Full N Final-Bpp Summarative Assignment Question

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BPP UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

PRE-MASTERS PROGRAMME: Project & Report
RESEARCH PROPOSAL APPLICATION
Full name of applicant

Title of Research Project

Company/organisation for which proposed research will be carried out

Nature of business carried out (e.g.
manufacturing, financial services, retail etc.)

Annual Turnover No of Employees:
Pre-tax profit

Standard & Poor Rating

Area(s) of company business in which research is proposed (e.g. sales, marketing, human resources, investment, production, financial
control)

Abstract of Proposed Research (300 words MAX):

The following study explores the impact of customer satisfaction in organisational sales volume. The main
purpose of this research is how customer satisfaction increases the sales. The first chapter will begin with the
executive summary and the problem statement. Then we will discuss about the literature review, which is
consists of theoretical framework. Following with it we will explain the research question, aims, objectives
and the methodology we used. Then the rational of the topics and the sampling methods will be discussed.
Later that we give proper explanation about data analysis method, where qualitative and quantitative both
will take place, then quality assurance and ethical issues will be discussed. This research will end with the
time measure and cost analysis of the study time.


Continue on separate sheet if necessary

Executive Summary of Proposal and Problem Statement (Max 1000 words)

Subway, the second largest food chain has been running successfully since its inception in 1965. It positions itself in
the third place in the industry in terms of market share after McDonalds and KFC. With more than 30,000 outlets the
company has a strong customer base operating in about 88 countries as on 2008. Customers throng the outlets for their
famous Subs and have attracted people towards them with their slogan EAT FRESH.

1.1 Background of the Research From Proposal:
There are many factors which either influence or decrease the sales of the company. In a food industry like Subway,
customers form the major stakeholders and their satisfaction is directly proportional to its sales. This paper attempts to
determine how far customer satisfaction helps in improving sales, without affecting the other variables. In addition,
the paper tries to identify the factors that help in increasing the customer satisfaction. This was found using the
customer satisfaction survey conducted with those who visit the shop. It also takes into account the previous survey
that was taken under similar lines. The theory adopts statistical methods including Carl-Pearson co-efficient to arrive
at the relation between these variables and conclusion is drawn based on the correlation coefficients.
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Fast Food industry is one of the fastest growing industries ever and the demand for the
industry would be never ending. Particularly the products sold in this industry are of utmost interest among people of
all ages in the developed countries. However with the growing awareness for health and with the recession period
even companies in this industry is feeling the trouble and they had to come up with new innovations and varieties at a
reduced price as consumer spending is drastically down in the wake of the economic recession. The industrys growth
is amazing from just $6 billion in 1960 when it was started to a whopping $160 million in 2013, and an annualized
growth rate of 8.6%. Termed as Quick Service Restaurants, there are about 2, 00,000 outlets in the United States
alone. This is a pretty huge number and how much the industry is ready to fulfill the demand and how conscious they
are about the health aspects is a question to be answered. On the consumer perspective it is easier to have fast food as
the time consumed is relatively less and cost spent is lesser than that of a normal restaurant. The main reason for this is
many fast food counters does not have a dine in place for lack of space and many a time only preheating is required,
this cost is saved for the manufacturer and is not passed on to the consumer. Also, consumers are happy as it is a chain
and similar menu is available across all locations and they know what to eat.
Drawbacks of the I ndustry: Despite this success, there has been something going wrong in the industry that makes
many companies suffer loss and shut down their operations. The main reason is the growing awareness for health and
this raised questions on the qualities of the product delivered. The fat content involved is very high that it kept raising
the body mass index that contributed to the increased number of obesities. Because of this reason people tried to
refrain from these eateries.
Secondly, the increased food prices, the cost of manufacturing is high but this cannot be passed on to the consumer
because of huge competition. Many small players were not able to sustain this and either closed down their operations
or gave into big players.
However the industry enjoys the advantage of recession proof, there was a decrease in the consumer spending index
but people preferred to spend little money on cheap foods instead of visiting traditional restaurants.
Last but not the least, there is a problem of saturation which induces a slump in the market. When there is a stall of a
brand is almost every town; for example McDonalds, subway or KFC has at least one outlet at every town that people
often get bored of eating the same stuff every time.
I ndustry Road Ahead: Having said the difficulties faced by the industry it is imperative to focus on what the
companies are doing to mitigate this risk.
First, the industry can still thrive among people because there are lots who want quick meals at a low cost, and food
chains are fighting hard to provide items in a more healthier way and also getting conscious on the raw materials they
use like going organic or building their own farm to produce. Also, these eateries try and provide varieties for people
for choose and these are low calorie products.
These chains are also trying to innovate and try their hands on new product lines like McDonalds started to give coffee
with the meals, by this means not only they are diversifying their business but also provide stiff competition to those
specializing in that area like Starbucks. When there are many players competing in the industry it would pave way for
better innovation both of products and technology.
Lastly, companies try hard to confront market saturation mainly in the United States, by creating variety options for
people and this job is given to the franchises. This will be a win-win situation as both the company would grow and
franchisee would be more interested in creating new things to be a forerunner and resulting consumers would be kept
happy and their satisfaction is upheld.
Not only this, even the traditional restaurants are attracted towards this model of eating fast and they also hire
franchise in some areas and test how their foods can be offered in a way similar to that of fast food chains. All these
are welcome signs and it would pave way for lots of new innovations. Changes and competition is always a welcome
sign in any industry as long as it is healthy and contributes to the well-being of the society.

