Lifestyle Based Segmentation On Mobile Phones Marketing Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the applicability of lifestyle-based segmentation on mobile phones in the context of Mauritius. Normally this carried out to exemplify how market segmentation will target the customers with their respective mode of living. A convenience sample of 125 respondents is taken and their mode of living and opinions on mobile phones will be recorded using structured questionnaires. After that these data will be used as inputs for the analyses. The first part of the study is an introduction of the mode of living of people in Mauritius and also is based on the evolution of mobile phones in the country. The second part is about the purpose of the research that is based on what criteria we have chosen to do such a research. Furthermore we have also specified the advantages of segmenting the Mauritian market. Then comes the literature review part where we have observed the different views of different authors on lifestyle and segmentation. The different theories they have developed and we have also search for the gap by contrasting these theories. The next section is the methodology that has been used to analyze people's lifestyle towards mobile phones. There are some steps that have to be followed while conducting the Research process. This part also specifies how to construct a questionnaire and finally the problems encountered while conducting the survey. Now comes the part of analysis of findings where normally all the data gathered will be used as inputs. Various variables will be analyzed and the outputs generated will be mostly in tables and charts. Moreover different hypotheses will be tested using two variables to find if there is any relationship between them using the sample of 125 respondents. The recommendations and suggestions session is conducted so as to find solutions how to improve the mobile phones market in Mauritius. This will benefit the citizens of Mauritius in a way by simply improving their lifestyles by providing them with different kinds of facilities in the upcoming mobile phones. As concerned for the service providers they can provide better services to the citizens of Mauritius. Finally is the conclusion part where there is the summing up of the assignment as a whole.

Introduction

Although the Mauritian mobile market is small in terms of population size, the market is one of the most vibrant markets in sub Saharan Africa. In 2009, the mobile penetration rate stood at over 80 percent, one of the highest penetration rates in the continent. There are 3 mobile operators namely Orange, Emtel and MTML in Mauritius. Orange is the market leader, with almost 54% in 2009 while Emtel and MTML are the challengers, with 44% and 2% respectively. The Mauritian mobile maturation is near-saturation, which translates in the decline in voice revenues and subscriber growth. Therefore, mobile operators have shifted focus on data services, to offset the decline in voice revenue levels.

The mobile phone phenomenon is a unique in the histories of both the telecommunication and consumer electronics markets. In less than a decade, people have adopted mobile phones on a massive scale, as a result of which the yearly production rate continues to rise; Growth has been fueled by the spectacular evolution of mobile phones technologies, both in terms of performance and miniaturization. As a result, unlike many other appliances, users change their mobile phones on average every two years. Consequently, the replacement handset, today represent about 80% of all mobile phone purchase.

In this era of globalization, mobile phones have moved beyond their primary role of voice communication and have graduated to become an essential entertaining device for mobile users. We are in an era where users buy mobile phones not just to be in such today's youth use it to express their lifestyle: for social networking, to show their interest, play games, read news, surf on the internet, listen to music, chat instantly with families and friends and check their bank balances.Mobile phones are used for a variety of purposes, including keeping in touch with family members, conducting business, and having access to a telephone in the event of an emergency. Some people carry more than one cell phone for different purposes, such as for business and personal use. Multiple SIM cards may also be used to take advantage of the benefits of different calling plans-a particular plan might provide cheaper local calls, long-distance calls, international calls, or roaming.

Consequently, faster better or funkier hardware alone is not going to help phone firms to sell more mobile phones. Instead, these manufacturer keen to get more out of their customers should not just be pushing the technology for its own sake. Consumers are far more interested in now mobile cells fit in their lifestyle. Although consumers do what they always did but use a phone technologies it possible to gradually drive new habits and lifestyles. For instance, older people have started adopting mobile phones compared to some 5 years back.

Lifestyle refer to a way of living of individuals, families (households), and societies, which they manifest in matching their physical, psychological, social, and economic environments on a day-to-day basis. In addition, lifestyle is determined by a system of variables which comprises many elements: sociodemographic indicators, values and socio-psychological characteristics of individuals, behavioral variables, consumption of products and services.

Lifestyle is expressed in both work and leisure behaviour patterns and (on an individual basis) in activities, attitudes, interests, opinions and values. It also reflects people's self image or self concept; the way they see themselves and believe they are seen by the others. Moreover, Lifestyle is a composite of motivations, needs and wants and is influenced by factors such as culture, family, reference, and social class. An analysis of consumer life styles is an important factor in determining how consumers make their purchase decisions.

Purpose of research

The objective of this survey is to understand the impact lifestyle has upon the use and purchase of mobile phones. Mobile phones has become a common utility in this new era and with the changes taking place in this technological field it has become a must to be able to sell mobiles phones not only at low price, but to the right defined target market. More specifically, the primary goals of this study are:

To better understand the segment of mobile phones

Provide a theoretical framework for the practice of market segmentation

To find out how big firms tackle important issues concerning market segmentation

WHY SEGMENT MARKETS?

Customer market segmentation is a powerful and commonly used mechanism enabling organizations to reap certain advantage: (Blythe, 1998 and Kotler, 1998)

Customer analysis

By segmenting, the firm can get to understand best its customers and organize its strategy in a better way to target the relevant audience. Moreover, the most profitable customer groups will be given special attention, matching customers' needs and requirements with the aim of improving loyalty and retention.

