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Study of relationship between Price and Brand Switching

billion people, living and working in very different circumstances and

geographies. Yet it has a national government and policy environment that

sets critical economic policies (including telecommunications) across the

whole country.

We have taken advantage of that diversity and the availability of state level

data to investigate economic impacts within India across states, economic

sectors and population segments. Furthermore, because even state level

data can mask great differences, we have looked at specific economic

sectors (agriculture and small and medium enterprises) and segments of

the population (urban slum dwellers) to extend our understanding.

Indian states with high mobile penetration can be expected to grow faster

than those states with lower mobile penetration rates, by 1.2% points a

year more on average for every 10% increase in the penetration rate.

1.1)Industry Profile.

Research Methodology.2


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Background & Origin Of Mobile Phone

Before the advent of mobile phone, radio telephony technology was in use.

The first-class passenger trains, between Berlin and Hamburg, made great

use of the technology in 1926. Radio telephone was also used in

passenger airplanes and for the purpose of air traffic security. German

tanks, during the Second World War, made use of radio telephony at a

large scale. At that time, people were especially trained to use the

equipment.

Two-way radios served as the predecessor of the present day cellular

phones Before the advent of handheld cell phones, two-ways radios,

known as mobile rigs, were installed in vehicles like taxicabs, ambulances

and police cruisers, that too permanently. Since mobile radios were not

connected to the telephone network, people could not dial them from their

home phones. However, this technology gained immense popularity among

mobile radio users.

Later version of mobile radio phones came to be known as "bag phones",

which came with integrated cigarette lighter plug. Installed in a vehicle

permanently, they were used either as mobiles or as portable two-way

radios. Later on, in the beginning of 1940s, Motorola Company came with a

new development in the field of mobile phones - a backpacked two-way

radio, called "Walkie Talkie". It was a large and bulky handheld two-way

radio, as big as a man's forearm. Known as battery operated "Handie-

Talkie", it found a use in the US military.



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An important turning point in history of cell phones came with the

development of mobile phone base stations. In 1947, Bell Labs Engineers

developed mobile phone base stations. In the same year, hexagonal cells

for mobile phones were introduced by Douglas H. Ring and W. Rae Young.Philip T. Porter, an engineer of Bell Labs, proposed that the cell towers

should be positioned at corners of the hexagons, instead of center. He

argued for directional antennas, in order to transmit or receive signals in

three directions, into three adjacent hexagon cells.

It was Ericsson Company that released world's first fully automatic mobile

phone system, called MTA (Mobile Telephone System A), in Sweden, in

the year 1956. Although the gadget was operated automatically, it didn't

impress the users, because it was very bulky. It weighed around 40 kg. An

upgraded version of the MTA was introduced later on, in 1965 to be

precise, which was comparatively lighter. The gadget, known as MTB, used

DTMF signaling.

The experimental model of a wearable automatic mobile phone was

developed by Leonid Kupriyanovich in Moscow, in 1957. The young

engineer, who had also developed radiophone, named it as LK-1. The

gadget was operated with a base station. With a battery life of 20-30 hours,

it operated within a distance of 20-30 km and weighed 3 kg. Leonid

patented the mobile phone in 1957 and developed a pocket version of the

mobile phone, weighing 0.5 kg, in the following year.

A pocket mobile phone, which operated automatically, was developed in

Bulgaria, in the year 1966. Known as RAT-0.5, the phone was coordinated



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with base station RATZ-10. Further development in the field of cell phones

was recorded in the year 1967, when it was decided that each mobile

phone should stay within the cell area, serviced by only one base station,

throughout the duration of the phone call.

Though it was a novel concept, the requirement of one base station broke

the continuity of automatic telephone service to mobile phones, which

moved through different cell areas. Three years later, in 1970, Amos E.

Joel a Bell Labs engineer, invented an automatically operated "call handoff"

system. This system permitted the mobile phones to move through several

cell areas, during a phone call, without the loss of conversation.

In 1971, AT&T Incorporation proposed a cellular service, which was

approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) later on.

Another development in the history of cell phones came with the success of

ARP network, which was launched in Finland, in the year 1971. It was one

of the first commercial mobile phone networks in the world and is,sometimes, called the Zero Generation cellular network (0G) as well.

The invention of the gadget closely resembling the present day cell phones

is credited to Dr. Martin Cooper, a researcher and employee of Motorola.

He developed the first cellular phone, named Motorola DynaTAC, on 3 rd

April 1973. The phone was 9 inches long, 5 inches wide and 1.75 inches

thick. It weighed 2.5 pounds and carried 30 circuit boards within it. With a

recharge time of 10 hours, it provided a talk time of 35 minutes. The user

could talk, listen and dial phone numbers using the cell phone. However, it

didn't have a display screen. With the passage of time the refinements in



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cell phone design took place and today we have cell phone that act as

smartphones. These cell phone works as mini computers and are equipped

with camera, MP3 players and other features.

Till a few decades back, owning a cell phone was something limited to

members of the affluent class only. However, innovations and cost-cutting

technologies, developed with the passing time, have made it emerge as a

gadget that almost anyone and everyone can easily afford. Affordability has

also led to mobile phones becoming an inevitable part of everyone's life.

Talking about the origin of the device, we find information that is quite

interesting. From the bulky hand-held devices, which were as big as the

forearm, cell phones have turned into ultra-light and small handsets, with

numerous features integrated into them. Go through the following lines and

know all about the history of mobile phones.

Current scenario

Mobile phones have gained a lot of popularity and are the considered to be

great



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multimedia tools. Mobile phones are being used for entertainment purposes

due the

introduction of new features everyday. They have become more than just

call making andreceiving devices. Mobile phone handsets now have more business-

friendly applications

that can enhance anybodys business. With emerging technology, mobile

phones have

become more than communication devices; they are the tools to stay

ahead of

competitors and peers in the present times. Soon mobile phones will evolve

from

communication tools to integrated communication devices, m

terminals, credit cards,

and remote controls.

Mobile handset market

The phenomenal rise of the mobile phone has seen its image

change from a yuppie status symbol to a daily essential. Along the way, it

has created thousands of jobs, changed the way we do business, and



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made an awful lot of money for investors. Today Key Handset technologies

include GSM, CDMA, and 1xEV-DO, WiFi VoIP, TDMA, 3G, 4G and

Bluetooth. Worldwide mobile phone sales cruise to 990.8 million units in

2006, up a hefty 21.3% from 2005s 816.6 million units.The estimated growth figures are6.4% in 2007, 4.8% in 2008 and 2.6% in

2009. Notwithstanding the gradual decline in the growth figures, the annual

handset sales are predicted to reach more than US $ 3 Billion by 2009.The

total number of mobile phone subscribers in the world was estimated at

2.14 billion in 2005.

Around 80% of world's population have mobile phone coverage as of 2006.

This figure is expected to increase to 90% by the year 2010. With the

periodic introduction of new features and multimedia tools in the mobile

handsets due to technological advances, more and more people in the

Asian continent fancy buying them. There are many diversities and

complexities in the Asian mobile handset market due to types of customers,

government regulations, regional/geographical wireless infrastructure, and

the purchasing power. Basically, the Asian market looks at the mobilehandsets as status symbols.

The market is seen best for the low-end phones, but there is a huge rise in

the demand for flashier and costlier phones. India, China, Korea, and

Malaysia are fast evolving as the biggest markets for mobile handsets and

in coming years they will mainly carry on the global handset sales.

1.1)Company Profile

NOKIA

Nokia Mobiles is one of the leading players in mobile communication. It is

the first company to introduce its mobile services in Asia Pacific region in



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1980s. With an established business and expanding brand, Nokia mobiles

have touched the hearts of millions with its exclusive models. Along with

quality products, Nokia provides superior customer service and support all

over the world.Nokias corporate office is in Singapore, but it has its base all over the

world. All the discoveries of Nokia are taken out in its research centre at

research unit in Japan and China. With its wide network of business, Nokia

provides its consumers with the technology that everyone loves to stay

connected.

The only company which has highest number of users and most

competitive models in the market is Nokia. Nokia mobiles are featured with

special features like picture imaging, gaming, music player, media and

attractive mobile enhancements

SONY ERICSSON

Sony Ericsson, a 50:50 joint venture of Sony Corporation and Ericsson AB,was established in October 2001 by Japanese consumer electronic

company Sony Corporations and Swedish telecommunications company

Ericsson. Sony Ericsson is one of the most recognised and leading bands

in the world today. It established its operations in India in 1994 and started



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its national operations from New Delhi.

Sony Ericsson mobiles can access the Internet, intranet, email and

corporate network wherever you are in the world. Sony Ericsson's range of

mobiles are apart from others. Sony Ericsson mobiles are desingedkeeping in mind the wide range of customers.

Motorola

Motorola is an international communications company with its Indian

headquarters at Gurgaon, Haryana. Its research and development offices

are at Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Motorola's interests include mobile handsets, wireless, and two way radios,

broadband services. Motorola successfully markets a range of mobiles in

major cities and metros in India. Motorola mobiles constitute 10% of the

global mobile market.

CHINA MOBILES

China mobiles provide mobile voice and multimedia services through its

nationwide mobile telecommunications network. In addition to the worlds

largest mobile network, China Mobile has also the greatest number of

mobile subscribers.



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As of 2009, it is the worlds largest mobile operator, with more than 508

million subscribers. The largest Chinese company listed overseas and the

largest telecom carrier in Asia.

SAMSUNG

Samsung is one of the leading companies in the world. It is headquartered

in Suwon, South Korea. It currently has operations in over 100 countries.

The name Samsung in fact means 'three stars' in Korean.

Samsung mobiles are a part of Samsung Electronics. In India, Samsung

mobiles are managed by Samsung Telecommunications India(STI).

KARBONN MOBILES

The latest mobiles in town Karbonn mobiles are the mixture of two major

Indian telecom - UTL and Jaina.

Karbonn Mobiles has on its portfolio some of the leading designs and

technologically advanced phones.



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Karbonn mobile phones are featured to be the latest trends in mobile

industry and that too at unbelievable prices. Karbon mobiles offer the latest

technology and the user friendly features

MICROMAX

Micromax made a beginning by introducing Micromax mobiles in the year

1991 in India. With this beginning, it had already made a mark as theleading provider of wireless telephone industry in the country.

Micromax has concentrated on R&D and its vision. The company has

developed the telecom sector in India by its innovative technologies.

The company uses the latest technology in India to bring pioneering and

landmark solutions to the users in the mobile world.

Micromax mobiles were amongst the most preferable mobile phones in the

Indian market.

LG MOBILES

Starting from television, kitchen products to mobile phones, LG has marked

its presence as a leading player in consumer products.

LG mobiles offer range of 3G handsets, and cellular phones. LG mobiles

are economical and affordable which makes it most approachable brand in



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the market for people from every class.

LG mobile has different models like Viewty, Shine, Dynamite, Pulse and

Bullet. These high range mobiles are featured with advanced features and

attractive enhancements. Shoot, play music, browse internet, connect withsystem, store data and many more

FLY MOBILES

Fly mobile is theproduct of the Meridian Group that has pioneered the

FMCG products in many parts of Europe. Fly has now launched GSM

mobiles in India.

Fly mobiles has emerged as a strong player in the markets since its launch

in the East and Central Europe. At the same time, it has carved a market

for itself in various other countries like Britain, Spain, Germany and other

South Asian countries.

The group has launched a set of select models in India that have advanced

features and designs. The fly mobiles have been selected after testing for

the Indian market. Meridian believes in providing choices to buyers in the

Indian market.

Their focus is on building relationships with retailers all over the country,

and target over 5000 counters, which will account for around 70 percent of

retail sales in the country.

