Consumer Preference In Selecting Mobile Phones

Under the guidance of Prof Mihirdash

Submitted By
GROUP 7

Marketing A

INTRODUCTION
The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or "hand phone") is longrange, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones. Cellular telephone is also defined as a type of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter's span of coverage is called a cell. Generally, cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and along major highways. As the cellular telephone user moves from one cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone is effectively passed on to the local cell transmitter. A cellular telephone is not to be confused with a cordless telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection to a local phone outlet). A newer service similar to cellular is personal communications services (PCS). The Global Cellular Mobile Industry: The global mobile phone industry is based on many different manufacturers and operators. The industry is based on advanced technology and many of the manufacturers are operating in different industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network, market knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile phones are today dominating the global mobile phone industry; Nokia, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Motorola. In addition to these companies there are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally. Mobile users today want their handsets to be converged devices handling multiple functions, entertainment being the most important among them. They want their mobile to be fully loaded with top-end features, but they want all that at affordable costs. Integrated digital camera, music player and stereo FM radio are the three main features which would drive users towards upgrading their handsets. These features are available in mid range and high-end handsets so far, and the common user now demands these features in ordinary handsets which can be affordable. On the other hand, MMS has failed to catch the fancy of

the masses due to its high costs of transmission over the networks and relatively cheaper alternate modes of downloading videos available through Internet. The important features considered in the study are Brand Image: It is very fast era, in these days information about corporation and news from all over the world can spread within few minutes which effects reputation of corporate image and ultimately corporate brand. Corporate brand seldom convey the full and satisfactory message to consumer. There must be a symbol associated with brand name so audience has memorable associations. Brand manager needs to take a different view of promotional activities of a particular brand, as consumer reacts differently, when he has knowledge of a specific brand. In corporate branding, corporate brand must be strong, have meaning, distinctive associations and good reputation that a customer easily recognize. Corporate identity should consistently relate to what is central to the organization and this can support corporate branding .Market share is directly affected by corporate image and building up for loyal customers. Communication would be easy with all stake holders with strong corporate image of an organization. Corporate image helps a firm to build up good reputation in the market and it is the trust of the customers with output of expected attributes

Price:
In marketing research all Ps of marketing mix are important but to make it clear and valid, involve only one P or maximum two Ps from marketing mix (Yen, 1994). So this research includes one P which is pricing and is more important in service sector, because consumer have to pay every time when he/she consumes a particle service. So this is the most critical factor in obtaining, more loyal customers. Organizations are believe to spend thousand hundred dollars in product development but it is difficult to spend 1% on the research to find out perceptions of customers on various price levels. There are several factors which will probably influence your organizations pricing policy, factors such as, the competitors price, the position of the product in the life cycle, company positioning policy, perceived level of differentiation and perceived value and so on Pricing strategy must be carrying out to maintain balance between organizations profit and marketers desire to pay the right for the right product/ service.

Pricing Strategies:
There are three basic competitive strategies for pricing which are described by porter. These are 1- Cost leader ship 2- Differentiation 3- Focus

Service quality:
Service quality is the overall judgment of the customer about the excellence and superiority of the service. As there are some basic attributes associated with service quality like; services are intangible, services are heterogeneous (means that their price often varies with respect to the provider and customer), services cannot be stored means that services are consumed with they are produced; it means services cannot be separated from their production. The degree of perceived risk is highest when customer cannot evaluate the service quality before purchasing. Service satisfaction is among the most important factors which affect the customer loyalty and buying behavior. It has a direct relationship between price of the product or service being offered by a firm. It means there is a tradeoff between the price and service quality and through this satisfaction there can be increase or decrease in sensitivity towards other factors involved in long term relationship between customer and the operator Improving service quality in the eyes of the customer creates true customer through high customer satisfaction.

Customer loyalty:
A deeply held commitment to re-buy or re-patronize a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having potential to cause switching behavior. Corporate name recognition, the product image, corporate reputation and corporate loyalty/commitment helps the consumer to value a product of a particular company. In GSM mobile phone sector the main condition for protecting subscriber base is to win customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is key necessity for maintaining brands life over a long period. And to achieve this aim companies must measure customer satisfaction and trust time to time Even though it is not possible to satisfy the customers by 100% but firms still pursue this.

