Dissertation 5 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

8/6/2019 Dissertation 5 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

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Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

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HOW CAN MANAGERS IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY

IN MOBILE PHONE & NETWORK INDUSTRY IN U.K.

Customer Inserts His/Her Name

Customer Inserts Grade Course

Customer Inserts Tutors Name

(January 21, 2011)


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Acknowledgement

I want to thank to all those who helped me in completing my research and guided me

throughout and provided their assistance whenever required.

Firstly, I would like to pay my gratitude to almighty God, as by His blessings I have

successfully completed the study and attain vast knowledge of the topic. I have been able to

accomplish my goal effectively.

I am also very thankful to my prof. that provided me with thorough understanding of

the subject and directed me in planning and researching on the matter. Without his support it

would not have been possible to complete this research.

The completion of this research has been possible with the direction of my fellow

students also, who supported me in some way or another. I am also very grateful to the

managers who participated in the survey and managed to take out some time to fill out the

questionnaire from their busy schedule.


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ABSTRACT

Today the use of mobile phones has become very common amongst every age

group of the population, almost every individual possesses his or her personal mobile

phone, it makes easier to communicate and stay in touch with your closed ones. The

research has been conducted to identify the facts related to the mobile phone and network

companies operating in the market of U.K. it will be investigated how important is

customer satisfaction and loyalty is for the organizations and how they seek to measure it

and bring improvements to keep their customers satisfied encourage them to make

purchases from your company for lifetime. Research has been done thoroughly about

customer satisfaction in relation to mobile and network industry in U.K. the data has been

gathered through both primary and secondary research and the data has also been

collected in both qualitative and quantitative forms. For gathering the raw data managers

from different service provider companies were surveyed specifically Vodafone and o2 to

know about their views and strategies on how they are struggling to retain their customers

and influence them to purchase from their company and persuade them to not to purchase

or switch to the competitors products. The research revealed that for any organization

customers are extremely vital, as they are ones who make sales and generate revenues for

the firms. For the survival of the company in the industry it is essential to satisfy the

customers and meet their expectations willingly for which employees of the company

must also be motivated.


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Table of contents

Abstract..

1Introduction

1.1 Customer satisfaction and loyalty. 7

1.2 Mobile phone and network industry in U.K. 8

1.3 Aims and objectives. 10

2 Literature review

2.1 Introduction. 12

2.2 Levels of customers. 14

2.3 Importance of customer satisfaction 15

2.4 Why measure customer satisfaction.................................................. 19

2.5 Customer loyalty 22

2.6 Building customer loyalty 23

2.7 Importance of customer loyalty 26

2.8 Improving customer satisfaction. 28

2.9 Ways to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.31


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3 Research methodologies

3.1 Positivism and phenomenology 33

3.2 Inductive and deductive research.. 35

3.3 Types of data. 37

3.4 Research ethics 38

3.5 Types of research. 39

4 Results and analysis. 42

5 Discussions. 67

6 Conclusion and recommendation 79

Bibliography... 84

Questionnaire.. 92

List of figures

Figure 1 43

Figure 2.. 44

Figure 3 46

Figure 4 47

Figure 5 48


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Figure 6 49

Figure 7 51

Figure 8 52

Figure 9 54

Figure 10 55

Figure 11 56

Figure 12 57

Figure 13 59

Figure 14 60

Figure 15 61

Figure 16 63

Figure 1764

Figure 18 66


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CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY

The mobile phone industry faces a severe competition. The demand for phones is high in

the U.K; almost 39 million people of the population have their personal mobile phones. These

people are also spending a large sum of money in purchasing handsets and paying their bills.

Keeping in mind the competition and the increasing demand influenced the mobile phone and

network companies to bring substantial changes and innovation in their offerings to ensure their

customers retain. Companies introduced attractive packages and deals for its customers which

they can simply not resist. These ground-breaking offers inspire customers to purchase from the

company and remain loyal to them. This also motivates organizations to bring in something new

and for improving continuously.

The reason that the companies are making such great efforts for its customers is that they

want to survive in the industry, be competitive and profitable. Customers are the base of any

business on which the revenues of an organization depends to provide them with the best is the

major responsibility of all the businesses.

The word customer satisfaction and loyalty tells us about the behavior or the state of

mind and the perception a customer has about the product. Companies today try to survive in the

market and attract customers towards their company in this highly competitive market however it

has become quite difficult the only way through which they can do this that is survive in the

market and remain competitive is by providing complete customer satisfaction. Customer

satisfaction has thus gained a lot of importance and significance in the todays world especially

where the firms face severe competition.


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This research is therefore done to know how essential it is for the mobile phone and

network industries to be customer oriented as the market has a large number of substitutes and

also a great competition from equivalent service providers.

1.2 MOBILE PHONE AND NETWORK INDUSTRY IN U.K:

The mobile and network industry brought a new trend in the economy. Mobile phones

made it easier for the people to communicate and remain in contact with their closed ones. The

business prospered very rapidly as the technology brought so much ease and convenience for the

consumers, that consumers could not resist themselves from using the mobile phones.

Different businesses operate in the mobile phone and network industry in the U.K. it

comprises of the; manufacturers, network operators, service providers and dealers.

Manufacturers are the companies that are engaged in the production of the handsets and other

accessories of the mobile phones, they provide these to the network operators, service providers

and the dealers. These manufacturing companies include Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericson and

many others.

Network operators are responsible for providing the air time; they possess the air time

and conduct their business in different ways. The companies that are operating as network

operators are: Vodafone, o2, orange, 3 and T-Mobile; who sell the air time to the tied service

providers, indirect service providers, they also sell directly to the customer through their retail

outlet such as an orange shop; they sell a complete package to the customers which includes the

handset, line rental and other accessories. They also sell to the mobile dealers.

Service providers have the duty to supply network connections, they provide the service

of customer billing and are also responsible for handling the dealers. In the beginning the BT cell


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net now known as o2 and Vodafone were obliged to use service providers. These were known as

the tied service provider, which means that they will only provide their services to the one they

are connected to. However, there are correspondingly the service providers that trade phones,

rental contracts and accessories to the dealers and even at times directly to the customers. The

independent service providers generally buy handsets and accessories from the manufacturer and

acquire airtime from the network operator and supply it to its customers. They do not own a

retail outlet moreover they interact and communicate with their customers over the phone or

through the internet. While dealing with the independent service provider the network operator is

not involved, they provide customer care and have the responsibility of billing the customers.

Dealers deal with their customers through retail outlets; they sell hand sets and other

phone accessories to the customers. The dealer may get its supplies from the manufacturers,

independent service providers and the network providers. Often the dealers get the connection

for its customers from the service providers rather than getting it from the network operators.

Forces that pertain in the industry which make the industry so competitive include;

buying power, power of suppliers, competitive rivalry, threat of substitutes and threat of entrants.