Purpose of the Research & Problem Statement
Customer satisfaction becomes crucial factor in the wake of growing cut throat competition wherein there is a
continuous revision of prices and promotional schemes introduced by McDonalds, KFC, and Burger King Etc. it
becomes imperative for the company to hold its customers back and continue to march forward in improving their
market share. Hence a dire need and purpose is felt for this research and know the minds of the customers and fulfill
their demand and win over customer loyalty.

Research Method: the paper use both Quantitative and Qualitative data; the number of customers walking into the
shop, the average amount they spend, the age group of people visiting and frequency of visits are measured
quantitatively; the opinion of customers on the ambience, service received in store, what factors they see to be
changed as compared to the competitors are measured in qualitative terms. Statistical methods are used to quantify the
variables.

Limitation of Study: the main limitation of the study is related to the geography covered in the research. It aims to
study the relation between the variables through survey taken with people only in UK. But this is not generic to the
entire company as the opinions and the types of customer vary between countries. The second limitation pertains to
the time period in which the survey is taken. There might be more people of different age groups visiting the stores
during holidays and might lead to different ideas. Also, the credibility of the data provided by the people participated
in the survey cannot be measured, in case of wrong judgments the analysis might lead to misleading facts.

Background/introduction/literature review (2500 - 3000 words)

Literature Review:

The framework covers a wide range of topics including the meaning and relation of customer satisfaction and sales,
how satisfaction can exactly be measured and the models of customer satisfaction.
Customer Satisfaction Meaning: in simple terms Customer satisfaction is a measure of the extent to which the
product or the service meets the expectations of the customer. It is defined as Customer satisfaction is defined as the
degree of satisfaction provided by the goods or services of a company. This is usually gauged by the number of
customers making repeat purchases. Customer satisfaction is critical if a company is to register high sales profits.
Having seen what the meaning is, it is important to know what the key elements to Customer Satisfaction.
Key Elements to Customer Satisfaction: following the keys to successful customer satisfaction:
Meeting Commitments: this is the most important thing that any customer needs from a supplier. With respect
to the underlying company food has to meet the quality standards and service must be up to the expectation of
the people.
Internal Team and Relationships: there is a positive and direct relation between the customer satisfaction and
the employee satisfaction. Any company who are able to keep the employees happy by giving better
environment and pay including monetary and non-monetary benefits, would be very successful in winning over
customers. Because the commitments of the employees are more, they would help the company to bring in
more people with their high level of service standards.
Knowledge: every time a person enters the restaurant he would expect the service person to explain what each
of the stuff is made of and also other information as would be required. If the servicing person is unsure about
the product it would build a negative image for the customer.
Trust and Integrity: building trust is also a key factor that would help in increasing the sales. This can be
brought by giving proper bills, key nutritional factors of its raw materials and also by ensuring the freshness of
the products used.
Responsiveness: developing a communication between the customers and the company is important as regular
feedbacks from them would help in improving the business strategies and would be in line with the demands of
the trends and people. Running a business is easy however to be in the race on a continuous pace is difficult
and would necessitate all these steps to be followed.
Passion and Energy: any employer must have the passion towards business and start loving the product that
he manufactures. There is a psychological feeling among consumers to attach a long term relation with those
who are in the business for a longer sustained period and those running with a passion.
Living Up to expectations: this is the last but nevertheless the least point; in fact this is a crucial point. Trends
and mind set keeps changing among people so it is vital that business keep in pace with this changes.
Relation between Customer Satisfaction and Sales: there are number of factors that contribute to the satisfaction of
the customer. With regards to subway or any other eateries for that matter following are the characteristic features that
comprise the overall satisfaction of a consumer. They are variety, quality of the product, Delivery, pricing, social,
parking, and ambience.

