A PROJECT REPORT ON

Market Research on Consumer Preference in Mobile Handset

SUBMITTED BY

VINAY PREM ASRANI

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

MASTER IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT DEGREE

OF

UNIVERSITY OF PUNE

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

PROF. MRS. SAYALI SHENDE

SINHGAD BUSINESS SCHOOL, PUNE CITY

SEPTEMBER , 2009.
 Bonafide certificate

This is to certify that Mr.Vinay Prem Asrani studying in the third semester of Masters in
Marketing Management programme of University of Pune is a Bonafide student of
Sinhgad Business School, Pune City.

Director
Sinhgad Business School
Pune City

ii
 STUDENT DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the Project Report entitled Market Research on

Consumer Preference in Mobile Handset written and submitted by me, to the

University of Pune, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of

Master of Marketing Management under the guidance of Prof. Mrs. Sayali Shende, is my

original work and the conclusions drawn therein are based on the material collected by

myself.

Place:
Date:

Signature of the student

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project Report entitled Market Research on Consumer
Preference in Mobile Handset which is being submitted herewith for the award of the
degree of Master of Business Administration of University of Pune, Pune is the result of the
original research work completed by Mr Vinay Prem Asrani under my supervision and
guidance and to the best of my knowledge and belief the work embodied in this Project
Report has not formed earlier the basis for the award of any degree or similar title of this or
any other University or examining body.

Place : Pune

Date : Mrs. Sayali Shende

iv
 APPROVAL CERTIFICATE
The project report of

Mr. Vinay Prem Asrani

entitled,

Market Research on Consumer Preference in Mobile Handset.

is approved and is acceptable in quality and form.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Signature: __________ Signature: __________

Name: ________________ Name: ________________

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Intellectual alertness, creativity and innovation go side by side in making of a Manager. In this
context, the role of successful execution of the project work can not be denied.

On this note, I feel inexpedient to express my profound indebtedness and sincere thanks to our
venerable Prof. Mrs. Sayali Shende, for indefatigable cooperation, analytical guidance and
boundless endeavors, which gave me great help and revitalization at every step in completing my
project.

My heartfelt veneration to Mrs. Maduvanti Sathe, Director of Sinhgad Business School, and also
to the management of Sinhgad Business School.

I would also like to take this opportunity to convey my respect and special gratitude towards Mr.
Prashant Bora & Mr. Shripal Gandhi, Directors of BYOND Tech, who considered me worthy of
doing project in their esteemed establishment and never failed to satisfy my over-zealous thirst to
obtain information.

I also want to thank Mr. Devendra Naik, Sr. Marketing Manager, BYOND Tech and all my
colleagues at BYOND Tech for their kind support for successful completion of this project.

No language is ever adequate to express my gratitude towards my family and friends for their
dedicated and enthusiastic encouragement.

Working on this project has been a great experience. I am thankful to all concerned people who
have played active role in the successful completion of this project.

Vinay Prem Asrani

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 Index
Sr.No. Particulars Page No.
1 Company Certificate i
2 Bonafied Certificate ii
3 Student Declaration iii
4 Guides Certificate iv
5 Approval Certificate v
6 Acknowledgement vi
7 Chapter-1 Introduction 1
8 Chapter-2 Company Profile 12
9 Chapter-3 Research Design & Methodology 38
10 Chapter-4 Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation 42
11 Chapter-5 Suggestions & Findings 66
12 Chapter-6 Conclusion 68
13 Annexure 70

LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Title of the Table Page No.
Table No. 1.1 Market Share of major global players of mobile phones in 16
2008
Table No. 4.1 Age wise breakup of Respondents 43
Table No. 4.2 Occupation of Respondents 45
Table No. 4.3 Mobile phone Users & Non-users 47
Table No. 4.4 Brands of Handsets used by Respondents 49
Table No. 4.5 Period of changing Handsets 51
Table No. 4.6 Point of Purchase of Mobile Handsets 53
Table No. 4.7 Feature Classification for Complete sample 55
Table No. 4.8 Feature Classification for Age group 15-25 57
Table No. 4.9 Feature Classification for Age group 26-35 59
Table No. 4.10 Feature Classification for Age group 36-45 61
Table No. 4.11 Feature Classification for Age group 45& Above 63

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Title of the Figure Page No.
Figure No. 1.1 Growth of India’s mobile subscriber base. 19
Figure No. 1.2 BYONDTECH – Organization Chart 22
Figure No. 4.1 Age wise breakup of Respondents 43
Figure No. 4.2 Sex wise breakup of Respondents 44
Figure No. 4.3 Occupation of Respondents 45
Figure No. 4.4 Area of Respondents 46
Figure No. 4.5 Mobile phone Users & Non-users 47
Figure No. 4.6 Brands of Handsets used by Respondents 48

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Figure No. 4.7 Satisfaction level of respondents 50
Figure No. 4.8 Period of changing Handsets 51
Figure No. 4.9 Awareness about BYOND Mobiles 52
Figure No. 4.10 Point of Purchase of Mobile Handsets 53
Figure No. 4.11 Feature Classification for Complete sample 54
Figure No. 4.12 Feature Classification for Age group 15-25 56
Figure No. 4.13 Feature Classification for Age group 26-35 58
Figure No. 4.14 Feature Classification for Age group 36-45 60
Figure No. 4.15 Feature Classification for Age group 45& Above 62
Figure No. 4.16 Importance of After Sales Service 64
Figure No. 4.17 Importance of looks of Mobile Handset 65

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 Ch-1

Introduction

1
1 Introduction

1.1Theoretical Concepts & Context of the Topic

1.1.1Consumer Buying Behavior

Definition & Meaning: Consumer behavior refers to the mental and emotional process and
the observable behavior of consumers during searching, purchasing and post consumption of
a product or service. Consumer behavior involves study of how people buy, what they buy,
when they buy and why they buy. It blends the elements from psychology, sociology, socio-
psychology, anthropology and economics. It also tries to assess the influence on the
consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups and society in general. Buyer
behavior has two aspects: the final purchase activity visible to any observer and the detailed
or short decision process that may involve the interplay of a number of complex variables not
visible to anyone.

