A STUDY ON BRAND LOYALTY AMONG MOBILE PHONE USERS

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO N. PARAVUR

Dissertation Submitted to the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam in partial

fulfillment of the requirements of the award of

DEGREE OF B.COM MARKETING

SUBMITED BY,

GISHNU T S (200021061752)

KARTHIK S KUMAR (200021061753)

BINDUJA V B (200021061751)

Under the supervision and guidance of

Mrs. SINDHU T S
Assistant Professor
Department Of Commerce

SREE NARAYANA ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE

KEDAMANGALAM, N. PARAVUR
2023
 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

SREE NARAYANA ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE

KEDAMANGALAM, N. PARAVUR

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the dissertation entitled, “A STUDY ON BRAND LOYALTY
AMONG MOBILE PHONE USERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO N. PARAVUR”
is a bonafide piece of work done by, Gishnu T S, Karthik S Kumar, Binduja V B, submitted in
partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the B.COM Marketing Degree of Mahatma
Gandhi University Kottayam, Kerala.

PROJECT GUID HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Mrs. SINDHU T S Dr. SYLESH S
Department of commerce B.COM Marketing
S.N arts & Science College, S.N arts & Science College,
Kedamangalam, N Paravur. Kedamangalam, N Paravur.
 DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the project report entitled “A Study on Brand loyalty among
mobile phone users with special reference to N. Paravur” is a bonafide piece of research work
done by as under the supervision of Mrs. Sindhu T S, Assistant Professor, Department of
Commerce, S N Arts and Science College, Kedamangalam N. paravur and it is submitted to
Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam for the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award
of the Degree of Bachelor of Commerce and that it has not previously formed the basis for the
award of any Degree, Diploma, Fellowship or any other similar title.

Place: Kedamangalam

Date: GISHNU T S (200021061752)

KARTHIK S KUMAR (200021061753)

BINDUJA V B (200021061751)
 ACKOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost we thank the Lord Almighty for his perpetual showers of blessing, which led
to the successful completion of our project report. It gives us immense pleasure to present to
present this report.

We express our heartiest gratitude to Prof. K.C. RANGANATHAN principal S N Arts &
Science College, Kedamangalam for having permitted us to do this and for his unstinted support
and encouragement.

We express our sincere thanks to Dr. SYLESH S, Head of the Department of Commerce who
had mentored us throughout the course of our work and for all her Support to complete our work.

This work has been completed under the guidance of Mrs. SINDHU T S department of
Commerce who kept on motivating us to put in our best efforts. We express our heart full
gratitude for his valuable guidance throughout the successful complexion of the study.

We also express our gratitude to all other faculty members of the Department of Commerce for
their valuable suggestions. We are greatly indebted to each one of them.

We also thank our friends and relatives for their help and encouragement.

Place : Kedamangalam

Date : GISHNU T S (200021061752)

KARTHIK S KUMAR (200021061753)

BINDUJA V B (200021061751)
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITTLE PAGE NO

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 8
THEORECTICAL
3 19
FRAMEWORK
DATA ANALYSIS AND
4 41
INTERPRETATION
FINDINGS,CONCLUSIONS
5 58
AND SUGGESTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX
 LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table no. Tittle
No.
4.1 Age of the Respondents 42-43
4.2 Gender of the Respondents 43-44
4.3 Favourite mobile brand 44-45
4.4 Information regarding the usage of mobile phone 45-46
4.5 Period of using 46-47

Factors affecting best choices of respondent while making purchase

4.6 48
of mobile

4.7 Reasons of respondents to choose current mobile brand 49-50

Factors influenced the respondent while making purchase of current
4.8 50-51
using mobile brand.

4.9 Factors choose respondents when purchasing a mobile phone 51-52

4.10 Reasons of respondents to choose current brand over others 53

4.11 Previously owned brand of the respondent 54

4.12 Stick on to current brand or not 55

4.13 Buy the brand new in the market 56

 LIST OF FIGURES

Page
Figure no. Tittle
No.
4.1 Age of the Respondents 43
4.2 Gender of the Respondents 44
4.3 Favourite mobile brand 46
4.4 Information regarding the usage of mobile phone 47
4.5 Period of using 49

Factors affecting best choices of respondent while making purchase

4.6 5
of mobile

4.7 Reasons of respondents to choose current mobile brand 49-50

Factors influenced the respondent while making purchase of current
4.8 50-51
using mobile brand.

4.9 Factors choose respondents when purchasing a mobile phone 51-52

4.10 Reasons of respondents to choose current brand over others 53

4.11 Previously owned brand of the respondent 54

4.12 Stick on to current brand or not 55

4.13 Buy the brand new in the market 56

 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
 1. INTRODUCTION
 BRAND LOYALTY

The brand loyalty is most completely defined by Jacoby and Olson (1970). They define brand
loyalty as the mental purchase process resulted from non-random and long existence behaviour of
the customers. In simple words, we can say that brand loyalty is repurchasing behaviour of
customers towards a specific product or service. The consideration of brand loyalty is concerned
when a customer has choice among various brands. Brand loyalty exists when a consumer has the
intention to buy a brand as his or her ultimate choice.
Brand loyal consumers reduce the marketing costs of the company as the costs of attracting a new
customer have been found to be about six times higher than the costs of retaining an old one. The
concept of brand loyalty has been defined in a number of ways by different academics and
practitioners involved with marketing. Brand loyalty has been largely defined and measured in
either behavioural or attitudinal terms. The behavioural dimension explains brand loyalty by means
of actual purchases that occur in a given period, while the attitudinal dimension defines loyalty in
terms of stated preferences, commitments or purchase intention. In addition, according to many
professionals and practitioners, brand loyalty is very important aspect of a company’s intangible
and strategic assets and marketing strategy.
Brand loyalty has become an important component of marketing strategies and tactics in the
high competition market that is full of unpredictable circumstances and subside product
differentiation (Fournier and Yao, 1997).The transformation of mobilephoMoore,2002). As aresult,
mobile phone manufacturers have to construct and develop an ideal marketing strategy that can
generate profits by retaining existing loyal customers through reinforcing brand loyalty.

2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

One of the main influences of growing mobile phone industry is that mobile phone has become
necessary device in our everyday life. Purpose of this study is to know the favourite brands
preferred by the consumers, to study factors that influence the brand loyalty among mobile phone
users, as well as to know the brand switching behaviour of the users. This study also helps as to
know how the brand loyalty varies among male and female users. This study can help the
entrepreneurs to understand and capture a clearer picture of how smartphone user decision can be
influence by those factors, and therefore, these entrepreneurs can develop an appropriate marketing
strategy to avoid losing loyal customers. This study will open the doors for future researchers to
understand and explore the markets in terms of brand loyalty. This study will provide a better
understandability of the customers.
 3. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

In today's highly competitive environments, marketers should improve consumers loyalty to

maintain a comfortable and lasting position in the marketplace. That means, the success of a
company relies largely on its capabilities to attract customers toward its brand. In particular, the
retention of current customers and making them loyal to the brand are the critical point for the
survival of a company. Companies selling brand with high rate of loyal consumers have a
competitive advantage over other companies. One industry at the centre of brand loyalty is mobile
phone. The mobile phone industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the world. in this
competition era in almost all the industries including mobile / smartphone segment, consumers have
plenty of choices to choose from and their the ultimate king, it is essential for marketers to develop
brand loyalty with the intention of creating long-term consumer-brand relationships. The
availability of consumer offers like zero cost EMIs, easy exchange programs at both offline retail
stores and online are additional incentives for customers to spend more.it is easily to customers or
users to switching to another brand if they feel not satisfied with current brand and choose the better
Smartphone brand.so this study is to determine the factors that influencing brand loyalty among
Mobile phone users in N. Paravur.

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

 To find out the favourite brands preferred by users.

 To find out the factors that influences brand loyalty among mobile phone users.
 To find out the reason for choosing a mobile brand

5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

Present study focused on the mobile phone users in Muvattupuzha. The study was conducted to
know the favourite brands preferred by users, various factors affecting brand loyalty, and
costumers switching behaviour to other brands. This study also analysed how the brand loyalty
varies among male and female users. The scope of the study is limited to Mobile phone users in N
Paravur.

6. RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process
and analyze information about a topic. It is also defined as the study methods by which knowledge
is gained. The methodology allows a reader to critically evaluate the validity and reliability of the
study.
  RESEARCH DESIGN
It is the set of method and procedures used in collecting and analyzing measures of the variables
specified in the research problem. The research design applied here is purely descriptive.

 SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling design is how the researcher select the sample unit from the population. Convenient
sampling is the method adopted for data collection. 100 random customers were selected for the
study.
 DATA COLLECTION

The sources for data collection include;

Primary sources Secondary source

 PRIMARY DATA

Primary data is the first-hand information collected by the researcher himself for the purpose of
this particular research work. The primary data required for this project work was collected
through convenient sampling method using questionnaires. The method consisted of preparing
detailed questions covering the relevant questions required for the study which was distributed to
customers who were randomly selected.
 SECONDARY DATA

The secondary data is the data collected earlier for similar purpose and are obtained from
published project works, bulletins, online websites, and magazines.

