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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Quadrant Televentures Ltd (formerly known as HFCL(Himachal Futuristic Communications

Limited) Infotel Ltd) has developed a vast base for manufacturing indigenous telecom

equipment in India.It is a "Total Telecom Solutions Provider" offering Fixed Line telephony

(Telephone Services), Mobile telephony, Broadband Services, Customized Data Services and

Value Added Services. It started with manufacturing Transmission Equipment and soon

expanded its product portfolio to manufacture Access Equipment, Optical Fiber Cable,

Accessories and Terminal Equipment. It also provides turnkey solutions for setting up various

types of telecom networks.It provides turnkey services to various

telecom operators and public enterprises such as the Indian Railways, Ministry of Defence and

other government departments. It has established a diverse customer base.

Quadrant Televentures Limited provides a world class telecom experience when it comes to

technology, products, customer services, Launched in Punjab in the year 2000 under the Connect

brand name. Infotel has set up state-of-the-art networks with coverage in over 200 towns of

Punjab with an extensive optical fiber network coverage of over 4,000 km. Today, Infotel is one

of Punjab's leading private sector telecommunication service providers with an aggregate

customer base of 5,10,263 as on 31st Dec 09.

QTL Broadband network supports interactive multi media services, and can handle high quality

content, high speed internet access and a large number of interactive applications including B2B

and B2C e-commerce.They understand the importance of delivering quality products and

services to nurture long lasting relationships with thier customers. It is thierendeavour to create

significant value for all the stakeholders associated with the company. They truly believe in

fundamentals of accountability and transparency and will continue to strive for the highest

corporate standards thereby ensuring value creation for all.

Infotel Broadband network supports interactive multi media services, and can handle high

quality content, high speed internet access and a large number of interactive applications.

Now at present CONNECT had been combined with the brand VIDEOCON in the recent time.

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1.1.1 Products and Services:

1.Voice Services: These include

Fixedline Telephony

Mobile Telephony

ISDN

Centrex

Telemeet(Audio Conference Service)

2.Data& Internet Services: These include

Mailing Solutions

Leased Lines

ISDN

Videomeet(Video Conferencing)

Customised Solutions

Highlights:

October 2000 Launch of Telecom services in Punjab

January 2001 Launch of Internet services

February 2001 Launch of Limited mobility CDMA services

July 2004 Launch of Broadband data services

October 2005 Test Launch of Triple play services

September 2007 Launch of Ping Mobile

April 2010 Launch of GSM services

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1.1.2 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Table 1.1 Board of Directors

No. Name of the Directors Designation

1 Mr. BrijmohanLallMunjal Chairman & Whole-time Director

2 Mr. PawanMunjal Managing Director

3 Mr. Toshiaki Nakagawa Jt. Managing Director

4 Mr. Takao Eguchi Whole-time Director

5 Mr. SatyanandMunjal Non-executive Director

6 Mr. Om PrakashMunjal Non-executive Director

7 Mr. TatsuhiroOyama Non-executive Director

8 Mr. Masahiro Takedagawa Non-executive Director

9 Mr. NarinderNathVohra Non-executive & Independent Director

10 Mr. PradeepDinodia Non-executive & Independent Director

11 Gen.(Retd.) Ved Prakash Malik Non-executive & Independent Director

12 Mr. Analjit Singh Non-executive & Independent Director

13 Dr. Pritam Singh Non-executive & Independent Director

14 Ms. ShobhanaBhartia Non-executive & Independent Director

15 Dr. Vijay LaxmanKelkar Non-executive & Independent Director

1.1.3 Awards and achievements

Voted ‘the businessman of the year’ in a poll conducted by the times of India – tens,

December 2006

Voted the ‘best role model’ among business leaders in the biannual mood of the nation

poll conducted by India today magazine, august 2006

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Conferred ‘the CEO of the year 2004’ in the Platt global energy awardsconferred 'the

entrepreneur of the decade award' by the Bombay management association, October 2002

Awarded the first Wharton Indian alumni award by the Wharton India economic forum in

recognition of his contribution to the establishment of connect as a global leader in many

of its business areas, December 2001

Selected by Asia week magazine for its list of 'leaders of the millennium in business and

finance' and was introduced as the only 'new hero' in business and finance from India,

June 1999.

1.2 BRAND AWARENESS

Brand awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is

correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed usually as a percentage of the target

market, brand awareness is the primary goal ofadvertising in the early months or years of

a product's introduction.

Brand awareness is related to the functions of brand identities in consumers’ memory and can be

reflected by how well the consumers can identify the brand under various conditions. Brand

awareness includes brand recognition and brand recall performance. Brand recognition refers to

the ability of the consumers to correctly differentiate the brand they previously have been

exposed to. This does not necessarily require that the consumers identify the brand name.

Instead, it often means that consumers can response to a certain brand after viewing its visual

packaging images. Brand recall refers to the ability of the consumers to correctly generate and

retrieve the brand in their memory.

1.2.1 Importance

Awareness, attitudes, and usage (AAU) metrics relate closely to what has been called the

Hierarchy of Effects, an assumption that customers progress through sequential stages from lack

of awareness, through initial purchase of a product, to brand loyalty." In total, these AAU

metrics allow companies to track trends in customer knowledge and attitudes.

Although the hierarchy of effects is considered as a one-way linear relationship, these three

stages are not “clear-cut”. The causal link might be reversed. The usage could cause the

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awareness while the attitudes can also influence the awareness. For example, one owned a Dell

wireless mouse and had excellent using experience. Such experience might determine the one’s

favorite brand attitude toward Dell

Brand awareness plays a major role in a consumer’s buying decision-making process. During

this process, the category need is stimulated first. For example, you need to do food shopping.

