A PROJECT REPORT ON

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUBMITTED TO: - SUBMITTED BY:-

Mr. GURU SWARUP MISS. ANJALI SHARMA(Asst. Prof.) ROLL NO.-614012004 MBA 2nd Sem.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

When I embarked this project, it appeared to me as a tough task. Slowly as I progressed I did realized that I was not alone after all.

I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. GURU SWARUP (Asst. Prof.) coordinator who has extended their kind help, guidance and suggestion without which it could not have been possible forms to complete this project report.

My sincere thanks to my coordinator for offering me all kinds of support and help in preparing the project.

I am deeply in debited to my guide Mr. GURU SWARUP for not only his valuable and enlightened, guidance but also for the freedom he rendered me during this project work.I am also thankful to classmates, well-wishers who with their generous help and support made it a relative easier affair.

ANJALI SHARMA 614012004 MBA 2nd Sem.

PREFACE

The project gives an insight of the telecom sector. It basically helps understanding the brand preference of students with regard to mobile phones. It helps us to know what is the basis on which a student chooses a particular brand when he/she purchases a new handset.

The project will help to learn about the growing telecom sector in India. The research will also bring to light what all factors a student considers at the time of purchase of a new mobile phone.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. NO.TOPICPage no.

1Introduction and Companies profile5-20

2Review of literature21-24

3Objectives of study25-26

4Research methodology27-28

5Data Analysis and interpretation29-37

6Findings, Conclusion and Limitations38-40

7Recommendation and Suggestions41-42

8Bibliography and References43-45

ANNEXURE46-49

INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC

One of the indicators of the strength of abrandin the hearts and minds of customers,brand preferencerepresents which brands are preferred under assumptions of equality in price and availability. Measures of brand preference attempt to quantify the impact ofmarketingactivities in the hearts and minds of customers and potential customers. Higher brand preference usually indicates more revenues (sales) and profit, also making it an indicator of company financial performance.There are at least three classes of methodologies to measure brand preference directly: Surveyquestions (self-report, unaided preference) Brand choice measures (choice of preferred brand from a competitive set of brands) Constant sum measures (planned purchases amongst a competitive set of brands) Measureofbrand loyaltyin which aconsumerwill choose a particular brand in presence ofcompetingbrands, but will acceptsubstitutesif that brand is not available.

Brand preference reflects a desire to use a particular company's product(s) or service(s) even when there are equally-priced and equally-available alternatives. In fact, more often than not, brand preference indicates a desire to seek out a specific product or service even when it requires paying more or expending more effort to obtain it! Brand preference is important to companies because it provides an indicator of their customers' loyalty, the success of their marketing tactics, and the strength of their respective brands.Customer LoyaltyImagine that you are the CEO of a company that sells office supplies, and your competitor just announced a major promotion to cut prices on their products. Should you be worried? Always! But you can be less worried if people have a strong preference for your brand, because that means you have loyal customers who are not going to switch just because the prices went down somewhere else.

DEFINITION OF CELLULAR PHONE

The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or "hand phone") is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, current mobile phones can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, email, packets witching for access to the Internet, and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations (cell sites), which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) (the exception is satellite phones. Cellular telephone is also defined as a type of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter's span of coverage is called a cell. Generally, cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and along major highways .As the cellular telephone user moves from one cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone is effectively passed on to the local cell transmitter. A cellular telephone is not to be confused with a cordless telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection to a local phone outlet). A newer service similar to cellular is personal communications services (PCS).

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The Global Cellular Mobile Industry:

The global mobile phone industry is based on many different manufacturers and operators. The industry is based on advanced technology and many of the manufacturers are operating indifferent industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network, market knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile phones are today dominating the global mobile phone industry; Micromax, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Lava. In addition to the companies there are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally.

Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA.

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

Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China.

Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific.

Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile phone market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations India low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

History of Indian Telecommunications

Started in 1851 when the first operational landlines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After in dependence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring understates control.

The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector is gent flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom evolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive road map for the Indian telecommunication s sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year . Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 percent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 percent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and of ferreliable, high-end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and video conferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Essar, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on air time, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for air time, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

Nokia Samsung Micromax Sony Ericsson Lava

NOKIA

In 1865, an engineer named Fredrik Ides tam established a wood-pulp mill and started manufacturing paper in southern Finland near the banks of a river. Those were the days when there was a strong demand for paper in the industry, the company sales achieved its high- stakes and Nokia grew faster and faster. The Nokia exported paper to Russia first and into the United Kingdom and France. The Nokia factory employed a fairly large workforce and a small community grew around it. In southern Finland a community called Nokia still exists on the river bank of Emkoski.

