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Consumer Behavior Project on CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR OF MOBILE HANDSETS Fr. Casimir Raj Report by 206: Anmol Rohatgi | 220: Heemanish Mide | 260: Vivek Rajgopal October 10, 2008 Xavier Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai Mumbai University
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Page 1: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

Consumer Behavior Project on

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR OF

MOBILE HANDSETS

Fr. Casimir Raj

Report by

206: Anmol Rohatgi | 220: Heemanish Mide | 260: Vivek Rajgopal

October 10, 2008

Xavier Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai

Mumbai University

Page 2: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Fr. Casimir Raj for providing us with an opportunity to work on this project.

We are also grateful for his support and guidance provided through the completion of the project.

We are also thankful to all the people directly or indirectly involved in completing this project. This

includes the 100 respondents who were patient and cooperative in responding to our questionnaires.

And finally we are thankful to the staff in the library that helped us in getting resources for our

secondary information.

- Anmol Rohatgi, Heemanish Mide, Vivek Rajgopal

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Executive Summary

The concept of “buying behavior” is of prime importance in marketing and has evolved over the

years. It is important to understand consumer buying behavior as it plays a vital role in crating an

impact on purchase of products.

The human wants are unlimited and always expect more and more. Mobile handsets are no

exception to this behavior. This lead to constant modifications of mobile handsets and today we see

a new model coming into the market practically every month.

In this research study our findings gave us thorough insights of consumer buying behavior of mobile

handsets. We find that consumers consider various parameters while buying mobile handsets.

Factors such as price and functions availing and the utility and its hedonic aspects our considered

very important

We have been able to also infer that people sub consciously register the brand, tend to recall. We

also come to understand that most dealers have showed a tendency to market the mobile handset

which as per consumers requirement.

On the whole, the market is a very important place to study the behavior of consumers and also

provide useful insights what a consumer requires in a product. It is only through research that an

company will be able to study the buying behavior of consumers.

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Index

1. CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION

1. Consumer Behavior

2. MOBILE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3. DATA ANALYSIS

1. Understanding Consumer Behavior

2. Understanding Brand Preference

3. Other observations

4. Hypothesis

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

4. CONCLUSION

5. Bibliography & Webliography

6. Annexures

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1

Conceptual Foundation

“The Consumer is not a Moron….She is your Wife….Complex and Smart…. ”

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Not understanding your consumer’s motivations needs and preferences can hurt. The aim of

marketing is to meet and satisfy target consumer’s needs and wants. The field of consumer behavior

studies how individuals or groups of individuals select, buy, use and dispose of goods or services.

Understanding consumer behavior and “knowing consumers” is not simple. Consumers may say one

thing and do another. They may not be in touch with their deeper motivations. They may respond to

influences that change their minds at the last minute.

But studying consumers provides clues for developing new products, product features, prices and

altering marketing strategies accordingly. Let us try and understand the buyer behavior process.

Problem Recognition: Perceiving a Need

Information Search: Seeking Value

Alternative Evaluation: Assessing Value

Purchase Decision: Buying Value

Post purchase Behavior: Value in Consumption or Use

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Problem Recognition

The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need. The need can be triggered

by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify the circumstances that trigger a particular

need. By gathering information from a number of consumers, marketers can identify the most

frequent stimuli that spark an interest in a product category. They can then develop marketing

strategies that trigger consumer interest.

Information Search

An aroused consumer will be inclined to search for more information. Consumer information sources

fall into four groups

� Personal Sources: Family, Friends, Neighbors, Acquaintances

� Commercial Sources : Advertising, Salespersons, Dealers, Packaging, Displays

� Public Sources : Mass Media, Consumer-Rating Organisations

� Experiential Sources : Handling, Examining, Using the Product

Knowing about the sources will help the companies in preparing effective communications for the

target market.

Alternative Evaluation

How does the consumer evaluate competitive brands and make a final value judgment? There is no

single process used by all consumers or by one consumer in all buying situations. But some basic

concepts will help us in understanding consumer evaluation processes.

First, the consumer is trying to satisfy a need.

Second, the consumer is looking for certain benefits from the product solution.