Variety of the
Product
Quality

Diagram: 1 Customer Satisfaction Characters.
If all or most of these attributes are satisfied by the employer then it can be said that the customer will become loyal to
the product or the company and will maintain a long term relation with the service. This will automatically help in
increasing sales and also help in sustaining the market and withstanding the competition. Relation between sales and
satisfaction is not a new theory and is pretty old where family owned business tend to use their conservative practices
and socially responsible to attract and retain customers. But with the wake of globalization and competition in every
field of business only customer satisfaction can give an edge or competitive advantage to a company and make them
unique in the industry.
2.3 Measurement of Satisfaction: this is the job of the marketers of a company and to know how much consumers
are satisfied about the product involves six steps and is explained in the following paragraphs. However as this
measure is subjective it is difficult to know the exact requirements. This can be better known by experienced
professionals in the area.
Collection of feedback from individuals and evaluating them for determining the overall satisfaction towards the
product or the service.
Provide a survey form to be filled in by the customers. Many would not be interested in doing this, as it is
perceived as a time consuming job; it has to be done by pleasing the customer by the service. Other ways in
which it can be done are through sending emails or through phone calls. It can be made easy by framing the
questions in an easier way and through giving choices as open ended will not be liked by any person.
Choosing the right question is a key in the survey form as many times it would be deceiving and would lead to
misleading conclusions.
Clearly understand the expectations of a person while meeting them in person: this is done sometimes when face
reactions can provide good lead or act as a response. At this juncture, the analyst should be clear on what the
person expects from the company.
Through these methods of surveys and discussions one can arrive at the level of satisfaction that the consumer
has on the product. In other words, the company can understand the aspects in which they are lagging behind or
going wrong in fulfilling the expectations.
Lastly, the company should see the level of satisfaction the consumer has towards the competitors product and
Delivery
methods
Pricing
Social
Parking Facilities
Ambience
Overall Customer
Satisfaction
the parameters on which they have achieved and why they have not. This is a method of self-introspection
comparing themselves with that of its peers based on the feedback from the consumers.
These are the various steps through which the level of satisfaction can be measured and once this is done,
steps can be taken to see how it can be improved or sustained over time.
Models of Customer Satisfaction: the concept has gained so much importance that there are many theories and
models that are related. The two broad classifications of models are Micro models and Macro models.

MACRO MODELS: Macro models include value, quality, complaining behavior, and loyalty. These are defined as
macro models because these include policy level changes and these would have an implication on the customer
satisfaction. The traditional macro model was conceived as a perceived performance and comparison would result in
the perceived discomfort which gives out the satisfaction and the outcome would result in the loyalty, spreading word
of mouth etc. this can be seen in the following diagram.

Dig

Diagram: 2: Macro Model of Customer Satisfaction.
Source: Woodruff & Gardial (1996)
In the above diagram it can be deduced that the perceived disconfirmation is the result of perceived performance of the
product or the service and the comparison standards where by people compare the services and product offered in
relation to that of its competitors. Here the former is the experience that one gets from the usage of the product and the
other through the act of its competitions which they come to know by word of mouth or by reading in the media.
Perceived disconfirmation is the stage at which the marketer or the company would come to know the level of
satisfaction that the customer has attained from the use of the product. If this number is positive would imply that he is
highly satisfied with the service and any negative number would reveal a negative satisfaction i.e. the competitor is
more efficient in servicing the customer and if it is zero there are probable chances that it might fall back on the either
side.
This model has its own drawbacks like it ignores the Value concept which gave way for the evolution of another
theory which includes the value chain where in a customer values the product attributes, feeling for attributes, use
consequences etc. to arrive at a satisfaction index. Further in 1991, more sophisticated modesl were introduced which
includes service with the value chain. It includes technical service, expected service will give the resultant perceived
service and that becomes the indicator for the level of satisfaction of the consumers.
MICRO MODELS: these include the resultant feedback which result from the survey distributed and analyze the
personal attributes or characters of the people which decides the satisfaction level. As it analyzes the individual
Perceived
Performance
Comparison
Standards
Perceived
Disconfirmation
Satisfaction Outcomes
Loyalty &
purchase
Intent to
Purchase
Word of
Mouth
behavior it is categorized as micro model. There are various theories in the Micro model as described in the
subsequent paragraphs:
A. Expectation Disconfirmation Model: this is considered to be the most dominant model among the available
ones. This model measures the level of satisfaction as the difference between the pre consumption expectation
and the post consumption expectation. The resultant number would be the level of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction towards the product.
B. Perceived Performance Model: this is similar to the previous one, difference lies only in the less emphasis
placed by the model on pre consumption experience. This model advocates that post experience can vary or
get discounted after the consumption of product or service and would not reveal the correct picture of the
exact position.
C. Norms Model: this model also states the experience as the important factor in calculating the satisfaction level
but the difference is this model explains what should be the level at the end of consumption. This is not a
predictive model after consumption instead it forecasts the level of expectation that the person is set to
achieve. But this is highly subjective as most of the times it the choose might not reach the level it forecasted
but real picture would be something else.
D. Attribution Models: this model uses three concepts viz. causality, stability and controllability. These attributes
can be either external or internal depends upon the product or service that the company deals with.