You will only write down the food categories, like chocolate, instead of brand names on your

list. You will scan the packages of chocolate on the shelf and recognize different brands. Such

recognition might be based on the knowledge of an acquaintance or friend having used the

product in the past or constant advertisement. In this situation, brand awareness does not require

brand recall because brand awareness may occur along with brand recognition. However, in

other situations, brand recall is required. For instance, you are in a hurry and want to grab a bite

at a fast-food restaurant. It is not possible for you to drive around and make a decision. You need

to retrieve different fast-food brands in your memory, choose one and go there directly. In this

situation, constant advertisement is important in consumers’ memory retrieval because the

consumers are willing to go to the first brand that can be recalled.

The eventual goal of most businesses is to make profits and increase sales. Businesses intend to

increase their consumer pool and encourage repeat purchases. Apple is a brilliant example of

how there is a very high recognition of the brand logo and high anticipation of a new product

being released by the company. An iPod is the first thing that pops into our minds when we think

of purchasing an mp3 player. iPod is used as a replaceable noun to describe an mp3 player.

Finally, high brand awareness about a product suggests that the brand is easily recognizable and

accepted by the market in a way that the brand is differentiated from similar products and other

competitors. Brand building also helps in improving brand loyalty

1.2.2 Channels of Brand Awareness

There are many ways to generate brand awareness in the consumers. Listed below are four such

channels

Advertising is the activity or profession of producing information for promoting the sale of

commercial products or services.Advertising is used through various media to generate brand

awareness within consumers. They can be aired as radio ads, television commercials, internet

etc.

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Guerrilla Marketing creative campaigns allow every small firm to compete with bigger firms

by carving out narrow but profitable niches. Nowadays, big firms also use guerrilla marketing to

catch consumers’ attention at low cost. These tactics include (1) extreme specialization, (2)

aiming every effort at favourably impressing the customers, (3) providing service that goes

beyond the customers' expectations, (4) fast response time, (5) quick turnaround of jobs, and (6)

working hours that match the customer's requirements. The term 'Guerrilla Marketing' is a

registered trademark of author Jay Levinson who popularized it through his several 'Guerrilla'

books

It is an out of the ordinary way of marketing a product. Low-cost channels can be utilised to

generate a high level of interest in the product and create brand awareness. Utilisation of

personal contacts is the most popular way of guerrilla marketing. Product Placement is an

advertising technique used by companies to subtly promote their products through a non-

traditional advertising technique, usually through appearances in film, television, or other media.

A formal agreement between the product manufacturer and a media company can be generated

through which the media company also receives an economic benefit, usually in the form of a

fee. The media company in return will showcase the product through any of the various means

they have available to make the brand stand out. Some people, however, consider product

placement to be deceptive and unethical.

For example, Coca-Cola could pay a given fee to have the title character drinking a Coke, instead

of a Pepsi beverage, or Toyota might pay to have one of the characters drive their newest

automobile. Through product placement, companies hope that moviegoers will take note of the

products used by the characters, and therefore think more strongly about using the products

themselves. Social Media is the most contemporary and cost-effective way of creating a brand

awareness with an online audience. Many companies use social media like Facebook, YouTube,

blogs etc.

1.3 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they

use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and

the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.It blends elements

from psychology,sociology, social anthropology, marketing and economics. It attempts to

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understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups such as

how emotions affect buying behaviour. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such

as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also

tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups,

and society in general.

Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer playing

the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Research has shown that consumer behaviour is

difficult to predict, even for experts in the field.Relationship marketing is an influential asset for

customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of

marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater

importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management,

personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be categorized

into social choice and welfare functions

Consumer behavior refers to the mental and emotional process and the observable behavior of

consumers during searching, purchasing and post consumption of a product or service.Consumer

behavior involves study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. It

blends the elements from psychology, sociology, socio psychology, anthropology and

economics. It also tries to assess the influence on the consumer from groups such as family,

friends, reference groups and society in general.

Buyer behavior has two aspects: the final purchase activity visible to any observer and the

detailed or short decision process that may involve the interplay of a number of complex

variables not visible to anyone.

1.3.1 FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR

Consumer buying behavior is influenced by the major three factors:

1. Social Factors

2. Psychological Factors

3. Personal Factors

1. Social Factors

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Social factors refer to forces that other people exert and which affect consumers’ purchase

behavior. These social factors can include culture and subculture, roles and family, social class

and reference groups.

Example: By taking into consideration Reference group, these can influence/ affect the consumer

buying behavior. Reference group refers to a group with whom an individual identifies herself/

himself and the extent to which that person assumes many values, attitudes or behavior of group

members. Reference groups can be family, school or college, work group, club membership,

citizenship etc.

Reference groups serve as one of the primary agents of consumer socialization and learning and

can be influential enough to induce not only socially acceptable consumer behavior but also

socially unacceptable and even personal destructive behavior. For example, if fresher student

joins a college / university, he/she will meet different people and form a group, in that group

there can be behavior patterns of values, for example style of clothing, handsets which most of

group member prefer or even destructive behavior such as excessive consumption of alcohol, use

of harmful and addictive drugs etc. So, according to how an individual references him / her to

that particular reference group, this will influence and change his/her buying behavior

2. Psychological Factors

These are internal to an individual and generate forces within that influence her/his purchase

behavior. The major forces include motives, perception, learning, attitude and personality.

Example: Attitude is an enduring organization of motivational, emotional, perceptual and

cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of our environment. Consumers form attitude

towards a brand on the basis of their beliefs about the brand. For example, consumers of Sony

products might have the belief that the products offered by Sony are durable; this will influence

those customers to buy Sony products due to this attitude towards the brand.