 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR DATA

ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION

In order to analyze and interpret data mathematically, the statistical tools used in this study are:

TOOLS USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS

 Percentage analysis
Percentage Analysis is applied to create a contingency table from the frequency distribution and
represent the collected data for better understanding.

Percentage = (p/n) * 100

 P = number of observations of variables, n = total number of observations

TOOLS FOR DATA PRESENTATION

 Table

A table is an arrangement of data in rows and coloumns, or possibly in a more complex structure.
Tables are widely used in communication, research and data analysis.

 Bar graph

A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars
with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent.

 Pie chart

A pie chart is a circular statistical graphic, which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical
proportion.

TOOLS USED FOR PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION

 Questionnaire

Questionnaire is a collection of questions prepared by the researcher for collecting opinions &
suggestions from the respondents. The questionnaire supplied to the respondents and returned after
filling.

SAMPLE SIZE
The purpose of the study was to understand the Brand Loyalty towards Mobile Phones of people in
N. Paravur. The study was conducted using Primary as well as Secondary data. The Primary data
was collected from 100 respondents through structured questionnaire

Period of the study -3 months

 AREA OF THE STUDY

The area of the study confined to “ N.Paravur ”

7. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The major limiting factor of this study is limited time period.

 People are reluctant to give information as of fear of being used against them.

 The study is conducted only in limited geographical area.

8. CHAPTERISATION

The study report has been presented in five chapters. It includes :

 CHAPTER 1-INTRODUCTION

 CHAPTER 2-LITERATURE REVIEW

 CHAPTER 3-THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

 CHAPTER 4-DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

 CHAPTER 5-FINDINGS,CONCLUSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
  Mobile social commerce: The booster for brand loyalty?- Jun -Jie Hew, Voon- Hsien Lee,
Keng-Boon Ooi, Binshan Lin(Computers in Human Behavior 59, 142-154, 2016}.

In view of the deficiencies in current literature, this study seeks to examine if mobile social
commerce continuance usage influences brand loyalty among customers, and assessed the
inhibitor role of privacy concern in mobile social commerce usage intention. Privacy concern was
measured by using concern for social media information privacy (CFSMIP). Therefore, this study
proposes and empirically validated a model that combines CFSMIP, brand loyalty, and
Expectation Confirmation Model, in the Asian context. The results suggested that users CFSMIP
does not inhibit them from the continuous usage of mobile social commerce, and influences their
perceived usefulness on mobile social commerce positively. Moreover, all the paths in the
baseline model of Expectation Confirmation Model have been reconfirmed in this study. Besides,
users continuance usage and satisfaction on mobile social commerce are proven to be boosters for
brand loyalty. Relevant managerial implications are then discussed.

 The effect of brand image and brand loyalty on brand equity- AbdullahAlhaddad
(International Journal of Business and Management Invention 3 (5), 28-32-2014)

Brand image and brand loyalty are most important determinent on brand equity which effect the
consumer perceptions in the market and in the same time effect the brand equity, The Main purpose
of this study is to discuss the importance of the effect of the brand image and brand loyalty on brand
equity, the conceptual model illustrates the impact of brand image and brand loyalty on brand
equity, which is assessed through effects between brand loyalty, and brand image In order to
accomplishbrand image and brand loyalty on the brand equity, the model is tested by structural
equations and the sample is 204.
Students, the finding show that brand loyalty and brand image have a positive effect on brand
equity. The study provides brand managers a holistic model to enhance the equity of a brand.
Therefore, the research finding can be used by soft-drink industry in enhancing the brand equity.

 The dimensions of brand romance as predictors of brand loyalty among cellphone

users - Danie Petzer,Pierre Mostert,Liezl Marie Kruger,Stefanie kuhn(South
African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 17 (4), 457-470, 2014)
 In a competitive cell phone industry where consumers have a wide variety of cell phone brands to
choose from, it is imperative for marketers to foster brand loyalty in order to establish enduring
consumer-brand relationships. Nurturing brand romance has been suggested to marketers to
cultivate emotional attachments between consumers and brands so as to increase brand loyalty. This
study focused on determining the extent to which the three underlying dimensions of brand
romance, namely pleasure, arousal and dominance predict brand loyalty among cell phone users in
the North West province. In total 371 respondents participated in the study. Results indicate that
with respect to brand romance, respondents' current cell phone brands generate brand pleasure and
brand arousal, but that these brands are not dominant in their minds. Although respondents
participating in the study did not exhibit strong levels of brand loyalty towards their current cell
phone brands, the three underlying dimensions of brand romance are statistically significant
predictors of brand loyalty.

 The Influence of Brand Experience on Brand Loyalty Among Mobile Phone

Users in Pampanga, Philippines : A Mediation Analysis – Jean Paolo G Lacap,
Antonieta P Tungcab ( Asia – Pacific Social Science Review 20 (3) , 2020)

The study investigates the influence of brand experience on brand loyalty and the mediating effects
of two constructs—brand satisfaction and brand trust. The participants of the study were identified
using a convenience sampling technique, and they were mobile phone users situated in Pampanga,
Philippines. The study employed a predictive-correlational research design and used partial least
squares (PLS) path modeling to measure the research hypotheses. It was found out that brand
experience significantly and positively influences brand satisfaction, brand trust, and brand loyalty.
Moreover, brand satisfaction was found to be statistically related to brand loyalty and brand trust.
The relationship between brand trust and brand loyalty was also positive and significant. The
mediation analysis shows that brand satisfaction and brand trust mediate the link between brand
experience and brand loyalty.

 The influence of brand personality and relative brand identification on brand loyalty in the
European mobile phone market – Sunghun Chung, Jooyoung Park ( Canadian journal of
Administrative Science / Revue Canadienne des Science de l’ Administration 34 (1) , 47-62,
2017)

This study investigates the influence of brand personality on counsumer loyalty and the
moderating role of relative brand identification for multiple brands in the same product category.
Survey data were collected from 1,651 respondence in the United Kingdom , France , and Germany.
Results indicate that dimensions of brand personality that are positively associated with consumer
brand loyalty vary across brand in the mobile phone category. Furthermore, relative brand
identification not only positively affects consumer loyalty, it also moderates the relationship
between brand personality and consumer loyalty. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 Impact of innovation on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, a study of mobile phones
users in Pakistan-Ali Raza Nemati, Khurram Khan, Moazzam Iftikhar(European Journal
of Social Sciences 16 (2), 299-306, 2010)

The purpose of research is to find out how innovation affects customer satisfaction and brand
loyalty in mobile phones used by its users in Pakistan. Data was collected from the users of cellular
products in vicinity of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The data was collected from 300 users through
questionnaires. Results indicate that innovation has impact on customer satisfaction and brand
loyalty.

 A qualitative inquiry of multi-brand loyalty: some propositions and implications for mobile
phone service providers-Farzana Quoquab, Norjaya Mohd Yasin, Rozhan Abu
Dardak(Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 2014)

Purpose
It is evident that most consumers are polygamous and are loyal to several brands within a
particular product or service category. This circumstance is coined as “multi-brand loyalty” (MBL).
The present research tries to shade light on consumers' motivation to become a multi-brand loyal by
answering the research question: “why consumers become multi-brand loyal within a particular
service category?” The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology
Four focus group discussions and 13 in-depth interviews were carried out to gain deeper insights
regarding the drivers of MBL.

Findings

The findings of this study suggest that “financial benefits”, “need for privacy”, “competitor's
attractive promotional campaign”, “public self-consciousness” and “availability of cheap handset
and SIM card” are the most frequently cited reasons that can make mobile phone service users
multi-brand loyal. In addition, the study reveals heterogeneity among consumers, i.e. along with
“multi-brand loyals”, “sole-brand loyals”, “switchers” and “cross-buyers” also exist in the
Malaysian mobile phone service market.

Practical implications

These insights put forth the importance for managers of mobile phone service industry to be more
cautious in formulating their retention strategies. Moreover, they will be aware of the complicated
loyalty pattern of their consumers which will eventually guide them to consider different strategic
moves for each different loyalty segments.

 Student’s use of hotel mobile apps: Their effect on brand loyalty-Donghee Kim. The purpose
of this study is to explore the relationship between the use of hotel mobile applications by
students and its effects on brand loyalty. More specifically, this study analyzed the
mediating effects of brand loyalty of the hotel company with brand awareness, and brand
loyalty as measured by repeat patronage. It has been hypothesized that using mobile
hotel apps will have a positive effect on the brand awareness, customer engagement and
brand commitment, which in turn positively influences the brand loyalty. The research was
drawn from a survey of 100 Purdue university students who are familiar with smartphone use
and also because they are the future target market in the hospitality industry. This research
will contribute to the hotel in building an understanding regarding how hotels can
manage their brands using new technology for marketing.

