SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION. incontestable. Brands that keep their promise attract loyal buyers who will return to them

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1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 6.1 Introduction In the 21 st century, Branding ultimately will be the only unique differentiator between companies Brand equity is now a key asset Fortune. Brands as business assets, the value to business of owing strong brands is incontestable. Brands that keep their promise attract loyal buyers who will return to them at regular intervals. The benefit to the brand owner is that forecasting cash flows becomes easier and it becomes possible to plan and manage the development of the business with greater confidence. In market the various brands of Computer available are: Acer, Compaq, Dell, Hp, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, Philips, Apple, IBM, Samsung, HCL, Wipro, LG, Hitachi, Gigabyte, Panasonic, Sharp, Averatec, Everex, Mac, Advent, Mesh, Parkard bell, Gateway, The rest, MDG, Zepto, Trigem,G7 etc. Among these, the leading brands are: Sony, Hp and Compaq, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, HCL, IBM and LG. Good quality, Reasonable price, Specification / Configuration, Guarantee, Warrantee, Additional Warrantee, Regular service, Originality, Components and Products availability, Experienced sales and service person, Demos, On- line purchasing, Customer care centers, Attractive styles, Perfect finishing, Different models, Website information, Genuine offers, Attractive advertisement, Celebrities in advertisement, Credit facilities, Safety, Security, Supportiveness, Ranges of price, Lesser risk, Door 201

2 delivery, Updating of product, Brand image etc. are the basic influencing factors of branded computers. The present study entitled A Study on Consumer Preference towards Branded Products - With Special Reference to Personal Computer users in Tirunelveli District, makes a systematic enquiry into the dimensions of the behaviour of consumers in purchase of personal computer in Tirunelveli district, problems and suggests ways to influence consumer behaviour for making easy and effective purchase. The present study was conducted in Tirunelveli District with the sample size of 525 respondents, with the objectives of; Knowing the various brands of personal computer available in the market in general. Examing the promotional schemes of the vendors of personal computer. Evaluating the consumer preference towards the purchase of branded Personal computer. Examing the influence of Demographic/Organisational variables on brand preference towards Personal computers in Tirunelveli District. Offering the suggestions for better preference to purchase the personal computer. A brief description of the consumer and consumer behavior, scope, objectives, framed hypothesis, methodology adopted is given in chapter I. The reviews of previous studies of global, national level and the identified research gap is presented in chapter two. A brief description of the brand preference, factors influencing consumer behavior, consumer preference group buying process is given in chapter three. The demographic profile of the study area and profile of sample respondents towards branded personal computer are 202

3 described in chapter four. The relationship between demographic variables, product attributes with brand preferences of consumer towards personal computers are discussed in chapter five. In this chapter main findings emerging from the study are summarized recommendations are made and scope for the future studies are outlined. Percentage analysis is tabulated with regard to the motivational factors that drive a customer to purchase a branded computer. The main driving factors are the cost price of the product followed by the technology of the same. Consumers are also motivate through the friends, colleagues, family members and many a time the special offers offered by the company during festive occasion. The preference for a particular brand relies mostly on the price of the products. The choice of a particular brand does not merely depend on the price of the products but indirectly on the performance of the quality. Consumers rush after reasonable prices. Of the total number of respondents the maximum percentages of them were for excellent and average performance respectively. Of the various reasons taken into account for the various brand loyalty of the company, ease of installation and sound quality top the list. This tool is also used in order to find out how far the respondents are satisfied in relation to the dissatisfied ones. Likert scale ranking is followed in order to rank them according to the ownership of the computer, ownership of more than one personal computer, the scarce use of the computer or the regular usage of the computer. Respondents preferences for computer are mainly for the reduction of work load the reduction of the cost of 203

4 operation. Computer as a time saver are for updating the knowledge. Characteristics of the service representatives are also taken into account under the same since the purchasing capacity mainly depends on the helping tendency, efficiency ability, and the knowledge of the product. Eleven particulars were considered in order to rank them according to the opinions of the respondents whether the respondents were satisfied, highly satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and highly dissatisfied. The last rank was demonstration while performance topped the list. The vendors assistance whether important or unimportant was also ranked taking hardware competition accessibility, portability, reliability and application software computing and certain other particulars. Consumer preferences and their satisfaction were ranked taking into consideration the configuration, warranty, advertisement, sales capacity, the attractive appearance of the computer, excreta. ANOVA is specifically used to analyse the consumers preferences for a specific branded computer in comparision with a number of sub variables. Under each demographic profile (gender, age, marital status, residential status, educational status, occupation and monthly income). Correlation analysis has been executed to find out the relationship of Branded personal computer and computer knowledge in various aspects, Spearman s and Pearson s correlation of coefficient for brand of personal computer and benefit, Motivating factors and Brand preference, Brand and Reason to buy this model and Brand and Reason for brand genuineness. 204

