1. Losing the position as the market leader.
2. People prefer alternate flooring to Carpeting and find it an ordeal to shop for carpets.
3. Customers were unhappy with the services provided by the retailers.
4. Fibre manufacturers were responsible for only supplying to the Carpet mills, thus the price and quantity standards were dictated by Carpet mills.
5. There was no proper market segmentation or market focus.
Alternative Solutions to the problems
1. Develop the Brand name and ensure the customers know about DuPont and its products through various marketing strategies employed by the company. Some of the marketing strategies could be Advertisement in different industrial magazines and training the retailers. 2. Open a new division which deals with all products and services related to flooring. Also, the procedure of buying carpets could be turned into an emotional and enjoyable experience wherein the customers look at carpets as more than something just to walk on. 3. The company should provide proper Training session to the retailers so that they have proper knowledge about the products they are selling. And the customers should be provided with after sales service such as fitting of the carpet and maintenance which will ensure that customers leave satisfied.
There could also be a hotline where the customers can directly contact experts in the industry. 4. There should be a contract stating the price range within which they should sell and the quantity standards which need to be maintained by the carpet mills ensuring that the customers were not cheated in anyway. Also providing Technical support as well quality assessments and help them identify the latest trend and styles in the market. 5. The company should analyze the different markets and recognize their needs and prepare goods as per the specifications, thus it will ensure complete customer satisfaction and better profits for the company. Analyzing the Alternatives
The Business plan on Ecommerce Crash 2000 Dot Market Companies
Intro In this report we will discuss the E-commerce bubble burst and its subsequent crash in March 2000. We will examine what happened during this time and what caused the bubble to burst. In order to understand these events, it is important to firstly comprehend what Dot-com is and its purpose. Dot-com can be defined as a company whose main market is on-line trading. An example is Amazon who ...
The biggest problem the company was facing was that the customers remained dissatisfied with the services provided and that lead to the sales going down.
Thus the various solutions for this problem are :
1. Ensuring that the customers get proper information of all the products which can be done by providing proper training sessions to the retailers as they are the ones who are directly in touch with the end users.
2. The distribution channels need to be strengthened as the deliveries were not made on time which meant that there will be no repeat sales.
3. The customers face the problem of after sales services thus there can be hotlines where the customers can call with any maintenance issues and the experts answer the questions.
4. The customers thought that buying the carpets was a depressing experience and thus it could be ensured that the retailers employed go through a rigorous hiring procedure and they are cheerful, highly motivated and with proper communication skills.
5. Another problem faced by them was that they did not know how the carpets would look once they bought them, thus there should be proper brochures showcasing how the designs of all the carpets would look.
6. The customers feared how they can maintain the carpets in their house, thus proper maintenance gear should be provided as a package deal with carpets and the brochure of how to use should also be given along with it.
7. In the European market the sales of the product remained low as they did not understand the concept of stainless carpets as they kept their carpets clean anyway. Thus the company needs to carry out proper research about the needs of their customers and produce goods accordingly.
The Business plan on Retail Buyer Company Products Buyers
Executive Summary This business plan details the launch of a start-up company known as the Import Export Company (IEC). The company functions as a 'middleman' in purchasing housewares from manufacturers in China and reselling the products to retail buyers in the US and Canada. The Import Export Company is primarily an independent import / export business. The products we import from China are ...
Recommend a Solution :
The best possible solution to the problem of customer dissatisfaction and the problem which needs immediate attention is that of the retailers being uninformed, unsympathetic and motivated only to close the deal rather than serve customers. The retailers should have detailed knowledge about the products they are selling and should be able to answer any queries the customers have, which will ensure that the sales go up and there is higher revenue for the company. For this purpose the retailers need to be given proper training.
Plan of action:
1. The company needs to have a clear understanding with the retailers about the change that is going to take place. Thus a meeting should be called wherein they sit together and have an open discussion. 2. Then the problems which are faced by the customers when interacting with the retailers should be communicated to them. 3. The retailers which are interested in bringing about changes should be kept part of the distribution chain and the others should be immediately fired. 4. Then the retailers should be given proper training sessions which are carried out by the DuPont experts, so that they have proper knowledge about the products they are selling. 5. The carpet mills should be provided with Technological assistance as well as quality standards should be communicated so that the mills are aware about the standards that need to be met. The company can ensure quality standards by carrying out quality assessment of the produce. Contingency Plans:
If the training of the retailers does not bring about the desired results then the company should carry out proper surveys to understand the needs and desires of the customers in different markets, to ensure that they are being provided with, what will satisfy them the best. Thus proper survey teams should be organize who will carry out surveys to find out what are the prices the customers are willing to pay, the service they expect and the quality they demand. When the goods are produced as per the specifications of the customers, the customer dissatisfaction will reduce and sales will slowly increase and word of mouth will become a major promotion technique.