These are the various models to measure the level of satisfaction however choosing a model depends on the sole
discretion of the company or the analysis

SWOT Analysis Subway 2013:
STRENGTH:
Highest degree of customization among the players in the industry.
Largest food chain in terms of number of locations operating under the same brand name
Most efficient marketing and promotional strategies.
One that offers the maximum choice for the customers
Food offered is healthier than others.
The only chain that has partnerships with Britain and American Heart Associations
It allows franchise to own the restaurant
The only chain that has the low startup cost.
WEAKNESS:
Poor ambience as was felt by people in the research the outlook looks very cheap.
As there are many fast food chains, it is getting really hard to retain the employees and there are frequent
job hops. Employee turnover is a real problem for subway.
As it is franchise modeled, service differs from one outlet to the other and it is difficult for the company to
control that.
OPPORTUNITY:
As the demand for healthier food keeps increasing, subway can focus more on their tagline Eat Fresh
and reach more people.
Introduction of the concept of drive-in can be much useful and it can help in increasing sales.
Same is the case for home delivery. However, the response of the people given in the analysis is specific
to the store where research was undertaken. People in this fast world would be happy to get meals at
home; hence this service can be introduced and enhanced.
There is a ever changing demand for goods, as the trend, tastes keep changing and the company can make
its research team more efficient and get to know the changes in advance and be a forerunner in
introduction of new products and grabbing the market.
THREATS:
Threat of market saturation mainly in the developed countries.
There are lots of local fast food chains that understand the market and people more than the branded ones
and they form the potential threat to the company.
Currency fluctuations are a continuous threat and this can be mitigated by hedging.
There is many other food options in each country which would be preferred by the people mainly outside
the developed countries and targeting that would be a threat and challenge for the company.
The law suits and complaints against the company would also be a threat as it would affect the growth of
sales. However this is common to all companies across various sector, this is significant because of health
issues and if it loses any case, it would spread wrong message to the community.

Marketing Strategies: the most vital marketing phrase that the food chain uses is EAT FRESH. In a recent
interview to a leading journal on the marketing strategy an official reported;
Were trying to avoid what Id call health extremism: The whole notion that you have to be much prescribed down to
the lowest level of calories isnt really helpful to most of the population. So were showing things like the turkey BLT,
which has 9 grams of fat. Its flavourful, and youre not in deprivation mode [when you order it], and thats a much
more lovable way of eating. Its not some sort of extreme exclusion of all the foods you like to the extent that you
think youre depriving yourself of all the food you like. You just cant sustain that."
Subway is placed in a delicate position in between the healthiest category and a fast food chain; while
the former projects an image of completely health conscious and the latter would prove it to be an oily junk food
place. Both of these would not be liked or attracted by the people, so it has found a niche for itself and started a hard
campaign and now over 35 years today it completely dominates the market and with a total of 36,000+ stores it takes
on the YUM brand which combines KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco bell which owns a total of 37,000+ stores in total
worldwide. Despite providing a normal ambience and not too cheap it gains a customer solely depending on the
quality of food it provides!
Its global marketing strategy is also strong taking into account the local and regional factors into consideration. It does
not change the menu entirely too different nations, it keeps the base menu the same and change only some ingredients
local to that market to enable easy marketability of goods.

PRICING STRATEGIES: this is the critical part of any product or service that would have a direct impact on the
consumer. Subway uses Upscale pricing which means their prices are slightly higher than the local market price but it
justifies such price rise by their higher quality and increased customer service. They follow differential pricing system
across its locations, but it has a concept of Value pricing, which means they create a value for their product for the
price paid.

Key Competencies: Following are the key competencies of the food chain.
Distribution: the process by which the supply chain is maintained is efficient and it is evident
from the fact that it has its presence in almost every country.
Human Resources: it provides best training and remuneration for its employees and do all
possible ways to keep them happy.
Management Information System: this refers to the transparency with which the company
works.
Marketing: its marketing strategy is said to be the best in the industry.
Management: the team on the top is very efficient to analyze strategies often and change
according to the changing times.
Manufacturing: the company has a vast manufacturing set up where it produces the bread that
it needs and purchase vegetables and meat from its own sources to ensure quality standards.
Research and development: subway employs modern technology in its processes to maintain
automation as well as standard as it carries the brand image of the store to the rest of the
world.
Franchise Model: the main model through which Subway connects to the world is through Franchising. Franchise
means the company or any government agency giving permission to an individual or a group to perform business on
their behalf using their name but is accountable for the sales figures, however the former would not involve in the day
to day activities of the franchised company. In other terms the person to whom the business is given would act as an
agent to the companys products. In olden days when the company was started many people did not know and when
they are asked if they are aware they would ask if it is an underpass; it was then the company opted for the franchise
model through which they entered international market. Now when a person is asked for subway he would reply I just
ate there. This is the success they have achieved through expanding their network through franchise. Now the
company has more than 2 lakh employees and this is a remarkable number and this also helps in spreading word of
mouth. It is a remarkable achievement for a company to have so many outlets under single brand name and with so
many employees it is no wonder the company is the largest growing food chain under one brand!

