Research proposal onCustomer Satisfaction: A Case Study on

Igloo Ice-cream

Table of Contents
1. Background of the Study: ................................................................................................................ 2
2. Rationale of the Study:.................................................................................................................... 3
3. Aim and Objectives: ........................................................................................................................ 3
3.1 Aim: ........................................................................................................................................... 3
3.2 Objectives: ................................................................................................................................. 4
4. Introductory Literature Review: ..................................................................................................... 4
4.1Customer Satisfaction for Ice-cream Industry: .......................................................................... 4
4.2 Characteristics of customers: .................................................................................................... 5
5. Methodology:.................................................................................................................................. 5
5.1 proposed conceptual model: .................................................................................................... 5
5.2Research questions and hypothesis: .......................................................................................... 6
5.3 Research design:........................................................................................................................ 7
5.4 Sampling process: ...................................................................................................................... 7
5.5 Survey Instruments: .................................................................................................................... 8
6. Field work and data collection: ..................................................................................................... 11
7. Data Analysis: ................................................................................................................................ 11
8. Timeline:........................................................................................................................................ 11
9. Expected Outcomes: ..................................................................................................................... 12
10. Bibliography: ............................................................................................................................... 13

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1. Background of the Study:

Ice cream is a frozen dessert, usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and
often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavors. Most varieties contain sugar,
although some are made with other sweeteners. In some cases, artificial flavorings and
colorings are used in addition to, or instead of, the natural ingredients. The mixture of chosen
ingredients is stirred slowly while cooling, in order to incorporate air and to prevent large ice
crystals from forming. The result is smoothly textured semi-solid foam that is malleable and
can be scooped.
From the beginning of our country Bangladesh, this Ice cream industry is very much related
with development of our economy. In last 48 years banking sector in Bangladesh has been
developed a lot. The health of the economy in Bangladesh is closely related to development
of this sector. In Bangladesh there are nowseveral ice creams industry are available. Instead
of providing basic product ice cream, these banks are also providing different types of variety
quality of tasty ice and attract new customers and keep them satisfied. In Bangladesh the ice
cream industry is very competitive because a number of compotators is there.
Now people not only consider taste to buy an ice cream. Customers perception regarding an
ice cream has been changed. They consider other factors like-brand image of the ice cream,
quality, availability, variety, ingredients of the ice cream and hygiene factors etc. These
factors are very much important for buying an ice cream today. When we look at the rising
speed of ice cream industry, it is very much clear that consciousness regarding to buy an ice
cream has been increased among the consumers. So ice cream inductors need to fulfill
customers needs and demands to hold current customers and attract new customers.
At present, the owner ice cream industry are facing market sensitive and dynamic customer in
this industry. Therefore, this research is designed to investigate the key factors which
customers considered most while choosing an ice cream. This research is conducted on the
basis of Bangladesh perspective. The importance of this research is that to focus on those
factors which is considering customers when they buy a ice cream. As a result customers of
that ice cream can get more quality and testy ice cream and also can differentiate the suitable
one from others.
Abdul Monem Limited is the brand owner of IGLOO Ice Cream, the countrys most
preferred ice cream brand, enjoying more than 60% market share. Igloo offers the widest
choice of ice cream to its discerning consumers, more than any other competitor in the market
and is available in all 64 districts across the country for consumers to enjoy this international
standard product.
Igloo is ISO 22000:2005 & HACCP certified ice cream Company in Bangladesh. Igloo offers
more than fifty six items, including regular, premium and novelty cup, stick and family pack
items. The major ingredients, raw materials and packing materials of Igloo ice cream are
procured from the best European sources. Thus ensuring Igloos no compromise to
QUALITY. Igloo puts major emphasis on good hygiene and the entire process is automated
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with high end technology. All products pass through a strict quality control check before
going to the market.
The product is retailed through more than 12,000 outlets across the franchise and is also made
available through colorful refrigerated trolleys that move around in residential areas and near
educational institutions. That comforting mainstay of frozen treats, IGLOO, can be found
throughout Bangladesh and everyone from suit-and-tie professionals to kids in baggy shorts,
teens in jeans till mature adults seem to partake of its pleasures. Igloo is also present in
strategic locations like airport, railway stations, stadiums, amusement parks, hotels,
international food chain shops, superstores and departmental stores.
The contributing factors to success of IGLOO are sound decision making, rigorous quality
control, establishing strategic alliance with suppliers, continuous improvement policy,
experienced production team and of course the consumers who have been with us throughout
our journey. Today, Igloo is synonymous to ice cream in Bangladesh.