Third, the consumer sees each product as a bundle of attributes with varying abilities for delivering

the benefits sought to satisfy this need.

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Purchase Decision

In the evaluation stage, the consumer forms preferences among the brands in the choice set. The

consumer may also form an intention to buy the most preferred brand. However, two factors can

intervene between the purchase intention and purchase decision.

The first factor is the attitudes of others and the second factor is unanticipated situational factors

such as loss of income, some other urgent purchase etc.

In executing a purchase intention, the consumer may make up to five purchase sub-decisions,

� Brand decision

� Vendor decision

� Quantity decision

� Timing decision

� Payment-method decision

Post-Purchase Behavior

After purchasing the product, the consumer will experience some level of satisfaction or

dissatisfaction. The marketer’s job thus, does not end when the product is brought. Marketers must

monitor post-purchase satisfaction, post-purchase actions and post-purchase product uses.

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AN EXAMPLE OF A PURCHASE BEHAVIOR BY A CONSUMER IS GIVEN BELOW

Problem Recognition

The need was recognized when my old mobile phone stopped working. I was using Nokia 5200 and

suddenly it stopped working and when given for repair, I was informed that the mobile can not be

repaired. The process of getting my mobile repaired took some 10 days i.e. for almost 10 days I was

without a mobile phone. The need was felt when it was my birthday and I was not able to be in

touch with my friends and family. Since I use my mobile even to surf my mails and internet I was not

even able to do that. All this caused a lot of in convince and finally I had to go for a new mobile

phone.

Information Search

For me my mobile phone is a high involvement product. Since am a student with limited disposable

income I purchase a mobile once in a wile. I don’t change my mobile set unless and until it stops

working and therefore at the time of making a decision to buy a new mobile I went through all the

various mobile phones available in my budget and of my preferred brand. i always look for various

offers and even compared rates at various stores and mobile dealers.

Alternative Evaluation

In identifying the various alternatives I went through various mobiles available of my preferred

brand. I even discussed with my family members and friends about which mobile do they

recommend. I met various dealers and stores to know the latest Nokia launches and various offers

available with all these dealers. No check out the rates and features I even visited various web sites

where I compared all the features and prices of various brands available in my budget.

Since I am a Nokia loyalist so I never preferred changing my mobile brand. although the other brand

offers were really tempting but they were still not able to influence me to change my brand. The

only issue was which mobile model I should go for. There were various mobiles available and were

almost similar apart from some features difference and design. Finally I decided to go for Nokia 3120

which was economical, had a good design, was Nokia latest launch and was satisfying almost all my

needs i.e. it was a 3g phone so apt for internet surfing and with all the latest features.

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Purchase Decision

Finally the action taken by me was purchasing Nokia 3120. The mobile store had am offer of getting

a hand free on every purchase but some how that model was not available with them. i waited for

few days and then I finally bought the mobile from e store. Although that hands free offer was not

available but that was urgency since I was not able to avoid the need of having a mobile.

Post Purchase Behaviour

Am using the mobile since past 2 months and till now am quits content with my decision. Its working

pretty well and is apt for me.

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2

Mobile Industry in India

With rapid consumerism sweeping the country, India has emerged as the second largest mobile

handset market, poised for explosive growth by 2007. The major drivers for growth have been the

demand and also the existence of companies providing the most technologically advanced handsets

at justifiable prices. The technological developments have been the driving factor for the increasing

demand graph.

The mobile handset market in India is estimated to be worth Rs.8.05billion (US $2billion) as of

2004/05 and will surge by 62% with approximately 100-million subscribers nationwide by 2007. It is

also learnt that the Indian mobile subscribers are willing to pay for upgrades, value-based services,

and advanced models that provide better services.

There has been a growth in the mobile handset market in India and the demand is increasing with

the increasing tele-density. The market is overloaded with the number of mobile handset providers

due to which the customer is able to bargain for a reasonable price for the mobile. The various

players are Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Alcatel, Panasonic, Siemens, BenQ, Mitsubishi

,Philips ,NEC ,Sagem ,LG ,Sharp, Sendo, Innostream, Pantech, VK Mobile, Palm, O2, i-mate, Qtek,

BlackBerry, Haier, Bird, Eten, HP and XCute.