By the year 1996 the competition became further intense the jealousy amongst the

competitors raised. Different marketing strategies were used to attract customers and retain them

from switching to other networks, this resulted in lower prices for the customers however a

higher cost for the suppliers as they invested huge amount in advertising expenditure. Dealers

had a low buying power whereas a greater buying power lied with the service providers. In case

of the power of supplier, it was dependent on the supplier. To attract new subscribers to a

particular network the prices and design of the phone played a significant role. Initially the large


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phone manufacturing companies tried to merge with the network operators but the government

intervened into the market to make it competitive by issuing licenses to the network operators.

The substitutes existed in the market in the form of internet and pagers which are cheaper to use

and lead customer to switch from mobile phones due to high tariffs the consumers were not eager

to enter into the mobile phone market. Although the alternatives and the substitutes did not

impose much threat on the usage of the mobile phones however the revenue of the companies

operating in the mobile phone industry declined and the usage was also decreased. The threat to

the firms already existing in the market from new entrants was low as the barrier to entry was

there in the form of operators license which was not easy to get and there was also a high cost

involved in setting up the business. On other hand keeping the long term profitability in mind

many were still interested in entering the market as the business is growing and flourishing every

now and then.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION:

To begin the research it is important to first identify what the research is going to be

about. A research question tells about the goal that will be achieved through the study it is a

statement that will clearly indicate the fact that needs to be investigated and what the research

will examine to prove. The statement or the research question must progress from something that

is already known to something that is yet unknown and have need of validation. The known part

of the question will be determined by the literature review and for the unknown part field

research through surveying will be done. It is essential for the research question to be neither too

broad nor too narrow, a too narrow question will not require much research and therefore

information collected will not be sufficient enough to solve the query, on the other hand if the

question will be too broad it might be possible that some of the major aspects of the study might


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be left unfold. It must be according to the matter being investigated. For this particular studyan

appropriate research question would be how to measure and manage customer satisfaction to

maintain customer loyalty. This will be responded specifically for the mobile phone and network

industry in U.K. research question gives the idea about what needs to be discovered by the

researcher. The research question will then help to identifywhat other variables are needed to

carry out the research.

1.4AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The aims and objectives of this research would be to get a complete and clear

understanding of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the mobile phone and network industry, the

importance of the customers for an organization how keen are the managers to retain their

customers and to provide them satisfaction and delighting them by meeting their expectations or

offering them a product above their expectation to sustain them for a longer time period. How

mangers strive and struggle to know about their customers their demands and the ways to fulfill

their requirements.

The study will also focus on how competitive is the mobile phone and network industry

and how difficult it is to retain in such industry. In what way can a manger operating in the

mobile phone industry will ensure and measure the level of satisfaction of its customers. The

research will tell us about the levels of customers that are willing to purchase or not to purchase

from our company and the factors that influence and motivate them to buy or not to buy from our

company or to switch to other networks. What are the tips that a manager must consider while

communicating with the customers. And what are the ways in which the sales representative

should interact with its customers. The reasons for which there is a need to measure the customer


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satisfaction. It will also tell us about the customer loyalty and to know about the customer

attitude and behavior towards a product. By what means can a manager build loyal customers

and sustain them from switching to other dealers or service providers.

The report will also identify the facts that why is customer loyalty and satisfaction so

critical for the success of the businesses operating in the mobile phone and network industry. In

what manner a manger can bring improvements in customer satisfaction. The benefits that

customer satisfaction and loyalty will bring to the company and the revenues it will generate.

The report will provide a complete knowledge about the customer satisfaction and loyalty

through what means to measure it and in what manner to improve it. The research will also assist

in knowing how the managers from the mobile phone and network industry deal with the

customers to provide them complete satisfaction and if they are following the procedures to

ensure customer satisfaction. What do they understand by the term customer satisfaction, how

important it is for their organization? Managers perspective will also be considered and a

thorough research will be done on their perception.

CHAPTER-2: LITERATURE REVIEW:

2.1 INTRODUCTION:

The report is based on how the managers of mobile phones and networks can ensure and

bring improvement in customer satisfaction and retain customer loyalty. It is responsibility of

every manager to make sure that their customers are delighted by the use of their product and the

quality they provide should be tremendous. A customer for any business is extremely important

as it will not be possible for any organization to sustain in the market or the industry without


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having customers for their offerings. Managers are dependent on the customers for flourishing

their business and bringing in profits.

The market of mobile phone and network industry is very competitive; the usage of

mobile phones has become incredibly common amongst almost every age group of the

population. Due to intense competition it has become very essential for all the firms to focus on

the customer satisfaction and loyalty. There are almost five networks operating in U.K that is;

Vodafone, o2, t-mobile, orange and three (3). Besides these the two other that operate in U.K are

virgin and one.tel they operate in by purchasing airtime from the main provider.

The situation today is quite different as compared to twenty years back. People have now

become more demanding they have unlimited wants and we have limited resources. Buyers are

impatient, too busy with their activities and lives. Its the job of a manager to utilize his

resources in an efficient and effective manner to get the best out of it and to provide customer

with best quality with ease and convenience which they demand (Hayes 2008).

Managers ought to segment the market and focus on the target customers so that it

becomes easier for them to meet the individuals expectation. Since managing customer

relationships is not just the responsibility of any particular department managers and their

subordinates from all the departments in an organization must integrate their efforts and must be

determined to provide their customers with enchanting experience. When employees from all

departments will jointly make decisions and there will be participation employees will be

motivated and not only this the basic and most fundamental advantage of this would be that there

will be numerous ideas and innovative suggestions to bring improvements and providing

customers with complete satisfaction. Market leaders do not concentrate merely on competing


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with their opponents or the threats they have in the market in the form of competitors but they

believe in providing valuable services to their customers to meet up to their requirements. Those

who focused on being ahead from their rivals were not able to achieve their targeted goals. To be

the market leader your strategies must focus on bringing in new ideas and ways to solve the

customer related problems, the use of up to date and new technologies can get innovative ideas

to acquire new customers and provide them good experiences initially and later retain them for

longer period (H. Myers 1999).

2.2 LEVELS OF CUSTOMERS:

Dissatisfied customers: there are customers who purchase the good of a company but are

not satisfied with the quality or the services provided by the good which might not have fulfilled

their needs, these results in bad word of mouth which leads to a further decrease in demand and

these effects the sales of the company. It is an interesting group for the firm to deal with; it is a

challenging task for a manager to enforce the customer who is once dissatisfied to purchase from

the company again.

Satisfied customers: then there are satisfied customers who once use the product and are

satisfied by using it and might purchase it again however much research has not been done on it,

since the managers believe that if the customers are satisfied whats the use of further research.

But its important to know what makes the customer satisfied.

Loyal customers: these customers keep on purchasing the product and do not switch to

the competitors product. Despite of better offerings from other competitors a loyal customer

would consider to buy from the same company, managers must be responsible enough to provide

their loyal customers with superior quality and to cater their needs and should be well aware of


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their demands and their expectations from the product to retain them. It becomes difficult at

times for the manager to completely understand the requirements of the customers; therefore a

manager working in the mobile phone industry must ensure that the desires of a loyal customer

must be fulfilled to keep hold of these customers from moving to other brands. Managers must

understand the importance of the loyal customers. (Biafore 2008).

