Contents

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................2
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Industry Profile............................................................................................................................................4
Major Players in India.............................................................................................................................6
Company Profile..........................................................................................................................................8
Theoretical Background............................................................................................................................17
Service Blueprint...................................................................................................................................17
Service Encounters................................................................................................................................18
Customer Satisfaction............................................................................................................................18
Introduction to the Study...........................................................................................................................22
Objectives..................................................................................................................................................23
Scope of the study.....................................................................................................................................23
Limitations of the study.............................................................................................................................23
Methodology of the Research....................................................................................................................24
Data Analysis............................................................................................................................................25
Findings.....................................................................................................................................................40
Suggestions...............................................................................................................................................41
Learning from the Research.......................................................................................................................42
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................43
APPENDIX...............................................................................................................................................44
QUESTIONNAIRE...........................................................................................................................44
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................................46

1
 Abstract

The project aims at analyzing the service delivery process of IL&FS Investsmart Securities
Limited, Bangalore, through service blueprint of the organization. The research is done by
surveying the customers and the employees of the organization. Customers of the company are
the centre of this research as they are the internal customers of the organization. As such the
research also takes into account the ‘gaps model’ and service encounters, and tries to formulate a
satisfaction index as well. This has been done because surveying customers, especially if they
are high-profile is very tough task and as such asking them a large number of questions is not
feasible. So, few important parameters have been set in this regard so as to understand the
customer perceptions and expectations and subsequently the maximum possible gaps existing
through minimum number of questions. The study is very ambitious but it has its own limitations
like geographical constraints and availability of database. In order to do the research, extensive
fieldwork was undertaken. Then based on the understanding of the fieldwork, office work and
interaction with the employees the existing service blueprint was drawn and then analyzed. The
satisfaction index formulated has subtle similarities to SERVQUAL. The research found out that
service encounters play a crucial role in customer satisfaction. It concludes that for a higher level
of satisfaction lesser number of service encounters should be there. Besides, the research also
found out the major gaps existing in the service delivery at IL&FS Investsmart Securities
Limited. Also the existing service blueprint of the company was analyzed for the purpose of
identifying those encounters which should be deleted and those encounters which should be
encouraged. Finally based on the findings of the research some steps have been suggested to
improve the customer satisfaction.

2
 Executive Summary

Organization:

The organization chosen for the purpose of research is IL&FS Investsmart Securities Limited
(IISL), which is a major player in Indian capital market. It is an online trading and broking
company and a major player in the market. It is presently a part of HSBC group. Its CEO is Mr.
Manasije Mishra.

Title of the project:

The project chosen is “Service Delivery Process: An analysis through Service Blueprint at
IL&FS Investsmart, Bangalore”.

Objective of the Project:

1. To analyze the existing service blueprint of IL&FS Investsmart Securities Limited.

2. To assess the service encounters with the customers
3. To suggest strategies for the improvement of the service delivery process of the company.

Background:

Service blueprint is a picture or map that accurately portrays the service system so that the
different people involved in providing it can understand and deal with it objectively regardless of
their roles or their individual points of view. It also serves as a tool for service improvement. As
such it also involves concepts of customer satisfaction and service encounter.

Methodology:

A descriptive research involving simple random sampling was undertaken. It involved

questionnaire designing on Likert scale and simple yes-no kind of questions for primary data
collection. Secondary data was taken from newspapers and magazines.

Findings:

It has been found that remote encounters and telephone encounters are responsible for higher
level of customer satisfaction while face-to-face encounters cause more dissatisfaction.

Suggestions:

The company should encourage those encounters which cause more satisfaction and train its
onstage employees continually so that they work efficiently and keep the deficiencies to the
minimum.

3
 Industry Profile

The industry is a part of what is broadly termed as service sector. So before moving further let us
first have a look at services. Services are deeds, processes and performances, and as such are
intangible. Services are produced not only by service businesses but are also integral to the
offerings of many manufactured-goods producers.

It is important to note here that services and customer service are distinct concepts. For example
IL&FS Investsmart provides the service of online trading and broking to the customers. But
when the customers call on toll free number of the company regarding any doubt or for any help,
say regarding change of his correspondence address, they are provided customer service.
Customer service is the service provided in support of the company’s core product. The broad
definition of services implies that intangibility is a key determinant of whether an offering is
service or not. However, actually very few products are purely intangible or totally tangible. It
can be said that while services are more intangible than manufactured products. This can be
understood through tangibility spectrum. Other than intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability,
non transfer of ownership, and inseparability are some other important features of services.

Service sector in India accounts for more than half of the GDP of India. The share of service
sector in India’s GDP for the fiscal year 2008-2009 stood at 56%. This is a trend which is
observed in developed economies only. Service sector growth in India witnessed a dramatic pace
in 1980s and 1990s, especially so in 1990s. Between1950 to 2000 the share of services in the
GDP increased by 21%, forty percent of that growth was seen in 1990s. This was primarily due
to liberalization in the regulatory framework of the economy and this gave rise to innovation and
increased exports from the service sector. Services or the “tertiary sector” of the economy covers
a wide gamut of activities like trading, banking & finance, entertainment, real estate etc.

Genesis of Stock Market - Stock market is a market where trading of company stocks, other
securities and derivatives take place. Stock exchanges are corporations or mutual organizations
which are specialized in trading stocks and securities. The first security was issued publicly in
Venice in the fourteenth century where the government made the first known issue of bonds.
Merchants and landowners purchased these securities as investments. In and around 1750s, in
England, traders of the shares of early companies would commonly meet in Jonathan’s Coffee
House to trade shares and make business deals. Early share bids and offers were written on the
walls of the coffee house and the trading process was highly unregulated, with insider trading
forming the basis for most investment decisions. Trading clubs had been formed by early 1770s,
and in 1801 a group of traders raised 20,000 pounds to build the London Stock Exchange in
Capel Court. A similar process was being witnessed in America as well. By the early1790s
merchants had begun trading in shares and just as in London, these early traders often met at
coffee houses. In 1792, a group of 24 brokers, each of whom had paid $400 for a “trading seat”
signed the Buttonwood Tree Agreement. This agreement outlined the regulations under which

4
the shares could be bought and sold. These regulations formed the basis for trading rules that still
exist today and led to the formation in 1817 of the New York Stock Exchange.

In the early days brokers in the stock exchanges would use the method of “open outcry” for
trading. By the late 1990s, however, most of the stock exchanges across the globe had been
automated. Today, the open outcry method has become a thing of past. Today computers have
become very important in this regard. The order placed on internet by the clients are first
processed and authorized through the stock brokers’ computer system before being automatically
placed on the stock exchanges’ computer system. Today, online trading and broking has not only
found acceptance but is also gaining popularity. Stock market has become an industry in itself
from such humble origins. People like Warren Buffet and Allen Soros have made their fortune
by doing nothing but investing in capital market.