3. Personal Factors

These include those aspects that are unique to a person and influence purchase behavior. These

factors include demographic factors, lifestyle, and situational factors.

Example: Lifestyle is an indicator of how people live and express themselves on the basis of

their activities, interests, and opinions. Lifestyle dimension provide a broader view of people

about how they spend their time the importance of things in their surroundings and their beliefs

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on broad issues associated with life and living and themselves. This is influenced by

demographic factors and personality.

A CEO or Manager is likely to buy more formal clothes, ties and shoes or PDAs and less

informal clothes like jeans as compared to a Mechanic or Civil engineer. So according to their

lifestyle and profession, the buying behavior of people differs from one another.

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Figure : 1.1Factors Influencing Behavior

1.3.2 CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS

Consumer buying decision process is the processes undertaken by consumer in regard to a

potential market transaction before, during and after the purchase of a product or service.

Consumer decision making process generally involves five stages:

Problem Recognition

Purchase decision making process begins when a buyer becomes aware of an unsatisfied need or

problem. This is the vital stage in buying decision process, because without recognizing the need

or want, an individual would not seek to buy goods or service.

There are several situations that can cause problem recognition, these include:

Depletion of stock

Dissatisfaction with goods in stock

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Environmental Changes

Change in Financial Situation

Marketer Initiated Activities

It’s when a person recognizes that she cannot make a call from her mobile phone that’s when she

recognizes that her phone has been damaged i.e. the phone has hardware problems and needs to

be repaired or buying a new piece.

1. Information Search

After the consumer has recognized the need, he / she will try to find the means to solve that need.

First he will recall how he used to solve such kind of a problem in the past, this is called nominal

decision making. Secondly, a consumer will try to solve the problem by asking a friend or goes

to the market to seek advice for which product will best serve his need, this is called limited

decision making. Sources of information include:

Personal sources

Commercial Sources

Public sources

Personal experience

2. Alternatives Evaluation

Consumers’ evaluates criteria refer to various dimension; features, characteristics and benefits

that a consumer desires to solve a certain problem. Product features and its benefit is what

influence consumer to prefer that particular product. The consumer will decide which product to

buy from a set of alternative products depending on each unique feature that the product offers

and the benefit he / she can get out of that feature.

3. Purchase Action

This stage involves selection of brand and the retail outlet to purchase such a product. Consumer

usually prefers a nearby retail outlet for minor shopping and they can willingly go to a far away

store when they purchase items which are of higher values and which involve higher sensitive

purchase decision. After selecting where to buy and what to buy, the consumer completes the

final step of transaction by either cash or credit.

4. Post-Purchase Actions

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Consumer favorable post-purchase evaluation leads to satisfaction. Satisfaction with the

purchase is basically a function of the initial performance level expectation and perceived

performance relative to those expectations. Consumer tends to evaluate their wisdom on the

purchase of that particular product. If the consumer’s perceived performance level is below

expectation and fail to meet satisfaction this will eventually cause dissatisfaction, and so the

brand and/ or the outlet will not be considered by the consumer in the future purchases.

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Figure 1.2Consumer Behavior Process

1.3.3 BRANDING’S INFLUENCE ON CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOR

The preceding section of this literature reviewed has sought to define the term branding and

explain its functions and values as an instrumental marketing tool used in attaining differential

and competitive advantage.

The following section of this literature review will seek to enlighten the impact branding has on

the consumer decision-making process.

First however, one must gain clear insight into the definition of consumer buying behavior in

order to understand the impact branding has on it. In defining “consumer buying behavior”, one

may refer to Assael (1987) who distinguishes four types of consumer buying behaviors. He bases

these four consumer types on the varying degrees of involvement and the degree of

differentiation amongst the brands in question.

Consumers who are described as displaying complex buying behavior will expand their beliefs

regarding a particular product as a starting point. This stage will eventually lead them to develop

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positive attitudes regarding the product. These intermediary stages lead them to the final stage of

their behavioral pattern, where they consciously make the choice of purchasing the product.

Referring to the Assael’s model; one will notice this type of consumer engages in highly

involved purchasing experiences being fully aware of the range of brands available and their

levels of differentiation.

1.3.4 IMPACT ON THE CONSUMER LEARNING PROCESS

At its most basic definition, one can define the consumer learning process as being a time period

in which a customer is heavily exposed to the branding process of a product or service. The

branding process can include any aspect of the promotional strategy, including audio/visual

forms of promotion. By learning from this information, whether it is a conscious process or not,

the consumer will develop strong feelings towards a brand. For marketers, branding has a vital

effect on the learning process, because it is self-growing. Once consumers start to purchase

product, others will vicariously learn from them. Vicarious learning is when consumers begin to

copy the behavioral patterns of their peers by making changes in their own lives to reflect what

they have “vicariously” learnt.

In searching for a more academic view on consumer learning, one can understand the process as

modifications to a consumer’s behavioral patterns that are the direct consequence of either past

experiences or information gathered during all aspects of the purchase decision-making process.

These modifications are caused by information that has essentially been saved as a set of

meaningful associations in the consumer’s mind. These above-mentioned associations provide

the consumer with link to the brand image of offerings in respects to the promotional tools used

to further this brand image. These tools include both physical characteristics of the product as

well as pricing policies. All the elements that are retained by the consumer stem from what they

have been exposed to during their individual learning process. This is ultimately, what will shape

their views and attitudes in regards to brands.

It has been found that the learning process discussed above acts as a catalyst in creating

emotional and evaluating responses. These responses are embedded in the consumer’s memory

span, which will be recalled when faced with a purchase decision-making process. Thus,

understanding the learning process is the key to marketers who seek to efficiently use

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promotional methods to influence consumers, because the imprints they create in the mind of

consumer will later on be recalled when selecting a product or brand

1.3.5 IMPACT ON CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION OF BRANDS

One may refer to Foxall (1980), where Engel defines perception as “the process whereby stimuli

are received and interpreted by the individual and translated into a response”. At this point, it is

important to note that this process is unique to each individual, asperception is highly dependent

on a consumer’s individual beliefs structure.

Perception is crucial in the decision-making process. In a market where branding is used,

products are no longer only purchased for their functional characteristics, but primarily for the

social or in some cases, psychological identity they express.

Building on these concepts, One can elaborate on these concepts by outlining two determinants

that influence a consumer’s perception of brands. These two factors are stimulus discrimination

and stimulus generalization.

Whether a consumer has the ability to “discriminate” between the various methods used to

stimulate a consumer? When a customer is introduced to a brand, whether this is done via

advertising, packaging, word of mouth marketing or any other form of stimuli that affected them

during their decision-making process, their levels of awareness of the brand will gradually

increase via their ability to learn. Once their level of brand awareness has increased, their

purchase decision-making process will be influenced by their perception of the brand in question.

The perception of brands is crucial to both the marketer and the customer. If one considers that

frequency of purchases varies from consumer to consumer, one can understand that the influence

of perception is vital. By providing relevant information for the consumer market, marketers

enable the creation of symbolic links between the consumer and the brand image. Thus,

consumers will have the relevant tools needed to distinguish between the brands on offer and

therefore be persuaded in their selection. In the event that a consumer is a new user with no

product experience, he or she will not be able to make relevant decisions based on the actual

product. Thus, the brand image again, becomes vital in directing the consumer to a specific

product.

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In order to better understand the relevance of branding on the consumer purchase decision

making process, four key factors that are responsible for directing a potential consumer towards

a particular brand are referred.

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Table 1.2Key Factors Directing Consumer Towards Brand

Perceived Quality In time, consumer will have faith in a brand’s integrity

via their perceived quality of the brand in question

Building Excellent Service When a company implements excellent after service

sales, this endorses the perceived quality of the brand

and facilitates activities in the pre and post purchase

moments of the decision-making process. As discussed

previously, this is key in the creation of loyal customers

Standing Out in the Consumer’s By striving to differentiate one’s brand from another,

companies hope to become embedded in the user’s

culture and mind. This is the most effective way to

insure consumers positively perceive the brand and

product. This eventually leads to extremes forms of

competitive advantage

Investing in Differential

Markets

When one seeks to establish a brand, it is essential to

select a market in which it is possible to create

differentiation. Otherwise, the concepts of branding will

not be possible.

Brands have a large impact on the perceived risks consumers associate with the consumer

purchase decision-making process. There to be six risks that are perceived by consumers during

all aspects of the decision-making process and further outlines how brands can appease the

consumer’s mind in regards to these perceived risks.

The first perceived risk a consumer might encounter is one of a functional nature. The consumer

might worry whether the product will meet his or her expectations. In the creation of a

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trustworthy brand, marketers seek to raise the level of perceived quality in order to specifically

address this risk.

Consumer might also perceive a physical and/or psychological risk that might dissuade them

from continuing the purchasing decision-making process.

A fourth possible risk that might be perceived by the consumer is one of an economic nature.

Price sensitive consumers will question whether the product is in fact properly valued at the

quoted asking price. Again, marketers will strive to counter this by highlighting the perceived

value of a product in the branding process. If properly done, consumer can become price

insensitive by forming a strong bond to a brand and therefore isolating him or herself from

competitors.Socially speaking, a fifth risk a consumer might perceived to be detrimental to the

buying process is whether his or her selection of a brand will cause embarrassment in a social

setting, amongst his or her peers. Marketers address this issue in the creation of the brand image.

By emulating current market trends and fashions, marketers strive to identify and differentiate

their products as being the selected choice of revered people. Yet another economic risk

consumer might consider, is the opportunity cost of seeking out alternative products, and should

the selected one fail to satisfy their needs and wants. Reflected in a loyal consumer base, is a

brands ability to deliver on the satisfaction guarantee. Thus, one can understand that branding is

the key in addressing this issue in the consumer’s mind.

1.3.6 IMPACT ON CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS BRANDS

An attitude can be considered to be either positive or negative, depending on the outcome of

their learning and evaluating process.

The evaluation of consumer attitudes towards brands has quickly become a major part in

conducting marketing research. The development of positive attitudes towards brands can lead to

not only the sustaining of competitive advantage, but in the bettering of the financial health of a

company.

Branding has been found to be a key in formation of positive attitudes towards products,

especially those involving low-levels of consumer involvement. However it has been noted that

there are factors that might negate the effects of the formation of positive attitudes. One being

that the effects of positive attitudes can dissipate should the consumer not purchase the product

within a certain timeframe. Another factor that might negate the effects of positive attitudes

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might be an overtly high pricing policy, which might have a contrary effect to the consumer’s

positive attitudes towards the brand and result in a non sale.

In considering attitudes towards brands, one must ponder whether these attitudes all remain at a

conscious level, or whether branding can instigate attitudes at a sub-conscious level. Sigmund

Freud’s theory that individuals are rarely aware of how their own psychology shapes their visual

behavioral patterns which suggests that at an unconscious level, consumer might have beliefs

that shape their attitudes towards products. By acknowledging Freud’s theories, one can

conclude that branding can be used to target sub-conscious desires that rest at a primal level.

1.3.7 POSITIONING

“Product positioning refers to the consumer’s perception of a product’s attribute, use, quality &

advantages & disadvantages in relation to competing brands.”

“Product positioning refers to the place an offering occupies in the consumer’s mind on

important attributes relative to competitive offerings.”

1.3.7.1 USEFULNESS OF POSITIONING

As competition intensifies & brands proliferate, consumers tend to differentiate between brands

in their own way. Positioning is a conscious attempt on the part of the marketer to accentuate this

natural tendency & in the process, impart a distinct identity to his own brand to make it stand out

among the competitors. The basis on which this differentiation is achieved reflects consumer

preferences or attitudes. The marketer, through his diverse & coordinated actions, tries to

influence this process.

The concept of positioning is also important in various other aspects of the marketing strategy.

Once one is clear about the position one wants, the other marketing decisions like product

design, packaging, pricing, method of distribution, etc., become clearer.

1.3.7.2 BRAND POSITIONING

It should be remembered that positioning is more a reflection of a product and that it stifles the

rich meaning of the brand without taking into account all its potentialities.Positioning applies to

the process of emphasizing the brands distinctive and motivating attributes in the light of

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competition.It is based on the analysis of response to the following four questions.

Why? For whom? When? Against whom?

1.3.8 ELEMENTS OF POSITIONING

Evidence has shown that there are four distinct variables that affect the position of a given

product. These are:-

a) The product itself,

b) The company behind it,

c) The competition,

1. The Product: - How important the product is or what meaning it has for the consumer & how

he relates to it. The fact that a product involves better ingredients or processes is a matter of

indifference unless this knowledge offers distinct advantages to the consumer.

2. The Company: - A product comes from a company & every company has its ownhistory.

Generally, the stronger the companies profile the better the image of its products. For

instance, consumers may perceive a better the image of a product if it comes from a reputed

house like Tata’s.

3. The Competition: - Product positioning is invariably done in relation to various competitive

offerings. In most cases, the consumers have a tendency to judge a product in comparison to

the dominant brand, e.g., all photocopiers are compared with Modi Xerox, all PCs with HCL,

toothpastes with Colgate & so on. Leading brand enjoys some edge over others.

4. The Consumer: - It should be reiterated that positioning is essentially based on consumer

perception rather than factual evaluation. Hence, it becomes necessary to examine how the

consumer views a product. Here, it becomes necessary to examine how the consumer views a

product. Here, the consumer’s self-perception comes into play along with his cognitive

factors.

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Review of Literature

Kitler (2009) studied that the central concern of brand building literature experienced a dramatic

shift in the last decade. Branding and the role of brands, as traditionally understood, were subject

to constant review and redefinition. A traditional definition of a brand was: “the name, associated

with one or more items in the product line that is used to identify the source of character of the

item”

Keller (2010) concluded that the American Marketing Association (AMA) definition of a brand

is “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the

goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of

competitors” Within this view “technically speaking, the n, whenever a marketercreates a new

name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand” .

Smith (2011) recognised that brands today are much more than that. As can be seen, according

to these definitions brands had a simple and clear function as identifiers. Before the shift in focus

towards brand s and the brand building process, brands were just another step in the whole

process of marketing to sell products. “For a long time, the brand has been treated in an off-hand

fashion as a part of the product”

Kotler (2011) mentioned that branding as “a major issue in product strategy”. As the brand was

only part of the product, the communication strategy worked towards exposing the brand and

creating brand image.

Gupta (2012) concluded thatthe standard discrete choice models prevalent in IO literature

assume that consumers are aware of all the products, and as a result those models only address

variation in the choice sets across markets (in fact, it is an important source of identification in

these models). However, there is some recent research in IO that focuses on other sources of

variation to estimate more realistic demand specifications.

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Conlon and Mortimer (2012) studied that the variation in consumer choice sets generated by

the presence of stock outs. The variation comes from the fact that consumers restrict their

attention to a subset of products before making a choice.

Manski(2013)concluded that two interpretations of the choice set are possible. First, consumers

might be unaware of the existence of some products, and their choice set consists of all the

products they are aware of. Alternatively, consumers might face cognitive costs or constraints of

having to consider a large number of products in their choice, and therefore they might restrict

their attention to a smaller subset of products before making a choice. Both interpretations have

been considered in the literature to study the effect of advertising on the consumer choice set.

Mike (2013)concluded that, " Buyer’s expectations formed on the basis of past buying

experience, friend’s & associates advice and marketers and competitor’s information and

promises. If marketers raise expectations too high, the buyer is likely to be disappointed. Even if

the company sets expectations too low, it won’t attract enoughbuyers. So the expectations should

match the performance..

Sharma and Malhotra (2013)studied that a customer is the most important person even in any

company. A customer never dependent on company, but the company dependent on him. A

customer is a person who brings company his wants. _ It is company job to handle

themprofitably to him and to company. A customer is not an interruption of marketers work he is

the purpose of it.

Jain (2014) analysed thatour premise is the customers will buy from the firm that the perceive

offers the highest customers delivered value. Customers delivered value isthe difference between

total customer value & total customer cost. Total customer value is the bundle of benefits

customers expect from a given product (or) service. Total customer cost is the bundle of costs

customers expect to incur evaluating, obtaining, using anddisposing of the product /

service.There is evidence that role incumbents with high levels of role ambiguity also respond to

their situation with anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, a sense of futility or lower self

esteem, lower levels of job involvement and organisational commitment, and perceptions of

lower performance on the part of the organisation, of supervisors, and of themselves.