5 Chi-square analysis has been administered to find out the Brand Preference with demographic variance, Brand Preference and Product attributes, Brand Preference and Price and Brand Preference and Quality. Certain sub variables like the manufacturing detail of the product details, various sources of information, either from the owner of the similar product or from advertisement the producing capacity of the consumer, With regards to the price of the computer or the performance of the particular brand. For example higher the performance higher the attractiveness. Some of the consumers who can afford any amount of currency pay more attention to the quality of the product. Most of the respondents are for the behavior of the seller or that of the after sales service of the company. There are consumers who concentrate on the size of the computer for convenient side. 6.2 MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY Out of 525 respondents 51 percent of the respondents belong to the male gender while the remaining 49 percent of the respondents are female. The predominant age group of 26 to 35 years constitutes 33 percent of respondents followed by 22 percent among the age group of below 25 years, majority of the respondents who uses personal computers is below 45 years. Majority 51 percent of the respondents are married persons and 49 percent respondents are unmarried. 205

6 31 percent of the respondents are having their own house, 45 percent of the respondents are living in rented house and 24 percent of the respondents are in apartments. 27 percent of the respondents are below graduation, 33 percent of the respondents are graduates, 24 percent of the respondents are post graduates, only 07 percent of the respondents are professional and 09 percent of the respondents come under other category. 25 percent of the respondents are private employees, 23 percent of the respondents are government employees, 16 percent of the respondents are professional and businessmen, 09 percent of the respondents are students, 06 percent of the respondents are home makers and 05 percent of the respondents come under other category. 40 percent of the respondents earn the monthly income of Rs10001 to 15000, 33 percent of the respondents earn the monthly income of below Rs 10000, 15 percent of the respondents earn the monthly income of above Rs and 12 percent of the respondents earn the monthly income of Rs15001 to It was found that 119 (23%) of the respondents use the COMPAQ brand, 98 (19%) of the respondents use the LENOVA brand, 70 (13%) of the respondents use the ACER as well as WIPRO brand, 63 (12%) of the respondents use the DELL as well as HCL brand and 42 (08%) of the respondents use the HP brand. Majority of the respondents 40% have been motivated to buy the brand through their friends followed by 40% Colleagues, 7% Coworkers, 7% Special offers and 206

7 6% Family members and 0% others. Thus there is no significant relationship exists between Motivators to buy the brand and preference of personal computer. Majority of the respondents 238 (45%) of the respondents mostly use the computer in their home, 154 (29%) of the respondents mostly use the computer in their friends home and 133 (26%) of the respondents mostly use the computer in their Work place. Thus there is no significant relationship exists between place of use and preference of personal computer. It was found that out of 525 respondents, 154 (34%) of the respondents use the personal computer twice a day, 133 (29%) of the respondents use the personal computer weekly once, 91 (20%) of the respondents use the personal computer monthly once and 77(17%) of the respondents use the personal computer once a day. Thus there is no significant relationship exists between frequency of usage and preference of personal computer. It was revealed that 210 (40%) of the respondents use the personal computer 1 2hours, 133 (25%) of the respondents use the personal computer below 1hour, 112 (22%) of the respondents use the personal computer 2 3 hours and 70 (13%) of the respondents use the personal computer above 3 hours. Thus there is no significant relationship exists between Usage time and preference of personal computer. It was found that the decision to buy a particular type of model or brand. It is found that majority of the respondents 52% go for brand loyalty, 9% ease of installation and operation, 8% go for sound quality and recommended by 207

8 professionals, 7% styling and appearance and previous experience with company. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between buying a particular brand and preference of personal computer. It was found that 154 (29%) of the respondents use the personal computer for educational purpose, 147 (28%) of the respondents use the personal computer for typing, 98 (19%) of the respondents use the personal computer for business purpose, 65 (12%) of the respondents use the personal computer for browsing purpose, 40 (08%) of the respondents use the personal computer for listening to music and 21 (04%) of the respondents use the personal computer for listening to Entertainment. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between Purpose of using personal computer and preference of personal computer. It was found that 147 (28%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer reduce the cost of operation, 112 (28%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer reduce the work burden, 91 (17%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer reduce the time, 70 (13%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer update the knowledge, 56 (11%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer create exposure and 49 (09%) of the respondents feels that the personal computer produce the source of information. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between end use of the products and preference of personal computer. Portrays the rank score of the benefit for which the personal computer is bought and used. 208