Indian Stock Market – The Indian stock market is regulated by SEBI (Securities and Exchange
Board of India). It was established on April 12, 1988 as a non-statutory body to promote the
growth of the of the securities market and also to provide adequate investor protection. The SEBI
was accorded a statutory recognition by an ordinance in the year 1992. Later the ordinance was
replaced by an act.

There are twenty-four stock exchanges in India, the major among them are BSE (Bombay Stock
Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange). The NSE and BSE are equal in size in terms of
daily traded volume. Most key stocks are traded in both the exchanges. BSE is, however, older
and more widely followed. Both the exchanges have switched over from open outcry to fully
automated systems known as BOLT (BSE Online Trading) and NEAT (National Exchange
Automated Trading).

The origin of Indian securities market can be traced back to 1875, when 22 enterprising brokers
sitting under a banyan tree established the Bombay Stock Exchange as "The Native Share &
Stock Brokers' Association". Its index is known as SENSEX. Presently there are around four
thousand stocks listed in BSE. It is the principal stock exchange in the country accounting for
nearly 70 percent of the aggregate paid-up share capital of all the listed companies and 80
percent of the aggregate market capitalization of the listed companies. The Board of Governors
of BSE comprises 9 elected directors, an executive director, three government nominees, an RBI
nominee and five public representatives. While India has a long history of securities trading, the
markets have not always kept pace with the changing trends and requirements for this industry to
keep pace with its full potential. Particular issues of concern have been lack of transparency, lack
of fair and accessible and trading members, dated procedures and practices and long and
uncertain settlement cycles. So some investors decided to address these issues and break the
monopoly of BSE brokers. NSE, incorporated in 1992, was given recognition as a stock
exchange in April 1993 and started operation in June 1994. It has been set-up as a public limited
company, owned by the leading institutional investors in the country.

5
Besides, there is OTCEI (Over-the-Counter Exchange of India). It was established in order to
have faster transactions, greater liquidity in the market and a transparency in transactions. It was
the first exchange in India to offer transparent and screen-based trading.

Also, there is MCX or Multi-Commodity Exchange where the trading in commodities takes
place. It is a demutualised nationwide electronic multi commodity futures exchange set up by
Financial Technologies with permanent recognition from Government of India for facilitating
online trading, clearing & settlement operations for futures market across the country. The
exchange started operations in November 2003.

Major Players in India

 ICICI Direct - it is the online trading and broking arm of the ICICI Bank. Today it is a
leading player in the market. It offers three kinds of online trading platforms to its
customers. It has a very wide customer base. However, in recent times the firm had to
suffer a lot owing to high and non-negotiable brokerage, and also because of some
negative publicity.
 ShareKhan - it is online stock trading company of SSKI Group, provider of India-based
investment banking and corporate finance service. ShareKhan is one of the largest stock
broking houses in the country. One of the greatest strengths of the firm is an
exceptionally low brokerage charged by it. It has a very loyal customer base. It is known,
particularly, for intra-day trading. They provide two kinds of online trading platform.
However, they have lot of hidden rules, like one cannot trade through Sharekhan for
scrips below Rs.20.

 Religare - it is promoted by Ranbaxy Laboratories. It is involved in equity related

services include online trading at BSE and NSE, Derivatives, commodities, IPO, Mutual
fund, Investment banking and institutional broking services. Religare also provides its
customers with three kinds of trading platforms.
 5 Paisa stock trading - 5paisa is Online Stock Trading Company of India Infoline
Securities Private Ltd., Owner of popular business portal Indiainfoline.com. Besides high
quality investment advice from an experienced research team, the site offers real time
stock quotes, market news and multiple tools for technical analysis. It is also known for
its very low brokerage charges. However, it also has many hidden charges.

In addition to these there are other players also like Reliance Money, Motilal Oswal,
India Bulls, and Karvy. The last of these was the first player to enter the online trading
and broking in India but it has not been so successful as others.

6
 Company Profile

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL & FS) is one of India’s leading
infrastructure development and finance companies. IL&FS has a distinct mandate – catalyzing
the development of infrastructure in the country. The organization has focused on the
commercialization and development of infrastructure project and creation of value added
financial services. From concept to execution IL&FS houses the expertise to provide the
complete array of services necessary for successful project completion: visioning,
documentation, finance, development, management, technology and execution. Over the years,
IL&FS has broad based its share holding, which today includes Life Insurance Corporation of
India, ORIX Corporation – Japan, Housing Development Corporation of India and Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority, State Bank of India and Central Bank of India.

IL&FS INVESTSMART SECURITIES LIMITED

IL&FS Investsmart securities limited (IISL) was created by IL&FS as an arm to take part in
growing Indian capital market. However, later on the company was taken over by HSBC in the
year 2007 to gain an entry into the Indian financial market.

IL&FS Investsmart securities limited (IISL) is one of India’s Leading financial services
organizations. IISL, through its subsidiaries in India and Singapore, provides a wide range of
investment products to its retail and institutional banking, insurance broking & distribution,
mutual funds distribution and related financing services. IISL’s 2000 employees provide a
complete range of investment solutions to over 138,000 customers in India through its 394
branches and 19 franchise outlets across all the states in India and has been recognized as
“National Best Performing Financial Advisor – Retail” for two years in a row (06-07 & 07-08)
by CNBC TV 18.

Retail Offerings

 ADVISORY PRODUCTS – mutual funds, portfolio management services (PMS) IPO’s

insurance advisory etc.
 TRADING PRODUCTS – equity and derivatives, etc. The company no longer provides
trading in commodities as according to regulation foreign financial institutions cannot
take part in trading of commodities and as of now HSBC has 93.6% stake in IL&FS
Investsmart.

IISL’s Institutional business thrives on the strong relationships it has built among domestic
mutual funds, banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and private sector funds over the
past few years. Efficient execution, quality research and high degree of compliance with stock
exchange regulations and ethical business standards back IISL’s services to institutional
investors.

7
IL&FS Depository Services

Dematerialization and trading in the Demat mode is a safer and faster alternative to the physical
existence of securities. Demat as a parallel solution offers freedom from delays, thefts, forgeries,
settlement risks and paper work. This system works through Depository Participants, who offer
Demat services and the securities are held in the electronic form for the investor directly by the
depository. These services are regulated by National Securities Limited (NSDL).

IL&FS Investsmart DS offers Dematerialization services to individual and corporate investor. It

has a team of professionals and latest technological expertise dedicated exclusively to its Demat
department, apart from a national network of franchise making of services quick, convenient and
efficient.

A person who has an account with IL&FS Investsmart is benefited in the following ways:

The internet can provide a new sense of control over financial future. The amount of investment
information available online is truly astounding. It’s one of the best aspects of being a wired
investor. For the first time in history, any individual with an internet connection can do the
following activities:

Know the price of any stock any time and follow the market events in depth.