Everybody in the world is the consumer. Each of us buys and sells or consumes goods and
services in the life. Consumer behavior is very complex and is determined to a large extent
by social and psychological factors. Consumer behaviour can be defined as those acts of
individuals directly involved in obtaining, using and disposing of economic goods and
services.

The relevance and importance of understanding consumer behaviour is rooted in the modern
marketing. The needs of not even two consumers are the same. Therefore, they buy only
those products and services, which satisfy their wants and desires. To survive in the market, a
firm has to be constantly innovating and understand the latest consumer needs and tastes it
will be extremely useful in exploiting marketing opportunities and in meeting the challenges
that the Indian market offers. A study of consumer behaviour is significant for regulating
consumption of goods and thereby maintaining economic stability. Within the broad
framework of marketing, the area that entices the most researchers is the study why a
consumer behaves in a particular way. The complexity of the behavior, however, varies with
the nature of the product and the need, which it is required to satisfy. The study of consumer

2
behavior is the study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources on
consumption of related items.

Consumer behavior is an applied discipline. Its application exists at two different levels of
analysis. One is at the micro level perspective and other at the macro level perspective. Micro
level seeks application of the knowledge faced by the individual, firm or an organization. The
macro perspective applied knowledge of consumer includes the aggregate level of problem
faced by large groups or by society as a whole.

Consumer behavior provides a sound basis for identifying and understanding consumer
needs. It is the act of the individuals directly involved in obtaining and using economic goods
and services. The study of consumer behavior is an essential component of marketing. The
adoption of marketing concept by the marketers provides the impetus for the study of
consumer behavior.

Incase of New Product Introduction in the market, there is a risk of product failure. To
increase the chances of success of new products, better information of the consumer behavior
is required. Their desires, tastes and preferences are to be taken care of. So from all these
aspects the study of consumer behavior is important.

1.1.2 Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior

Consumer buying behavior is influenced by the major three factors:
1. Social Factors
2. Psychological Factors
3. Personal Factors.

Social Factors
Social factors refer to forces that other people exert and which affect consumers’ purchase
behavior. These social factors can include culture and subculture, roles and family, social
class and reference groups.

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Example: By taking into consideration Reference group, these can influence/ affect the
consumer buying behavior. Reference group refers to a group with whom an individual
identifies herself/ himself and the extent to which that person assumes many values, attitudes
or behavior of group members. Reference groups can be family, school or college, work
group, club membership; citizenship etc. Reference groups serve as one of the primary agents
of consumer socialization and learning and can be influential enough to induce not only
socially acceptable consumer behavior but also socially unacceptable and even personal
destructive behavior. For example, if fresher student joins a college / university, he/she will
meet different people and form a group, in that group there can be behavior patterns of
values, for example style of clothing, handsets which most of group member prefer or even
destructive behavior such as excessive consumption of alcohol, use of harmful and addictive
drugs etc. So, according to how an individual references him / herself to that particular
reference group, this will influence and change his/her buying behavior.

Psychological Factors
These are internal to an individual and generate forces within that influence her/his purchase
behavior. The major forces include motives, perception, learning, attitude and personality.
Example: Attitude is an enduring organization of motivational, emotional, perceptual and
cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of our environment. Consumers form attitude
towards a brand on the basis of their beliefs about the brand. For example, consumers of
Sony products might have the belief that the products offered by Sony are durable; this will
influence those customers to buy Sony products due to this attitude towards the brand.

Personal Factors
These include those aspects that are unique to a person and influence purchase behavior.
These factors include demographic factors, lifestyle, and situational factors. Example:
Lifestyle is an indicator of how people live and express themselves on the basis of their
activities, interests, and opinions. Lifestyle dimension provide a broader view of people
about how they spend their time the importance of things in their surroundings and their
beliefs on broad issues associated with life and living and themselves. This is influenced by
demographic factors and personality. e.g. A CEO or Manager is likely to buy more formal

4
clothes, ties and shoes or PDAs and less informal clothes like jeans as compared to a
Mechanic or Civil engineer. So according to their lifestyle and profession, the buying
behavior of people differs from one another.

1.1.3CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS

Definition:
Consumer buying decision process is the processes undertaken by consumer in regard to a
potential market transaction before, during and after the purchase of a product or service.
Consumer decision making process generally involves five stages. Those are as follows:
a. Problem Recognition
b. Information Search
c. Alternatives Evaluation
d. Purchase Action
e. Post – Purchase Action

a. Problem Recognition:
Purchase decision making process begins when a buyer becomes aware of an unsatisfied
need or problem. This is the vital stage in buying decision process, because without
recognizing the need or want, an individual would not seek to buy goods or service. There
are several situations that can cause problem recognition, these include:
• Depletion of stock
• Dissatisfaction with goods in stock
•Environmental Changes
• Change in Financial Situation
• Marketer Initiated Activities
It’s when a person recognizes that she cannot make a call from her mobile phone that’s when
she recognizes that her phone has been damaged i.e. the phone has hardware problems and
needs to be repaired or buying a new piece.

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b. Information Search:
After the consumer has recognized the need, he / she will trying to find the means to solve
that need. First he will recall how he used to solve such kind of a problem in the past, this is
called nominal decision making. Secondly, a consumer will try to solve the problem by
asking a friend or goes to the market to seek advice for which product will best serve his
need, this is called limited decision making.
Sources of information include:
• Personal sources
• Commercial Sources
• Public sources
• Personal experience
Example: The user of the phone after recognizing that her phone is damaged, she will
eventually try to find out how she can repair her phone. If she cannot repair it herself she will
ask a friend to help out, if the friend cannot solve the problem she will go to mobile repair
shop, if they also cannot repair it then she will try to find which mobile phone is good and
that can serve her need. In this process of information collection it will yield awareness of set
of brands of mobile phones she can buy.

c. Alternatives evaluation:
Consumers’ evaluates criteria refer to various dimension; features, characteristics and
benefits that a consumer desires to solve a certain problem. Product features and its benefit is
what influence consumer to prefer that particular product. The consumer will decide which
product to buy from a set of alternative products depending on each unique feature that the
product offers and the benefit he / she can get out of that feature.
Example: When that user got enough information concerning the different brands of mobile
phones available in the market, she will decide which kind of a mobile phone and brand she’s
going to buy depending upon her need for that particular mobile, either a mobile for
multimedia and entertainment, smart-phone or classic phone.

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d. Purchase Action:
This stage involves selection of brand and the retail outlet to purchase such a product. Retail
outlet image and its location are important. Consumer usually prefers a nearby retail outlet
for minor shopping and they can willingly go to a far away store when they purchase items
which are of higher values and which involve higher sensitive purchase decision. After
selecting where to buy and what to buy, the consumer completes the final step of transaction
by either cash or credit.
Example: After selecting brand of the phone and model from different alternatives of mobile
phones, she will make a final decision of where to buying that phone and make the final
transaction procedures.

e. Post-purchase Actions
Consumer favorable post-purchase evaluation leads to satisfaction. Satisfaction with the
purchase is basically a function of the initial performance level expectation and perceived
performance relative to those expectations. Consumer tends to evaluate their wisdom on the
purchase of that particular product. This can result to consumer experiencing post purchase
dissatisfaction. If the consumer’s perceived performance level is below expectation and fail
to meet satisfaction this will eventually cause dissatisfaction, and so the brand and/ or the
outlet will not be considered by the consumer in the future purchases. This might cause the
consumer to initiate complaint behavior and spread negative word-of-mouth concerning that
particular product.
Example: If she decided to buy a multimedia phone she will try to compare the quality of
music it provides and pictures taken if they meet her expectations. If she will find that her
expectation are meet she will be satisfied, if she found that there are more additional features
that she did not expect this mobile phone to have, she will be delighted, otherwise she will be
dissatisfied.
From marketing perspective, some researchers stated that consumer purchase intention can
be studied through the classical five steps: Need-information search-evaluation of
alternatives-purchase- post purchase evaluation. The five step model is usually suitable for
decision making that assumes rational problem solving behavior and in most cases complex
decision making. To acquire the new mobile phone follows this traditional view of buying

7
process. It has been noted that purchase intention have both utilitarian and hedonic features,
and thus it can also be proposed that the purchase intention between mobile phone have both
utilitarian (e.g., communication, calendar, time planning, and email service to PCs) and
hedonic (e.g., games, music, and camera) features. The younger the consumer the more
hedonic features consumers tend to value in mobile phones. Another important aspect that
has risen from different studies is that consumer purchase new phone due to the fact that their
existing one’s capacity is not appropriate referring to the idea that new technology features
such as built-in cameras, better memory, radio, more developed messaging services, and
color displays are influencing consumer purchase intention to acquire new models . Thus, it
can be expected that new features will influence the intention to acquire new model phones.
In addition, price of the phone is also the most important factor in the purchase intention of
mobile phone model. Also, this researcher mentioned that price of the phone has been
identified as a critical factor in the purchase intention of the mobile phone model, especially
among younger people.

1.2 Literature Review

1.2.1 Business Today (May 3, 09) In India the number of mobile subscribers will cross 400
million ,making it the world’s 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 handsets sold in 2008 as smartphones.

1.2.2 The Economics Times (Apr 2008) B K Modi controlled Spice Mobiles today launched
the first Indian branded 3G and CDMA200 handsets in technological collaboration with
Qualcomm and said it is targeting half a million of these handset sales in the current fiscal.
We aim to sell four million standard handsets in the current fiscal and target half a million
3G handsets sales separately", Spice Mobiles Vice President Dilip Modi said. C-810 (the
CDMA enabled handset) is priced at Rs 6500 while the GSM 3G handset is priced at
Rs.8500.

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1.2.3 Informa Telecoms and Media (Mar. 09) 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."

1.2.4 Indian Cellular Association (March 09). says that a record addition of 15 million new
telecom subscribers in January 2009 has cheered the mobile handset market. After a
lacklustre 2008 when the Indian cellphone market saw near flat sales growth, the handset turf
has grown 10% in January, claims the apex national body of handset vendors.

1.2.5 Strategy Analytics offered their thoughts on the potential global mobile market,
predicting the "worldwide cellular user base will increase from 1.7 billion at the end of 2005
to 2.5 billion by the end of 2010, a 38 percent penetration rate."

1.2.6 Union Budget 2008-09 , Mobile phone users would now have to shell out more money
for buying new handsets, with the government proposing to levy one per cent excise duty on
them.

1.2.7 Phil Kendall at Strategy Analytics, commented, "Voice usage will increase from 5.6
trillion minutes in 2005 to 12.6 trillion in 2010. GSMbased systems will continue to
dominate the cellular landscape, accounting for 81 percent of subscribers and 76 percent of
service revenues in 2010, though CDMA's more rapid evolution to 3G will see it
dominate 3G subscriber volumes in the medium term. "

1.2.8 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.

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1.2.9 DoT to Telcos (Oct 08) Concerned over security lapses in the use of cell phones
without proper security codes, government has asked mobile operators to strictly ensure that
calls are not processed on such handsets that cannot be tracked by sleuths. The security code
known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a 15-digit number unique to a
mobile handset and this can help in tracking or blocking of the mobile phones.

1.2.10 Juniper Research estimates the "total mobile subscriber market will reach 2.7 billion
by 2010 and that shipments of handsets will break the 1 billion mark by 2009 on the back of
emerging Asia Pacific markets and increasing replacement rates in mature markets. 3G
subscribers are predicted to grow from 30 million in 2004 to over 300 million by 2010."

1.3 Objectives of Research:

Primary Objective :

• To study the perception & Buying Behavior of customers towards various mobile brands
with special reference to BYOND Mobiles.

Secondary Objectives :

• Factors that influence decision making in purchasing a mobile phone

• Major features which a customer looks for in a Mobile Handset
• Brand awareness of BYOND Mobile in the market.
• Factors which help in increasing the sale of mobile phone.
• Various sources from which mobiles are purchased.

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1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study is to get the first hand knowledge about the buying behavior of
consumers towards different brands of mobile handsets in Ludhiana city. The scope is
restricted to study the factors affecting the preference of consumers while choosing a mobile
handset in Pune city only.

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 Ch-2

Company
Profile

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 2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Information technology is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or

management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and
computer hardware." Encompassing the computer and information systems industries,
information technology is the capability to electronically input, process, store, output,
transmit, and receive data and information, including text, graphics, sound, and video, as well
as the ability to control machines of all kinds electronically.

Information technology is comprised of computers, networks, satellite communications,

robotics, videotext, cable television, electronic mail ("e-mail"), electronic games, and
automated office equipment. The information industry consists of all computer,
communications, and electronics-related organizations, including hardware, software, and
services. Completion of tasks using information technology results in rapid processing and
information mobility, as well as improved reliability and integrity of processed information.
It is a convenient term for including both telephony and computer technology in the same
word. It is the technology that is driving what has often been called "the information
revolution". Nowadays it has become popular to broaden the term to explicitly include the
field of electronic communication so that people tend to use the abbreviation ICT
(Information and Communication Technology).

"Electronic and information technology" is a term used in the 1998 amendments to Section
508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The term is used to define the scope of products covered under
Section 508. Section 508 requires that electronic and information technology that is
developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible.

Electronic and information technology includes computer hardware and software, operating
systems, web-based information and applications, telephones and other telecommunications
products, video equipment and multimedia products, information kiosks, and office products
such as photocopiers and fax machines

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History

Information technology dates back to 5000BC, when people started using alphabets as a
medium of communication. However, its actual emergence started with the first ever use of
the computer. The real modern mechanical computer was conceived in 1822 by Charles
Babbage. Then came the electromechanical age in 1840s with the discovery of different ways
to harness electricity and the information was converted into electric impulses. This led to the
beginning of telecommunication and telegraphy in late 1800s. As the loading coil and
vacuum tube made possible the early telephone network, the wireless revolution began only
after low cost microprocessors and digital switching became available.

Since then, four generations of computers have evolved. Each generation represented a step
that was characterized by hardware of decreased size and increased capabilities. The first
generation used vacuum tubes, the second transistors, and the third integrated circuits. The
fourth (and current) generation uses more complex systems such as very large-scale
integration or System - on- a - chip.

Mobile rigs were the beginning of mobile phones for use in vehicles such as taxicab radios,
two way radios in police cruisers, and the like. A large community of mobile radio users,
known as the mobileers, popularized the technology that would eventually give way to the
mobile phone. The concept of using hexagonal cells for mobile phone base stations was
invented in 1947 by Bell Labs engineers at AT&T and was further developed by Bell Labs
during the 1960s.

One of the first truly successful public commercial mobile phone networks was the ARP
network in Finland, launched in 1971. The first hand held mobile phone to become
commercially available was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, which received approval in
1983. Until the late 1980s, most mobile phones were too large to be carried in a jacket
pocket, so they were usually permanently installed in vehicles as car phones. With the

14
advance of miniaturization and smaller digital components, mobile phones got smaller and
lighter.

Current scenario

Mobile phones have gained a lot of popularity and are the considered to be great multimedia
tools. Mobile phones are being used for entertainment purposes due to the introduction of
new features everyday. They have become more than just call making and receiving devices.
Mobile phone handsets now have more business-friendly applications that can enhance
anybody’s 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, media terminals, credit cards, and remote controls.

Global 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 made an awful lot of money for investors. Today Key Handset
technologies include GSM, CDMA, and, Wi-Fi VoIP, TDMA, 3G, 4G and Bluetooth.
Worldwide mobile phone sales cruise to 990.8 million units in 2006, up a hefty 21.3% from
2005’s 816.6 million units. The estimated growth figures are—6.4% 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

15
regulations, regional/geographical wireless infrastructure, and the purchasing power.
Basically, the Asian market looks at the mobile handsets 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.

Major Global Players

Table 1.1: showing market share of major global players of mobile phones in 2008
Company 2008 Market Share (%)

Nokia Corporation is currently the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones. It

produces mobile phones for every major market and protocol, including GSM, CDMA, and
W-CDMA (UMTS). The corporation also produces telecommunications network equipment
for applications such as mobile and fixed-line voice telephony, ISDN, broadband access,
voice over IP, and wireless LAN.

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Nokia's Mobile Phones division provides the general public with mobile voice and data
products across a wide range of mobile devices. The division aims to target primarily high-
volume category sales of mobile phones and devices, with consumers being the most
important customer segment. Nokia believes that design, brand, ease of use and price are
mainstream mobile phones' most important considerations to customers. Nokia's product
portfolio includes camera phones with features such as megapixel cameras which appeal to
the mass market.

Motorola is an American multinational communications company based in Schaumburg,

Illinois, a Chicago suburb.Most of Motorola's products have been radio-related, starting with
a battery eliminator for radios, through the first walkie-talkie in the world, defense
electronics, cellular infrastructure equipment, and mobile phone manufacturing. Motorola has
recently been regaining market share in the cellular-phone business from Nokia, Samsung,
and others due to stylish new cellular phone designs.

Samsung Electronics is one of the world's largest IT companies by revenue. The company
also claims to be have the highest brand value among consumer electronics companies.
Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, it is part of the Korean Samsung Group, operating in
approximately over 100 countries. It is the number 1 mobile phone manufacturer in Asia.

Sony Ericsson is a joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics
company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to make
mobile phones. Both companies have stopped making their own mobile phones. The reason
for this merger is to combine Sony's consumer electronics expertise with Ericsson's
technological leadership in the communications sector. The company's global management is
based in Hammersmith, London. It also has research & development teams in Sweden,
Japan, China, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, India and the United Kingdom.

LG Electronics is one of the world's leading electronics companies. It is part of the Korean
LG Group, operating in approximately 80 countries. Its mobile phones division provides
CDMA, GSM, 3G Handsets.

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BenQ-Siemens is the mobile communications subsidiary of Taiwanese BenQ Corp.. The
division was formed out of BenQ's acquisition of the struggling Siemens mobile group in
2005. The stated goal of the company is to pull together BenQ's lifestyle experience, their
renowned design team and Siemens' engineering capabilities to create a new leader in the
mobile communications arena. The newly-formed company won the most iF design awards
in 2006, and also won many design awards in Germany's reddot competition.

Mobile Handset Market in India

The cell phones industry has shown a remarkable growth in the last decade. In 1989 the
number of its subscribers was zero in India. India’s love affair with cell phones started in the
mid-1990s, as the mobile revolution took hold and India had just 10 million mobile and
landline connections. Delhi was the first state to launch cell phones in India. Growth then
soared in the last four years due to regulatory change and falling costs of calls and handsets.
India’s wireless market is a test bed for alternative infrastructure, handsets, billing systems,
business models and marketing strategies that will likely prove applicable to other
developing countries.

On a numerical basis, India is the biggest growth market adding about 6 million cell phones
every month. CAGR for mobile phones is 86% in India. It is one of the fastest growing
mobile markets in the world; in April 2006 mobile subscriber base crossed 100 million mark.
This has been accomplished by rethinking handsets, network infrastructure, enhanced
services and content. More than two-third of mobile subscriptions are with GSM operators
and rest with CDMA. India has one of the lowest mobile phone tariffs in the world resulting
in low Average Revenue per User (ARPU) of 9.04 USD per year (CDMA 5.74 USD and
GSM 8.89 USD).

Indian land area covered by mobile networks is approx 30%. CAGR of Mobile Market Value
for 2004- 2009 is 36.9%.With 156.31 million cell phones; teledensity in the country is still
low at 17.45%. Fewer than eight in every 100 Indians use mobiles, compared with China's 30
per cent. In India, about 13 percent of people have cell phones which has increased from 8%

18
in 2005 and is expected to reach 40 percent within a few years. A lack of investment in the
infrastructure needed to support landline services means there are only 50 million fixed-line
users in the country, leaving the stage set for mobile operators. India is expected to have the
third largest mobile user base, behind China and the US, by the year end and will become the
second largest market of mobile handsets by 2010. Indian cellular market would account for
11% of the overall Asia Pacific and Japan market by 2009 and is expected to reach 500
million subscribers by end of 2010 with CAGR of 33.7% for 2004- 2010.

India’s mobile subscriber base

Fig 1.1

Major players in India

The major players in the handsets segment in India include Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson,
Samsung, LG, Philips, Panasonic, Bird, Sagem and BenQ. Nokia has retained the top slot in
Indian market with 70 % share, while US giant Motorola has 15 % share and Sony Ericsson
has gained around 8% share this year. Samsung has 5% share and LG has 1.8% share.

19
 2.2 Company Profile
BYOND TECH

Byond Tech has become a major player in the mobile phone industry. BYOND Tech started
its operations in Q4 of 2008.With an International manufacturing setup and cutting edge
solutions, Byond Tech sees limitless potential in the Indian mobile Industry. The Company
provides innovative mobile and communication solutions for end users.

Our products are sold in over more than 12 states. We sell our products through distributors
in more than 100 numbers. In addition, the company has strategic relationships with a wide
range of technology partners, including MEDIATEK, TAIWAN for GSM chipset solutions,
with QUALCOMM, USA for CDMA chipset solutions, and moulds manufactured in the 3rd
largest housings manufacturer; WANGXIN, to ensure we provide the most innovative and
up-to-date products to our customers.

BYOND TECH is not only a profitable company with robust financial performance and
stable cash flow, but also the one with growing potentials and prospects. Looking forward,
Byond TECH defines its strategic goal of "becoming a nationwide leader in the
telecommunications world and achieving leapfrog evolution from excellence to
preeminence". BYOND will adhere to its core value proposition of "Responsibility Makes
Perfection" and spare no effort to improve its competitiveness by implementing the concept
of scientific development with its well-built operation system, outstanding organization
structure and fully-trained personnel.

BYOND TECH supports 21st century information communication through its advanced
telecommunication service including its ultramodern mobile phones. The Byond mobile
phones adhere to strict quality standards and are certified with CE and RoHS. What's more,
get a free one-year warranty.

Byond tech is a subsidiary of Canpex group of companies. Canpex group, established in 1984
is one of the top players in the country for chemical industry. Currently carrying its business
with over 10 different countries based in different parts of the globe. With the group vision of

20
providing quality product at cheapest price has entered in to the telecom industry with
experienced and Ambitious team. Byond Tech being one of the companies, other companies
of Canpex Group are :

Canpex Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.

World’s largest manufacturer of Guanidine Nitrate, Hydrogen Cynamide.

Canpex Import Export Pvt. Ltd.

Leading Speciality chemical import – export house.

Canpex Machines (I)Pvt. Ltd.

India’s Top 3 OEM supplier of water treatment components.

WaterStar Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

One of the fastest growing industrial water treatment company.

Mission of BYOND Tech

To be a credible player in telecom industry with innovation and reliability being our
principle assets.

To build and develop a sustainable and scalable business model, that contributes towards
growth of the telecom industry in India.

To constantly deliver to our Clients more than what they expect from us and make their
dreams true.