 The effects of E-marketing communications on brand loyalty: The case of mobile telephone
operators in Kosovo-Vjosa MULLATAHIRI, Fatos UKAJ(Journal of Distribution Science
17 (6), 15-23, 2019)

Purpose

This study evaluates the effects of e-marketing communication on brand loyalty in the mobile
communication market in Kosovo. given that no prior studies of this nature are found. It explores
the relationships, between e-marketing communication, brand image and customer satisfaction, and
their impact on the brand loyalty. Research design, data, and methodology-The research model of
four constructs was developed. The data was collected via online surveys, 423 completed surveys
from mobile subscribers were received. To test the relationship between the individual variables
and multiple variables with the dependent variable several test were performed including data
validity and reliability, bivariate correlation, simple linear and multiple regression analysis using
stepwise method.

Results

Positive significant effect of e-Marketing communication on brand loyalty, as well its significant
effect on both brand image and customer satisfaction, which subsequently have significant impact
on brand loyalty as it was confirmed by previous studies.

Conclusions

The findings confirm that e-Marketing communication is key factor in building well perceived
brand image, fostering customer satisfaction, and leading to customer commitment and loyalty
towards brands of mobile operators in Kosovo.

 Brand loyalties in designer luxury and fast fashion co-branding alliances-Bin Shen, Tsan-
Ming Choi, Pui-Sze Chow(Journal of Business Research 81, 173- 180, 2017)

Fast fashion brands, such as H&M, have co-branding projects with designer luxury brands.
However, how the brand loyalties of the associated brands theoretically affect the co-branding's
performance is largely unknown. Motivated by the observed industrial practices, we build a formal
analytical model to examine the impacts of brand loyalty on revenues in luxury and fast fashion co-
branding. The commonly adopted schemes in industry such as the profit sharing scheme, fixed-
royalty scheme and mergers scheme are examined to investigate the brand performance. It is
analytically found that the associated brands would perform best under the mergers scheme. This
implies that the internal cooperation within a big group is the most desirable strategy for co-
branding. Moreover, we provide the analytical evidence that fast fashion brands should work with
well-known luxury fashion brands for brand alliance.

 The Impact of Experience and Brand trust on Brand loyalty, while considering the
mediating effect of brand Equity dimensions, an empirical study on mobile operator
subscribers -Rasha Abdel Aziz El Naggar, Noha Bendary(The Business & Management
Review 9 (2), 16-25, 2017)

This paper aims to study the factors that enhance brand loyalty in mobile operations service in
Egypt. Researchers explored the factors through empirical research in mobile operations research
and service industry in literature. The brand experience along with brand associations, brand
association and perceived quality were considered as antecedents in supporting the relationship
development concept that is based on trust leading to loyalty. The study was conducted on mobile
service customers in Egypt and a questionnaire was conducted to test the factors and their
relationship on trust-loyalty relationship in services. The results did support the direct relationship
of brand experience with brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality. However,
brand awareness was disregarded as a factor that would add to the trust-loyalty relationship. Only
Brand, experience, and associations, as well as perceived quality would enhance brand loyalty
through a reliable trustful relationship in mobile services.

 An experiment on brand loyalty among mobile phone users in the Basque region of Spain-M
Salem, M Cermelli (Маркетинг і менеджмент інновацій, 32-47, 2016)

This paper attempts to examine brand loyalty among mobile phone users–the case of the main six
mobile phone companies operating in the Basque region of Spain. An empirical study was
conducted to collect the primary data using a questionnaire as a tool in order to test the hypotheses.
The findings proved that there is a low loyalty toward phone mobile companies according to users'
attitudes. In addition, there is no loyalty among mobile phone users toward companies they deal
with according to users' behaviors.

 User perception toward brand loyalty of mobile phones: the Bangladesh context- Abul
Kalam Azad, Robaka Shamsher ( Journal of Business 35 (1), 2014)

The purpose of this research is to investigate how the respondents are influenced by factors of
brand loyalty towards mobile phones. Previous studies adopted seven factors of brand loyalty for
sportswear market in Hong Kong and Malaysia which took seven factors of brand loyalty including
brand name, product quality, price, style, store environment, promotion and service quality. The
study attempts to examine the effect of all these factors on brand loyalty for mobile phone users in
Bangladesh. The results suggest that brand name, product quality and service quality are crucial in
building brand loyalty of customers in the mobile set market of the country. that motivate the
utilisation of Information and Communication Technologies, highlighting a close relationship
between technologies and peer communication and At the end of the paper a few recommendations
along with some agenda for future research studies are proposed.

 Rodolfo Martinez Gras; Eva Espinar Ruiz (2012) highlight new dimension in information
and technology with respect to teenagers in Spain. The main objective of this article is to
analyse the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies and Spanish
 adolescents. Specifically, researchers have studied, through qualitative methodology, the
characteristics of teenagers access and uses of technological devices. and analysed the
purposes entertainment On the contrary, there is an underutilisation of all these devices for
teaching and learning purposes.

 Taj Adesh Nam-in A. A; Rahman Vahid; Taj Adesh Nam-in Aid-in (2012) analysed that the
process of deciding over (choosing) a brand may be influenced by situation and content. The
findings suggest a significant relationship between the variables "brand attitude". "corporate
attitude", and "product (cell phone) choice". In addition, no significant relationship was
found between individual decision making processes (independent or mediated) and product
choice.

 Nasr Azad: Ozhan Karimi ; Maryam Safari (2012)had presented an empirical study to
investigate the effects of different marketing efforts on brand equity in mobile industry. The
results show that there is positive and meaningful relationship between marketing mix
efforts and brand equity. In other words, more advertisements could help better market
exposure, which means customers will have more awareness on market characteristics.
Among all mixed efforts, guarantee influences more on brand equity, which means
consumers care more on product services than other features. Finally, among different
characteristics of brand equity, product exclusiveness plays an important role . in other
words, people are interested in having exclusive product, which different from others.

 Arvind Sahay and Nivedita Sharma (2010) focused on brand relationships are indeed
important for different categories of young consumers; second, to investigate the effect of
peer influence, family influence, and brand relationships on switching intentions amongst
young consumers; and third, to look at the impact of price changes on switching intentions
in the context of brand relationships. Researcher's results suggest that young consumers
develop relationships on all brand relationship dimensions.

 Brenda, Mak, Robert Nickerson and Henri Isaac (2009), investigates the factors affecting
the attitudes towards the social acceptance of mobile phones in public places and how this
attitude affects its usage Results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes about mobile
phone use in public places depend on country, and age factors. This attitude in turn
significantly affects the usage frequency of mobile phones. In addition, usage frequency
also is affected by gender and work status.
 Ramakrishnan Venkatesakumar, D. Ramkumar and P. Thillai Rajan. (2008), confirms that
Brand loyalty and brand switching behaviour of the consumers are evergreen issues of
research and strategic importance to the marketers and academic researchers. The current
research aims to address the significance of product attributes in brand switching behaviour
through multi-dimensional scaling and results suggest that a set of product attributes
trigger the intention to switch the current brand.

CHAPTER- 3
THEORECTICAL FRAMEWORK
 1. BRAND LOYALTY

 MEANING
The brand loyalty in simple terms is the tendency of some consumers to continue buying the same
brand of goods they are using rather than competing brands available in the market. That means
brand loyalty is use to describe consumer preference for a certain brand. In other words ,when
consumers prefer to buy a specific brand on a consistent basis without shifting his preference to
other available brand,this state is being called as brand loyalty. It is a pattern of consumer behavior
through which consumers tend to get committed to a specific brand or product and make repeat
purchases over time. A customer with brand loyalty do not purchase substitute brand in case the
preferred brand is unavailable. Brand loyalty is the positive feelings towards a brand and dedication
to purchase the same product or service repeatedly, even though the competitors marketing
strategies are innovative.

Brand loyalty is the loyalty or faithfulness which a customer develops for a brand. Brand loyalty
is developed in the mind of a consumer after find the product or service useful. Brand loyalty is an
important aspect of marketing as it helps companies build a strong brand and get the customers
again. Brand loyalty is not simply rebuying the products but creating a positive brand image in the
consumer’s mind, who becomes a positive brand advocate.

Brand loyalty, in marketing, consists of a consumer's commitment to repurchase or continue to

use the brand. Consumers can demonstrate brand loyalty by repeatedly buying a product, service, or
by other positive behaviors such as by engaging in word of mouth advocacy. This concept of a
brand displays imagery and symbolism for a product or range of products. Brand can engage
consumers and make them feel emotionally attached. Consumers' beliefs and attitudes make up
brand images, and these affect how they will view brands with which they come into contact. Brand
experience occurs when consumers shop or search for, and consume products. Holistic experiences
such as sense, relation, acting, and feeling occur when one comes into contact with brands. The
stronger and more relational these senses are to the individual, the more likely it is that individual
will make repeat purchases.Brand loyalty can be defined as the "behavioral willingness" to
consistently maintain relations with a particular brand.
 The American Marketing Association defines brand loyalty as”The situation in which a consumer
generally buys the same manufacturer originated product or services repeatedly over time rather
than buying from multiple suppliers within the category”This buying decisions can be either
conscious or unconscious, however, it is based upon trust that the brand fulfills the needs of
consumers. Brand loyalty is based upon emotional involvement which is created between the brand
and the consumers. It helps in building a strong customer base which in turn serves as a tool to
overcome competition and attain a strong marketplace. The tool brand loyalty is used to have a long
tern relationship with a customer or acquisition of regular customers. Many companies turned their
focal point towards creating brand loyalty and also make marketing strategies accordingly.

