Executive summary

AkzoNobel Pakistan Limited

ICI Paints is a brand of LOreal group and it comes under consumer product division. Its
products include hair color, hair care and skin care. Under skin care category ICI Paints launched
their new BB cream for females. It was the first one to launch BB cream in the world. ICI Paints
officially launched BB cream in Pakistan on 13th March 2013. Currently, the sales of BB cream
are not performing according to the expectations of ICI Paints. In order to identify and analyze
the reason, focus groups were conducted. Many differences are found between the ideal offer
that consumer desires and the current offer of ICI Paints. Since offer consists of 4Ps and S, the
element of service is missing which is considered to be one of the major factors of this issue. The
establishment of customer care center has been provided in the recommendation. Also, the
necessary steps that are important for the development of this center are highlighted. Apart from
this, the time and action plan is also prepared in order to develop the customer care center.

AkzoNobel Global
AkzoNobel is a leading global paints & coatings company and a major producer of specialty
chemicals. Calling on centuries of expertise, we supply industries and consumers worldwide with
innovative products and sustainable technologies designed to meet the growing demands of our

fast-changing planet. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, they have approximately

48,000 people in around 80 countries, while our portfolio includes well-known brands such as
Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Consistently ranked as one of the leaders in the area of
sustainability, we are committed to making life more livable and our cities more human.
Akzo Nobel Pakistan
Previously known as ICI Pakistan, Akzo Nobels first started business in Pakistan in 1973. Akzo
Nobel was the worlds leading paint manufacturer with stringent checks to ensure quality and
ethical standards in all areas of its business. Moreover, Akzo Nobel claimed to be a compliant
company abiding by the laws of the country that it operated in. The company annually underwent
internal audit conducted by independent auditors in order to check for compliance and highlight
areas or practices that were not in accordance to the laws of the country. An example of such
compliance was the company practice to not produce yellow paint, as it could not be
manufactured without adding lead to regular chemicals. Lead was harmful to health.
ICI paints aims to delight and inspire customers to transform their surroundings at home and
work with performance products and colors. With some of the worlds top paint and decorative
product brands, serving both the professional and Do-It-Yourself markets, ICI Paints has
products to prepare and care for all building materials.

Pakistan Paints Industry

Akzo Nobel faced competition from both multinational players like Kanzai and Nippon as well
as local Pakistani paint brands like Berger, Nelson and many others. This made the paint industry
heterogeneous in terms of code of conduct. International players were monitored and governed
by the parent companys rules whereas the local players had more freedom to make and follow
their own rules. Although there was a regulatory setup in Pakistan to ensure ethical code of
conduct, the enforcement was not very strong. For example, sales tax and excise duties were
regularly paid by global players but frequently evaded by the smaller local players in the market.
The paint industry in Pakistan operates both in the organized as well as the unorganized sectors.
There are a total of 22 paint companies in the organized sector with four multinational companies
operating namely ICI Paints (Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited), Berger Paints, Kansai Paints and

Nippon Paints. According to the latest findings of Federal Bureau of Statistics, around
30,000,000 liters of paint was produced from 87 units (organized and unorganized sector
combined). The organized paint sector is represented by Pakistan Paint Manufacturers
Association (PPMA).
Paint is categorized in two broad classes:
-

Water based paint

Solvent based paint

The industries also produce a wide range of finished and intermediate products which include
pigments, distempers, plastic emulsion, enamel, undercoat, primers, rubber paint, aircraft paint,
marine paint, anticorrosive paint and anti-fouling paint. The demand for paints is derived from
expansion in construction, building, manufacturing, transport and other sectors. The country has
yet to go a long way in its development efforts with a huge potential for further strides in the
countrys paint industry. Like many other industries in Pakistan, the paints industry constituted
an organized and an unorganized sector.
Market Share
ICI Dulux being the largest paint manufacturers has the largest holdings. It has 30% share in the
paint industry in Pakistan. The company has seen a considerable amount of loss in the market
share over the period of time owing to weak company policies as well as increased competition
from foreign brands and more competition entering the market. The market dynamics is shown in
the figure below. Nippon Paint is an international brand Japan and Nelson Paints is a local
brand with majority of the share market in Karachi. Berger Paints has seen a constant decline in
market share as well. Although the overall share market for ICI Paints has declined over the
years, the company still is the market leader in the Premium Paint Market Industry where it has
placed its Dulux Brand effectively.