Receive a wealth of free commentary and analysis about stock markets and the global economy.
At Investsmart, customers can get real time stock quotes, daily roundups of the stock market,
expert commentary, and a deep community of fellow investors.

One of the greatest appeals of using an Investsmart online account is the fact that the account
belongs to the customers, and is under their direct control. When they want to buy or sell stock,
they no longer need to call their broker on the phone, hope that the broker is in office to place
their order; possibly argue with the broker about the order; and hope that the transaction is
executed immediately.

Investsmart specializes in the technique that offers the best price for the best buy and sell orders
of the investors and traders. Also due to the high level of transparency with regard to display of
information relating to the specific stocks and company profiles, customers get the best quote for
their orders.

Online trading offers the customers greater transparency by providing them with an audit trial.
This involves a complete integrated electronic chain starting from order placement to clearing
and settlement and finally ending with a credit into their depository account. All these stages are
subject to inspection, thus bringing in transparency into the system. Online trading integrates the
customer’s bank account, their trading account and their Demat accounts, which leads to easy
and paperless trading for them.

8
Investsmart online customer will be able to execute the entire trading transaction, right from
logging on to the site, to the execution and settlement of customer’s bank account, in a very short
period. Trading on the net gives even the smallest retail investor access to information that
earlier was available to the big traders only. This provides a level playing field for all investors in
the securities market. This method of trading reduces the settlement risk for the investor, as in
this case all short sell orders are squared off at the specified cut off time and are not allowed to
be carried forward. In the case of a Demat account, customers Demat account is checked by
Investsmart before executing their sell transaction. This reduces the settlement risk for the buyer,
who is assured of the delivery of these securities. As the clients of Investsmart online, customers
are given free access to steaming news to give them the latest financial information as it occurs.
Customers can contact the Tele Trading Executives from the Tele Trading team during and after
market hours. Customers can ask their problems and discuss their trading strategies and ideas
accordingly with the executives. Every trade is confirmed immediately and clients will receive
an on-screen confirmation following the trade with full details for their records. This avoids
costly errors that would have been discovered when it is too late. Client’s bank, Depository and
online account are integrated for his/her convenience. An Investsmart Online client has an option
of banking with five financial banks that provide the option of online fund transfer – HSBC,
HDFC, Citibank, Axis and Corporation Bank.

Investsmart Online works hard to keep customers’ personal information secure.

Product Profile of IL&FS Investsmart

IL&FS investsmart offers two types of products for clients interested in online trading. They are:

 Smart Invest

Features:

This trading platform is a browser based system designed for customers who transact
occasionally. It is ideal for investors who believe in the buy and hold approach towards
investment in equities. It is very user friendly.
Smart Invest’s capability as a browser based trading platform gives you the benefit of real time
streaming data with the flexibility of trading on any internet capable system. With access to both
the NSE and BSE, the customer is in the driver’s seat when routing your order to the best price
on either of the exchanges. Smart Invest’s sophisticated yet easy to use point and click order
entry interface allows you to react more quickly to the markets and make better decisions.

9
  Smart Trade

Features:

This platform can be accessed on any internet-enabled network. They can be accessed even from
the work place.

Instant Loading The browser-based applet system allows access to client’s account with no wait
time, unlike other system that takes a few minutes to load. Live streaming quotes-Color-coded
price changes help customers to spot trends and in turn help the customer to react faster.
Multiple watch - list allows the customer to create up to 10 groups of watch list with each group
accommodating 15 scripts. Each watch list can be personalized by the customers according to
their choice of scripts. It provides the facility of trading on both NSE and BSE via a single
screen. Single order form for Cash and F&O offers the customers the convenience of
transacting in various segments of the market without having to switch between multiple
windows. Point and Click order entry makes order entry quick and simple with a click on the
security, the same is inserted on the order form in the trade screen. Using a single keystroke
(hotkey) function the customer can achieve important task very similar to a broker’s terminal.
Accessing important reports is also one keystroke away. Market depth window gives an
immediate “at a glance” information about the stock they are following. The view provides the
best 5 bids and offers quotes and the outstanding order quantities. Back office access allows one
to view segment wise ledger bills and contract notes, trades, positions, account balance,
realized/unrealized profit and loss, and buying power all in real time. This account is an EXE
based desktop software designed for active traders who transact frequently to capture favorable
short-term price movements. The platform offers active traders the tools they need to make
critical decisions with confidence. Smart Trade is designed and built from the ground up to
address the needs of active traders. Smart Trade makes the most of state of the art technology to
deliver power, speed and reliability. Through an easy to use interface, users are provided with the

10
same tools and advantages that the professionals enjoy. Fully customizable display allows the
clients to save their created trade screen layout, so the next time they access the application the
created layout is not lost. Dynamic charts with indicators provides the clients with a wealth of
charting capabilities and timing indicators, which allow them to go right into the action with real
time daily charts, and intra- day charts. Watch price movements by minutes, days or weeks.
Through EOD Charts, Smart Trade puts up to 5 years of in depth history at their command
with the power to instantly back test any trading strategy they design, before risking one rupee of
their trading capital. Customers can get the real time market data from both NSE and BSE,
similar to what a professional broker gets. Advanced alert capabilities allow the customer to be
free from watching every tick. Users can be notified once a security has reached the set
parameters. Multiple securities can be monitored using the set parameters. These alerts can be
triggered both visually and audibly. Tracking all their orders are made easy through the live
order status screen. Further drill down into all details pertaining to an order is available in the
order detail sub report. All their positions are updated automatically and instantly. The need of
refresh button is avoided. It reflects their credits and debits instantly on every trade execution.
No need to refresh each statement to know their latest buying limits. The feature of derivative
chain provides with a list of all derivative contracts available for the selected security. To view
derivative prices of a security just right click on the symbol and click on derivative chain. Lock
terminal option locks the trading platform for the customers when it is left unattended and can
be accessed again only on providing the proper login details. Message window docking enables
the customers to receive trading messages, intraday trading calls and messages from both the
exchanges flashed real time onto their screens. The company is having dedicated and trained
tele-trading executives which allows the customers to trade when they are unable to trade
through internet.

HSBC in India

The HSBC Group in India is represented by several entities including The Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited which offers a full range of banking and financial
services to its over 2 million customers in India through its 47 branches and 170 ATMs across 26
cities. HSBC is one of India’s leading financial services groups, with over 33,000 employees in
its banking, investment banking and capital markets, asset management, insurance broking, two
global IT development centers and 6 global resourcing operations in the country. The bank is the
founding and a principal member of HSBC Group which, with over 10,000 offices in 83
countries and territories and assets of US S 2354 billion at 31 st Dec 2007, is one of the world’s
largest banking and financial services organization.