Insert additional sheets as necessary
Research question or hypothesis, aims and objectives (300 words max)

Research Questions:
1) How customer satisfaction increase sales
2) What is the relation between the profit maximisation and customer satisfaction
3) How customer efficiency increase the sales volume

Research Aims and Objectives

1) To find out the significant relationship among the customer satisfaction and organisational profit
2) To find out the direct impact of customer satisfaction in sales volume
3) To find out how customer satisfaction plays an important role in profit maximisation

METHODOLOGY (2500 words) Break the methodology down by the sub-headings below

5.1 Research Methodology: the research has been conducted using survey forms/Questionnaires containing 8
questions among 50 people between the age group of 20-40. The questionnaire was tested and it attained a
reliability index of 0.91 using Corn Bachs Alpha Test.it uses a five pointer scale to measure the satisfaction
level covering various aspects like their experience, opinions as compared to the peers dine place etc. first part
of the questionnaire contains the demographic details like the place of residence, their contact either the email
address or the phone number and the store location where they prefer to dine.
The variables taken for study as previously mentioned are, the variety offered, quality of the product, Delivery,
pricing, social, parking, and ambience. Hence the research includes the analysis of each of these variables and is
included in the survey as well. Following tables/graphs represent the responses to each of the questions.

SECTION: AQuestion: 1: Gender: this would be the major factor in knowing the sector of people who are satisfied
and who are not. Most of the respondents were female among the survey taken among 50 people in the store.

Options Number of Respondents in
the Restaurant
Percentage
Male 20 40%
Female 30 60%
Total 50 100%
Table: 1 Gender of People in Survey

Figure: 3 Number of people in the restaurant.

Question: 2: Age of the respondents: the people who participated in survey was in the age group of 20-40 and most of
them comprised in the group of 30-35 and second top was from 25-30. This implies that the people who visit the store
would expect more of variety, rather than anything else.

Number of Respondents
in the Restaurant
Male
Female

Table: 2: Age group of Respondents.

Figure: 4: Age group of People.

Question: 3: Income per annum: This criterion would be the deciding factor for the pricing. There would not be much
spending if the annual income of majority of people is low and if the price charged for the product is high it might not
increase the customer base and sales. In the survey the income group was divided into 5 categories viz. less than
10,000, 10,000-20,000; 20,000-30000; 30,000-40,000 and more than 40,000. Majority of people fell under the
category of 20,000-30,000 and then between 30,000-40,000. This means that the cost has to be more competitive to
attract even the younger groups whose income would less than the majority chosen.

Age Group
Number of
Respondents
Percentage
20-25 10 20
26-30 12 24
31-35 25 50
36-40 3 6
Total 50 100
Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage
20-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
Number of Respondents
20-25
26-30
31-35
36-40

Table: 3: Income group of Respondents.

Figure: 5: Income group of people in the Restaurant.

SECTION: B: Question 1: How often Subway is preferred as a dining place: this is a critical factor to know how much
the store attracts people to dine in the restaurant, there was a four point option to the respondents viz. less than once
per month, once per month, two to four months, greater than four times a month. Most of our respondents had been
visiting the place for two to four times per month. This is a good number however the second majority of people chose
it as only once per month. This is because of multiple reasons; first the restaurant must improve on the promotional
schemes to attract people frequently to the place and secondly people have lot of options these days and are exposed to
information overload, they prefer eating variety of foods like French Fries from McDonalds, burger craze of Burger
King, and also from Pizza hut. As all the competitive products are attractive and tasty it becomes a challenge for the
restaurant to be in race actively. Below table and figure represents the responses.

Table: 4: Frequency of Visits.

