RESEARCH ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF THE TRADING COMPANY KOVINATOR d. o. o., BUSINESS UNIT PTUJ

The diploma thesis entitled Research on Customer Satisfaction of the Trading Company Kovinator d. o. o., Business Unit Ptuj, discusses the importance of the aspect of meeting customers' needs and expectations, with the aim of achieving better business cooperation. To gain insight into the current state of satisfaction, they used a survey conducted amongst customers.

Problem

The diploma thesis entitled Research on Customer Satisfaction of the Trading Company Kovinator d. o. o., Business Unit Ptuj, discusses the importance of the aspect of meeting customers' needs and expectations, with the aim of achieving better business cooperation.

Solution and Method

To gain insight into the current state of satisfaction, they used a survey conducted amongst customers. The diploma thesis consists of four parts: In times of great competition amongst companies, those who pay great attention to meeting customers' needs are the winners, as only a satisfied customer is also a good customer. The supplier must find out what the customers' wishes and expectations are and satisfy them as well as possible.

A satisfied customer actively participates in the company's marketing, thus helping the company achieve its goals. With the help of the research, they established that customers greatly appreciate their work in ensuring the quality of products offered in the sales programme. With them, they can carry out their production and craft processes more easily and efficiently, whilst at the same time not always wanting to purchase very expensive brands to ensure the desired quality.

Ensuring an extensive sales assortment makes customers' business easier, particularly from the perspective of logistics and costs. On the other hand, they must be careful with stock, as excessive stock means tied-up capital, which is poor from the financial perspective of a trading company. Responsiveness and communicativeness are connected.

Better communicativeness enables faster responsiveness, which is very important in ensuring customer satisfaction. Customers expect a quick response, as this shows them that they are important to us, and also that we ensure their uninterrupted work and relieve them of additional worries. In doing so, the customer feels secure.

Security is closely connected with customer satisfaction. The professionalism of the salesperson or employees can also contribute greatly to customers' sense of security when making a purchase. The customer feels secure when they sense that the staff are professional and will be able to resolve their doubts and uncertainties.

Customers want the shortest possible delivery times, as this achieves a low burden on their own stock. Our task (the supplier's task) is to adhere to the agreed delivery times, as this increases trust in the company and enables the smooth execution of their customers' processes. The service of handling complaints also plays an important role in ensuring customer satisfaction.

If they resolve a complaint successfully and quickly, they will limit the feeling of dissatisfaction in the customer, in some cases even increasing trust in the company. In the opposite case, the company's credibility in the eyes of the dissatisfied customer falls 'steeply'. Customers expect suppliers to integrate into the information web (internet) with modern websites that enable them access to desired data always and everywhere.

For a good partnership relationship between supplier and customer, mutual information sharing is important. From the supplier's side, it is important to regularly inform customers about the company's news and offers. This contributes to the feeling of importance that the customer receives from such behaviour.

In almost all markets, innovations appear in various processes of use and purpose of articles. As a supplier, we must monitor these innovations and successfully introduce them into our sales programme, with the aim of providing the customer with easier and more efficient processes. Price is certainly an important factor that contributes to business success.

As we wish to provide our customers with competitive prices, we must strive to improve purchasing conditions and rationalise the logistics process. With prior market analysis and their capabilities (production facility, machinery, raw materials for the production process, personnel potential, financial potential… etc.), it is sensible to also consider our own production of certain products from their sales programme with the aim of achieving a better purchase price. The satisfaction of users of products or services is of key importance for successful cooperation.

Without successful cooperation between sellers and customers, there is no possibility for development or progress. The fact is that people assess satisfaction differently, as their expectations are different, therefore it is important to recognise customers' wishes and expectations. As only in this case can we appropriately satisfy them.

A satisfied customer returns and becomes loyal to the company, which is good not only for the volume of sales or business, but also for the company's marketing. The best advertisement for a company is precisely a satisfied customer, conversely the worst is a dissatisfied one. A satisfied customer buys more, whilst being less sensitive to certain slip-ups that occur in business.

The responses to the questionnaire that they received and analysed, and the diploma thesis are tools for realising their company's goal. This is increasing customer satisfaction. They will take a good assessment as encouragement to continue along this path, and a poorer one as important information about where they can be even better.

• presentation of the company Kovinator d. o. o.,
• theoretical part – psychology of relationships between suppliers and customers,
• application part – survey conducted and
• concluding part of the diploma thesis – proposals for improvements in the areas covered in the survey.