Customer Loyalty on Ebay: The Impact of After-Sale Services Research

This research project investigates the crucial role of after-sale services in fostering customer loyalty, using Ebay as a case study. The study begins with an overview of the research, emphasizing its significance in understanding the impact of after-sale services on customer behavior within the e-commerce context. The research aims to identify this impact, analyze the effectiveness of Ebay's procedures for providing efficient services, measure the effect of after-sale services on improving customer loyalty, and evaluate methods for maximizing customer loyalty and achieving competitive gains. The research methodology includes a qualitative approach, descriptive research design, and an interpretivism philosophy, with data collected through probabilistic sampling. The literature review explores ways Ebay can identify the impact of after-sale services, analyze the effectiveness of procedures, and measure their effect on customer loyalty. The study also addresses ethical considerations and provides recommendations for improving customer retention and satisfaction. The project concludes with recommendations and a comprehensive list of references.

RESEARCH
PROJECT

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................3
1.1 Overview of the research..................................................................................................3
1.2 Significance of the study..................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Aim...................................................................................................................4
1.4 Research Objectives.........................................................................................................4
1.5 Research Questions..........................................................................................................5
1.6 Plan of implementation.....................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................5
2.1 Type of investigation........................................................................................................6
2.2 Research Design ..............................................................................................................6
2.3 Research Philosophy .......................................................................................................6
2.4 Research Approach ..........................................................................................................6
2.5 Data Sampling..................................................................................................................6
2.6 Ethical Consideration.......................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................7
3.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................7
3.2 What are the ways through which Ebay can identify the impact after sale services has on
behaviour of customers?.........................................................................................................7
3.3 Which factors will help in analysing the effectiveness of procedures used by Ebay for
providing efficient services to their customers ?....................................................................8
3.4 How to measure the effect of after sale services in improving loyalty of customers?....8
3.5 Which methods are being used by Ebay for maximising the loyalty of customers and earn
competitive gains?..................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................9
DATA INTERPRETATION :.......................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION ..........................................................20
5.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................20
5.2 Recommendation............................................................................................................20
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................21

TITLE
“To identify the importance of after sale services and its impact on improving customer
loyalty” - A case study on Ebay
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of the research
After sale services are considered as essential activities which are required to be
conducted in every organisation so as to make customers satisfied so that they will avail the
services of same company once again. Companies are having a separate department which is
named as customer support services that is given with the responsibility to handle all issues and
complaints of customers in an effective manner and give them good services. After sale services
are having the same importance like initial purchase because if customers will be satisfied then
they will come again for purchase definitely (Gounaris, Dimitriadis and Stathakopoulos, 2010).
It is considered as the responsibility of management to make sure that needs and demands of
customers are fulfilled so that they can do word of publicity of company and improve business of
companies. Through these services, companies can make sure that whether they have reached to
the expectations of customers or not. This is an important factor in sales management and it
cannot be ignored. Ebay is a multinational e-commerce company that is providing high quality
products to its customers through their websites. They are having a large market share and giving
tough competition to other e-commerce companies. It was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995
and currently, they are operating in more than 30 countries and is a million dollar business now.
Main aim of Ebay is to provide the best quality products and services to its customers at
affordable rates at their doorsteps. It is very important as if customers will not be satisfied with
their services then they are having a lot more options to shift on as there are so many e-
commerce companies that are working on the same platform.
1.2 Significance of the study
This research is carried out for analysing the impact of after sale services and its impact
on improving loyalty of customers in Ebay. They are doing their operations in a global manner
and are having a good focus on the quality of goods they are giving to their customers (Lee, Lee
and Wu, 2011). They are also making sure that goods and services are made as per the needs of
consumers so that they will get satisfied and buy goods from company again. They are also

having good customer support team that is taking care of all the issues of customers in an
effective manner and is making sure that they do not face the same issue again. There are many
ways through which organization can provide after sale services to its customers like the sales
professionals of company can stay in touch with their clients even after the sale is made and
inform them time to time about the new deals that are coming up in company (Reza Jalilvand
and Samiei, 2012). This will impress customers as they will think that company is giving them
due attention. Ebay is having a very strong image because of which they will not have too much
advertisement about themselves for making customers reach them. This image is also helping
them in providing good after sales services to its customers as people are already familiar with
their policies. This report is based on identifying the impact of after sale services and its impact
on customer loyalty in Ebay. To achieve this, Ebay is required to have good support who can
provide services to customers in such a manner that they will not face any kind of trouble in the
future.
1.3 Research Aim
The important aim of conducting this research is “importance of after-sale services on
developing consumer loyalty” - A case study on Ebay. In this report, it will be identified that
how much importance does after-sale services hold in a company and how they are capable of
developing the loyalty of customers in the company. It is considered as one of the most
important parts of research because if there will be no aim then research cannot be conducted.
1.4 Research Objectives
These are also considered as essential factors which are required in order to conduct
research in an effective manner. Here, various tools are used by researcher in order to conduct all
the activities in right direction. The main objectives of this research are:
 To identify the impact of after sale services on behaviour of customers
 To analyse the effectiveness of procedures used to provide efficient services to customers
after sale is done
 To measure the effect of after sale services in improving loyalty of customers
 To evaluate different methods by which Ebay can maximise the loyalty of customers and
earn competitive gains.