Less than
10,000
9 18
10,000-
20,000
10 20
21,000-
30,000
18 36
31,000-
40,000
12 24
More than
40,000
1 2
Total 50 100
Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage

Less than Once
a month
9 18
Once a month 15 30
2-4 times a
month
20 40
4 times a
month
4 8
More than 4
times a month
2 4
Total 50 100
Less than
10,000
10,000-
20,000
21,000-
30,000
31,000-
40,000
More
than
40,00
0
Number of respondents
Less than 10,000
10,000-20,000
21,000-30,000
31,000-40,000
More than 40,000
9
15 20
4
2
Less than Once a
month
Once a month
2-4 times a month
4 times a month
Figure: 6: Frequency of visits.
Question: 2: Do you like the Existing Quality of the product or does it need change: the response to this question help
in inferring how far people like the quality and taste of the product delivered. It was a five pointer scale viz. very
dissatisfied, dissatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied. Most of the respondents have opined that they are very
satisfied with the quality and some have responded to
satisfied
.

Table: 5: Response on Quality of the Products

Figure: 7: Quality Satisfaction Level of respondents.
Question: 3: Do you prefer dining in Restaurant or Home Delivery: this parameter helps in analyzing the consumer
perception and preference for home delivery. If most of the respondents feel delivery is better; the company has to
innovate new methods of advertising and marketing and reposition themselves by projecting they specialize in take
away as well. This is measured by four pointer scale where in dine in is given emphasis; includes Never, sometimes,
often, always. For this, response was received where people does not prefer delivery at home often; this might be for
various reasons like people would like a change of atmosphere so they want to go out and eat and secondly there is a
general opinion that when food is taken in the restaurant it is fresh and by the time it comes home it loses its freshness
and flavor. Unless, there is an emergency people do not prefer to bring food home. This is depicted in the table and
graph.

Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage
Never 13 26
Sometimes 27 54
Often 9 18
Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage
Very
Dissatisfied
0 0
Dissatisfied 2 4
Neutral 9 18
Satisfied 17 34
Very Satisfied 22 44
Total 50 100
0
2
9
17
22
Very Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Neutral
Satisfied
Very Satisfied
Always 1 2
Total 50 100
Table: 6: Survey on Dine in and Take away

Figure: 7: Respondents on Delivery.
Question: 4: Social Status: this refers to the social status that the company has among people. In other words it is the
brand name that goes along with the food chain; it measures how fond people are associated with Subway. As soon
as they hear the name how interested they are to eat, this is most important to find as brand image is most important in
a companys growth. Brand name itself plays a vital role in increasing the customer base. People associate their status
by the place they are dining; the question gives four options viz. poor, average, good, and excellent. Respondents had
a feeling that the food chain gives good social status for them. Take away for the company from this is that it has to
improve its brand image through creating affluent products for those who can afford to. Only when the high end
people visit the store will they feel it is socially well
off to dine in subway.

Table: 4: Social Status.

Figure: 8: Social Status of Subway.
Question: 5: Parking Facilities: Not only the food and quality matters for increasing sales of the product, other factors
Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage
Poor 0 0
Average 7 14
Good 40 80
Excellent 3 6
Total 50 100
13
27
9
1
Never
Sometimes
Often
Always
0
7
40
3
Poor
Average
Good
Excellent
or facilities that are offered to the customers that would help in increasing the sales. Sometimes when the additional
facilities offered are more people forego going to the competitors place and come here. Some of them include parking
facilities; children play area where parents need not mind taking care of kids while eating etc. when asked people
whether the outlet gives sufficient parking facility many felt yes, but those who said no are not far away so the
company should make sufficient provisions for this. But this is specific to the outlet in which the survey was taken,
however it is better that the company checks this in for other outlets so that they do not lose their sales on this front.

Table: 8: Parking Facilities.
Question: 6: Ambience: this is the statutory question included in all types of surveys, and this is done to understand
the perception of the audience on the company. Many people felt that the ambience is reasonable, however it needs
changes and it was generally felt that they need more convenient space to comfortably sit and eat. Also the place is not
good enough to hold a get together or party. So the company needs to keep this demand of consumers in mind and
make necessary arrangements for this

Findings and Recommendations:

Findings: from the above analysis of the company following are the findings revealed
Variety, Quality and Price are the three independent variables that decide the level of customer satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is directly related to the sales of Subway.
People would want more extended facility to enjoy the food
Store has to enhance its brand value to increase the social status of the richer cream of the society.
More facilities have to be provided like better parking place, etc.
Subway has to decrease its price to attract the youngsters and school goers.
Customers are happy with the current functioning of the restaurant.
Number of revisits is more than the first time visitors.

