Bba Project
Bba Project
Bba Project
Submitted by
MOHAMMED
SAAD Reg. No:
18DBBAD129 Under
the guidance of
HEBZABAH VANI
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
CMR UNIVERSITY
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DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT
I also declare that this project report is my original work and has not been previously
submitted for the award of any Degree, Diploma, Fellowship, or other similar titles.
Signature
MOHAMMED SAAD
Reg. No. : 18DBBAD129
Place: <Bangalore>
Date: 30 April
2021
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CERTIFICATE
SIGNATURE
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Acknowledgement
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Abstract
Aim: The purpose of the study is to do the research that under the e-
commerce business model, the impact factors of customer loyalty in an
online shopping environment, how to improve the customer loyalty
and how to build a long lasting customer relationship.
Design/Methodology/approach: Through to the questionnaire survey
research, design and collect sample data, combine with the Amazon
Company’s current operating mode and the theoretical, and also got
the second data. In order to make the data become more and more
reliable. Findings: The studying on improving customer loyalty under
the B2C e-commerce model is significant for theory and practice. On
the background of Amazon company, which is the biggest e-
commerce company in America, according to the relevant literature
and field surveys,the paper brings forward the importance of
customer loyalty at the e-commerce business. It could come to the
conclusion is how to improve the customer loyalty and then how to
build the long lasting customer relationship. Contribution: The paper
according to the characters of the online shopping and combine with
the literature about the e-commerce and customer loyalty research, Put
forward a certain hypothesis, through questionnaire survey on
customers, and statistical analysis of the relationship between customer
loyalty and its influence factors make an empirically evaluation. The
paper gives contribution to the e-commerce business, how to build the
long lasting customer relationship. Key words: Customer loyalty;
Customer relationship; Satisfaction; Services; Online shopping website
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 6
1.1 Introduction 6
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 7
2.1 Introduction 7
CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 8
3.1 Research method 8
Sampling and DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
3.2 9
3.3 Data collection 10
3.3.1 Types of Data 10
3.3.2 Methods of Data Collection 10
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3.3.3
11
CHAPTER 5 – FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 12
5.1 Findings 12
5.2 Conclusion 13
5.3 Recommendations 14
CHAPTER 6 – LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE OF FUTURE RESEARCH 15
6.1 Limitation 15
6.2 Scope of Future Research 16
Bibliography 17
Appendix – Questionnaires 18
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CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
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1.1.2 Customer relationship CRM is a combination of
hardware, software, process, applications and management commitment to
improve customer service, retain customer and provide analytical capabilities
(Romano & Fjermestad, 2002). The dynamic process of managing a customer-
company relationship such that customer elect to continue mutually beneficial
commercial exchanges and are dissuaded from participating in exchanges that are
unprofitable to the company (Wiley, 2002). CRM is not only the implementation
of a technology solution about information on their customers, but also CRM
could deliver strategic market relationships. It could Customer Loyalty of
Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship? 3 know all the things about
their customers all the time. It could do a perfect data collection work and
understand well what customers’ needs (Donaldson & O’Toole, 2007) Building
sound relationships with customers is the one of the keys to make business
successful. Humans build relationships all their lives, be it with their friends,
family, employers, colleagues or peers. As humans, we like to stick to what we
know, and this behavior reflects in the choices people make regarding which
business organizations to deal with. Building customer relationships is as
important to business as the price and quality of what are selling. The enterprise
goes through efforts to consolidate and further development with the customers to
establish a long-term and stable relationship. In fact, the customer is willing to
take this kind of feeling to tell their friends .The effects of this "propaganda" is
absolutely much more effective than the enterprise cost a huge commercial
shooting . Speaking of the enterprise, the customer retention can bring lower cost
than attract a new customer. According to statistics, attract a new customer needs
is the cost of maintaining an old customer required cost 5 ~ 10 times (Xi, 2009)
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Customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is usually viewed as the power force of the relationship between
the attitude of individual's relative and repeat patronage. Customer loyalty is one
of the most over used phrases in business today (Shaw, 2000). In the business
environment the concept of customer loyalty is important because it is considered
to be a profitable link. Loyalty is an economic necessity and a competitive
necessity (Reichheld, 2001). Customer loyalty means to attract the target
customers, in order to make them repurchase the products. Customer Loyalty of
Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship? 4 The loyalty is as primarily
an attitude that sometimes leads to a relationship with the brand to understand the
customers spending behavior and satisfaction is very important. And the critical
result of the customer behavior and satisfaction is customer loyalty (Nykamp,
2001). Along with market competition aggravating, the customer loyalty has
become the determinant element that influences the enterprise’s long-term profits.