When barriers are high for the customers firms still want to satisfy the customers and make them loyal even if they are not satisfied

Other features like Games, Calculator, Reminders/Scheduler/Organizer, Polyphonic ringtones etc have become hygiene features and are a must for any handset. None of these features is a differentiator anymore. Apart from Integrated Camera, Music player and Stereo FM radio, a Speaker phone is another feature that emerges as the driver for replacing the current handset. This feature can be a most cost effective differentiating feature for the low end phones. Most handset vendors have been bringing out new models at fairly regular intervals. The maximum activity takes place at the high end, where the launch of a newer model makes the older model cheaper, shifting it to the mid segment. However, the low-end handset users, who make up a huge number, dont get access to such features as the prices of such phones do not fall below a certain level. The dissatisfaction among the existing users stems from this, as they are unhappy at not being able to avail these high-end features. The handset vendors need to address these expectations of the mass market to be able to entice them towards their products.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

This project gives us great exposure on behaviour of consumers on purchasing a mobile and Brand switching

OBJECTIVES:
The aim of study is to objectively understand the behavior of mobile phone users among students. The secondary objective is to identify the following:  Satisfaction level of mobile users  Most important drivers of buying  Triggers that lead to a need for replacing existing phone

RESEARCH DESIGN:
Research design is important primarily because of the increased complexity in the market as well as marketing approaches available to the researchers. In fact, it is the key to the evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmers. It is an important tool to study buyers behavior, consumption pattern, brand loyalty, and focus market changes.

METHODOLOGY OF COLLECTION OF DATA:

This report was prepared after collecting data mainly primary data based on survey questionnaires.

Questionnaire: The inputs from the review of literature helped us in the questionnaire
formation. Important attributes were identified and incorporated. Also, the research objectives helped us identify the nature of questions we needed to ask.

Sampling Data:
1. Target Population: Students 2. Sampling frame: Alliance campus 3. Sampling Technique: Convenience sampling 4. Sample Size: 78 Measurement and Scaling: * Likert Scale: The features are being rated according to different attributes on a scale of 1-5.

THREATS:
1) It is subjective in nature. 2) The features expectation varies with the sample.

LIMITATION OF STUDY:

1) Negative consequences while satisfying the needs and wants of customer 2) Lack of potential consumers

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION The data was analyzed using factor analysis From the rotated component matrix it can be concluded that Component 1 consists of Battery life, color, Wi-Fi and camera quality Component 2 consists of size and keypad Component 3 consists of Brand, software and warranty Component 4 consists of price. Component 1 is very important from the table (total variance explained) as component 1 cumulative% is 20.845 % and the Eigen values is also highest for component 1

CONCLUSION:
For customers component 1 is important which consists of Battery life, color, Wi-Fi and camera quality. Hence the mobile manufacturers should concentrate on these features when designing a mobile.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Brand is very important in purchasing mobile? 1 2 3 4 5 2. Do you consider battery life as the most important factor in a mobile? 1 2 3 4 5 3. Do you think that size of the mobile is important in initiating a purchase 1 2 3 4 5 4. Do you make a purchase of mobile by considering operating system as an important factor? 1 2 3 4 5 5. Do you give importance to colour of the mobile to initiate purchase? 1 2 3 4 5

6. You consider the keypad feature of the mobile during mobile purchase 1 2 3 4 5

7. Do you think that wifi is essential in a mobile? 1 2 3 4 5

8. Do you think warranty is considered as important aspect of mobile purchase? 1 2 3 4 5

9. You consider price as an important factor before making a purchase. 1 2 3 4 5 10. Do you consider camera features as an important aspect for purchasing a mobile? 1 2 3 4 5

Where 1 strongly disagree 5 Strongly agree

Glossary :
Consumer Preference in Selecting Mobile Phones - Essays - Divya617 A STUDY OF CONSUMERS PREFERENCE AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS VARIOUS CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDES, Major regional survey reveals preferences and concerns of Middle East cellular users | Research and Studies | AMEinfo.com Ingentaconnect Evaluating Preferences for Mobile Phone Features