Dominated largely by Nokia with a total market share of 60%, followed by Samsung (14%) and

Motorola (7%) respectively, Indian mobile handset market is currently catering to 45 million

subscribers (June 2005).

Recent records show that Indian GSM cellular user base has grown from 43 million, as estimated in

May, to 45 million in June 2008, representing a growth of 3.50% in the month under review,

witnessing large and propitious foreign investors flooding the market eyeing for large chunks.

In addition, recent changes imbibed in the government policies that price mobile handsets at a lower

end with flexible custom-duty for new entrants are startling the market with multiple models largely

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aimed to higher and middle-income groups. Industry sources, though, view the market to be at its

nascent stage, many large EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) companies are seriously

considering setting up their handset facilities in India.

MAJOR PLAYERS

Nokia

A world leader in mobile communications, Nokia has established itself as the leading preferred

brand in many markets. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions,

Nokia is the world's leading supplier of mobile phones, fixed, mobile and IP networks. Nokia offers a

line of versatile business phones incorporating mobile voice, mobile messaging, email solutions and

business-critical applications and all the latest applications to meet the needs of different user

groups.

Samsung

Samsung manufactures leading models in all segments of the mobile handset market. The

company's aim is to launch a slew of mobile phones with unique features that satisfy different

customer and market segments. Samsung's key insight is that apart from technology and

functionality, a critical factor for generating customer preference would be 'glamour' and

'innovation'. Innovation is just one of the things that have kept Samsung at the top of the mobile

market. The conglomerate has made great strides in customer satisfaction through a strong local

presence via a dual partner distribution strategy. It has an all-pervasive supply chain that delivers

greater value to over 5,000 sales points and retailers.

Motorola

Motorola offers market-changing icons of personal technology - transforming the device formerly

known as the cell phone into a universal remote control for life. A leader in multi-mode, multi-band

communications products and technologies, Mobile Devices designs, manufactures, sells and

services wireless subscriber and server equipment for cellular systems, portable energy storage

products and systems, servers and software solutions and related software and accessory products.

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Sony Ericsson

Their mission is to establish Sony Ericsson as the most attractive and innovative global brand in the

mobile handset industry. Their latest technological applications make them stand at the forefront of

innovation.

[Annexure 1]

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2

Market Research on Consumer Behavior

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The purpose of the study is to find the Consumer Buying Behavior of Mobile Handsets

SCOPE OF STUDY

There are more than 28 Brands of Mobile phones available ion the market. Within each brand there

are various models, each with different attributes and functions. This research will open the doors of

the consumer buying behaviour of a mobile handset.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

To find the Consumer Buying Behavior of Mobile Handsets

RESEARCH DESIGN

This is a Descriptive Market Research. This research will explore the consumers’ behavior towards

buying a mobile handset.

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3

Research Methodology

DATA COLLECTION

The secondary data study gave us insights on understanding consumer buying behavior and various

concepts on purchase of mobile handsets.

Primary data will be collected through Questionnaire

SAMPLING

We have used the Convenience Sampling Method. The primary sample of 100 in which 50 were

working professionals and the rest 50 are students.

From our sample size we came to understand that mobile handsets which came up with latest

handsets would be preferred by students and the younger segment of the working professionals.

However in case of working professionals over the age 35 give more priority to handsets which

provide maximum utility and a very sophisticated look.

HYPOTHESES

To further prove our analysis we had taken three hypotheses into consideration which proved vital

in understanding the buying behavior of mobile handsets and the preference for the purchase of

mobile handsets. To prove the hypothesis, two different statistical tests were used, Z-test and Chi-

Square test. A test survey was conducted for the assumptions made in Chi-Square and Z-test.

Through the entire process of our study we also came to understand the brand preference and the

brand recall of Nokia is higher as compared to the rest in the mobile handset industry in India.

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4

Analysis

UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Let us begin with the foremost reason why consumers buy a particular mobile handset. The word is

out and it’s simple,

“Consumers buy a particular handset more for its utility than for its aesthetics….”

We found that about 76% expect maximum utility out of the cell phones. According the sample

population we find that almost 80% of the sample size expects value for money. There was another

set of population, which expected hedonic aspects the reason being external appearance being of

core importance.

