Executive Summary: Study of Relationship Between Price and Brand Switching

Study of relationship between Price and Brand Switching
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Indian economy has witnessed fast-paced growth over the last
decade, making it one of the preferred investment destination for
multinational corporations and a recognized manufacturing hub to the
world. This, in turn, has resulted in increased demand for world-class
service providers to enter the Indian Market, trough many means one such
being the Telecommunication sector.
Telecommunication services in India, has witnessed a huge growth and
transformation the recent extraordinary growth in telecommunication
connections in India, has topped 10 million per month in 2008, has
understandably grabbed the headlines.
Since the early part of the decade The telecommunication sector has been
growing at an impressive rate of 8 to 10 per cent per annum since 2002 to
touch revenues of $100 billion in 2007 - 08.
Amidst the spreading gloom of the economic downturn following the global
financial meltdown, the Indian telecom sector provides the proverbial silver
lining. The growth in mobile connections has continued at around 10 million
a month and investment prospects remain bullish.
During the past few years this research has built a detailed understanding
of the importance of telecommunications infrastructure to economic
development. The unique contribution of this report, which makes it of
special interest to policy makers, is that it looks at impacts within a single
country, potentially delivering much more robust conclusions. India has
more diversity within its borders than any other country – it comprises 1.1
Research Methodology.
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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.
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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 3rd
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 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.
 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 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 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.
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.
Nokia’s 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 desinged
keeping 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 world’s
largest mobile network, China Mobile has also the greatest number of
mobile subscribers.
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As of 2009, it is the world’s 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 the
leading 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 with
system, 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 send

and 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 were
20 student male
20 student female
20 businessman
20 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 don’t 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 brand
and 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:-
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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 networking
sites 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 loyal
customers 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 colour
display. 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 them
There 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 showing
advertisement 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 today’s 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 that
some 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 marketing,

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 logistic
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 cognition;

consumer behavior; purchasing intentions; mobile phones; notebook
computers; sports shoes carbonated drinks.
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Graph1.1
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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 can be
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. First
is 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 model
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
27
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 John
Martin, 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 during the
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 Science’s research – the debut of
Nexus One on January 5 – occurred midway through the Dec. 24. 2009 to
Jan. 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, Nokia,
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 if
he/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 the
best 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 indicated
they 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
31
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 wireless

marketplace. Rather, cost seems to top consumers' list of priorities. The
survey found almost half of the respondents consider "the best deal from
the 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 instant
message development strategies in China.
Motorola Passes Apple In Brand Loyalty Among Men

10:47 am, November 25th, 2009, Ed Sutherland
32
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 company’s
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 clear loser:
BlackBerry. The Research in Motion smartphone “has withered under all
the Droid/iPhone marketing hype,” YouGov announced Tuesday.
33
Despite the advertising slugfest between rival carriers AT&T (which

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 “has
seen 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 brand
bounce 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
34
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 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
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.
35
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,
36
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 each
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 market

performance
Switching 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.
37
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 market.
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
38
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 and
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

112 siness Intelligence Journal January
4.1) Research design:-

39
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 consumer’s 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.
40
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:-
41
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:-
42
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:-
QUESTIONNAIRE
1.Do you think mobile industry is still a monopoly?
yes no
2. Which brand did you use last mobile?

a. Nokia b. Samsung c. Blackberry d. Karbonn
e. China f. LG g. Reliance h. Others
3.Which brand are you using currently?

a. Nokia b. Samsung c. Blackberry d. Karbonn
e. China f. LG g. Reliance h. Others
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 c. personal experience
6. Would you prefer extra added features in your mobile even though it is not durable?
a. yes b. no
7. Does advertisement influence your purchase decision?

a. yes b. no
8. Does competitive price urge you to experiment a new brand?

a. yes b. no
9. Would you prefer a particular brand while buying a handset?

a. yes b. no
10. Which factors would you consider while switching a brand?
43
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 ended
questions.
In close ended questions dichotomous, ranking, likert’s scale, checklist
questions and multiple choice questions are used.
44
○ 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 sampling
45
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.
46
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.
47
○ 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
48
Graph 1.4
Graph 1.5
49
5.2) Data analyses & Interpretations:-

1) Application of Chi-Square on the following interpretations, recorded
through 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 the
following interpretations were calculated.
Case Processing Summary

Cases
Valid Missing Total
Percen Percen Percen
N t N t N t
number of 100.0 100.0
100 0 .0% 100
responses * RES % %
OCCU * RES 100.0 100.0
100a 0 .0% 100
% %
a. Number of valid cases is different from the total count in the
cross tabulation table because the cell counts have been rounded.
number of responses * RES
50
Crosstab
Count
RES
YES NO Total
number of 5 0 5 5
responses 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
Asymp.
Sig. (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi- 79.330
a 6 .000
Square
Likelihood Ratio 107.64
6 .000
6
Linear-by-Linear
11.632 1 .001
Association
N of Valid Cases 100
a. 5 cells (35.7%) have expected count less
than 5. The minimum expected count is 2.05.
51
Graph 1.6
OCCU * RES
52
Crosstab
Count
RES
YES NO Total
OCC Business 10 10 20
U STUDEN
22 18 40
T
SERVICE 15 5 20
HOUSEW
12 8 20
IF
Total 59 41 100
Chi-Square Tests
Asymp.
Sig. (2-
Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-
3.059a 3 .383
Square
Likelihood Ratio 3.181 3 .365
Linear-by-Linear
1.148 1 .284
Association
a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than
5. The minimum expected count is 8.20.
53
Graph 1.7
CROSSTABS
Interpretations:-
Hence Table value is greater than calculated value 7.815>3.059
So we accept null hypothesis Ho
and reject alternative hypothesis H1.
2) Application of Chi-Square on the following interpretations, recorded

through our survey.
54
Q) Which brand did you last mobile? And Which brand are you using
currently ?
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

