Expanding The Market Share For Apples Iphone Marketing Essay

Expanding The foodstuff fortune For orchard apple trees I holler grocery storeing EssayA Marketing investigate abide for the disseminated multiple sclerosis International Marketing room programme 2010/11Executive summaryThe purpose of this look into was to ingest hold how to ontogeny the securities industry share of the iPhone in china. In drift to conduct the take, the food marting seek problem was insure as to determine the needs and elections of dealers of sm maneuverphones in the Chinese market. In aviation with the investigate problem cardinal hypotheses were developed to be tested.In this project, both(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) question approaches were employ. Exploratory research was conducted to help the researchers obtain a prefatory understanding and insight into the problems facing orchard apple tree Inc., man conclusive research helped to build upon the findings of the exploratory research. Through searching and reading secondary sel ective cultivation, the researchers set the different factor outs, in terms of fleshly factors (e.g., charge, quality, ease of use), affable factors (e.g., carriold age buying, group individuation, symbol of status) and wound up factors (e.g., scratch image, appearance, advertisement, etc.), that theoreticall(a)y should put to work procure behavior.Based on the secondary entropy, a questionnaire was ruleed and administered to 176 Chinese students in the University of Leeds from 11th to 22nd November 2010 to collect the uncomplicated entropy of their knowledges and raptures towards smartphones and the iPhone. The results were god using SPSS, and several statistical tests performed to check whether the hypotheses were accepted in the field of operation.From the project, the researchers establish that all the trey factors ( physiologic factor, societal factor and emotional factor) individually were closely link to the perceptions of iPhone, and likewise that these terzetto factors feature exerted influence towards the perceptions. Moreoer, consumers perceptions toward the iPhone were found to be related to their location obtain satisfactions as considerably. Gender and income, as the demographic moderators, in like manner bring influence on the perceptions and satisfactions of iPhone, although the effect of gender was limited. As a result, the study could be considered as a reference of iPhone to identify their current problems in Chinese market and design corresponding marketing strategy to increase their marketing share in china.Table of Contents1A Marketing inquiry project for the MSc International Marketing Management programme 2010/11 1Introduction 4Background 6SWOT digest for iPhone in Chinese market 7 difficulty Definition 7Management Decision Problem 7Market explore Problem 8 interrogation Components 8enquiry draw near Development 8Literature review 81.1.1 forcible Factors 81.1.2Social Factors 91.1.3Emotional/Psycho logical Factors 91.1.4Demographic Factors 9 abstract Model 11 inquiry Question and Hypotheses 11 interrogation Design and Methodology 13 search Design 13Secondary Research 13Primary Research 141.1.5Research Approach 141.1.6Sampling Design 141.1.7Questionnaire Design 16Field work 19Analytical Methods 20Results and Hypotheses Testing 21Profile of the respondents 21Factors influencing mobile phone choices 211.1.8Factors influencing smartphone preferences 211.1.9Factors related to iPhones 221.1.10 lieu Purchase Satisfaction 23Hypothesis Testing 237. Conclusions and Recommendations 297.1 Conclusion 29The conclusion is shown in the fol milding bewilder 307.2 Recommendations 307.3 Limitations of the Research 318. graphic symbols 329.List of vermiform appendix 34Appendix 1 Questionnaire 349.2 Appendix 2 Respondents Profile frequence 399.3 Appendix 3 Mean Value 419.4 Appendix 4 Moderator regression table 44IntroductionThe market for smartphones has been development continually. The proof of its popularity is that gross sales of smartphones to end users collect reached 54.3 million units in the starting line quarter of 2010, an increase of 48.7 share from the same period in 2009. smartphones living 17.3 percent of worldwide mobile phone devices sales (Gartner, May 2010). thither are currently more than than(prenominal) than 6 types of operating systems available in the smartphone market, such as Symbian, RIM, Apple iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Linux. The Nokia Symbian holds the soaringest market share followed by RIM BlackBerry and Apple iOS in the year 2010 (Gartner, May 2010). The p put downers in the market compete by introducing young innovations and adding value to their phones, since the consumers expect more from smartphones than from basic feature phones (Mintel, January 2010). Creating an image of being a state of the art engineering science provider may cave in the positive con nonations in the customers result that allow them to set a se nior higher price, as the strategy that Apple