Companies having strong brand loyalty, customers of that companies make repeated purchases of
its products and services regardless of the fact that there is a change in price or convenience. True
brand loyalty occurs when consumers are willing to pay higher prices for a certain brand and go out
of their way for the brand, or think highly of it. Loyal customers of a particular brand are less likely
to get influenced by the marketing efforts of competitors thereby, increasing the probability that
these customers will continue using the products and services of a particular company. Consumer
perceived value, brand trust, customer satisfaction, repeat purchase behavior, and commitment are
found to be the key influencing factors of brand loyalty.

 IMPORTANCE OF BRAND LOYALTY

Brand loyalty is a consumer behavior which a customer develops over a period of time by
repeated use of a particular brand, product or service. Customers who find their needs fulfilled and
find the product having good quality, and high value proposition tend to become loyal towards a
particular brand. This positive behavior towards a product or service is useful for companies as they
become positive brand advocates and help spread a positive word of mouth about the brand.
Consumers who develop a strong brand loyalty tend to become regular customers and also help
their friends & family identify the benefits of the products & services that the have been benefitted
by. Such is the importance for companies that they have brand loyalty management to ensure that
customers get the correct value proposition offered. Good product quality, brand awareness and
positive brand image contributes to building brand loyalty.

It is a crucial goal and result of successful marketing programs, sales initiatives and product
development efforts. At the core of every successful brand is a nucleus of loyal customers. These
“true believers” understand the brand better, purchase more often and recommend the brand to
others. Loyal customers can be and should be the foundation for marketing strategy. Beyond the
profit they generate, loyal customers provide the basis for brand development and improvement. As
a brands percentage of loyal customers goes up, market share increases and the brand becomes
more profitable. Share rises because those customers who become repeat purchasers are no longer
lost to the competition. In addition, repeat customers are more profitable than new customers
attracting new customers involves investing far more marketing and promotional funds. To some
extent, brand loyalty is being developed and managed by all successful brands. But in many cases
loyalty itself is considered simply the result of well executed marketing programs. The best way to
achieve greater brand loyalty is by managing the brand loyalty process. This involves measuring the
drivers of brand loyalty, selecting high impact loyalty improvement projects, and quickly carrying
them out.

Importance of brand loyalty to a business

• Customer Acquisition and Retention

• Repeat Business
• Cross\Up Selling Opportunities
• Reduce Marketing Cost
• Minimise Service Cost
• Forecast Accuracy
• Improve Brand Image
• Stand Tall Among Competitors
• Honest And Quality Feedback

Importance of Loyalty Focuses on Customers

1. Loyal customers are easier to sell

Because loyal customers are more familiar with their preferred businesses, they are usually more
inclined to try new menu items, new products and recommendations. In fact, according to
marketing metrics, the probability of selling to new prospects is about 5 to 20 percent, but for an
existing customer is 60 to 70 percent. In other words, it is extremely worthwhile businesses can put
forth the same amount of effort , but expect much higher success.

2. Loyal customers can act as brand ambassadors

As brand ambassadors, your loyal customers can reinforce your values to other consumers.
Because they frequent your store or restaurant and are satisfied with your product, they are also
more likely to share their positive experiences with others in the form of recommendations, reviews
or social media praise. They are also more inclined to speak about your brand in everyday
conversation with their peers ,or “word of mouth “marketing.
 3. Acquiring new customers is more expensive

Research has shown that it is six to seven times more expensive to acquire new customers than to
continue serving loyal customers. To acquire new customers, restaurants and retail stores have to
catch their eye with advertisements, provide introductory information about their brand, draw them
in with discounts and deals and encourage them to try new items or products. Each of these tasks
can be costly, on the flip side, focusing on customer loyalty is much less labour intensive.

4. Loyal customers protect your business from competition

Your loyal customers are the foundation for your business. If competition gets stiff or budgets get
tight, they will be there to give you some padding-an “economic moat ”as Warren Buffects puts it.
Newer customers will be more likely to switch to a competitor, hurting your sales. Loyal
customers reduce the risk of price sensitivity; they aren’t likely to abandon your brand after a
small price adjustment. In tough times, your business ability to retain customers could be its saving
grace.

5. Loyal customers offer constructive feedback

How can your brand grow if you are unsure which areas od your businesses need improvement?
Your loyal customers know your brand inside and out and can tell you, honestly and constructively,
what you’re doing right and what needs some work. Newer customers could shy away or develop
biases after one or two unpleasant experiences, giving way to negative reviews that might not be an
accurate representations of an average visit. Feedback is essential tp maintaining quality products
and services.

 PURPOSE

Brand loyalty is a good measure for managers to use when trying to predict brand performance
outcomes. It also highlights the importance of marketing communication when trying to promote
ascertain product that’s not doing as well as other succeeding products. Marketers are able to look
at the patterns of brand loyalty and pick out characteristics that make that product thrive.
Marketing and branding, two of the most common used words in the contemporary world, is closely
linked to each other without doubts, but the importance of branding to successful marketing is
enquired to measure and branding .For most of people or customers, the two are normally combined
in their minds or even equal to each other.
 TYPES OF BRAND LOYALTY

 Hard-core brand loyalty

Hard-core brand loyal customers are extremely overexcited regarding a particular brand and only
positively associate with it. That means the customer has had an exceptional experience, meaning
they recollect the brand with fondness. Generally, a brand with hard-core customers will be
characterized by the best innovative skills in their products such that they will impress a section of
customers such that they cannot buy their product from other brands. One of the benefits of hard-
core customers is that a business can achieve its target reach through inconsiderable motivation. For
instance, hard-core brand loyalty is reflected in Samsung when it launches a new mobile phone.
Also, Apple exhibits hard care loyalty when it launches a new iPhone. Several people associated the
brand with high quality, making the hard-core customers convince others to buy a similar product.
Therefore, approximately half of the buzz creation work is achieved by loyal customers who
patiently wait for a new iPhone to be launched.

 Split loyal customers

Split customers refer to those who love more than one brand but limit their choice to two or three
brands. Such customers make the best target base for most companies. By incorporating a limited
nudge and engaging such customers in their native language, an organization can easily turn them
into hard-core customers. However, converting the customer can be challenging since most of
them have choices. One example of split royals can include American Airlines, United Airlines,
and Delta Airlines. In particular, a customer might have had the best experiences while they
travelled with Delta Airlines. At the same time, they might have positive experiences with United
Airlines and American Airlines. Therefore, the customer will not have any issues using any of the
three airlines for international travel

 Shifting loyal customers

The shifting loyal customers refer to the ones with a mixture of hard-core and split loyal
customers. Generally, such customers will buy their products from one brand over a certain period
and then change their loyalty to another brand. After that, they will remain loyal to the second
brand. One possible example of shifting customers can include the case of yogurt. In particular,
customers might prefer to consume a particular brand of yogurt over an extended period, and they
will remain loyal to that yogurt taste. However, after they have become used to such a taste, they
might attempt other brands. Consequently, they will prefer the second company over the first one.
Surprisingly, the customer will be loyal to both brands.
  Switching customers
The switching customers are not loyal to a particular brand. For various reasons, the switchers will
keep on buying their products from different brands. For instance, if a customer brought an iPhone
today and might love to buy an android phone when they shop next. That means such customers
will want to experience new products every time they shop. Consequently, most new marketers
target such a group of customers since they are driven by innovativeness. Generally, the switching
customers form a significant segment of traffic. Unfortunately, there are limited chances of
controlling such customers since there are no specific reasons why they leave your brand and switch
to others. The best action you can do against the switchers is to treat them appropriately when
buying from your brand. In other words, you should attempt to evoke some sense of satisfaction in
the customers through your behavior and service. After all, an outstanding customer experience is a
critical differentiator in nurturing brand loyalty.

 Need-based loyal customers

The customers in this category are driven towards a particular brand by a specific need. For
instance, if you provide a product close to what they need, they will end up buying it from you. On
the contrary, the desire for the product could arrive because of different reasons including an
absolute price point, a specific need, or occasion.