Options
Number of
respondents
Percentage
Yes 30 60
No 20 40
Total 50 100
Recommendation: After careful analysis of the model there are some recommendations that was thought would help
in enhancing the growth of the company. These are summarized as below.
a) The franchise model is however successful for the company in expanding their network in over 100 countries,
it is felt that growing number would make the control factor difficult and more so would hamper the name of
the store. This would prove very costly to the company; as it had taken more than 4 decades to build the
reputation, it would not take a months time to lose it. Also, there would be word of mouth which will
decrease the sales further. So better control should be put in place to check the functioning of franchises.
b) As subway is a part of the market that is getting saturated, it becomes really difficult for the company to
distinguish itself. Hence, it has to start developing new products with varied offerings to become unique.
c) The company has to set a Unique Selling Proposition with which it has to reach the consumers and this they
have to tag along with the advertising for creating a better image and make people come and is not affected by
saturation.
d) There has to be lot of promotional offerings for people who visit just to create a sense of attraction and
increase the number of walk INS to the restaurant.
e) There has to be individual menu options for each category of people like kids, teenagers, working
professionals, and one for the affluent class and each of these can be priced differently so that it does not face
the problem of social class.

Study Design & Rationale (500 words)You must demonstrate explicitly how the design of the study and the methodology addresses the
research question or hypothesis

As a part-time worker in U.K. fast food industry, the researcher feels the interest to research on how customer
satisfaction has a significant impact on organisational profit maximisation. Based on 3years work experience in
particular section the researcher believes that the customer is the key part of any organisation, so the customer
retention is mandatory to keep the profit up. Customer plays vital and critical roles for an organisation. So make them
happy should be the main aims for any kind of organisation

Study population, access and sampling methods (500 words): Describe who your target population will be, how you will gain access to
them, and how they will be sampled including the details and justification of the sampling method and any sampling frame you will utilise)

This research is based on the customer who faced the interview for the survey question. Researchers set up the
question depend on the customer age group, their visiting times, their salary, their ethnicity. The sampling was apply
to 50 number of people and researcher is so lucky he got 100% respondents.

Data collection methods and instruments (300 words) Give full details of method of data collection (e.g. survey, interview, experiment),
describe any piloting or pretesting you intend to carry out. Draft questionnaires, interview protocols or instructions to participants should be included in the
appendices.

Going by the analysis based on the survey and previously done research, weight age was given to each of these
independent variables and it was found using convenience sampling that the variety offered, quality and price is highly
significant in determining the sales of the product. It is a primary and secondary both data analysis. Primary data I
took from the manager as I am working there, it was quite easy for me to collect and the secondary data is collected
from the customer survey and the interview.

Procedure (500 words): Say exactly how you will collect your data, identify any problems that you might encounter, and how you would overcome
them

To every action there is an equal and its opposite reaction. To collect the information I face huge difficulties, as the
few customer showed their unfriendly behaviour for answering the survey question, some of them pissed off, some of
them was rude a side. Most of them try to avoid me to give accurate information about their personal information. But
at the end I am succeed to find out the clear relationship between the customer and profit maximisation.

Data analysis methods (300 words) (Describe your strategy for analysing your data and presenting your results outline your use of univariate,
bivariate, and multivariate analysis and statistics if applicable statistical planning must be fully addressed, or the candidate should provide evidence that
statistics are not required)

the paper use both Quantitative and Qualitative data; the number of customers walking into the shop, the average
amount they spend, the age group of people visiting and frequency of visits are measured quantitatively; the opinion of
customers on the ambience, service received in store, what factors they see to be changed as compared to the
competitors are measured in qualitative terms. Statistical methods are used to quantify the variables.

Quality Assurance (500 words Max) Describe what methods you will use to ensure the quality of the study (e.g. controls against bias, ensuring
validity and reliability, security of sensitive data)

The collected information is still fully safe and the raw data information was analysing confidentially. As I am a
worker of this organisation I have the responsibility about its secret and annual report. It was totally not bias and I
was very much careful about it.

Ethical issues (Max 500 words) Describe in detail any ethical considerations raised by your study and how you intend to address them

The main ethical consideration is to keep customer data safe and confidential. Full privacy was applied to collect the
raw data. A password protected windows laptop was used to gather all the information and the data ( Robson.C.,2011).
Addition with that, no animal and environmental harm is happening in the time of research.

Estimated Timetable for completion of the project in
years/months:

Estimated date the project will start:
Project Milestones and deliverables
Description
Estimated date of completion (Month/Year)
1
Preparing Proposal
08/13
2
Topic Chosen
08/13
3
Collecting Raw data
09/13
4
Preparing questionnaire
09/13
5
Starting survey
09/13
6
Starting Interview
09/13
7
Finish survey
02/14
8
Finish interview
03/14
9 Data Analysis 04/14
10
Finish Research

04/14 4

Resource requirements (Please detail the human resources and other costs you estimate for the research project.
This does not have to be an exact costing but you should try to detail each item or area of expense you anticipate)

Costs Year 1 Year 2
Salaries (researchers, secretarial support etc.)

