TERM REPORT

Telecom Research Proposal

Name: Omaid Ansari G.R#: MEPGDN 0235 COURSE TITLE: Business Research Methods
5/24/2011

SUBMITTED TO: MR. AHMED GHAYAS BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS

DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to HIMS that provided us with a conductive environment and opportunity to excel in our resolve for formulating this report.

Dedication is also made to our beloved parents for their selfless prayers and to our friends without whose love and support we would not have achieved all this and to our teacher, Mr. Ahmed Ghayas for his kind guidance.

Preface

As students of Business Research Methods (BRM) Course for MBA degree program, we have been asked to prepare an extensive report in the form of Individual Research Proposal as part of our term assignment. We were given the choice to pick any topics or case scenarios and prepare our business research proposal, keeping in mind the concepts that we learned during our course it was important for us to make sure that our report should reflect that we understood the requirements of preparing a research proposal.

The basic ideology of the report is to evaluate the depth of application of BRM functions and make valuable inferences for a marketing problem.

This report is a compulsory requirement for this course and our deadline to submit the report was 16th session.

Acknowledgement

The HIMS Group of students feels greatly indebted to all who helped us in our marketing research project. In the course of completion of this report I would like to extend our heartiest thanks and obligations to people instrumental in providing us the opportunity to gain access to the organizations that we went to and interact.

I feel honored to acknowledge our Instructor, Mr. Ahmed Ghayas, HIMS City Campus, whose valuable guidance went a long way in our resolve to accomplish the research project.

I also feel obligated in acknowledging HIMS City Campus library staff for providing us with experienced assistance in acquiring valuable information from their sources.

Im also indebted to all our well wishers, colleagues and friends who extended their help selflessly.

Executive Summary This report has been to accomplish the obligation of Business Research Methods course taught by our respectable faculty Mr. Ahmed Ghayas.

Basically it is a Research Proposal put in front of the management of a leading telecommunication services provider who is interested in exploring brand loyalty and integrating it with satisfaction. If the management accepts the Research Proposal then at the end of the successful completion of this research project the final report would be able to present the findings on how the normal Pakistani consumer prefer telecommunication service provider, using results of an e-survey of 500 individuals in Karachi.

The research will be conducted in public, residential and corporate areas of Karachi.

Why the telecommunications industry? There is faster new product development is important to many firms, particularly those in dynamic and hostile environments. One industry, which is currently operating in such an environment, is the telecommunications industry. The signing of the Telecommunications Act which prevented local phone companies, long-distance companies, cable TV and wireless service companies from entering each others business, the companies are able to bundle variety of services and, more importantly, make significant progress toward building high-speed information highway, which can transmit voice and video communications by entering markets previously closed to them. How has deregulation changed the telecommunications industry? It has increased competition, as companies from different industries and different parts of the world vie for position in this diverse industry. Deregulation has led to the development of competing products and technologies in an attempt to be at the forefront when standards are established. Telecom firms that face such highly competitive and dynamic environments are predicted to face greater pressure to bring products to market faster than those that operate in more stable and static environments Moreover, in recent study suggest that more research is needed on the relationship between various marketing practices and strategic cycle in diverse technological and competitive settings. Thus, focus on Pakistan telecommunications industry as dynamic paced industry that has seen evershorter product life cycles in recent years. Given these characteristics, the usage of marketing research in developing marketing strategy may prevent or reduce the need for multiple and lengthy tests of individual marketing strategy elements such as packaging, pricing, advertising, brand name.

RESEARCH PROBLEM In the intense completion of telecom giants in Pakistan, youth plays significant role. They influenced by the promotion strategies and the tariff plans of telecom companies. This research will try to examine the young consumers behavior in telecom sector.

OBJECTIVES The main objective of this research is to identify the common factor that affects young consumer behavior when it comes to brand promotion of telecom sector This will help to understand the needs and the problems of the mobile subscribers.

Methodology The companies which perform segmentation studies in their marketing and research departments, the principal companies working in this field are market research through telecoms as there covers survey questionnaire/interviews and from the interviews there is qualitative information about segmentation research design. There are two main objectives first, to assess the level of evaluation and selection of segments tasks of Pakistan telecom market segmentation process. Second, to discover frequency with which the industry assess and select segments and the research methods used. The interviews were required to indicate the degree of difficulty they found in the performance of the different stages of the process. The possible answers were structured following a five-point Likert scale (1 = very low level of difficulty; 5 = very high level of difficulty. The full co-operation of all the company departments involved in segmentation study and strategy is fundamental. The evaluations must be able to detect deviations and discordances between the detected segment characteristics and the objectives of the market segmentation strategy.

