A PROJECT REPORT On CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH REFERENCE TO VESTA ICECREAM IN THRISSUR, KERALA Submitted to Visvesaraya Technological University Belgaum,

Karnataka.

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2009-2010) Submitted by ) Under the guidance of

Internal Guide Prof.

External Guide

GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Customer satisfaction helps the firms to understand the desired level of needs and wants of customers. Customer satisfaction is a tool used by the organization to understand the effectiveness of their performance. Customer satisfaction refers to the power or ability to choose one thing over another with the anticipation that the choice will result in greater satisfaction or improved performance. The analysis of customer satisfaction helps the organization to find out the weakness in their activities.

MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Organization are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing product and services to the market place.

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from the person to person and product to product. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other option the customer may have and other products against which customer can compare the organizations product.

INDUSTRY PROFILE ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

Ice cream
A smooth, sweet, cold food prepared from a frozen mixture of milk products and flavorings, containing a minimum 10 percent of milk fat and eaten as a snack or desert. Ice cream is made from cream or butter fat, milk, sugar and flavorings. Ice cream is now available in hundreds, if not thousands of flavor. Fruit ices (nondairy frozen desserts) were introduced into Europe from the East some time after being first described by Marco Polo in his journals. Creation of the first true ice cream is credited to a Parisian cafe owner named Tortoni in the late 18 th century. Commercial ice cream is made by heating and blending its ingredients to form a mix, which is then pasteurized and homogenized. The mix is ripened for several hours and then agitated while being frozen to incorporate air; the highest-quality ice creams incorporate the least air.These ingredients along with air incorporated during the stirring process, make up ice cream. Generally, less expensive ice creams contain lower-quality ingredients (for example natural vanilla may be replaced by artificial vanillia), and more air is incorporated, sometimes as much as 50% of the final volume. Artisan-produced ice creams contain very little air, although some is necessary to produce the characteristic creamy texture of the product. Generally speaking, the finest ice creams have 3% and 15% air. Because most ice cream is sold by volume, it is economically advantageous for producers to reduce the density of the product in order to cut costs. Ice cream can also be hand-packed and sold by weight. The use of stabilizers rather than cream and the incorporation of air also decrease the fat and energy content of less expensive ice creams, making them more appealing to those on diets.Ice cream come in a wide variety of flavors, often with additives such as chocolate flakes or chips, ribbons of sauce as caramel or chocolate,

nuts, fruit and small candies/sweets. Some of the most popular ice cream flavors are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and Neapolitan(a combination of the three). Many people also enjoy ice cream sundaes, which often have ice cream, hot fudge, nuts, whipped cream, maraschino cherries or a variety of other toppings. Other toppings include cookie crumbs, butterscotch sprinkles, banana sauce, marshmallows or different variety of candy.

HISTORY OF ICECREAM
Our love affair with ice cream is centuries old. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Jews were known to chill wines and juices. This practice evolved into fruit ices and eventually, frozen milk and cream mixtures. In the first century, Emperor Nero reportedly sent messengers to the mountains to collect snow so that his kitchen staff could make concoctions flavored with fruit and honey. Twelve centuries later, Marco Polo introduced Europe to a frozen milk desert similar to the modern sherbet that he had enjoyed in the Far East. The Italians were especially fond of the frozen confection that by the sixteenth century was being called ice cream. In 1533, the young Italian princess Catherine de Medici went to France as the bride of the future king Henry II. Included in her trousseau were recipes for frozen desserts. The first public sale of ice cream occurred in Paris at the caf Procope in 1670. Frozen desserts were also popular in England. Guests at the coronation banquet of Henry V of England in the fourteenth century enjoyed a dessert called cremfrez. By the seventeenth century, Charles I was served crme ice on regular basis. Eighteenth-century English cook books contained recipes for ice cream flavored with apricots, violets, rose

petals, chocolate and caramel. Other early flavorings included macaroon and rum. In early America, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were especially fond of ice cream. Dolley Madison was known to serve it at White House state dinners. Records of the introduction of ice cream into England are equally meager. In 1979 Mrs. Elizabeth Raffald published a book in London entitled The Experienced Housekeeper in which she gave the recipe for making a kind of ice cream. Ice cream made by a man named Hall, of 75 Chatham Street, now Park Row, was advertised in Newyork June 8, 1786, and there is a record that Mrs. Johnson served ice cream at a ball given in Newyork December 12, 1789.Because ice was expensive and refrigeration had not yet been invented, ice cream was still considered a treat for the wealthy or for those in colder climates. (In a note written in 1794, Beethoven described the Austrians fear that an unseasonably warm winter would prevent them from enjoying ice cream). Furthermore, the process of making ice cream was cumbersome and time consuming. A mixture of dairy products, eggs and flavorings was poured into a pot and beaten while, simultaneously the pot was shaken up and down in a pan of salt and ice. The development of ice harvesting and the invention of the insulated ice house in the nineteenth century made ice more accessible to the general public. In 1846, Nancy Johnson designed a hand-cranked ice cream freezer that improved production slightly. The first documented full-time manufacturing of ice cream took place in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1851 when a milk dealer named Jacob Fussel found himself with a surplus of fresh cream. Working quickly before the cream soured, Fussel made an abundance of ice cream and sold it at a discount. The popular demand soon convinced him that selling ice cream was more profitable than selling milk.After World War II, with raw materials

readily available again, the ice cream industry produced over 20 qt of ice cream for each American per year. During the 1950s, competition sprang up between the ice cream parlor and the drug store that sold packaged ice cream. It was during this time that usage of lesser quality ingredients increased. Many producers were adding very low percentages of butterfat and pumping large quantities of air into the ice cream to fill out the carton.The 1970s saw the development of gourmet ice cream manufactures with an emphasis on natural ingredients. People also became interested in making ice cream at home. Upscale restaurants offer homemade ice cream on their dessert lists.