Service Blueprint of IL&FS Investsmart Securities Limited

The blueprint components identified at IL&FS Investsmart can be listed under the five heads as
discussed earlier. These are:

11
Physical evidence

It is at the very top of the blueprint. Physical evidences provide some degree of tangibility to the
services. So anything associated with the process can be listed under physical evidence if it
provides tangibility. Seen in this regard, even employees of the company and their attire also
provide tangibility. Typically these physical evidences can be listed above each point of contact
as well.

Different physical evidences associated with the services of IL&FS Investsmart are:
1. Website
2. Browser
3. Employees
4. Attire of the employees
5. Demo shown to the clients
6. Pamphlets
7. Office

Customer Actions

The customer actions area includes the steps, choices, activities and interactions that the
customer performs in the process of purchasing, consuming and evaluating the services.
The possible customer actions list for the clients of IL&FS Investsmart is a very long one, which
can be modified into following broad actions:
1. Visiting website
2. Seeing advertisement these three actions can be listed as one
3. Making calls one action of Seeking Information
4. Take Calls
5. Giving appointments to the executives
6. Meeting the executives from the company
7. Signing up the forms
8. Submit documents
9. See the demonstration
10. Moving funds from savings account to trading account
11. Pay through cheque
12. Withdraw funds from trading account to savings account Transaction
13. Placing order for purchase of shares
14. Selling stocks
15. Calling up Relationship Managers
16. Adding stocks or Deleting stocks in the scripts display
17. Renewal of account by paying ASP

Thus above actions can be further narrowed down to ten actions:

1. Seeking information
2. Taking Calls

12
 3. Giving appointments to the executive
4. Meeting the executives
5. Signing up the forms
6. Submit the documents
7. Watch the Demo
8. Transactions using the login ID
9. Calling up Relationship Managers
10. Adding stocks or Deleting Stocks in the scripts display

Onstage Contact Employee Actions

Now, paralleling the customer actions there two areas of contact employee actions. The steps and
activities that the contact employee performs that are visible to a customer are the onstage
employee actions. The onstage contact employee actions identified at IL&FS Investsmart are:
1. Make Calls or send e-mails
2. Take Appointments
3. Meeting clients and pitch the product
4. Give the demonstration- this action can be done either before the purchase by customer or
even after the purchase has been made.
5. Get the forms signed up
6. Collecting documents
7. Process the forms
8. Clear deficiencies in the form if any deficiency has been found.

Backstage Contact Employee Actions

Those contact employee actions that take place behind the scenes for the support of the onstage
employees are called backstage contact employee actions. In the organization are as follows:
1. Making calls to the customers
2. Attending calls of the existing customers (both internal as well as external) and
prospective customers who call up for information.
3. Fixing appointments for the onstage contact employees
4. Processing the forms and forward for account activation
5. Inform onstage contact employees about the deficiencies in the form if found.
6. Informing the customers about the deficiencies in the form (this can be clubbed with the
first action of making calls).
7. Advise the customers (Relationship Managers)

So, though we have observed seven major actions, they can be considered under six major
actions only.

13
Support Processes

This part of the blueprint covers the internal services, steps, and interactions that take place to
support the contact employees in delivering the service. In this case, we have following support
processes:
1. Generate leads for the acquisition process
2. Training to new employees
3. Processing the forms
4. Inform about the deficiencies if found to the contact employees.
5. Activating the account

Now, the above mentioned list of actions can be grouped under remote encounters, phone
encounters and face-to face encounters also. For example, visiting the website or placing the
orders online is remote encounter while placing the same order on phone is phone encounter.
Every encounter is critical from the point of view of customer satisfaction. All this can be seen
in the service blueprint prepared on the basis of above discussion as seen in figure – 4 below.

14
Physical website Pamphlet employees Attire of employees office
Evidence
Seek Give
Customer Take Calls Meet Executive Sign Up the
Information Appointment
forms
Actions
Submit See the Transactions
Documents Demonstration

Add/Del Scrips Call the Relationship

Manager

Onstage Take Meet Clients Get the form

Make Calls/Send e-mail
Appointments Signed up
Contact

Employee
Collect Documents Give demonstration Process the Forms
Actions

Clear Deficiencies

Backstage Fix Appointments for

Make Calls Take Calls/e- mails Process the Forms &
Onstage Contact forward for activation
Contact
Employees
Employee
Inform Onstage Contact Advise the
Actions
Emp about deficiencies Client

Generate leads

Support Train Contact

Process forms and Inform
Employees
Processes look for Deficiencies about
deficiencies

Activate Client’s
Figure – 1 (Service Blueprint of IL&FS Investsmart, Bangalore)
Account

15
 Theoretical Background

Service Blueprint
A service blueprint is a picture or map that accurately portrays the service system so that the
different people involved in providing it can understand and deal with it objectively regardless of
their roles or their individual points of view. If we look at IL&FS Investsmart, service blueprint
assumes special significance here. Let us first look at an experience shared by some customers,
which they themselves termed to be very memorable. On 16th January 2008, the share market in
India witnessed a dramatic fall, which a leading national daily termed as “blood on Dalal Street”.
According to the customers which were contacted, the next day (17 th Jan) many of their friends
trading with other broking houses simply could not trade as their terminals were closed on that
day; but these customers were able to save themselves as IL&FS did not close its terminals.
Clearly, such incident create not only positive image of the company but also form an emotional
bond with the customers.

The blueprint will have 5 components:

 Physical Evidence
 Customer Actions
 Onstage/ Visible Contact Employee Actions
 Backstage Employee Actions and
 Support Processes

Physical evidence refers to those elements of a service which provide certain degree of
tangibility to it like pamphlets, websites etc. customer actions include all of the steps that
customers take as part of the service delivery process. The actions of frontline contact actions
that occur as part of face-to-face encounter as termed as onstage contact employee actions. This
component of the blueprint is separated from the customers by the line of visibility. Everything
below the line of visibility is not visible to the customers. Backstage contact employees fall
below this line. Backstage contact employees fall below this line. Telephone calls made to the
customers is one example of the backstage contact employee action. Service blueprints provide
the employees with an overview so that they can have understanding of their work. It reinforces
the customer focused approach. The line of interaction between external customer and
employees illuminates the customer’s role. The line of visibility drawn promotes a conscious
decision on what customers should see and which employees will be in contact with the
customers, thus facilitating relational service design.

Service Encounters
Service encounters or the “moments of truth” create the most vivid impressions of the service
when the customer interacts with the service firm [ CITATION Bit00 \l 1033 ] . Through these
encounters the customers receive a snapshot of the organization’s service quality, and each
encounter contributes to the customer’s overall satisfaction level and willingness to do business

16
with the organization. Errors committed at early stage are very critical and they do have a
cascading effect, because a failure at one point results in higher dissatisfaction at each
subsequent level. First interaction is especially critical for the image of the organization,
however, that does not mean that other interactions are not important. Every encounter is
important as it helps in forming a composite image of the organization. The difference lies in the
magnitude of importance.