IMPORTANCE 60 % of 169 million population of Pakistan uses mobile services. Young group of age 16 30 forms more than 40% of the Pakistani population.

Ownership of Multiple SIM Cards in Pakistan

Demographic Owned one within poorest One SIM or more SIMs 60% ALL Urban Rural Male Female 727 457 270 541 186 78 % 80 % 75 % 76 % 85 %

More than one SIM 22 % 20 % 25 % 24 % 15 %

So this research will help to understand brand loyalty of this consumer class.

SIGNIFICANCE This research is therefore an attempt to understand the effective brand promotion strategy to promote the brand image in youth segment of Pakistan telecom sector.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS GEOGRAPHICAL AREA COVERAGE The area coverage for this research will be Karachi The total sample size N = 500

TIME FRAME The research will be carried out in duration of about 2 months. ASSUMPTIONS Online survey is the medium used for research. Respondents are serious while answering the questionnaire.

DEFINITION AND TERMS TO BE USED Competitive strategy: The adoption of a specific target market and marketing mix circumstance in the market place. Brand: Brand is Promise by producer to user. Specifies offerings of the product. Helps user to recognize brand. Marketing: Planning, executing and controlling the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services in order to build lasting, mutually profitable exchange relationships satisfying individual and organizational objectives. Media: Any paid for communication channel including television, radio, posters etc.. Primary data: Unpublished data from individuals or organisations Product: A good or service offered by an organization which affords a bundle of benefits both objective (physical) and subjective (image) to a user. Promotion: The offer of an inducement to purchase, over and above the intrinsic value or price of a good service. Search: The collection of relevant information by deliberate searching either formally or informally. Secondary data: Published accessible data from a variety of sources.

VARIABLES DEPENDENT & INDEPENDENT Independent: Telecom Companies Dependent: age, annual income

HYPOTHESIS H0: Telecom sector Consumer in Karachi is brand loyal.

COLLECTION OF DATA The data will be collected on basis of a online survey conducted amongst people of age group 16 to 35.

ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION Inferential statistics will be used to be able to know a population's brand recognition through a direct interaction with the chosen population. This is because it is easier to observe a portion or a part than observe the whole population. Result of the study will be put in tables and graphs for easy understanding of the findings of the research.

SUMMARY The main aim of this research proposal is to know whether it will be feasible for Telecom companies to target youth with advertisement or personal selling strategies for brand recognition and brand switch.

RECOMMENDATIONS It will be based on observations obtained from examined sample population.

Questionnaire OBJECTIVE:
Analyzing factors contributing towards brand switching by loyal customers focus on Telecom Industry.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Age: 15-20 Gender: Male Female Profession: Student Employee Business Are you a customer of? Post-paid Package Pre-paid Package 21-30 31-40 40+

1. 2.

Which Brand - Telecom Service Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) are you using? Mobilink Warid Ufone Telenor Zong Since how many Months/Years you are using same services? 1-6 Months 7-11 Months 1 Year 2 Year More than 2 years

3. How many SIMs are you holding now: One Two Three Four Five If more than ONE please specifies which service you use frequently__________________. 4. Are you satisfied with your current SIM (Telecom Services provider): Yes No 5. 6. Current problem which you are facing with your brand? Calling Rates Network Customer Services Over all tariff SMS/Call Packages None Which factor you considered, before availing your current SIM (Telecom Service): Calling Rates Network Customer Services SMS/Call Packages Having same services with your family/friends/colleagues/business partner

7. Are you willing to switch your current Telecom brand? Yes (Proceed to Q.9) No (Proceed to Q.8) 8. Which factor stops you to switch your brand? Affordability Performance Contacts Customer services

9.

Which factor force you to switch your current brand? Affordability Performance SMS/Call Packages Customer Services

10. Could affordability hurdle to keep you loyal to your brand? Yes No 11. Which telecom company promotes itself in a better way OR explains its new services/packages completely by advertisement? Mobilink Warid Ufone Telenor Zong 12. Which grade would you give to your current brand? Excellent Good Average Below average Poor