Meridian had hired the services of Ms. Malaika Arora as brand ambassador

of the company.



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BLACKBERRY

The Blackberry is actually a wireless handset manufactured by the

Canadian research company Research in Motion. This device supports

push email, mobile telephone, internet faxing, and web browsing. Though

the original device had a monochrome display, the current models have

colour displays.

The Blackberry mostly requires access to mobile wireless networks to sendand receive email, for which it initially became very popular. These devices

are amongst the most sophisticated handheld devices available today in

the markets.

HTC

HTC is a global company based in Taiwan, which manufactures mobile

handsets. HTC mobiles was founded in 1997 by Cher Wang, who is now

the chair person of the company, and Peter Chou, the President of the

company.

HTC mobiles is one of the fastest growing companies in the cell phones

sector and has grown to receive remarkable recognition in the past few



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years. HTC mobiles has established unique partnerships to emerge as the

leading company in mobile communication.

The list includes five operators in Europe, four in the United States, and

other fast growing Asian operators.

Since 2006, it has brought products in to the market under its own brand

name HTC.

Its mission is to become the leading company in mobile and smart phone

technology by providing world class manufacturing, logistic, and service

capabilities. For this, it has invested heavily in R&D, many designs, and

product .

2.1)Scope of Study

Our main scope for conducting the study was to find the relationship

between price & brand switching among the mobile handset users.

We interviewed 100 mobile handset users who had used more than one

handset, and were residing in South Mumbai.

We interviewed :

20 male students

20 female students,

20 Housewives,



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20 Service People, and

20 Self Employed People, i.e. Businessmen.

Our study is based only on the responses of these respondents.

2.2) Statement of the problem.

Our study is to identify the relationship between price and brand switching

as perceived by the consumers .

2.3)Objective of Study:

The objective of our study was to find the factors considered by the

consumers for brand switching and what are the reasons behind it , i.e.

pricing factor and other factors.

The main objective of our study was to find the relationship between

price & brand switching among the mobile handsets users.

We wanted to study the effect of price on a particular customer. We also wanted to see the degree of Loyalty of the customer

towards his existing brand



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2.4)Statement of hypothesis.

According to Oxford dictionary, hypothesis means a supposition put

forward as a basis for reasoning or investigation

It is a statement to be proved.

H0 there is no relationship between price & brand switching.

H1 there is relationship between price & brand switching.

2.5)LIMITATIONS

Sample Size: The first limitation of our research was that we only

interviewed 100 people.

Sampling Unit: The research was only based and limited to South

Mumbai respondents.

Sample Frame: The entire sample size was spited up in 5 categories

which were20 student male20 student female20 businessman20 housewives.



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Sampling Survey: This method itself is a limitation as we only

interview a very few amount of the population , and then generalize

our answers to the entire population however suppose the responses

of north Indian or a uncivilized villager or a educated south Indian

would have answered in a different way.

Questionnaire: The first limitation faced by the interviewers was that

the respondents were very hesitant to answer his true annual

income , which gives a proper knowledge of our research study.

Respondent Biasness:- The respondents were very bias to answer

questions like Are you brand conscious? , the respondents did not

answer the questions properly and truly as they thought this might

injure and spoil their image.

Observation:

During this project we observed the following through our interviews of

different age groups and different sex as well as different income groups,

the observations are:

Youngsters: the respondents from age group of 18-25, are very

brand conscious while choosing a mobile handset. They dont give

price that importance while selecting a handset.

They not at all loyal to the brand they had used nor to the brand they

are using.

They were very much influenced with the advertisement of a brandand prefer an advertised mobile.

They were not that influenced by the durability of the handsets which

is one of the very important features of the handsets.

Suggestions to target the Youngsters:-Research Methodology.18


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The existing mobile handsets brands in the market must try and influence

the youngster not by the features like camera, high sound, high memory

support etc. of their product, but through the other factors like providing

them with handsets which have a direct excess to the social networkingsites like Facebook, Twitter, and through which they can read and send the

e-mail and also chat.

For the youngster such extra added features act as a USP for a particular

Handset brand.

Price is not a major factor for their purchasing decisions.

Servicemen: The respondents who were employees were very much

influenced by the pricing of a particular handset.

These people were loyal to the brand they have used.

And they will not like experimenting with different brands other than

the well established brand in the markets.

Hence we observed that these people are more of the loyalcustomers as compared to the youngsters who like to flaunt with

different brands.

These service people were highly influenced with the advertisement

of a particular brand. As they fall in low income group they would

prefer a handset which has more of Mouth Publicity.

Suggestions to target the Servicemen:-


the service people through an handset which has a low price and a few

added features.



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They would like the handsets which also has a good after sales service.

Their purchasing decision depend upon the advertisement and also on

herd mentality. If the company wants to target the service sector people

then they should include features like camera, FM player, and colourdisplay. These features would attract the services sector people and hence

result in their purchasing decision.

One of the servicewomen Mrs. Mumtaz working in LLIM placement cell,

was using Nokia 5210 handset. She was using this handset from the past 2

years, there were some defect that had developed in her handset a year

back, but as the handset was in the warranty period, the companies service

centre repaired it without any cost. And now whenever anyone asks her

advice in respect of purchasing a handset she only suggest Nokia

handsets.

Housewives:- The respondents who were housewives were very

much influenced by the pricing of a particular handset. For themThere was only one brand i.e. Nokia.

They are the most loyal customers as they only prefer the Nokia

Handsets.

As now-a-days the purchasing decision is mostly done by the

housewives they rated advertising as the most important factor of

their purchase.

They preferred handsets that were cheap but durable.

Suggestions to target the Housewives :-



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the housewives through an handset which has a low price and a few added

features.

For this segment, advertising is very important. Hence sadvertisement at the prime time on the TV would enable the companies to

portray their new brands to this segment.