Customer satisfaction, is the attitude of the consumers towards a commodity, how they

feel after using the product their reaction or in other words how satisfied they are with the use of

any good or service. It is to measure the level of satisfaction the consumer gets from the use of

the product. (Hill & Alexander 2006)

2.3 IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: it is very critical for a

manager to have a good customer relationship management to identify what causes satisfaction

and what are the reasons for dissatisfaction; this brings an urge in the managers for improvement

(Hill & Allen 2007). A satisfied customer will return to the firm again for further purchase and

will also create a good word of mouth these results in a lower selling cost for the managers.

This helps to target new customers as satisfied customers will refer others to use the

product. It also gives a chance for improvement and growth of the business. Managers can

identify the needs and develop new products and provide extraordinary, innovative services to

their customers and to have a competitive edge over other organizations (Derek R. Allen 2004).

Customers are in search of different experience from the product they do not only want a

satisfying experience but a delightful experience. And this reinforces them to purchase from the

company again. Loyalty results from a higher level of satisfaction that is the reason for which the


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managers must focus on the satisfaction, which will bring in loyal customers. (Paul Szwarc

2005)

Customer loyalty and satisfaction are two basic requirements which need to be fulfilled at

the very first stage of seller-buyer relationship. To sustain it, managers are required to go through

every thick and thin just so there customers end up to be loyal.

From a managers perspective customers are the main assets to their companies so they

are bound to obey and to retain them, to nourish the relation and to make them feel special.

Losing a single customer would end up losing hundreds, because he will bad mouth about them.

But from customers perspective, what he wants is a complete package of satisfaction, that is,

low tariff rates than the other companys offerings but long term feasibility. To earn consumer

loyalty his complains should be answered, his issues should be sorted out. Then only a customer

would think of being loyal. Companies should offer a concise but an efficient plan to its

consumers so it is easy for them to understand and not forget the appreciation. The difference

between the perceived performance and the expectations should be made obvious to the

consumer so he could choose to be a loyal customer as his chosen company is making efforts to

maintain the relation and trying to make it healthy. A proof that the customers are satisfied is his

constant usage. (Lancaster &massingham 2010).

Complaints and suggestions should always be entertained, as you would get to know

about the customers choice and demands. By complains and comparisons, a smart manager

would be able to pick out the important changes which the target market is expecting. Effective

call centers and sales representatives would make this job easy. Molding the customer perception

is a sales representative and advertising teams job. Ads full of energy and inspirational taglines


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would be very helpful in motivating customer loyalty. Analysis should be done for the customers

who are longer your users. Contact should be made and ask them the reason as to why have they

switched to some other cellular company. The pattern of customers switching to other networks

should be revised. The offers should be compared and competitive advantage is to be given.

Gaining loyalty is not an easy task but once it is earned then maintaining it is one important job.

Constant satisfaction is required by the consumers, research should be made on customer likes

and dislikes, which packages are more likely to be appreciated and which not. Innovations and

surprises are always liked by consumers, getting a package which no one else has ever offered in

certain rates obviously delight them. Customer interactions should be improved as much as

possible. Satisfaction level of a customer should be noted because if his expectations are higher

but the performance falls below it, he would be disappointed and ultimately switch to another

network. Companies should run programs to identify its customers level of satisfaction;

interactions should be recorded as to keep the data and preserve it for future counseling. This

data would be helpful in research of interested and disinterested customers and in picking out the

consumers who are angry and have issues so there issues could be sorted out. Packages should be

attractive enough to make the customers choose our product over another companys product. It

takes lots of money to attract new customers than to retain the existing ones. Packages and

services should be highly differentiated from competitors. Provide your customers with multiple

packages and services contact them, interact with them and solve their issues and make them feel

special that you care! That you want them to stay and be loyal.(Westcott 2005).

Reluctance of employees is a danger mark; employees should be trained and motivated

for any action which is to be taken by the organization. Atmosphere is friendly and idea sharing

is entertained. Customer retention and satisfaction is measured by Customer relationship


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management of a company (CRM). Since, competition is tough and every network is giving its

100% to gain 100% market. Not much of a difference is found is rates, every possible service is

being given, starting from mobile features linked to internet to the applications provided by

servers. So the only thing left to attain consumer attention is earning loyalty and giving

satisfaction. A place like UK has so many competitors within the market that consumers often

get confused as to which network they should be loyal to because every offer is attracting them.

So it is a companys job to acquire and retain with the help of its CRM. Overall goal is to find,

attract and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former

clients back into the fold and reduce costs of marketing and client service. The phases which are

to be supported for a business-customer relationship are: Acquiring, enhancing and retaining.

Acquiring can be fulfilled by fabulous offers to attract new customers by contact

management tariffs one else ever has introduced.

Enhancing, by providing convenience or one stop shopping.

Retaining the existing consumers by rewarding their loyalty.

Ones operating standards are to be ensured that they are of consistent and appropriate

level.

Competition should be visible, convenience should be of high level, and help centers

should be easily accessed. High level of convenience will persuade them to stick to this

particular network, be it payment convenience, distance of an outlet from work place or

discussion rooms where customers have their own group where they can chat with other users of

the same brand and discuss what is the advantage. Advertising power and subscription ease will

attract the users and would satisfy the needs and enhance the loyalty. Choosing different tracks


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and introducing schemes and alliances will benefit its customers more than expectations.(gershon

2008).

2.4 WHY MEASURE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: it is important for any

manager to know what their customers desire in a mobile phone company they should know

what call chargers or message packages the consumers want, to sustain in the business the

manager should make available these needs. Without which it will quite impossible for any

organization to be a profitable and competitive one. (Bob E. Hayes 1998)

Measuring customer satisfaction will create awareness of what services, quality, and

price the consumer wishes to have in the product. What aspects of the product should be

considered by the manager in satisfying the wants of the consumers to increase the sales and to

make them a loyal customer who will keep on purchasing the services of a rim for a longer time

period (Hill, Brierley& MacDougall 2003).

Many organizations still use the traditional ways of measuring the customer satisfaction

they see the companys sales volume past trends, how often customers complain about the

product. However in this ever changing global world there has to be done something more than

following and implementing the traditional approach. Mangers must assign responsibilities to the

marketing and the sales staff to carry out surveys. They must not only see their level of customer

satisfaction but also how their competitors are dealing with their customers to provide them

complete satisfaction (Biafore 2008).

The changes made by the top management must be communicated to all the employees

and must also be informed to the customers that the changes that have been brought are due to

their requirements and needs. Focus on both internal and external quality must be assured. The


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customer satisfaction must be integrated with the overall companys strategic goals and plans.

The plans must be easy to implement and understandable for the employees. The results

generated must be actionable (Grnewlder 2008).