Better returns and profit realization

The profit potential of each segment can be easily determined by analyzing the revenue and cost impacts associated with serving the segments. Efficiency is gained through segmentation because unprofitable groups are handled appropriately. Hence business profits are increased by reaching untapped revenue streams and provide opportunities for growth. Nevertheless, it is possible to develop premium segments in which customers accept a higher price level and they are distinguished from the mass market by features like additional services, exclusive points of sale, product variations and so on.

Competitor analysis

In serving specific segments of the market, the business gains reputation for expertise and quality as compared to the competitors. The company will be able to increase its market share by becoming a preferred supplier of a targeted market.

Effective resource allocation

Companies' scarce resources can be concentrated more effectively on a few consumers, rather than spread thinly across the masses. This will lead to efficiency gain through segmentation.

Strategic marketing planning

Planning becomes easier once the firm has a clear picture of its best customers. Hence, the company can impose the design of products and services which best fits the lifestyle of the desired segment. Therefore, the performance of each segment is measured to adjust the segmentation approach progressively as market conditions change.

Higher market shares

In contrast to an undifferentiated marketing strategy, segmentation supports the development of niche strategies. Thus marketing activities can be targeted at highly attractive market segments in the beginning. Market leadership in selected segments improves the competitive position of the whole organization and strengthens the brand and ensures profitability. On that basis, organizations have better chances to increase their market shares in the overall market

Stimulating Innovation

Segmentation provides information about smaller units in the total market that share particular needs. The identification of these needs enables a planned development of a new or improved product that better meet the wishes of these customer groups. Thus, profit margins and profitability of the innovating organization increase.

Literature Review

Segmentation analyses

Segmentation is a technique for assigning consumers or customers into homogenous groups based on some segmentation variables (Wedel and Kamakura, 1998), providing opportunities to develop targeted marketing strategies towards a specified group of Consumers. The concept of market segmentation, first introduced by Smith (1956), has attracted much marketing attention. The concept is based on three basic premises (Engel et al., 1972): (1) customers are different, (2) differences in customers relate to differences in demand, and (3) segments of customers can be isolated within the overall market.

Market segmentation comes about as a result of the observation that all potential users of a product are not alike. They are different in the consumption behaviors, in their lifestyles, and in patterns of buying and using. As a result, the same general appeal will not interest all prospects and satisfy every customer's needs. Therefore, in order to enhance customers' satisfaction, it is necessary to divide the generic market into segments. Different marketing strategies and tactics will be developed accordingly by properly considering both the differences among potential consumers and that the firm's objectives and resources.

The psychological variables derive from two principal types of customer; personality profiles and lifestyle profiles (psychographics). Psychological profiles are often used as a supplement to geographic and demographics when these does not provide a sufficient view of the customer behaviour. While the traditional geographical and demographical bases (sex, age, income etc.) provide the marketer with accessibility to customer segments, the psychological variables provide additional information about these and enhance the understanding of the behaviour of present and potential target markets (Gunter and Furnham, 1992: 26).

The literature discusses two principal approaches to segmentation. They are a-priori and post-hoc or data driven (Dolnicar, S., 2004; Kara and Kaynak, 1997, Wind, 1978). A prior segmentation requires first to choose variables of interest and then classify buyers according to that designation (Wind, 1978). This approach may guarantee within segment similarity by ensuring, for example, that all segment members come from similar geographic regions and income ranges. However, this does not necessarily mean that all segment members will respond in the same way to marketing stimuli (Hoek, Gendall and Esslemont, 1996). The second approach is to segment markets on a post-hoc basis where a range of interrelated variables is selected and then buyers clustered into groups whose average within-group similarity is high while between-group similarity is low (Wind, 1978). The interrelated variables in this case are called bases, and then the segments can be further examined for differences in other characteristics- called profiled variables. These variables are not concurred with the based variables. Moreover, the number of segments is not known until the cluster analysis has been completed. In this paper, the post- hoc approach to segment is applied.

Over the past half-century the spontaneously appealing notion that individuals and groups exhibit routine of "style" in living fueled intensifying interest in the lifestyle concept among social satirists and social scientists alike. Yet, while the term lifestyle gained popular currency, it continued to defy conceptual and operational consensus (Ferber and Lee 1974). At the same time the term lifestyle became part of our popular and professional expression, its conceptual and operational vagueness was compounded by a semantic network confusing lifestyle with psychographics, confusing and impeding lifestyle research, and compromising the usefulness of lifestyle as a segmentation variable.

Life-style is a systems concept. It refers to a distinctive or characteristic mode of living, in its combined and broadest sense, of a whole society or segment. The aggregate of consumer purchases, and the manner in which they are consumed, reflect a society's [or consumer's lifestyle. Writing at the same time, Levy (1963) proposed a contrasting concept of lifestyle, one suggestive of Adler's conviction that a fictionalized goal or theme pervades one's life providing structure to both self-concept and behavior.

An individual's life-style is a large complex symbol in motion. It is composed of sub-symbols; it utilizes a characteristic pattern of life space or the proximity of perceived constraints in the surrounding environment; and it acts systematically to process objects and events [including products, services, and consumption itself] in accordance with these values.

Levy's definition encouraged Kelley (1963) to put forward an important marketing implication of the lifestyle concept. According to him Marketers are not selling isolated products which can be viewed as symbols; they are selling, or consumers are buying, a style of life or pieces of a larger symbol. That is consumers buy their products taking into consideration their interests, opinions and activities.