24

Bhardwaj and Dutt (2014)indicated some brand strategists have distinguished between

symbolic and functional brands, i.e. brands that basically satisfy consumers’ functional or

product-related needs and brands bought to enhance self- or social esteem. It has been suggested

that brands should be positioned as either functional or symbolic but not both. However,

empirical research on the dimensionality of brand symbolism/functionality has been lacking. In

this study, scales were developed to assess a brand’s symbolic or functional association with

consumers. Subsequent data analysis suggests that brand symbolism and functionality are

separate phenomena and, further, that symbolism comprises two dimensions, termed prestige and

personality expression. Thus, contrary to current thinking, it seems that brands can be

successfully positioned as both symbolic and functional and, if a symbolic brand concept is

desired, prestige or upscaleness is just one of the possible positioning options available.Lack of

participation in the decision making process, lack of effective consultation and communication,

unjustified restrictions on behaviour, office politics and no sense of belonging are identified as

potential sources of stressors.

Ramswamy and Namakumari (2014)analyzed that “concern for the consumer is the essence of

the marketing concept. As such when a firm practices the marketing concept, it automatically

takes full care of the interest of the consumer and there is no need or scope for the consumers to

get organized in their defense. In fact when a firm practices the marketing concept, the attempts

if any, by interest groups to fight the firm and its products will fizzle out quickly, since

consumers at large would reject any accusation against the firm and its products. Only because

several firms functioned against the tenets of the marketing concept, consumerism gained

ground. That is why Drucker said that ‘ Consumerism is the shame of marketing’ if marketing is

practiced as per the marketing concept, the very motive for consumerism will disappear. A firm

practicing the marketing concept would not only be sensitive to consumer attitudes, but would

also anticipate these attitudesand adjust its marketing accordingly; and it would proceed on the

assumption that what is good for the consumer is good for the firm. Such an approach would

evidently remove the very raison of consumerism.

The present study is an attempt to investigate the brand awareness and consumer behavior of

connect broadband.

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26

Need of the study

Various studies have been conducted on this topic. A few empirical surveys have attempted to

study on broadband companies but surprisingly none of the study focused on the brand image

and consumer behaviour. This study is done in order to examine the consumer behavior and the

market position of connect over various other companies. The importance of such a study is to

analyze the demand of different brands available & the favorite brand among various options.

Basic need of the studying brand image and consumer behaviour is that the firm needs to know

which products are mostly purchased by the consumer, when and where they buy, why they buy,

how much satisfied they are with the quality being offered and how they compare connect

products over other competitors..

Scope of Study

Scope of study was restricted to Chandigarh, Mohali.

Study restricted to only brand awareness &consumer behaviour of Connect Broad band

connection.

Objective of the study:

Following are the objectives of the study:

To know consumer perception toward Connect broadband and brand awareness.

To analyse the data collected from the customers and relate them with the parameters of

Connect and make a suitable strategy for the promotion of the product according to their

requirement.

To promote for Connect Wireless broadband connection in the Chandigarh and generate

leads for the company.

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28

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Research

Research is a procedure of logical and systematic application of the fundamentals of science to

the general and overall questions of a study and scientific technique, which provide precise tools,

specific procedures, and technical rather philosophical means for getting and ordering the data

prior to their logical analysis and manipulation different type of research designs is available

depending upon the nature of research project, availability of manpower and circumstances.

According to D. Slesinger and M. Stephenson research may be defined as” the manipulation of

things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify

knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in the construction of theory or in the practice of an

art”. Thus it is original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge of making for its

advancement.

4.2 Research Design

Research Design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner

that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy on procedure. The

research problem having been formulated in clear-cut term helps the researcher to prepare a

research design. The preparation of such a design facilitates in conducting it in an efficient

manner as possible. It is a blue print for the fulfillment of objectives and answering

questions .this research is:

4.2A Descriptive Research:

Present research is descriptive research because in this research it has been described that which

method of awareness and behaviour is being followed in Connect Broadband and various factors

considered for the same.

4.2B Conclusion oriented research:

The present research is conclusion oriented research.

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4.3 Sampling Design

The following factors have to decide within the scope of sample design:

i) Sample Size: A sample of minimum respondents was selected from Chandigarh.

An effort has been made to select respondents evenly. The survey was carried out

on 100 respondents.

ii) Sample Unit: It indicates who is to be surveyed. The researcher must define the

target population that will be sampled. In this project sampling unit is the students

and employees from Mohali area.

iii) Sampling Technique: For the purpose of research convenient sampling is used.

Students and employees from Mohali area.have been approached to get the

questionnaire filled.

4.4 Data Collection

There are two types of data sources. :

i) Secondary data:

It includes information which had already been collected by someone else and which

had already been passed through the statistical process. In this case one is not

confronted with the problems that are usually associated with the collection of

original data. Secondary data either is published data or unpublished data. Secondary

data was collected through internet and by using company’s manuals.

ii) Primary data:

It includes information collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be

original in character. It is the backbone of any study. It was obtained from

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respondents that are executives of each department with the help of widely used and

well-known method of survey, through a well-structured questionnaire.

4.5 Limitations of the study

Inadequate data: the data provided was not up to the mark due to which we faced

problems in our research.

Problem of conceptualization: there was problem of conceptualization and also problem

relating to the process of data collection and related things.

Time and cost factor: there as the difficulty of timely availability of published and

relevant data this led to increase in cost.

Lack of scientific method: the lack of scientific training in methodology of research was

great impediment in our research program, which led to the delay of research.

No response by the respondent: problem arises in sensitive issues like getting information

about the financial position of the respondent.

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Statement 1.What is your age?

Table.5.1 Age analysis of the customers.

Fig

5.1Figure 5.1 Age analysis of the customers

Analysis and Interpretation:

As in graph there is result that maximum number of customers are existing in that category

which has age limit 23-28 years means there is huge potential to use broad band internet in

Chandigarh.

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S.No. Age of customers(year) Percentage%

1 less than 18 7%

2 18-23 33%

3 23-28 50%

4 28-45 7%

5 greater than 45 1%

Statement 2.What is your occupation?

Table 5.2 job analysis of the customers

Figure 5.2 Job analysis of the customers

Analysis and Interpretation

From the survey there is huge capacity to use internet by student and after it, Business man are

majority in operating broad band connection in Chandigarh.

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S.No. Occupation of customers Percentage %

1 govt service 6.66%

2 private service 20%

3 business man 33.33%

4 Student 40%

7%

20%

33%

40% Govt service PrivateService

Businessman

Student

Statement 3.How often do you get connected to internet?

Table 5.3 Frequency analysis of internet uses by customers

S.No. Uses of customers Percentage%

1 at regular intervals 13%

2 once a day 27%

3 twice a day 33%

4 all time 27%

Figure 5.3Frequency analysis of internet uses by customers

Analysis and Interpretation

Analysis of this graph in Chandigarh market majority of customers are using internet twice in a

day and all time users are getting percentage same with once a day so there is chance to increase

uses capacity in at regular intervals customers and in once in a day.

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Statement 4.What type of data card, you preferred to buy?

Table 5.4 Analysis of wireless vs. wire line.

S.N. Mode of connection Percentage%

1 Wireless 73%

2 Wire line 27%

Figure 5.4Analysis of wireless vs wire line.

Analysis and Interpretation

In this graph there are number of user demanding and using wireless connection rather wire line

broad band connection here 73% customers are using wireless broad band connection.

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Satement5.Which brands of data card you are aware of?

Table 5.5 Percentage analysis of Brand awareness

S.no Brand name Percentage %

1 Connect 40%

2 Tata-Indicom 3 0%

3 Vodafone 10%

4 Airtel 20%

Figure 5.5 Percentage analysis of Brand awareness

Analysis and Interpretation

In case of brand awareness most of the customers know about Connect,Connect and other player

but percentage of Connect is high.

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Satement 6.Which of the following brand are you using?

Table 5.6 Analysis of brand percentage in Chandigarh

S.n Brand name Percentage %

1 Connect 40%

2 Tata-Indicom 20%

3 Airtel 13%

4 BSNL 27%

Figure 5.6 Analysis of brand percentage in Chandigarh

Interpretation

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From above graph there is result that in Chandigarh market there is large number of customers

are using BSNL broad band in means 40% customers are using BSNL broad band and remains

60% other.

Statement 7.How do you know about Connect broadband?

Table 5.7Analysis of mode of promotion

S.no Medium Percentage%

1 friends 13%

2 family 7%

3 retailer 13%

4 Advertisements 40%

5 magazines or newspapers 20%

6 cyber café 7%

Figure 5.7Analysis of mode of promotion

Analysis and Interpretation

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There is an advertisement only medium to create awareness about product in large extent which

is the strong point of the Connect because of this company is spending a lot of money on

promotion of the product.

Statement 8.How satisfied are you with Connect Data card?

Table 5.8 Analysis of satisfaction level of customers

S.no Satisfaction of customers Percentage%

1 Highly Satisfied 30%

2 Moderately Satisfied 25%

3 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 12%

4 Moderately Dissatisfied 20%

5 Highly dissatisfied 13%

Figure 5.8 Analysis of satisfaction level of customers

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Analysis and Interpretation

Satisfaction of customers towards Connect data card is good from above graph. Only 40%

customers are satisfied with Connect because customer service of the Connect is very bad they

don’t give so much important to the customer.

Statement 9.Why do you purchase Connect broadband connection?

Table 5.9 Analysis of key factor of purchasing of USB

S.n. Purchase factors Percentage%

1 Price 20%

2 Easy handling 3%

3 Net Speed 34%

4 Signal Strength 20%

5 Availability in store 3%

6 Tariff plan. Tariff plan 13%

7 Offer/Discount 7%

Figure 5.9Analysis of key factor of purchasing of USB

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Analysis and Interpretation

Connect broad band internet connection is famous for high speed of the data card so due to this

reason high selling rate of Connect is growing day by day with net signal.

Statement 10. Where, you want to use your internet?

Table 5.10 Analysis of area

S.n. Area Percentage%

1 In city wise 27%

2 All over India 73%

Figure 5.10Analysis of area.

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Analysis and Interpretation

Number of customers is using Connect data card in nation wise because of there is no any

rooming charge in using data card all over India.

Findings of the study

It is clear that maximum number of customers are existing in that category which has age

limit 23-28 years means there is huge potential to use broad band internet in Chandigarh.

It is clearthere is huge capacity to use internet by student and after it, Business man are

majority in operating broad band connection in Chandigarh.

It is analysed that in Chandigarh market majority of customers are using internet twice in a

day and all time users are getting percentage same with once a day so there is chance to

increase uses capacity in at regular intervals customers and in once in a day.

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It is clear that there are number of user demanding and using wireless connection rather wire

line broad band connection here 73% customers are using wireless broad band connection.

It is clear that in case of brand awareness most of the customers know about Connect,

Connect and other player but percentage of Connect is high.

It is clear that in Chandigarh market there is large number of customers are using BSNL

broad band in means 40% customers are using BSNL broad band and remains 60% other.

There is an advertisement only medium to create awareness about product in large extent

which is the strong point of the Connect because of this company is spending a lot of money

on promotion of the product.