Finnish Rubber Works, a manufacturer a Rubber goods, impressed with the hydro-electricity produced by the Nokia wood-pulp (from river Emkoski), merged up and started selling goods under the brand name on Nokia. After World War II, It acquired a major part of the Finnish Cable Works shares. The Finnish Cable Work shad grown quickly due to the increasing need for power transmission and telegraph and telephone networks in the World War II. Gradually the ownership of the Rubber Works and the Cable Works companies consolidated. In 1967, all the 3 companies merged- upto form the Nokia Group. The Electronics Department generated 3% of the Groups net sales and provided work for people in, when the Nokia Group was formed.

In the beginning of 1970, the telephone exchanges consisted of electro-mechanical analog switches. Soon Nokia successfully developed the digital switch (NokiaDX 200) there by replacing the prior electromechanical analog switch. The Nokia DX 200 was embedded with high-level computer language as well as Intel microprocessors which in turn allowed computer-controlled telephone exchanges to be on the top and which is till date the basis for Nokias network infrastructure.

The NMT was later on introduced in other countries. Very soon Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), a digital mobile telephony, was launched and Nokia started the development of GSM phones. Beginning of the 1990 brought about an economic recession in Finland. (Rumor has it that Nokia was offered to the Swedish telecom company Ericsson during this time which was refused) Due to this Nokia increase sale of GSM phones that was enormous. This was the main reason for Nokia to not only be one of the largest brutal so the most important companies in Finland. As per the sources, in August 1997, Nokia supplied GSM systems to 59operatorsin31countries.

Slowly and steadily, Nokia became a large television manufacturer and also the largest information technology company in the Nordic countries. During the economic recession the Nokia was committed to telecommunications. The 2100 series of the production was so successful that inspite of its go alto sell 500,000 units, it marvelously sold 20 million. Presently, Nokia is the number 1 production in digital technologies; it invests 8.5% of net sales in research and development. Also has its annual Nokia Game.

Enter to Global System Communication

Nokia Corporation (Nokia), a Finland based company incorporated in 1967, is the leading manufacturer of mobile devices and mobile networks in the world. Over the years, Nokia has evolved from a pulp, rubber and cables manufacturing company to a major manufacturer of wireless devices and networks. Nokia offers a wide range of mobile devices with experience in music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games and business mobility. It also provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators, service providers and corporations. The company offers its products in 150 countries across the world. It is headquartered in Espoo, Finland and employs about 68,500 people.

The company recorded revenues of E41, 121 million during the fiscal year ended December 2006, and an increase of 20.3% over 2005.

Nokia Corporation manufactures mobile devices principally based on global system for mobile communications, code division multiple access (CDMA), and wide band CDMA (WCDMA) technologies. The company operates in three divisions: Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions, and Networks. The Multimedia division focuses on bringing connected mobile multimedia to consumers in the form of advanced mobile devices, including 3GWCDMA mobile devices and solutions. The Enterprise Solutions division enables businesses and institutions to extend their use of mobility from mobile devices for voice and basic data to secure mobile access, content, and applications. Its solutions include business-optimized mobile devices for end-users, a portfolio of Internet portfolio network perimeter security gate ways, and mobile connectivity offerings. The Networks division provides network infrastructure, communications, and networks service platforms and professional services to operators and service providers. Nokia Corporation is based in Espoo, Finland.

SAMSUNG

Samsung Electronics commenced its operations in India in December 1995 and is today a leading provider of Consumer Electronics, IT and Telecom products in the Indian market. Samsung India is the Regional Headquarters for Samsungs South West Asia operations, which provides employment to over 8,000 employees with around 6,000 employees being involved in R&D. In 2010, Samsung India achieved a sales turnover of US$3.5 billion.

Samsung began operations in India through its manufacturing complex located at Noida (UP), which today houses facilities for Colour Televisions (including 3D, LED and LCD Televisions), Mobile Phones, Refrigerators, Washing Machines and Split Air Conditioners categories. Samsung commenced operations of its second stateof-the-art manufacturing complex at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu in November 2007. Today, the Sriperumbudur facility manufactures Colour televisions, Fully Automatic Front Loading Washing Machines, Refrigerators and Split Air Conditioners. Samsung India has two R&D Centres in India at Delhi and Bangalore .While the Delhi R&D Centre develops software solutions for hi-end televisions such as Plasma TVs, LCD TVs and Digital Media Products, the Bangalore R&D Centre works on major projects for Samsung Electronics in the area of telecom, wireless terminals and infrastructure, Networking, SoC (System on Chip) Digital Printing and other multimedia/digital media as well as application software.