*The above figures have been taken from the company Mahin Hassan at AkzoNobel Pakistan
Limited ICI Paints Brand Activation Manager South. The company engages in regular
market research practices.

Paint manufacturing was a simple process. Various colour formulations could be achieved by
mixing different chemicals. A one room space of reasonable size was enough to set up a small
paint plant. The challenge however came in quality management; maintaining consistency in
shades of one colour produced in different batches, was difficult. This problem was faced by all
paint manufacturers but was a difficult challenge for players of the unorganized sector. Owing to
low entry barriers, the unorganized sector was vast and comprised of over 2000 different brands
ranging from regional players like Nelson in Karachi, Corona in Hyderabad and Happilac in
Faisalabad to shop owned brands. The shop owned brands were mostly unregistered. As a result,
a paint retailer (referred to as a dealer from here onwards) became a manufacturers customer as
well as his competitor. The unorganized sector had grown exponentially and in some regions
commanded the leadership position. Nelson, for example was a leading paint brand in Karachi.
Although international players had regional alignment in their brand management strategy, a
reasonable amount of freedom was allowed to localize the offering in a particular market.

In 2010-2011, the paint market in Pakistan went through a downhill trend whereby the industry
sales shrunk by 15-20%. Experts from the industry believed two factors to be major contributors
to this occurrence: overall decline in new construction and an increase in the repairing cycle 1 that
moved from every 3 years to every 5 years. Both improvement in overall paint quality and
deteriorating economic conditions were deemed to be the reasons for the repairing cycle to
increase.
Marketing Strategy
Segmentation
ICI Paints has two product lines:
Dulux Line (D-Line) : Premium
Non-Dulux Line (Non-D): Non-premium
The Target Market consists of two types of customers:
-

Quality Conscious (Upper Class or Elite Class)

Price Conscious (Upper Middle Class and Lower Middle Class)

For quality conscious customers ICI Paints offers D-Line products or Dulux and for price
conscious customers ICI Paints offer Non-D products. This aspect tells us about the difference
between luxury and need. In terms of the service, ICI provides service primarily to the premium
customers at its color studios. The quality conscious customers visit the studios and ask for the
expert advice, get the paint made at the premises only and take it away with them. Although, the
company does not refuse users of Non-D products to visit the store, the POST machine at the
studios is develops only D-line products. Hence this service is targeted towards SEC A.
To cater to the upper middle class and lower middle class, ICI Paints uses its color schemes
service. The sales promoters visit the customers residences and after making them choose a
reasonable color, the sales promoters align them with the closest dealer from where they can

1 Repairing cycle is the average number of years a customer takes to repaint his
house.

purchase Non-D products. ICI paints has authorized dealers in all cities of Pakistan and they
carry all types of stocks D-line as well as Non-D.
To further segment, the products and services are directed at:

Painters
Painting Contractors
Architects
Construction companies
Consumers
Consultant and Design Engineers

Service
Apart from the products, the company provides two services that differentiate it from its
competitors. There is an ICI Color Studio present in every major city of Pakistan Lahore,
Karachi and Islamabad. The main purpose of such a color studio is to provide customers
specialized services about color selection, help them decide the colors, resolve their problems
and also with the help of POST machines, the company is able to make any color the customer
wants in any quantity from the 2000+ colors available in the company shade card. The POST
machine is situated at the back side of the studios and there are special pigments in the POST
machines that help make any color the customer demands be it water based or solvent based.
ICI Paints offers a color palette of more than 6000 colors. The customers can simply walk in and
be transported to a wonderful world of color.
At ICI the employees job does not stop at merely supplying the paints: is important to them as it
is to the user that good results should be obtained from their products. They set great value to
their technical Service Department, which is staffed by individuals of wide practical experience
in the use of paint under all conditions. This experience is readily available to paint users
requiring advice and assistance in the choice of paint to the preparation of painting
specifications. The color studios have graduates from top Pakistan art schools as employees to
help the customers. Many Indus Valley graduates are hired to provide this service and transform
peoples lives.
The second service ICI Paints provide is of Color Schemes. Many people are still unaware of this
service. Any customer can call the company and ask to send any representative to the customers