Businessmen:- they are the second most important segment of

customers after the youngsters. The business segment is very much

influenced by the price of the handset, still they would prefer a

qualitative brand and added features while purchasing a brand.

These businessmen are influenced by the advertisement to a good

extent. But still they would prefer a handset based on their personal

experience.

There is more loyalty in this segment than the youngsters.

Suggestions to target the Businessmen :-


the Business sector by low and competitive prices.

In todays time the business is becoming highly competitive and also global

and technical.

The usage of the internet has grown rapidly in the past 5 years. Hence the

companies must offer the handsets that have a good and easy access to

the internet and other new technologies like the navigations maps, etc

should be offered to the business class.



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Mr. Murtuza one of the local retailer said that I usually change my phone,

last brand I used was Blackberry, but now I am using iphone, because it is

not only a business phone but also a phone that has much more than that.

Aur 2000 rupees hi toh zyada hai.Hence this shows that price is still not the only factor that affects the Brand

Switching decision of the customer.

3)Review of Literature.

Switching costs play an important role in explaining the link

between customer satisfaction and loyalty,



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Abstract: The main objective of customer satisfaction programs is to

increase customer retention rates. In explaining the link between customer

satisfaction and loyalty, switching costs play an important role and provide

useful insight. For example, the presence of switching costs can mean thatsome seemingly loyal customers are actually dissatisfied but do not defect

because of high switching costs. Thus, the level of switching costs

moderates the link between satisfaction and loyalty. The purposes of this

paper are: to examine the moderating role of switching costs in the

customer satisfaction-loyalty link; and to identify customer segments and

then analyze the heterogeneity in the satisfaction-loyalty link among the

different segments. An empirical example based on the mobile phone

service market indicates support for the moderating role of switching costs.

Managerial implications of the results are discussed.

Keywords:

Customer loyalty, Customer satisfaction, France, Services marke

Telecommunications

Advertising affects brand-switching behavior

Abstract: This study examines how brand and advertising cognition affects

brand-switching behavior. Four products with various durability are included

in the study. Results of the path analysis indicated that motivations for

brand switching and purchasing intentions were directly influenced by



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brand associations and were indirectly affected by attention to advertising

and advertising processing. The results of the multinomial

regression indicated that consumers of mobile phones, had tendencies to

be brand switchers because of the influences of brands and advertising.For sports shoes, service and word of mouth would be prominent factors to

draw customers from other brands

Keywords: brand switching; advertising cognition; brand cognitio

consumer behavior; purchasing intentions; mobile phones; noteb

computers; sports shoes carbonated drinks.



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Graph1.1

http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/burst-media-college-brand-switching.jpg


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Brand Switching elasticity.

Abstract: Logit choice models have been used extensively to study

consumer choice behavior and promotion response. A common finding is

that promotion has a strong effect on brand choice. This paper examines

whether brand switching elasticity derived from these models may be over-

estimated due to rational consumer adjustment of purchase timing to

coincide with promotion schedules, and whether this bias c

addressed by a dynamic structural model. It discusses a dynamic structural

model of choice/incidence that traces the process by which consumers

make optimal buying decisions. This paper conducts three analyses. Firstis a simulation based on synthetic data. It is shown that if the structural

model is correct, brand switching elasticity are over-estimated by stand-

alone logit choice models. Reduced form models that try to capture the

same phenomena as the dynamic model, especially if they

incidence, can partially, although not completely, address the issue. It

discusses the implications of these findings for researchers and managers.

Sony Ericsson Overtakes Nokia in Brand Loyalty Stakes

A recent brand loyalty report has shown that several mobile phone

companies are rising up the tables. The latest Brand Keys' Customer

Loyalty Leaders survey found that T-Mobile (76 to 38) and Sony Ericsson

(93 to 22) both jumped up the league tables, while Nokia (50 to 61) and

Siemens (52 to 125) have dropped down.

The fact that nearly 12% of the brands that are showing up in the survey

are new is a warning sign," said Passikoff. "Brands need to better solidify

their customer base. They need a better understanding of the values and



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expectations of their customers or else their customers look elsewhere to

have their needs met."

Nokia Brand - Losing its Sheen?

Though Nokia continued to be the mobile phone of choice among

consumers, in 2002 the total sales of its mobile phones started to show

signs of a fall. In the year that followed it faced stiff competition from

Samsung and some operator-branded mobile phones.

In 2004, its market share declined to less than 30 percent from around 40

percent in 2003. Analysts also felt that the company had failed to foresee

how popular clamshell mobile phones would become. While its rivals were

offering these models, Nokia continued to churn out the single piece design

popularly called 'Candy Bar'...

40% of BlackBerry Users Want iPhone, Android Instead

03/16/2010

Lust for something different grows inside an overwhelming percentage of

Blackberry users hearts, apparently: Nearly 40 percent of them would



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switch to the iPhone, and a whopping third of them would switch to the

Android operating system, given the chance.

And, it appears that Blackberry might be in trouble in general in terms of

staying current with smartphone trends, lagging far behind in apps uptake.

A new smartphone brand loyalty survey from Crowd Science revealed the

significant fickleness of Blackberry customers, while also showing that

other brands have no such issues. In fact, Android and iPhone users love

their experience, with a full 90 percent of each planning on sticking to their

platforms when it comes to the end of their contracts.

Asked specifically if they'd swap their present phone for Google's new

Android-based Nexus One, 32 percent of Blackberry users said "yes,"

compared with just 9 percent of iPhone users. Incidentally, this figure

zoomed to 60 percent for users of smartphones not made by Blackberry or

Apple.

"These results show that the restlessness of Blackberry users with their

current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone," said JohnMartin, CEO of Crowd Science. "Rather, Blackberry as a brand just isn't

garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."

As for applications, the survey found that users of all types of smartphones

had downloaded more free applications than paid ones duri

preceding seven days, with iPhone users significantly more likely to pay for

apps. Android users lead in free apps, while Blackbery users fall far behind

on both fronts.