9 It was found that majority of the respondents say 405 are satisfied in using personal computer, 32% highly satisfied, 16% Neutral followed by 6% Dissatisfied and 6% Highly dissatisfied. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between Satisfaction of using preferred brands and preference of personal computer. Regarding the type of monitor used by the respondents, out of 525 respondents 303 (58%) of the respondents use the LCD monitor in the personal computer, 145 (28%) of the respondents use the CRT monitor in the personal computer and 77 (14%) of the respondents use the LED monitor in the personal computer. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between type of monitor and preference of personal computer. Regarding the size of monitor used by the respondents, 375 (71%) of the respondents use the 17 to 20 inch size of monitor in the personal computer, 105 (20%) of the respondents use the below 17 inch size of monitor in the personal computer and 45 (09%) of the respondents use above 20 inch size of monitor in the personal computer. Thus there is a significant relationship exists between size of monitor and preference of personal computer. It was found that 210 (40%) of the respondents use the personal computer above 4 yrs, 106 (31%) of the respondents use the personal computer for 1 to 2 yrs, 105 (20%) of the respondents use the personal computer for 2 to 4 yrs and 49 (09%) of the respondents use the personal computer less than 1 year. Thus there is a 209

10 significant relationship exists between length of usage and preference of personal computer. It was found that majority of the respondents (31%) price range of 15001to 25000, followed by (30%) of the respondents with price preference of Rs35001 and above, (20%) of the respondents with the price range of below Rs 15000, only (19%) of the respondents prefer the price range of Rs 25001to Thus there is a significant relationship exists between price range and preference of personal computer. It was found that 20% of the respondents prefer DELL, HP and COMPAQ equally, ACER and HCL also equally preferred by 13% of the respondents and 7% preferred by LENOVA and WIPRO. Thus it is said that majority compare with DELL, COMPAQ and HP the reason may be that they are the advanced and leading company brand. Thus there is no significant relationship exists between Price and brand preference of personal computer. It was found that majority of the respondents i.e. 59 percent opines that the after sale service of their selected brand is easily available and 28 percent of the respondents opines that the after sale service is available with somewhat difficulty and only 13 percent of the respondents says that the after sales service is not available. There exists a significant relationship between after sales service and brands of Personal computer. There is a significant relation exists between the after sales service available with the opinion of consumer. 210

11 It was found that majority of the respondents 47% are of the opinion that the quality of free service provided by the select brand is good, 27% opines that the quality of service is moderate and 26% viewed that the free service rendered is inferior. However on analysis it is found that there is a no significant relationship exists between the qualities of free service with the brand preference. It was found that majority of the respondents send their complaints through overphone, followed by helpline, mail order, internet, fax and direct visit. There is a significant relationship exists with redressal mechanism and brand preference of personal computer. It was found that 185(35%) of the respondents came to know through friends, 105(20%) of the respondents learn about this model through Exhibition, 56(11%) of the respondents learn about this model through television, 49(09%) of the respondents learn about this model through newspaper, 40(08%) of the respondents learn about this model through Radio advertisement, 38(07%) of the respondents learn about this model through Journal / magazine, 35(07%) of the respondents learn about this model through direct mail, 12(02%) of the respondents learn about this model through catalog and 05(01%) of the respondents learn about this model through retailer. It was found that 245(46%) of the respondents purchase the personal computer through retailer showroom, 98(19%) of the respondents purchase the personal computer through second hand, 70(13%) of the respondents purchase the personal computer through General merchandise, 63(12%) of the respondents purchase the 211

12 personal computer through Dealer exhibition, 35(07%) of the respondents purchase the personal computer through Computer appliance and 14(03%) of the respondents purchase the personal computer through Scratch card. It was found that majority (60%) of the respondents purchase on cash basis and only 40% purchased made through installment basis. There is a significant relationship exists with Basis of purchase and brand preference of personal computer. It was found that majority of the respondents 40% preferred to buy on half yearly payment basis, followed by 33% preferred the quarterly payment and 27% preferred the monthly payment. There is a significant relationship exists with Period of Installment and brand preference of personal computer. By ranking, Display being stands first followed by Quality, Value, Product specification, Advertisement, Merchandise, Executives attributes, Price, Location of stores, Availability of all brands and Demonstration. It was found that using of power point is given first rank, followed by Burning CDs, Downloading, Face book, Internet connection, Scanning, Printing, Installing programs, Spread sheet, Word processing, Playing games, Listening to music, Chatting, Programming, Sending s respectively according to the rank. The F value calculated also clearly exhibits a significant relationship exists between the select variables and the consumers brand preference towards Personal computer. 212