 FACTORS AFFECTING BRANDLOYALTY

Product Quality

Quality refers to "fitness for use" or "conformance to requirement". When a product satisfies the
desired needs with its features and characteristics it is called product quality. The main reason of
repeated purchase of single brands or switching around several brands from consumer is due to the
tangible quality of the product offers. Factors of product quality include colors, Size, good
materials, performance that is claimed by the product A customer may prefer to stay with one brand
if it fullfils his or her nced with high quality

Price
Price for the average consumer is probably the most important consideration. Brand loyal
consumers tend or willing to pay a high price for their favourite brand. So for this type of
consumers, price factor does not affect their purchase intention Loyal customers are m the position
to pay a premium price even if the price has increased because the perceived risk with other brands
is very high and they agree to pay a higher price to avoid the risk of any change.
 Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication with consumers. It includes advertisement, sales
promotion, personal selling Advertising helps to increase a consumers' image towards the brand,
change beliefs and their attitude towards the brands and change purchasing behavior Advertising
helps to deliver the ideas, perceptions in the minds of consumers and products distinction against
other brands. So well prepared effective advertising can attract brand switcher or inconsistent
consumers to become brand loyal.
Service Quality
Brand loyalty also depends on the service provided by each brand Service quality involves direct
interaction between a seller and buyer. Because of quality of services provided by brand.
Consumers ensure they are buying from a particular store The relationship between sales people-
consumer has proved to be great impact, which generally results in long term loyalty of consumers
towards the brand or store. Trust and good relationship with sales people shows overall perceptions
about the store's service quality that in turn result in the consumer being very satisfied with the
stores in the end

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a measure that determines how happy customers are with the company
products, services, and capabilities. Customer satisfaction information helps a company to improve
or change its product and services it is measurement of customer attitudes regarding products,
services, brands etc. Brand performance has significant positive relation with customer satisfaction
in each product. The more satisfied customer is, the higher the possibility to make repeated
purchase in the future

Brand trust

Brand trust is considered is be a valuable intangible asset in business. It is the willingness of the
customer to rely on the ability of the brand to perform its stated function .Brand trust reflects a
customer's expectation that a brand's product , service, or more broadly, corporate behavior, reflects
the promises the company has made.

Brand image

Brand image is an image or impression of the customers about a particular brand in their mind
which is developed over certain time period. Brand image can be defined as how an existing or
potential customer view the brand or the image that carries on the mind of the customer. A
promising brand image conveys the success of the product and gives results with increased sales
and revenues. A positive image gives confidence and they feel that the brand is sincere and clear in
its vision to create the best.
Community Outreach

When you stand for something beyond your product, when you support the causes important to
your customers, and when you participate in their community, you build a bond of loyalty that is
hard to break .This gives them a social reason to become and remain loyal.

Convenience
When buying consumer products, many loyal customers stray simply because the store where they
regularly buy your product ran out or doesn't carry it any more. They may still prefer your product,
but after all, there are other brands in stock and they don't have time to chase your product down.

Expectations

Your product must continue to live up to their expectations in every way .It not only has to
continue to deliver on its brand promise and remain relevant, but its price, value, and availability
must continue to be
Personal Relationships.

The way customers are treated by third parties, such as sales persons, store clerks, or your own
representatives can make or break customer loyalty. Many don't hay your product so much as they
“buy” the person who sold it to them

Rewards

Customers want some consideration for continuing to do business with you,especially when they
have other options. Offering savings, bonuses, and other forms of special attention to your loyal
customers can not only keep them from going elsewhere, but may be the reason they recommend
you to their friends.
Reputation
How your product plays in the media, both commercial and social, can influence long- term
relationships. Your companies financial, labour, and sourcing practices are now subject to the
scrutiny of an increasing transparent world where consumers realize that they vote with their
purchases.

 ADVANTAGES OF BRAND LOYALTY

There are several benefits of brand loyalty, which works in the favor of both the companies
 and customers. Some of them are:

1. Brand loyalty gives an edge over competitors by a higher brand recall.

2. Creates positive brand value and word of mouth helps in positive marketing

3. Customers are willing to pay a premium also for their brand

4. Saves costs on customers retention and helps get new customers onboard.

5. More products under the same brand get popular with loyal customers.

Thus, brand loyalty is an important and integral part of brand management & marketing for
any business.

 DISADVANTAGES OF BRAND LOYALTY

Despite being a positive factor for a business, there are certain drawbacks of brand loyalty.

1. Sometimes companies become overconfident and start developing flaws in products

or services, which impacts them later.

2. Too much brand loyalty amongst customers makes them blind towards better
products at a cheaper price which are present in the market.

3. Companies with strong brand loyalty amongst customers often escape legal action
for scandals.

 MOBILE PHONES USED BY CUSTOMERS

As we are in the 21st century and the mobiles and cell phones have become regarded as the century
icon. Mobile phones have come a long way, they are the most used devices in the world and the
growth of the mobile industry has been amazing and this has been an astonishing achievement for
the industry. The growth of the mobile industry has opened doors for many entrepreneurs; however,
startups must also hold with the dynamical trends, purchaser behaviour, and strategies of companies
like Google, Apple, Microsoft in the corporate field.
Some of the current world’s popular mobile brands list are listed below:

 Samsung
Samsung is a South Korean company founded on 1st March 1938. It is one of the most trusted
brands in the world because of the top-notch facilities provided by the company and its long-lasting
smartphones. The smartphones sold by this company are very much user-friendly, the best
innovative software, proper customer care facility, cost-effective, etc.

The features and facilities provided by the company have made it the most demanded smartphone
brand in the world and its smartphones are the highest sold smartphones in the world. Some of the
highest and the best-selling and popular phones of this brand are Samsung Galaxy A51, Samsung
Galaxy S20 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S20, Samsung Galaxy S10e, Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus,
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, Samsung
Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Samsung Galaxy Fold, Samsung
Galaxy Fold 2, Samsung Galaxy M31, Samsung Galaxy M21, Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite,
Samsung Galaxy A71, Samsung Galaxy A90, and Samsung Galaxy M40. Sales per year 321.3
million units and revenue per year 211.2 billion USD makes it rank number one in the top mobile
brands in the world list.
 Apple

Apple was founded as Apple Computer Company on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve.

Wozniak and Ronald Wayne to develop and sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. It was
incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977 and the company's next
computer, the Apple II became a best seller. Apple went public in 1980, to instant financial
success. The company went onto develop new computers featuring innovative graphical user
interface , including the original Macintosh , announced in a critically acclaimed advertisement,
"1984", directed by Ridley Scott. By 1985, the high cost of its products and power struggles
between executives caused problems. Wozniak stepped back from Apple amicably, while Jobs
resigned to found NEXT, taking some Apple employees with him.
As the market for personal computers expanded and evolved throughout the 1990s, Apple lost
considerable market share to the lower-priced duopoly of the Microsoft windows operating system
on Intel -powered PC clones (also known as "Wintel"). In 1997, weeks away from bankruptcy, the
company bought NEXT to resolve Apple's unsuccessful operating system ,strategy and entice jobs
back to the company. Over the next decade, Jobs guided Apple back to profitability through a
number of tactics including introducing the imac, ipod, iphone and ipad to critical acclaim,
launching memorable advertising campaigns, opening the apple store retail chain, and acquiring
numerous companies to broaden the company's product portfolio. Jobs resigned in 2011 for health
reasons, and died two months later. He was succeeded as CEO by Tim cook.
Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to be valued at over $1 trillion in August
2018, then $2 trillion in August 2020, and most recently $3 trillion in January 2022. The company
sometimes receives criticism regarding the labour practices of its contractors, its environmental
practices, and its business ethics, including anti- competitive practices and materials sourcing.
Nevertheless, the company enjoys a high level of brand loyalty, and is ranked as one of the world’s
most valuable brand.

 HUAWEI

The corporation was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former Deputy Regimental Head in the
People's Liberation Army Initially focused on manufacturing phone switches, Huawei has expanded
its business to include building telecommunication networks, providing operational and consulting
services and equipment to enterprises inside and outside of China, and manufacturing
communications devices for the consumer market . Huawei has over 194000 employees as of
December 2019
Huawei has deployed its products and services in more than 170 countries and areas. It overtook
Ericsson in 2012 as the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world and
overtook Apple in 2018 as the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, behind
Samsung Electronics. In 2018, Huawei reported annual revenue of US$108.5 billion. In July 2020,
Huawei surpassed Samsung and Apple in the number of phone shipped worldwide for the first time.
This was primarily due to a drop in Samsung's global sales in the second quarter of 2020, owing to
the impact of COVID-19 pandemic
Although successful internationally, Huawei has faced difficulties in some markets, due to claims
of undue state support, links to the People's Liberation Army, and cyber security concerns—
primarily from the United States government—that Huawei's infrastructure equipment may enable
surveillance by the Chinese government. With the development of 5G wireless networks, there have
been calls from the U.S. and its allies to not do any kind of business with Huawei or other Chinese
telecommunications companies such as ZTE. Huawei has argued that its products posed "no greater
cyber security risk" than those of any other vendor and that there is no evidence of the U.S.
espionage claims. Questions regarding Huawei's ownership and control as well as concerns
regarding the extent of state support also remain. Huawei has assisted in the surveillance and mass
detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang internment camps, resulting in sanctions by the United States
Department of State. Huawei also tested a facial recognition AI that recognizes ethnicity-specific
features to alert government authorities of members of an ethnic group.

In the midst of an ongoing trade war between China and the United States, Huawei was restricted
from doing commerce with U.S. companies due to alleged previous willful violations of U.S.
sanctions against Iran. On 29 June 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump reached an agreement to
resume trade talks with China and announced that he would ease the aforementioned sanctions on
Huawei. Huawei cut 600 jobs at its Santa Clara research centre in june, and in December 2019
founder Ren Zhengfei said it was moving the centre to Canada because the restrictions would block
them from interacting with US employees. On 17 November 2020, according to technology blog
Engadget, Huawei agreed to sell the Honor brand to Shenzen Zhixin New Information Technology
to "ensure its survival", after the US sanctions against them. On July 23, 2021, Huawei reportedly
hired Tony Podesta as a consultant and lobbyist, with a goal of nurturing the company's relationship
with the Biden administration.

 Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and

consumer electronics company, founded in 1865. Nokia’s main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland,
in the greater Helsinki metropolitan area, but the company’s actual roots are in the Tampere region
of Pirkanmaa. In 2020, Nokia employed approximately 92,000 people across over 100 countries,
did business in more than 130 countries, and reported annual revenues of around €23 billion. Nokia
is a public limited company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.
It is the world’s 415th-largest company measured by 2016 revenues according to the Fortune Global
500, having peaked at 85th place in 2009. Nokia made significant contributions to the mobile
telephony industry, assisting in the development of the GSM, 3G, and LTE standards. For a decade
beginning in 1998, Nokia was the largest worldwide vendor of mobile phones and smartphones. In
the later 2000s, however, Nokia suffered from a series of poor management decisions, and soon saw
its share of the mobile phone market drop sharply.
After a partnership with Microsoft and Nokia’s subsequent market struggles.Microsoft bought its
mobile phone business, creating Microsoft Mobile as its successor in 2014.After the sale, Nokia
began to focus more on its telecommunications infrastructure business and on Internet of things
technologies, marked by the divestiture of its Here mapping division and the acquisition of Alcatel-
Lucent ,including its Bell Labs research organization. The company then also experimented with
virtual reality and digital health, the latter thought the purchase of vittings. The nokia brand
returned to the mobile and smartphone market in 2016 through a licensing arrangement with HMD
Global. Nokia continues to be a major patent licensor for most large mobile phone vendors. As of
2018, Nokia is the world’s third-largest network equipment manufacturer.

The company was viewed with national pride by Finns, as its mobile phone business made it by
far the largest worldwide company and brand from Finland. At its peak in 2000, during the telecoms
bubble, Nokia accounted for 4% of the country’s GDP, 21% of total exports, and 70% of the
Helsinki Stock Exchange market capital.

 SONY
Sony Mobile Communications Inc. is a multinational telecommunications company founded on
October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. It was originally
incorporated as Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and headquartered in London, England,
until Sony acquired Ericsson’s share in the venture on February 16, 2012. On April 1, 2021, Sony
integrated its electronics businesses including Sony Mobile into one company called Sony
Corporation.
Prior to April 1, 2021, Sony Mobile exclusively created Android-powered smartphones under the
Xperia sub-brand name; it also developed tablet computers (Sony Tablet), smartwatches (Sony
SmartWatch) and fitness trackers (Sony SmartBand), alongside accessories and software for the
devices.
Sony Mobile had research and development facilities in Lund, Sweden; Beijing, China; Tokyo,
Japan; and San Francisco, United States. At its peak in 2007, Sony Ericsson, Sony Mobile’s
predecessor, held a 9 percent global mobile phone market share making it the fourth largest vendor
at the time. In 2017, Sony Mobile held less than 1% global market share but 4.8% in Europe and
16.3% in Japan

 VIVO
Vivo Communication Technology Co. Ltd., styled vivo in its logo, is a Chinese multinational
technology company headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong that designs and develops
smartphones, smartphone accessories, software and online services. The company develops
software for its phones, distributed through its V- Appstore, with IManager included in their
proprietary, Android-based operating system, Funtouch OS in Global, Origin OS in Mainland
China and India. Vivo is an independent company and develops its own products. It has 10,000
employees, with research and development centers in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and Nanjing, Jiangsu.

In the first quarter of 2015, Vivo was ranked among the top 10 smartphone makers, achieving a
global market share of 2.7%.Since its founding in 2009, Vivo has expanded to over 100 countries
around the world. International expansion began in 2014, when the company entered the Thailand
market. Vivo quickly followed up with launches India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Thailand, and Vietnam.

 OPPO

Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd, doing business as OPPO, is a Chinese
consumer electronics and mobile communications company headquartered in Dongguan,
Guangdong. Its major product lines include smartphones, smart devices, audio devices, power
banks, and other electronic products.
The brand name “Oppo” was registered in China in 2001 and launched in 2004.[1] Since then, the
company has expanded to 50 countries.
 In June 2016, OPPO became the largest smartphone manufacturer in China, selling its phones at
more than 200,000 retail outlets. OPPO was the top smartphone brand in China in 2019 and was
ranked No. 5, in market share,worldwide.

 XIAOMI

Xiaomi Corporation registered in Asia as Xiaomi Inc., is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of
consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, and household items. Behind
Samsung, it is the second largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, most of which run the
MIUI operating system. The company is ranked 338th and is the youngest company on the Fortune
Global 500

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 in Beijing by now multi-billionaire Lei Jun when he was 40 years
old, along with six senior associates. Lei had founded Kingsoft as well as Joyo.com, which he sold
to Amazon for $75 million in 2004. In August 2011, Xiaomi released its first smartphone and, by
2014, it had the largest market share of smartphones sold in China. Initially the company only sold
its products online; however, it later opened brick and mortar stores. By 2015, it was developing a
wide range of consumer electronics. In 2020, the company sold 146.3 million smartphones and its
MIUI operating system has over 500 million monthly active users. In the second quarter of 2021,
Xiaomi surpassed Apple Inc to become the second-largest seller of smartphones worldwide, with a
17% market share, according to Canalys. It also is a major manufacturer of appliances including
televisions, flashlights, unmanned aerial vehicles, and air purifiers using its Internet of Things and
Xiaomi Smart Home product ecosystems.

Xiaomi keeps its prices close to its manufacturing costs and bill of materials costs by keeping
most of its products in the market for 18 months, longer than most smartphone companies .The
company also uses inventory optimization and flash sales to keep its inventory low.

 POCO

POCO, formerly known as POCO by Xiaomi and Pocophone, is a smartphone company. The Poco
brand was first announced in August 2018 as a mid-range smartphone line under Xiamoi. Poco
India became an independent company on 17 January 2020, followed by its global counterpart
on 24 November 2020. Poco released its first smartphone, the Pocophone F1 in August 2018.

Xiaomi introduced the Pocophone F1 under the Poco branding which become a success. POCO
India become an independent brand before the launch of its second device in January 2020. During
the span of 3 years, the company launched 11 devices, most of them are rebranded Redmi
smartphones.

In January 2021, POCO India introduced its new logo, mascot, and slogan Made of Mad. POCO
Global continues to use the old logo.

 Realme
Realme (stylized as гeɑlme) is a brand of Android based smartphones developed by Realme
Chongqing Mobile Telecommunications Corporation, Ltd., a manufacturer based in Shenzhen,
China. It was founded by Li Bingzhong on May 4, 2018, who was former vice president of Oppo.

In May 2018, they released their first phone, Realme 1.On November 22, 2018, Realme became
an emerging brand in the Indian market. The sales of Realme devices in India have since surpassed
the sales of Oppo. Realme has been the fourth largest smartphone brand in India since 2019, behind
Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo. Realme holds records in India for fastest-charging smartphone and
India’s first 5G smartphone.

 Redmi

Redmi is a sub-brand owned by the chinese electronics company Xiaomi.It was first announced in
july 2013 as abudget smartphones line,and became a separate sub-brand of Xiaomi in 2019 with
entry-level and mid-range devices,while Xiaomi itself produces upper-range and flagship Mi
phones.Redmi phones use the Xiaomi MIUI user interface on top of android.Models are divided
into Redmi(entry level).Redmi Note and Pro (mid range). and Redmi A(low-end).In addition,the
unrelated Mi A Android one series is also positioned in the similar market segment with Redmi
devices,despite being part of the upper-range Xiaomi Mi lineup.The most significant difference
from other Xiaomi smartphones is that they use less-expensive components and thus have lower
prices while retaining higher specifications.The first Redmi phone,released in 2013,was first
launched on Xiaomi’s website,with consumer sales beginning on 12 july 2013.

 Honor

Honor(stylized and marketed as Honor)is a smartphone brand owned by Huawei Technologies.As

part of the Huawei Consumer Business Group’s dual-brand strategy,Honor provides smartphone
handsets targeting young consumers but has released tablet computers and wearable technology as
well.As of 2016,Honor sells its products mainly online through its own sites as well as via third-
party online retailers.Some Honor products are available to purchase at stores in select
markets.Honor offers smartphones at lower prices because the company saves money by operating
online.Honor 30 Pro Plus,Huawei,Honor 20Huawei,Honor 9i,Huawei Honor 9X are the leading
Honor smartphones.