21
Organisation Structure

Fig 1.2

22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
 Ch-3

Research
Design &
Methodology

38
 Methodology

Methodology means the way or manner by which the study is accomplished, which refers to the
full outcome of the process at a glance. It includes some chronological steps that are necessary to
complete the study successfully. Mode of operation differs with the nature of the study.
Methodology is always a compromise between options and choices and is frequently determined
by the availability of relevant resource and time. It is very important in the sense that it gives one
an idea about how the study has been conducted. In other words, methodology helps to organize,
represent, and analyze data and information. And their logical expression in a systematical
chronology is to achieve the ultimate goal of the thesis. The methodology is adopted for the
current research work is presented in a sequential manner.

3.1 Research design

3.2 Sampling technique and sample size selection
3.3 Data collection
3.4 Data processing, analysis and presentation
3.5 Limitation

3.1 Research design

A research design is a plan, structure and strategy of investigation so conceived as to obtain

answers to research questions or problems. It is the arrangement of conditions for collection and
analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with
economy in procedure. The researcher designed this study in a descriptive manner. On the basis
of the schedule and with the help of tables andfigures the data has been presented in a
descriptive way.

3.2 Sampling technique and sample size selection

39
Mobile phone shops, residence were the area of survey. So, Random Sampling procedure was
applied for choosing the sample. In this case the simple random sampling was applied. This
study considers 200 samples.

3.3 Data collection:

Two hundred respondents in the study area have been considered for collecting data. Necessary
data has been collected through Questionnaire survey. Two types of data have been collected for
this study which are briefly discussed below:

3.3.1 Primary data:

Primary data for this study has been collected from main survey instruments i.e. Questionnaire.

Questionnaire: In common parlance questionnaire is an instrument or a list of questions that are

directly or indirectly related with the study. According to the objectives and requirements of the
study a questionnaire has been framed to collect the required information regarding all indicators
used and other relevant information.

3.3.2 Secondary data:

In any study secondary data plays a crucial role from the inception to destination which on the
one hand strengthens knowledge base and saves time and resources on the other. At the initial
stage it gives first hand information about the topic of the study and later it is used to supplement
the empirical data. Secondary data have been collected for this study from different published
and unpublished documents such as research reports, different institutions, journals, articles and
internet.

3.4 Data processing, analysis and presentation

In order to analyze, processing of raw data is very much significant. In this stage, mainly data is
being processed and analyzed for the study. Without processing raw data, it is hard to analyze the
raw data. After processing, it is needed to present data for analysis in an appropriate way. An
attempt has been taken to entry the data into different statistical computer software with a view

40
to analyze data to reach in a decision. All the collected data (primary and secondary) have been
processed and
analyzed chronologically. The findings have been presented in this report appropriately with the
help of figures and tables.

3.5 Limitations of the study

Sincere efforts have been made to collect authentic and reliable information from respondents,
however the report is subject to following limitations:

i. Some respondents were reluctant to give the information, so their responses may be biased.

ii. Time could be a major limitation as it may have affected the inferences drawn in the study.

iii. Sample may not be the true representative of the universe.

iv. Study was conducted in Pune only. So the results of the study may not be applicable in

other areas.

41
 Ch-4

Data
Presentation,
Analysis and
Interpretation

42
 Data Presentation, Analysis & Interpretation
The data for the research conducted through a sample size of 200 has been analysed and
presented with the help of Pie–Charts & Bar Graphs for better understanding and interpretation
of the data thus simplified.

Age

2%

8%

11%
Age 15-25
Age 26-35
Age 36-45
Age 45& above

79%

Fig 4.1

The research was conducted through a sample size of 200.

The age wise breakup of the total sample size is as follows:

Table 4.1

15 - 25 158 79%
26 – 35 23 11%
36 - 45 16 8%
45 & Above 3 2%

43
 Sex

34%

Male
66%
Female

Fig 4.2

The Male - Female ratio of the respondents is 66 : 34

44
 Occupation

6%
3%

Business
24%
Housewife
Service
Student
67%

Fig 4.3

The demographic segmentation on the basis of their occupation of the total

population is as follows

Table 4.2

Business 12 6%
Housewife 7 3%
Service 48 24%
Student 133 67%

45
 Area

12%

Urban
Rural
88%

Fig 4.4

Out of the total population for research 88% of the respondents are from urban
area, and rest 12% is from rural area.

46
 Are you using a mobile phone?

5%

95% Yes
No

Fig 4.5

Table 4.3

Using a Mobile Phone? No. of People Percentage

Yes 190 95%
No 10 5%

47
 Which company’s handset are you using presently?

1%
1%1%1%1% Nokia
2%1%
2% Sony Erricson
5% Samsung
Motorola
6% HTC
Spice
Virgin
8% Lemon
LG
59% Micromax
Imate
12% Bleu
Carbbon

Fig 4.6

48
Table 4.4

Brand No. of Users Percentage of Users

Nokia 115 59
Sony Erricson 23 12
Samsung 16 8
Motorola 12 6
HTC 10 5
Spice 4 2
Virgin 3 2
Lemon 2 1
LG 2 1
Micromax 2 1
Imate 2 1
Bleu 2 1
Carbbon 2 1

Most of the people prefer branded mobiles such as Nokia, Samsung, Sony
Erricson, Motorola and very few people prefer other brands such as LG, Virgin,
Spice, HTC, I-mate, and a few unbranded mobiles too.

49
 Are you satisfied with your present handset?

180
159
160
140
120
100
80 Series1
60
40 31

20
0
Satisfied Not Satisfied

Fig 4.7

159 people out of 190 who own a mobile phone are satisfied with their present
handset. Rest 31 people are not satisfied. These 31 people are mostly from the
category who own either the unbranded handset and a few who have a branded
handset but are not satisfied with the functioning or the User Interface of the
mobile.