residence. The sales promoter will be responsible for taking pictures of the house from inside as
well as outside and will ask the customer what are his/her color preferences. The pictures will be
processed using a special software and the customer will be provided with pictures of the house
painted in the asked colors. This service is free of cost and helps the customer in having a better
idea of what color combinations would look good. The color code and product code of each
product is given and stated below each picture which allows the customer to order the right
product from the shop. Further, they are also advised on the amount of paint required by the
customer so that the right quantity can be purchased. To utilize this service, anyone can dial 0800
- Dulux or visit www.icidulux.com.pk.
Niche
The specific service the company provides is: Advisory and consultancy service
Target customer: Color Studios: SEC A - Upper Class or Elite Class, architects and home owners,
quality conscious customers.
Color Consultancy Scheme - Upper Middle Class and Lower Middle Class, painters, etc, price
conscious customers.
Products
AkzoNobel Pakistan has three product categories:
-

Decorative products
Industrial products
Refinish products

I will be covering the Decorative product range for my project.

ICI Dulux
Dulux is their flagship brand that has earned its reputation based on its consistent ability to
outperform both competitors and the expectations of its consumers with its product quality and
innovation through cutting edge technology. The companys customers are their motivation and
they strive to enrich their lives in any way possible.

Product range includes:

ICI Dulux Pentalite Classic

ICI Dulux Inspire
ICI Dulux Light & Space
ICI Dulux Pentalite Emulsion
ICI Dulux Matt Enamel
ICI Dulux Gloss Enamel
ICI Dulux World of Weathershield

The breakthrough technology of ICI Dulux Weathershield Sun Reflect keeps exterior walls up to
5 degrees cooler (may vary on selected shades) The ICI Dulux World of Weathershield range
comprises of the following products:

ICI Dulux Weathershield Sun Reflect

ICI Dulux Weathershield
ICI Dulux Weathershield Exterior System Primer
ICI Dulux Weathershield Exterior System Putty
ICI Dulux Woodcare System

ICI Dulux range also features a complete Woodcare System which provide technically advanced
undercoats and topcoats that offer a beautiful and luxurious finish that helps to maintain, protect
and beautify wood. Woodcare system includes the following products:
ICI Dulux Woodcare Woodshades
ICI Dulux Woodcare Sealer
ICI Dulux Woodcare Lacquer and Thinner
POST (Point of Sale Tinting) Service
ICI Dulux Point of Sale Tinting (POST) service offers over 2000 shades available all over
Pakistan at over 100 designated dealer outlets. Simply select a color of your choice and the Post
will mix it up for you instantly.
Paintex Range

Paintex is their value for money brand that caters to consumers who aspire to bring home results
that offer value at its best. At AkzoNobel Pakistan they want to provide customers with an
opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life at a reasonable cost. Paintex range includes:

Paintex Emulsion
Paintex Hi-Gloss
Paintex Putty
Paintex Ultra Prime
Paintex Duraguard
Magik Range

Competition
Berger Robbialac a direct competitor of ICI Dulux has positioned its paints against most of
paints of Dulux.
DULUX

BERGER

Dulux Plastic Emulsion

VIP Plastic Emulsion

Wealthershield

VIP Weathercoal

Matfinish

VIP All Rounder

Dulux enamel

VIP Super Gloss enamel

Paintex

Eazy clean Emulsion

Primer

VIP Plastron Wall Primer Scaler

Maxilite

S.P.D

Positioning
ICI Dulux paints are positioned as premium high quality paints. They have the slogan.
"Lets Color"
Innovation
Dulux is renowned for its superior quality and in Pakistan too, its quality is the best. Continuous
product research and development, with input from vast international laboratory network, backed
by consumer research (finding out what customers need and want) keeps them above the
competition.

Branding
The company's trade name is combined with individual name of the products e.g.

Dulux Once

Dulux Synthetic Enamel

Dulux Pearl Gloss

Dulux Primer On

Dulux Weather shield had become so popular that "Weather shield" has become a generic name
for weather protective paints. They also have their special colour and brand codes.
Packaging
The paint is available in plastic containers ( Dulux Pentalite Special Plastic Emulsion, Weather
shield) as well as Tin containers of different sizes.
Almost all the packaging is done at its production site in Lahore.
Product Design
A change in the product design is the available of perfumed/ fragrance finishes of which has
attracted those customers who get irritated by the smell of the paints and solvents e.g. Dulux
Pentalite Natural Whites. But there are no continuous changes in the product design.
Color
ICI Dulux offers a wild range of colours as that is the soul of the paint. They have developed
beautiful shades and shade cards. Dulux Master plate plastic Emulsion has 2000 shades and has
huge beautiful shades card which is itself very expensive.
Quality
ICI Dulux does not compromise on quality. About 995% of its raw material is imported and a
strict check on quality is maintained. It is because of its high quality and durability that people
buy it even at high prices and it has captured 70% of the market share in Pakistan.
Price
Pricing Objective: The obvious pricing objectives of ICI Dulux are

Maximization of Profits

To achieve the target return and targeted sales

Maintain the Market share.

Pricing Method
The pricing method adopted is profit based. A target about the profit percentage is decided, after
assessing the net cost, profit is added to it to determine the price. Since ICI Dulux are the Market
Leaders they can easily manipulate prices. The changes in the prices are decided in the Head
quarters and the dealers are informed 15-20 days before the price are actually increased. This
strategy has a dual effect, on one hand the price are increased and on the other it helps in
blooming sales. It acts as a promotional tool because dealers pick up their stock with no delay
and they purchase more than the usual bulk. It is also beneficial for dealers because them they
sell their old as well as the new stock on the latest high prices and hence receive a greater profit.
Place / Distribution
The distribution system of ICI Dulux is Dealer oriented. It has a wide network of distribution
throughout Pakistan but all the distribution is done through dealers. ICI Dulux has its own
warehouses and godons and from there the products are directly transported to the dealers who
ultimately sell them out.
Therefore the "Distribution Channel" of all sort of paints is
Producer

Dealer

Consumer

Dealers
ICI Dulux has certain requirements after these requirements are fulfilled a dealer is registered
and is legally allowed to start the distribution.

Special accounts with Dealer's Code (DC) are opened in the computer;

A promisery Note is signed;

Dealers have to sign a blank cheque for security;

Dealers have to submit a copy of their Identity Card (ID card) and a few more documents;

After this they are registered as ICI Dealers.

Most of the distribution and trade is done on cash. Lahore and Karachi are advance payment
markets where as Multan and a few other small cities have a credit market.
Transportation from Lahore i.e. the production site is done through trucks and railway.
Transportation within the city is done by trucks in large cities and by donkey carts in smaller
cities. Even in Multan most of the transportation is carried on the donkey carts.
Promotion
As ICI Dulux has a diversified market it has to use a number of promotional Tools.
Advertisement
Television Advertisement
It is a very expensive tool of promotion but it is worth it. ICI Dulux though still advertises
through Television commercials but it has reduced its intensity. They just use it to create
awareness among their target market about a certain product and try to highlight its main selling
features.
Radio Advertisement
It is a relatively cheaper source of advertisement and due to the channel FM 100, the number of
listeners has increased. Therefore Dulux finds it effective to communicate with its customers
through radio.
Print Advertisement
A substantial pairt of Dulux's total promotional expenditure goes under this head.
Approximately all the good and standard magazines carry the advertisement of ICI Dulux
Point Of Purchase Advertisement
Many color cards, brochures and other informative material is available at dealers shop along
with the product itself in attractive cans. The dealers display contest is other kinds of
advertisement. New dealers are registered where intensive contraction is being done.
Out Door Advertisement

In outdoor advertisement Dulux mostly uses sign boards and they are placed at busy areas where
maximum people can see it.
Personal Selling
Free Dulux Color Advisory Service
They say "for our valued customers, expert help is available through a creative colour
consultancy service provided free of charge. Our colour Advisors would be available to develop
innovative colour schemes to bring out the best in your home."
This is the most important promotional tool and helps to generate maximum demand. TTF
(Trained task force) is a trained mobile team which reaches at the place where construction or
revocation is being done, just on a single phone call. They sometimes reach at the point of
construction or renovation with our being called and give the customers free advice. Another
mobile service available is the LCA ( Lady colour Advisory Service) where innovative and
creative ladies give advice about the colour scheme of the house.
If the customers have any kind of problem or complaint the mobile teams are always there to
help them.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is also a very important promotional tool used by Dulux in which different
short term and long term incentive schemes are offered to the dealers.
Sometimes the company provides the dealers with extra discount if they sell upto or more than a
target amount preciously decided.
Dealers are sometimes also given small incentives like T-shirt, wall clocks, folders, brochures,
pen holders etc in return of the sales promotion.
Who are the customers for ICI Paints?