On the contrary Moore (1963) suggested still another definition of lifestyle to bridge conceptual and operational interpretations of the term closely approximating those which have come into current use.

The term "life style" suggests a patterned way of life into which [people] fit various products, events or resources. It suggests that consumer purchasing is an interrelated, patterned phenomenon products are bought as part of a "life style package".

A persistent thread through the marketing literature is the notion that lifestyle involves characteristic patterns of behavior (Andreasen 1967; Bernay 1971; Lazer 1963; Moore 1963; Myers and Gutman 1974). Berkman and Gilson's (1978) definition is only one of several contemporary interpretations of lifestyle but is representative.

Lifestyle may be defined as combined patterns of behavior that both determine and are determined by consumption. The term "unified patterns of behavior" refers to behavior in its broadest sense. Attitude formation and other types of subjective activity are not readily observable, but are behaviors nonetheless. Lifestyle is an integrated system of attitudes, values, opinions and interests as well as overt behavior.

"Lifestyle segmentation" has been a useful concept for marketing and advertising planning purposes (Wells and Tigert, 1977; Kaynak and Kara, 1996). Lifestyle, of course, has been defined simply as "how one lives". In marketing, "lifestyle", however, describes the behavior of individuals, a small group of interacting people, and large groups of people (e.g. market segments) acting as potential consumers. Thus, the concept of the lifestyle represents a set of ideas quite distinct from that of personality. The lifestyle relates to the economic level at which people live, how they spend their money, and how they allocate their time (Anderson and Golden, 1984). Lifestyle segmentation research measures people's activities in terms of:

• How they spend their time;

• What interests they have and what importance they place on their immediate surroundings;

• Their views of themselves and the world around them; and

• Some basic demographic characteristics.

The most widely used approach to lifestyle measurements has been activities, interests, and opinions (AlO) rating statements (Wells and Tigert, 1977). The focus of marketers and consumer researchers has generally been on identifying the broad trends that influence how consumers live, work, and play. It allows a population to be viewed as distinct individuals with feeling and tendencies, addressed in compatible groups (segments) to make more efficient use of mass media. In general, researchers tend to equate psychographic with the study of lifestyles. Psychographic research is used by market researchers to describe a consumer segment so as to help an organization better reach and understand its customers. Hence, lifestyle patterns provide broader, more three dimensional views of consumers so that marketers can think about them more intelligently. The basic premise of lifestyle research is that the more marketers know and understand about their customers, the more effectively they can communicate with and serve them (Kaynak and Kara, 1996).

In 1996, Mary Douglas introduced a life style theory. Four different sub-cultures stem from this theory; these are: competition and individualism; isolation and avoidance of social controls; equity and negotiation; and hierarchical communities. Moreover, Thomas Hojrup introduced a similar concept of life-mode in his book "State, Culture, and Life-Modes: Foundations of Life Mode Analysis (2003)". He argues that our values are constrained by cultural-relational dialectics and are product of cultural life modes. He attempted to address the problem that different cultural values conflict when they are brought together. The three life modes he introduced are: self-employed life mode, wage earner life mode, and career oriented life mode.

Methodology

This chapter tends to explain the methodology that has been used to analyze people's lifestyle towards mobile phones. Nancy Costopulos, Chief Marketing Officer of the American Marketing Association, defines marketing research as follows:

"Market Research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular target market, competition, and/or environment."

Information on customers, their needs, activities, attitudes, interests and opinions often come from marketing research. Consequently, marketing research provides information, which enables managers to make decisions about how to tap these people's lifestyle to develop appropriate marketing mix: product, place, price and promotion.

The Research Process

Every research has to be done in a methodological and scientific manner for validity and reliability. The research process used for this assignment is based upon the eleven steps developed by Kothari (1990), which are as follows:

Formulating the problem

Literature survey

Developing the hypothesis

Preparing the research design

Determining the sample design

Collecting the data

Execution of the project

Analysis of data

Hypothesis testing

Generalization and interpretation

Preparation of the report

Formulating the problem

A problem which is well defined is taken to be half solved. Having reviewed some of the literature, different factors relating lifestyle have been noticed. However, the main question that one should asks here is: How do people's lifestyles affect the purchase of mobile phones in Mauritius?

Consequently, this study has been undertaken to analyze customers' lifestyles towards the purchase of mobile phones. Hence, the objectives can be framed as follows:

Do people's interests influence the purchase of mobile phones?

How opinions of people can help businesses to bring new or improve mobile phones.

Whether activities play an important role in customer's buying behavior.

Customer's attitudes towards mobile phones.

Developing the research hypothesis

Kothari (1990) believed that's that developing hypothesis "is tentative assumptions made in a view to identify and test logical or empirical consequences". Research hypothesis, which are developed, are considered to be important since they provide a sense of direction to specific parts of the study. The hypothesis formulated seems to be interesting and important in today's mobile phone industry. In regard to this study, only one hypothesis will be tested:

Hypothesis: The purchase of a mobile phone is influenced to a large extent by people's lifestyle.

It can be noticed that the purchase of a mobile phone involves complex decision making, and hence it will eventually be influenced by the lifestyle adopted by people. Thus, businesses operating in the mobile phone industry can see lifestyle as an important basis for segmenting the mobile phone.