Samsung India is a market leader in product categories like LED TVs, LCD TVs, Slim TVs and Side by Side Refrigerators. While it is the second largest mobile handset brand in India, it leads in the smart phone segment in India. Samsung India has won several awards and recognitions for both its corporate initiatives as well as its product innovations in audio visual, home appliance, IT and telecom product categories.

Apart from development of innovative technology, Samsung places great importance on acting as a responsible corporate citizen in the communities where it operates. Its CSR programs respond to the social and environmental needs and seek to give back to communities that support the company. In 2009, Samsung launched the companys Corporate Social Responsibility initiative Samsung Hope Project with projects in the areas of education, culture, sports, social welfare and community development. Each program under the Hope Project uniquely addresses the needs of individual communities while emphasizing on innovations for development of the community including education, technology, engineering and IT technical training.

MICROMAX

Micromaxis an Indianconsumer electronicscompany headquartered inGurgaon,Haryana,India. Micromax started as anIT software company in 2000 and worked on embedded platforms. It entered the mobile handset business, and became one of the largest Indian domestic mobile handsets company operating in low cost feature phone segments by 2010. Micromax is thetenth largestSmartphonevendor in the world. Micromax was incorporated as Micromax Informatics Ltd. on 29 March 2000.They started sellingmobile phonesin 2008,with a focus on low pricing, in order to compete with international brands. Because of the issues of power indewas, Rahul Sharma saw a PCObeing powered by a truck battery and decided to launch a feature phone with longer battery life.Micromax launched its first phone with a month-long battery back-up known as X1i.In 2014, Micromax surpassedSamsungto become the mobile phone manufacturer shipping the most number of phones in a single quarter in India. On 24 January 2014, Micromax became the first Indian mobile company to start sales inRussia. Micromax became the second largest Smartphone company in India after the launch of its Canvas 2 A110.

In 2011, Micromax entered the tablet market with the Fun book series.Micromax launched its first Octa Core flagship Smartphone named as Canvas Knight A350, under the tagline 'Can be Furiously Fast' in January 2014 inRussia. In 2014, Micromax launched its Android One Smartphone known asCanvas A1. In November 2014, Micromax partnered withCyanogensto provide Cyanogen-based Smart phones in India, under the brand nameYU. The first mobile under this brand 'YU' happens to be a 4G phone running on cyanogens mod named 'Yureka'. Yu Yureka has created a record time for Lightning Sales, 15000 Units sold within 3 seconds. Every Sales of YU is within first 34 seconds. Recently, Micromax has released a new phone in canvas series named Canvas HUE which has a HD Amoled Screen at a very low price of Rs. 10,999.Since April 2014, they have started manufacturing LED TVs and tablets at their facility in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand in Feb'2015, MMX to make a Rs.500 crore manufacturing plant is all set to come up in Rajashtan`s Alwar district following the signing of an MoU between the state government and Bhagwati Products Ltd. on 20th Feb'15. Spread across 25 acres, it would be the second manufacturing plant in the country by Bhagwati Products Ltd. for production of mobile handsets, LED TVs, LED Lights etc. for Micromax Brand. It will be set up at Karoli near Bhiwadi town, about 200km from here. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the plant was signed by Rajesh Agarwal, chairman of Bhagwati Products Ltd. and co-founder of the Micromax Informatics Ltd., and Veenu Gupta, principal secretary industries, Rajasthan and managing director, Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) Ltd. CS Rajan, Rajasthan chief secretary and RIICO chairman, was also present on this occasion.