Both Android users and iPhone users were found much more likely than

Blackberry users to use their phones only for personal use (32 percent, 28

percent and 16 percent, respectively). On the other hand, only 7 percent of



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Blackberry users use their phone only for business, with that category of

user minimal with the iPhone (1 percent) and non-existent in the Android

base. A significant event affecting Crowd Sciences research the debut of

Nexus One on January 5 occurred midway through the Dec. 24. 2009 toJan. 21, 2010 study period. Rather than being a disruptive factor, however,

the Crowd Scientists were able to measure how the launch affected the

attitudes of respondents. For example, awareness of the Android operating

system jumped six points to 66 percent from 60 percent. Moving from

awareness to familiarity, however, results were stable throughout the

research period at about 10 percent for all smartphone users excluding

Android owners.

By Adam Dickter

March 16, 2010 2:26PM

Switching Cost And Customers Loyalty In the Mobile Market.Abstract:

Switching cost is one of the most discussed contemporary issues in

marketing in attempt to explain consumer behaviour. The present research

studied switching cost and its relationships with customer retention, loyalty

and satisfaction in the telecommunication market. Based on questionnaire

administered to customers in the mobile telecommunication industry; the

study finds that customer

satisfaction positively affects customer retention and that switching cost

affects significantly the level of customer retention. However, the effect of

switching barriers on retention is only significant when



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customers consider to exit.

Business Intelligence Journal - January, 2010 Vol.3 No.1

112 Business Intelligence Journal January

Nokia Sim Free Mobile Phones - Avail The Best

By: Mike Gapes

Top of Form

Handset manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson, N

BlackBerry and others, have flourished the handset market by rolling out

amazing range of handsets. Not only this, there are several leading

network provider including Orange, T-mobile, 02, Vodafone, Virgin which

has bought into the market n number of attractive deals and offers. There

are a wide range of Nokia SIM free mobile phones available in the market.

The SIM free mobile phones users also have a choice to change a network

provider in case he/she is not fully satisfied with them.



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The SIM free mobile phones are also very popular amongst those users

who used to travel frequently from one place to another. They can avoid

huge roaming chargers and can save their hard-earned money as well.

Users are not bound to continue a particular network service provider ifhe/she is not satisfied with the existing one. These handsets are ideal for

the users who want to get rid of hefty phone bills. Not only this, SIM free

mobile phones come at cheaper rates compared to other phone deals.

These handsets are a value for money product.

By availing Nokia SIM free mobile phone or any other mobile brand deals,

users can also enjoy awesome incentives such as free minutes, cash back,

low call rates and many more. Today, everyone looks for the best possible

schemes within their budget. In order to avail a deal users can either opt for

offline shopping methodology or online shopping methodology. The latter

one is more preferable as it is hassle-free shopping method. The offline

shopping methodology includes market shops. It is more arduous shopping

method as users need to roam here and there in the market to look for thebest possible product. Finally he/she ends up by tiring their legs and

nothing more.

Handset manufacturers lack brand loyalty.

Abstract: Of the 1,011 wireless phone users polled, 40 percent indicatedthey own a Motorola Inc. [MOT] phone. However, the market share of

Motorola's installed base of users is actually only 36 percent. Even more

surprising is the fact that, although AT&T Corp. [T] has not manufactured a

wireless phone in years - leaving it up to its spin-off Lucent Technologies



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Inc. [LU], 9.1 percent of the respondents believe their phones were

produced by AT&T.

Philip Redman, senior analyst at the Yankee Group, predicts branding will

become more important as wireless phones become more of a standard

consumer product and competition increases the market. "Manufacturers

and service providers will want to build their reputation on device quality

and service," he said in a written statement.

However, brand loyalty is not yet an influence in today's

marketplace. Rather, cost seems to top consumers' list of priorities. The

survey found almost half of the respondents consider "the best deal fromthe carrier" as the most important factor when purchasing a wireless phone.

Brand loyalty of customers in China.

Abstract: With the rapid development of mobile technology and user spsila

wide adoption of mobile phones, mobile services have been a huge

success in China. Even though the literature on the adoption of mobile

services is quite extensive, few studies focus on customer satisfaction and

loyalty in China. This study investigated the impact of perceived customer

value, perceived service quality, and trust on customer satisfaction, and the

influence of satisfaction and perceived switching cost on customer loyalty.

The research results can give some implications on mobile

message development strategies in China.

Motorola Passes Apple In Brand Loyalty Among Men

10:47 am, November 25th, 2009, Ed Sutherland



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More men currently profess loyalty to Motorola than iPhone-maker Apple,

according to a brand survey. The figures are the first clear indication of the

impact of the Motorola-made iPhone rival Droid and the ad bashing

between AT&T and Verizon.

After peaking at 48.1 for the month of November, Apple dropped to 22 last

week, according to brand research firm YouGov. Motorola, which peaked at

32.3 this month, finished last week with a 29.3 score in the companys

BrandIndex. Study results range from -100 to 100 based on weekday

interviews with 5,000 people.

The struggle between Motorola and Apple did have a cle

BlackBerry. The Research in Motion smartphone has withered under all

the Droid/iPhone marketing hype, YouGov announced Tuesday.



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Despite the advertising slugfest between rival carriers AT&T

currently has an exclusive contract for the iPhone) and Verizon (which

released the Motorola-made Android 2.0-based Droid and ads slamming

the iPhone and AT&T) the Schaumburg, IL-based handset maker hasseen its brand loyalty unaffected, according to the group.

Graph 1.2

The study has a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.

The company believes both Motorola and Verizon are receiving a brandbounce while AT&T is sinking among the 18- to 34-year old target

demographic. Between Oct. 18 (when Verizon launched the Droid ads) and

Nov. 6 (when the Droid began sales) Verizon brand perception rose from



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8.3 to 24.2 on the BrandIndex. By comparison, AT&T brand perception fell

from 1.4 to -2.4 during the same period, according to YouGov.

Mobile subscribers in India

Business Today (May 3, 09)

Abstract: In India the number of mobile subscribers

will cross 400 million ,making it the worlds second largest market ,next

revolution, the mobile phones has moved from being a simple

communication tool to an all round entertainment & information

devices. Services are being enabled increasingly by more & more

powerful processors onboard mobile devices. 10% of the 1.2 billion

Increasing market for subscribers

(Mar09)

Informa Telecoms and Media predicts the global mobile market

is expected to add more than 1 billion subscribers and reach almost 3

billion overall or 43 percent penetration by the year 2010. While Asia, the

Middle East and Africa will experience the highest growth rates, Informa

reports "several countries are already reporting penetration rates of over

100% and Western Europe's regional penetration is set to breach 100% in

a couple of years.



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Increasing Indian cellular market

(March 09).

Indian Cellular Association says that a record addition of 15

million new telecom subscribers in January 2009 has cheered the mobile

handset market. After a lackluster 2008 when the Indian cell phone market

saw near flat sales growth, the handset turf has grown 10% in January,

claims the apex national body of handset vendors.

Sony Ericsson achieves the top spot

Sony-Ericsson has emerged as the top company for the second

consecutive year in overall satisfaction by mobile handset users, edging

out market leader Nokia and Motorola, according to a survey. Motorola is

No 2 on overall satisfaction score, displacing Nokia to the third place.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2827028.cm

WWW.INDERSCIENCE.COM,



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Customer poaching

Abstract:

Firms sometimes try to "poach" the customers of their competitors by

offering them inducements to switch. We analyze duopoly poaching under

both short-term and long-term contracts assuming either that

consumer's brand preferences are fixed over time or that preferences are

independent over time. With fixed preferences, short-term contracts lead to

poaching and socially inefficient switching. The equilibrium with long-term

contracts has less switching than when only short-term contracts are

feasible, and it involves the sale of both short-term and long-term contracts.

With independent preferences, short-term contracts are efficient, but long-

term contracts lead to inefficiently little switching.

Competition, collective switching costs, and mark

performanceSwitching costs affect competition. When a consumer faces switching

costs, the rational consumer will not switch to the supplier offering the

lowest price if the switching costs in terms of monetary cost, effort, time,

uncertainty, and other reasons, outweigh the price differential between the

two suppliers. If this happens, the consumer is said to be locked-in to the

supplier. If a supplier manages to lock-in consumers, the supplier can raise

prices to a certain point without fear of losing customers because the

additional effects of lock-in (time, effort, etc.) prevent the consumer from

switching.



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QWERTY example

Competition is also influenced by collective switching costs, especially in

markets with strong network effects. Collective switching costs are the

combined switching costs of all users in a particular market. For example,

the QWERTY keyboard layout illustrates the difficulty of collective switching

costs and the problems associated with coordinating an escape from a

collective lock-in. Since its adoption, alternate keyboard layouts have been

developed and used (e.g. the Dvorak layout). Individuals and firms who

perceive an alternate keyboard layout as more efficient may still be

dissuaded from choosing it on the basis of switching costs.New users who have to choose between QWERTY and another layout may

favor QWERTY because it dominates the keyboard layout

Individual lock-in leads to collective lock-in as network effects drive more

and more new users to adopt QWERTY and prevent current QWERTY

users from switching to another layout.

Collective switching costs affect competition by strengthening incumbents

and hindering new entrants, who must overcome both the collective and

individual switching costs to be able to succeed in the market. Recognition

of these switching costs has recently led to several attempts to design

alternative keyboard layouts which lower the barrier to entry by retaining

many of the features of QWERTY. However, none of them is in widespread

use.

Switching costs are likely to be present in a large class of markets. The

importance of understanding switching costs has been emphasised with

the rise of information technologies, since switching costs seems to be a

phenomenon that is especially strong in the information economy. Shapiro



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and Varian (1999) write: "[y]ou just cannot compete effectively in the

information economy unless you know how to identify, measure, and

understand switching costs and map strategy accordingly." Businesses are

not the only ones who need to be aware of and understand switching costs.Since switching costs affect market performance, governments

regulators also have incentives to understand switching costs in order to be

able to promote competition effectively.

Top of Form

Switching cost and its behaviour

v1

Switching cost is one of the most discussed contemporary issues in

marketing in attempt to explain consumer behaviour. The present research

studied switching cost and its relationships with customer retention, loyalty

and satisfaction in the Nigerian telecommunication market. Based on

questionnaire administered to customers in the mobile telecommunication

industry; the study finds that customer

satisfaction positively affects customer retention and that switching cost

affects significantly the level of customer retention. However, the effect of

switching barriers on retention is only significant when customers consider

to exit.

Business Intelligence Journal - January, 2010 Vol.3 No.1

112siness Intelligence Journal January

4.1)Research design:-



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The methodology followed for analyzing the consumer behavior of mobile

phone customers is as follows ...

Preliminary Investigation

This phase involved preliminary investigation of the various factors which

could possibly affect the consumers perception about the various brands

and in turn influence the purchase decisions of the consumer. We primarily

used three methods to identify the various factors.

The Secondary data gathered was analyzed to understand the current

scenario of the cell phone segment. The analysis of the secondary data

also helped us find different attributes which affect the mobile phone

segment.

Collection of Quantitative data.

Measurement and Scaling Procedures: Non-Comparative Rating scale is

used in which respondents evaluate only one object at a time, and for this

reason non comparative scales are often referred to as monadic scales.

Non comparative techniques consist of continuous and itemized rating

scales.



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We have used continuous rating scale in order to rate the choices for

purchase considerations and the sources of purchase decisions.

Questionnaire Design:

This phase involved the design of the questionnaire on the basis of the

potential factors identified as influencing the customer behavior.

Research problems were listed and then the information needed was

identified.

The questions were then prepared in order to fulfill the information

requirements as identified earlier.

Survey:

The principle method used was Personal Interviewing of the respondents.

In-Home interviews were conducted by us at various locations in South

Mumbai.

Sampling Process:-



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Target Population: The target population is the collection of elements or

objects that process the information sought by the researcher and about

which inferences are to be made. Our target population involves the users,

deciders and buyers of mobiles.The users include the old and the young population.

Sample Size: It denotes the number of elements to be included in the

study. Due to time constraints the sample size chosen is 100.

Sampling Technique: A mixture of quota and stratified method was used for

sampling, with care being taken to get responses from customers of

different age groups and different family sizes.

FIELDWORK:-

The survey was conducted keeping in mind the users and deciders of the

mobile Handsets.

The survey was conducted in the South Mumbai.

We made several trips to the local market and also in college premises of

different colleges to gather information from relevant people.

We even went to local retailers and interviewed them.

4.2)Research Instrument:-



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A research Instrument is a testing device for measuring a given

phenomenon.

In our project we have used Questionnaire as an research instrument.

The following questionnaire was used as our Research Instrument:-

QUESTIONNAIRE1.Do you think mobile industry is still a monopoly?

yes no

2. Which brand did you use last mobile?

a. Nokia b. Samsung

e. China f. LG

3.Which brand are you using currently?

a. Nokia b. Samsung

e. China f. LG

4. If you are given an option would you prefer to switch to other brand?

a. yes b. No

5. What factors do u consider while purchasing a mobile handset?

a. brand b. price

6. Would you prefer extra added features in your mobile even though it is not durable?

a. yes

7. Does advertisement influence your purchase decision?

a. yes

8. Does competitive price urge you to experiment a new brand?

a. yes

9. Would you prefer a particular brand while buying a handset?

a. yes

10. Which factors would you consider while switching a brand?



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4.3)Sources of Data:-

The sources of data collected by us was of the following two types,

Primary Data

Primary data is that data which is collected for the first time. It is original in

nature in the shape of raw material. For the purpose of collection of primary

data, a well

structured questionnaire was framed which was filled by the respondents.

The questionnaire comprises of close ended as well as open endedquestions.

In close ended questions dichotomous, ranking, likerts scale, checklist

questions and multiple choice questions are used.



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Secondary Data

Secondary data is the data which is already collected by someone. They

are secondary in nature and are in shape of finished product. Secondary

data was collected so as to have accurate results. Required data was

collected from various books, magazines.

Internet was the main source of secondary data collection.

4.4)Sample Size:-

The sample size of a statistical sample is the number of observations that

constitute it.

In our project the sampling size was 100. i.e. we interviewed 100 people.

4.5)Sample Unit:-

A sampling unit is one of the units into which an aggregate is divided for the

purpose of sampling, each unit being regarded as individual and indivisible

when the selection is made.

In our project the sampling unit was South Mumbai. i.e. we interviewed 100

people living and working in the geographical constraints of South Mumbai.

4.6)Sampling Frame:-

Sampling frame is the actual set of units from which a sample has been

drawn: in the case of a simple random sample, all units from the samplingResearch Methodology.45


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frame have an equal chance to be drawn and to occur in the sample. In the

ideal case, the sampling frame should coincide with the population of

interest.

The sampling frame in our project is:-

20 male students

20 female students,

20 Housewives,

20 Service People, and

20 Self Employed People, i.e. Businessmen.

4.7) Sampling Method:-

The sampling method used by us in our research is Systematic random

sampling.

Systematic random sampling relies on arranging the target population

according to some ordering scheme and then selecting elements at regular

intervals through that ordered list.We interviewed only those 100 people who had used more than one mobile

handset. Hence we systematically interviewed the target population for our

research.



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4.8)Statistical tools used:-

The following were the statistical tools used by us after completing

the research through research instruments.

Tally marks:after the research we analyzed the data through tally

marks.

After tally marks we used chi square through SPSS to find out

1. Whether there is a relationship between price and brand

switching.

2. Whether there is customer loyalty among the mobile handset

users.

We used correlation through SPSS to find out

I. Advertising influences the customers decision to switch the

brand.



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We used pie diagrams to present the information graphically.

5) Charts.

Pie charts:- the following are the pie diagrams that are presented by the

information collected by us through our research.

Graph 1.3



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Graph 1.4

Graph 1.5



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5.2)Data analyses & Interpretations:-

1) Application of Chi-Square on the following interpretations, recordedthrough our survey.

Q) Does competitive price urge you to try a new brand?

Solution:-

Ho: low & competitive Price does not affect Brand switching

H1: low & competitive Price does affect Brand Switching.

The above stated Hypothesis is proved by using SPSS software where thefollowing interpretations were calculated.

Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

NPercen

t NPercen

t NPercen

t

number of

responses * RES

100100.0

%

0 .0% 100100.0

%OCCU * RES

100a100.0

%0 .0% 100

100.0%

a. Number of valid cases is different from the total count in thecross tabulation table because the cell counts have been rounded.

number of responses * RES



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Crosstab

Count

RES

TotalYES NO

number ofresponses

5 0 5 5

8 0 8 8

10 10 10 20

12 12 0 12

15 15 0 15

18 0 18 18

22 22 0 22

Total 59 41 100

Table 1.1

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp.Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-

Square

79.330a 6 .000

Likelihood Ratio 107.646

6 .000

Linear-by-LinearAssociation

11.632 1 .001

N of Valid Cases 100

a. 5 cells (35.7%) have expected count lessthan 5. The minimum expected count is 2.05.



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Graph 1.6

OCCU * RES



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Crosstab

Count

RES

TotalYES NO

OCCU

Business 10 10 20

STUDENT

22 18 40

SERVICE 15 5 20

HOUSEWIF

12 8 20

Total 59 41 100

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp.Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

3.059a 3 .383

Likelihood Ratio 3.181 3 .365

Linear-by-LinearAssociation

1.148 1 .284


a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than5. The minimum expected count is 8.20.



