Evaluation of factors affecting customer satisfaction of insurance companies using gray theory and fuzzy Kano (the case of insurance companies of Borujen city)

Master's Thesis of Technical Engineering Faculty

Industrial Management Group (Production)

Abstract

Now that in the global economy, customers determine the company's survival, companies can no longer ignore the expectations and demands of customers. They should focus all their activities and capabilities on customer satisfaction. The level of customer satisfaction determines the success or failure of any organization, so knowing how satisfied customers are is very important. In this research, firstly, the factors influencing the satisfaction of insurance companies' customers were identified and their number was determined to be 26. Then, using the gray theory technique, these factors were refined and adjusted to 10. After that, with the help of Kano's fuzzy method, the remaining factors were categorized into basic, functional, and motivational classes, so that the necessary programs were adopted to retain customers and to identify and correct problems in customer service units in the basic class. Identifying loyal customers and considering special services for them, commitment to continuous improvement, mechanization and updating of insurance service provider systems, spending sufficient and effective costs to obtain customer satisfaction and the appropriateness of the employee's approach to customers in the functional class and simplifying processes and tasks, encouraging active and effective employees in customer orientation and creating an evaluation system and receiving suggestions in order to receive customers' opinions and hear their voices were placed in the category of motivational requirements. The results of this research can be a good guide for insurance companies to achieve their goals in the competitive market.

Key words: insurance industry, gray theory, Kano model, fuzzy Kano

Chapter 1

Research overview

Introduction

The real goal of any business is not to supply, sell or provide services, but to meet the needs that get customer satisfaction. Organizations that are able to quickly understand and meet customer needs achieve more profit than organizations that cannot. (Dominici and Palambo [1], 2013)

Certainly, in this regard, knowing the mental image and perception of customers towards the goods and services provided is of particular importance, and while revealing the weaknesses and strengths of an organization, it provides a basis for adopting appropriate strategies and improving the level of performance. Therefore, customer satisfaction has become the operational goal of many organizations. (Taghizadeh and Kermani, 2013) It is not surprising that companies invest considerable resources to increase customer satisfaction, and as a result, the costs related to the customer satisfaction account are the largest part of the annual marketing budget, and in addition, the costs related to business marketing constitute about 50% of the total costs. (Sun and Kim[2], 2013)

Actually, identifying and measuring customer satisfaction is not enough, but in addition, the processes that caused dissatisfaction must be identified and corrected. Therefore, establishing a system that can measure customer satisfaction seems vital. (Bandarian, 1390)

1-1-Statement of the problem

Today we live in service-oriented economic and social conditions, which is increasing day by day, in other words, our customers need more care and services than in the past. (Taghizadeh and Zainli Kermani, 2013) Without a doubt, customer satisfaction is one of the most strategic issues in the last decade. Now that in the global economy, customers determine the company's survival, companies can no longer be indifferent to the expectations and demands of customers, they must direct all their activities and capabilities to customers. (Bandarian, 1390) Because the only source of return of capital is the customers, so the first principle in today's business world is to create customer-friendly values. (Kavendi and Shakri, 2009) In the service industry, the perceived quality of service is a major factor in determining customer loyalty. (Jang and Yong[3], 2013)

Satisfied customers are the source of companies' profits. Companies that cannot keep customers happy will not survive in the long run. Providing superior quality products and providing customer service at an excellent level continuously creates competitive advantages for the company, including creating customer loyalty, producing and supplying distinctive products, reducing marketing costs and setting higher prices; Finally, we can say that there are moral points about quality, and that is that customers pay us to meet their expectations.Providing superior quality products and providing customer service at an excellent level continuously creates competitive advantages for the company, including creating customer loyalty, producing and supplying distinctive products, reducing marketing costs and setting higher prices; Finally, it can be said that there is an ethical point about quality, and that is that customers give us money to meet their expectations and we are responsible for them. (Samadi and Eskandari, 2019) Insurance institutions are one of the financial institutions that, in addition to ensuring the economic security of capital, in creating financial resources at intervals of receiving insurance premiums and paying claims, especially in long-term insurance, can cause mobility and dynamism and development of financial markets, and with the accumulation of capital, provide the necessary grounds for economic growth. do Considering the undeniable role of the insurance industry in compensation and its position as an investor and financial mediation approach, insurance can significantly contribute to the formation of national income by creating added value. (Abassi et al., 2013) insurance companies are very interested in the profit from relationships with customers; Because they are under intense competitive pressure from their competitors in the industry. Before the start of private insurance companies, the duty of providing insurance services was the responsibility of state insurance companies. Since these companies were dependent on the government and operated with the support of government funds, marketing and compliance with marketing principles were very weak in their activities. But since private insurance companies have to be accountable to their shareholders and their profit is directly related to their performance, these days, due to the very close and tight competition with their other competitors, they are seeking to improve their performance and profitability in the market. Finding methods and strategies that can lead to creating, increasing market share, increasing profitability and growth in insurance premiums is the concern of these companies today. Therefore, it seems necessary to investigate and research the factors that can affect the mentioned cases in a company, and find appropriate solutions. This research aims to investigate the factors affecting customer satisfaction of insurance companies by using gray theory and fuzzy Kano model.

1-2-Research objectives

The purpose of this research is:

Knowing the expectations of customers regarding the services that should be provided by insurance companies;

Identifying the priority of satisfaction dimensions from the perspective of insurance company customers;

Providing suggestions for improving the factors affecting satisfaction. Customers.

Using the results of this research, insurance companies gain knowledge about how their organizational processes work, identify the points that need to be improved, and also determine whether change will lead to improvement or not.

1-3-Research questions

What are the major factors affecting customer satisfaction in insurance companies of Borujen?

Categories of factors affecting customer satisfaction in insurance companies based on the Kano model. What is fuzzy?

What are the appropriate solutions to improve the level of customer satisfaction of insurance companies?

1-4- The importance and necessity of research

The real goal of any business is not to supply, sell or provide services, but to meet the needs that will get customer satisfaction. Organizations that are able to quickly understand and meet customer needs will achieve more profit than organizations that cannot. (Dominici and Palambo, 2013) Since customers play a fundamental role in the process of organizational activities and influence the destiny of the organization with their thoughts and policies, therefore, not only recognizing their obvious needs, but also predicting, determining and guiding the hidden needs of customers and designing and implementing programs and providing services to meet these needs are fundamental and organizational elements. It is not surprising that companies invest considerable resources to increase customer satisfaction. Based on research, customer satisfaction account expenses are the largest part of the annual marketing budget, in addition, business marketing expenses account for approximately 50% of total expenses. (Asan and Yang Kim, 2013) Paying attention to and giving importance to the opinions and opinions of the customer creates a sense of belonging to the organization, it causes not only a kind of satisfaction in the customer, but also that he considers himself a part of the organization. (Samadi and Eskandari, 2019) This satisfaction is also the key to the success of insurance companies. Because for insurance companies, a satisfied and happy customer is much more profitable than a financial and investment program, and creates satisfaction for employees much more than a human resources program, and provides a market for insurance much better than a marketing system. So, among the things that insurance company managers should know, none is more important than customer satisfaction.