100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%
of brand
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
55
Crosstab
Count
name of brand
nokia samsun blackberry china lg reliance others Total
number of responses 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
2 0 0 4 2 0 2 0 8
3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 6
6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 6
7 0 7 0 0 0 0 14 21
16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
42 42 0 0 0 0 0 0 42
Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14 100
Chi-Square Tests
Asymp. Sig. (2-

Value df 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
56
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
Asymp. Sig. (2-

Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 6.519a 6 .368

Frequencies
Statistics
number of
responses name of brand
N Valid 100 100
Missing 0 0
57
number of responses
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent 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
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent 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
58
Crosstabs
Cases
Valid Missing Total
number of responses * name

100 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%
of brand
response * name of brand 100a 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%
number of responses * name of brand
Crosstab
Crosstab
Count
name of brand
number of responses 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
2 0 0 4 2 0 2 0 8
3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 6
6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 6
7 0 7 0 0 0 0 14 21
16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
42 42 0 0 0 0 0 0 42
Total 58 13 4 2 4 5 14 100
59
Chi-Square Tests
Asymp. Sig. (2-

Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 3.083E2a 36 .000

Graph 1.8
60
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
Asymp. Sig. (2-

Value df sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 6.519a 6 .368

61
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.
62
3) Application of Correlation on the following interpretations, recorded

through 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 *
100a 100.0% 0 .0% 100 100.0%
responses
occupation * responses
63
Crosstab
Count
Responses
yes no Total
occupation business 10 10 20
student 17 23 40
servicemen 14 6 20
housewives 10 10 20
Total 51 49 100
Symmetric Measures
Asymp. Std.
Value 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.
64
Graph 1.9
number of respondents * responses
65
Crosstab
Count
responses
Yes no Total
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
Asymp. Std.
Value 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.
66
Graph 1.10
Interpretation:-
The calculated values i.e -0.80 lies between -0.70 to -1, it is strongly
negative.
So we accept null hypothesis and reject alternative hypothesis
6.1) Findings
67
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:-
68
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 person
decision 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 that
has different people with different ideas.
Bibliography
Research Methodology- C.R. Kothari.
69
Webliography
 www.nokia.com
 www.sonyericsson.com
 www.samsung.com
 www.google.com
 www.wikipedia.com
 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/08876040110381463
70

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Study of relationship between Price and Brand Switching

billion people, living and working in very different circumstances and

1.1) Industry Profile.

 Background & Origin Of Mobile Phone

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

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

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

The experimental model of a wearable automatic mobile phone was

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

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

 Mobile handset market

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

its national operations from New Delhi.

Motorola is an international communications company with its Indian

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

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

Micromax made a beginning by introducing Micromax mobiles in the year

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

the market for people from every class.

The Blackberry is actually a wireless handset manufactured by the

The Blackberry mostly requires access to mobile wireless networks to send

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

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

2.1) Scope of Study

20 Service People, and

2.2) Statement of the problem.

2.3) Objective of Study:

2.4) Statement of hypothesis.

According to Oxford dictionary, hypothesis means ‘a supposition put

• H0 there is no relationship between price & brand switching.

• H1 there is relationship between price & brand switching.

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

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

• Questionnaire: The first limitation faced by the interviewers was that

• Respondent Biasness:- The respondents were very bias to answer

○ Servicemen: The respondents who were employees were very much

Suggestions to target the Servicemen:-

○ Housewives:- The respondents who were housewives were very

Suggestions to target the Housewives :-

○ Businessmen:- they are the second most important segment of

Suggestions to target the Businessmen :-

Switching costs play an important role in explaining the link

Abstract: The main objective of customer satisfaction programs is to

Customer loyalty, Customer satisfaction, France, Services marketing,

Advertising affects brand-switching behavior

brand associations and were indirectly affected by attention to advertising

Keywords: brand switching; advertising cognition; brand cognition;

Brand Switching elasticity.

Sony Ericsson Overtakes Nokia in Brand Loyalty Stakes

expectations of their customers or else their customers look elsewhere to

Nokia Brand - Losing its Sheen?

40% of BlackBerry Users Want iPhone, Android Instead

Lust for something different grows inside an overwhelming percentage of

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

Switching Cost And Customers Loyalty In the Mobile Market.

customers consider to exit.

Nokia Sim Free Mobile Phones - Avail The Best

Handset manufacturers lack brand loyalty.

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

Brand loyalty of customers in China.

Motorola Passes Apple In Brand Loyalty Among Men

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