LAVA

LavaInternational Ltd is an Indian mobile handset company with its headquarters in Noida, New Delhi and regional offices across India. Lava's product portfolio includes smart phones, tablets, feature phones and IT accessories.Lava Mobiles was co-founded by Hari Om Rai, Sunil Bhalla, Shailendra Nath Rai and Vishal Sehgal in 2009. In 2012, microchip maker Intel tied up with Lava International to announce the first Intel powered smart phone under a new brand nameXOLO, in India.It is also in 2012 that LAVA also entered the tablet business with E-Tab Z7H.In 2014, Lava launched its flagship Iris Pro 30 Smartphone, the first one in the Iris Pro series. Lava Iris X1 was among the first Smartphone running Android Kitkat in India. In December 2014, the company launched its firstWindows PhoneSmartphone, Iris Win1. Lava International was established in the year 2003 and was originally named Pacetel Communications. The company is credited with launching the worlds first Intel chipbased Smartphone. Lava joined hands with Interbrand in early 2012, firm to undergo a visual identity change. This exercise gave Lava a new logo, brand & visual identity based on the core thought of Create Possibilities. For the Iris Pro Series Lava launched the Art Meets Smart campaign in 2013. The brand also tied up with KBC and IIFA Awards to promote the Iris Pro Series. Lava joined hands with Interbrand in early 2012 to undergo a visual identity change. This exercise gave the company a new logo, brand & visual identity based on the core thought of Create Possibilities. For the financial year of 2014, the company has planned to invest more than Rs. 220 croresfor its marketing activities. According to IDC Asia Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker 2014, Lava Mobiles has a 8% market sharein the Indian mobile phone market. In 2013, the company reported close to 30 billion rupees ($500 million)in turnover and in 2014 they aim to achieve more than $1 billion in revenue.On a monthly basis, the company currently produces about 1.5 million units.Lava Mobiles has also said it expects to doublet revenues from tablets and IT products in FY 2014 from FY 2013. Lava ranked as Indias 5th most trusted mobile handset brand in the 2014Brand Trust Report. 2014. The company was ranked as 4th largest Smartphone brand in India by IDC.

For designing and developing its wide range of products, the company has a complete in-house R&D set-upin China. This facility has produced phones such as Lava Iris Pro 30 as well as the Fusion App which is currently available on the Google play store.

In terms of distribution channels, Lava Mobiles has a single-layer distribution model, wherein over 900 distributorpan-India are directly managed and controlled by the company itself. The target audience that Lava is currently eyeing is the youth, particularly, entry level professionals as well as students. With respect to the target market, the company will focus on tier 1 & tier 2 markets as there is huge potential for growth in the Smartphone category. It is also focusing on the rural markets for its feature phone category.