2. Rationale of the Study:

In Bangladesh a few number of ice cream companies are operating their business. Therefore,
in recent time ice cream business is facing a great competition. As a result, all the companies
are trying to attract and increase new customers to stay in the market. Today customers are
becoming more demanding and they have the options to choose the right ice cream which
will meet their satisfaction. They consider many factors for choosing their ice cream.
Customer satisfaction is a very important issue for the success of any business. We will
conduct this market research on the particular topic to know about how effectively and
efficiently a company can increase the customer satisfaction level by applying various
strategies.

3. Aim and Objectives:

3.1 Aim:
The aim of the research is to find out customer satisfaction, attitudes, feedback about the
product, product quality, service quality of igloo ice-cream. And in the growing competition
how the company can manage customer satisfaction in the future that is also a major concern
of this research.
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3.2 Objectives:
What are the factors that make customer satisfied when they have igloo ice cream?
What are the key factors that make targetcustomer satisfied while purchasing igloo ice
cream?
On which factors, marketer should be more concern to increase their image and value
to its customer?
As the competition growing rapidly, how the company can manage customer
satisfaction in the future?
What will be the new customer satisfaction tools in new competitive business
environment?

4. Introductory Literature Review:

Initial literature review is beneficial to gain more insights and to precisely define the concepts
discussed on the aim and objectives. Considering the main objectives, a brief literature
review has been conducted on the following topics-

4.1Customer Satisfaction for Ice-cream Industry:

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.
Organization are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while
targeting on 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 the 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.

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4.2 Characteristics of customers:

Now that summer is here, people start to think more and more about ice cream. Though many
people eat it year-round, theres something about eating ice cream on a hot summers day.
Certainly there is the nostalgia of eating it as a kid while on summer vacation but it seems
popular as ever now.
Ice-cream companies offer lots of variations with their products now. This also attracts lots of
customers to purchase. Ice-cream lovers seek to taste different flavored ice-cream. Some
people taste it frequently, some wish to taste occasionally and so on.

5. Methodology:
5.1 proposed conceptual model:
We will conduct our research in two phases. In 1stphase of our research we will offer our 20
respondents to rank among 8 popular renowned ice cream brands according to the level of
satisfaction of a customer.
To have a better understanding of these factors, we will conduct conclusive research. We will
go through from secondary research to have an understanding of the customer satisfaction
regarding igloo ice cream. The variables especially need to form the models are:

Attribute

Product Quality

Price

Availability

Promotional activities

For our marketing research process, we followed and used the mathematical models. We
developed a Mathematical Model for our research purpose. We used Multiple
Regression Equation to identify and analyze the dependent and independent variables. The
Multiple Regression Equation we used is:

Y = 0 + 1.X1 + 2.X2 + 3.X3 + 4.X4 + 5.X5

Here,
Y = Dependent Variable (Determining customer satisfaction for igloo ice cream)
Beta () = Constant
X = Independent Variables
(X1= Attributes, X2= Product quality, X3= Pricing, X4= Availability, X5= Promotional
activities)
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5.2Research questions and hypothesis:

Considering the aim and objectives of the research following research questions and
hypotheses have been set. Here Ho means null hypothesis and H1 means alternative
hypothesis.
Our study explores how customer satisfaction on igloo ice cream on describes 5 factors. The
objective this research is to identify customer satisfaction on igloo ice cream? This broad
question is specified in the following five categories of research questions:
Q1: Does Attributes satisfy a customer ofIgloo ice cream?
Q2: Does Product Quality satisfy a customer ofIgloo ice cream?
Q3: Does Pricing satisfy a customer ofIgloo ice cream?
Q4: Does Availability satisfy a customer ofIgloo ice cream?
Q5: Does Promotional activities satisfy a customer ofIgloo ice cream?
Hypothesis
Attributes
Its an important factor to choose ice cream. Because when people purchase ice cream he/she
doesnt purchase an ice cream he/she purchases a brand of the company and this goes through
the attributes for igloo ice cream.
H1: Attributes of Igloo ice cream make a customers satisfied.
Product Quality
We also consider this aspect because people consider it about also. In this case they put
weight on taste, top quality ingredients, making of ice cream in a hygienic way etc.
H2: Product Quality of Igloo ice cream make a customers satisfied.
Pricing
Many customers relate the price of ice cream with its quality and they assume the more price
of an ice cream the better is the ice cream is. For this we are also considering pricing issue.
H3: Pricing of Igloo ice cream make a customers satisfied.

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 Availability
Its very important because when a customer will go to purchase an ice cream of his/her
desired brand that one must be available there. Otherwise the customer may switch to other
product.
H4: Availability of Igloo ice cream make a customers satisfied.
Promotional activities
For product like ice-cream its also important to aware people about the offers and our
product category. For this we also use this issue.
H5: Promotional activities of Igloo ice cream make a customers satisfied.

5.3 Research design:

To find out the triggering factors, we will conduct the research in the Exploratory
Research Design format.
Then for further research and have done to find and fix its components likeObjective/Theoretical Foundations, Analytical Model, Research Questions,
Hypothesis and Specification of the Information needed.
Now we will shift to a Quantitative approach known as Conclusive Research Design.
As its will be more efficient, structured and formal design process. Data analyzing are
more reliable in this approach. So now we will conduct the Descriptive and the
Causal Research to meet the proper accuracy on our marketing research process.

5.4 Sampling process:

The primary objective of this research is to have a general understanding of which factors
customers satisfy when they have igloo ice cream. But, as there is shortage of reliable
information about the population number so, we can follow Five step processes to
determine the probabilistic sample size.

Step 1) Define the target population:

The target populations are the buyer of the igloo ice-cream who buys ice-cream to satisfy
their demand.
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Step 2) Sampling frame:

Usually, most of the customers of ice-cream are school going, college going, and university
students. So, our samples will be from those customers.
Step 3) Sampling Technique:
To confirm every respondent in the population has the equivalent chance to be selected as a
sample, and to ensure population representative sample; probabilistic Stratified Random
Sampling (SRS) will be used as a sampling technique.
Step 4) Sample size:
As the size of the population is unknown; the following formula has been used to determine
the sample size for study (Malhotra, 2008):
n =pq (z/e)2, Where, n= Minimum number of statistically significant sample size
e = Tolerable error, (if +/- 05% is allowed, the value of e = 0.05)
Confidence level = 95%, so, z =1.96 (Standard Normal Distribution)
P = Proportion of the universe, which if unknown, the rule of thumb is to take p = 0.50. q =1
p(=0.50)
N = (0.5) (0.5) (1.96/0.05) 2 = 384.16 385
The purpose of taking p = 0.50 is to obtain the highest number of samples in the study as if p
is taken more or less than 0.50, the resultant sample size would be less than 385.
Step 5) Execution:
Sampling will be executed by administering survey questionnaire in face-to-face approach.

5.5 Survey Instruments:

We will use depth interview technique under personal survey methods for collecting data. We
will conduct one to one basis and ask them to fill up the questionnaire. Also we will provide
basic information on some key factors of the research for better understanding of the
questions.
Question structure: A sample of questionnaire that will be used as a survey instruments is
given in below.