implemented with the iPhone has shown (Data Monitor, May 2010). Even so, according to the fact that 51 percent of the consumers will not buy the phone un little the price come calibrate (Mintel, January 2010), price does clearly matter to them.The factors influencing smartphone purchasing stopping points needs to be set in bon ton to develop new potential opportunities to create distinctive competencies. This study will cover factors influencing iPhone perception and iPhone emplacement purchase satisfaction. This should give a guide to a successful marketing strategy in the future.BackgroundApple Inc. is one of the major companies of technology and innovation in consumer products in the world. They provide a wide range of products and services, from laptop and backcloth computers to accessories and parcel services. The comp any recorded revenues of almost $43 billion during the pecuniary year ending in September 2009 (FY2009), a n increase of over 14% since 2008. The increase in revenues was mainly due to growth in sales of iPhone handsets and the related sales of third- forky digital content and applications from the iTunes Store (Data Monitor, May 2010). unless when even though mainland China has the highest sum up of mobile phone subscribers in the world, the sales figures for iPhone in China as reported by China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. are far behind the rest of the big markets in the world. It took only 30 hours for Apple iPhone to reach over 200,000 sell units in the U.S. in 2007, but it took more than a month to reach the same design in China (The Economic clock magazines, October 2010). One possible factor attribute the iPhone back in China is its relatively high price. Apple and Unicom shift $730 to $1,020 for the iPhone, not including discounts on service, making it more expensive than grey market iPhones brought into the country through places like Hong Kong. on that point may be up to b oth million such grey market iPhones in China according to an estimate by Paul Wuh, an analyst covering China Unicom for Samsung Securities. In addition to this, the Wi-Fi Internet run was initially disabled on Unicoms iPhones to comply with Chinese governing rules (Wall Street Journal, Dec 2009), which might likewise have contributed to the slow take-off of iPhone sales.NOTE Is this a referenceSWOT analysis for iPhone in Chinese marketStrengthsStrong brand nameFocuses RD parkway innovationProvides State of the art technologiesOpportunitiesStrong growth in smartphones market segmentContinuing growth in demand for handheld devicesWeaknesses intersection point recallsPatent infringementExpensive PriceThreatsIntense competition colony on specific suppliersChinese Governments regulationsHigh cost of meshing mess providerReference Data monitor 21 May 2010 in stock(predicate) at http//www.datamonitor.comProblem DefinitionManagement Decision ProblemApple Inc. has encountered some po tential limitations for the iPhone in the Chinese market, such as government regulations, grey market opportunities and the high price of the phone. Even though 100,000 iPhone 4s were sold in the origin 4 days of availability (Sutherland, 2010), representing a high demand for the iPhone, the market share in China is quiet down dishonor than anywhere else in the world. Hence, the management conclusiveness problem for Apple could be How to increase iPhone market share in China?Market Research ProblemTo answer the management decision problem it needs to be translated into a market research problem, which the researchers therefore define to beTo determine the needs and preferences of buyers of smartphones in the Chinese marketResearch ComponentsTo clarify consumers perceptions toward smartphones.To determine the factors that influence consumers decision to buy the iPhone.To evaluate consumers ring mail purchase demeanor of iPhone.To discover potential influence of demographic fact ors on iPhone satisfactionResearch Approach DevelopmentLiterature reviewAccording to the secondary data that have been tranquil for this study, there are 4 main factors that should influence consumers technology buying decisions.Physical FactorsConsumers would look into visible aspects (design) more than software specific aspects (operating system). Three main factors that consumers focus on are near(a) design, the brand of the handset and quality of integrated camera. The consumers quarternot always tell the tubercle amidst the latest innovative phones and other phones. The companies attempts to position themselves, as high technology innovators may not be signifi endt when consumers do not look for it (Mintel, January 2010). A intermit design leads to a sense of better usability and help to extend users emotional attachment to the device (Nanda, 2008)Social FactorsAs a rule, in the emerging markets of the world the penetration of mobile technology is higher in the high-incom e segments of a existence. In the developed world a mobile handset is part of the everyday world, era elsewhere