PRODUCT PROFILE PRODUCTS

1. CATTLE FEED 2. DE-OILEDCOCONUT CARE 3. DAIRY PRODUCTS 4. REFINED COCONUT OIL

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
The company has a Veterinary Doctor as the nutritionist. It is in consultation with Nutritionist that marketing department decides for the new products.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES;
The primary objectives of the study are,

1. To know about the products awareness among the customers.

2. To identify the customer satisfaction

3. To study about the customer satisfaction of vesta ice cream with special reference to K.S.E LTD

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES;
1. To know about the company in detail. 2. To identify the strengths and weakness of the company. 3. To assess the findings and to give suggestions 4.To study market position of each flavor of Vesta ice-cream 5.To know about factors affecting customer satisfaction of ice-cream

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

To study the customer satisfaction of Vesta Ice cream with special reference to Kerala Solvent Extractions Ltd. To know about factors affecting customer satisfaction of Vesta Ice cream. To study market position of Vesta Ice cream.

METHODOLOGY
Research
Research is the process of searching for knowledge. It can be defined as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic, subject or area of information backed by collection, computation, presentation, and interpretation of relevant data. According to Clifford woody Research comprises defining and redefining problems formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions and at least carefully testing the conclusion to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.

Research methodology
Research methodology is a scientific and systematic way to solve research problems. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. Researcher has to design his methodology. Research methodology deals with research

methods and takes into consideration the logic behind the method. It also deals with objective of research study, the method of defining the problem, type of data collected, methods used for collecting and analyzing data.

Research design
Research design is the conceptual structure with in which research is conducted. It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The Research design specifies the method of study. Research design is prepared after formulating the research problem.

Research type
The type of research design used for this study is the descriptive research design. Descriptive research is the research for fact finding the major use of descriptive research is explanation of state of affairs, as it exists at present.

Sample survey or sampling

Sampling may be defined as the process of obtaining information about an entire population by examining only a part of it. In any investigation if data collected only from a representative part of the universe we say that the data are collected by sampling. The representative part is called a sample.

Sampling techniques
Sampling may be defined as the process of obtaining information about an entire population by examining only a part of it. In any investigation if data collected

only from a representative part of the universe we say that the data are collected by sampling the representative part is called sampling. Type of sample used here is non-probability sampling .non-probability sampling is that sampling procedure which does not afford any basis for estimating the probability for each item to be included in the sample. In non probability sampling generally the person selecting the sample purposively select a sample suitable for his study. Method used for sampling is purposive sample is one which is selected by the researcher subjectively. The researcher attempt to obtain sample that appears to him representative of the population and will usually try to ensure that a range from one extreme to the other included which is

Tools for analysis

Simple percentage method Chi-square Rank analysis

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The main limitations of the study were, 1. The researcher was not able to meet the entire population. Since the sample is small compared to the universe the researcher cannot generalize the results.

2. Some of the respondents may be biased. 3 As convenient sampling was done, so the study has all limitations of that method.

4. The information collected from the respondents during the process of survey was considered for analysis and there is likelihood of exaggerated response in some cases. 5. The time span of study was limited to 1 month and the area of study was limited.

CHAPTER-5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. ow do you come to know about Vesta ice cream? Advertisements ( ). Word of Mouth ( ). Shop Keepers ( ). Neighbours ( )

2. How do you rate the Quality and Taste of the Vesta ice cream? .Excellent ( ). Good ( ). Satisfactory ( ). Poor ( )

3. Which type of flavor do you prefer?

Vanilla ( ). Chocolate ( ). Pista ( ). Others ( ).

4. How do you rate the Price of Vesta ice cream? Over priced ( ). Under priced ( ) Reasonable ( ).

5. How do you rate the Availability of Vesta ice cream? Excellent ( ). Good ( ). Satisfactory ( ). Poor ( )

6. How do you rate the Packing of Vesta ice cream Excellent ( ). Good ( ). Satisfactory ( ). Poor ( )

7. How frequently do you purchase Vesta ice cream? Every day ( ). Once a week ( ). 3-4 times a week ( ). Once a month ( ).

8. How do you prefer to have your Vesta ice cream in? Cup ( ). Cone ( ). Stick ( ). Color ball ( ).

9. Would you like to recommend Vesta icecream to friends, relatives and others? Yes ( ). No ( )

10. Where do you usually buy your ice cream? Ice cream parlour ( ) Supermarket ( ). Minimart ( ). Ice cream vehicle ( ).

11.Are you satisfied with the advertisement provided by the company. Yes ( ) No ( ).

12.What is your preferred media of advertisement? T.V ( ). Radio ( ). Hoardings ( ) Print ( ).

13.Which type of promotions will attract you to buy more icecream? Buy 1 get 1 free ( ). Seasonal discount ( ). Discount Voucher. ( ).

14. How satisfied are you with Vesta ice cream? Very satisfied ( ). Somewhat satisfied ( ). Dissatisfied ( ).

15.Whether the company name KSE Ltd influence to buy Vesta Ice cream?

Yes. ( ).

No. ( ).

16.What improvement that you would like to see in Vesta Ice cream? More new flavors ( ). Lower pricing ( ). Healthier Ice cream ( ). Improvement in the quality ( ).

Suggestions if any .

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEBSITES.

PHILIP KOTLER: MARKETING MANAGEMENT C. R KOTHARI: Research methodology method and techniques.

WEBSITES: WWW.kselimted.com WWW.wikepeedia.com WWW.google.com