Preparing the research design

Once the research problem has been formulated and the hypothesis has been developed, a formal research structure needs to be developed as well. As such, a research design would be a plan of action, guide in collecting and analyzing data. Moreover, it helps to identify how and where the information is collected. Thus, it is simply a blue print that is followed in completing the study.

The types of research design used for this assignment are exploratory and descriptive. In fact, the research was done through the search of statistics, trade journal articles, other articles, magazines, newspapers and books to look for data and to gain insights of the problem being studied. Major part of the literature was obtained from various books, which were consulted for some definitions so as to get a deeper insight of the subject.

Indeed, some articles were consulted from concerned websites in order to get a clearer idea on the subject. Similarly, 100 questionnaires were prepared and a face to face interview was held for the collection of the data.

Determining the sample design

A sample is a segment of the population selected to represent the population as a whole.

Sampling Plan

"Proper planning prevents poor performance" as an old saying goes. This phase ensures that what has been planned so far will be correctly implemented. Hence, an effective sampling plan calls for 3 decisions:

Sampling unit: Who is to be survey?

Sample size: How many people should be surveyed?

Sampling procedures: How the respondents should be selected?

Sampling Unit:

The sampling unit answers the question of who is going to be interviewed. For this study, people from different age group have been selected to get a fair picture. People of age 16 to above 60 years old have been interviewed. (Only those who own at least a mobile phone)

Sample Size:

How many people should be surveyed? Indeed a large sample is more likely to generate more reliable results than small samples. However, if well chosen, samples of less than 1 percent of a population can also give good reliable results. A sample size of 125 has been taken for this study and respondents are taken at random in order to ensure fairness and equity. For instances, at the university, houses, streets and so on.

Sampling procedures

For the purpose of this study we have chosen simple random sampling. This has been seen as the most appropriate sampling method as most people of different age group possess mobile phone(s) and in relation to that they are all concerned with this study.

Collecting the data

Data collection is a very crucial stage since it entails a large proportion of possible errors. "No question is asked in a social vacuum. Sometimes people give answers they think the interrogator(s) would like to hear, that they believe are socially acceptable or that they wish were the case. At times, they tell the truth (or at least their perception of it" (Deacon et al, 1997). The collection of data has been done by questionnaires through a face-to-face interview.

Questionnaire Design

A questionnaire consists simply a list of pre-determined questions whereby respondents are requested to respond to the questions. Due to its flexibility, questionnaire is seen as probably the most used instrument for collecting primary data. Therefore, questionnaire should be carefully developed, tested and debugged before they are administered to the target respondents. We can emphasize on 3 major areas to construct a good questionnaire.

Principle of wording

A combination of closed-ended and open ended questions has been developed whereby Likert scale questions have also been used to get more insights of the problem being studied. Moreover, such types of questions help in coding easily for subsequent analysis.

Principles of measurement

The principles of measurement must be followed to ensure that data collected are appropriate to test the above formulated hypothesis.

General appearance of the questionnaire

It is extremely important to lay emphasis on the layout of the questionnaire. A well designed, attractive and well-arranged set of questions, as well as response alternatives will make it easier for the respondents to answers the issues presented in the questionnaire. Moreover, it provides a sense of motivation on the part of the respondents to answer the questions in the possible way and thus help to minimize errors.

The Questionnaire

After much reference on the mobile phone market and lifestyle of Mauritius, we designed a questionnaire based on its features, characteristics and functions. The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: Section A, Section B and Section C.

Section A

The first section is the Respondent Profile section. It deals with the profile of the respondent, that is, the demographic characteristics but also geographic and income based. This section will help to identify the respondent and also to generate a basic idea about his/her lifestyle.

Section B

Section B of the questionnaire tries to focus on the specifications, characteristics, functions and preferences of the mobile phone. This will show which factors will affect the user when purchasing a mobile phone and also how his lifestyle will influence his purchase. Combining Section A and B we will be able to have a better understanding on the relationship between lifestyle and mobile phone. Also the service provider that the user chooses is based on his/her lifestyle as he/she will choose a service in which he can optimize all his needs.

Section C

The last section concentrates mostly on the opinions and views of the respondents. It tries to identify and seek what the user will want to have when purchasing a handset or any ideas that the user wish to have when purchasing a new mobile phone. So this section basically concentrates on the suggestions that the respondent will look in when choosing a mobile phone.

Pre- testing of the questionnaire

Pre-testing is one of the important aspect in questionnaire and research design. It is vital to conduct a pre -testing process of the questionnaire as this will help us to pinpoint the omissions, flaws and ambiguities before the final draft of the questionnaire is edited and drafted. For this assignment, the questionnaire has been pre-tested among 7 people.

Execution of the project

The execution of the project is controlled minutely in order for the research process to be reliable and to have a high degree of validity. The sample size has to be respected in order to ensure that it is representative. Furthermore a checklist had to be devised in order to ensure the proper running of the data collection process.