Below is a simple three-stage service encounter that normally happens at IL&FS Investsmart
Securities Limited till the point of customer acquisition.

Sales Call

Meet the Client & Convince Him

Get the Form Signed Up

Figure – 2 (Service Encounter at IISL)

Encounters can of three general types- remote encounters, phone encounters, and face-to-face
encounters. Remote encounter can happen through websites or mails, that is, without any direct
human contact.

Customer Satisfaction
The first basic concept is that of customer expectation. Customer expectation, as Bitner &
Zeithaml say, are beliefs about service delivery that function as standards or reference points
against which performance is judged. Thus, for providing a good quality service it becomes
critical to understand what a customer expects coming into the service experience. Not
understanding the expectations of customer can put a lot of cost to the company. Besides, it will
stand to lose its customers and this ultimately may even lead to extinction of the firm from the
market.

The second important concept is that of customer perception. Perception can be termed as the
process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and
coherent picture of the world. Now, in our case perception is the reflection of how a service has
actually been received. Perceptions are always relative to the expectation.

17
 EXPECTED

CUSTOMER GAP

PERCEIVED

Figure – 3 (Customer Gap)

If there is no difference between expectation and perception than a customer is said to be

satisfied, or in other words, we can say that if upon evaluation of a service the customer finds it
to meet his needs and expectations then he would be satisfied. This customer gap can be better
understood through table1.

One framework that has been put forward based on the qualities associated with the goods and
services to differentiate between the two. These qualities are of following types -

1. Search qualities – the qualities which can be determined before the actual
purchase.
2. Experience qualities – the qualities discernable only after purchase or during
consumption.
3. Credence qualities – the qualities that a consumer may find impossible to evaluate
even after the purchase and consumption.

Since the last two qualities dominate in the service sector, consumers employ different
techniques in decision making process – information search, evaluative criteria, size and
composition of the evoked set of alternatives, perceived risk, attribution of dissatisfaction etc.

One important issue in the discussion of customer satisfaction is that of quality. It has been often
observed that quality and satisfaction are used interchangeably. But these two are different
concepts. Satisfaction is a broader concept while service quality assessment focuses specifically
on dimensions of service –

1. Reliability
2. Responsiveness
3. Assurance
4. Empathy
5. Tangibles

Customer satisfaction is influenced by specific product or service features and by perception of

quality as discussed above. It is also influenced by customers’ emotional responses, their
attributions and their perceptions of equity.

18
Service features influence a customer to a great extent. Research suggest that customers make
trade-offs among different service features depending on the type of service being evaluated and
the criticality of the services.

Customer’s emotions are important factors affecting his perception of satisfaction with the
services. Emotions can be stable, pre-existing, mood state or life satisfaction. A customer in good
mood may ignore mistakes while the same customer, when in a foul mood may make an issue of
slightest mistakes.

Attributions, i.e., the perceived causes of events also influence the satisfaction level of
customers. For many services, customers at least take partial responsibility for how things turn
out.

Perceptions of equity or fairness, if a customer feel that he is fairly treated like getting services,
paying fair to services.

The difference between customer expectations and perceptions is known as customer gap.

Gap 1: the promotional gap

The origin of the problem lies in the company’s marketing communications.
In the bid to get new customers by selling the benefits of their product or service companies can
very easily create expectations in the minds of customers that will be difficult to fulfill.

Gap 2: the understanding gap

Another problem area is that the organizations do not have a proper understanding of customers’
needs and priorities. If they don’t realize what is important to customers, it is quite possible that
customer will not be satisfied despite good quality of service.

Gap 3: the procedural gap

Despite the organization having proper understanding of what matters most to the customers it
may still fail to deliver customer satisfaction if it cannot translate customers’ expectations into
appropriate operating procedures and systems.

Gap 4: the behavioral gap

Sometimes organizations establish clear procedures which can match with the customers’ needs
and priorities but still fail to achieve a consistently high level of customer satisfaction because
staff may not be sufficiently trained or disciplined to follow the proper procedures at all times.

Gap 5: the perception gap

It is possible that above mentioned gaps do not exist still some customers may be dissatisfied.
This is because of the customers’ perception of the performance of organization which may
differ from reality. A customer who was upset by offhand, unhelpful service sometime in the
past will form an attitude that the organization is not concerned and it may take considerable
time and much experience of good personal service before that perception gets changed.

19
Table – 1 (Actual v Expected Service)

20
 Introduction to the Study

A service blueprint is a picture or map that accurately portrays the service system so that the
different people involved in providing it can understand and deal with it objectively regardless of
their roles or their individual points of view. Blueprinting is widely used to analyze and inform
service delivery and service design.

We have seen earlier, service sector is playing a major role in the Indian economy. It is in this
light that Mary Jo Bitner puts forward the argument that firms can no longer compete solely on
providing superior value through their core products, but rather they must move into the realm of
customer experience management, creating long-term, emotional bonds with their customers
through the co-creation of memorable experiences potentially involving a constellation of goods
and services. It is here that service blueprinting assumes an important role as a tool of service
innovation and service improvement. Service blueprints are customer-focused, allowing firms to
visualize the service processes, points of customer contact, and physical evidence associated with
their services from customers’ perspective. Blueprints also illuminate and connect the underlying
support processes throughout the organization that drive and support customer-focused service
execution.

This paper aims to create the service blueprint of the company with the help of its customers,
both, internal as well as external. The focus, however, would be on the internal customers to find
out whether they understand the service process and their satisfaction with the support processes.
Besides, the paper will also seek customers’ experience with the onstage contact employees, that
is, the role of service encounters. As such, the paper needs to consider customer satisfaction and
customer gap also.

21
Objectives

The major objectives of the project can be stated as follows:

1. To analyze the existing service blueprint of IL&FS Investsmart Securities Limited.

2. To assess the service encounters with the customers.
3. To find out the service encounters which are most satisfying for the customers and which
are most dissatisfying for the customers.
4. To find out the customer gaps in the process
5. To suggest strategies for the improvement of the service delivery process of the company
and as such delete those service encounters which cause dissatisfaction and encourage
those encounters which satisfy the customers most.

Scope of the study

The study has been conducted on the IL&FS Investsmart’s Bangalore operations. It has taken
into consideration the functioning of the online trading and broking arm of IL&FS Investsmart.
For this purpose both internal and external customers of the company were surveyed. The report
assumes importance because of the recessionary trend that the economy had been witnessing
since last 1 and half years and because of the negative market sentiments generated in the wake
of incidents related to Lehmann brothers and Satyam. How the company is still able to entice
customers into investing and how that can be made more effective is one question of special
interest.