[Annexure 2]

Major Influencers

The purchase of any product gets influenced by different factors which might range from a group of

people insisting to buy the product to the promotional schemes luring the consumers to make the

purchase.

The adjacent exhibit shows us the various influencers in a radar or web format with the center point

having the least percentage i.e. 0 % and increasing upwards along each strand in the web.

If you observe, friends and family play a important role in influencing a student in buying a handset

whereas, the working professionals get more influenced by promotional offers and advertisements.

Surprisingly, unlike what many would have assumed, distributor does not play any role in buying a

handset as none of the respondents from either of the groups believe distributor can influence them

to buy a handset. [Annexure 3]

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The Possible Reason here could be that, because students still do not have the purchasing power in

their hands, whether to buy a new mobile handset or not largely depends upon how much their

friends insist them for buying it and how much the family supports them in making the actual

purchase. Whereas, for a working professional, though friends and family do influence to some

extent, their major influence is promotions and advertisements considering which they can decide

on their own whether to go for a handset or not.

[Annexure 4]

Influential Factors

Again, if we try and study the factors that influence the most in the purchase of a handset, we find

that for both the groups, cost and features hold important place, followed by brand name and other

factors such as service centers available and the resale value they can get from a particular brand.

The only minor difference here is that, in case of students, cost is the most important factor with

almost 40% picking this option followed by features. Whereas, for professionals features stand out

more important (42%) than cost.

So if a company wants to target a group of people to make a shift from their current handset to their

brand, it should focus more on reducing cost and improving its features as these are the two most

important factors people would consider while buying a mobile handset.

Now, to consider, why would people want to shift from their current handset to another one. The

probable reasons to shift from one brand of handset to another are up-grading to a new technology,

unhappy with the current handset, lost or damaged or any other reasons. When asked to a group of

working professionals and non-earning students, the responses from both groups were similar with

only minor differences. While a major percentage (68% for professionals and 52% for students) in

both groups agreed that they would shift to another handset just for up gradation, many students

also believed that the reason to shift from one handset to another is only because of the loss or

damage of the current one.

But considering Up-gradation is still the number one reason within both groups, handset companies

can concentrate on upgrading their handsets and become more competitive to the other brands in

the market. This would certainly help them, to some extent, in shifting brand loyalty from

competitive brands to their own handsets. [Annexure 5]

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Promotional Schemes

Promotional schemes and discounts are considered a very important factor in shaping the buying

behaviour of consumers. But do promotional schemes play a role for mobile handsets? The answer

to this could be dicey. When asked a 100 people whether they would post-pone or pre-pone their

decision of buying a handset if they knew a promotional scheme was on the way, most respondents

(almost 44%) gave a negative nod to it. And only 24% said they would definitely wait and make use

of the promotional scheme. A large number, almost 32% also said that it would depend how far or

near the time is to make use of the promotional discounts. If it is quite near, say 1-2 months away,

they would wait for it or else just buy whenever they feel the need.

If we get carried away by the 44% figure and say that promotional schemes are probably not

important for handsets, we might be being very pessimistic. This result also shows the importance of

having a good promotional scheme and the importance of timing in launching promotional schemes.

If the promotional scheme is good enough and launched at regular intervals most people (56% -

adding 24% and 32%) would want to wait for it and make use of it.

And finally, consumers tend to shift to newer technology over the years and would want to upgrade

to a new model due to newer technology available. Also we found that a major proportion of

population tends to shift to newer models in less than 2 years.

[Annexure 6, 7]

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UNDERSTANDING BRAND PREFERENCE

Current Handset

Across the mobile handset industry in India we find that Nokia has been the most dominant player in

the industry in the Indian market and boasts of a market share of 75%. The below exhibit gives a

clear picture of the share of handset brands within the respondents participated in our research.

Nokia is a straight winner with almost 73 % of the respondents currently using Nokia. This further

proves the overall market share of Nokia handsets in India. Other brands such as LG, Sagem, BenQ,

etc together hold the second position with 11%, followed by Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

[Annexure 8]

Brand Recall

Our research tried to study the most recalled brand of handset in the minds of consumers, and the

result, as would look obvious was Nokia, with almost 95% recalling Nokia. When asked which, is the

next brand that they were able to recall, Samsung was a close fighter, being the second most

recalled brand with almost 34% respondents mentioning the brand.

Semantic Differential

Semantic Differential is a tool used to compare two of more brands along different parameters. As

can be seen in the following exhibit, Nokia gets full marks for all the parameters whereas the other

brands are only little behind with Sony Ericsson and Motorola getting almost similar scores along

three parameters. However, Motorola can work a little better on its distribution network. Probably it

can come out with more service centers or better service facilities within its service centers.

The following exhibit shows bi-polar scaling for 4 different parameters on a rating of -2 to 2, -2 being

the least preferred and 2 being the most preferred.

[Annexure 9]

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Strength Character Analysis

Strength Character Analysis is used to measure the hold of the brand in the market and the positive

image for a brand in the market. The Strength criterion is measured in the following way.

If a 100 people are asked to mention any brand they can recall, then the Strength of the brand would

be

No. of Mentions

Strength = * 100

No of Respondents

The Character criterion is measure in the following way.

If a 100 people are asked to mention any brand that they think is having a particular good

feature/factor, then the Character of the brand would be,

No. of Positive Mentions

Character = * 100

No of Mentions

Let us do the Strength Character Analysis for the brand Nokia which is supposedly the most strong

brand amongst all other brands of handsets.

When 100 respondents were asked to mention any brand that they could recall, around 95 people

mentioned Nokia and only 5% mentioned other brands.

Hence,

Strength = (95 / 100) * 100 = 95 %

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When the 100 respondents were asked to mention any brand which they thought were cost

effective and gives maximum features, around 85 respondents mentioned Nokia and remaining

mentioned other brands.

Hence,

Character = (85 / 95) * 100 = 89%

We now try and plot Nokia in the Strength Character Matrix. In both, Strength and Character, Nokia

has high values, so it falls in the lower-right box. And the strategy suggested in the same, is to

Maintain. Nokia should try and maintain its strategies so that its position in the market remains

stable and doesn’t fall.

STRENGTH

CHARACTER Low High

Low Lie Low Change Image

High Gain Attention Maintain

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OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Current Handset v/s Preferred Handset

The below given exhibit has linked the current handset usage to what the consumers would prefer in

the future. Most respondents want to shift to Nokia in the future irrespective of what they are using

right now, say Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola or others.

An interesting observation here is, among the current users of Sony Ericsson, there are around 18%

want to stay with the same brand while the remaining want to shift to Nokia. Surprisingly, there is

also a group of Nokia users (around 12-15 %) which wants to shift to Sony Ericsson as their next

handset.

C u r r e n t H a n d s e t

O t h e r s

M o t o r o l a

N o k i a

S o n y E r i c s s o n

S a m s u n g

% O

f R

es

po

nd

en

ts

1 0 0

9 0

8 0

7 0

6 0

5 0

4 0

3 0

2 0

1 0

0

P r e f e r r e d H a n d s e t

N o k i a

S o n y E r i c s s o n

Demand for Nokia has been great in the Indian market and seems will be quite good in the future as

well. But players like Sony Ericsson if become more aggressive, which, though sounds far fetched,

can pose a problem to Nokia.

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Linking Consumer Behavior to Brand Preference

It is said that there is a direct relationship between Consumer Buying Behaviour and the brand that

they prefer. This was further proved from one of the results of our study. When the influential

factors in buying a brand were linked to the preferred brand by consumers, certain interesting facts

came out.

Out of the 100 who said cost is the most important factor they consider while purchasing a handset,

almost 85% preferred the brand Nokia followed by Sony Ericsson. This shows Nokia sells itself at the

right price and therefore cost-conscious people prefer Nokia.

Im p o r ta n t F a c to r

S e r v ic e C e n t e r s

B r a n d N a m e

R e s a le V a lu e

F e a t u r e s

C o s t

% O

f R

es

po

nd

en

ts

1 0 0

9 0

8 0

7 0

6 0

5 0

4 0

3 0

2 0

1 0

0

B r a n d P r e fe r e n c e

O t h e r s

M o t o r o lla

S o n y E r ic s s o n

N o k ia

Similar is the case for other factors such as Features, Resale Value, Brand Name and Service Centers

available. Nokia is preferred in almost all cases. This shows the strength of the brand in all these

factors which has been possible because of the time it has spent in the market and the experience it

has gained about the consumers in the market.

Interestingly, the second brand in line after Nokia for Resale Value is Motorola i.e., out of 100 people

who are influenced by resale value while purchasing a brand, around 65% prefer Nokia and the

remaining 35% prefer Motorola.

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HYPOTHESIS

Research Question 1

Who influences the consumer the most while taking a purchase decision?

Hypothesis: 1

H0: p0 ≥ 0.5 i.e. 50% of the population is influenced by friends and family while purchasing a mobile

handset.

H1: p1 i.e Less than 50% of the population is influenced by family and friends while purchasing a

handset.

Therefore it is a Two Tail Test.

Applying Z test using SEP

A test survey was carried out before the main survey and as per the results; “p” is assumed to be 0.5.

Since Zcal<Ztab, we accept H0 i.e. more than 50% of the population are influenced by friends and

family while purchasing a mobile handset.

Our research also showed that 21% is influenced by advertisement and 26% by promotional

schemes. Out of the people influenced by promotional schemes most of them are working

professionals.

Particulars Values

n 100

p (claim) 0.5

q 0.5

P 0.53

SEP 0.05

Z-cal 0.6

Z-tab 1.645

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Research Question: 2

What are the most important factors for a consumer while taking a purchase decision?

Hypothesis: 2

H0: p0 ≥ 0.5 i.e. 50% of the target population consider cost and features as important factors while

purchasing a mobile handset.

H1: p1 i.e. less than 50% of the target population consider cost and features as important actors

while purchasing a mobile handset.

Therefore it is a Two Tail Test.

Applying Z test using SEP

A test survey was carried out before the main survey and as per the results; “p” is assumed to be

0.75.

Since Zcal<Ztab, we accept H0 i.e. for more than 50% of the population cost and features are

important factors while purchasing a mobile handset.

Our research also showed that 14% of the population considers brand name most important while

purchasing a mobile handset most of which constitutes college going students.

Particulars Values

n 100

p (claim) 0.75

q 0.25

P 0.79

SEP 0.043301

Z-cal 0.92376

Z-tab 1.645

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Research Question: 3

Is there a relationship between occupation of a person and features of a mobile handset?

Hypothesis: 3

H0: There exists no relationship between occupation of a person and features of a mobile handset.

H1: There exists a relationship between occupation of a person and features of a mobile handset.

Applying Chi-Square Test, the results are as follows,

Occupation OBSERVED EXPECTED (O-E)2

(O-

E)2/E

Features Students Professionals TotaltTotal 38 41.69 13.6 0.33

Outlook 38 37 75 33 32.24 0.58 0.02

Voice 33 25 58 36 37.8 3.23 0.09

Display 36 32 68 107 102.28 22.32 0.22

Functions 107 77 184 37 41.69 22 0.53

Total 214 171 385 25 32.23 52.27 1.62

32 37.8 33.64 0.89

77 102.27 638.57 6.24

Χ2CAL 9.93

Χ2TAB 7.815

Since Χ2CAL> Χ

2TAB we reject H0.

Therefore there exists a relationship between occupation and features of a mobile handset.

Our studies showed that the working professionals were not much concerned with cell features in

comparison with college going studies. As per our research most of the professionals in the age

group 35 and above preferred a mobile phone with fewer features. This could be because mobiles

with few features are less complicated .It is also a fad for students to posses a mobile with more

features.

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Recommendations

The survey and analysis that we have conducted has brought out certain interesting facts and given

insights into the buyer behaviour in case of mobile handsets. Using these insights we suggest a few

recommendations to the handset brands to beat the ever-winning brand Nokia and a few

recommendations to Nokia on how it can maintain its position in the market.

How Can You Beat Nokia ?

Focus On Product & Price

In the analysis we found the major influential factors are Cost and Features while purchasing a

mobile handset, with more than 40 % people mentioning it as the major influential factors. Cost and

Features are parameters of Price and Product respectively. It is recommended that companies

concentrate more on developing these two “ P’s ” and spend more time on enhancing their products

at offer it at lower prices which can be done by employing cost-reduction measures.