Analysis of data

Once the valid questions have been asked to the right person and once the process of collecting data were over, they needed to be analyzed. However, the data collected from the interview were raw and unmeaningful; hence they had to be converted in such a way, that they suited the context for better interpretation. The initiate behind the analysis of data were primarily performed so that they answer the research questions. For this purpose, several operation had to be conducted, the operation are as follows;

Editing

Coding

Tabulation

Editing

In most processions of data collection, errors and omission are bound to occur. Thus, editing of that questionnaire is a must in order to guarantee that the quality of raw data collected was in line with the standard that had to be set when designing the questionnaire. In addition, the editing for each questionnaire was done particularly just after the data for that questionnaire was collected so as to ensure reliability of the response. Thus, editing is a crucial process in Questionnaire design.

Coding

All answers which were collected through the questionnaire were coded using the SPSS as analytical software. For the numerous multiple choice questions, numbers were assigned to the answers so that the interviewers (we) could input them in SPSS.

Tabulation

For tabulation process, the Standard Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used to perform this operation; the data analysis must be in line with the requirement of the information needs identified at the initial phase of the research. After considering the descriptive statistic, the data were analyzed with the specific purpose of testing hypothesis.

Hypothesis Testing

Using hypothesis testing, it is possible to test the relationship between 2 independent variables. This was done using the Pearson chi-square tests. Moreover, correlation and regression analysis have also been utilized in order to determine the possible relationship between variables. Cross tabulation has also been used in developing several hypotheses.

Generalization and interpretation

Generalization and interpretation of the analyzed data has provided us with the final assumptions that can be made from the collected data through the use of hypothesis testing and also through the interpretation of findings.

Preparation of the report

It is known to be the final stage of the research process which is concerned with writing up the report in which we have used the findings supported by the results of the survey. This has helped us to analyze the lifestyles adopted by people towards mobile phones.

Problems encountered during survey

Some respondents were having problems in understanding some of the questions set. Hence being the interviewers, we had to translate the questions into Creole for some respondent due to illiteracy.

Majority of the respondents devoted much time to answer section C of the questionnaire which consists of the open-ended questions. This is because they had difficulty to express themselves in their own words.

Some of the people interviewed were very suspicious and were not willing to participate in the survey. This may be so because they were not expected to trust someone whom they did not know and had never met before. Moreover some of the questions were dealing with matters that are very sensitive, for example, income level.

One of the major constraint was finance. About 125 copies of the questionnaire had to be printed and this cost us lots of money.

Analysis of findings

Question 1

The above pie chart shows that out of 125 respondents being taken for the survey, 48% were female and the rest 52% consisted of male.

Question 2

As can be observed in the above bar chart, the majority of the respondents belong to age group 16-24 years old (44.8 %) followed by those in the age group 25-39 years old (29.6%). Moreover, the age group 40-59 consisted of 17.6% of the total respondents while the age group 60+ comprises of 8% of the respondents.

Question 3 & 8

Region * Ownership of Mobile phone(s)

Ownership of Mobile phone(s)

Total

yes

no

Region

rural

Count

53

3

56

% within Region

94.6%

5.4%

100.0%

urban

Count

63

6

69

% within Region

91.3%

8.7%

100.0%

Total

Count

116

9

125

% within Region

92.8%

7.2%

100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Exact Sig. (2-sided)

Exact Sig. (1-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

.516a

1

.473

Continuity Correctionb

.137

1

.711

Likelihood Ratio

.528

1

.467

Fisher's Exact Test

.730

.360

Linear-by-Linear Association

.512

1

.474

N of Valid Casesb

125

The hypothesis developed here was to investigate whether there is an association between respondents' region and their possession of mobile phone(s). Thus, the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis were presented as follows:

Ho: There is no association between region and ownership of mobile phone.

H1: There is association between region and ownership of mobile phone.

As can be observed in the above table, the asymptotic significance (2-sided) for Pearson Chi-Square is 0.473 which is greater than 5% (0.05), the null hypothesis should be accepted while the alternative hypothesis should be rejected. As such, there is no association between the respondents' region and their ownership of mobile phone(s).Thus it can be said that lifestyle of people in both region is more or less the same in the same line.

Symmetric Measures

Value

Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal

Phi

.064

.473

Cramer's V

.064

.473

N of Valid Cases

125

With reference to the above table, the Cramer's V statistic is 0.064 out of a possible maximum value of 1, which represents a very weak association between the region of respondents and the ownership of mobile phone(s). Moreover, the Phi value also indicates a very weak association between the 2 variables as the value of 0.064 is very close to 0. Hence, it can be deduced that whatever the region of the respondents, the possession of a mobile phone(s) is likely to be the same.

