The color television industry in India has seen a dramatic change during the

past one decade as liberalization and globalization showed its original face in full
swing in the Indian sub-continent, making its market highly competitive and
customer driven. A good number of TV customers today face a lot of dilemma at the
time of taking a

purchase decision to choose the brand because a number of

substitutes available in the market. As a result of this, the manufacturers are now
forced to behave like price takers rather than price makers. Under the circumstances,
it is uite obvious that the companies will have to do more homework to respond to
the needs and tastes of the customers in order to survive in this competitive market.
When it comes to the purchase decision of the TV customers, it depends on various
product differentiation attributes such as price, game and goodwill of the company,
design and appearance, digital function, after sales service, durability and warranty,
power efficiency, financial incentives (free gifts, discounts and installments etc.),
easy availability and smooth functioning.
It is an accepted fact that the generation of information plays an important
role in the field of policy formation, marketing planning, strategy making and it also
bridges the game between the buyers and the sellers. This study may provide the TV
companies with a launch pad and act as a guide that can help same in chalking out
strategies to enlarge the market share and also enhance the level of awareness among
customers. In short, it can be claimed to be an accurate and timely report that may
help them to gain a competitive edge over their customers.
Therefore, the present study aims at ascertaining the television customers
preference over the various counts of T.V. brands they use. The study also throws
light on the customers purchase behavior with respect to color television. This study

may provide the T.V. companies with a launch pad and act as a guide that can help
the same in chalking out strategies to enlarge market share and also enhance the
level of awareness among customers and may help them to gain a competitive edge
over their competitors.

1. CUSTOMER:
Customers are the most important people for any organization. They are the resource
on which not only the success, but the entire existence of any business depends. A
customer, also client, buyer or purchaser is usually used to refer to a current
or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization mostly
called the supplier or seller. However the term customer also includes by extension
anyone who uses or experiences the services of another. The word derives from "
custom, " meaning "habit "; a customer was someone who frequented a particular
shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods of the sort the shop sold their rather
than elsewhere, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to
keep his or her "custom, meaning expected purchases in the future. The clichs
"customer is king" or "customer is god" or "the customer is always right" are most
frequently used in the marketing world and also indicate the importance of
customers to businesses. The importance of the customers for any business can be
understood by looking at the huge expenditures that are being incurred by various
companies for satisfying and retaining their customers. Before discussing further
about customer and customer satisfaction we should first try and understand the
meaning of the word Customer

1.1 DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER:

DEFINITION 1: According to Shri. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of
nation,
A customer is not an outsider to our business. He is a definite part of it. A customer
is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. A customer is doing us a
favor by letting us serve him. We are not doing him any favor. A customer is not a
cold statistic; he is a flesh and blood human being with feelings and emotions like
our own. A customer is not someone to argue or match wits with. He deserves
courteous and attentive treatment. A customer is not dependent on us. We are
dependent on him. A customer brings us his wants. It is our job to handle them
properly and profitably both to him and us. A customer makes it possible to pay
our salary, whether we are a driver, plant or an office employee.
DEFINITION 2: Peter Ducker, Awell-known management expert, defined
customers as: A person who purchases the product from the marketer or from the
retailer or from the wholesaler.

DEFINITION 3: John marsh, Director General, British Institute of management,

defines customer as: A person or organization that a marketer believes will benefit
from the goods and services offered by the marketers organization. As these above
definitions suggest, a customer is not necessarily someone who is currently
purchasing from the marketer. In fact, customers may fall intoone of three customer
groups: