Consumer Needs and Motivation

Consumer behavior towards purchasing services in telecom industry is impacted by their preferences that play a vital role in maintaining organizational efficiency attained by them through implementing suitable marketing strategies (Chen, Teng, Yu & Yu, 2016). Moreover, the factors impacting consumer behavior are relied on identification of their needs along with their preference changes which persuades them to acquire products or services. Considering same, the objective of the report is to analyze the individual difference influence factors on consumer’s decision making for the Vodafone Company (Dasgupta, Southerton, Ulph & Ulph, 2016). Based on the analysis suitable recommendations will be provided to improve marketing strategies of the company in attaining better consumer retention.

Through analyzing the case study of Vodafone it is evident that there are certain individual difference factors those impact the decision making and brand switching behavior of Vodafone Consumers. From the survey conducted by “Australian Communication Media Authority’s (ACMA)” it has been revealed that more than 17% of Vodafone consumers switched their telecom brand to different service providers within the nation as the perception of the consumers was favorable towards other telecommunication brands (de Groot, Schubert & Thøgersen, 2016). Moreover, the survey also indicated that 25% of the respondents agreed on a viewpoint that they took the decision of switching to other service providers as they hold an attitude that the advertisement of other telecommunication brand’s services seems to fulfill the needs of these consumers. Such factors are considered to be the needs, attitudes, personality, learning and perception regarding Vodafone’s telecom services which also affects their consumers purchase decisions (Deval, Cronley, Mantel & Kardes, 2016).

In analyzing the consumer purchase decision making in Vodafone, it is evident that “Consumer Needs and Motivation” plays an important role in their purchase and brand switching decision to other telecom service providers. There are several motivates of the telecom company’s consumers such as conscious, unconscious, positive, negative, physiological and psychogenic that impacts consumer purchase decision making and brand switching in Vodafone. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” explains the factors those facilitate in segmenting the actual needs of consumers in Vodafone (Dootson, Johnston, Beatson & Lings, 2016). This theory identified consumers’ needs based on five priority system including needs related with survival, love, safety, esteem and self-actualization that can facilitate Vodafone in developing services as its consumers changing needs. For instance, it is revealed that Vodafone consumers are observed to indicate cognitive prices based attitude that represents the knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of the consumers with respect to Vodafone’s telecom services (East, Singh, Wright & Vanhuele, 2016). It has been identified that these consumers’ needs are focused on attaining high technology which can be compatible with newly launched mobile sets along with attaining high speed and transmission. Vodafone is facing the issue of increased brand switching among its consumers as they are not offering differentiated services to its consumers and is also facing saturation for they are not focused on mentioning effective consumer relationship marketing (Faqih & Jaradat, 2015).

Consumer Personality and Self Concept

The case analysis of Vodafone also revealed that “Consumer Personality and Self Concept” also has a vital role in persuading the purchase decision along with brand switching decisions of the consumers. Personalities of consumers are observed to impact inner differences long with impacting their attitude and behavior towards purchasing the company’s services. The products and services offered by Vodafone are employed by its target consumers to improve their self-images and based on such factors; the telecom company generates brand personality like traits to attain positive purchase intention among them (Hsiao, Chang & Tang, 2016). For instance, the “Freudian Theory” of consumer personality indicated that the unconscious needs of Vodafone consumers are intended to impact human motivation and personality towards telecommunication brand. For instance, in case of Vodafone market research revealed that certain personality traits those are attained by Vodafone consumers include need for uniqueness, need for cognition, consumer innovativeness and locus of control (Hudson, Huang, Roth & Madden, 2016). For example, Consumers of Vodafone are abiding by the belief that the tariff plans of Vodafone are old and the roaming services on the pre-paid cards are not that highly utilized. Network serves as the major factor for consumer dissatisfaction among the Vodafone consumers is regarding its network services and majority of respondents have recommended increasing number of towers in attaining better network coverage. Through observing such scenario, it can be stated that the Vodafone consumers indicate the trait of consumer innovativeness in which the success of the company’s new products is deemed to depend on the adoption of such products by the innovators (Karimi, Papamichail & Holland, 2015).

