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Department of Management
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Ujjain
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0 e story of single-screen t eaters as reac ed its sad end in India. Multi -screen t eaters ave opened
new vistas for t e entertainment industry. After t e entry of corporate titans like Reliance, t e scenario of
entertainment services as become more professional t an ever. 0 ese t eaters ave c anged t e entire
movie-going experience. 0 ese t eaters are known for marvelous ambience, excellent audio-visual
quality, better infrastructure, professionally oriented services, proactivity and allied facilities. After gaining
strong old in metros t e multiplex players are now entering into B and C class cities. Cities like Lucknow,
Indore, Nasik, Aurangabad, Madurai, Kanpur, Amritsar and Jaipur are t e new destinations of multiplex
players. Fueled by rising income of people and advancements in tec nology, t ese multiplex are
spreading red carpets for a wonderful movie-going experience of viewers. 0 e present study is an
attempt to determine t e factors t at constitute t e base of Customer Relations ip Management (CRM)
wit respect to two multiplex in Indore city (Inox and Adlabs).
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0 e Indian film industry wit over 3 billion admissions per year is t e largest in t e world in terms of
number of films produced per year. 0 is industry, w ic was wort US$ 2.12 billion in 2006, is estimated
to grow at a compound annual growt rate of 16 per cent to US$ 4.42 billion by 2011. 0 e opening of film
industry for foreign investments toget er wit t e granting of industry status to t is segment as caused
a favourable impact, leading to many global production units entering t e country. Recently , Walt Disney
as partnered wit Yas Raj Films to produce animated movies. 0 e eig t Pricewater ouseCoopers
(PwC) Global Entertainment and Media Outlook as ranked India as t e fastest growing market in t e
world for spends in entertainment and media in t e next five years.

In India, t ere are only 12 screens per million population compared to 117 screens per million in t e US
and more t an 40 screens per million for European countries. 0 oug multiplexes currently constitute 4 -5
per cent of t e 12,900 screens in India, t e industry as a long way to go. 0 is is just t e beginning of
multiplex revolution. According to a study by FICCI-Art ur Anderson consultants, t e entertainment
industry is expected to reac Rs. 500 billion by 2008. In India, t e single -screen t eaters wit poor
facilities and zero-service oriented staff are on last stage of t eir life. 0 ese are getting converted into
multiplexes. India's multiplex bandwagon as gone beyond t e metros to redefine entertainment in B and
C class cities like Indore and Jaipur. 0 ese t eaters ave fully air -conditioned alls wit marvelous
ambience, plus c airs, excellent audio-visual quality, better infrastructure, professionally-oriented
services, proactivity and allied facilities like restaurants, play zone etc.0 eir aim is to provide world-class
entertainment services.

In multiplex segment, PVR is t e market leader in India. Besides, t ere are ot er major players like:
Adlabs, Inox Leisures, Cinemax, Fame etc. 0 ese multi-screen t eaters ave started more facilities for
customers like: online ticket booking for movies, attractive sales promotion sc emes, ome delivery of
tickets, SMS booking, toll-free calling services etc. Big multiplexes ave tied up wit ot er banks to
provide loyalty cards for regular visitors. Adlabs as tied wit ABN Amro bank to supply pre-paid cards for
loyal visitors. Many t eatres ave tied up wit providers of food and beverage services. Some ot ers are
setting up gaming and kid zones to lure customers. 0 e idea is to provide filmgoers w olesome
entertainment t at will increase footfalls at multiplexes.

Customer Relations ip Management (CRM) refers to business strategy aimed at gaining long term
competitive advantage by delivering customer value and extracting business value simultaneously
(Kellen, 2002). CRM becomes necessary to study t e dynamic business environment. Since customer
spendings on leisure purpose ave increased, t e entertainment industry as also responded favourably.
0 e aim of CRM is to gain a win-win equation for all. Factors like: service quality, delivery,
responsiveness, reliability, accessibility and empat y toget er constitute CRM practices. 0 is is considered
as t e benc mark of success of an enterprise. According to Gamble, CRM is central to t e task of making
an organization customer-focused. 0 e organizations must start t inking about customers in terms of
people wit personal interactions and opinions (Jain, 2007). 0 is olds t e key for all -round prosperity of
organization in terms of market-orientation. 0 e current researc work studies t e CRM practices in two
major multiplex players in Indore city (Inox and Adlabs). 0 e study as wide implications for t e industry
in specific.