Color Studios
At the studios, the customers are provided with tea and drinks. They are asked to sit at the
couches present and make an informed decision. They are also made to sit at the computers to
manually select colors and see which one will look good. They are also given the option of
having pictures taken of their houses or rooms and let the experts apply colors using the
software. After the color is selected, they are taken to the production room near the machine (if
the customer is willing to see the process done) and the color is made within 5 minutes. At times
there are delays because of back log of orders or improper bases of colors used in the production.
After the transaction is done, the product is kept in the customers car. If the order quantity is
large, the company arranges a Suzuki to deliver the products. If the customer is also in need of a
painter, the ICI Paints recommends good painters and provides them with their contact details
however the company does not take any responsibility of the painters.
Color Consultancy Schemes
The sales promoters visiting the houses are employees of ICI Paints and are properly dressed and
provided with proper training in how to speak and handle the customers. The pictures of the
exterior and interior walls are taken according to the demands of the customer. The pictures are
provided to the color experts at the company the following day and in case of emergencies, it is
delivered at the same day. The color experts take 3-4 days to complete and the same is delivered
to the customer in a special folder.

The service characters include:

Color Studios
People & Things orientation:

Properly dressed employees with a clean studio.

Availability of shade card

High Tech:

Availability of POST color machine to manufacture paint

in 5 minutes

Personal Interaction:

Greet and meet the customer and provide solution in very

little time

Time involvement:

5 minutes in paint manufacturing

Location:

located in DHA Karachi and DHA Lahore to cater to SEC

A

Complexity:

Very simple discuss, agree, manufacture, problem solved

Numbers served per transaction: 1 person takes roughly around 20 minutes at max (many)
Training:

Regular training of employees every month

Supervision:

RSM supervising activities via security cameras and

personal visits

Color Consultancy Schemes

People & Things orientation:

Properly dressed employees, availability of shade cards,

decent accent of employees and polite way of

responding to

the customer requests

High Tech:

Availability of camera to take pictures of walls

Personal Interaction:

Greet and meet the customer and take pictures with proper
angle

Time involvement:

as long as it takes to take pictures of all the walls in a

proper angle with appropriate lighting

Location:

anywhere in the city sales promoters travel on bikes to

houses

Complexity:

Simple customer calls company, sales promoter arrives,

pictures taken, color scheme is received in 4 days

Numbers served per transaction: One

Training:

Regular training of employees every month

Supervision:

RSM supervising activities via spot checks

A table would help to depict the characteristics of each service better:

Comparison of characteristics: Color Studios vs Color Consultancy Scheme
ICI Paints
People and Things
High Tech
Personal Interaction
Time Involvement
Location
Complexity
Number served per
transaction
Training
Supervision

Color Studios
More People
Hi
Hi
Short
Ours
Hi
Many

Color Consultancy Scheme

More things
Hi
Hi
Long
Theirs
Lo
One

Much
Much

Much
Much

Assess the Service Silhouette and perceptions of customers.

A service silhouette is the customers perception about the service from the very beginning.
These are formed by the customers before they make use of any service and before any image
can be formed after a successful customer-service interaction. ICI Paints is a multinational
organization with operations is many countries around the world. It has many processed placed

within the organization to ensure that the products and services are of top quality. ICI paints aims
to delight and inspire customers to transform their surroundings at home and work with
performance products and colors.
With color studios and consultancy services present in the different areas, ICI Paints sponsoring
several campaigns and ICI Paints good quality advertisements on television have helped form a
good image about the company, its products and services. To determine the same, there are
different parameters and I would be using my own knowledge, opinion and discretion to assess
the service silhouette. I would be using evaluating both the services together:
1) How do the customers see the purpose of the services: See the service of great value if utilized
well
2) How necessary are the services?: For all those people who are constructing new houses, it is
extremely necessary for them to have these services. The house owners would be in a better stage
to make decisions accordingly. It is also quite necessary for people renovating their houses.
There is no harm when these services are being provided for free
3) How important is it?: These services are important for all the people in the house construction
phases
4) How are results viewed?: When the customers problems are solved and provided with good
advice on colors, the customers are satisfied and they believe that the service has contributed
positively to their problems. However if the services failed to provide solutions, then the services
are likely to provide negative contribution to the problem solution.
5) Perceived cost: These services are free of cost there is no perceived cost other than the time
involved.
6) Perceived risks: Risks could be of purchasing wrong products not what was recommended
because of miscommunication or incorrect product code on color schemes.
Perception of customers
Customers' Perception is affected by:

The Service Characteristics

Their Wants and Needs
Their perception of the Service Silhouette Determiners

The service characters and perception of service silhouette have already been discussed.
Customer needs and wants have also been discussed how they want appropriate advise on color
selections. However, these can be further divided into the following three categories:
-

Psychographics (Social habits, preferences, expectations, attitude, beliefs, values )

Demographics (age, gender, education level, Income, family size, location )
Organizational culture (Social habits, preferences, expectations, attitude, beliefs, values )

All in all, the customers perception about the services is good and they believe it adds values
and provides positive contribution in their lives.

SWOT Analysis:
Following is the SWOT analysis of ICI Paints:
Strengths:
1. It is using natural and organic ingredients in its all products.
2. It has strong presence in developed emerging markets and has strong
brand name.
3. It also has strong R&D capabilities.
4. It has high number of variants according to the different needs of their
target market.
5. It is the highly popular brand due to advertising and marketing.
Weaknesses:
1. It has high prices as compared to the other available brands.
2. It entered late into Asian markets due to which it has lesser market
share.

3. Since people have different skin type and hair type therefore it product
might not suit people with sensitive skin.
Opportunities:
1. The demand for natural ingredient products is increasing.
2. The consumer lifestyles are changing due to which their needs for
these products are increasing.
3. The beauty products market is growing with a significant rate.
4. It can introduce the skin care products and shampoo in smaller size
packaging.
5. It can introduce more varieties in product due to different skin type
and hair type of consumers.
Threats:
1. It is facing high competition from Unilever, Avon and P&G.
2. The price competition among branded manufacturers is high.
3. The cost of switching personal care brands for consumer is very low.

Customer Service Center Management System:

Following are the steps in establishing the customer care center system:
1. Understand your Customer:
The first step is to identify the customers expectations, changing
needs, wants and desires. These can be identified through conducting
researches. The research can be done through conducting focus group
in different cities and by including females of different SEC. The
research can also be conducted through the help of third party such as
Neilson. Apart from this the research can also be conducted through
questionnaire survey form.
Benefits:
Following are the benefits:
I.

It will help in identifying the gap between current offering and

expected offering by consumer.

II.

It will also provide the information regarding the characteristics and

expectations that will lead to the achievement of high customer
satisfaction level.

III.

By understanding the customer needs and wants the standards can

easily be develop on those identified expectations.

IV.

Through this information the standards for product, customer touch

points, and customer service can be developed.
2. Customer Quality Service Standards:
Following are the steps for developing quality service standards:
a) Inquiry Handling:
In order to have a better customer service center, the customer care
representatives should be trained on how to handle the customer
inquiry. In order to train the representative, the HR in collaboration with
the ICI Paints brand manager should develop the best methods,
guidelines, techniques and policies on how to handle an inquiry. It
should also include feedback system. HR should also develop the
criteria on which the performance of the representative would be
evaluated.
Following is the example of inquiry handling criteria. Each performance
parameter contains score on the basis of which performance will be
measured.

b) Complaint Handling:
In order to have a better customer service center, the customer care
representatives should be trained on how to handle the customer
complaint. In order to train the representative, the HR in collaboration
with the ICI Paints brand manager should develop the best methods
(minimum response time), guidelines, techniques and policies on how
to handle a complaint. It should also include feedback system. HR
should also develop the criteria on which the performance of the
representative would be evaluated.
c) Effective use of VOC:
The HR and brand manager should also develop a system through
which the feedback of customer can be delivered to their respective
team. A weekly meeting should be conducted with all the brand
managers of the 3 categories and manager of customer care center.
The feedback of customers and their solutions should be discussed
here. Also, time & action plan should be prepared. The customer care
center manager should keep the follow up of these time and action
plans.
d) Customer Retention:
The policies and activities regarding customer retention should be
prepared. This includes how to build long term relationship with the

customers by providing after sales services. By developing policies on

how to compensate customers who have faced multiple reactions on
the skin due to BB cream.
e) Management:
The HR in collaboration with brand managers should prepare the
policies of measuring the performances of employees on the basis of
these standards. This should also include policies regarding staff
recruitment and staff retention.