Based on such consumer behavior trait observed among Vodafone consumers, the company’s marketers have developed a measurement scales those can access the level of consumer innovativeness. As per the “Consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence” factor, the consumers of Vodafone tend to select services of the company in order to improve their image in front of others (Katz, Lazarsfeld & Roper, 2017). These consumers are also deemed to have the willingness to confirm their expectations attained from others along with observing others in order to fit into their social groups. Based on such factor, it can be stated that in case Vodafone marketers does not develop persuasive communications that can recognise all its services brad value in supporting its consumers to fit into their social group, they are likely to shift their telecom service providers (Kulviwat, Zhang, Fan & Zheng, 2016).

Perception

From analysing the case study of Vodafone it has also been evident that “Perception” is another important factor in analysing consumer as an individual. This factor indicates the Vodafone consumers sensory process impacts their product purchase and brand shifting behaviour. This factor elucidates that the consumers of the telecom service company conducts internal and external search through scanning their memory for stored information that is relevant to their purchase situation under consideration (Lin & Lu, 2015). For instance, the Vodafone subscribers analyse the tariffs, network coverage along with certain other parameters along with attains detailed information regarding the services offered by Vodafone and other telecom service providers. Based on such search the target consumers select the service that best suits the needs of them. “Sensation with Differential Threshold Applications” indicates that the product improvements are highly detrimental to the consumers of Vodafone (Minton & Kahle, 2016). Based on such findings, the marketers of Vodafone employ “Weber’s Law” in carrying price based on quality; ratio ingredient and service attribute mixes. For instance, from analysing the existing consumer market of the telecom service company it is evident that Vodafone being a cellular service provider attempt to be innovative in offering value added services to all its subscribers to avoid the issue of increased brad switching. Such innovation is based on a perception that if the demand for its services is increasing then the telecom service users of Vodafone will exceed the limit of land line subscribers (Nguyen, de Leeuw & Dullaert 2018). Extensive research on consumer purchases behaviour among the Vodafone consumers in Australia, it is gathered that subnormal advertising can cause positive behavioural changes among consumers that includes specific stimuli that needs attention to be processed (Onel & Mukherjee, 2015). Selective attention of the consumers in Australian telecom industry s majorly focused on advertising with unique colour, humour based brand positioning and size and position of print media. These perceptions must be considered by Vodafone in increasing purchase intention among its target consumers (Kwasnicka, Dombrowski, White & Sniehotta, 2016).

Another major factor of individual difference influence factors that impacts Vodafone consumers’ decision making regarding purchasing or brand switching is “Learning and Consumer Involvement”. As per this factor analysis it has been observed that each consumer segment of Vodafone goes through the prices by which they attain purchase and consumption knowledge along with relevant experience that they apply in their future purchasing behaviour for Vodafone services (Shareef, Dwivedi & Rana, 2015). There are four aspects of consumer learning such as motivation, cues, response and reinforcement based on which they decide to acquire telecom services from Vodafone or shift their brand. Moreover, physical, symbolic and affective learning behaviours imposed by Vodafone consumers decide their response towards purchase intentions. For instance, in case of Vodafone he consumers those have tined desired benefits from telecom and network services offered by the company are likely to repeat their purchases. On the other hand, when the consumers of Vodafone do not find the tariffs or services to be satisfying anymore to their needs they tend to shift brand those are offering value added telecommunication services (Solomon et al., 2017). Based on such behavior indicated by Vodafone Consumers, the company must focus on providing them increased learning regarding their new services through coupons, free samples, survive or producer demonstrations along with communicating innovative slogans to attain positive purchase reactions from its consumers (Wang, Li, Li & Zhang, 2016).