50
 How often do you change your handset?

70
59
60
50 52
50

40

30
Series1
20 16
10
10 5

0
Within a Within 6 Within a Within 2 Within 3 More than
month months year years years 3 years

Fig 4.8

Table 4.5

Period No. of People

Within a month 5
Within 6 months 10
Within a year 50
Within 2 years 59
Within 3 years 16
More than 3 years 52

The above graph clearly explains that maximum number of people change their
handsets between one to two years after purchase.

51
 Are you aware of the Brand BYOND Mobiles?

No 171

Series1

Yes 29

0 50 100 150 200

Fig 4.9

14.5% (i.e. 29 out of 200) of the sample are aware of the brand BYOND Mobiles
and 85.5% (i.e. 171 out of 200) people are not aware of this brand.

52
 Where do you purchase your handset from?

4% 3% 3%

Special Mobile Shop

32% Mobile Chain Store
58% Electronic Shop
Gift Shop
Others

Fig 4.10

Table 4.6

No. of people Percentage

Special Mobile Shop 113 58%
Mobile Chain Store 62 32%
Electronic Shop 8 4%
Gift Shop 6 3%
Others 6 3%

Maximum number of people buy mobile handsets from Special Mobile Shops or
Mobile Chain Store. Only a few people buy mobile handsets from Electronic
Shops or Gift Shops or any other place.

53
 Which of the following features do you want in a mobile handset?

250

200

150

100

No
50
Yes

Fig 4.11

54
Table 4.7

Feature Yes No
Integrated Camera 189 11
Bluetooth 200 0
MP3 198 2
MP4 95 105
Wi-fi 170 30
MMs 95 105
Mobile Tracker 163 37
Language Support 142 58
Battery Life 186 14
Dual Sim Technology 101 99
Dual Sim Stand-by Facility 79 121
F.M. Radio 158 42
F.M. Radio on Speaker Phone 154 46
Expandable Memory 192 8
Huge Phone Book Capacity 200 0
Loud Speaker 200 0
Video recording 178 22
GPRS 162 38
WAP 89 111
GPS 91 109
Touch Screen 135 65
Torch Light 110 90

Most of the common features like Camera, Bluetooth, MP3 Player, Huge phone
book capacity, expandable memory, loudspeaker, video recording, etc. are
preferred by all age groups. Features such as Dual Sim, GPS, etc. are given less
preference.

55
 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Integrated Camera
Bluetooth
MP3
MP4
Wi-fi
MMs
Mobile Tracker
Language Support
Battery Life
Dual Sim Technology
Dual Sim Stand-by Facility

56
F.M. Radio
15-25

Fig 4.12
F.M. Radio on Speaker Phone
Expandable Memory
Huge Phone Book Capacity
Age wise classification

Loud Speaker
Video recording
GPRS
WAP
GPS
Touch Screen
Torch Light
No
Yes
Table 4.8

Feature Yes No
Integrated Camera 151 7
Bluetooth 158 0
MP3 156 2
MP4 80 78
Wi-fi 135 23
MMs 79 79
Mobile Tracker 129 29
Language Support 113 45
Battery Life 147 11
Dual Sim Technology 82 76
Dual Sim Stand-by
Facility 67 91
F.M. Radio 124 34
F.M. Radio on Speaker
Phone 122 36
Expandable Memory 152 6
Huge Phone Book
Capacity 152 6
Loud Speaker 158 0
Video recording 139 19
GPRS 130 28
WAP 78 80
GPS 80 78
Touch Screen 103 55
Torch Light 87 71

For the age group of 15 – 25, the common features have been given more
preference. Other than that, features such as Wi-Fi, Mobile Tracker, Touch
Screen also have more preference over the other features.

57
 26-35

25

20

15

10

5 No
Yes
0

Fig 4.13

58
Table 4.9

Feature Yes No
Integrated Camera 20 3
Bluetooth 23 0
MP3 23 0
MP4 8 15
Wi-fi 20 3
MMs 7 16
Mobile Tracker 18 5
Language Support 18 5
Battery Life 21 2
Dual Sim Technology 9 14
Dual Sim Stand-by
Facility 7 16
F.M. Radio 20 3
F.M. Radio on Speaker
Phone 19 4
Expandable Memory 21 2
Huge Phone Book
Capacity 22 1
Loud Speaker 23 0
Video recording 22 1
GPRS 16 7
WAP 5 18
GPS 6 17
Touch Screen 17 6
Torch Light 14 9

The age group of 26 – 35 have more preference to features such as Bluetooth,

MP3 player, Wi-Fi, Camera, GPRS, F.M. on Speaker phone, Expandable memory,
Huge Phone book Capacity. They give less preference to features like touch
screen, Torch Light, Dual Sim Technology.

59
 10
12
14
16
18

0
2
4
6
8
Integrated Camera
Bluetooth
MP3
MP4
Wi-fi
MMs
Mobile Tracker
Language Support
Battery Life
Dual Sim Technology
Dual Sim Stand-by Facility

60
F.M. Radio
36-45

F.M. Radio on Speaker Phone

Fig 4.14
Expandable Memory
Huge Phone Book Capacity
Loud Speaker
Video recording
GPRS
WAP
GPS
Touch Screen
Torch Light
No
Yes
Table 4.10

Feature Yes No
Integrated Camera 15 1
Bluetooth 16 0
MP3 16 0
MP4 6 10
Wi-fi 12 4
MMs 8 8
Mobile Tracker 14 2
Language Support 9 7
Battery Life 15 1
Dual Sim Technology 10 6
Dual Sim Stand-by
Facility 5 11
F.M. Radio 11 5
F.M. Radio on Speaker
Phone 11 5
Expandable Memory 16 0
Huge Phone Book
Capacity 16 0
Loud Speaker 16 0
Video recording 14 2
GPRS 13 3
WAP 6 10
GPS 5 11
Touch Screen 12 4
Torch Light 7 9

Age Group 36 – 45 gives more preference to features like Camera, Bluetooth,

MP3 player, F.M. on Speaker Phone, Expandable Memory, Loud Speaker,
Battery Life, etc. Whereas they give less preference to features like MP4 player,
GPS, Torch light.

