LETTER WRITING EXERCISE

Analysis of Survey Results A Report

Submitted to Prof. K.R.Jayasimha Marketing of Services Term IV

Kavya Amarnath Mayank Jain Saloni Urvesh Mehta Swati Verma Vivian Paul Gonsalves

2012PGP163 2012PGP201 2012PGP204 2012PGP395 2012PGP445

on 16th July, 2013

PURPOSE
The purpose of this exercise is to develop and test a conceptual model to study the relationship and possible correlation between different constructs of customer satisfaction, quality of service and the post-service interaction between the customer and service provider, as established in this case through letters of complaint/praise written to different organizations.

DESIGN
The conceptual model is designed to feature six key features, each of which have antecedent variables that account for the entire service encounter, the letter sent and the response received. Hypotheses are postulated and tested to establish relevant relationships between the six key variables.

LIMITATIONS
The sample size of 160 is small and may not be ideally representative of the relationships postulated. In addition to this, the perception of several parameters like profitability, extent of satisfaction, significance of the encounter, etc may be subjective and hence result in a slight skew of results.

METHODOLOGY
The data consisting of 161 responses from students on their praise/ complaint letters has been analysed in the following manner: 1. Framing of a null hypothesis to check for an association between different key variables 2. Using SPSS to obtain the chi-square distribution to test the hypothesis 3. Analysing the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis using chi-square value, approximate significance, degree of freedom and contingency coefficient Segmentation of data into categories For the purpose of analysis, we have divided the data in six broad categories. Attributes are assigned to each category based on the questionnaire provided. The six broad categories are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Knowing and understanding the customer Organisations attributes Response (Communication) Characteristics of the letter written by the customer Post service behaviour intentions Compensation

The list of attributes under each category is listed as under

1) The Customer i) Gender ii) Age iii) Duration of Affiliation iv) IIM Indore Affiliation 2) Organisations Attributes i) Relative size of organization ii) Type of Industry iii) Standardization or Customization 3) Nature of response i) Channel used for response ii) No. of replies iii) Employees Involvement (Personalised or Non-personalised reply) iv) Accuracy of Response v) Speed of Response 4) Letter Characteristics i) Type of the letter ii) Channel of Communication iii) Tone of letter iv) Significance of encounter 5) Post Service Behaviour Intentions i) Level of satisfaction with the organisation ii) Repeat Business iii) Recommendation of service 6) Compensation i) Monetary ii) Non- Monetary

ANALYSIS

THE CONCEPTUAL SERVICE MODEL

H10

H8

H1 H3

H6 H2 H9

H4 H5 H7

H1: There is no association between mention of IIM Indore affiliation in the letter and the speed of the response from the organization. Alternate H1: There is an association between mention of IIM Indore affiliation in the letter and the speed of the response from the organization.

For 9 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 14.684 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic would be valid for a 93.3% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H2: Duration of affiliation is not associated with future recommendation to friends Alternate H2: Duration of affiliation is associated with future recommendation to friends

For 16 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 23.542 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant upto a 97.8% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H3: Level of standardization/customization is not associated with the speed of response Alternate H3: Level of standardization/customization is associated with the speed of response

For 9 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 14.684 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant upto a 92.2% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H4: Type of industry is not associated with the level of satisfaction of the customer Alternate H4: Type of industry is associated with the level of satisfaction of the customer

For 32 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 42.585 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 94.8% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H5: An on/before time response is not associated with repeat business Alternate H5: An on/before time response is associated with repeat business

For 5 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 9.236 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 92.9% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H6: The type of letter is not associated with the number of replies from the organization Alternate H6: The type of letter is associated with the number of replies from the organization

For 5 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 9.236 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 99.6% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H7: There is no association between the tone of the complaint letter and the likelihood to choose the organization again Alternate H7: There is an association between the tone of the complaint letter and the likelihood to choose the organization again

For 20 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 28.412 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic would be valid for a 97.8% confidence interval or less. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H8: The type of letter is not associated with the non-monetary compensation provided Alternate H8: The type of letter is associated with the non-monetary compensation provided

For 1 Df and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 2.306 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 93.0% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H9: There is no association between receiving a refund or discount on future services and the level of satisfaction with the organization. Alternate H9: There is an association between receiving a refund or discount on future services and the level of satisfaction with the organization.

For 8 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 13.362 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic would be valid for a 95.9% confidence interval or less. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H10: There is no association between the size of the organization and the monetary compensation provided Alternate H10: There is no association between the size of the organization and the monetary compensation provided

For 8 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 13.362 which is < the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 96.9% confidence interval. Hence we can reject the Null hypothesis

H11: The duration of affiliation is not associated with the refund or discount provided Alternate H11: The duration of affiliation is not associated with the refund or discount provided

For 8 Df and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 13.362 which is > the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 29.4% confidence interval or less. Hence we cannot reject the Null hypothesis

H12: There is no association between the perceived level of profitability and the significance of the encounter mentioned Alternate H12: There is no association between the perceived level of profitability and the significance of the encounter mentioned

For 16 Dfs and given a 90% confidence interval the Chi Square value is 23.542 which is > the obtained Chi Square test statistic. This statistic is significant up to a 66.5% confidence interval or less. Hence we cannot reject the Null hypothesis

Key Findings from Hypothesis testing and Conceptual service model

Independent Variable:- Customer , Organizational Attributes and Letter Characteristics Dependent Variables:- Post-Service Behaviour Intention

There is an association between mention of IIM Indore affiliation in the letter and the speed of the response from the organization. Duration of affiliation is associated with future recommendation to friends There is an association between the tone of the complaint letter and the likelihood to choose the organization again There is no association between the perceived level of profitability and the significance of the encounter mentioned The duration of affiliation is not associated with the refund or discount provided There is no association between the size of the organization and the monetary compensation provided The type of letter is associated with the non-monetary compensation provided The type of letter is associated with the number of replies from the organization An on/before time response is associated with repeat business Type of industry is associated with the level of satisfaction of the customer Level of standardization/customization is associated with the speed of response There is an association between receiving a refund or discount on future services and the level of satisfaction with the organization.

CONCLUSION
Organization should focus on their long-serving customers and should focus on on-time response for repeat business. Refund and discount serve as a positive indicator for higher level of satisfaction. The tone and type of letter determines the number and speed of responses. Also, there is no association between perceived level of profitability and significance as level of significance varies from person to person. Organization should invest in customisation to increase the level of satisfaction of the customers.