 Lenovo
 CX Lenovo smartphones are marketed as the”LePhone” in Mainland China and the “Idea Phone”
overseas. Motorola Mobility,ZUK Mobile and Medion,divisions of Lenovo,sell smart phones under
their own brands. As of September 2015,Lenovo is in the process of rebranding most of its phones
using the Motorola brand name.K800,K900,A820,Vibe X, Vibe X2, Vibe K AND Vibe K5 PLUS,
Vibe K 5 Note,Lenovo Vibe K 6 Note,Lenovo Vibe K 8 Note etc. are the major brands of Lenovo.

CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS
 This chapter deals with analysis and interpretations of obtained data collected for the
present study. It is a crucial step for any research study ,for it is the result obtained through
its process which leads the investigator to arrive at proper conclusions.
Customer preference study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer
playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Analysis of data has been explained
as studying the tabulated material in order to determine the inherent facts or meanings. It
involves breaking down the existing complex factors into simple parts and putting the parts
together in new arrangement for the purpose of interpretation of collected data are the two
major steps in the process of research reports. Research data became meaningful in the
process of being analyzed and interpreted. Primary data collected are tabulated and analyzed
through various tables, graphs, charts which are very helpful to understand customer
preference towards brand loyalty. The major demographic variables pertaining to the study
namely age ,gender are analyzed in the following tables. Data are collected from 100 sample
respondents conveniently selected from N. Paravur with the help of structured
questionnaire.

4.1 Age of respondents

Age is an important factor for studying consumer preference. The respondents were grouped into
five categories on the basis of age Below 18,18-30,31-45,Above 45.

Following table shows the age wise classification of customers.

Table No.4.1Age wise Classification of Respondents

 Sl. No. Age No. of Respondents Persantage (%)

1 Below 18 4 4

2 18-30 90 90

3 31-45 4 4

4 Above 45 2 2

5 Others 0 0

Total 100 100

Source:Primary Data

The above table shows that majority of respondents falls in the 18-30 age category(90%),4% of
them are in 31-45 age category and others are in below 18(4%), and above 45(2%).It is clearly
shown by the following figure

Chart Title
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Less than 3 months 3 - 6 months Within past 2 years More than 2 years
Count Persantage (%)

Fig no:4.1Age of respondents

4.2Genders of respondents

Classification on the basis of gender is important in determining the consumer brand

loyalty.The customers were classified into male and female.Gender wise classification of
 respondents is given in the following table:

Table No.4.2 Gender wise Classification

Sl. No Gender No. of Respondants Persantage

1 Male 42 42

2 Female 58 58

3 others 0 0

Total 100 100

The above table shows that most of the respondents are female (58%) and Male consist of
(42%).It can be clearly understood by the following figure

Others No of respondents
0%

Male
42%

Female
58%

Fig.no.4 .2Genders of respondents

4.3 Favourite mobile brand of the respondents

The following tables shows that ratings and information regarding the favourite brand preference
of the respondents. We consider various brands like Nokia, Samsung, Sony , LG, Motorola,
Blackberry,Apple, POCO, Realme

Sl. No. Brand Name Weighted Average Rank

 1 Nokia 10.3 5
2 Samsung 23 1
3 Sony 9.2 6
4 LG 8 7
5 Motorola 10.3 5
6 Blackberry 8.8 7
7 Apple 21.5 2
8 Poco 15.7 4
9 Realme 20.2 3

For the analysis of favourite brand of the respondents, we use Weighted Average Method. Table
No4.3 depicts that majority of respondents favourite brand is Samsung. Second rank brand is
Apple,Third rank brand is Realme, Forth is Poco, Fifth are both nokia and Motorola, Sixth is Sony
and seventh rank brand are both blackberry and LG.

4.4 Information regarding usage of mobilephones

The following table shows that information regarding various brands of mobile phones used by
respondents. We consider various mobiles brands like POCO, Huawei, Realme, Vivo and others

Table No.4.4 Brand Usage Wise Classification of Respondents

Sl. No. Brand No. of Respondents Persantage

1 Poco 12 12

2 Realme 23 23

3 Samsung 21 21

4 Vivo 14 14

5 Xiamoi 9 9

6 Huawei 4 4

7 Oppo 3 3

8 Redmi 4 4

9 Apple 2 2

10 Motorola 2 2

11 Oneplus 4 4
 12 Nokia 2 2

TOTAL 100 100

Source:Primary Data

From the above table no 4.4 ,It is clear that the majority of 23% of respondents use Realme and
followed by Samsung,Vivo,Poco,Xiaomi,Huawei,Redmi,Oneplus,Oppo,Apple,Motorola and
Nokia : 21%, 14% ,12% ,9% ,4% ,4%, 4% ,3% ,2% ,2% and 2%respectively

Fig.No4.4 Brand usage of respondents

Chart Title
25

20

15

10 No of respondents
Percentage(%)
5

4.5 Period of using

The following table and figure depict how long have been using mobile phones by respondents

Table NO.4.5 Classification on basis of period of using mobile phones by respondents

Sl. No. Priod of Using Count Persantage

1 Less than 3 months 5 5
 2 3-6 months 17 17
3 Within past 2 years 45 45
4 Morethan 2 years 33 33
Total 100 100

Table No4.5 depicts that how long have been using mobile phones by the respondent.Out of 100
respondents,Majority of 45% using their mobile phone Within past 2 years.33% of respondents
using their mobile phone Morethan 2 years,17% respondents using their mobile phone 3-6months
and 5% of respondent using their mobile phone Less than 3months.

Figure No. 4.5

50
45
40
35
30
25 Count
20
Percentage(%)
15
10
5
0
Less than 3 3-6 months Within past 2 Morethan 2
months years years

4.6 Factors affecting best choices of respondent while making

purchase of mobile phone

The following table and figure depicts the factors affecting choices of respondent
while making purchase of mobile phone.

Table no.4.6Classification on the basis of factors affecting the choices of the

respondent while making purchase of mobile phone
 Sl. No. Factors Count Persantage
1 Style 26 26.5
2 Business 14 14.3
3 Cell/SMS 32 32.7
4 Multimedia(video,music) 65 66.3
5 Information and entertainment 41 41.8
6 Social Networking 40 40.8

Table No4.6 depicts the factors affecting the best choices of respondent while making purchase of
mobile phone.66.3% of respondents purchase the mobile phone because of facility of
multimedia(video,music,check email).41.8% of respondent purchase mobile phone because of
Information and Entertainment,40.8% of respondent purchase mobile because of social
networking.32.7% of respondent purchase mobile because of Call/SMS.26.5 % because of style and
14.3% of respondent purchase mobile phone because of business.

Figure No.4.6

70
60
50
40
30
20
10 count
Percentage(%)
0

4.7 Reasons of respondents to choose a mobile brand

The following table and figure depicts the reasons of respondents to choose a
particular brand.

Table No.4.7Classification on the basis of reasons of respondents to choose a mobile brand.

 Sl. No. Reasons Count Persantage

1 Convinient Handset 48 48

2 Cost control 43 43

3 Value added services 31 31

4 Discount 8 8

The following table no. 4.7 depicts that the reasons of the respondents to choose a mobile
brand. Majority of 48% of respondents choose a mobile brand because of Convenient Handset,.43%
of respondents choose a mobile brand because of Cost control. Followed by 31% of respondents
choose a mobile brand because of value added services and 8% of respondents choose mobile brand
because of Discount

60

50

40

30 Count
Percentage(%)
20

10

0
Convenient Cost control Value added Discount
handset service

Figure no 4.7

4.8 Factors influenced the respondent while making purchase of

current using mobile brand
The following table and figure shows that the factors that brand loyalty among
mobile phone users while making purchase of current using mobile phone

Table no 4.8classification on the basis of factors influenced the

respondent while making purchase of current using mobile brand
 Sl. No. Factors Count Persantage

1 Price/Offer 47 47

2 Brandname 48 48
Availabilit
3 18 18
y
4 Battery life 35 35

The above table no 4.8 shows that the factors influenced the respondents while making
purchase of current using mobile brand.Majority of 48% of respondents purchase their current
mobile brand because of Brand name.47% of respondents purchase their current mobile brand
because of Price/Offer.Followed by 35% of respondents purchase their current using mobile
brand because of facility of mobile battery and 18% of respondents purchase mobile brand
because of Availability in store

Figure no.4.8

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Price/Offer Brand name Availability in store Mobile battery

count

4.9 Factors choose respondents when purchasing a mobile phone

Table no4.9 Classification on the basis of factors choose respondents when purchasing a
mobile phone
 SL.NO Factors Count %
1 Brand 56 56
2 Battery life 55 55
3 Durability 51 51
4 Display 31 31
5 Sound quality 28 28

From the above table no.4.9 depicts the factors choose respondents when purchasing a
mobile phone. Majority of 56% of respondents choose a mobile phone because of
Brand ,55% of respondents choose a mobile phone because of Battery life,51% of
respondents choose because of Durability .Followed by 31% of respondents choose a
mobile phone because of Display and 28% of respondents choose a mobile phone because
of Sound quality.