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Questionnaires
1. Do you ever try Igloo ice cream? (If yes then please proceed, if no then please return
the questionnaire)
Yes

No

2. Please rank the following brand from most preferred to least preferred. (Igloo,
Polar, Kwality, Savoy,Bellisimo, Bloop, Zaa& Zee, Mi Amore, Others)
I. ___________________
II. ___________________
III. ___________________
IV. ___________________
V. ___________________
VI. ___________________
VII. ___________________
VIII. ___________________
3. Which attribute(s) of Igloo ice cream do you prefer most?
Taste

Variety

Hygienic

Distribution

Attractive packaging

Others___________

Please answer the following question

[put a tick mark () in any of the box on the 1-5 point scale. if your agreement is strongly
agree then give 5 and for strongly disagree then give 1]
Qs.
NO
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Brand image of igloo ice cream is most

considered.
Igloo ice cream is tastier than other ice
creams.
I am satisfied with the flavor of Igloo ice
cream.
Igloo ice cream is always use quality
ingredients.
I believe Igloo is a hygienic ice cream.
Price of the Igloo ice cream is reasonable.
Price influences me to buy Igloo ice cream.
I can afford Igloo ice cream
Igloo ice cream is always available in all
retail store.
I prefer ice cream which is available

Strongly
Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree Strongly
Disagree

5
5
5
5
5

4
4
4
4
4

3
3
3
3
3

2
2
2
2
2

1
1
1
1
1

5
5

4
4

3
3

2
2

1
1

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everywhere.
14
15
16
17
18

I always found igloo ice cream in retail

store around my campus.
I like Igloos promotional activities.
I like the contents of the advertisement to
igloo ice cream.
I purchase igloo ice cream because its ads
influence me.
I am always satisfied when I have an igloo
ice cream

19. Gender
Male

Female

20. In which age group you are?

20-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

60+

21. Education level

Graduate

Undergraduate

Diploma

H.S.C

S.S.C

Others _________________

22. What is your family monthly income?

10000 15000

15000-25000

25000-35000

35000- 45000

45000-60000

60000+

23. By profession what you are?

Private Employee
Business

Govt. Employee

Student

Others ____________

Thank you for your co-operation

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6. Field work and data collection:

Usually, most of the customers of ice-cream are school going, college going, and university
students. So, our samples will be from those customers. And also from different ice-cream
parlors we can also collect data.

7. Data Analysis:
Once the reliability analysis is done, then, we will calculate the mean value of dependent
variables (Customer satisfaction) and independent variables (Attributes,Product Quality,
Pricing, Availability and Promotional activities). Finally, we will complete the analysis part
through regression analysis.

8. Timeline:
Month
June

Phases

July

August

Finalize the aim and objectives of the

research, research questions, research
and test hypothesis
Conduct in-depth interview and carry
out detail literature review
Developing

measuring

instrument

and conduct pilot test

Developing final questionnaire and
collect data
Data analysis
Report presentation
Proof read, edit and submission of the
report

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9. Expected Outcomes:
In this research wewill try to determine the key variables for customer satisfaction of igloo
ice cream based on using five different independent variables. We will analyze it by
conducting a Regression analysis. The result will show what are the factors or variables
influencing on customer satisfaction of igloo ice-cream. At the same time what factors or
variables are not working well enough behind customer satisfaction of igloo ice-cream.
Therefore, the findings can be used for any decision making, or it may ask for further deep
research.

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10. Bibliography:
Malhotra, N. K., (2014) Marketing Research-An Applied Orientation. 6th ed. New Jerser:
Pearson
http://www.amlbd.com/
http://www.amlbd.com/icecream/about.php
http://www.scribd.com/doc/83666619/Customer-Satisfaction-With-Reference-to-IcecreamIn#scribd

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