1.5 Research Questions
These are the questions that are linked with research activities and based on objectives
that are being prepared for understanding this research in a correct manner. The questions are as
follows:
 What are the ways through which Ebay can identify impact of after sale services has on
behaviour of customers?
 Which factors will help in analysing the effectiveness of procedures used by Ebay for
providing efficient services to their customers?
 How to measure the effect of after sale services in improving loyalty of customers?
 Which methods are being used by Ebay for maximising the loyalty of customers and
earning competitive gains?
1.6 Plan of implementation
It is very important for every project manager to complete the whole activities within the
stipulated time so it is important for them to make sure each activity is being performed within
the time allotted them. So, for this a complete action plan will be prepared by the project
manager in which all the activities will be described along with their time frame. For this project,
It is as follows;
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
It is regarded as most essential part of research project as it is helping in conducting the
whole research process in an effective manner and make sure that the process is completed on

time. It includes various factors which is categorised among different parts which helps in
completing the research. It is as follows :
2.1 Type of investigation
It is considered as the responsibility of investigator to select the type of research they are
following. It can be qualitative and quantitative in nature (Liu, Guo and Lee, 2011). Here,
qualitative method of research will be followed. In this, research will be carried out on the basis
of quality of data and various types of facts and figures will be used as well.
2.2 Research Design
This can be described as a blue print of whole research process in which all the activities
that will be carried out is included. The various types of research design that can be applied are
Experimental, descriptive and Exploratory. All these are good but in this research report,
descriptive research design is being applied by investigator as it is most appropriate for the
research work.
2.3 Research Philosophy
This part plays an effective role while collecting information about the research work
from various sources (Rao, Goldsby, Griffis and Iyengar, 2011). The two kinds of philosophies
are Interpretivism and positivism. In the current research process, Interpretivism will be applied
as her the work is wholly dependent on qualitative factors.
2.4 Research Approach
This is also an effective factor that is required to be considered while conducting a
research process. The approaches can be categorised as Inductive and deductive. In this research,
inductive research approach will be followed as complete research is based on qualitative factor
and in inductive approach, facts and figures are also collected.
2.5 Data Sampling
In this element, researchers are required to select sample respondents from the whole
population who will act as a representative of whole public. Types of sampling techniques are
like probabilistic or non-probabilistic. It is chosen as per the suitability of the project. In the
current research report, probabilistic sampling technique will be applied. Here the sample size is
selected as 30.

2.6 Ethical Consideration
It is one of the most essential element which is required to be taken care of while
conducting the whole research process. Ethical considerations can be described as the values and
morals that is essential to be present in a person (Hosseini, Maleki and Gholamian, 2010). There
are several issues that will be present while conducting the research so it is the responsibility of
researcher to handle the situation in an effective manner and make sure that no information is
leaked.
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 Introduction
It can be regarded as the most effective part of research project because with the help of
this all the activities are being conducted in an appropriate manner so that corrective results can
be achieved. It is conducted in all the research as through this in-depth knowledge will also be
ascertained about the topic. Here, guidance from experts are gained about collecting data fron
various sources.
3.2 What are the ways through which Ebay can identify the impact after sale services has on
behaviour of customers?
Consumers are considered as the most valuable asset for every company and it is the
responsibility of company to make sure that their customers are satisfied with their services so
that they can think of availing it again. According to Lovelock, (2011) the various ways through
which impact of after sale services can be ascertained are:
 Ebay should conduct a survey through which it can be ascertained that people are looking
their services or not. If they will like it then they will visit again and vice-versa.
 A section can be created by company in their website where consumers can easily
register their complaints and if the no. of complaints is more then it can be assumed that
customers are not satisfied with the products and services of company.
 Since Ebay is an online website so there cannot be a face to face interaction in order to
know the reviews of customers so their management can be in contact with the customers
so that they are satisfied with the services of company.