Since customer satisfaction is a qualitative research and not a quantitative one manager

must conduct surveys and gather statistical data for knowing their customers. Satisfaction can

arise due to a lot of reasons like price satisfaction, quality satisfaction, satisfaction from the

services provided were able to meet the demands and expectations of a customer. At times it is

important for the consumer to get the delivery on time in that case the manager must influence

on providing on time delivery. This helps in knowing the most important aspects of customer

satisfaction.

While conducting a survey a manager must have a clear vision of the objectives of the

survey. The objectives of any particular survey that is being conducted must include; what the

customer wants, whether the company is able to satisfy those needs or is it the competitors who

are fulfilling the customers demands. Once you have your results you can now use these results

to bring in some difference and innovation. Then keep on monitoring over time and take

appropriate action when required. Measure your own performance to see how far you have been

able to achieve your own goals that were set before. After gathering the specific information you

should now have the clear idea of how will this information be used. What actions will be taken

based on these findings. (Kessler 1996).

It is important to design your plan considerately and implement it thoughtfully since it

requires great efforts and is a costly thing to do or else the time and resource that have been

allocated will prove to be of a complete waste, it should not cause further problems rather than


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solving the previous ones or else it will be very frustrating for the mangers. The attitudes of

different customers may differ towards a product some will not purchase at all, some will be

satisfied but might still try other brands, some of them will be delighted and will re purchase

even if provided at a higher price. Every time they use the product they make the decision based

on their experience if it was tremendous, moderate or unpleasant; these are referred as moments

of truths. When they share their experience with others by informing about how they felt about

the product is the word of mouth which can be either good bad or neutral (Grigoroudis&Siskos

2009).

Customer loyalty: however, is about for how long your customer keeps on purchasing the

product of your brand rather than switching to the competitors brand. A loyal customer is the

greatest asset for any organization. It remains loyal to the company in all circumstances and

expects a lot from the firm to offer, as being the best belonging which helps the business prosper

(Lawfer 2004).

LOYALTY BEHAVIOR: this shows the behavior of the consumer towards the purchase

of the good, how often does a consumer buys from the company. The purchasing patterns of the

consumers LOYALTY ATITUDE: is the reason behind the continuous purchase of the

consumers, it is difficult to measure the loyalty attitude since consumers would behave

differently and have a different attitude. The bond created between the company and the

customer results in customer loyalty and a long term relationship between the two. Loyalty

affects the market share. Loyalty increases the market share of the o2 and will lower the market

share of the other company such as Vodafone. Loyal customers act as a reference group for

increasing the sales of the company by convincing others from buying from our company.


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Customers retention helps in earning a higher amount of profit by making less efforts on

marketing and taking less care of the customers. (Griffin 2002).

Loyalty is considered to be as the result of satisfaction therefore one cannot merely focus

on the desired results without working on the causes those results in loyalty.

2.5 BUILDING CUSTOMERLOYALTY: to build loyal customers companies must

develop and focus on a customer driven strategy rather than keeping their concentration on

efficiency driven strategy as this might result in negative customer feedback and will act as an

obstacle in building customer loyalty. Customer driven strategies are dedicated to providing

customers services effectively and making customize products with their interactions and

through knowing their requirements. Quality should be monitored thoroughly in every step of

production process. There should be continuous improvements in the organization. Managers

must try to eliminate the waste as much as possible this will also help in reducing their cost. The

product must be made available to the customers as soon as possible.

2.6 IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMERLOYALTY: the most important or valuable

customers are not those who make one big purchase however they are the ones who keep on

purchasing again and again from the organization. It is much easier to keep an existing customer

than to acquire new customers. Customer loyalty is beneficial as you do not have to go to a loyal

customer to sell your good; they will come to you to buy the good again once satisfied and will

also come to check for new products. Once the trust is built customers are ready to try new

products without any hesitation and also are keen to give suggestions and their advices for

development of new products which is advantageous for the managers. A loyal customer will be

willing to pay a higher cost for your product than that of the competitors. They act as a free


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marketing tool for the business, they persuade others to buy the good by sharing their superior

experience. This leads to a long-term bonding (Robinson &Etherington 2006).

You can make more sales from a loyal customer than you will sell to ten customers, we

can apply the 80-20 rule in this situation which demonstrates the fact that 80 percent of the

companys revenue comes from the 20 percent of its customers who are the loyal customers.

When you introduce new product lines into your business you might not need to put much efforts

to attract new customers as you can make sales to your loyal customers, again increasing your

companys sales and generating higher profits. There arent much barriers to entry in the market

of mobile phone networks therefore you often see new players entering into the market and

bringing a rise in the competition, in such situations the company will know the importance of

the loyal customers as despite of so much competition consumers will not switch to other brands

and will keep on buying the product from your company. Existing companies with loyal

customers will be on a safe side and will have a competitive edge over others (A. Butscher

2002).

As discussed before it is considered quite costly to get new customers great efforts have

to be made to inform and persuade consumers to buy products from your company but once

satisfied customer will bring you long term sales and not only this but also refer others to

purchase goods from your company, marketing the product free of cost. Loyal customers might

easily forgive you for any small mistakes that are made unintentionally, however a new customer

if not provided with the expected services and quality will not be willing to forgive that easily.

By managing customer loyalty it is ensured that the customer will return to the company

and be a repeat customer, for which managers must make sure that they have trained their


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employees well enough to raise the level of customer loyalty and bring success to the business.

Managers must provide appropriate training to the employees and must inform them well how to

behave in difficult situations the ways of solving problems and not behaving in a manner that

might affect the sales of a business. Employees must definitely be aware of what customer

loyalty is and how important it is for an organization. The skills that an employee must possess

include good communication skills and also the problem solving skills (R. Bell & John R.

Patterson 2007).

At times managers believe that they have few loyal customers and they try to capture a

large number of customers and often forget about the loyal customers, and the problem arises

when the loyal customers start feeling neglected and the sales decline as a result. Thus a manager

must try not to ignore the expectations of the loyal customers. To get a higher market share is

although an objective of many organizations but preference must be given to the existing ones.

One of the main objectives of any business is to earn as much profits as possible and to

survive in the market and flourish their business this can only be done if you have loyal

customers and you are able to retain them in a cost effective manner, this will bring you profits

and hence you will be able to cover you cost and can survive in the market and will have chances

of growth. On the other hand if the company fails to do so then it will incur losses and will

probably have to leave out of the business. There arent any companies who do not claim to be a

customer oriented or customer focused organization since now almost everyone is well aware of

the importance of its customer to acquire them satisfy them and retain them for a longer time

period. One should not consider conducting surveys as a costly thing to do however they should

focus on the results that they will achieve once they invest in delighting their customers. Some

top managers must also provide their personal numbers to the valued customers to get their trust


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and know that those customers are appreciated. If not managed properly the customer survey can

be very misleading, they might not tell you accurately where you stand and probably wont give

you a fair picture of where you need to go. (L. Cahill 2007).