As a sign of the market share, customer loyalty is more meaningful than that to
customer measured market share. As a result, enterprise’s managers prefer to pay
much more attention to improving customer loyalty aspects, so that to make the
enterprise gain critical competitive advantage in the fierce competition.
Economists do some researches on the TOP500 enterprises and find that, the loyal
customers are not only doing repurchase enterprise products and services to save
expenses of advertising and publicity, but also recommend the products or
services to their relatives and friends. In another words, this kind of behavior
becomes the personnel sources of the firms. It is the main profits of the company
(Li, 2004). Customer loyalty is the important factor when the enterprise marketing
working with the customers the managers must pay more attention to. Customer
loyalty will help the enterprise have the long-term stable growth means of sales,
lower marketing costs and rising profits.
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CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW
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11
The evolution of customer relationships Firm’s relationships with their customers
just like other social relationships that have tended to evolve over time. Scholars
have suggested that marketing exchange relationships between providers and
customers often have the potential to evolve from strangers to acquaintances and
to friends even to partners (Johnson & Selnes, 2004)
3. Customer as friends. When the customers continue to create and achieve the
value with the firm in the exchange relationship, the firm should begin to
collect specific knowledge of the customers’ needs. The firm needs to build
the relationship to achieve the customer retention at this period. Customer
Loyalty of Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship? 10
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4. Customers as partners. The creation of trust leads to the creation of
commitmentand that is the condition necessary for customers to extend
relationship (Siredeshumkh et al., 2002). Therefore, if the firm wants to build
a partner relationship with the customers, the firm must use customer
knowledge and information systems to deliver highly personalized and
customized offerings
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13
E- Service quality E-service quality is a new concept started on 2002 (Ziethaml
et al., 2002). Introduced the concept of electronic service quality (e-SQ) which is
defined as the “the extent to which a website facilitates efficient and effective
shopping, purchasing and delivery of products and services” (Asuboteng et al.,
1996). With the internet and technology developing fast, the website has replaced
the traditional business unit gradually. Both website and electronic environment
are very important parts of the corporate image and can affect the customers’
shopping behavior. Today the internet has become an essential channel for
selling the goods and services. The traditional service model was not suitable for
use in the internet retailing due to each of them represent the unique service
delivery process. In fact, the online shopping is much more easily to compare the
products’ qualities and prices than the traditional channel, the online customers
always expect equal or higher levels of service quality than traditional channel
customers. (Lee & Lin, 2005) Most of electronic commerce companies realized
that the e-service quality is the critical factor to determine the online business
success or failure (Yang & Jun, 2002). Lee & Lin (2005) identified the main
factors influencing the customer perception of the e-service quality online
shopping: website design (degree of users friendliness), reliability (reliability and
security), responsiveness (responsiveness and helpfulness), trust (trust and
mechanisms provided by a website), and personalization Customer Loyalty of
Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship? 11 (differentiating services to
satisfy specific individual needs). A scale called WEBQUAL with 12 dimensions
was established: informational fit to task, interaction, trust, response time,
design, intuitiveness, visual appeal, innovativeness, flow, integrated
communication, business process, and substitutability. These WEBQUAL
dimensions are more pertinent to interface design than to service quality
measurement (Zeithaml et al., 2002). After a mass of literature review, (Zeithaml
et al., 2002) developed the e-SEQUAL model to help the customers how to judge
the e-service quality. It includes seven dimensions: efficiency, reliability,
fulfillment, privacy, responsiveness, compensation and contact. The seven the
seven dimensions in two separate scales split: E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL.
The first four dimensions are classified the cover scale, and the last three
dimensions are ascribed of the recover scale. It will be much prominent when the
online customers have questions and problems. If the companies create things
that customers like, customers will continue to buy products from them. Today’s
successful firm finds out what customers want and makes it –rather than making
something the company wants and hopes that people will buy (Sterne, 2000) .
