Satisfaction as the Influence on iPhone Customers - Coursework Example

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Brand loyalty is deep inside self commitment to re-buy a product, this is influenced by a number of factors including customer satisfaction (Philip Kotler, 2012). We set out to study whether customers were satisfied with the earlier releases of the Apple iPhone, whether they are willing to buy the latest release model of iPhone 6. The latest survey of consumer smartphones shows that the iPhones have the highest rating about the satisfaction of the gizmo. The survey indicated other factors in driving the sales of smartphones purchase, but the overall preference rating of iPhone was impressive (Martonik, 2014) The study was conducted in the campus vicinity with the help of other students and students were the population samples. The aim the study was to establish if iPhone users are satisfied and if they have an intention of re-purchasing the product. Ho = Satisfaction has an influence to customer in considering the intention of re-purchasing iPhone 6. Ha = Satistifaction has no influence to customer in considering the intention of re-purchasing iPhone 6. SECTION 2: LITERATURE REVIEW To enhance purchase intentions managers needs to improve on brand loyalty and brand awareness. The study found out that loyalty was a key factor to re-buying a product (Muhammad Ehsan Malik, 2013). Satisfied customer is highly likely to re-purchase the iPhone 6, thus building loyal customers. In the study we are going to evaluate and see whether the satisfaction can lead to a re-buying of a new model of iPhone 6. And we are going to evaluate the interaction elements between users and the satisfaction that leads to intent to re-purchase. Consumer retentions is key to most companied that have adopted a well structured loyalty program to protect the customer base line. The biggest contributor to brand equity is brand loyalty and has been the main focal point for most marketing journals and practitioners (Nawaz, n.d.) The age segment plays a pivotal role in understanding and enhancing the loyalty schemes. The use smart phones and age are factors that are Siamese together, in that the services and the product must satisfy the age group an unprecedented manner. The volatile age group is between the age of 22 years to 27 years where shifting loyalty becomes the norm, thus a need to raise the bar of levels of satisfaction by offering more intensive services and a quality product. The intention to re-purchase or Upgrade is a factor that is driven by many conditions including the level which the customer is satisfied by service or the product. The urge to think about the product and service, creates a brand value that’s translates to brand loyalty. SECTION 3: METHODOLOGY The research study used for this investigation was correlational study. This study concerns a hypothesis or a univariate question which we asked about the satisfaction as a measure of the loyalty scheme (Donald R. Cooper, 2014). The population set was the students of Regent Business School,London. The study focused on the studied who operate Apple gizmo as their tool of communication. A random sampling technique was used to collect the data. This kind of technique has essential feature that each member of the population set has an equal chance to supply data is selected (Waters, 2008). We used the questionnaire in the appendix I was used to collect the primary data. The data was analysed using Statistical package SPSS, two way ANOVA was used to evaluate the data and determine the interaction effect of the variables. SECTION 4: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS This section we shall discuss the findings of the methodology as set out in Section 3. Descriptive analysis Gender Gender Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Male 21 52.5 52.5 52.5 Female 13 32.5 32.5 85.0 Prefer Not to Say 6 15.0 15.0 100.0 Total 40 100.0 100.0 52.5% of the respondents we male, with 15% preferring not to state their gender. Satifaction Level Approx. 60% of the respondents were satisfied with Apple phone and its applications. Age The highest user of the Apple phone are those with age 27 years. Two way ANOVA Table 4.1 Between-Subjects Factors Value Label N Satisfaction Level 1 Yes 24 2 No 7 3 I don't Know 9 Buying a new Apple Phone 1 Yes 29 2 No 3 3 I don't Know 8 Table 4.2 Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variancesa Dependent Variable: Using Apple Phone How Long F df1 df2 Sig. 1.119 6 33 .373 Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups. a. Design: Intercept + Satisfied + Upgrade + Satisfied * Upgrade Table 4.3 Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Dependent Variable: Using Apple Phone How Long Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Partial Eta Squared Corrected Model 27.322a 6 4.554 2.257 .062 .291 Intercept 283.346 1 283.346 140.444 .000 .810 Satisfied 14.828 2 7.414 3.675 .036 .182 Upgrade 18.612 2 9.306 4.613 .017 .218 Satisfied * Upgrade 8.844 2 4.422 2.192 .128 .117 Error 66.578 33 2.018 Total 570.000 40 Corrected Total 93.900 39 a. R Squared = .291 (Adjusted R Squared = .162) Interpretation We conducted 3 x 2 ANOVA to evaluate the effects of Satisfied on the upgrade of the phone. Table 4.3 presents a significant main effect for Satisfied, F(2,33) = 3.675, p < .05 = .036 with a partial eta square of .182, and a significant effect of Upgrade, F(2,33) = 4.613, P < .05 p = .017 with a partial eta square of .218. Both interaction source, the variables Satisfied and Upgrade intercept at high value of .0810, thus the proportional of variance of Satisfied as dependent variable is related to the upgrade. The final analysis was conducted to test hypothesis that satisfaction influence the upgrade or re-buying, F(2,33) = 4.613, p = .017. Hypothesis testing If p-value ≤ α, then we “reject H0” and the results are significant; p = .017 then the results are significant and we accept the null hypothesis. Thus Ho ≥ 0.05 HO = .017, we accept the hypothesis that satisfaction has an influence to customer in considering the intention of re-purchasing iPhone 6. SECTION 5: CONCLUSIONS The study shows that most satisfied consumers have a chance of repurchasing the iPhone. Though there are other factors that play in on purchasing of smart phone, like price and availability the study shows that there is a consumer who uses the phone has a likelihood of buying a new release if satisfied regardless of the price. To enhance the re-buying commitment Apple must improve their retention and loyalty programs to cover more countries as their sales worldwide have been dwindling; further, they must broaden the brand loyalty scheme to increase the consumer satisfaction and increase the chances re-purchasing intentions. Age is another key factor in the study that most users are between about age 24 – 28, thus Apple needs to increase satisfaction in this age segment hopefully it will spill over as the age group ages. This is an indication that this age group is satisfied with the smartphone and its application, thus the high rating. This is a key market segment with different needs and satisfaction levels of the smartphone. Apple needs to improve on this segment and communicate them to effectively create more awareness and increase consumer satisfaction. Apple need to stay in-touch and communicate effectively with the other age segment markets to increase the levels of satisfaction and increase brand loyalty too. Appendix I 1. How long have you been using your current Apple phone? ________________ 2. How many Apple phones have you owned so far? ______________________ 3. Would you upgrade the current phone to the latest release model? YES  NO  4. Are you satisfied with the Apple services and application? Satisfied  Not Safisfied (I don’t know  5. How old are you? ______________________ 6. Your gender Male  Female  Prefer not to say  Works Cited Donald R. Cooper, P. S. S., 2014. Business research methods. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Martonik, A., 2014. J.D. Power survey shows consumers still most satisfied with iPhone on all major U.S. carriers. [Online] Available at: http://www.imore.com/jd-power-survey-shows-consumers-still-put-iphone-top-all-four-us-carriers [Accessed 30 November 2014]. Muhammad Ehsan Malik, M. M. G. H. K. I., 2013. International Journal of Business and Social Science. Importance of Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty in assessing Purchase Intentions of Consumer, 4(5), p. 5. Nawaz, N.-U.-A., n.d. What Makes Customers Brand Loyal. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(14), p. 9. Philip Kotler, K. L. K., 2012. Marketing Management. 14 ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Waters, D., 2008. Quantitative Methods for Business. 5th ed. London: Pearson. Read More