Assistant Professor in Management Studies, Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology 1

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER S PREFERENCE TOWARDS ROYAL ENFIELD MOTORBIKES IN COIMBATORE CITY, TAMILNADU. Mrs. G. MURALI MANOKARI 1, MBA., M.Phil., (Ph.D.), Mrs.R.Kanaka Rathinam 2, M.Com,M.Phil,(Ph.D) Assistant Professor in Management Studies, Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology 1 HoD, B.Com (BPS) Department, Sree Saraswathy Thyagaraja College 2 gmuralimanohari@gmail.com 1 drrathina@gmail.com 2 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study on customer preference will help us to understand the needs & Wants of the customers towards Royal Enfield. The study could provide appropriate and timely information about the position of preference level of customer towards Royal Enfield. As the objectives of this study is to analyze the customer preference and to find out the customer satisfaction level towards the ironic brand Royal Enfield. This study also investigate the services and factors which influence the customers to purchase the Royal Enfield bikes and also identify what customers are expecting from the Royal Enfield. To know about the customer Preference and factor which influence the customer s preference in buying decision process. Customer preference is influenced strongly by culture, social, personal and psychological factors. For this purpose, 120 customers were selected and obtained the various responses based on the questionnaire method. By and large it was found that most of the customers are choosing Royal Enfield vehicles because of its Vehicle Appearance, pickup, good models and engine appearance etc. Key Words: Royal Enfield, Customer Preference, Bullet, Automobiles. I. INTRODUCTION The expanding Indian market, the growing size of the middle class and the rise in aspirations of the youth along with opening up of the Indian economy have collectively influenced the steady growth of the two wheeler market in India. In the last 3 to 4 years, the craze for motorcycle over the scooters has Page 91

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picked up and one can find today even girls crazy for a motorbike not only in the Metros but in small towns and cities also. The automobile industry in India happens to be the ninth largest in the world with an annual production of over 4.3 million units in 2010. In 2011, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of automobiles, behind Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Royal Enfield is the makers of the famous Bullet brand in India. It stems from the British manufacturer, Royal Enfield at Redditch. Royal Enfield has its headquarters at Chennai in India. Bullet bikes are famous for their power, stability and rugged looks. Bullet became known for sheer power, matchless stability, and rugged looks. It looked tailor-made for Indian roads. Motorcyclists in the country dreamt to drive it. It was particularly a favorite of the Army and Police personnel. Research Methodology Indian auto industry is currently growing at the pace of around 18 % per annum, has become a hot destination for global auto players like Volvo, General Motors, and Ford. The design of the research is descriptive in nature. The data was collected from the customers using Royal Enfield in Coimbatore by using the questionnaire. Convenience sampling is adopted for collecting data. The sample size was 120. Objective of the study To know the customer s preference towards Royal Enfield motorcycle. To identify the various factors that influence to the purchase of Royal Enfield. To find out the satisfaction level of the respondents towards various aspects of Royal Enfield motorcycle. Page 93

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Table 1 Details of the employees ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Demographical classification No. of Respondents Percentage Age (in years) Below 25 13 11 26 35 42 35 36 45 37 31 Above 46 28 23 Total 120 100 Education status Schooling 35 29 ITI/Diploma 12 10 Graduate 46 38 Professional 27 23 Total 120 100 Occupation Students 9 8 Government Employees 29 24 Private Employees 17 14 Business man 58 48 Others 7 6 Total 120 100 Income per month Below Rs 30,000 18 15 Rs 30,001-40,000 62 52 Rs 40,001-50,000 29 24 Above Rs 50,001 11 9 Table 2 The Customer Preference on Royal Enfield Motorcycle Total 120 100 Features No of Respondents Percentage Appearance 22 18 Models 27 23 Fuel Tank Capacity 7 6 Affordable Price 16 13 Pickup 39 33 After Sales Service - - Others 9 7 Total 120 100 Page 95

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Table 3 the reason on purchase of Royal Enfield Motorcycle Reason for Purchase No of Respondents Percentage Elegant look 35 29 Brand image 13 11 Pick up 34 28 Fuel Tank Capacity 17 14 Availability of Spares 2 2 Choice of colors 5 4 Designing Facilities 14 12 Resale Value - - Total 120 100 Table 4 The respondents satisfaction level towards various aspects Respondents satisfaction level towards Mileage Pickup Safety Engine performance Road grip Comfort riding Highly Satisfied 11 86 37 89 74 73 Satisfied 17 32 46 31 37 36 Neutral 68 2 32-9 11 Dissatisfied 24-5 - - - Highly - - - - - - Dissatisfied Total 120 120 120 120 120 120 CORRELATION TABLE FOR FINDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME AND THE REASON FOR PURCHASE Null Hypothesis There is no significant relationship between Income and Reason for Purchase of the Royal Enfield bikes. Descriptive Statistics Mean Std. Deviation Income 2.2750.82973 Reason of Purchase 3.0833 1.95144 Page 97