3.3 Which factors will help in analysing the effectiveness of procedures used by Ebay for
providing efficient services to their customers ?
There are very less companies who care about their customers once the sale is made or
the money is received but Ebay is not one of them. According to TANG, (2010). It is said that
Ebay is taking good care of their customers and are ensuring that their customers do not face the
same issue in future. The factors through which effectiveness can be analysed are as follows :
 Monitoring calls- In order to ascertain that the procedure used by Ebay, calls of their
customers can be monitored on a periodic basis. For this, a list is required to be prepared
by customer service manager in which all those calls which is not answered or issues that
are not solved is recorded.
 Customer Surveys – A survey can be conducted by the manager in which consumers
should be asked about the after sale services of the company that whether they are
satisfied or not. Through this direct feedback will be gained by management about the
employees.
3.4 How to measure the effect of after sale services in improving loyalty of customers?
As per the viewpoint of Lin, Chen and Kuan-Shun Chiu, (2010) It is said that customer
satisfaction is one of the most essential factor which is required in every company because if
customers will be satisfied then it will lead to increase in profitability of company and develops
its productivity as well. It is also required to be considered that customers should be satisfied not
only with its product but also with the service of company. The effect of after-sale services can
be measured through following:
 Customer Retention – If the customers will be satisfied about the services that they are
getting in the market then they will definitely come back to the same company for buying
goods and services. This will create a positive environment in the company and will
make the customers loyal as well.
 Repurchasing – If any customer will be facing any kind of issue with the company then
they will not buy anything from that store again.
3.5 Which methods are being used by Ebay for maximising the loyalty of customers and earn
competitive gains?
According to Kim and Hyun, (2011)It has been noticed that Ebay is having an extremely
loyal customer base it has also been ranked 2nd position for customer loyalty among the online

retailers. They have achieved this position by implementing various tools and techniques and
from this they have tried to achieve the trust of their customers and they were successful in that.
But it has also been analysed that the credit of Ebay's success can go their Customer
DNA system. It can be explained in following points :
 They are recording around 50 terabytes of the data related to their customers which can
be equivalent to 6.6 million thick books. Through this system , they are having a detailed
information their customers and by their buying pattern even their choices are known to
the company,.
 They are also conducting Email Campaigns so as to be in contact with their customers.
They send emails to their customers about the offers that are prevailing or which is about
to apply.
CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS
It can be described as most important part of research process as it helps in finding out
the corrective results and outcomes of the project. In this part, the data that has been selected by
the researcher will be analysed in an effective manner so that benefits can be derived from it.
From this, it will also be noticed that whether all the aims and objectives will be attained or not
(Brynjolfsson, Hu and Rahman, 2013). For this, a questionnaire is required to be prepared by
investigator which will be distributed to the sample respondents whose reviews will be collected
as data. It is as follows :
QUESTIONNAIRE
For Sample Respondents
Q1) How do you evaluate Ebay's overall
quality?
Frequency
 Excellent 10
 Very good 8
 Good 8
 Bad 4

Q2) Are their after sale services really
effective?
 Agree 25
 Disagree 5
Q3) Which products are more sold in Ebay?
 Electronics 8
 Clothing 12
 Mobiles and accessories 5
 Health and Fashion 5
Q4) What are the major tools which create
effectiveness of using after sale services?
 Gaining growth 8
 Attaining Competitive advantages 7
 Improve productivity 8
 Generating brand awareness 7
Q5) Are the customer satisfied with the
services they receive from Ebay ?
 Yes 25
 NO 5
Q6) Which features induces you to utilize the
services of Ebay?
 Value Services 20
 Quality Products 10
Q7) What Ranking will you give to products
and services which are offered by E-
commerce Industry?

 Excellent 10
 Good 5
 Average 10
 Satisfactory 5
Q8) Would you like to avail services of Ebay
again in Future?
 Yes 25
 No 5
Q9) Any recommendations to improve the
after sale services of Ebay and generate
customer loyalty.
DATA INTERPRETATION :
Theme 1: Evaluating Ebay's overall quality
Q1) How do you evaluate Ebay's overall
quality?
Frequency
 Excellent 10
 Very good 8
 Good 8
 Bad 4

Interpretation: From the above graph it can be concluded that from total 30 respondents 10
thinks that Ebay is providing goods and services of highest quality but 8 think that it is very good
, other 8 think that it is OK but rest 4 says that it is of bad quality.
Theme 2: Effectiveness of after sale services
Q2) Are their after sale services really
effective?
 Agree 25
 Disagree 5
Excellent
Very good
Good
Bad