Managers must encourage, empower and energize their employees to provide good

customer services. It is also not just about satisfying your customers but making them engaged

and committed to your business. Someone will only be engaged to the company is there is a bond

of trust between the two parties; the company can influence the purchasing decision of the

customers. Companies must seek to protect their customers from all the problems and fix the as

soon as possible. When it comes to online purchasing the customers are very much concerned

about the security issues therefore the managers must ensure complete safety of customers data

but the process of this should neither be too long, as this will annoy the customer nor too short

since the customer might not be satisfied then if his the information that he or she is providing

will be secure. An interactive way of solving their problems directly is probably the best way to

overcome the barriers in building better customer relationship (L. Keiningham 2005)

2.7 IMPROVING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: once your organization becomes

customer oriented. Now the manager must look at their business from the perspective of the

customer. Knowing the importance of customers is easier and almost every manager is aware of

it, but providing and improving customer satisfaction is not a simple job to do. Breaking down

the walls between the manager and the customer is required, to retain customers and earn profits.

Managers must conduct surveys to know their customers; they should communicate well with

their buyers to bring improvements and be profitable. (David Johnson &Gustafsson 2000).


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Once they have researched what the customers want, next they should formulate those

findings into a plan to achieve success. Managers at all levels must integrate together to ensure

that the resources of the company are allocated well to develop a customer oriented business.

(Al-Nasser 2010).

The personalities of the customers vary. Every individual has a different behavior

towards a product. Some prefer trying new things every time, whereas many will stick to the

product they always use, they are not much willing to try new products. Therefore managers

should put in extra efforts to cater these different buyers differently. The importance of customer

satisfaction is increasing day by day as the customers are becoming more and more demanding,

organization that focus on satisfaction and loyalty are tend to stay in the industry for a longer

time period( D. Reid & C. Bojanic 2009).

A customer is dissatisfied when his expectations from a product are not met, when the

promises made by the company are not fulfilled. Mangers must be aware of the likes and dislikes

of the customers. The views of the company and the customers might not be similar in deciding

what has to be fixed. One of the reasons for customer dissatisfaction could be, due to the halt in

the production process which might not result in meeting the customer expectations. The

management must therefore decide what part of the process is causing bottleneck in the

production and hence must eliminate those processes and focus on those which are providing

customer with good quality this will also help managers to save their cost and reduce waste. (S.

Oakland &Marosszeky 2006).

Managers must also make sure that the technology being used is also most up-to-date as

the technology plays an important role in todays hi-tech world and ever changing advancements


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in technology is being seen. Managers must also give attention to this aspect, if not done this

could also result in customer dissatisfaction. Technology also helps in keeping and updating the

customers data and their records, someone must be hired to keep a check and monitor these

areas. Other employees must also be trained well to see the accuracy of the available data.

Employees are an essential asset for the company. Every employee must be given the job

according to their abilities and skills they possess. For providing customer satisfaction managers

must ensure that the employee must have high patience level, and can deal with people kindly.

And employees must be able to identify the reasons for dissatisfying customers experiences. If

the employees wont be involved in providing customer satisfaction the profits will decline.

(Horovitz 2004).

Customers measure you performance by comparing it with the competitors if your

company has shown improvements in the product but the improvements of your competitors are

faster consumers are likely to purchase from the competitors. (E. Hayes 2008).

2.8 WAYS TO INCREASE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY:

Managers must try to respond as quickly as possible to the customers complains and

requirement. You must make yourself available whenever the customer wants you to be. This

will show your customer that you care about them and are willing to fulfill their needs and

demands and this will acquire customers trust. Just in case if you arent able to respond to the

customer in time you can later do that by apologizing. (D. Goldstein 2009).

Another method to provide customer satisfaction could be by using the method of

communication that the customers want you to communicate with, which ever method is

preferred by the buyers should be used. In case of dealing with your online customers e-mails are


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This loyalty later will bring in higher profits as the loyal customers will get the company

more customers the sales will increase, employees must therefore be trained well to deal with the

customers. It is sometimes misinterpreted by the managers that the customers who are

dissatisfied will come to us and complain and then we can easily figure out the problems and

work on that. However, this is not as easy as it seems to be only the satisfied and loyal customers

will tell you about the problematic areas as they want improvements and they want the problems

to be resolved, but a satisfied customer will have various options available and hence will switch

to the competitors product since there is not much switching cost involved in such action And

will take the business to the competitive firm. Especially in an industry like mobile phones where

there is an intense competition in the market and consumers have so wide range of options

available.

Every customer must be important and the views and opinions of every individual

customer should be considered valuable and must not be left unseen. Studies must be done to

know your customer, but only on the condition if their opinion will be used to bring any change

or difference into your organization. Customer satisfaction also helps in monitoring the quality

management of the company and is a requirement of ISO: 9001-2000. (F. Reichheld, Teal,

2001).

First impression is the last impression. Managers must try to give an encouraging first

impression, they must respond to the customers with a cheerful smile and in a welcoming way.

At times when a customer is frustrated or unhappy about something then also the employees

must deal with tolerance and patience and must give them their complete attention to let the

customers know that they are being valued and they are being paid attention by the employees.


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The body language of the employees must also be warm and friendly and should not be

boring it should not be seemed as if the employees are annoyed by the presence of the customers.

Managers must keep a check and monitor the behavior of the employees. Managers must not

only monitor their employees but also appreciate the efforts they make to retain the customers

they should provide an immediate positive feedback to reinforce the behavior of their employees,

as they are also contributing in achieving the goals of the company by giving their best. (

BRIMPONG, 2010).

Customer satisfaction and loyalty are two main factors that should be dedicated as much

attention as possible for the manager. It is not only the responsibility of the manager on any

particular level but staff on levels must take it as an obligation to interact with their clients in a

polite manner to ensure higher sales and generating larger revenues. Especially the employees

who are closer to the action must be very vigilant in behaving in a honorable way to give them

respect and attain their trust for future profitable and beneficial relationships with the

company.(Harrell 2008).

CHAPTER-3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is defined as an activity carried out by human to investigate about

the nature and matter that pertains in the world. It deals with the ways in which data will be

gathered, the manner in which the analysis of the collected data will be carried out and how the

data that has been analyzed will be interpreted. It should be known to the researcher for what

reasons is the data being collected what are the problems that are need to be resolved. Research

methodology identifies different sources through which the facts will be gathered for the

research purpose, it is the way to perform any process that will lead to your desired result


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(Catherine and dawson 2009). Research helps to identify the truth or the information through

your experiences and the reasoning; it benefits an individual to gain knowledge about the

unknown. One can easily come up with numerous solutions to the problems via conducting

research. Research methodology is the process through which the research will be done.

Research methodology provides an individual to get complete knowledge about certain

topic of interest or issue, it guides human to follow the steps to reach his goal and attain the

research objectives. It allows the person to educate himself about the matter in depth. This will

be helpful in the long term for an individual in the world or the age of information. It assists in

knowing about the behavior pattern of others and their attitudes. Research gives knowledge

about different skills to the person conducting research.(malhotra 2009)

Research methodology provides tools that are to be used in carrying out the research. It

tells us about the types of data that can be assembled; gives us a well thought out set of actions to

follow while conducting the research.