Be a Technology Driven Company

When asked if they would upgrade to a new handset due to this innovative technology, a majority of

70% people gave a positive nod. This implies that people attracted towards newer technology and

will be able to shift from one handset to another if it uses better technology. Brands such as Sony

Ericsson, Samsung, LG can dream of catching up with Nokia if they put more efforts on improving

their technology. They can spend more in R&D and less on promotions which would help them in

developing innovative products which would sell itself without much promotion.

Utility more important…Aesthetics come second…

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A whopping 76% said they would buy a mobile handset for the utility it provides rather than for its

aesthetics. Even in the Product, companies should concentrate more on the internal features, i.e.

functions it can offer rather than the display or color of the handset. Nokia as placed itself as the

brand which offers maximum features in reasonable prices. So if you want to reach Nokia’s position,

this is one focus area the companies can consider to work upon.

How Can Nokia Maintain Its Position?

As we have seen in the Strength – Character Analysis, Nokia is a very strong brand and lies in a

comfortable position as of now. Nokia is already a market leader. But it needs to hold its position in

the market. In one of our analysis, we found that some of the users of Sony Ericsson want to stay

with the same brand and few other users who were using different brands such as Motorola,

Samsung wanted to shift to Sony Ericsson. To fight players such as Sony Ericsson, Nokia has to

maintain its present strategies or else they might become a threat in the future.

Page 28: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

27

6

Conclusion

This project has helped us in understanding the behavior of consumers towards mobile handsets and

what they prefer in different brands.

Nokia stands out as a clear winner. It is because of the experience it has in the market. Handset

buying is a high involvement product wherein the consumer wants to know from different sources

about brands, though Nokia is the first name that comes to their minds.

Word of mouth plays an important role in such products and therefore it is important for the

product to be of important quality.

Companies should therefore concentrate more on developing the first P and make it available at

reasonable and reachable prices.

So the product itself becomes the promotion for the brand…….

Page 29: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

28

Bibliography & Webliography

BIBILIOGRAPHY

� MARKETING MANAGEMENT –BY PHILIP KOTLER

� CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR-

� MARKET RESEARCH-NARESH MALHOTRA

WEBLIOGRAPHY

� www.nokia.com

� www.samsung.com

� www.sonyericsson.com

Page 30: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

29

Annexure

Annexure 1

MARKET SHARE OF MAJOR MOBILE HANDSET

PLAYERS

60%14%

7%

10%

7% 2%

NOKIA

SAMSUNG

MOTOROLA

SONY ERICSSON

LG

OTHERS

Annexure 2

Preferred Aspects

Utilitarian

76%

Aesthetic

24%

Page 31: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

30

Annexure 3

Major Influencers

0

10

20

30

Friends

Family

AdvertisementsDistributor

Promotion

Students

Professionals

Annexure 4

Reasons To Shift

52

68

8

8

32

414

14

0

20

40

60

80

100

Upgradation Unhappy Lost/Damaged Others

Reasons

% U

se

rs

Students Professionals

Page 32: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

31

Annexure 5

40 36

2

166

40 42

412

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

% U

se

rs

Students Professionals

Segments

Influential Factors

Cost

Features

Resale Value

Brand Name

Service Center

Annexure 6

UPGRADATION DUE TO TECHNOLOGY

70

30

0

20

40

60

80

100

yes no

RESPONSES

% U

SE

RS

Page 33: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

32

Annexure 7

PRE/POSTPONING DECISION DUE TO

PROMOTIONAL SCHEMES

24

4432

0

20

40

60

80

100

yes no depends

RESPONSES

% U

SE

RS

Annexure 8

CURRENT HANDSET USERS

9 6

73

1

11

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

samsung sony ericsson nokia motorola others

BRANDS

% U

SE

R

Page 34: Consumer buying behavior of mobile handsets

33

Annexure 9

*****

-2 -1 0 1 2

-2 -1 0 1 2

User Friendly

-2 -1 0 1 2

-2 -1 0 1 2

Cost

Distribution

Brand Image

Nokia Sony Ericsson

&

Samsung Motorola