it is still considered as a luxury and a symbol of status. Thus, while income is less related to the ownership of a mobile handset in Europe, in China it is still a very measurable factor (Castells et al., 2004).To particularise on teenaged consumers, they want to keep up with the most new- excogitateed trend so there is a quick turnover in their technology adopting behaviour. They were controlled by trend not technology and they fear to be excluded from their group because the lack of technology involvement (Mintel, August 2008). People were influenced by their own group about which phone to buy. The innovation and designs were developed to foregather consumers amicable needs (Vincent, 2009). Young users are also more in all likelihood to use SMS rather than voice calls than other users, mainly because it is cheaper and because they usually have more time to maste r the technical skill of texting. For the older, working population where the employer pays the bills the opposite is the general rule (Castells et al., 2004).Emotional/Psychological FactorsThe role of the phones is more than just a communication tool. They become personal objects (Hallns Redstrm, 2002). The parking area emotional responses among mobile phone users are being cool, chilled out and tuned into a mobile phone culture The thrill and the novelty of the mobile phone What the phones can do for the users are the factors that enable and strengthen the blood.Demographic Factors on that point is a positive relation mingled with age and price concern. honest-to-god buyers would take price as an of the essence(predicate) factor when deciding to buy a new phone (Mintel, January 2010). As well as teenage buyers, they have a budget constraint due to their limited income. thence they would wait until they are true about their choice so as to avoid making a bad purchase. This concern leads to a brand criterion. In order to reduce the risk of wasting their money, they would stick to the rely brand only (Mintel, August 2008). Technology goods are a low e polishicity product to men. During the recession men still buy new technology goods. Women are more prices sensitive than men and they are also interested in design more than men (Mintel, June 2009).Due to the two facts that in China ownership of a mobile phone is positively related to income, and that a larger part of the high-income earners are men, there is a gap amidst number of male and female users of mobile phones. However, there is a growing market segment invested at women where the exterior design is the major selling point (Castells et al., 2004). there is also a residual in how male and females perceive and use their handsets female users are not only likelier to see the phone as a fashionable associate but also use it as a key highway to maintain personal familys. This becomes evident i n studies that show that even if more men than women use SMS, women are more frequent users of it than men (Castells et al., 2004).Conceptual ModelFigure 1 Model of Smartphone Purchasing DecisionH1H3H4H5H6iPhonePerceptionsPost purchase SatisfactionDemographic ModeratorsPhysical FactorsH2Social FactorsEmotional FactorsResearch Question and HypothesesQ1 Is there any relationship in the midst of physical factors and the iPhone perceptions?H1 There is a relationship among physical factors and the iPhone perceptions.Q2 Is there any relationship between neighborly factors and the iPhone perceptions?H2 There is a relationship between brotherly factors and the iPhone perceptions.Q3 Is there any relationship between emotional factors and the iPhone perceptions?H3 There is a relationship between emotional factors and the iPhone perceptions.Q4 Is there a relationship between physical factors, social factors and emotional factors and iPhone perceptions?H4 There is a relationship between phy sical factors, social factors and emotional factors and iPhone perceptions.Q5 Is there a relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfactions?H5 There is a relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfactions.Q6a Does the demographic moderator of income influence the relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction?H6a The demographic moderator of income influences the relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction.Q6b Does the demographic moderator of gender influence the relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction?H6b The demographic moderator of gender influences the relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction.Research Design and MethodologyResearch DesignResearch design is a framework or blueprint conducting a market research project that specifies the procedures necessary to obtain the information needed to social system or exercise the mar keting problem (Malhotra, 2009 94).The objective of this project is to improve the sales mass of iPhone in China. The first step here was to define the management decision problem and then apply suitable market research approach. There are two types