Exploratory research will be used for the collection of data, as exploratory research by its

name states that it helps in investigating and identifying the root causes of any problem, this will

provide with an in depth knowledge about the matter and skillful investigation helps in

identifying the roots and provides different indicators to uncover the problems. Initially it helps

in identifying the matters on which we require research and according to business which we

have, it provides different suitable ways of research to overcome the problem (Catherine and

dawson 2009). Once we identify our major causes we can easily design programs to resolve

these issues. Later it will assist in knowing about how to provide customer satisfaction in mobile

phone and network industry, customers of these industries are quite sensitive and require high


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satisfaction so it necessary for company to understand its customer at each and every step, finally

company comes with supports in drawing conclusions with great caution. This research relies on

both the secondary data which helps in interpretation, that is collected through books and reports

or other sources and primary or field data, which provide proximity and have much control over

errors having authoritative information because it can be collected directly via formal or informal

discussions with employees, interviews with managements and so on, it removes all

interpretation and provide actual image. It allows the researcher to get complete understanding of

what he or she does not know enough about. For example the managers might know how

important customer satisfaction is for any organization but they might not be aware of how to

measure the satisfaction level of their customers the ways through which it can be improved or

enhanced. And how can they retain their existing customers to make them a loyal one. It will

identify the opportunities for the organization to improve and to overcome the barriers to provide

efficient services and customer care.( burns & bush 2009)

3.1 POSITIVISM AND PHENOMENOLOGY

The two methodological positions that can generally be discussed are the positivism and

the phenomenology. The positivism paradigm sometimes also referred as logical positivism or

empirical positivism is a system of study that pertains that research is about getting knowledge

and not about questioning, this view was given by Auguste Comte. It tells about the known,

something that has already happened, results based on logical data like mathematical and

statistical figures which can be seen and observed by an individual. This approach is more

related to find out the facts and deals with objectivity also help in explaining and making

predictions by relying on gained information. This view does not take the feelings and behavior

about the person into account (brown & baker 2007). The approach does not focus on reasoning,


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rather takes things objectively to measure the reality of the world based on sensory experienced

derived from inductive logics, researcher goes for factual information that provide an

understanding of problems and possible solutions. It is not likely to follow this approach as it

does make it possible for the researcher to get the in depth information and eliminate rival

hypotheses. (Johnson & Christensen 2010)

On the other hand the phenomenology which was initiated in 1890s by Edmund Husserl

states that the meaning should be known rather than just observing events. While collecting data

this approach proves to be beneficial as it influences on knowing about human experiences

which the approach considers to be advantageous during the collection of data. From the

phenomenology approach the focus is placed more on subjectivity as in the real world is not

merely made up of factual details based on rules. This approach gives an in depth detail of the

events and the reasons about the particular behavior pattern. It allows questioning from the

individual to get further detailed knowledge and idea about specific problem. It enables the

person to be aware of the meaning of occurrences rather than relying on the facts or the

observable events. (malhotra 2009).

The study will focus on both the methods to get a better understanding of the topic. Since

the topic requires the factual aspects, the patterns and the statistical data; and also the

experiences of individuals about the matter. Both common sense and the understandings of the

mangers are significant for the research. A complete knowledge will be required to improve the

understanding and analyze the collected data.

However, this research will primarily place emphasize on the phenomenology approach

in order to gather a detailed information about the managers perception towards the customer


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satisfaction and loyalty. It is important to know in depth, about ways to satisfy the customers and

retain them, generate revenues and earn profits for the firms. As the method allows to question

about the behavior a detailed data can therefore be collected. (Bordens&abbott 2007)

3.2 INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE RESEARCH: inductive reasoning sometimes

also referred as bottom up approach is the research in which the investigator first observes and

notices specific facts and then identifies the patterns and consistencies that follows, and then the

researcher formulates certain possible suggestions and propositions and later concludes his

findings, but in inductive research the observations, reasoning and conclusion have not such

strength relationship, lets consider mobile company introduces package to youth customers that

enjoy full month unlimited SMS package at every network within the country at 10 euro and

spends 1million euro for promotion but sales didnt increases during and after the campaign,

manager ask why didnt sales increase? And got reply that promotion campaign was poorly

executed while we had experienced sales should go up during a promotional event. That reply is

one hypothesis but but there are other possible reasons that might explain why promotion didnt

succeed 1) signal problems didnt encourage other customers to get the most of it. 2) Jam service

made SMS sending failed. So the inductive research provides initial information which is beyond

evidence as presented above, and other reasons can provide the factual conclusion. On the other

hand deductive reasoning however, is a top down approach in which initially we study about

the theory that needs to be researched then we try to narrow it down further into hypothesis to

test, to support these hypothesis we collect further data through observing events, this helps us to

confirm or not to confirm a specific theory. (Thomas &brubaker 2007)

For this research deductive reasoning will be an appropriate method to be used, as we

already have knowledge about what customer satisfaction is and why and how it can be


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important for the managers of a mobile phone and network organizations. But a confirmation

will be done through interviewing the mangers directly to ensure the data that has been collected

is true or not. Sometimes the researcher uses both the approaches for the research purpose

moreover for our study inductive research will not be required. Deductive method supports to

make clear the concept of previous theories. Both inductive and deductive reasoning assist in

evaluating information, however a researcher must be careful as both the approaches can at times

result in false conclusions. In deductive reasoning you might reach at an unreliable result, if you

used a false premise initially, lets consider from deductive point of view, you take premises in a

wrong sense 1) females always prefer to text messages (premise 1). 2) Introducing SMS bundle

package for women would be beneficial (premise 2). Female prefer text messages and enjoy

SMS packages (conclusion). Above premise no 1 was wrong judgment that women always prefer

text messages while some corporate women prefer calls. Therefore one must make sure that the

hypothesis being test must be valid. (Catherine and dawson 2009).

3.3 TYPES OF DATA:

The types of data that will be collected through the research will include both the

qualitative and quantitative forms of data. The qualitative information is about gathering data in

the form of text, images and graphics, films, sound recordings, individual depth interviews,

observations and so on. It mainly focus on interpretations, most people have the perception that

qualitative data is only collected in the form of texts however it is more than that. On the other

hand quantitative data is about gathering information in numerical form. The two types of data

go hand in hand, qualitative data can be analyzed numerically and mostly all the quantitative data

that has been collected is built on qualitative findings. Quantitative data is though sometimes


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difficult to interpret and understand, it is often complex. Qualitative data, as compared to the

quantitative data is easier to understand as it gives detailed information. ( Thomas 2003)

Qualitative data provides description, that can be observed but cannot be measured and

quantitative data deals with figures that are easy to measure. The researcher will have a complete

knowledge about the data that has to be collected while gathering quantitative data, on the other

hand during the collection of qualitative data the researcher might not have the complete

understanding before conducting the research. Quantitative research is usually done at the latter

phases of the study, however qualitative research might be done at the earlier stages (Taylor

2005). Quantitative data is more objective in nature as compare to qualitative; which is

subjective. It is though time consuming to gather qualitative data but it provides rich information.

