Abstract:

From a business point of view, Germany is made up of about 35 million households. These people purchase lots of food, cars, gelly babies, mountain bikes etc. And they buy lots of furniture to the value of more than 40 thousand million marks a year. The main question for individual manufacturers and retailers is not how to increase 40 to 45 thousand million marks. 'The main question for them is: How can I satisfy my customers and encourage them to purchase more of my products. This is where money comes from - especially since trying to win new customers becomes increasingly expensive. 'flic following paper tries to give an example of how current customers can be brick- walled. 'The first part of the paper includes a very short overview on the German furniture market as well as some general statements on customer satisfaction and customer retention. The main intention is to show: -how the study was designed to be profitable for both manufacturer and retailer, and - how the results of this study can be used to analyse the furniture market. It reveals how manufacturer and retailer can efficiently improve their performance - based on the philosophy: customer first.