For examples, when a customer visits Amazon.com, he can easily find the
product he wanted, and easily make the purchase. And how delighted he will be
when the item actually shows up on his doorstep the very next day (Sterne,
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2000). This will make customer’s expectation become more inflated which
means our customers can get more than they expected. The customers just want
to see if their questions answered or their problems solved. So being the online
shopping website builder, it should figure out what the customers want to see,
want to know, and want to ask (Sterne, 2000). Thus, The FAQ (frequently asked
questions) is needed. To set out all the usual questions and answers to the
customers, so they could find out the solutions by Customer Loyalty of Amazon
--how to build a long lasting relationship? 12 themselves. FAQ lets the casually
curious as well as the intent hunter-seeker come up to speed as quickly as
possible (Sterne, 2000). Another way to offer a good customer service is to
manage E-mail. E-mail is like glue that cements the internet together. Everyone
surfing on the internet would have an e-mail account. E-mail is the common
denominator and the most powerful tool (Sterne, 2000). To manage well the e-
mail of every customer will win the customers’ satisfaction. The companies
should let the customers know all of the new information through e-mail. When
the customer login on our website, it needs to have the record of the customers.
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CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Purpose The first step in research is researching why the study
is being carried out. Identify research purpose, set the stage for the rest of the
research program, because it allows everyone in the results of the study, to
know the project's general principles of equity (for example, researchers,
customers outside the company), and the establishment of urgent sense of
research. According to the research motivations and literature review, our
research purpose is through make a survey on the customers of our case study
company, researching why the people chose Amazon as their online shopping
website and what elements made them feel satisfaction and dissatisfaction,
thereby, how to improve customer loyalty under the e-commerce business
scale and finally building a long lasting customer relationships. Based on our
research purpose, we adapted the quantitative method as our research
method. The study is researching the online shopping website, so doing the
questionnaire online is more suitable for it. To go deep into the people who
use the online shopping website, that we can get more authentic data from
internet. It can be more powerful. In this way, the data will be very effective
and authentic.
3.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Approach There are two main types of
marketing research, essentially different types of data that are generated by
fundamentally different research approaches: quantitative and qualitative
methods (Adcock & Collier, 2001).
•Focus on understanding
•Focus on facts •Logical and
critical approach
•Controlled measurement
• Observations and
measurements in natural settings
•Hypothetical-deductive •Result
oriented
•Explorative orientation
• Generalization by population
membership
• Generalization by comparison
of properties and contexts of
individual organization
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CAPTER-4
DATA ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION
SAMPLING
Data collection Data collection is the method of gathering information. There are
various methods of data collection such as personal interviewing, telephone, e-
mail and the Internet. Depending on the questionnaire, these methods can be used
separately or combined (data).It is also a team of survey methodologists
specializing in the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods to enhance
quantitative enquiry and promote good practice (ONS). According to the research
is doing on an e-commerce company, the customers’ feeling is the most important
thing. So the questionnaires were sent to consumers who had experiences on
Amazon or knew something about Amazon before.
3.3.4 Secondary data collection Typically, the auxiliary data is from printed
sources (books, magazines, periodicals, and trade newspapers) and
electronic sources (CD-ROM encyclopedias, packages or online
services, such as the Internet). The books are general resources for
research related to the theoretical support. The journal is daily
information, it can provide very useful resources. They can provide the
latest views, research and development in specific areas. The Internet is
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also very useful for data collection, in particular, some Customer
Loyalty of Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship? 19
professional websites. Our secondary data collected from textbooks,
magazines and the Internet, we used secondary data to support the
background of our Research Company, literature review and case
studies.
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From figure 3, there are the data which gathered. On the questionnaire, it
totally gathered 150 questionnaires. The respond rate is 47%. There are 132
from the internet and 18 from our relative and friends and strangers. The data
shows us that there are 35 persons have no experiences on shopping on
Amazon.com. The rest all have experiences on Amazon.com. It occupied 76
percent of the whole persons. And it contains 80 males and 70 females. The
biggest parts of their age are 21-30. Most of them have the bachelor or master
education background. 46 percent of them think that they will go to the
online shopping website depends on when they want to buy something. It is
irregularly scheduled. And there are 82 Chinese and 68 Europeans.
CAPTER-5
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS &
RECOMMENDATIONS
The reason why customers choose Amazon? The detail to the questionnaire,
Question NO.8, it tries to find out that which element is the most important
that customers will choose Amazon.com instead of the other online shopping
websites. We can check figure 4 below. To the interviewees, we have
surveyed, we can clearly find out that there are 24 percentages of customers
consider Customer Loyalty of Amazon --how to build a long lasting
relationship? 23 that according to Amazon.com having a low price than other
shops, so they choose Amazon.com. Figure 4 And at the same time, they are
also 24 percentages of customers consider that according to Amazon.com
having a low price than other shops, so they choose Amazon.com
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And at the same time, they are also 24 percentages of customers think that
the payment system on Amazon.com is very safe so that they choose
Amazon.com rather than others. On Amazon’s website, we have many
different kinds’ ways of payment. Customers can depend on their own
situations to pick one of them. After that, there are 14 percentages customers
consider that convenient and fast using, providing good services and free
shipment are the reasons drive them to choose shopping on Amazon.com.
Amazon’s customers will feel delight when they are purchasing on Amazon’s
website. Good service is also an important point of attracting customers to
choose Amazon. Because online shopping is different, they cannot see each
other directly. And Customer Loyalty of Amazon --how to build a long
lasting relationship? 24 customers cannot see the products before they
purchased. So customers and sellers need to build a good relationship, and
they need to serve their customers well to let them rest assured. Moreover,
shipment is an important part of online shopping. For instance, some online
shopping websites offer a high price shipment, this will increase the costs of
the customers, so no matter how much the customers like the products, and it
will influence customers to buy them or not. To Amazon.com, it always has a
promotion that to help its customers to save the high price shipment. It often
offers free shipment at regular intervals or giving some discount on the
shipment. In order to delight the customers and save their costs, Amazon
needs to focus on the shipment since there are 14 percentages customers
consider that it is an important reason that they select Amazon.com. In the
figure 1, it could be found out that except the most parts of reasons, there are
something rest. There are still 5 percentages customers think of choosing
Amazon because of its good website credit and its individuation. Even
though they just take a little part of them, they still exist. When the customers
consider that it’s a reason, Amazon cannot let it pass. Since Amaozn.com
established a long time ago and it has strong brand equity, so many
customers will choose it. On the other hand, Amazon also has a customer’s
database to record our customers’ interests. This is also a way to ingratiate
with our customers. To know each customer’s favor and depends on different
favors to make some recommendation to our customers. So that according to
the questionnaire, the low price and the safe payment system become the
most strong points that the customers would like to choose Amaozn.com.
And there are still other points that customers would like to choose it. So
Amazon should keep its strengths and also need to improve the shortcomings
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1
According to our questionnaire, Q9, we refer that when the
customers shopping on Amazon.com, which elements they
care about most? On the research, the data shows that the
purple pie, there are 38 percentages of customers consider of
the quality of products are their most concern thing. When
they are shopping online, they usually focus more on the
quality of the products. Due to the different from the real shop,
customers cannot touch or see the products; customers will
doubt that the quality of the products, so they worry about the
product quality. In the meanwhile, the safe payment system
also is the important point that customers care about. In the
pie, the blue part, it takes 31 percent. For online shopping,
customers think a lot of payment system; all of them hope to
pay in a very safe environment. No one is willing to buy
something through a bad payment system. Customers will
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worry of credit card theft. So to build a safe payment system, it
is one of the important things for online shopping website to
attract more customers. And the third important point is the
quality of the services. Let’s check it from the pie;Customer
Loyalty of Amazon --how to build a long lasting relationship?
26 the yellow part occupied 15 percent of them. In other
words, the quality of services sometimes directly influences
the customers. The customers’ mood would directly decide
that they buy or not buy products. If Amazon offering good
services, the customers delight, it will get it. In addition to this,
there is still some customers’ regard the reliable information as
an important part of what they care about. As we all know,
shopping online, the credit rating is very important. Amazon
online website has to make the customers trust it. Let them rest
assured. After sum up the results that we have found, we know
what the customers care about, so that Amazon can try the best
to avoid the negative factors, and give the best to the
customers. To guarantee the quality of our products, to
promise the customers never sell the poor quality products on
the website, every product selling on the website have strictly
check by the staffs. It needs to establish a safe payment
system, to offer different kinds of credit card payment
methods. In order to keeps it being safe. To do the best to
serve the customers, give them what they want and make them
feel satisfied. Offering the best and true information to our
customers, try to avoid all the wrong information to the
customers.
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The satisfaction in each aspect of the customers According to
the questionnaire, the aim of question 13 to question20 is to
investigate seven different parts of the degree of satisfaction
from customers. Consequently, the results of those questions
are showed below (See figure 5):
From the chart, we can see that for all respects, the answers of agree and so so
from customers take a big part. And the answers of completely disagree and
disagree almost occupies a little parts of them. But it still exists, so it means we
still have the problems that make the customers feel dissatisfied. After collecting
these data, it is quite clear to figure out what aspects Amazon should improve.
And it also indicates there is a lot of things can be improved. To finish these steps
the strong relationship between customers and company is possible to achieve.