Figure no.4.9

60

50

40

30 Count
Percentage(%)
20

10

0
Brand Battery Durability Display Sound
life quality

4.10 Reasons of respondent to choose current brand over others

Table no 4.10Classification of reasons of respondents to choose current brand

over others

SL.NO Options Count Percentage

%
 1 Better feature (compared to similar model 63 63
from other brands )
2 Priced competitively( compared to other 42 42
brand)
3 Online/print/visual media reviews 22 22

4 Catchy and attractive ads 7 7

From the above table no.4.10 depicts the reasons of respondents choose current brand
over others. Majority of 63% of respondents choose current brand over others
because of Better Features(compared to similar model from other brands),42% of
respondents choose because of priced competitively(compared to other
brands).Followed by 22% of respondents choose current brand over others because
of Online/Print/Visual media reviews and 7% of respondents choose current brand
over others because of Catchy and attractive ads.

Figure no.4.10

70
60
50
40
30
20
10 Count
0 percentage(%)

4.11 Previously owned brand of the respondent

Table no.4.11Classification on the basis of previously owned brand of the
respondent

SLNO. Previously owned brand Count Percentage(%)

1 Nokia 5 5
2 Sony 2 2
3 Motorola 2 2
 4 Samsung 26 26
5 Poco 1 1
6 Xiaomi 6 6
7 Vivo 9 9
8 Oppo 6 6
9 Realme 9 9
10 Apple 5 5
11 Huawei 4 4
12 Others 11 11
13 This is my first cell phone 14 14
Total 100 100

From the above table no.4.11 ,It is clear that the previously owned brand of the respondents. Out of
100 respondents, Majority of 26% 0f respondents previously owned nokia,9% of respondents
previously owned realme and vivo, 6% of respondents previously owned oppo and xiaomi,5% of
respondents previously owned apple and nokia,4% of respondents previously owned Huawei,2% of
respondents previously owned sony and motorola.1% of respondent previously owned poco,14% of
respondents using their first cellphone and 11% of respondents previously owned others.

Figure no.4.11

30
25
20
15
10
Count
5
Percentage(%)
0

4.12 Stick on to current brand or not

Table no4.12 Classification on the basis of stick on to current brand or not

 Options Count %

YES 50 50

NO 11 11

NOT SURE 39 39

TOTAL 100 100

Figure no.4.12

Stick on to current brand or not

not sure
yes
39%
50%

no
11%

4.13 Buy the brand new in the market

Table no.4.13 Classification on the basis of buy the brand new in the market

Options Count Percentage(%)

 Yes 40 40
No 44 44
Not Sure 16 16
Total 100 100

From the above table no.4.14 and figure no.4.13, It is clear that Out of 100 respondents, Majority of
44% of respondents not willing to buy the brand that is tottaly new in market,40% of respondents are
willing to buy the brand new in the market and 16% of respondents are not sure about it.

Figure no.4.13

Count

not sure
16% yes
40%

no
44%
 CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Findings of the study

 The maximum responses given were from respondents.(90%)between the

age of 18-30
 Most of respondents (58%) are females.
 Majority of the respondents (23%) favourite brand is Samsung.
 Majority of the respondents(23%)using mobile phone is realme brand.
 Majority of the respondents(45%)using their mobile phone within past 2 years.
 Major factor that affecting the best choices of respondent while making
purchase of mobile phone is the facility of multimedia(video ,music, check
mail).
 Minor factor that affecting the best choices of respondent while making
purchase of mobile phone is the Business
 Major reason of the respondents to choose current mobile brand is the
convenient handset.
 Minor reason of the respondent to choose current mobile brand is the discount.
 Major factor that influencing the respondents to purchase of currently using
mobile brand is the brand name.
  Minor factor that influencing the respondents to purchase of currently
using mobile brand is the Availability in store.
 Major factor choose respondents when purchasing a mobile phone is the brand.
 Minor factor choose respondents when purchasing a mobile phone is the
sound quality.
 Majority of the respondents (63%)choose current brand over others because of
better features(compared to similar model from other brand).
 Minority of the respondents(7%) choose brand over other because of Catchy
and attractive ads.
 Majority of respondents (26%) previously owned brand is Nokia
 Majority of respondents (50%) are willing to purchase different brand in future.

 11% of respondents are stick on to current brand

 Majority of the respondents (44%)are not willing to buy the brand that is
totally new in market.
 40% of respondents are willing to buy the brand that is totally new in market.

5.2 Suggestions

 To build brand loyalty keep high quality products

 Stay in touch with consumers; ask their opinion about the product.
 Collect solicit feedback from consumers.
 Keep a close age on the competitors and understand the current trends in
the industry.
 Adopt latest technologies first.
 Communicate values about your brands to the customers
 Encourage customers feedback
 Engage customers on social media
 Provide more after sales services
 5.3 Conclusion

This study investigated the factors affecting brand loyalty in the context of mobile phone .We did
the study on the basis the following objectives, favourite brand preferred by users, the factors that
influence brand loyalty among mobile phone users, the factors influencing brand switching of
mobile phone among users. This study conducted on 100 respondents with special reference to N.
Paravur with help of questionnaire through google form. The results of the path analysis indicated
that brand capacity to meets expectations image of the brand, betterfeatures, multimedia facilities,
value added services, price/offers, convenience. If the customer perceive a high quality mobile
phone services, they may be more likely to stay with their existing service provider and
recommend to others.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Website

1. www.skyword.com
2. https://www.soocial.com
3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org
4. https://www.slideshare.net
5. https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com
6. https://www.investopedia.com
7. https://www.researchgate.net
8. https://www.consumerbrandbuilders.com
9. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/

BOOKS

1. Philip kotler,(2001),”Marketing Management”,Prentice Hall of India,New Delhi.

 2. Louis E.Boone,(2007),”Principles of marketing”,Akash press,New Delhi
3. Pran K.Choudary,(2009),”Successful Branding”,MC Millan Publishers.
4. Dr.Sreedhar P.Nair,”Marketing Management”,Prakash publications.

JOURNALS

1 Agarwal,Sunil Kumar, A Study of consumer behavior of FMCG products in Madhya

Pradhesh,International Journal of Business and Management Research.Vol.4,Issue

1,Jan.2014

2 Anandan,C,Prasanan,Mohan Raj and Madhu.S, A Study on brand preferences of

washing soaps in rural areas,Indian Journal of Marketing,Vol.37,No.3,2007,pp.30- 38

3 Guest,L.P Brand loyalty,revised;A Twenty Year Report,Journal of Applied

Psychology,Vol.48,No.2,1964,pp.93-97

APPENDIX
Questionnaire

A STUDY ON THE BRAND LOYALTY AMONG

MOBILEPHONE USERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
N.PARAVUR

Dear sir/madam,
We are the students of Sree narayayana arts and science college Kedamangalam, Department of
commerce and presently doing a project on "A study on the brand loyalty among mobile phone users
withspecial reference to N.Paravur’
We request you to kindly fill the questionaire below and assure you that the data generatedwill be
kept Confidential.

*Required

1. Email*

2. Name of the respondent*

3. Age - *

Check all that apply.

Below 18

18-30

31-45

Above 45

Others

4. Gender*

Mark only one oval.

Male

Female

Others

5. Rate your favourite mobile brand

Mark only one oval per row

1 2 3

Nokia

Samsung

Sony

LG

Realme

Motorola

Blackberry

Apple

Poco
6. Which mobile phone you are using ?*

Mark only one oval

Poco

Realme

Samsung

Vivo

Xiaomi

Huawei

Oppo

Oneplus

Other :

7. How long have you been using your mobile phone ?*

Mark only one oval.

Less than 3 months

To 6 months within

Past 2 years more

Lessthan 2 years

8. Which of the following factors are the best choices for you while purchasing a mobile phone

Style

Business

Callor sms

Multimedia(Video, Music,)information and entertainment

Social networking

Browse internet
9. For what reasons you choose this mobile brand ?*

Check all that apply

Conviniant handset cost

Control

Value added services

Discount

10. Which factor influenced you to purchase the mobile brand you are currently using.?

Check all that apply

Price/offer

Brand name

Availability in store

Mobile battery

11. Which one of the following factors you coose when purchasing mobile phone ?*

Check all that apply

Brand

Battery life

Durability

Display

Sound quality

12. What brand you previously own ?*

Mark only one oval.

This is my first cell phone Nokia.

Realme

Samsung

Vivo

Xiaomi
 Huawei

Oppo

Oneplus

Poco

Motorola

Apple

Others ;

13. Would you prefer to stick to your current brand in the future or would you be willing to purchase
A different brand ?

Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

Not sure

14. Would you be open to buy a brand this is totally in market ?

Yes

No

Not sure