CRM is a multifaceted process, mediated by a set of information tec nologies t at focuses on creating
two-way exc ange wit customers so t at organizations ave an intimate knowledge of t eir needs,
wants and buying patterns. It is a process used to learn more about customers' needs and be aviors in
order to develop stronger relations ips wit t em. It is t e p ilosop y, policy and coordinating strategy
connecting different players wit in an organization for t e purpose of coordinating t eir efforts in crea ting
an overall valuable series of experiences, products and services for t e customer.

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A brief review of t e existing researc in t is field as been presented. 0 e findings of researc are as
follows:

Gummerson (1996) tried to explore t e extent of application of relations ip marketing in service sector.
According to is findings, t e service users old good image of t e company if it provides effective CRM
services. He found t at poor relations ip marketing caused discontinuation of services by many
customers. 0 e same concept applies to Indian customers too. Service industry players need to put t rust
on t is area to maintain profits on a sustainable basis.

Jain and D ar (2003) studied t e determinants of customer relations i p management effectiveness in

India. 0 ey used in-dept interviews focused on be avioural dimensions of relations ips. It was found
t at customer relations ip management emerged as a core business process for maintaining and
en ancing t e competitive edge in modern business affairs. In t e area of services, t e issue of customer
relations ip management olds muc importance. Many a times, it is t e CRM t at becomes t e deciding
factor w ile selection of services. Customer loyalty is directly related to t e CRM efforts made by t e
service sector companies.

Sarangi (2007) ig lig ted t e aspect of quality of entertainment service industry in India. 0 e objective
was to define t e parameters of service quality satisfaction wit reference to entertainment services in a
metro city. In a survey of 300 people visiting t e multi -screen cinema alls and luxury otels, various
dimensions of services were found. Customers in metros and ot er cities ave started watc ing movies in
multiplexes w ic provide excellent ambience and quality. W en asked about t e factors causing t e
visit, t e customers gave first preference to comfort and ambience provided in t e place. For t is aspect,
t e customers were ready to compromise on cost and distance factor. Besides ambience, promptness in
services was anot er factor leading to satisfaction of customers.

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0 e multiplex industry is growing at a fast speed. 0 ese multiplexes ave been adopting CRM practices
since t eir inception. 0 e major objective of t is researc was to determine t e factors t at constitute t e
base of customer relations ip management (CRM) wit respect to two multiplexes in Indore city (Inox
and Adlabs). On t e basis of t ese factors, CRM practices between Adlabs and Inox were compared and
overall effectiveness was determined. CRM practices were evaluated on six parameters between t e two
multiplexes.

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0 e study was an exploratory meant for t e purpose of investigation of factors t at constitute t e

foundation of CRM in entertainment sector. Based on t ese factors, Adlabs and Inox multiplexes were
compared. 0 e researc was conducted on 200 movie-goers in Indore city, (100 visitors of Adlabs and
100 of Inox) w ic included students, businessmen, executives, family etc. Wit a po pulation of more
t an 18 lak , Indore as been considered as t e most developed city of Mad ya Prades . Besides many
single-screen t eaters, t e city as four multi-screen t eaters to cater t e needs of movie goers: PVR,
Adlabs, Inox and Velocity. In near future t ere will be more t an 10 multiplexes in t e city.

(         For primary data collection, a self-administered and non-
disguised five-point scale questionnaire containing 21 statements was used. 0 e data was tabulated and
analyzed using SPSS 11. Factor analysis and Z test were applied for data analysis.

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For t e researc , some ypot eses were formulated and tested for significance to prove t e objectives in
scientific manner. 0 e tool was Z- test t at was applied for t e study.