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5
CHAPTER 6 – LIMITATIONS AND SCOPE OF
FUTURE RESEARCH
Limitations of Loyalty Data
As loyalty data does not look at the purchases from other brands and stores,
it provides a limited picture of consumers’ overall purchase behavior.
Customer panel data may also be more representative than the loyalty card
member data. Furthermore, customers may feel offended if they are
uncomfortable sharing sensitive information in order to get the incentives of
the program.
However, it’s possible to address this point on the list of the pros and cons of
loyalty programs by incentivizing customers to share their other purchase
data by rewarding them for submitting third-party receipts to you. Whether
they do so by scanning physical receipts or by forwarding e-receipts, you can
gather this information to reward them for their purchases of your goods
while also processing the receipts for additional information
REFRENCES
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Appendices Questionnaire Here is our full text of the customer loyalty survey
design. We are conducting research the customer loyalty of Amazon.com. In
order to find out that how can we improve the customer loyalty to build a long
lasting relationship. Thank you for spending your precious time to finish the
questionnaire. Thank you for your cooperation. Please follow the prompts and
depend on your individual experiences to finish your answer.
2. Sex ( )
A. Male
B. Femal
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7. How often do you shop on Amazon.com? ( )
A. More than once a week
B. More than once a month
C. More than once a half year
D. More than once a year
E. Depends on when you want to buy something
8. The reasons why you choose Amazon.com
are? ( ) multiple choices
A. The lower price
B. Convenient and fast using
C. Provide good services
D. Have individuation
E. Membership rewards
F. Free shipment
G. Pay safetyCustomer Loyalty of Amazon
--how to build a long lasting relationship?
50
H. Website credit
I. The quality of the products
J. Others ______________
9. When you are shopping on Amazon.con,
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which elements you are worrying
about?
( ) multiple choices
A. Online payment safety
B. The reliability of the information
C. The convenient operations
D. The integrity of the website
E. The quality of the services
F. The quality of the products
G. Others _____________
10. What kinds of products do you purchase on
Amazon.com? ( ) multiple choices
A. Books
B. Clothing, shoes & jewelry
C. Movies, music & games
D. Electronics & computers
E. Home, garden & tools
F. Grocery, health &beauty
G. Toys, kids & baby
H. Sports & outdoors
I. Automotive & industrial
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J. Others ______________
11. What drives you to come back to shop again
on Amazon.com? ( ) multiple
choices
A. Good quality of productsCustomer Loyalty
of Amazon
--how to build a long lasting relationship?
51
B. Good pre-sales and after-sales services
C. Impeccable database of all customers
D. Convenient and clear website
E. Others _________________
12. What kinds of shortcomings does
Amazon.com have? ( ) multiple
choices
A. High prices
B. Not convenient to use
C. Bad services
D. Lack of individuation
E. Bad credit of the website
F. Less safety of payment
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13
G. Others ______________
13. On the whole, the satisfaction of your
consumption on Amazon.com is? ( )
A. Very satisfied
B. Satisfied
C. So so
D. Not too satisfied
E. very dissatisfied
14. Are you willing to come back to shop on
Amazon.com since Amazon.com
offering a good service? ( )
A. Definitely will
B. Will
C. Maybe will
D. Not sure
E. NoCustomer Loyalty of Amazon
--how to build a long lasting relationship?
52
15. Do you think the individual service of
Amazon.com is very good? ( )
A. Very good
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B. Good
C. So so
D. Not enough
E. Very bad
16. Do you think the recommendation of
Amazon.com is very helpful? ( )
A. Extremely agree
B. Agree
C. So so
D. Disagree
E. Completely disagree
17. Do you think our distribution is faster than
the other online shopping website?
()
A. Extremely agree
B. Agree
C. So so
D. Disagree
E. Completely disagree
18. Do you think the customer services are very
friendly? ( )
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A. Extremely agree
B. Agree
C. So so
D. Disagree
E. Completely disagreeCustomer Loyalty of
Amazon
--how to build a long lasting relationship?
53
19. Do you think the description of our
products is reliable? ( )
A. Extremely agree
B. Agree
C. So so
D. Disagree
E. Completely disagree
20. Do you think the product classification of
Amazon.com is reasonable? ( )
A. Extremely agree
B. Agree
C. So so
D. Disagree
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E. Completely disagree
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5.1 Conclusion
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5.2 Recommendations
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6.1 Scope of Future Research
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Bibliography
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Appendix – Questionnaires
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