Limitations of the study

This study is conducted with the aim of getting accurate information, authentic information.
However, there were some constraints. The biggest challenge was, in the present market
scenario, as the market crashed from 2100 points to 8000 and people had lost their money it was
difficult to interact with the customer because they were not willing to participate in giving
feedback also. The foremost limitation is to identify which customers to choose for the intended
survey. Then again the sample size and sampling technique to be used will also be under
question. One limitation was to get into touch with some of the customers because of they were
premium customers and it was not easy to approach them. Also, because of the not being fluent
with the local language Kannada, it became difficult to interact with many customers. One of the
biggest hurdles in this project is the part of customer viewpoint mapping. Getting customers to
elicit response when they might not be interested in participating in any such exercise is a very
tough and cumbersome task, especially given the market conditions.

22
 Methodology of the Research

Marketing research covers a wide range of phenomena. The task of marketing research is to help
specify and supply accurate information to reduce the uncertainty in decision making.

Here the method of research adopted is descriptive. Besides, since the customers to be surveyed
are generally very high profile with which interactions have to be limited, the number of existing
customers surveyed cannot be very high. So the sample size taken for research is 50. Besides,
interview of the employees of the company is also taken for the research.

The geographical area was restricted to Bangalore city only.

Simple random sampling is the basic sampling technique where we select a group of subjects for
study from a larger group. Each individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the
population is equally likely to be chosen at any stage in the sampling process. For our purpose,
the respondents were chosen from the customer database available to us through simple random
sampling only.

The methods followed for data collection under primary sources are listed below:

 Questionnaire survey of existing customers

 Interview of external customers
 Personal interview with the internal customers

Existing customer database was collected before proceeding for filling up the questionnaire.

The questionnaire designing is an important aspect of the research. For this purpose, two kinds of
questions were taken- in the first type there were only two options for the customers, i.e., yes or
no; for the second type a Likert scale was used. Here the customers are asked to rate the given
parameters on a scale of one to five. Besides, two open-ended questions were also kept in the
questionnaire.

23
 Data Analysis

In order to analyze the service delivery process and the role of service encounters in customer
satisfaction, we conducted a survey of fifty existing customers of the company.

The respondents were asked about the first service encounter in the whole service delivery
process. The question was concerned with the way the executives pitch the product. Forty-six out
of fifty respondents felt that IISL executives gave them a proper explanation on the product
features and they were quite convincing in their presentations. This has been shown with the help
of pie-chart below (figure – 4).

YES
NO

Figure – 4

The next query put forward to the respondents was concerned with their perception regarding
IISL executives’ ability to understand the customer requirement. As we know, the company
offers different products under one stable so it becomes imperative that the executive first listen
to the customer requirements and then pitch a particular product which suits their needs. In this
case forty-four respondents felt that the IISL executives did understand their needs quite well and
suggested them the best product. Six customers felt that IISL executives did not understand their
needs properly. They had different opinions on the matter, like few of them wanted a higher ASP
but the executives pitched a lower ASP.

24
 YES
NO

Figure - 5

As regards to the reply to their queries, ninety- four percent respondents, that is forty-seven
people felt that their queries were answered to their satisfaction.

YES
NO

Figure – 6

The fifth question asked to the respondents was concerned with the punctuality of IISL
executives. Ninety-six percent, that is forty-eight people replied that the IISL executives were
never behind the schedule. Some respondents even admired the fact that the executives generally
reach few minutes prior to the schedule.

25
 YES
NO

Figure - 7

The next query was regarding the demonstration given to the customers. This is one area of
concern which emerged during the course of the study. According to eight respondents, that is
sixteen percent, IISL executives, though gave a demonstration, they could have given a more
detailed demonstration, see figure-8.

YES
NO

Figure – 8

The respondents, however, were unanimous in their appreciation of the tips received from the
company. They said that not only did they receive timely tips but also the tips were generally
correct. This is shown below in figure-9.

26
 YES
NO

Figure – 9

The respondents were asked about relationship managers (RM) assigned to them. Only five
respondents replied that they were assigned an RM.

YES
NO

Figure – 10

The above reply, however, cannot be used to judge the satisfaction. So the next poser was
important in this regard. The next poser was regarding the satisfaction level of the customers
with their respective RMs. Again four respondents out of five were quite satisfied with the work
of their respective RMs.

27
 YES
NO

Figure – 11

All the respondents said that they have access to the research reports.

To the next query, that is the utility of the toll-free number all the respondents were once
again unanimous that toll-free number is very helpful and they also appreciated that this
toll-free number works from any cell-phone connection. The respondents were again
unanimously positive that their calls are properly answered by the executives.

YES
NO

Figure – 12

28
Next, the respondents were asked whether they found the website useful. To this question while
thirty-seven people replied in affirmative and ten in negative, three people did not reply, as seen
in figure – 13 below.

YES
NO

Figure – 13

Afterwards the respondents were asked whether they are satisfied with the online trading
facilities, thirty-nine were positive, while eleven people were not satisfied. Some felt that online
account should also work on open-source browsers like Mozilla Firefox. This result is shown
below in figure – 14.

YES
NO

Figure – 14

29
Regarding the next query on their most satisfying experience with IISL, there were varied
responses. The most prominent answers were:

a) Seamless connection of savings - trading - demat accounts.

b) Interactions with the RM
c) No hidden charges as told by the sales executive.

Now, the next query concerned with the most dissatisfying experience of the customers. To this
query the most prominent reply was- time taken in opening the account exceeded beyond the
promised time limit of 8-10 working days. Twenty-three respondents felt that the time taken to
open the account was more than the promised duration and they should have been told of this
earlier. Ten respondents felt that the ASP should not be promoted as refundable because it is
very tough to get the refund, and sales executives should not use the word “refundable”.

1
2
3

Figure - 15

Afterwards, the respondents were asked to rate some critical parameters on a scale of 1- 5, with
the smallest digit standing for highly dissatisfied, 2 for somewhat dissatisfied, 3 for neutral, 4 for
somewhat satisfied and 5 for highly satisfied. These parameters can help us to understand the
role of different service encounters in the customer satisfaction.

The first query was on the calls made by the IISL employees. Here, it was found that ten
respondents were highly dissatisfied while seven were somewhat dissatisfied; on the other hand
twenty people were satisfied while three were highly satisfied. Ten people were neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied. The reason for such high level of dissatisfaction was mainly that on many days
more than one call were made by different executives to the same customer for same objective.

30
 calls made
highly dissatisfied
20

10
highly satisfied dissatisfied calls made

satisfied neutral

Figure – 16

Next, parameter was the behavior of the IISL executives. To this, most of the respondents
(forty) replied that they were satisfied with the behaviour, while five people were highly
satisfied and five respondents were neutral.

behavior
highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied behavior

satisfied neutral

Figure – 17

As regards to the reply of executives to the queries of the customers, it was found that
twenty-six respondents were satisfied and six were highly satisfied, but ten respondents
were neutral, seven respondents were not satisfied while one respondent said that he was
highly dissatisfied.