2000 1000
Consumables (e.g.paper, postage, printing, photocopying,
etc.)
150 140
Research Expenses (e.g. travel, overnight expenses, office
administration, data prep, attendance at conferences)
500 500
Equipment (e.g. computers, digital recorders, etc. )

700 0
Dissemination of Information (e.g. Website design,
report printing, launch conference)
0 0

References/Bibliography (Use the Harvard Referencing System)

References
1. Subway (2013). About us. Available at: http://www.subway.co.uk/aboutus/- access date- 20/03/14
2. Entrepreneur (2013) http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/subway/282839-0.html- access date-
21/03/14
3. Subway (restaurants). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subway_(restaurant) access date- 21/03/14
4. DeLong, K. (2012).Subway is most popularhttp://fox6now.com/2012/10/04/zagat-2012-fast-food-
survey-subway-is-most-popular/
5. The Subway Effect. http://www.qsrmagazine.com/executive-insights/subway-effect?page=2-access date
date- 21/03/14
6. The National Customer Satisfaction Index.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130904005142/en/National-Customer-Satisfaction-Index-
UK-Results-Restaurants#.Uzn47SgQ_IU access date- 22/03/14
7. Industry Analysis 2014. https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/fast-food-industry-report/-
access date- 23/03/14
8. Nigel Hill, John Brierley, Rob MacDougall (1999). How to Measure Customer Satisfaction. 2nd ed.
England: Gower Publishing Limited. 4-11
9. Bob E. Hayes (2008). Measuring Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty. United States: Quality Publishers.
20-40.
10. Craig Cochran (2003). Customer Satisfaction: Tools, Techniques, and Formulas for Success. United
States: Paton Publishers. 40-60
11. Andreas Deptolla (2003). Effects of customer satisfaction on the company's sales success. United States:
Paton Publishers. 21.
12. Arend Grnewlder (1999). Measuring Customer Satisfaction to Identify Areas of Sales. London, UK:
PRC Pub. Limited. 40-60.
13. Andris A. Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha, Greggor A. Zoltners (2001). The Complete Guide to Accelerating
Sales Force Performance. United States: Prentice Hall. 60-70.
14. John Rich, Lucille Orr (2011). Enhanced Customer Satisfaction. United States: Lucille Orr. 35-50.
15. Thomas N. Ingram, Raymond W. LaForge, Ramon A. Avila, Charles H. Schwepker, Jr., Michael R.
Williams (2012). Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making. New Jersey: M.E.Sharpe Inc.. 264.
16. Terry G. Vavra (2002). Customer Satisfaction Measurement Simplified. United States: Quality
Publishers. 35-50.
17. Evangelos Grigoroudis, Yannis Siskos (2010). Customer Satisfaction Evaluation: Methods for
Measuring and implementing service quality. United States: Springer. 240
18. National Research Council (1999). A Handbook for Measuring Customer Satisfaction and Service
Quality. United States: M.E.Sharpe Inc... 101
19. George Nowacki (2003). IMS: Customer Satisfaction. London, UK: PIMS . 54-84.
20. D. Keith Denton (1991). Horizontal Management: Beyond Total Customer Satisfaction. United States:
McMillan Inc.. 20-100
21. Ron Kenett, Silvia Salini (2005). Modern Analysis of Customer Surveys: with Applications using R.
United States: Wiley. 23-100.
22. MALCOLM BRIMPONG (2010). The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on Loyalty. United States:
Lambert Academic Publishing. 88.
23. Richard L. Irwin, William Anthony Sutton, Larry M. McCarthy (2001). Sport Promotion and Sales
Management. New Jersey: PRC Pub. Limited. 264.
24. Michael Griego (2013). 42 Rules to Increase Sales Effectiveness. 2nd ed. United States: Super Star
Press. 50-90.
25. Anderson & Vincze (2008). Strategic Marketing. 2nd ed. United States: Houghton Mufflin Co. 846.


continue on additional sheet if necessary
Appendices Attach copies of questionnaires, surveys, interview protocols, content analysis schedules and the results of any pre-test or pilot studies
undertaken
Appendix-1
Questionnaire for Customers
Section A: Socio and demographic information:
1) Gender:
Male Female
2) Age:
20-25 26-3031-35 36-40 More than 40
3) Income per annum:
Less than 10,000 10,000-20,000 21,000-30,000
31,000-40,000 More than 40,000
Section B: Customers Perception.
1) How frequently do you eat at Subway?
Less than once a month Once a Month 2-4 times a month
4 times a month More than 4 times
2) How do you rate the quality of the products in Subway?

Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very satisfied
3) Do you Prefer dining in the restaurant or home delivery

Never Sometimes Often Always

4) How far does Subway brand image helps you in your social status

Poor Average Good Excellent.

5) Do you feel there is a need for change in Parking Facilities?
Yes No

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