Question 7 & 19

Monthly Income * Spending on mobile phone Crosstabulation

Spending on mobile phone

Total

<1000

1001-2000

2001-4000

4001-6000

6001-8000

8001-10000

10001-15000

15001-20000

>20000

Monthly Income

<5000

Count

0

1

2

2

0

2

5

0

0

12

% within Monthly Income

.0%

8.3%

16.7%

16.7%

.0%

16.7%

41.7%

.0%

.0%

100.0%

5001-7500

Count

0

0

0

6

0

4

1

0

0

11

% within Monthly Income

.0%

.0%

.0%

54.5%

.0%

36.4%

9.1%

.0%

.0%

100.0%

7501-15000

Count

1

0

1

7

12

3

3

0

0

27

% within Monthly Income

3.7%

.0%

3.7%

25.9%

44.4%

11.1%

11.1%

.0%

.0%

100.0%

15001-25000

Count

0

0

4

6

3

1

1

0

0

15

% within Monthly Income

.0%

.0%

26.7%

40.0%

20.0%

6.7%

6.7%

.0%

.0%

100.0%

25001-45000

Count

0

1

0

4

0

0

2

1

1

9

% within Monthly Income

.0%

11.1%

.0%

44.4%

.0%

.0%

22.2%

11.1%

11.1%

100.0%

Nil

Count

3

5

9

6

12

10

3

1

2

51

% within Monthly Income

5.9%

9.8%

17.6%

11.8%

23.5%

19.6%

5.9%

2.0%

3.9%

100.0%

Total

Count

4

7

16

31

27

20

15

2

3

125

% within Monthly Income

3.2%

5.6%

12.8%

24.8%

21.6%

16.0%

12.0%

1.6%

2.4%

100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

68.247a

40

.004

Likelihood Ratio

75.405

40

.001

Linear-by-Linear Association

1.598

1

.206

N of Valid Cases

125

a. 47 cells (87.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .14.

The hypothesis developed, taking into consideration the above cross tabulation, was to investigate whether there is an association between respondents' income and the amount of money they are ready to spend on mobile phone(s). Thus, the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis were presented as follows:

Ho: There is no association between income and spending on mobile phone.

H1: There is association between income and spending on mobile phone.

As can be seen in the above table, the asymptotic significance (2-sided) for the Pearson Chi-Square is 0.004 which is less than 5% (0.05). Hence, the null hypothesis should be rejected while the alternative hypothesis should be accepted. Consequently, there is an association between income and the spending patterns of the respondents.

Strength of association

Symmetric Measures

Value

Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal

Phi

.639

.004

Cramer's V

.821

.004

N of Valid Cases

125

Bearing in mind that Cramer's V can attain a maximum of 1 and as illustrated in the above table where the Cramer's V statistic is 0.821 out of a possible maximum value of 1. Thus, it can be deduced that there is a strong association between income and the spending pattern on mobile phone(s). The Phi value of 0.639 also indicates a strong relationship between the 2 variable and as such in general we can note that respondents are likely to base themselves on their income earnings before adopting a buying behavior. Through the above results obtained, it can be deduced that lifestyle plays a major role in determining the spending on mobile phones as there exist different people with different occupation in both region using their mobile for different purposes. This is so because some people will tend to use their mobile for business purposes while others might just use it for calling purposes. Spending on mobile phone is major determinant in understanding the lifestyle of people, as those receiving huge salaries won't hesitate to spend on mobile phones compared to those who have a low income.

Question 9

Question 9 deals with the number of mobile phones that the respondents do possess. Upon observing the above pie chart we can conclude that most of the respondents from the sample taken possess only one mobile phone (65%). This means that they content themselves with only one mobile phone. While some respondents do have two mobile phones (25%) and a small proportion are planning to have one (10%) in the future. This can give us an indication about the lifestyle of the people as most of the people who responded to be having 2 mobiles tend to use one for personal use and the other one for business use.

Question 6 & 10

Occupation * Importance of mobile phone

Importance of mobile phone

Total

not important at all

slightly important

moderately important

very important

extremely important

Occupation

unemployed

Count

0

2

5

7

12

26

% within Occupation

.0%

7.7%

19.2%

26.9%

46.2%

100.0%

employed

Count

1

7

9

13

16

46

% within Occupation

2.2%

15.2%

19.6%

28.3%

34.8%

100.0%

self-employed

Count

0

3

7

1

11

22

% within Occupation

.0%

13.6%

31.8%

4.5%

50.0%

100.0%

student

Count

2

3

3

16

7

31

% within Occupation

6.5%

9.7%

9.7%

51.6%

22.6%

100.0%

Total

Count

3

15

24

37

46

125

% within Occupation

2.4%

12.0%

19.2%

29.6%

36.8%

100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

22.240a

16

.136

Likelihood Ratio

24.582

16

.078

Linear-by-Linear Association

.480

1

.488

N of Valid Cases

125

a. 14 cells (56.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .02.

Hypothesis testing

H0: There is no relationship between occupation and importance of mobile phones

H1: There is relationship between occupation and importance of mobile phones.

As illustrated in the table above, it can be found that the asymptotic significance (2-sided) for Pearson chi-square is 0.136 and is greater than 5% (0.05). Hence the null hypothesis should not be rejected. As a result, it can be constructed that there is no relationship between occupation and importance of mobile phones.

Symmetric Measures

Value

Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal

Phi

.422

.136

Cramer's V

.211

.136

N of Valid Cases

125

Cramer's V can attain a maximum value of 1. With reference to the above table, the Cramer's V statistic is 0.211 out of a possible maximum value of 1, which represents a weak relationship between occupation and importance of mobile phones. Hence we can say that no matter what occupation the respondents have but they do not consider mobile phones as a necessity.

Question 5 & 11

Relationship Status * Mobile phone usage in a day

Mobile phone usage in a day

Total

never

seldom

sometimes

often

always

Relationship Status

single

Count

0

5

4

6

22

37

% within Relationship Status

.0%

13.5%

10.8%

16.2%

59.5%

100.0%

married

Count

2

11

6

8

15

42

% within Relationship Status

4.8%

26.2%

14.3%

19.0%

35.7%

100.0%

divorced

Count

2

3

0

1

6

12

% within Relationship Status

16.7%

25.0%

.0%

8.3%

50.0%

100.0%

in a relationship

Count

0

5

5

7

15

32

% within Relationship Status

.0%

15.6%

15.6%

21.9%

46.9%

100.0%

widowed

Count

0

0

0

1

1

2

% within Relationship Status

.0%

.0%

.0%

50.0%

50.0%

100.0%

Total

Count

4

24

15

23

59

125

% within Relationship Status

3.2%

19.2%

12.0%

18.4%

47.2%

100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square

18.587a

16

.291

Likelihood Ratio

19.198

16

.259

Linear-by-Linear Association

.093

1

.760

N of Valid Cases

125

14 cells (56.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .06.