SONY

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.(formerlySony Ericsson) is amultinationalmobile phonemanufacturing company jointly headquartered inTokyo,Japan, andLund,Sweden, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ofSony Corporation. It was founded on October 1, 2001 as a joint venture between Sony and theSwedishtelecommunications equipment companyEricsson, under the nameSony Ericsson. Sony acquired Ericsson's share in the venture on February 16, 2012. Sony Mobile Communications has research and development facilities inTokyo,Japan;Chennai,India;Lund,Sweden;Beijing,ChinaandSilicon Valley,United States.Sony Mobile was the fourth-largestSmartphonemanufacturer by market share in the fourth quarter of 2012 with 9.8 million units shipped. The current flagship device of Sony is theSony Xperia Z3, a Smartphone that is water and dust proof with an IP66 rating, a quad-core 2.5GHzKraitProcessor,Qualcomm Snapdragon801 Chipset, Android 4.4.4 OS, and a 20.7-megapixel 4K camera that has a G Lens, Exmore RS, and BIONZ image processor. In the United States of America,Ericssonpartnered withGeneral Electricin the early nineties asEricsson Mobile Communications(ECS), primarily to establish a US presence and brand recognition. Ericsson had decided to obtain chips for its phones from a single sourceaPhilipsfacility inNew Mexico. On March 17, 2000,a fire at the Philips factory contaminated the sterile facility. Philips assured Ericsson andNokia(their other major customer) that production would be delayed for no more than a week. When it became clear that production would actually be compromised for months, Ericsson was faced with a serious shortage.Nokia had already begun to obtain parts from alternative sources, but Ericsson's position was much worse as production of current models and the launch of new ones was held up. Ericsson, which had been in the mobile phone market for decades, and was the world's third largest cellular telephone handset maker, was struggling with huge losses. This was mainly due to this fire and its inability to produce cheaper phones likeNokia. To curtail the losses, it considered outsourcing production to Asian companies that could produce the handsets for lower costs. Speculation began about a possible sale by Ericsson of itsmobile phonedivision, but the company's president, Kurt Hailstorm, said it had no plans to do so. Hailstorm said, "Mobile phones are really a core business for Ericsson. We wouldn't be as successful (in networks) if we didn't have phones". Sonywas a marginal player in the worldwide mobile phone market with a share of less than 1 percent in 2000. By August 2001, the two companies had finalized the terms of the merger announced in April. Ericsson contributed a majority of theEricsson Mobile Communicationscompany, excluding a minor part spun off asEricsson Mobile Platforms. Sony contributed its entire handset division. The company was to have an initial workforce of 3,500 employees. On October 27, 2011, Sony announced that it would acquire Ericsson's stake in Sony Ericsson for 1.05 billion ($1.47 billion), making the mobile handset business a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction's completion was expected to occur in January 2012.At their keynote at the2012 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony'sKaz Hiraiannounced that Sony Ericsson would be known simply as Sony Mobile Communications pending completion of the transaction. On January 26, 2012, the European Union approved the buyout.On February 16, 2012, Sony announced it had completed the full acquisition of Sony Ericsson. On January 7, 2013, Sony Mobile completed moving its headquarters fromLund,SwedentoTokyo,Japanin order to fully integrate with its parent company. The first Sony-only mobile was theSony Xperia Salong with theSony Xperia UandSony Xperia Pat the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Sony Mobile Communications decided to phase out all the feature (non-smart) phones by September 2012 and focus completely on the smart phones segment. On July 2, 2012, Sony announced it was buying Gaikai, a cloud service to support its expansion into the cloud gaming realm. Sony paid a reported $380 million to acquireGaikai.The Sony Ericsson Liquid Energy Logo, which was the hallmark logo used on Sony Mobile products up until the 2012 series of phones, was replaced with a new power button designed as the new signature hallmark to easily identify a Sony phone and this debuted with the 2013 series of Xperia mobile phones. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show theSony Xperia ZandSony Xperia ZLwere announced, followed by theSony Xperia Z1, unveiled during a press conference inIFA2013, theSony Xperia Z2during the 2014Mobile World CongressinBarcelona,Spain, and theSony Xperia Z3in IFA 2014. On October 30, 2014, Sony announced that Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning, Finance and New Business Creation Department Hiroki Totoki will replace Kunimasa Suzuki as President and CEO of Sony Mobile Communications with effect from November 16, 2014. Suzuki subsequently became the Group Executive of Sony Corporation after his departure from Sony Mobile Communications.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Heikki, Jeri et al (2005) research on factors affecting consumer choice of mobile phones: two studies from Finland found strong evidence that although mobile phones are developing at a rapid pace closer to personal digital assistants (PDAs), many consumers tend to be unaware of the properties and services the new models in the market contain. They showed that seven factors play a great role to characterize mobile phone choice: they are pricing, reliability, outside influence, brand and basic properties, design, multimedia and innovative services. The factor, innovative services explained most of the variability of the variables indicating, together with other statistical analyses conducted, that especially men tend to value new services in choosing between mobile phones and intending to change their current mobile phone to newer model. They argued that those demographic factors have an influence on the evaluations of different attributes related to mobile phone choice which was verified showing specifically gender and occupation are significant variables affecting choice. They argued that price of the mobile phone plays an important role in the choice especially among lower income consumers. This got strong support among focus groups as well as in the survey. Finally they showed consumer value familiar brands while choosing between different mobile phones models through their focus group study. Innovative services, size of the phone and the income of the consumers tend to play a great role on the choice the mobile phone models. They have suggested to do more empirical research is need to conform that consumers value personal time planning properties in the choice of new mobile phone models. Heikki, Jeri et al (2005) further explained the most notable implication for mobile phone manufacturers, resellers and other value chain members is that advertising of new mobile phone models should go beyond highlighting properties to highlighting what users can do with all the new technical features. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 11 Mobile phone advertising has long been based on eliciting properties and abbreviations (e.g., GPRS, EDGE, and Bluetooth) that are fully understood only by technology savvy consumers. Therefore, more attention should be paid to educative advertising and marketing. The importance of the reseller becomes constantly more important as we are entering the smart phone erameaning that phones have so many properties and features that users need both hands-on instructions and better post purchase service than before. The researchers finally concluded that many factors, such as legislation and international differences in culture for instance, definitely have an impact on results