31
 reply of executive
highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied reply of executive

satisfied neutral

Figure – 18

Then one critical parameter for the study was taken to be the perception of the customers
regarding the knowledge of the executives to advice on trading. Again here it was found that the
satisfaction was very high. In this case the number of respondents in the highly dissatisfied
category was nil while those who were slightly dissatisfied was found to be five, those on neutral
side were also just three while those who were satisfied and highly satisfied were twenty-nine
and thirteen.

knowledge of executive
highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied knowledge of executive

satisfied neutral

Figure – 19

32
The brokerage charged by the organization is one important area of concern which might cause
satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Here it was found that ten people were highly dissatisfied with the
brokerage charged while the category of dissatisfied and neutral customer both contained five
respondents each. Again twenty-three respondents were satisfied and seven were highly satisfied.

brokerage
highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied brokerage

satisfied neutral

Figure – 20

The trading screen and the speed of the browser was an important parameter of our study as it is
one service encounter that takes place almost every-day and even several times in one day
despite being a remote encounter. Here, it was found that thirty-one respondents were satisfied
while seventeen users were highly satisfied and two were neutral.

trading screen & browser speed

highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied trading screen & browser speed

satisfied neutral

Figure – 21

33
The next important parameter for the study is related to both procedural gap as well as
promotional gap. The question asked was concerned with the time taken to open the trading and
demat account by IISL. Here we found that thirteen customers were highly dissatisfied while
seventeen respondents were dissatisfied. On the other hand, eighteen customers were satisfied
while two customers were highly satisfied.

account opening duration

highly dissatisfied
20

10
highly satisfied dissatisfied account opening duration

satisfied neutral

Figure – 22

Then, one area which creates extra number of face-to-face encounters is concerned with the
deficiencies in the forms. In order to clear these deficiencies an executive has to go and meet the
clients more than once, and as such it is very difficult to secure an appointment for the purpose.
This pushes the activation date forward and consequently increases the chances of
dissatisfaction. So the respondents were asked regarding their satisfaction level with the
meetings they have with the executives prior to the activation of their account. It was observed
that three respondents were highly dissatisfied and seven were dissatisfied, two respondents were
neutral, twenty-nine were satisfied and nine were highly satisfied. This high level of satisfaction
can be attributed to various factors like prompt and pro-active approach of the executives, as we
were told by many respondents.

34
 meeting before activation
highly dissatisfied
20

10
highly satisfied dissatisfied meeting before activation

satisfied neutral

Figure – 23

The last parameter is concerned with the telephone encounter. The respondents were asked about
their satisfaction level with the time they have to wait on the toll-free number of the company. It
was found that twenty-nine people were satisfied with the response time, nine were highly
satisfied, two were neutral, seven people were dissatisfied and three were highly dissatisfied.

Response time
highly dissatisfied
40

20
highly satisfied dissatisfied Response time

satisfied neutral

Figure – 24

35
We saw the various replies that we got from different customers on different parameters. These
parameters were clubbed together to get a clear understanding of the satisfaction of the
customers with IISL. All the levels of scale were given different weight as follows:

Highly dissatisfied (high dis)-1, dissatisfied (dis)-2, neutral (neut)-3,satisfied-4, highly

satisfied(high sat)-5. These values are shown in bracket besides the categories under a bracket.

high dis(2 neut(3 sat(4 high

dis(1) ) ) ) sat(5)
calls made 10 7 10 20 3
behavior 0 0 5 40 5
knowledge of executive 0 5 3 29 13
reply of executive 1 7 10 26 6
brokerage 10 5 5 23 7
trading screen & browser
speed 0 0 2 31 17
account opening duration 13 17 0 18 2
meeting before activation 3 17 6 19 2
Response time 3 7 2 29 9
Table – 2

Now, number of respondents in each category for every parameter was multiplied with their
respective weight and then all these values for the parameter were added. This sum was divided
by the number of respondents that is fifty. This way the average was calculated for each
parameter, as shown below.

high Max
high dis dis neut sat sat Total Score Score
calls made 10 14 30 80 15 149 2.98 5
Behavior 0 0 15 160 25 200 4 5
knowledge of executive 0 10 9 116 65 200 4 5
reply of executive 1 14 30 104 30 179 3.58 5
brokerage 10 10 15 92 35 162 3.24 5
trading screen & browser
speed 0 0 6 124 85 215 4.3 5
account opening duration 13 34 0 72 10 129 2.58 5
meeting before activation 3 34 18 76 10 141 2.82 5
Response time 3 14 6 116 45 184 3.68 5

3.464444

36
 Table – 3

Now, for the study conducted each weighted average is the score for that particular parameter,
while maximum possible score can be only five. Taking these values the following graph was
plotted.

calls made

Response time 5 behavior

3.68 2.98 4

meeting before activation 2.82 4 knowledge of executive

SCORE
0 MAX
2.58
3.58
3.24
account opening duration 4.3 reply of executive

trading screen & browser speed

brokerage

Figure – 25

As one can see in the above figure, the blue line signifies the score or customers’ perception
while the red line shows the maximum possible score or customers’ expectation. So the area
lying between the two lines shows the customer gap. Here, we can say that the difference
between the score and maximum is the gap in satisfaction level. Yet, since maximum possible
score is five, any score above 2.5 will signify satisfaction while values below that will satisfy
dissatisfaction. Now, in the above graph we can see the least score is for the account opening
duration, which is 2.58, while the score for trading screen and browser speed is 4.3, that is
approaching 5, so satisfaction in this regard is very high.

37
 Findings

The last graph in the previous section (figure – 25) can be used to summarize the major findings
of the study.

Thus, the things which have emerged during the course of the study are:

1. Some service encounters are very critical in creating higher level of satisfaction. Here it
has emerged that the remote encounter which occurs more frequently, that is the online
trading, is responsible for higher level of satisfaction.
2. Telephone encounters, related to toll-free number also create a higher level of
satisfaction.
3. Telephone encounters that relate to customer acquisition are responsible for a lower
satisfaction. This happens mainly because of the repeated calls to the same customer.
4. Customers are highly satisfied with the knowledge of the executives.
5. The behaviour of the employees is satisfactory in the eyes of the customers.
6. The time taken to activate the account is a source of dissatisfaction as there exists a
promotional gap. The company promises to activate the account in 10-12 working days,
but in many cases this stretches to 16-18 working days.
7. Generally, the customers are satisfied with the demonstration, yet there is scope for
improvement. Even, during the interaction with employees it was found that despite
knowledge at times they are not able to give a very good demonstration.
8. The customers have, generally, been found to be satisfied with the reply of the executives
to their query. This can be inferred from the average of the query which is 3.58 and is
very close to satisfaction level.
9. It also emerged that many times application forms take 4-6 days longer to get activated
despite not being in deficiency, or after deficiencies are cleared.
10. The response time of the executives has also played an important role in the satisfaction
level of the customers, as is clear from the average of 3.68.
11. Eighty percent respondents were found to be satisfied with the work of their relationship
manager (RM).
12. Eighty-eight percent respondents believed that the IISL executives understood their
requirements quite well and were hence satisfied.
13. Brokerage charged by the company is one area where the company should work on. The
satisfaction index shows the level of satisfaction in this regard to have an average of 3.24
only.