61
 45 & Above

1
No
Yes
0

Fig 4.15

62
Table 4.11

Feature Yes No
Integrated Camera 3 0
Bluetooth 3 0
MP3 3 0
MP4 1 2
Wi-fi 3 0
MMS 1 2
Mobile Tracker 2 1
Language Support 2 1
Battery Life 3 0
Dual Sim Technology 0 3
Dual Sim Stand-by
Facility 0 3
F.M. Radio 3 0
F.M. Radio on Speaker
Phone 2 1
Expandable Memory 3 0
Huge Phone Book
Capacity 2 1
Loud Speaker 3 0
Video recording 3 0
GPRS 3 0
WAP 0 3
GPS 0 3
Touch Screen 3 0
Torch Light 2 1

Age group 45 & Above prefers specific features such as Camera, Bluetooth, MP3
player, FM Radio, Battery life, Loudspeaker, Video Recording, GPRS, Touch
Screen, & Do not prefer features such as MP4 player, MMS, Dual Sim
Technology, WAP, GPS.

63
 How important is after sales service?

4%
13%

Very important
Important
Not Important

83%

Fig 4.16

After Sales Service is very important for 83 % of the population, 13% and 4%
Important and Not important respectively.

64
 How important is looks of a mobile handset?

2%

42%
Very important
56%
Important
Not Important

Fig 4.17

The above graph clearly explain that, 56% of the population feels that looks of
the mobile handset is very important. Whereas 42% feels it is important & only
2% feels it is not important.

65
 Ch-5

Suggestions &
Findings

66
 Suggestions & Findings

1. People constantly switch from one brand to another on the dearth of new features and
advance technology.
2. It has increasingly become a necessary to reduce communication gap and to maintain
mobility. It has also become an important tool for people, specially the working
population to carry business transactions easily and quickly.
3. It is clear from the above that people give due importance to factors like features,
appearance and brand of mobile phones while making purchase decision.
4. It’s clear that people buy a particular brand of mobile hand sets on the
basis of the positive report about their performance received from their friends and family
members who already own that brand.
5. Nokia is the most popular and widely used brand by the people of Pune city.
6. Besides receiving and makings calls and SMS people in are also using mobile for
listening music and camera.
7. Use of mobile for games has significantly reduced. And still people are not accustomed
with the use of internet on their mobile phones.
8. As far as features of mobile phones are concerned it’s clear from above that people give
more preference to the features of data storage and personal information management.
Demand for features like GPRS & Wi-Fi in mobile phones is also increasing.
9. People of agree that factors like reparability and availability of spare parts are important
to consider while making buying decision for a brand of mobile phone. But as far as
promotional activities are concerned they are neutral towards this factor.
10. Most of the population is satisfied with their existing brands. The main problem faced
otherwise is related to the battery life of a mobile hand set.
11. People require additional features of Wi-Fi, Windows, TV and Video Conferencing in
their mobile phones. It depicts that people here are techno savvy and want to use
innovative features.

67
 Ch-6

Conclusion

68
 Conclusion

The Mobile phone represents the convergence instrument of the future.It have become a
necessity for many people throughout the world. The ability to keep in touch with family,
business associates, and storing data are only a few of the reasons for the increasing importance
of mobile phones. Cell phone manufacturers have produced a wide range of cell phones, which
sell for prices that range from very inexpensive to thousands of rupees.

The above findings and results reflected the preferences, expectations and satisfaction level of
mobile phones users in Pune. The study would help the companies in understanding the factors
that influence the purchase decision of the consumers and their expectations from the mobile
handsets. The results of the study indicate that mobile phones are no longer the status symbol for
the people of Pune. Brand and features in a handset are preferred over their prices. People here
are techno savvy and require new innovative features in mobile phones every new day.

Since the study was restricted to the Pune city so the there is need to study more in other cities to
get the clear view of the findings.

69
Annexure

70
 Questionnaire
Name :
Age : 15-25 26-35 36-45 45 & Above
Sex : Male Female
Occupation& Designation :
Place :
Area : Rural Urban
E-mail :
Contact No :

1. Are you using a Mobile Phone?

Yes No

2. Which Companies handset are you using presently?

________________________________________________

3. Are you satisfied with your present handset?

Yes No

4. How often do you change your handset?

Within a month
Within six months
Within a year
Within 2 years
Within 3 years
More than 3 years

5. In what time are you thinking to change your present handset?

Within a week
Within a month
Within six months
Within a year
Don’t know. Depends____________________________________________

6. Are you aware of the brand BYOND Mobiles?

Yes No

7. Where do you purchase your handset from?

Special Mobile Shop Mobile Chain Store Electronic Shop Gift Shop
Others (Please Specify) __________________________________

71
8. Which of the following features would you like to have in your mobile
handset?
Features Yes No
Integrated Camera
Bluetooth
MP3
MP4
Wi-Fi
MMS
Mobile Tracker
Language support(Eg: Hindi)
Battery Life
Dual SIM Technology
Dual SIM Standby Facility
F.M. Radio
F.M. Radio on speakerphone
Expandable Memory
Huge Phone book capacity
Loudspeaker
Video Recording
GPRS
WAP
GPS
Touch Screen
Torch Light

9. How important is after sales service?

Very Important
Important
Not Important

10.According to you how important is looks of a Mobile Handset ?

Very Important
Important
Not Important

11.What kind of question do you ask / or you will ask the retailer while
purchasing handset of some new brand?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

12.Suggest an Innovative feature to be added in a mobile handset.

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

72
 Bibliography

Websites:

http://www.byondtech.com

http://www.google.co.in

http://www.timesofindia.com

http://www.nokia.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones

Books:

The Marketing Management Book - by Mr.Rajan Saxena

Marketing Management - by Philip Kotler

Consumer Behavior in Indian Perspective – by Suja R. Nair

Research Methodology – by Kothari C.R.