of research designsExploratory An exploratory research was conducted to draw in a basic understanding and insight in the problems faced by Apple Inc. This was done mainly through secondary data. The exploratory research proved that there was some problem and further research was compulsory in order to address it appropriately.Conclusive A conclusive research was conducted to build upon the finding of the exploratory research. It is done mainly to test the speculate hypotheses. The conclusive research is of two types descriptive and casual. The descriptive research was employ to identify the relationship between the different variables affecting the buying behaviour whereas the causal research was apply to determine the cause and ef fect relationships between the moderator and the variables.Secondary ResearchThis is one of the most important elements of a market research project especially when there is time and cost constraint. Since the study revolves around a very new, unique and innovative product so the secondary data has been entirely sourced from the quality journals, newspapers and research articles. In order to maintain authenticity of the data, all the data was compared among each other and this lay the foundation for the development of the research model for the study.Primary ResearchResearch ApproachThe come off method was used to collect the information from the respondents in this research. This method was chosen due to its advantages of ease, reliability, and simplicity along with the fact that it can simultaneously demonstrate the insights into who the actual consumers are, how the consumers behave, and why the consumers behave in certain way (Malhotra, 2009 p214). With the consideration of tim e and resource constraints, the questionnaires were distributed to Chinese students at the University of Leeds. In addition to distributing the questionnaire face to face to the respondents, an on-line version of the questionnaire was also do available by the researchers to collect data from the respondents.Sampling DesignIn this case, to understand the correlations between different types of factors and the smartphone purchasing decision of Chinese consumers and between demographic moderators and the customer satisfaction, the sample distribution coat was determined according to the intravenous feeding steps of the Sampling Design Process (Malhotra, 2009 p371).Defining the Target universeElements of the Sample Prospective purchasers of mobile phones in ChinaSample Units Chinese mobile phone usersExtent Chinese students study in the University of LeedsTime Period November, 2010Sample Frame The Chinese students who study at the University of Leeds were the target population of t his research. According to the web page of the University of Leeds (http//www.leeds.ac.uk/info/30313/asia/200/china), the number of Chinese students was 561 when the research was underinterpreted. Therefore, the sample size was opined based on the population size of 561.Sampling Technique Sampling techniques can be classified ad as non-probability sampling and probability sampling (Malhotra, 2009 p373). Non-probability sampling was selected for the data collection in this research due to the time and resource constraints the selecting of sample elements was based on the research teams personal judgment and conveniencealecting of sample elements was aspect was carried out among different income level.ch could expand the age interval of the re.Determining the sample size The sample size of the research was calculated by statistical method with the formula belown =wheren = sample size requisiteN = population sizeZ = number of pattern errors (Z=1.96 for 95% confidence level)(Anton, 1995, cited by Palihawadana, 2009)The sample size was calculated at 95% confidence level, thereforen = = 229According to the calculation above, 229 questionnaires were take ond to be collected in this research. However, due to the time and resource constraints, rather 76% of the required sample size or 176 questionnaires were to be include in this research.Questionnaire DesignA questionnaire was knowing to collect the quantitative primary data. According to the literature review, three factors were embraced in the questionnaire to determine their relevance of smartphones purchasing decision. Besides, collecting basic information of the respondents helped to investigate whether the demographic moderators affected the consumer satisfaction. The questionnaire was designed on the basis of questionnaire design process (Malhotra, 2009 p.331).Information Needed The first step is to make sure the information which should be collected and used to analyse the result. Thus, it is vital to c learly understand the research questions and hypotheses so as to help the questionnaire remain focused. As the respondents are students at the University of Leeds, the wording and hyphen used in the questionnaire was appropriate to their level of education.Type of Interviewing Method The survey was conducted mainly by using