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A DISSERTATION PROJECT REPORT ON

BRAND PREFERENCE OF MOBILE PHONE

AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for

MBA Program of IISWBM

CHETAN GUPTA

ROLL No. : 107/MBA/111021

REGISTRATION No. : 004686 of 2006-2007

MAJOR: MARKETING

MINOR: FINANCE

SESSION: 2011-2013

MBA (D) 4TH SEMESTER

Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management

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Acknowledgement

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. It was the continuous guidance and useful suggestions of Dr. A. Sharma,

which helped me in successfully completing the project work. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to her. I would also like to thank Dr. Tanima Ray for their advice, encouragement and cooperation. I also take immense pleasure in thanking my respective faculty members from IISWBM (Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management) for their timely guidance in the conduct of this project work. I am grateful for their constant support and help. Without their encouragement and guidance this project would not have materialized. Also, my special gratitude to friends and family, without whose

support and motivation this work could not have been completed

successfully.

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PREFACE

The project gives an insight of the telecom sector. It basically helps

understanding the brand preference of students with regard to mobile

phones. It helps us to know on what basis a student chooses a

particular brand when he/she purchases a new handset.

The project will help to learn about the growing telecom sector in

India. The research will also bring to light what all factors a student

considers at the time of purchase of a new mobile phone.

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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 5

a. Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone ............................................................ 5

b. Telecom Industry in India ............................................................................... 6

c. The Key players in the Telecom Market in India....................................... 7

d. Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................... 8

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 9

a. SAMPLING METHODOLOGY: .......................................................................... 9

b. RESEARCH DESIGN: - ....................................................................................... 9

c. DATA COLLECTION:.......................................................................................... 9

3. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ......................................................... 10

4. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................ 21

5. RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 22

6. LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 23

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 23

8. ANNEXURE .......................................................................................................... 24

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1. INTRODUCTION

a. Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone

The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone") is a

long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication.

In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile

phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text

messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, and MMS

for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones

connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn

interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the

exception is satellite phones. Cellular telephone is also defined as a type

of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber

has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby

transmitter. The transmitter's span of coverage is called a cell. Generally,

cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and along major

highways. As the cellular telephone user moves from one cell or area of

coverage to another, the telephone is effectively passed on to the local

cell transmitter. A cellular telephone is not to be confused with a cordless

telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection

to a local phone outlet). A newer service similar to cellular is personal

communications services (PCS).

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b. Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India.

India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third

largest network in the world after China and USA.

With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest

growth rate in the world.

Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication

Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India

and China.

India‘s mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of

48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific.

Compared to that India’s share in Asia Pacific Mobile phone

market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have

almost comparable populations, India’s low mobile penetration

offers huge scope for growth.

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c. The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

1. Nokia 7.Blackberry

2. Samsung 8. Micromax

3. LG

4. Apple

5. Sony

6. Motorola

Figure 1: Market share of phones under student segment.

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d. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The Primary Objective was to study the perception & buying behavior of

students towards various mobile brands.

The Secondary Objectives of this study were to identify:

To know about the student preference level associated with

different mobile phones.

To find out the students satisfaction towards the various mobile

phones.

Major features, which a customer looks for in a mobile before

making a purchase.

Factors that influence decision-making in purchasing a mobile

phone.

To know which advertisement media puts more impact on the

buying decision of students.

Factors, which help in increasing the sale of mobile phones.

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2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

a. SAMPLING METHODOLOGY:

Sample Size —160 respondents

Sample Unit- Students of Graduation and the Post Graduation have been

taken as sample unit.

Sampling Area – Kolkata

Sampling Technique – convenient Sampling technique

b. RESEARCH DESIGN: -

• Visited the students across Kolkata (College Street) & gathered

information required as per the questionnaire.

• The research design is probability research design and is descriptive

research.

c. DATA COLLECTION:

• Primary data has been used by me in the form of Questionnaire &

Observation, which are the two basic methods of collecting primary

data, which suffices all research objectives.

• Secondary data sources like catalogue of the company, product range

book of the company & various internet sites such as google & shopping

sites have been used.

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3. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Occupation of the Respondents’ Father

Occupation

%

1 Service

45%

2 Professional

12%

3 Business

28%

4 Others

15%

Total 100%

Figure2 Occupation of the Respondents’ Father

Interpretation

The graphical representation of the table shows that out of the 160

respondents, 45 % respondents belong to the service family, 28 % were

from business, 12 % were from the professional and 15 % were from the

others family.

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Income level of the respondent’s family

Figure 3 Income level of the respondents family

Interpretation

The graphical representation of the table shows that out of the 200

respondents, 3 % respondents were from the family whose income is less

than 15,000(below middle class), 17% respondents were from the family

whose income is between the 15,001 – 25,000(lower middle class), 25 %

respondents were from the family whose income is between 25,001-

45,000 (mid middle class)

and 56 % rest were from the family whose income is above 45,001 (High

middle class

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Market share

Figure 4 Market share of respondent

Response %

1 Samsung

60 37%

2 Nokia

66 41%

3 Blackberry

6 4%

4 Apple

2 1%

5 LG

8 5%

6 Sony

8 5%

7 Micromax

4 2%

9 HTC

4 2%

8

Others

(Local /

chinese

handset)

3 2%

Total 160 100%

Figure 5 Market share of respondent (Tabular form)

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Interpretation

Out of the 160 respondents, Major handset used by students are Nokia &

Samsung. Samsung has emerged as a new market leader. Nokia has

gradually lost its market share over the years. New players had joined the

league naming Chinese handsets. Blackberry has entered Indian market

with big swings. Though Blackberry portrays itself as YOUTH brand but it is

being used by few respondents and rest of all share a more or less

equitable share among students.

How long consumers use their mobile phones

Figure 6 Consumer durability

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Less than a year 1 - 2 year 2 - 3 year above 3 year

Blackberry HTC

LG Micromax

Nokia Others (Local / chinese handset)

Samsung Sony Erricson

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Interpretation

Out of the 160 respondents

Nokia & LG users predominantly uses there handset for 1-2 years but

strikingly a huge respondent are there who use it for more than 3 years in

both cases.

Samsung have almost the same repurchase in Less than a year & 1-2

years and people do not prefer using their handset for long period as

noticed for Nokia.

Blackberry & HTC users are almost same in every year category i.e. ,

unpredictable buying behavior

How often consumer change your mobile phone?

Figure 7 Consumer- changes mobile phone

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

1 - 2 years

2-3 years

3 - 4 years

Depends on other

factors

Less than a Year

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Interpretation

Out of the 160 respondents around 35 % consumers change their phone

within 1-2 years and so on but there is other factors on which consumer

change their phone which is about 30 % i.e., new technology , service

facilities. Online support for gaming and applications availability

Repurchase intention for existing brand (Brand loyalty)

Figure 8 Consumer- Repurchase Intensions

Interpretation:

The graphical representation shows that there is high repurchase

intentions among existing APPLE & HTC users rest followed by Micromax

which is among every two users one person have the affinity for

repurchase, whereas market leaders like NOKIA & SAMSUNG are lagging

with 42 % & 43% respectively.

100

43 42

0

50

25

100

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Apple Samsung Nokia Sony Micromax LG HTC

Repurchase Intentions Not Interested

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Likability among Smartphone’s users

Figure 9 Consumer- Likability for smartphones

Interpretation:

SAMSUNG still leads the smartphone segment with 31.25% followed by

apple in consumers mind , Blackberry which first came up with the

smartphone device is laaging very behind in the consumers perceptual

space.

Samsung, 31.25Apple, 23.75

Nokia, 11.25

HTC, 4.5 Micromax, 10 LG, 0.16

Sony, 0.03

Blackberry, 13.75

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How much consumer (students) want to spend on mobile

phone

Figure 10 Spendometer

Interpretation:

It is very much evident from above spendometer consumers are willing to

pay around 10,000 – 20,000 on phones & there are also consumers who

are very much price sensitive which are around 35 % who don’t want to

exceed 10,000 rupees. Pricing is very important criteria among students

according to this sample

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Preference over weight , breadth & size of phone among

consumer

Figure 11 Consumer- preferences

Interpretation:

Preference among size ,weight & breadth of mobiles phone is a big

factor for consideration while buying as it’s a portable device , here

consumers prefer having midsized phone which should be light weighted

and when comes people have a mix opinion over slim and thick breadth

phones

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What is the factor that influence the buyer most

Min Value

Max Value

Average Value

Standard Deviation

Responses

Advertisement 1 5 2.96 1.27 75

Appearance 1 5 4.12 0.95 78

Price 1 5 4.19 0.91 78

Functions 2 5 4.59 0.75 78

Quality 2 5 4.65 0.64 80

Brand Image 2 5 4.06 0.9 78

Service 2 5 4.39 0.76 77

Recommended by Friends 1 5 3.01 1.18 74

Others 1 5 2.7 1.28 60

Figure 11 Buying influencers

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

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Interpretation:

Out of the 160 respondents, consumers are mostly influenced by TV

Advertisement & recommendation by friends, word of mouth. Other

factors like Brand Image, Appearances, and Price are sensitive issue while

influencing the buyers.

Effective Media in terms of communicating values

Figure 12 Message Media

Interpretation:

The most effective media for communicating message is Television and

social networking sites for student segment, online shopping sites &

newspaper also used for the same but is not so effective and rest of the

media vehicle is big flop in communicating the message like radio,

billboards, magazine and like.

0

20

40

60

80

24

5848

204

4774

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4. FINDINGS

Samsung and apple is the most favorite brand of the college

student.

39% student change their mobile phones within 1 to 2 years & 33 %

changes within a year.

43% students are ready to pay for a mobile phone in the range of

Rs. 10,000 to 20,000. This amount is proportional to their family

income.

Mostly students use the mobile phones for SMS, Android gaming &

application, GPS navigation and to access social networking sites.

Students prefer buying phones which provides free handsfree,

Memory card and USB data cable.

Almost all students are aware about the voice recognition, retina

scrolling, air waves charging, etc.

Most favorite brand among the college students is samsung and

the least favorite brand is HTC.

Appearance, Price, Brand Image, recommendation by friend and

advertisement are the important factors for the students while

purchasing mobile phones.

Mostly students prefer slim, low/medium in weight and medium in

size handset

Mostly students see advertisement on television

Mostly students prefer cellphones which supports WASSUP

application.

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5. RECOMMENDATIONS

Nokia should provide better service and try to solve the hanging

Problem

Samsung being one of the market leader in student segment should

focus on customer retention since consumers repurchase intension

for its envy, Apple is 100% as compared to Samsung.

Company should focus on customer retention since loyalty among

student segment is very low. They should focus on converting

customer to more brand loyal by building a strong brand.

Cellular companies should increase the awareness about the 3G-

4G & other advances internet connectivity services.

Consumer preference for free accessories drives consumer buying

behavior sentiments.

Focus should persist on Android gaming and other advance next

generation applications like play store.

A new feature like waterproofing is becoming a fad amongst

buyers after release of new Sony Xperia smart phone.

Companies should offer more range of Rs. 20,000 - 5000 to cater

student mass.

All companies should adept to innovative technologies to add

more features like voice recognition, retina scrolling, air waves

charging, etc.

Companies should focus on promotional activities through different

media as consumers are more influenced by word of mouth only.

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6. LIMITATIONS

A small sample size of 160 students is taken, so we cannot draw

inferences about the population from this sample size.

Time period is short and resource constraints.

The scope of the project is limited to the city of Kolkata So, we

cannot say that the same response will exist throughout India.

This study is based on the prevailing student’s satisfaction. But the

student’s satisfaction may change according to time, fashion,

technology, development, etc.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

MARKETING MANAGEMENT - P. Kotler

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY - C.R.Kothari,

Malhotra & Dash

Web Resources:

www.trai.gov.in

http ://www.nokia.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization. aspx

http://www.samsung.co

.in/webapp/Aboutus/aboutushome.js

http ://www.LG.com/LG.portal?

nfpb=true&pageLabel=LG Page AboutLG

www.google.com

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8. ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Section A: Personal Information

1. Name:

2. (a) Age:

(b) Gender

Male Female

3. Occupation of Father

Service

Professional

Business

Others

Specify

4. Income Level (per month)family income

Less than 15,000

15,001 – 25,000

25,001 – 35,000

35,001 & abov

Section B: About mobile phones

Which mobile phone you are using.

Samsung Sony

Nokia Micromax

Blackberry HTC

Apple Others (Local / Chinese handset)

LG

Please write the model of your phone

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How long you are using the mobile phone

Less than a year 1 - 2 year 2 - 3 year above 3 year

What are the reasons for using the above mentioned model

(Can tick multiple boxes of the facilities you considered at the time of purchase)

Just to Talk Receive Email & SMS Clicking Photographs& Videos

Social Networking (FB, TWITTER, etc) Gaming (Android & Java games)

Internet Browsing (GPRS& WAP) Video calling GPS Navigation

How often do you change your mobile phone

Less than a Year 3 - 4 years

1 - 2 years Depends on other factors

2-3 years

What phone Accessories do you have

(Can tick multiple boxes of the facilities you have)

Hands free USB Data cable Bluetooth Headset Memory

Card(SD)

Other (Please specify)

Latest Mobile facilities which you are aware of

Retina Scan for scrolling Voice recognition Motion sensor

Waterproof Charging by air waves None of the above

What is your favorite brand in Mobiles?

(Give our preference in numerical order for next purchase)

This question has the forced ranking feature applied. If you apply the same ranking to a

different row choice, the previous choice with that rank will be deselected.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Samsung Nokia Blackberry Apple LG Sony Micromax HTC

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Why you like the brands you chose above?

(Please indicate the important of below factors when you choose the brands. 5-very

important, 4-somewhat important, 3-neither important nor unimportant, 2-less important,

- 1 - unimportant.)

Advertisement

Appearance

Price

Functions

Quality

Brand Image

Service

Recommended by Friends

Others

Do you prefer phones to be?

Weight Light Medium Heavy

Size Small Medium Large

Breadth Slim Medium Thick

What would you be willing to pay for a mobile phone

Less than 10,000 10.001- 20,000 20.001- 30,000

30,001 & Above

Where did you often see the mobile advertisement?

Television social networking sites

Newspaper outdoor

Magazine online shopping sites

Radio

Are there any general comments you would make about what you like/dislike about

mobile phones?

(This could be pricing, location of sales, reception, colour, memory, or anything else.)