The Research paper on Quality Of Instructors’ Service: Evidence From Higher Educational Institution
Abstract As higher educational institutions aim for competitive advantage, the evaluation of educational service quality has become essential. This study presents the result of an assessment of the quality of instructional service in a private university from the perspective of its students and using the SERVQUAL model. Three areas were looked into: (a) the most effective service quality among ...
1) Analyze DuPont’s marketing approach before change.
DuPont carpet fibre was an industrial bulk supplier. As far as they were concerned, there was one customer only: the carpet mill which used the carpet fibre that DuPont supplied. Until early 80’s DuPont mostly followed the push strategy, i.e., producing their products in large volumes and selling its high-quality fibre at competitive prices to as wide a market as possible ,so they emphasized more on sale. The firm didn’t give much thought to the end users apart from brand advertising.
They thought that their market was restricted to only mills and the retailers and the end users were not a part of their market. So incurring additional expenses to provide value added services for a section that was not a part of their market seemed like a bad strategy. According to them only one thing mattered, i.e., price. As a part of their R&D they also came out with a new product called Stainmaster which they believed was a upcoming requirement for the market. 2) What does the marketing research reveal?
Market research revealed that most customers based their carpet buying decisions on three key factors: design, colour and ease of cleaning and maintenance. The research revealed that customers required information and advice on what to buy for specific applications as well as they wanted some good after sales experience when things went wrong. In Europe buying carpet was not the first priority for the customers when planning a home as carpeting was perceived as a functional rather than an emotional experience. Customers were being more attracted to alternate floor coverings like tiles and wood.
Unsatisfactory Experience: A survey on a group of customers revealed that they felt insecure about buying carpeting because the product information was confusing and they were unsure of where to start. For them the stores were depressing and the services were bad. They often found the salespeople unsympathetic and uninformed and not motivated to serve the customers. The retail stores didn’t have proper carpet samples and displays which would help customers in visualizing how their room would look with the carpeting in place. Additional information was sought by the customers relating to colour, quality price, fitting etc. Reliability in delivery and fitting was a problem and the after-sales service was nonexistent. 3) (A) Map the customer activity cycle.
The Business plan on Internship Report on Customer Satisfaction on the Services of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited
Part-1 Introduction 1.1 Background of the report: The internship is a dynamic approach for practical knowledge gathered at this study. My effort was for practical job experience through internship for business communication skills as well as banking sectors. As a student of BBA for the requirement of the internship program, I was assigned to The MBL for my practical orientation. This report is ...
Pre Purchase:
It Includes decisions such as whether to buy a carpet or go for other flooring methods. What is my budget, ,what is my quality requirements ,durability. During Purchase: Various factors include decision on colour and Style, Customer friendliness. Cost of purchase, cost of fitting and maintenance. Post Purchase: Installation,Maintanemce and warranty. After sales services such as Customer service etc. (B) Where can services add value to end users, carpet mills, retailers? For carpet mills- Technological and quality assessment, education as well as sales support. For whole sellers and retailers- Quality assessment, education, sales support and motivation to sell more. For end users- Motivation to buy, Quality assessment of the product and advice on what to buy. 4) Comment on Carr’s approach to the problem?
Mr. Jim Carr took a whole new way of looking at things. He saw the decline of the volume and saw ahead of the curve that it must perform with a whole different approach to retain its market leader status in Europe and thus woo customers. He shifted his focus from their immediate customers (i.e. Carpet Mills) to the end users of the product, their satisfaction and retention. He is a pragmatic, protagonist who believes in spearheading the change. He focused on his communication on the fact that the industry must understand its end users better . 5. What are the critical success factors needed to make carr’s ideas work? What should he do next?
He first has to convince his board of directors in the meet for the plan of action. Also he would require full support from the carpet mills, wholesalers as well as retailerss regarding accepting the quality standards set by DuPont as well as openness to training. Proper Market surveys which would identify the market requirements and customer feedbacks regarding the service. Research has shown that spending on Magzine, TV, Brochure wouldn’t be fruitful rather spending on displays in carpet shops and furniture shops is going to influence the customer. Carr should come out with an innovative way to display his products.
The Essay on Customer Satisfaction Quality Service Product
Customer Satisfaction Strategies What is customer satisfaction? We are in the midst of a revolution in business. Some call it a customer revolution, others a quality revolution, others a service revolution. Organizations are attempting to obtain increased customer satisfaction by focusing on the quality of their products and the service provided. This movement toward quality has produced ...