For this research both qualitative and quantitative data will be required and will be helpful in

analyzing the importance of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the mobile phone and network

industry for the managers. Both forms of data will allow us to acquire a rich description about

the topic, and to understand it thoroughly. (creswell 2008)

3.4 RESEARCH ETHICS:

Ethics are the moral behavior which helps one to identify the difference between the right

and the wrong and that assist individuals to distinguish amongst the acceptable and unacceptable

behavior. It is important to conduct a research ethically, to ensure that no one is harmed during

the process. The research ethics aims to avoid occurrence of errors, it helps to eradicate any false

data or misrepresenting any information. It allows knowing about the truth. It requires

cooperation and coordination from different people to enable the research. To be ethical while

doing a research the researcher must ensure that he or she follows certain guidelines. Researcher


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must be careful as to avoid all sorts of errors and make sure that there should not be any

carelessness, the data must be collected honestly and interpreted carefully in order to avoid any

falsification or any misrepresentation (wiersma&jurs 2008). Ethics provide the code of conduct it

guides the researcher while conducting research about the actions that are against ethics. A way

to collect primary data is through observing the behavior of others, however some participants

might not find it ethical to observe their actions, but if they will be informed about it they might

get bias and this will not provide a good understanding about the matter, hence which ever

source or method is being used must be used ethically and one must assure that it will help in

gathering data ethically and it is a reliable source of collecting data, that will give a true picture

of the subject. There must be confidentiality, some personal data must not be openly shared with

everyone, permission must be granted by the party involved in the research before carrying out

the research. The investigator must consider the safety of the participant as his or her primary

concern (Gregory 2003). The participant must give the consent in written or oral form, they must

be aware of any benefits or risks that will be involved in the research. The research must be

concern about how the negativity of any event will be handled. When conducting research with

humans benefits must be maximized and harms should be minimized. All laws, rules and

regulations that pertain in the society must be followed and obeyed by the investigator. The

information that will be gathered must not be shared with someone who is not involved in the

research. The identity of the person must not be disclosed and must remain confidential.

(shamoo&resnik 2009)

3.5 TYPES OF RESEARCH:

In general there are two types of research; primary and secondary research. Primary

research sometimes also referred as filed research is the firsthand information. That does not


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exist already and is original which can be collected by asking questions from different people

directly this can be done through conducting surveys, preparing questionnaires to be asked from

the participants taking their interviews which can be structured or unstructured, the interview can

be conducted on telephone or face to face the questionnaire can also be posted or mailed to the

participant for ease (saunders, thornhill&lewis 2009). Another way to collect data through

primary research can be observation; that is to observe the behavior of the participant and note

down the factual details, however during observation it must be considered that research ethics

should not be ignored. Primary research is about collecting the raw data that has yet not been

identified; primary research can prove to be a quick and cheap way of collecting data if the

sample size is small. Secondary research on the other hand is to do research on the data that has

already been collected (goddard& Melville 2004). There are numerous sources of collecting

secondary data such as books, newspaper, and internet and so on. Collecting data through

secondary research is easy and also inexpensive a large sample can be represented through

secondary research whereas while conducting primary research only a small sample can be

surveyed as it is time consuming and also costly to carry out the research. However, in secondary

research it should be considered that the information must be up to date often the data collected

via secondary research can be quite misleading. Secondary data can at times also be biased; data

collected through secondary research might sometimes not be appropriate for the investigator

and not fulfill the needs of the research. Therefore the researcher must be careful to avoid these

mistakes (Kothari 2009).

Both the primary and secondary research helps to bring together both types of data,

qualitative and quantitative. For my research I will be using primary and secondary research

together for collecting data as relying solely on any one of it would not generate sufficient data


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for the study. Different books will be used for the secondary research and for primary research

survey will be conducted of managers from the mobile phone and network industry.

Questionnaire will be prepared that will include the questions that will be asked from the

participants, mangers will be informed well before conducting the research, as primary research

is up to date it is a more reliable source for collecting data, you can only that information which

you need for the matter that you are responding to, primary research is specific for whatever

purpose you need it, the data collected via this research will be confidential and no other

business or party will have access to it, if the questionnaires will be sent to the managers online

the results can be gathered very easily and quickly, with these numerous advantages are also

some disadvantages such as it might take a lot of time to analyze the data, it is a difficult and

expensive process to carry out, special care must be taken when selecting the sample should

neither be too large nor too small, the sample must be chosen with care the questionnaire must

also be designed carefully the questions must be worded accordingly that will help to collect as

much information as possible (goddard& Melville 2004). For this research a sample of 20

managers will be surveyed for gathering the data. The results of the survey will later be analyzed

to get the perfect understanding of the matter; the questionnaire will not be mailed or posted as

they might not reply to it. The views of the managers are crucial for understanding the topic as

they are more close to the action and they have the complete knowledge about the issue that is

how important is customer satisfaction and loyalty for any organization and how they can train

and motivate their employees to build a closer relationship with the customers. Also information

will be gathered about how the firms operating in the mobile phone and network industry are

struggling to stay in the competition and achieve their objective of earning profits.


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The reason for choosing a structured questionnaire, through which research will be

conducted, is to ensure that original data has been collected; this will provide detailed qualitative

and quantitative information about the problem and deliver a complete understanding of the

matter. It is better to prepare oneself before carrying out the interview, to know what needs to be

answered and what information will be required or vital for the research.(crowther& Lancaster

2008).

A questionnaire has been designed which comprises of almost 20 questions that will be

asked from each of the sample of 20 managers, which will be selected carefully to avoid any

errors. Once the questions will be answered the results will be examined to get information and

make conclusions about what is their perspective about the customer satisfaction and how

reliable is our information, consent will be required from the participants to share their thoughts

regarding the matter no one will be enforced to answer the questions, it will be ensured that no

personal information must be disclosed about the participants, anonymity will also be ensured

while making analysis about the data identity of anyone will not be revealed, the survey will only

be conducted if the participants agree to provide their views and help in collecting information

with their cooperation and support. The data will only be used for research purpose and

completing the study and for no other financial incentive. The collected data will be presented in

both qualitative and quantitative forms. Bar graphs will also be used to give a clear picture of the

findings. (gray 2009).

CHAPTER-4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Managers from two of the well-known companies of mobile phones and network

industry; Vodafone and o2, 10 managers from each of the company were asked to fill out the


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questionnaire for the research purpose, as the two companies deal with both handsets and

networks so they can help in providing knowledge related to both of it in relation to customer

satisfaction and loyalty. Their cooperation proved to be very helpful for the research and

knowing the facts about the customer satisfaction. Most of the results were positive and

supported the content that was already available. To look more closely about the matter it was

important to get the knowledge about it from the managers perspective. ( gale 2010).