Correlations Page 98

Income Reason of Purchase Pearson Correlation 1.884(**) Sig. (2-tailed).000 N 120 120 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Based on the above analysis the correlation coefficient value is Positive. Hence there is significant relationship between Income and Reason of purchase for preferring the Royal Enfield bikes. CHI-SQUARE TEST SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AGE AND OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE ROYAL ENFIELD BIKES. Null Hypothesis There is no significant relationship between Age and Overall performance the Royal Enfield bikes. Descriptive Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Age 120 2.2750.82973 Overall performance 120 3.0833 1.95144 Test Statistics Age Overall performance Chi-Square(a,b) 51.000 59.900 Df 3 6 Asymp. Sig..000.000 Monte Carlo Sig. Sig..000(c).000(c) 95% Confidence Interval.000.000 The significant value is less than 0.05, so null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant relationship between Age and Overall performance of the Royal Enfield bikes. FINDINGS The survey showed that most of the respondents those who have Royal Enfield vehicle are aged between 26-35 years, under graduates, business men and their family income range between Rs.21, 000 to Rs. 30, 000 per month. Page 99

According to survey all the respondents had two-wheelers before they bought Royal Enfield and Page 100

they particularly had used Bajaj motorcycles. Most of the respondents bought Royal Enfield for elegant look, pickup, etc. The survey showed that most of the respondents have owned Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Most of the respondents got awareness of the Royal Enfield through their friends and relatives and they bought their vehicle by cash and their source of finance is personal saving. Most of the respondents opined that Royal Enfield is suitable for long travel and they mostly prefer to go long travel in Royal Enfield. Most of the respondents opined that they will travel 41 to 50 km per day in their Royal Enfield and they are neutral towards the mileage given by their vehicle. Most of the respondents are highly satisfied towards the overall performance of Royal Enfield. The survey showed that most of the respondents are highly satisfied with the features like pickup, engine performance, road grip, comfort riding, models of Royal Enfield and its vehicle appearances. Most of the respondents are satisfied with their safety in Royal Enfield.72% of the respondents are highly satisfied towards the Royal Enfield Models. 81% of the respondents are highly satisfied towards the Overall performance of Royal Enfield. 80% of the respondents bought their vehicle in ordinary season and 20% of the respondents bought their vehicle in Exchange by Vehicle.24% of the respondents have Royal Enfield UCE and 15% of the respondents have Royal Enfield Electra and 30% of the respondents have Royal Enfield Thunderbird and 19% of the respondents Royal Enfield Classic 350 and 12% of the respondents have Royal Enfield Classic 500. 57% of the respondents opined that the price of Royal Enfield is good. SUGGESTIONS Marketing Communication should focus on satisfying the needs for Respect, Power and Comfort. A non-flamboyant well-built brand ambassador may be chosen to represent the Brand. The respondents found difficulty in Royal Enfield when they go for short travel. The respondents not have good impression about mileage and resale value of the vehicle. Hence the company may consider to improving its technical aspects. All the respondents have bought their vehicle by ready cash only because of the interest rate they have to pay for. Therefore the company may arrange some low interest installment scheme. Mostly young age people alone have interest in Royal Enfield and others don t have interest in this vehicle because of its weight. Hence the company may try to reduce the weight of this Page 101

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CONCLUSION This study reveals the royal Enfield customers preferences and their satisfaction level towards various aspects. The customer preference on Royal Enfield motorcycle revealed that in order to capture the market, the manufacturers have to give the best combination of looks, quality, cost efficiency good features, safety, luxury and performance. The findings of this study would help the company and as well as the dealers to understand their customers and improve their satisfaction level in future. References Analysis for Marketing Planning, Donald Lehmann and Russell S Winner, 6th Edition, Tata McGraw Hill, 2005 Basic Marketing A global Managerial Approach, 15th Edition, William D Perreault Jr, E Jerome McCarthy, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi, 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_royal_enfield_motorcycles Page 103