.Mei-jian, Haibo & Qoing ,(2012) showed brand emotion of the web consumers, group effect, enterprises networking marketing methods, perceived brand identity are the four factors that influenced the choice behavior of web consumer in a different degree and way. The former two factors will affect choice behavior through the consumer preference. Whereas the second two factors affect brand choice behavior indirectly through preference. By empirical study, they concluded that the promotion have neither significantly positive effects nor significant negative ones. Perceived brand identity does not directly produce effect on choice behavior through the preference, but affects it through the brand emotion of web consumers. It is because only when brand identity agrees with the brand emotion of web consumers will produce choice behavior. They further explained that when consumer chooses mobile products, they are influenced by individual consumer psychology and the group, and group effect more. They found that this coincides with the traditional Chinese culture characteristics. Group effect brings some Chinese unique face psychological, conformity psychological, and admiration to the authority and showing off themselves. Contemporary Chinese market IPHONE4 and fashion IPHONE4S can fully explain what a big business opportunity which is brought by these psychologies. Adhering to China several thousand years of history and traditional culture, traditional Chinese national consumption values embodies the common features of Chinese consumer culture: for example there is a saying "Propriety suggests reciprocity, pay attention to face", which shows Chinese view of value group. Chinese consumers are affected by group effect a lot, and it is easy to keep conformity. Some people even do not care the quality as long as the face can "get by", leading to fake wine cases in China. [Student Number 50593] Ramesh Rijal Page 12 Alamro and Rowley (2011) suggested that consumer attributes, brand image and band awareness are the antecedents of brand preference. Brand preference is the extent to which the customer favors the designated service provided by his or her present company, in comparison to the designated service provided by other companies in his or her consideration set (Alamro and Rowley, 2011). Soomro et al. (2011) argued that different factors such as brand prestige, physical characteristics of the brand, users experience with the brand, price, premiums, packaging , habits, guarantees , recommendation by family, friends and experts, advertising and display novelty, special characteristics of the manufacturer can influences consumers brand choice.

Zhou.N & Shanturkovska. G,( 2011) on their research on Chinese Consumer Behavior in the Mobile Phone market Nokia Case described that the successful strategies of Nokia to become a brand mobile are working with the locals, maintaining customer satisfaction, offering diverse product portfolio, establishing strong brand image, prioritizing people first, localizing research and development centers, expanding broad distribution channels, and implementing low pricing high quality strategy in the unique Chinese market. These successful strategies seemed to work well and attracted many customers. The Chinese consumer has proved to be very diverse and often unpredictable. They showed that the needs to be approached thoughtfully and individually. One interesting part of the research was found to be concluded that any well established brand cannot be successful on the Chinese market if culture and explicit values are being neglected. Zhou.N & Shanturkovska. G, (2011) further argued that another major reason that Chinese consumer choose Nokia brand is due to some unique cultural characteristics. According to them Collectivist culture do what others do/ follow the crowd is one of the distinctive characteristics of Chinese culture. If you walk into a mobile phone selling shop in China, it is common to find out that most consumers tend to ask the question do many people choose this phone?, if the answer is yes, then the consumer most likely will purchase that phone. Plus the strong brand effect of Nokia with great word of mouth, there is no reason that not to have one. They further noted that The face culture also makes Chinese consumers choose Nokia phones. It is easy to get into a situation that people ask you why not have a Nokia phone since everyone has it or has had it. It is likely to make someone loosi

Baker (1991) advocates that Brand preference is the result of brand loyalty where consumer prefers a particular brand in market but switch to competitor brand when desired brand is not available.

Haque et al (2007) found that promotional offers, call rates, availability and service qualityPlays dominant role while choosing particular telecom service provider.

Raj Kumar and Harish (2011) have concluded that price has positive significant impact onConsumer while choosing particular service provider.

Hellier et al. (2003) delineated that Brand preference is depended upon the demographic profileOf the consumers.

According to Riquleme (2001) six key attributes; call rates, access cost, connection fees, handset features, special offers and call cost of mobile to mobile have significant impact on consumers while making decision to choose particular service provider. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Management Review ISSN 2319-2836 Vol.2 (5), May (2013) Online available at indianresearchjournals.com

Nilson, (2000), Brand Managers should focus on customers preferences in tune to align theBrand loyalty.

Lin (2002) advises to Businesses that to grow the sales revenue, marketers can use brandPreference as a key factor to develop competitive product strategy

Ranaweera and Prabhu, (2003) unlike retails store purchasing patterns, telecom purchasePatterns are continuous and different.

Kotler (2005) uttered that marketers are very much interested to study demographic environmentOf market in a view that it involves people and people make up market.

.

Karjaluoto et al. (2005) in their study conducted in Finland mobile industry, they haveIdentified certain factors which significant impact on choosing particular service provider are callRates, services and network coverage.

Objectives of the Study

To study the perception and buying behavior of students towards various mobile brands. To know about the student preference level associated with different mobile phones. To find out the students satisfaction towards the various mobile phones. To know which advertisement media puts more impact on the buying decision of students.

SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

SampleSize60 RespondentsSample Unit- Students of Graduation and the Post Graduation have been taken as sample unit.Sampling Area SSU, PalampurSampling Technique- Random Sampling Technique

RESEARCH DESIGN

Visited the students across SSU, Palampur & gathered information required as per the questionnaire. The research design is probability research design and is descriptive research.

DATA COLLECTION

Primary data has been used by me in the form of Questionnaire & Observation, which are the two basic methods of collecting primary data, which suffices all research objectives. Secondary data sources like catalogue of the company, product range book of the company & various internet sites have been used.

Q-1 Sex ratio of the respondents

TableNumber-1

PARTICULARSNUMBER%AGE

MALE3355

FEMALE2745

Interpretation:

The pie chart shows that out of the 60 Respondents, 33 were male and 27 were female.Q2:- Occupation of the Respondents Family

Table Number 2

PARTICULARSNUMBER%AGE

Service2643.6

Professional813.6

Business1830.4

Others812.4

Total60100

Interpretation

The pie chart shows that out of the 60 respondents, 26 respondents belong to the service family, 8 were from business, 18 were from the professional and 8 were from the others family.

Q3:- Income level of respondents family

Table Number-3

PARTICULARSNUMBER%AGE

Lessthan15,0001930.4

15,001-25,0001524.4

25,001-35,0001930.8

35001&above714.4

Total60100

InterpretationThe pie chart shows that out of the 60 respondents, 19 respondents were from the family whose income is less than 15,000, 15 respondents were from the family whose income is between the 15,00125,000, 19 respondents were from the family whose income is between 25,001-35,000 and rest were from the family whose income is above 35,000Q-4- Which mobile phone you are using?

TableNo. 5S.NOBrand Name Number%age

1Nokia 58.8

2Samsung 3660

3Micromax1220

4LAVA46

5Sony 23.2

6Others12

Total60100

InterpretationOut of the 60 respondents, 5 are using the Nokia phones, 36 are using the Samsung, 12 ar using the Micromax, 4 are using the Lava, 2 are using the Sony and 1are using the others.

Q.5-How long you are using the mobile phones? TABLE NO. 6

Time Period of using the mobile phoneNo. of the Respondents%age of Respondents

Less than 1 year 40 66.7

1-2 years 10 16.6

2-4 years 6 10

Above 4 years 4 6.7

InterpretationOut of the 60 respondents 40 are using for less than year, 10 are using for 1-2 years, 6are using for 2-4 years, 4 are using for above 4 years.

Q.6 What will you be willing to pay for a mobile phone by respondents?

Table Number-8

ParticularsNo. of Respondents%age of Respondents

Less than 10000 15 25

10001-20000 33 55

20001-40000 9 14

Above 40000 3 6

Total 60 100

Interpretation:The pie chart shows that out of the 60 respondents, 15 respondents were willing to spend less than 10,000, 33 were willing to spend between 10,001 to 20,000, 9 were willing to pay between 20,001 to 40,000 and rest were ready to pay any amount.

Q7: Consider the TV advertisement you like mostwhat brand is it promoting by respondents.Table Number-8 ParticularsNO. Of Respondents%age of Respondents

Nokia 5 8.2

Samsung 38 63

Micromax 10 17

Lava 5 8.4

Others 2 3.4

Total 60 100

Interpretation:Out of the 60 respondents 5 likes the Nokia advertisementmost,38 likes the Samsung, 10 likes the Micromax, 5 likes the Lava ,2 likes the others.

FINDINGS

Samsung is the most favorite brand of the college students.

55% students change their mobile phones within 1 to 2 years.

66.7% students are using the mobile phones since less than 1 year.

55% students are ready to pay for a mobile phone 10,000 to 20000 and they spend according to their family income.

49% students like the Samsung advertisement most.

Mostly students use the mobile phones for talking, SMS, video calling and for using the GPRS function..

Most favourite brand among the college students is Samsung and the least favorite brand is LAVA.

Appearance ,Price, Brand Image and advertisement are the important factors for the students while purchasing mobile phones.

Story, spokes person and the music are the important factors in advertisement. Mostly students have the hanging problem with the Samsung and Nokia.

LIMITATIONS

A small sample size of 60 students is taken, so we cannot draw inferences about the population from this sample size.

Time period is short and resource constraints.

The scope of the project is limited to the SSU, Palampur. So, we cannot say that the same response will exist throughout India.