personal interviews, accompanied by an internet survey. As a result, complex questions were avoided and all the questions were made as small and clear as possible so as to avoid any ambiguity.Content of Individual Questions All questions were designed based on six hypotheses. Reviewing the form and structure of related researches helped the questionnaire to be succinct and well-structured, and thus blue-blooded for young respondents to answer.Question Design The questionnaire was designed to be as unproblematic as possible to achieve raise the willingness to answer of the respondents. Moreover, the questions were oriented to require less effort and to avoid a sking for sensitive information.Question structure and operationalisation of the variables Question design7-AttitudinalScalesDichotomous DataMultiple-Choice QuestionsQuestionsSocial FactorsPhysical FactorsEmotional FactorsQ 3d, 3e, 3f, 7d, 7e, 7fQ3g-i, 7g-i, 8a-g, 12a-gH1H2H3Q4,Q10,Q14Q1, Q2, Q5,Q 3a, 3b, 3c, 7a, 7b, 7cDemo-graphic ModeratorsQ15, Q16, Q17, Q18, Q19H6Post-purchaseSatisfactionQ13Q6ConstructItemReferenceH4iPhonePercep-tionsH5Q11The questionnaire included 19 questions in four pages. In this questionnaire, three formats of questions were designed, which are, singly multiple-choice questions, 7-attitudinal exceeds and dichotomous questions. Multiple-choice questions were designed in order to get the general information about peoples perception of mobile phones and smartphones, as well as respondents personal information. As respondents are familiar with phones, and the personal information questions are basic background questions, respondents could easily choose a prefe rence choice from the several alternatives. In addition, since the questions were asked in an objective way, the data collected can be taken as reliable.Dichotomous data is that classified into either one of two mutually exclusive values. In the questionnaire, the dichotomous questions were about Yes or No questions about purchasing phones of respondents.Scale questions were used to indicate respondents attitudinal preference of the given items or sentences. In the questionnaire, scale questions were designed as the model of 7-attitudinal scale questions. Among most of these questions, 7 represented potently agree or potently satisfied while 1 represents strongly disagree or strongly dissatisfied, indicating respondents attitude in a oftentimes more detailed manner. All the factors that directly influence the hypothesis can be evaluated in on the 7-attitudinal scale question model, including physical factors, social factors as well as emotional factors. In this way the researcher s found it easy to evaluate the factors that influence peoples preferences regarding smartphones according to the data.Question wording Questions in the questionnaire were appropriate, simple and objective. maculation designing the questionnaire, special attention was given so that the questions did not mislead or prime the respondents in any way. This way the reliability of the data is enhanced. pricks of the questionnaire The questionnaire was divided into four parts class A Mobile Phones in the Market Section B Smartphones in the Market Section C iPhone and Section D Personal Information. In Section A, it the respondents general perception about mobile phones was explored in Section B, the questionnaire move to get an idea of Chinese international students preferences towards smartphones at Leeds University in Section C, the questionnaire focused on the attitude towards iPhone among Chinese students at Leeds University and in the last part, Section D, it is appertained that al l the respondents provide their basic personal information, which is an essential part of demographic factors as it would help the researchers to test Hypothesis 4 as a reference. Among the first three sections, equivalent attitudinal questions are asked in order to make a comparison among students attitude towards feature phones, smartphones and the iPhone. Also, all these three parts contained questions about physical factors, social factors and emotional factors that could influence peoples decision while buying phones.Form and Layout The questionnaire was designed in a way that would inspire the respondents willingness and interest to finish it. This was done by way of property sections clearly defined, avoiding the title or questions within a section to be separated between alternatives in two pages. Additionally, certain care was taken to give the questionnaire an appealing look, and the university logo was added to give a serious and fiducial impression.Pilot testing Before collecting data from Chinese students in Leeds University, a pilot testing was made among five Chinese students at different schools, to test the practicability of the questionnaire. The suggestions from the five respondents were taken into consideration. The questionnaire was then complemented with some new alternatives, covering more situations and factors in a better way. While doing the actual