13 The consistency level of variables (word processing, spread sheet, power point, downloading, installing programs, printing, scanning, burning cds, playing games, listening to music, chatting, internet connection, face book, sending s and programming) one sample test is used. The t value calculated shows that the consistency level of the variables (purpose of which computer used and purchased) is good. It was found that the association of technology competency with brand preference is highly significant. It was found in ranking and the ranking is as follows first rank is given for Performance, followed by Portability, Hardware compatibility, Ease of installation, Reliability, Status/prestige, Application software compatibility, Accessibility, Value relative to cost and Quality The mean score exhibits that the Advertisement ranks first followed by Warranty, Sales person, Style, After sales service, Performance, Price, Quality, Configuration, Brand, Demonstration and Resale value. It was found that majority of the respondents (28%) opines that they have brand genuineness is due to foreign collaboration, followed by quality 21%, 13% After sales service, Connectivity and Speed and only 12% cheaper cost. There is no significant relationship exists between Reason for brand genuineness and preference of personal computer. There is significant relationship with gender, marital status and residential status as the calculated value in these variables are lesser than the table value. 213

14 There is no significant difference between gender compared with product detail, source of information, price and quality. It was observed that there has been a greater degree of correlation between the age compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however all the variables are not significant with age of the respondents. It was observed that there has been a low degree of correlation between the marital status compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however the respondents product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality are not significant with marital status and other variables after sales service, buying behavior and convenience are significant with marital status. It was observed that there has been a low degree of correlation between the residential status compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however the respondents except convenience all other variables are not significant with residential status. It was observed that there has been a low degree of correlation between the educational status compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however the respondents all the variables are not significant with educational status. 214

15 It was observed that there has been a low degree of correlation between the occupation compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however the respondents all the variables are not significant with occupation. It was observed that there has been a low degree of correlation between the monthly income compared with product detail, source of information, price, brand, quality, after sales service, buying behavior and convenience. On which/ however the respondents all the variables are not significant with monthly income. 6.3 RESULTS OF HYPOTHESIS TESTING There is no significant relation with marital status as the calculated value in these variables is greater than the table value. There is no significant relation with marital status and residential status as the calculated value in these variables is greater than the table value. There is no significant relation with gender and residential status as the calculated value in these variables is greater than the table value. There is a significant relationship between sources of information. There is a significant relationship between sources of information. There is no relationship between the brand of personal computer and benefits of the respondents The inter-relationship between brand and factor motivating to buy the branded personal computer in Tirunelveli district. Table reveals that consumer preference 215

16 towards branded products with special reference to Tirunelveli district is positively correlated with factor motivating at a coefficient of correlation of The inter-relationship between brand and reason to buy the model to buy the branded personal computer in Tirunelveli district. Table reveals that consumer preference towards branded products with special reference to Tirunelveli district is positively correlated with reason to buy the model at a coefficient of correlation of The inter-relationship between brand and brand genuineness to buy the branded personal computer in Tirunelveli district. Table reveals that consumer preference towards branded products with special reference to Tirunelveli district is positively correlated with brand genuineness at a coefficient of correlation of The inter-relationship between brand and benefit to buy the branded personal computer in Tirunelveli district. Table reveals that consumer preference towards branded products with special reference to Tirunelveli district is positively correlated with benefit at a coefficient of correlation of There is no significant relationship between Age Group/Gender/Marital Status of the respondents and their preference towards branded personal computer There is no significant relationship between Educational Qualification/ Occupational Status of the respondents and their preference towards branded personal computer. There is significant relationship between Monthly Income/Residential status of the respondents and their preference towards branded personal computer 216