This part of the study will deal with the analysis of the response that was given to the

questions that were asked from the managers in the questionnaires. The results are explained

below and will also be illustrated with the help of graphs and figures.

1. In this global world, with increasing competition, how important do you

consider customer satisfaction?

Extremely

important

Important Not important

11 6 3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

ExtremelyImportant

Important Not Important

11

6

3

Q 1. In this global world, with increasing competition, howimportant do you consider customer satisfaction?


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Since the globalization has increased and now even multi-national organizations

have started their business in different countries, and it is now easy to buy things from

other countries. Therefore the competition has increased and thus the need to satisfy you

customer has also become important When asked from the managers of Vodafone and o2

the feedback was; most of them agreed that satisfying customer is extremely important

and they understand completely that without the customers you cant sell you product.

However there were also some of them who do not consider customer satisfaction much

important as they argued that there are also other factors which are crucial for the success

of any business, to be efficient and effective have productive employees, as these factors

give an edge to the companies to compete well with their competitors. Companies are

keen to provide customer satisfaction but that should not be their only focus, they must

also work hard and put in efforts to eliminate waste from their production process that in

return will provide a good quality product to the market.(Harrell 2008).

2. It will be difficult for an organization in mobile phone and

networkindustry to survive ifit does not strive to satisfy its customer?

Strongly

agree

Agree Disagree Strongly

disagree

7 9 3 1


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As the competition is intense in no matter which ever industry you operate in, it is

therefore important to struggle for satisfying you customers needs. In response to our

question about how important do the managers of a company that are working in mobile

phone and network industry consider customer satisfaction to be, majority were eager to

strive for meeting the customer satisfaction. This question was particularly focused on the

importance of customer satisfaction and loyalty in the mobile phone and network

industry. Managers believed that it is definitely a crucial element to satisfy your

customers and make them loyal to your product if you want to sustain your sales and

survive in the market, if your objective is to grow and get a greater market share.

Whereas there were managers who have a different view about the fact; they believed

that the main objective of any organization is to be profitable and not just survival for

which they must put in great efforts to lower the companys cost. They assume that

though it is important to provide customer satisfaction and that cannot be ignored but that

is not the foremost concern for the managers, as there are other important things that

should be handled first, such as the morale of the employees as they are an important

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

78

9

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree StronglyDisagree

79

31

Q 2. It will be difficult for an organization in mobile phoneand network industry to survive if it does not strive to

satisfy its customer?


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asset for an organization and their motivation is important for achieving companys

goals; for an organization to develop, initially it requires equipment, labor and money to

be invested to start the business and then only one can make sales, then the stage comes

where you strive for providing customer satisfaction for which you must have sufficient

resources.(Reichheld& teal 2001).

3. In an industry like mobile phones and networks, which is highly

competitive, it is costly to attract new customers than to retain them?

Yes No May be

12 6 2

It is definitely not an easy task to tell customers about the existence of any

product and then to persuade them to make a purchase. From the point of view of

Vodafone and o2 managers to attract customers is undoubtedly a costly job to that, to

make them aware that we exist and later to encourage them to buy from our company is

difficult, you need to tell them how we are better from other companies and sway them to

switch from the network they are currently using to the one that we are offering. It takes a


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lot of time and great efforts and also involves huge cost to inform and persuade your

customers to buy from your company. Therefore it is better to delight your customers by

meeting their expectations and gain their trust so that they can be retained for a longer

time. On the other hand few of the mangers did not share the same view, as they thought

that you can always attract new customers in an industry like mobile phones and

networks since it has become a need for almost every individual to have their personal

mobile phone. All you need to have is a good marketing strategy which will enable you

to capture a large number of customers, low cost sms bundles and low call charges can be

offered to get new customers and make them switch to your network easily.(dodds 2003).

4. Today, the need to understand customer behavior and attitude, in

mobile phone and networkindustry, towards the product has increased?

Strongly

agree


disagree

8 10 1 1

0123

456789

10

Stronly Agree Agree Disagree StronglyDisagree

8

10

1 1

Q 4. Today, the need to understand customer behavior andattitude, in mobile phone and network industry, towards

the product has increased?


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In general it is important to know about the perception of your customers towards

the product their feelings about the commodity, whether they like it or not what changes

they will want to see in the product to make it better to satisfy their needs and to fulfill

their requirements. According to the results of the survey almost all the participants

agreed to the fact that the need to identify consumers behavior and attitude towards the

product is beneficial in achieving growth and generating revenues. It helps to know what

customers actually want and how our company can provide them with the best that they

are looking for. It not only helps to identify the behavior of customers in relation to our

product but this will also give details of what they feel about other products and how

improvements can be brought in the companys network and the services it provides. In

contrast to this there were only two who thought that knowing your customers is not

important as what you offer to your customers is based on their needs and the companies

come up with different innovative ideas that consumers might not be aware of and then

they persuade them to buy it by creating the need of the product in their minds. (Stevens

and Kinni 2006)

5. The focus of a mobile phone and network organization should be

towards a customer driven strategy and not towards generating profits, as the

switching cost is low?

Agree Partially agree Disagree

5 16 4


47/91


47

The company must make a strategy that will enable it to provide customer

care and a strategy that must be customer oriented. In order to provide complete

customer satisfaction and solve their queries, both the Vodafone and o2 have

provided e-mail addresses and phone numbers to provide assistance to its customer

with is available 24 hours, customer can also visit their outlets for face to face

communication, five of the managers agreed that the strategy should be developed to

focus on customers and that should be their main objective. Majority said that they

believe that only focus should not be on customers though they are the ones who

provide sales to your company but other objectives must also go hand in hand.

Companies must also try to lower their costs and increase profits. They must ensure

that to keep operating in the industry and to bring new innovations and changes in the

company they will need funds for which it is important to have an organization that

must be profitable. There were also some who thought that only profit must be the

main objective and strategy must be developed which must target the aspect of

earning profits. And it will be easier for the company to satisfy customers since

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Agree Partially Agree Disagree

5

16

4

Q 5. The focus of a mobile phone and network organizationshould be towards a customer driven strategy and not

towards generating profits, as the switching cost is low?


48/91


48

profits will only be earned if the customers are satisfied and will purchase in the long

term also.(Barkley and James Saylor 2001)

6. To what extend do you agree with the statement that, loyal

customers bring more profits to the organization like yours that deals with

handsets and mobile networks, than the new ones?

Strongly

agree


disagree

12 6 1 1

Yes definitely, for acquiring new customers lots of funds are required for the

promotions, advertisings and other campaigns to make potential users aware of the

packages and design plan which raise the expenses. The research showed that it is

better to have loyal customers than to have a customer that will make one big

purchase just once. As loyal customers keep on purchasing again and again and also

if your company plans to introduce new products and services in the market then it

0

2

46

8

10

12

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree StronglyDisagree

12

6

1 1

Q 6. To what extend do you agree with the statementthat, loyal customers bring more profits to the organization

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Dissertation 5 Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

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