38
 Suggestions

The company can do well by implementing certain changes and bringing out some
improvements in its operations. We saw that, most of the service encounters are basic and could
not be done away with, yet certain aspects can be taken care of. As has been observed in the
satisfaction index graph, the difference between the blue line and red line shows the customer
gap. Those points where the gap is less, the company should try to work on in the long run as the
satisfaction is higher and thus would be further enhanced. But those areas where the gap is
greater, the company should look at and immediately try to bridge the gap. The company may:

1. Employees should be trained continually especially in the technical aspects of the job so
that they can keep the number of deficiencies to the minimum and thereby decrease the
procedural gap. This would not only fasten the process of account activation but also
improve customer satisfaction.
2. This training will subsequently further reduce the number of face-to-face service
encounters, the number of which is already low. This would place more importance on
remote encounter and telephone encounters where the satisfaction level is good.
3. Mock demonstration should be conducted by the employees in the office itself by the
onstage contact employees among themselves and they should try to assess their
weakness and strengths in the presentation.
4. Account activation duration should be decreased from the present level of 16-18 working
days to the promised duration of 10-12 working days. This will bring down the
promotional gap.
5. Brokerage charged by the company should also be brought down to compete with other
players, as the customers feel that major players like ShareKhan and Religare are
charging lower brokerage in different plans, especially in intra-day trading.
6. Company should draw a new blueprint, which would clearly identify the contact
employees who make calls for customer acquisition. Besides it will portray the service
system so that the different people involved in the process can understand and deal with it
objectively regardless of their roles or their individual points of view.

39
 Learning from the Research

During the course of this study service blueprinting was learned which is a very important
concept in service design and delivery. Besides working in the field instilled confidence and
knowledge of financial market. Moreover working in team and professional attitude are two
important attributes that was developed during the course of this study. The work environment
was such that one not only gets to learn the sales part, which was the core work area, but also
helped develop an aptitude for understanding ups and down of the equities market.

It can be said that learning was not limited to academic field rather was also practical.

40
 Conclusion

This project was an opportunity for the application of concepts of marketing in the real-time. As
such, the research was conducted to apply the concepts learned before the beginning of this
internship. These concepts were not limited to domain area, rather the research required
application of several disciplines like marketing research, quantitative techniques, information
systems, finance and above all marketing of services. The fieldwork undertaken was challenging
and one could easily observe the group dynamics at work.

Marketing of services assumes special importance in the current economic scenario not only
because of the share of services in Indian GDP but also because of the fact that as an economy
develops its share in GDP increases, and as such this is applicable across the world.

The research was an opportunity to understand the service delivery process of a major financial
institution of the country. Then the concept of service blueprint was used to understand customer
needs and as a tool of service improvement. Through the service blueprint, all the service
encounters were analyzed and classified as most satisfying and dissatisfying service encounters.
Questionnaire designing was an important issue because through it not only customer gap had to
be understood but also, the service encounters which could be satisfying or dissatisfying to the
customers had to be understood. For this SERVQUAL was taken as the model.

Finally the research has come out with suggestions which could be implemented by the company
in order to enhance its service quality.

41
 APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:

Age : Below 25___ 25 – 35___ 35- 45___ above 45___

Occupation: Company:

1. How long have you been associated with IL&FS Investsmart Securities Limited
(IISL)?
a) 0-1 years b) 1- 5 years c) more than 5 years
2. Are the IISL executives able to properly explain the product?
a) Yes b) No

3. Are the IISL executives able to understand your requirements?

a) Yes b) No

4. Are the IISL executives able to reply to your queries to your satisfaction?
a) Yes b) No
5. Do the IISL executives meet you at the scheduled appointments?
a) Yes b) No

6. Did the executive give you a proper demo?

a) Yes b) No

7. Do you receive timely tips from IISL?

a) Yes b) No
8. Do you have relationship manager (RM) assigned to you?
a) Yes b) No
9. Are you satisfied with your RM’s work?
a) Yes b) No
10. Do you have access to research reports?
a) Yes b)No
11. Do you find the toll free number to be useful?
a) Yes b)No
12. Your calls are replied to in proper manner by the executive?
a) Yes b) No
13. Do you find the website useful?
a) Yes b) No
14. Are you satisfied with your online trading facilities?

42
 a) Yes b)No
15. What was your most satisfying experience with IISL?

16. Which aspect of the service provided by IISL that left you dissatisfied?

17. Rank the below mentioned parameters on 1 to 5, the least being for dissatisfaction
and higher digits for satisfaction.

Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied

High Low Somewhat High

Calls made by IISL employees 1 2 3 4 5

The behavior of the employees 1 2 3 4 5
The employees reply to your queries 1 2 3 4 5
The employee’s knowledge to advise you 1 2 3 4 5
about the trading.
The brokerage charged 1 2 3 4 5
Online trading screen & speed of the 1 2 3 4 5
browser
Time taken to open your trading 1 2 3 4 5
account by IISL
Number of times IISL executives meet 1 2 3 4 5
before activation of account
Time taken to answer on your toll free 1 2 3 4 5
number

43
Bibliography
Bitner, O. M. (2007). Service Blueprinting: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation.
Tempe: Arizona State University.

Daviding. (2007, 12 07). Retrieved 03 15, 2009, from http://coevolving.com/:

http://coevolving.com/commons20070428-BerkeleyServices-1030-papersapplyingservices

Holmlid, S. (2007). Interaction Design and Service Design: Expanding A Comparision of

Design Disciplines. Linkopings: Linkopings Universitet.

Lai, J.-Y. (2006). Assessment of employees' perceptions of service quality and satisfaction with
e-business. Forty four year of computer personnel research:achievements, challenges & the
future (pp. 236-243). New York: ACM.

Lofgren, M. (2005). Winning at the first and second moments of truth: an exploratory study.
Managing Service Quality , 102-115.

lovelock, w. (2006). Services Marketing. new delhi: dorlingkind.

Peter J. Danaher, J. M. (1994). Customer Satisfaction during the Service Delivery Process.
European Journal of Marketing , 5-16.

Shostack, G. L. (1977). Breaking Free from Product Marketing. The Journal of Marketing , 73-
80.

Shostack, G. L. (1985). Planning The Service Encounter. In M. C. J.A.Czepiel, The Service

Encounter (pp. 243-54). New York: Lexington Books.

Zeithaml, B. (2000). Services Marketing. New York: Tata McGraw - Hill.

Zikmund, W. G. (1997). Exploring Marketing Research. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press.

44
45