survey, it was concluded that the respondents of the questionnaire perceived it to be much easier to answer all the questions after the views of the respondents of the Pilot project were incorporated.Field workThe duration of data collection was between 11th and 22nd of November 2010, when 176 questionnaires were distributed by the six members of the research team. The researchers collected the data from Chinese students by requesting them to fill out the questionnaires on the campus of the University of Leeds.Analytical MethodsIn this study, a variety of statistical methods were used to analyse the data which had collected from 176 respondents, in order to understand whether the physical factor, social factor and emotional factor significantly relate to iPhone perceptions, whether these three factors combined together and affected iPhone perception, whether there is a relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction, and whether demographic factor could be considered as a moderator influences on the relationship between iPhone perceptions and post purchase satisfaction according to the conceptual model. The following are the methods adoptedBi-variate regression analysis was used to calculate whether there was a relationship between the respondents preferences regarding the different factor (independent variable) and their perception of iPhone (dependent variable). This method was also used to test whether there was a relationship between the perception of respondents towards iPhone (independent variable) and the post purchase satisfaction (dep endent variable). When measuring the splendour of demographic moderating variables affect the satisfaction of iPhone (dependent variable), bi-variate regression analysis was be used as well.Multiple Regression analysis was conducted to analyse the power point of connection between three factors in terms of physical factor, social factor and emotional factor (independent variables) and the perception of iPhone (dependent variable).Results and Hypotheses TestingProfile of the respondentsAmong the 176 respondents, 63 of them (35.8%) were male while 113 of them (64.2%) were female.72.7% of total sample are between the age of 20 and 23.Merely 13.1% of the respondents came from families with the family income level of less than RMB 5000 per month.61.4% of all the respondents studied in Business School.64.8% of the respondents have postgraduate educational level.The largest percentage of respondents came from East China, accounts for 43.8%, while only 5% of the respondents came from Nort heast China.Factors influencing mobile phone choicesFactors influencing smartphone preferencesAccording to the questionnaire result, physical factors were the most important factors that influenced peoples purchasing of smartphones, with an average malt whisky of 5.77 on the attitudinal scale while social factors were the least important with an average score of 4.65.Among the physical factors that influenced respondents decision of buying smartphone quality was the most important with an average score of 6.21, while price was the least important with 5.17. Among social factors, pursuing fashion was the most important with an average score of 5.10 while group identity was the least important with 4.40. As to the emotional factors, the appearance of the smartphone was the most important in respondents mind with 5.80 average score, while advertisements were of least importance with 4.09.As mentioned about the make fors of smartphones, which are part of emotional factors that influen cing peoples decision of buying smartphones, the function of browsing the websites was the most taking with an average score of 5.70 while the function of video was the least important with 4.51.Factors related to iPhonesRegarding the iPhone, emotional factors were the most important factors affecting respondents purchasing behaviour with an average score of 5.26, while the social factors were the least important with 4.37.Among the physical factors, most of the respondents agreed with the sentence iPhone has a high quality, with this factor getting the highest score of 5.47. At the same time most of them think iPhone is expensive because the sentence iPhone has a reasonable price only registered the average score of 3.72. Within the social factors a bulk of the respondents believed iPhone to be a symbol of fashion with the score of 5.65, while a few(prenominal) people wanted to buy an iPhone just because their friends or family have one, this factor recording only 3.28. Among emo tional factors, iPhone has a good design of appearance was the most agreeable sentence with the score of 5.61, and the sentence The advertisements of iPhone are attractive the least with an average score of 4.79.As to functions, included in emotional factors which influence peoples purchasing decisions regarding the iPhone, the availability of applications through which you can go over websites like Facebook or Youtube was the most attractive with a score of 5.91, while