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Graph 1.7

CROSSTABS

Interpretations:-

Hence Table value is greater than calculated value 7.815>3.059

So we accept null hypothesis Hoand reject alternative hypothesis H1.

2) Application of Chi-Square on the following interpretations, recordedthrough our survey.



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Q) Which brand did you last mobile? And Which brand are you usingcurrently ?Solution:-Study of consumer Behavior

Ho: There is no brand switching amongst mobile handset users.

H1: There is a brand switching amongst mobile handset users.



Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

number of responses * name

of brand100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

response * name of brand 100a 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

a. Number of valid cases is different from the total count in the crosstabulation table because the cell

counts have been rounded.

number of responses * name of brand



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Crosstab

Count

name of brand

Totalnokia samsun blackberry china lg reliance others

number of responses 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

2 0 0 4 2 0 2 0

3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0

6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0

7 0 7 0 0 0 0 14 2

16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

42 42 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14 10

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 3.083E2a 36 .000


Linear-by-Linear Association 44.535 1 .000


a. 44 cells (89.8%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum

expected count is .02.

response * name of brand



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Crosstab

Count

name of brand


response yes 16 6 2 0 1 3 7 35

no 42 7 2 2 3 2 7 65

Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14 100

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 6.519a 6 .368






Frequencies

Statistics

number of

responses name of brand

N Valid 100 100

Missing 0 0



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number of responses

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 1 1.0 1.0 1.0

2 8 8.0 8.0 9.0

3 6 6.0 6.0 15.0

6 6 6.0 6.0 21.0

7 21 21.0 21.0 42.0

16 16 16.0 16.0 58.0

42 42 42.0 42.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0 100.0

name of brand

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid nokia 58 58.0 58.0 58.0

samsun 13 13.0 13.0 71.0

blackberry 4 4.0 4.0 75.0

china 2 2.0 2.0 77.0

lg 4 4.0 4.0 81.0

reliance 5 5.0 5.0 86.0

others 14 14.0 14.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0 100.0



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Crosstabs


Cases

Valid Missing Total


number of responses * name

of brand100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

response * name of brand 100a 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

a. Number of valid cases is different from the total count in the crosstabulation table because the cellcounts have been rounded.

number of responses * name of brand

Crosstab

Crosstab

Count

name of brand

Tnokia samsun blackberry china lg reliance others

number of responses 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

2 0 0 4 2 0 2 0

3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0

6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0

7 0 7 0 0 0 0 14

16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0

42 42 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14



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Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 3.083E2a 36 .000






Graph 1.8



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response * name of brand

Crosstab

Count

name of brand


response yes 16 6 2 0 1 3 7 35

no 42 7 2 2 3 2 7 65

Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14 100

Chi-Square Tests

Value df

Asymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 6.519a 6 .368








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Graph 1.9

Interpretation:-

The Table Value is greater than the Calculated value

i.e.12.592TV>CV 6.591

So we accept null hypothesis Ho and reject alternative hypothesis H1.



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3) Application of Correlation on the following interpretations, recordedthrough our survey.

Q) Does advertisements a influence your purchase decision?

Solution:-Ho: Advertisement does not affect purchase decision

H1: Advertisement affects purchase decision


Crosstabs


Cases

Valid Missing Total


occupation * responses 100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

number of respondents *

responses

100a 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%

a. Number of valid cases is different from the total count in the crosstabulation table because the cell

counts have been rounded.

occupation * responses



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Crosstab

Count

Responses

Totalyes no

occupation business 10 10 20

student 17 23 40

servicemen 14 6 20

housewives 10 10 20

Total 51 49 100

Symmetric Measures

Value

Asymp. Std.

Errora Approx. Tb Approx. Sig.

Interval by Interval Pearson's R -.071 .100 -.701 .485c

Ordinal by Ordinal Spearman Correlation -.080 .100 -.793 .430c


a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

c. Based on normal approximation.



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Graph 1.9

number of respondents * responses



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Crosstab

Count

responses

TotalYes no

number of respondents 6 0 6 6

10 20 20 40

14 14 0 14

17 17 0 17

23 0 23 23

Total 51 49 100

Symmetric Measures

Value

Asymp. Std.

Errora Approx. Tb Approx. Sig.

Interval by Interval Pearson's R .199 .096 2.005 .048c

Ordinal by Ordinal Spearman Correlation .089 .113 .889 .376c


a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.

b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.

c. Based on normal approximation.



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Through the above research conducted by us and with the help of

hypothesis we prove that:-

1. Price is not the only factor that influences the customers to switch the

brand.2. Even though the mobile sector consists of numerous brands, people

are still afraid to experiment new brands of mobile as mobile

constitutes a good amount of their income. Hence there is high

amount of loyalty in customers. Particularly for the old brands that are

well established in the market.

3. The purchase decision of the customer depends upon the factors like

Age

Occupation

Sex

Promotion

Herd mentality

Personal Experience

6.2)Conclusion:-

Project Front:-



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From the project we conclude that price is not the only factor that

influences the customer to switch his brand.

There are many other factors like advertising, after sale services,

personal experience, herd mentality, etc. that influences a persondecision to switch his brand.

The project gave us an opportunity to learn the SPSS software which

was very advance level software and that has surely added to our

knowledge.

Personal Front:-

The project was a very innovative and a good learning experience for

the entire group.

Moreover working in a group which had different people was a

challenge in itself.

The ideas portrayed and the work done was appreciated by every

member.

This project helped us to feel how it is to work in an organization thathas different people with different ideas.

Bibliography

Research Methodology- C.R. Kothari.



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Webliography

www.nokia.com

www.sonyericsson.com

www.samsung.com

www.google.com

www.wikipedia.com

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/08876040110381463


http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/17473610710757464http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/08876040110381463

final rm repaired)

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