0 e stated ypot eses were as follows:

-01± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e ambience provided by Adlabs and Inox multi -screen
t eaters.
-02± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e amenities provided by Adlabs and Inox multi-screen
t eaters.
-03± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e speedy services provided by Adlabs and Inox multi -screen
t eaters.
-04± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e staff's cooperativeness in Adlabs and Inox multi -screen
t eaters.
-05± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e online services provided by Adlabs and Inox multi -screen
t eaters.
-06± 0 ere is no significant difference in t e infrastructure of Adlabs and Inox multi -screen t eaters in
Indore.

0 e above ypot eses were tested and results were drawn.

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Factor analysis t roug SPSS identified six factors t at represented t e study of CRM in Adlabs and Inox.
0 e six factors are:

* 1 
  0 is factor was constituted of level of comfort in multiplex (factor load of
0.822516), fully air-conditioned all (factor load of 0.819897), plus and comfortable c airs (factor load
of 0.808359), attractive interiors (factor load of 0.602759), ig quality of sound and picture (factor load
of 0.517616) and t e total factor load was 3.571147 wit 9.66 percent of variance. 0 ese components
toget er constitute t e ambience of cinema all.

* 2 
 0 is factor constituted customer-friendly services (factor load of 0.702236), food
joints (factor load of 0.576159), drinking water facilities (factor load of 0.575195), neat and clean toilets
(factor load of 0.551601), kid zone (factor load of 0.550619), play zone (factor load of 0.541828) and t e
total factor load was 2.800448 wit 9.37 percent of variance. Multiplex t eaters ave now tied-up wit
ot er service providers for more amenities of customers under one roof.

* 3   0 is factor constituted speed of ticket booking (factor load of 0.787234),
facility for quick location of seats (factor load of 0.708242), speed of services in restaurant (factor load of
0.638972), variety of services (factor load of 0.494141) and t e total factor load was 2.628589 wit 7.33
percent of variance. One of t e factors t at make multiplex better t an single-screen t eaters is t e quick
response.

* 4  7   0 is factor constituted t e friendly be aviour by staff (factor load of
0.811028), t eir problem solving attitude (factor load of 0.801436) and t e total factor load was 1.85414
wit 6.49 percent of variance. 0 is factor becomes crucial in determining t e superiority of multiplex
t eaters over single-screen cinema alls. Viewers consider t e be aviour of single-screen t eater staff as
uncooperative and rude.

* 5 )  0 is factor constituted t e range of online services provided by multiplex
(factor load of 0.713804), online ticket booking facilities (factor load of 0.626645), online payment
system (factor load of 0.44221) and t e t otal factor load was 1.782659 wit 6.41 percent of variance.

* 6    0 is factor constituted infrastructural components like building and ot er
facilities wit a total factor load of 0.770863 wit 4.25 percent of variance. Along wit o t er factors t e
building, entrance, emergency exit, interiors, parking facilities etc. also influence t e viewers.

 G On application of t-test, null ypot eses H 02, H03, H04, H05, and H06 were accepted and
ypot esis H01 was found to be rejected at 0.05 level of significance. It can be concluded t at t ere is no
significant difference in amenities, speedy services, staff's cooperativeness, online services and
infrastructure facilities provided by Adlabs and Inox. However, differences were observed in ambience.
Viewers perceived Adlabs multiplex as superior in terms of ambience as compared wit Inox, t oug t e
difference between t em was not wide.

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0 e study as determined six factors: ambience, amenities, speedy services, staff's cooperativeness,
online services and infrastructure. 0 e results of t is study can be of use for multiplex as well as single -
screen t eaters. It can also be perceived as a comparison of multiplex t eaters vis-à-vis single-screen
t eaters. 0 e study can be made on a large sample and comparison across various cities can be done.
However, t is study is limited to Indore city only. 0 e results may different in ot er cities w ere no. of
t eaters of Adlabs and Inox is ig . 0 e study as wide implications for t e industry in specific. Muc
work can be done towards strengt ening CRM practices in multiplex segment in India.

*  c

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