17 The above table reveals that the relationship between Price and the Level of satisfaction of Price, the analysis shows positive effect. 6.4 RECOMMENDATION OF THE STUDY Recommendations for personal computer Vendors Several recommendations are presented here for personal computer vendors to more efficiently target to whom vendors are sending the message and how vendors are delivering it. Message Audience and Information Sources The recipients of the marketing message consumers can be broken down into four categories: age, education level, gender and technical competence, further the use in segmentation with these categories occurs in three ways: (a) by information source (b) by the most important evaluative buying criterion and (c) by brand. Getting the right message to the right audience is the number one critical success factor in the development of any marketing strategy. Knowing how the audience internalizes messages and what kind of messages they need to be is invaluable. Direct mail for instance, should be aimed at the technical audience while manufacturer websites should be for the non-technical, novice. Young females who are novices in relation to technical competence seek out recommendations from their friends as an information source. 217

18 Older females value the reliability of the personal computer high. Push that reliability message in venues that are more prone to females, such as female targeted magazines and television shows. Keeping also in mind that this same demographic of females at the novice technical level seek out recommendations as information sources leads to another opportunity for exposure. The more mass produced and blanketed the reliability message is to the population the more likely vendors will hit on one of those two targets. Past experience with a vendor and brand is also an opportunity. Highly educated, technical experts value this experience as important, and to exploit it would be beneficial. While a total customer experience is sought after by all personal computer vendors, doing what is possible to nurture the Installed Base with loyalty programs and strong conflict resolution and escalation processes will better position a vendor for long-term business from their customers. What is the most important thing that drives a consumer to purchase one personal computer over another? The most important evaluative buying criterion that was exposed in this study as each one relates to the set of demographics was eye opening. The youngest set of respondents, below 25 yrs with the least amount of education was most interested in buying what was the easiest. Brand appeared to be of no issue. The study did not probe further into method of purchase, on line or in the store, which is 218

19 unfortunate, because it could have shed some much needed light on specifically addressed either experience. Without that detail, the recommendation would be to focus on both. Considerable user testing online and in the store may yield some inefficiencies and time synchs in the process that, if improved, could also improve the overall experience. Middle aged (36-45) consumers with some college focus on price. More than likely these are families on a budget with little to no attention on the latest technological advances. This demographic is broad and difficult to bound. However the oldest group, 45 and older, focuses on product quality. Targeting that audience is slightly more realistic, by honing in on vehicles of communication geared toward the older population, like hobby magazines, airports and newspapers. Brand and Information Sources Are certain brands more effective in their communication of their message than others? Is it based on the message itself or the choice of communication vehicle? This researcher would argue that it is a combination of both. Looking at the three brands that showed some statistically significant relationships in this arena, recommendations on using the right information sources by brand follow. Dell The most highly educated consumers appreciate Dell s brand. Dell s users in total find Dell s website to be the most important source of information to help contribute to 219

20 the purchasing decision of a personal computer. Direct mail and retail store visits are the least important. Continue focus on the direct channel by enhancing websites for the novice and areas of the website that include reviews and recommendations for the technical experts. Make the purchasing process painless for the youngest and least educated. Hewlett-Packard For HP, the two most important information sources that surfaced were direct mail and Websites. These appealed to the HP base the most. To continue in this front, move forward with direct mail, targeting the message slightly more based on the demographic: push price for middle age, quality for older, and ease of purchase for youngest. Focus on brand image for those college crowds and make the message resonate with them that HP is hip and cool. Technical audiences appreciate direct mail. Tighten up that message as well. Take a less technical view on the websites to appeal to the novice crowd. 6.5 CONCLUSION Specific information sources yield specific results with a specific set of consumers. Simply put, consumers seek out information in a variety of ways and a relationship exists with how the consumer does that and who the consumer is. Different consumers purchase different personal computers for different reasons. In this study it was found that the demographic variables of the consumer and the information sources they valued in contributing to their purchase decision. The level of technical competence 220

21 of the consumer plays a key role in the determination of what sources are sought, as does gender and age to a certain degree. This knowledge enables to create a rudimentary profile to properly launch the appropriate message to the right audience. In being able to answer just a few of these research questions regarding the relationships between demographics and information sources and attributes, the efficiency of the marketing machine with these personal computer vendors will increase. 6.6 SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH This study focused on the demographic profile of consumers towards Branded personal computer. The researcher hopes that this thesis will help the researcher who undertakes research relating to brand preference in the future in the following. Physiographic factors and brand preference. Consumer attitude towards the technical competency of personal computer. Consumer satisfaction and various brands of personal computer. Brand loyalty of personal computer. Purchasing method and brand preference of personal computer. Marketing strategies of personal computer vendors. The more customer insight that can be gained through research into the profile of a consumer and whether or not that profile can predict the purchase of one brand over another the better the ability of the vendor s to customize and tailor a message and experience for a user. 221