Hypothesis testing:

H0: There is no relationship between relationship status and mobile usage in a day.

H1: There is a relationship between relationship status and mobile phone usage in a day.

As can be observed in the table above, since the asymptotic significance (2-sided) for Pearson chi-square is 0.291 and which is greater than 5% (0.05), the null hypothesis should not be rejected. As such there is no association between Relationship status and mobile usage per day.

Symmetric Measures

Value

Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal

Phi

.386

.291

Cramer's V

.193

.291

N of Valid Cases

125

The fact that Cramer's V can attain a maximum value of 1 and relying on the figure obtained in the above table whereby the Cramer's V statistic is 0.193 out of a possible maximum value of 1, it can be pointed out that there is a weak relationship between relationship status of respondents and mobile usage per day. This shows that relationship status does not affect at all how many times per day the respondents are using their mobile phones.

'Look and Feel' of mobile phone

Respondents' level of importance in %

Not important at all

Slightly important

Moderately important

Very important

Extremely important

Screen

1.6

4.8

22.4

31.2

40

Size

4

8.8

27.2

36.8

23.2

Colour

3.2

2.4

36

36.8

21.6

Weight

4

6.4

34.4

30.4

24.8

Keypad

2.4

8

25.6

36.8

27.2

Design

4

3.6

31.2

35.2

24

Question 16

This question is mainly meant to determine the interests of the respondents towards the different external aspects of a mobile phone. With regards to the above figures and chart, we can easily determine that the level of importance attached by respondents. The majority of the respondents (40.0 %) believe that the screen of mobile phone is extremely important and the colour is less likely to influence people' lifestyle (21.6 %). Indeed, the design of a mobile phone plays an important role in the contribution of a person's lifestyle as 59.2 % of the respondents opt for 'very important' or 'extremely important'. The size and weight are seen as inferior factors to affect the lifestyle of people. This is probably because most cell phones do not differ much in terms of size or weight.

Question 17

Functionality of Mobile Phone

Level of Importance of respondents in %

Not important at all

Slightly important

Moderately important

Very Important

Extremely important

Memory card

2.4

3.2

23.2

27.2

44

Camera

4.8

4

26.4

34.4

30.4

Resolution

3.2

8.8

36

39.2

12.8

Flash

8

17.6

26.4

30.4

17.6

MP3 player

0.8

10.4

20

28.8

40

Video

3.2

7.2

29.6

28.8

31.2

Bluetooth

3.2

5.6

24

36.8

30.4

Social media application

12

16

25.6

25.6

20.8

Email Application

11.2

16

27.2

26.4

19.2

Games

10.4

9.6

28.8

32

19.2

Calendar/Organiser

2.4

11.2

28.8

31.2

26.4

Mobile Internet

7.2

16

26.4

30.4

20

WIFI

11.2

10.4

24.8

32

21.6

Radio FM

4.8

14.4

33.6

24.8

22.4

Document reader

36.9

27.2

18.4

12.8

4.8

Operating System

36

19.2

18.4

13.6

12.8

3G

7.2

34.4

28.8

24

5.6

This question explains the different features of mobile phone and the level of importance attached by the respondents in a view to match their lifestyle. As such, the majority of respondents (44.0 %) concluded that memory card is highest preferred feature in a mobile phone. This would be mean extending the storage capacity to save more files such as music, documents , photos, videos etc. By contrast, 3G is one of the features that seem to contribute less to a person's lifestyle as revealed by the above figures. Document reader is another feature that is less likely to be attached to the lifestyle as only 4.8 % believe that it is extremely important. Moreover, the music player can be seen as a prerequisite factor to match people's lifestyle. This will be much reflected in the lifestyle of mainly people comprising of the age group 16-24.

Question 18

Level of Importance in %

Not important at all

Slightly important

Moderately important

Very important

Extremely important

Mean

Functionality

1.6

0.8

19.2

28

50.4

4.25

Brand

2.4

11.2

25.6

37.6

23.2

3.68

Look and feel

0

10.4

29.6

33.6

26.4

3.76

Pricing

5.6

2.4

15.2

24.8

52

4.15

Question 18 deals with the extent to which respondents view functionality; brand, look and feel and pricing as factors that determine their way they live in the society. The above table and chart reveal that the functionality of mobile is the highest rated factor that people use to link their lifestyle (50.4%) and a mean of 4.25. Moreover, pricing with a mean of 4.15 is seen as the second most prominent element that determine the lifestyle of people. This is probably because people want to buy expensive mobile and newly launched mobile to better suit their lifestyle.

Question 14

The chart for ' Buying behavior of respondents' clearly shows that 26% of the respondents of this survey buy the same brand of mobile phone every time, 36% of the respondents seek the advice or trial experience of others before buying their mobile phones and 38% of the respondents just go along with the new trend of mobile phones. Most of the Mauritian mobile phone users are those who follow the trend.