This study is based on the prevailing student satisfaction. But the student satisfaction may change according to time ,fashion, technology, development etc

RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS

Nokia should provide better service Samsung should try to solve the hanging problem Cellular companies should increase the awareness about the 3G service.Companies should offer more range of Rs.10,000 to 20,000.Sony and Lava should try to expand its market share and also should try to increase the awareness through the television advertisement.

All companies should increase their distribution channel.

The companies should continue to work on the Strategy of T.Q.M (TotalQualityManagement)

Consumers do not get satisfied with the promotional policies of the companies. New techniques of promotion is required to create awareness about the entire range of company

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Web Resources:

http://www.nokia.com/t-aboutus-ttsl-organization.aspx http://www.samsung.co.in/webapp/Aboutus/aboutushome.jshttp:/www.Lava.com/Lava.portal?nfpb=true&pageLabel=LavaPagehttp://www.sony.co.in/about.htm

REFERENCES

Chernatony, L. de (1991) Formulation Brand Strategy, European Management Journal 9(2), 194-200 Denzil, N.K and Lincoln,Y.(1994).Handbook of Qualitative Research, London:Sage Publication Easterby- Smith, M, Thorpe,R Lowe,A (1999). Management Research: An introduction. London: Sage Publications. Gill, J . and Johnson, P . (1997). Research Methods for Managers, 2 ndedn . London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Heikki, Jari et.al (2005): Factors Affecting Consumer Choice of Mobile Phones: Two Studies from Finland: Journal of Euro marketing, Vol. 14(3) 2005 Jobber .D (2007): Principles and Practice of Marketing, McGraw-Hill Education, Berkshire Keller,K.L.(2003) Strategic Brand Management , New Jersery: Pearson Khurana,S.(2011) .Buying Behavior and Brand awareness in GSM Mobile handset Sector: Am empirical Study. Journal of Applied Management & Computer Science- ISSN No. (0976- 0458), Volume 4-2011 Levent Altinary & Alexandros Paraskevas,(2008).Planning Research in Hospality and Tourism: Elsevier Marry Jo Hatch,( 2006) Organization theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives .New York :Oxford University Press Inc. Mei-jian, Haibo&Qoing ( 2012) : Canadian Subject Form: Consumer behavior: international Journal of Business Research, 2012 Polit DF Beck CT (2012). Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice,( 9th ed). Philadelphia, USA: Wolters Klower Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE

Section A: Personal Information1. Name: 2.a) Age: b) Gender: 3. Occupation of Father: - 4.Income Level (per annum):-a) Service a) Less than 15000 b) Professional b) 15001 25000c) Businessman c) 25001 35000d) Others d) Above 35000 Section B: About Mobile Phones5. Which mobile phone you are using?a) Nokia b) Samsung c) Micromax d) Lava e) Sony f) Others 6. Please write the model of your phone:

7. How long you are using the mobile phone?a) Less than 1 year b) 1-2 years c) 2-4 years d) Above 4 years

8. What are the reasons for using the above mentioned model?a) WAP b) Just to talk c) GPRS d) Download Files e) Others

9. When will you change your mobile phone?a) Less than 1 year b) 1-2 years c) 2-3 years d) After 3 years or above

10. Latest mobile facilities you are aware of: - (You can tick more than one option)a) GPRS b) 3G c) MMS d) Bluetooth e) Video Call f) Others

11. Which is your favorite brand in mobile phone? (1- Most favorite, 2- Favorite, 3- Least Favorite) 1 2 3a) NOKIA b) Samsungc) Micromaxd) Lavae) Sony

12. Why you like the brands choose above? (1-very imp., 2- somewhat imp., 3- Neither imp. Nor unimportant, 4-less imp., 5- unimportant) 1 2 3 4 5

a) Advertisement

b) Appearance

c) Price

d) Functions

e) Quality

f) Brand Image

g) Recommended By Friends13. What amount would you be willing to pay for a mobile phone?a) Less than 10000 b) 10000-20000 c) 20000-40000 d) Above 4000014. Where did you see the mobile advertisement?a) TV b) Newspapers c) Magazine d) Online e) Outdoor f) Radio g) Others15. Consider the TV advertisement you like- what brand it promoting?a) NOKIA b) Samsung c) Micromax d) Lava e) Others16. Are there any general comments you would make about what you like/dislike about any brand?(This could be pricing, location of sales, color, memory, service, hanging problem or anything else)Comment:-

Thanking you for sparing some time for this survey. Have a great day ahead.

Collected By:-