Determine the variables that go against the company’s goal of achieving customer happiness.
4. Examine how the organisation is doing to achieve the aim of consumer pleasure.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study will look into the tactics used at NBC Plc to achieve consumer happiness, with a focus on the importance, advantages, and influence on business success. Also to establish the demand for their strives towards making a persistent attempt in gratifying customers through:
1. Approaches to achieving consumer pleasure.
2. Difficulties in achieving the specified goal.
3. Staff plays a specific function in customer satisfaction.
4. To introduce students to the various ways in which an organisation can achieve its goals through customer satisfaction.
5. Ensure a complete commitment to achieving organisational success through customer satisfaction.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
To give an empirical foundation for this study, the following research questions:
1. How does NBC Plc delight its customers?
2. Does customer pleasure have an impact on loyalty?
3. What is the relationship between consumer satisfaction and profitability at NBC Plc?
4. Are customers satisfied with NBC Plc’s products and operations?
5. What elements undermine the company’s goal of achieving client satisfaction?
6. How does consumer satisfaction affect business performance?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
Ho: Maintaining close contact with customers does not increase their loyalty.
Ho: Consumer dissatisfaction does not decrease sales volumes.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research intends to investigate techniques to achieving consumer happiness and its impact on sales volume and business success in a multinational / manufacturing corporation with worldwide operations experience.
The purpose can be expressed as the following objectives:
1. Identify the various techniques to achieving client happiness.
2. Examine the relationship between consumer happiness and business performance.
3. To highlight the impact of consumers’ perceived demands on business performance, with the goal of recommending changes that could improve NBC Plc’s customer satisfaction.
4. Make recommendations on how consumers might be satisfied.
1.8 Limitations of Study
For a research to be conducted on the approaches for achieving consumer satisfaction and its impact on business performance in NBC Plc, it would have been appropriate to study various plants in different countries,
but due to time and other constraints, and for future researchers or potential successors to undergo more findings for future purposes, that is to study at least ten plants in different countries of NBC Plc operations.
This investigation, however, is limited to the Ikeja facility and surrounding area. Furthermore, some of the staff refused to cooperate during the visit and answer questions.
1.9 Background of Study
Nigerian Bottling Company Plc is one of the few multinational organisations that began in Nigeria as a small family-owned operation and has grown to become the country’s leading bottler of alcohol-free beverages, manufacturing and selling over 33 different Coca-Cola brands.
The Nigerian Bottling Company Plc (NBC) was established in November 1951 as a subsidiary of the A.G. Leventis Group, with the franchise to bottle and sell Coca-Cola products in Nigeria.
Production started in 1953 at a bottling plant in Ebute-Metta, Lagos. Over the years, production capacity has increased, and there are now 13 bottling facilities and over 80 distribution warehouses spread around the country.
Coca-Cola is the world’s most popular product, sold in over 145 countries. Every day, 250 million servings are consumed over the world, from Canada in the north to Argentina and throughout New Zealand in the south, from Alaska to China, Mexico to Nigeria.
Nigerian Bottling Company is now Nigeria’s leading bottler of soft drinks, selling over six million bottles per day, a figure that is expected to rise further when the existing twelve factories in various parts of the country are expanded.
Fanta is by far the best-selling product in the segment, and Sprite is a popular lemon drink in Nigeria. Other products bottled by NBC Plc include ginger ale, Fanta, pineapple, Fanta blackcurrant, tonic water, Krest, bitter lemon, and soda water.
Coca-Cola’s success was driven by the growth of a number of sister businesses, all of which contributed to Nigeria’s economy. The Delta Glass Company in Ughelli, which supplies the millions of bottles required to keep a large bottling company running;
the grown product factories in Ijebu Ode and Kano, which produce the metal crowns used to seal the bottles; and the Benin Plastic Company, which manufactures the plastic containers used to transport bottles.
Furthermore, delivery trunks are a common sight throughout the country, transporting to over 50,000 dealers who are also assembled in Nigeria.
Nigerian Bottling Company is also the country’s largest employer and manufacturer, employing over 8,000 Nigerians across all operations.
Quality is the key that affects the overall performance of the operation; all plants have only the best ingredients and modern washing and filling equipment installed. Extremely high cleanliness standards are maintained to ensure that top-quality products reach consumers.
The company’s approach to obtaining customer pleasure is completely dynamic, with a keen eye on market trends and plans for future occurrences.
Coca-Cola’s manufacturing process is based on a precise blend of sugar, water, and concentrated ingredients. The same standard is maintained around the world.
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