Question 20

Frequency of changing mobile phone

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid

very frequently

22

17.6

17.6

17.6

occasionally

15

12.0

12.0

29.6

rarely

27

21.6

21.6

51.2

very rarely

16

12.8

12.8

64.0

never

45

36.0

36.0

100.0

Total

125

100.0

100.0

The table above shows the frequency at which the respondents change their mobile phone and percentages of how frequently they change their mobile phone. 125 respondents participated in the survey; 22 of them which is 17.6%, change their mobile phone very frequently; 15 respondents which is 12.0% change it occasionally; 27 which represents 21.6% change their mobile phone rarely; 16 which represents 12.8% change it very rarely; and 45 which is 36.0% never change their mobile phone. So it is a fact that most Mauritian mobile phone users rarely change their mobile phones as the 'rarely' option hold the highest frequency.

Question 21

This Chart shows the satisfaction level of each user with reference to their use of their mobile phone. 27% were extremely satisfied, 32% were very satisfied, 32% were satisfied, 8% were slightly satisfied and 1% not satisfied at all. This leaves us with the conclusion that most mobile phone users are clearly satisfied and the extreme satisfaction and very satisfied level holds the greatest share of the pie.

Suggestion & Recommendations

Based on the survey conducted it can be seen that in urban areas compared to the rural there is a small gap where least number of mobile phones were sold than in urban areas. Thus companies such as GOUPILLE, HM RAWAT, DRAGON ELECTRONICS selling mobiles phones should encourage people in urban areas to buy mobile phones and this could be done by promotion or they can even decentralized their selling points and setting outlets and reinforcing the marketing strategies.

Nowadays people are very concerned about technology and thus international companies such as Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony ecrisson, Siemens, Alcatel, Iphone, HTC should lay more emphasis on hi tech phones, that is, high resolution mobile phones equipped with good camera pixels, wifi services, high sensitivity touch screen. In addition according to the survey we have also seen that people tend to pay more attention to the physical product, that is, the design must be appealing and the phones could be made available in different colors.

Concerning the buying behavior it can be seen that most of the respondents opt for fashion that is following the new trend, thus companies might produce new innovative models of mobile phones that may attract new potential buyers. For example companies such as NOKIA and SONY ECRISSON have invented the transparent screen where when the screen is inactive the user can see through it.

A large percentage of those who have a mobile phone or who contemplates the purchase of one, price is their primary consideration closely followed by lifestyle and features. It would be more profitable if companies could reduce the prices of handsets and the services, as this would contribute to an increase in the number of consumers.

It has been noticed that mobile phone has generated new behaviors, but not as positive as everyone would have liked, for example , in classrooms , banks or hospital rooms such other places, where mobile phone would be considered a disturbance it would be good publicity for the companies if they could make the best use of their mobile without disturbing others. This could be done through sensitization campaigns where a group of individuals gives explanations and leaflets on how mobile phones could be used in a better way.

Better promotion campaign should be devised and the companies need to reposition themselves, vis a vis the persons of the higher age groups to incite them to but their products by creating a need for mobile phones. For example by persuading higher age people that mobile phone for their own security aspects.

Taking into consideration the survey, most of the respondents were aged between 16-24. Thus companies might use this segment to find out what are their requirements in order to maximize sales and produce hi tech mobile phones for the younger generation and cheap one with fewer services for the higher generation.

In Mauritius, the telecommunication industry should be liberalised, that actually not every services in hi-tech tech mobile phones are usable; this is so because our network operators do not provide those services. Thus if these operators launch these services, it will enhance the life style of all mobile users having these features in their hand sets.

Conclusion

The main objective of our research was to perform a study on how lifestyle affects the usage and purchase of mobile phone in Mauritius so as cellphone manufacturers can segment the mobile phone sector in terms of lifestyle. Hence, easily identify their markets and adapt their product according to the regime of their users. The market segmentation can determine the right target audience by following the market segmentation process and thus help a company to design an appropriate marketing strategy. Another aim of this thesis was to understand the market segmentation process and as a result being able to make an analysis based on the questionnaire conducted. With regards to the market segmentation, the different concepts within market segmentation were established. In the approach to this area, the four most commonly used types of segmentation were accounted for i.e. the demographic segmentation, the geographic segmentation, the psychographic segmentation and the behavioral segmentation. The main segmentation that we focused on was the psychographic one. In terms of psychographic, lifestyle suited best as it takes into account activities, attitudes and opinions of the users which were more appropriate in understanding the mobile phone market.

The questionnaire was designed so as to gather as much needful information as needed in a view to make our analysis more bias-proof and provide us enough data to draw accurate conclusions. The first section-The Respondent's Profile, described thoroughly the user and brought out the demographic and geographic aspect. The Mobile Survey section, showed how much importance the user holds to his or her mobile phone and different attitudes and activities to it in their daily life which is the psychographic. The last section-The Respondent's opinion is based on the views and opinions that the user has and how they can improve their usage of mobile phones. Following the completion and analysis of our questionnaire we clearly concluded that lifestyle plays a very important role in the usage of mobile phones in Mauritius. Mobile Importers and Brand Distributors can consider lifestyle as a key aspect when channeling their product throughout Mauritius as Mauritians attribute a great importance to their lifestyle when purchasing their mobile phone.

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