3. Build A Winning Team:

In order to build a winning team, following steps should be followed:
1. The HR and brand manager should establish the performance
standards, training material and best methods.
2. While developing standards, they should identify the job description
and skills of an employee that would be required to fulfill these
standards.
3. These should include both behavioral and knowledge attributes.
4. Apart from this, the HR should also develop the performance
monitoring and evaluation standards.
5. The next step is to develop the reward system which would include
both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
6. After development of all the standards the HR should start the
recruitment and hiring process.
7. After recruitment the jobs and duties should be assigned to the new
employees.

8. Also, these new employees should be given trainings on the basis of

standards and the performance monitoring standards should be
communicated to them.
9. The employee performance should be measured quarterly and should
be rewarded accordingly.
10.

If any employee has performed beyond expectation then he

should be awarded with promotion.

11.

The appraisal and reward system will increase the motivation

level of the employee.

12.

Due to motivation the employee is going to take the ownership

of work and going to provide valuable feedback.

13.

It will also increase the satisfaction level of employees which will

decrease the turnover rate.

14.

Since the turnover rate would be lesser the employees are going

to become experienced that would provide quality service to the

customers.
15.

Due to high quality service the customer satisfaction level is

going to be increased.
16.

The satisfied customers are going to spread good word of mouth

regarding ICI Paints brand and they will become loyal customer.
17.

This will ultimately increase the sales and profits.

4. Regular Monitoring:
In order to implement system properly, it is very important to monitor
the system on regular basis. Following are the steps:
-

A service audit system:

1. The audit should be conducted by the manager.

2. The manager can also make a mystery call to the department in order
to evaluate how the query or complaint is handled.
3. There should a proper checks points and standards to do audit.

4. Also, proper rating scale should be prepared in order to measure the

performance.
5. The manager should make sure the implementation of standard and
should take necessary actions in case there is any compliance issue.
6. Apart from this, tools such as Pareto charts, Cause and Effect Diagram
and Scatter Diagrams can be used in order to measure the quality.
-

A customer Feedback system:

1. There should be a regular customer feedback system.

2. The feedback can be conducted through telephone and email etc.
3. Through feedback the ICI Paints would know about the changing
expectations and requirements of the customer.
4. It will help in improving the service standards.
5. Also, it will help in changing the best methods accordingly.
-

An employee feedback system:

1. The employee can provide innovative and creative ideas as they are in
continuous contact with the customers.
2. Since they know the customer better their feedback can help in
improving current system, procedures and methods.
3. They are also very well aware of the changing needs and wants of the
customers.
4. This system should be two way including feedback and feed forward.
5. It will help the employee to improve and hence service quality will
improve.
5.Provide a Proactive Problem Solving:
1. The customer service team is going to provide solutions to the
customer issues.
2. It will eventually create a database of issues through which the most
popular issue can be identified.

3. It will help in collecting and analyzing the customer feedback and in

preparing proactive solutions.
4. Also, it will help in devising the actions steps to solve a particular issue.
5. This will help the employee to deal the customers effectively &
efficiently.
6. Also, it will help in providing quick response that will improve the
customer satisfaction.
Customer Service Assessment Scale:
Customer Service

Strong

Agre

Neutr

Disag

Strong

ly

al

ree

ly

Agree

Disagr
ee

Exhibit flexibility when

responding to varying customer

requests?
Exhibit knowledge of all available
products and services?
Provide Helpful suggestions to
customers?
Use Tactful words and comments
with customers?
Benefits:
1. The customer care center will help in measuring the performance of
products
2. The retailers will be able to give their direct feedback or complaint
regarding product, customer and sales force.
3. The sales force will be able to give direct feedback or complaint
regarding product or distributor.

4. The customer care center can direct contact customer, sales force and
retailer in order to get regular feedback.