Based on the individual difference influence factors that impacts the consumer purchase and brand switching decision making in Vodafone, certain effective recommendations related with improving marketing strategies of Vodafone are provided under:

• From analyzing the consumer behavior towards Vodafone, it is revealed that Vodafone consumers are observed to indicate cognitive prices based attitude that represents the knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of the consumers with respect to Vodafone’s telecom services. It has been identified that these consumers’ needs are focused on attaining high technology which can be compatible with newly launched mobile sets along with attaining high speed and transmission. The targeting and market segmentation strategy of Vodafone is recommended to implement a multi-consumer segmentation approach along with offering a series of differentiated telecom services to their respective market. The company must target the consumers those have preferences for using home calling cards. The target market will be the families of those professionals those are working abroad. Another target consumer segment can be the small users for those small recharge and very cheap priced calling cards will be made available. Moreover, for youth and circle users consumer segment, Vodafone must use cheap SMS facilities along with other differentiated telecom services as over their needs.
• Based on the analysis of individual difference factors affecting purchase and brand switching behavior of Vodafone consumers, the company is recommended to rebrand all its stores along with increasing mass media coverage. In addition, Vodafone is also recommended to develop innovative distribution to reach the consumers that include introducing exclusive shops, stub and spoke along with associate distributions. Consumer service of Vodafone must also be more effective through introducing more shopping and all centers, vans and help desks in dealing with brand switching intention of consumers.
• The individual difference influence factors such as the needs, attitudes, personality, learning and perception regarding Vodafone’s telecom services affects their consumers purchase decisions. Based on such factors, certain effective recommendations are provided to Vodafone in improving its marketing mix strategies in order to attain an increase in its target consumer base. The telecom company is recommended to develop products and services based on consumers’ emotional resonance for the services. For instance, the telecom company can have a central role in developing new digital services those are hitting consumer trends. This can include launch of Guardian, cloud, discover, Joyn and protect. The new products recommended for Vodafone to be introduced in the market includes offering customized calling packages based on each consumer’s needs.
• Vodafone is also recommended to modify its marketing strategy focused on place of its telecom service distribution through increasing its number of owned stores along with selling services through independent retailers, for instance, the Car phone warehouse. The telecom company must also consider offering its services in a way that its target consumers are capable of seeing and handling products those are considering to purchase. The service provider in the Vodafone stores must also ensure that the needs of Vodafone consumers are aligned with the right product along with explaining to them several other options available.
• Vodafone is also recommended to make all its services offered easily assessable to all its major consumer segments including young, through apprentices, high powered business executives and the highly matured users. The company must also offer different pricing structures that are suitable to affordability of different targeted consumer groups. Monthly price plans must also be made available by the telecom company long with offering repay options. In addition, the service users of Vodafone must also be made sure that they can recharge their phone through different online payment applications. Vodafone Australia can also consider offering “Nectar Reward Points” for each AUD $ 1 spent on the calls and text messages.
• From the consumer behavior analysis on Vodafone carried above, it has also been observed that Vodafone is facing the issue of increased brand switching among its consumers as they are not offering differentiated services to its consumers and is also facing saturation for they are not focused on mentioning effective consumer relationship marketing and promotion. Considering such issue Vodafone is recommended to modify its promotional strategy as per its target consumer’s preferences in attaining consumer’s attention and for persuading them to purchase the company’s telecom services.
• Vodafone is recommended to redesign its promotional strategy in a way that all its stores, projects and staff project its brand image. In addition, the telecom company must also develop special offers along with point-of-sale provisional posters in order to attract attention of the target consumers those are within the stores to acquire their offerings. The telecom organization must also focus on developing effective public relations through sending press releases through the national newspapers along with local magazines those will explain all its new ideas and products to the target consumers. In addition, Vodafone can also redevelop its brand positioning statement to communicate that “The company’s values consumers above everything and also aspires to make their lives richer, fulfilled as well as connected”. Developing effective partnership skills along with focusing on consumer user groups along with embracing the internet services can facilitate Vodafone to strive well within changing competitive marketplace.

Conclusion

The objective of the report was to analyze the individual difference influence factors on consumer’s decision making for the Vodafone Company. It is gathered from the report that it has been revealed that Vodafone consumers switched their telecom brand to different service providers within the nation as the perception of the consumers was favorable towards other telecommunication brands. Moreover, the survey also indicated that consumers agreed on a viewpoint that they took the decision of switching to other service providers as they hold an attitude that the advertisement of other telecommunication brand’s services seems to fulfill the needs of these consumers. Based on such findings, Vodafone is recommended to rebrand all its stores along with increasing mass media coverage. The new products recommended for Vodafone to be introduced in the market includes offering customized calling packages based on each consumer’s needs. The telecom company is recommended to develop products and services based on consumer’s emotional resonance for the services.

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