Mobile service is one of the fastest growing industries in India. With the economy opening up, competition in this sector is increasing. The entry of private companies promoted the use of cellular phones in the country. Today, it is buyers market in the case of mobile services. Mobile service providers must understand the customers' perception about the company and its various offers. Mobile service providers must identify the customer needs and influencing factors before designing any service or offer. In this context, this paper aims to deduce the factors that customers perceive to be the most important while utilizing the services of a mobile service provider. A well-structured schedule was developed for conducting the study, and it was conducted at Bhiwani and Hisar districts (including some villages) in the state of Haryana during February-March, 2007. Judgmental sampling method was followed. Data was suitably tabulated on the basis of responses provided by 186 respondents and further by calculating percentages, frequencies and factor analysis method. The mobile users group the various features into four factors—customer care (interaction), service features, call rates and promotion and availability in the same order of importance. Moreover, hypothesis testing reveals that customers perceive these factors in a similar order of importance irrespective of sex, qualification, profession and marital status. Customers having less than 20 years and income less than Rs. 10,000/- are more sensitive to call rates as compared to other respondents. Finally, it can be said that better customer care services and service features, especially strong network range are most important for retaining the customers in mobile services.
Mobile service is one of the fastest growing industries in India. With the economy opening up, competition in this sector is increasing. The entry of private companies promoted the use of cellular phones in the country. There are 25 private companies providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and four metro cities, covering 1500 towns across the country. There are two types of mobile service networks: GSM (Global System for Mobile) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). Major players operating in India in GSM sector are: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Bharti Telecom, Hutch-Essar, and Aditya Birla Group, while those in CDMA sector are Tata and Reliance. Presently, the industry is witnessing a fierce competition. The mobile companies are offering various kinds of services and offers to attract new customers and retain the old customers. Everyday we see a new offer in the newspapers by mobile service providers. Today, it is the buyers market in the case of mobile services. Introducing a range of offers and schemes may not always ensure a large customer base and bigger market share. Mobile service providers must understand the customers' perception about the company and its various offers. Mobile service provider must identify the customer needs and influencing factors before designing any service or offer. This will lead to better and effective marketing strategies rather than focusing solely on lucrative schemes. In this context, the paper aims to deduce the factors that the customers perceive to be most important while utilizing the services of a mobile service provider. |