Satisfaction of customers towards Connect data card is good from above graph. Only 40%

customers are satisfied with Connect because customer service of the Connect is very bad

they don’t give so much important to the customer.

Connect broad band internet connection is famous for high speed of the data card so due to this

reason high selling rate of Connect is growing day by day with net signal.

Number of customers is using Connect data card in nation wise because of there is no any

rooming charge in using data card all over India.

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7.1 CONCLUSION

From data analysis there is huge market in youth generation; youth are using large extent to

internet. Majority of student know about data card and they are also using in large numbers.

Using habit of internet in youth twice in a day and most of youth like to use wireless internet

data card. Connect data card is very famous but market position of BSNL is top position.

Promotional activity of Connect is very strong but its satisfaction level towards Connect data

card is very low. Net speed of the broad band connection plays important role to purchase of

internet data card and most of the customers like to purchase nation wise plan in data card which

has no rooming charge.

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7.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

The study brought to the notice that Connect being no 1 brand still had certain area where

improvement or changes would be beneficial for the company.

Specific individuals should be appointed in the entire web world store for specific

product.

The company should start offering more bundle offers such as giving SIMCard with

broad band and also bag.

Ex: Airtel and Tata- indicom are providing

Company should promote their promotion offers, because it was found that very few

customers are aware of the promotional offers by the company.

Brand quality and awareness is the key commanding factors for the high sales achieved

by Connect largely it has been viewed as reliable brand, Connect remainsNo 1.

Working under brand Connect, the task of representing Connect at a retail shop in f.c.

road area in Pune city. The project was completed within a span of 12 weeks. The

experience has been both knowledge sharing and corporate experience.

Understanding of the consumer behavior at the time of purchasing the product like

mobile or data card in future.

There are no difficulties to get data from customers because of company name. It is one of the

most widely used brand s. this made my work easier in the market

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47

REFERENCES

Kitler (2009), “Research Methodology”, New Delhi: Himalaya Publications, First Edition P 1

Keller (2010), ‘‘Marketing Management’’, New Delhi:Pearson Education, Twelfth Edition.

Smith (2011), 'Marketing'; Published by Blackwell, 1996. pp. 45- 53

Kotler (2011),“Consumer Behaviour”, available at: http://marketingmixx.com/consumer-

behavior-2/76-consumer-perception.html.

Gupta (2012), “Consumer value”, available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com / journals.

htm? articleid- 865509&show=abstract

Conlon and Mortimer (2012), 'marketing management “; published by Manu enterprise,

1994; pp 18.1-18.32, 25.1-25.22

Manski (2013), “Customer perception in service encounters”,

Volume: 30, Issue: 1DOI: 10.1 180/0959 0550210415239, Available from International

Journal of Retail Distribution Management.

Mike (2013), “Marketing mix analysis of connect broadband”,

Volume: 30, Issue: 1DOI: 10.1 180/0959 0550210415239, Available from International

Journal of Retail Distribution Management.

Sharma and Malhotra (2013) ,“Customer perception in service encounters”, available at:

http://marketingmixx.com/consumer-behavior-2/76-consumer-perception.html.

Jain (2014) ,“Market study in broadband communication”, http://www.rcom.co.in

/Communications /Aboutus/aboutus_ home.html.

Bhardwaj and Dutt (2014), “Advertisement and management”, http://www.rcom.co.in

/webapp /Communications /rcom /Aboutus/aboutus_milestones.jsp

Ramswamy and Namakumari (2014), “Consumer awareness towards connect

broadband”,http://www. rcom.co.in /Communications/Aboutus/aboutus_home.html.

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondent,

I, Reexesh student of MBA 3rdsem at Apeejay Institute of Management

Technical Campus, Jalandhar. I am conducting a study on the topic “ANALYSIS OF

BRAND AWARENESS AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF CONNECT BROADBAND

CONNECTION”. Kindly help me to gather the information by sparing your 5-10 minutes for

filling the questionnaire. I assure you that the information will be kept confidential. I will be very

thankful.

SECTION - A

Demographic Profile

1) NAME: ……………………………….

2) AGE:

a) < 20years b) 20-40years c) 40-60years d) > 60years

3) GENDER:

Female Male

4) EDCATIONAL QUALIFICATION:

a) Matriculate b) Graduate c) Post graduate d) Any other…………..

SECTION - B

1. What is your age?

Less Than 18 _

18-23 years _

23-28 years _

28-45 years _

Greater Than 45 _

2. What is your occupation?

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Government Service _

Private Service _

Business Self-Employed _

Student _

3. How often do you get connected to Internet?

At irregular intervals _

Once a day _

Twice a day _

All time _

4. What type of data card you preferred to buy?

Wireless _

Wire line _

5. Which brands of data card you are aware of?

Connect _

Tata-Indicom _

Vodafone _

Airtel

6. Which of the following brands are you using?

Connect _

Tata-Indicom _

Vodafone _

Airtel _

BSNL _

7. How do you know about Connect broadband?

1-Friends ___ _

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2-Family ___ _

3-Retailer ___ _

4-Advertisements ___ _

5-Packaging ___ _

6-Magazines or newspapers ___ _

7-Cyber café ___ _

8-Offer/Discountsant ___ _

8. How satisfied are you with Connect Data card? (If used)

Highly Satisfied _

Moderately Satisfied _

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied _

Moderately Dissatisfied _

Highly dissatisfied _

9. Why do you purchase Connect broadband connection?

1. Price

2. Easy handling

3. Net Speed

4. Signal Strength

5. Availability in store

6. Tariff plan

7. Offer/Discount

10-Are you want to use your internet?

1 In city wise _

2 All over India _

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