Introduction
The usage of mobile phones in the United Arab Emirates has been increasing exponentially over the past few years. Major mobile companies such as Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry have established their markets in the UAE and are competing for the same market. As customer satisfaction determines the competitiveness of these companies, the study aims to evaluate the level of customer satisfaction in the usage of Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry models of mobile phones in Dubai.
Definition of Research Problem
The usage of mobile phones in the United Arab Emirates is a common phenomenon owing to the rapid advancement in information technology and the embracement of mobile phones as essential communication gadgets. Compared to other countries in the Middle East, mobile phone usage in the UAE is higher because the government has invested heavily in information technology infrastructure, digitized information, supported e-learning education, and established e-businesses.
To keep abreast with technological advancements in the mobile industry, customers use diverse types of mobile phones. Usually, handset features and manufacturers are the major determinants of the types of mobile phones that customers buy. According to Almehairi and Bhatti (2014), the adoption of technological devices such as mobile phones and their usage is dependent on economic factors, personality traits, demographic variables, features of mobile phones, and social forces, among others. In this view, it is evident that the use of mobile phones in the UAE is subject to many forces that influence customer tastes and preferences. In other words, customers in Dubai display diverse levels of satisfaction with the mobile phones that are in the market.
Given that the needs and preferences of customers are complex and diverse, mobile phone companies use diverse methods to satisfy their customers. Major mobile companies such as Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry have established their markets in the UAE and are competing for the same customers. Customer satisfaction and loyalty have enabled Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry to do well in the UAE market. Customer satisfaction is an important aspect of marketing because it determines customer loyalty to a given product or a brand in the market (Rahman 2014).
The ability of a product or service to satisfy diverse customer needs and preferences is directly proportional to the customer satisfaction features it contains. Bayraktar et al. (2012) state that customer satisfaction is a key feature in mobile phone industry, which boosts competitiveness of mobile companies, expands market share, and increases profitability.
Moreover, customer satisfaction is beneficial to mobile companies because it reduces marketing costs, reduces the elasticity of price, and improves brand image. Despite such benefits, customer satisfaction is very dynamic in that it varies according to social, economic, and technological factors associated with a certain model of mobile phones.
The dynamic nature of mobile phone markets and the stiff competition are major factors that Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry are grappling with in a bid to satisfy their customers. The mobile market is dynamic because technology is constantly evolving, new inventions are becoming common, and thousands of applications exist (Soomro & Sarwar 2013).
Competition is becoming stiff with time as mobile companies strive to come up with novel products that are not only quality and innovative, but also affordable to customers. In this view, the determination of customer satisfaction is essential as it forms the basis of understanding their tastes and preferences. Although Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry have established their respective markets in Dubai, they have continued to experience dynamic patterns of customer needs and preferences.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty is difficult to achieve in the mobile industry because the needs of customers are not only diverse, but also complex. To satisfy their customers well, companies usually research about the needs and preferences of customers before manufacturing products that meet these needs and preferences. Therefore, the determination of customer satisfaction with mobile phones manufactured by Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry is essential in understanding customer needs and preferences as well as in marketing the stance of each of the company and associated mobile phones.
Objectives
- To determine the proportion of customers who use Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry mobile phones in Dubai.
- To ascertain the attractive features of mobile phones that influence customer satisfaction with Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry mobile phones.
- To rate Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry and determine the model that gives the highest level of satisfaction among customers in Dubai.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data Collection
The study used mixed research design, which comprises qualitative and quantitative research methods. Mixed research design is advantageous because it gives researchers the freedom to collect both qualitative and quantitative data, hence, giving robust information about a research phenomenon (Creswell 2013). The qualitative study collected qualitative data that determined customer satisfaction with Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry mobile phones. In contrast, quantitative data assessed the level of satisfaction of customers with Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry phones.
The target population of the study is the people of Dubai. Given that the study sought to establish the usage of mobile phones, attractive features of mobile phones, and level of satisfaction with mobile phones in Dubai, the appropriate target population is the people who live in Dubai because a significant number of them own mobile phones, particularly the smartphones.
To obtain a study sample from the target population, the study used the convenience method of sampling to select 200 participants. Convenience sampling is advantageous because it is not only simple and quick to perform, but also cheap to undertake (Thompson 2012). In sampling the participants, the study selected a less busy street, where researchers interacted easily without causing unnecessary congestion when interviewing the respondents.
The procedure of data collection entailed interviewing individuals in a less busy street using open-ended questions. According to Babbie (2009), open-ended questions are effective in interviews because they are very informative, do not restrict respondents, and allow researchers to seek clarification. The researchers introduced themselves to the people in the street and requested for their participation in the study by responding to the selected interview questions.
The study interviewed respondents using the following questions:-
- What model of mobile phone do you own?
- How long have you owned your current mobile phone?
- What was your previous model of mobile phone?
- What is the most attractive feature of the model of the phone that you own?
- What are the features that you would recommend the company to change in the model of mobile phone that you own?
- Can you change the model of the mobile phone that you own?
- Can you recommend the model of the mobile phone that you own to anyone?
- Since you bought your mobile phone, have you experienced any technical failures?
- Do you get the necessary support from the vendor of your mobile phone?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, can you rate the level of satisfaction with your mobile phone model?
Data Analysis
The pie chart below indicates the proportion of mobile phones owned by people in Dubai, according to the 200 respondents selected from the streets of Dubai.
The pie chart above shows that the largest proportion (37.5%) of Dubai residents own Samsung phones, followed by Apple (25%), and BlackBerry (17.5%) in that order. The other types of mobile phones constituted 20% of the total phones owned. From the proportion, it is evident that Samsung dominates the mobile market in Dubai.
Regarding the extent of ownership, most respondents (72%) indicated they have owned their phones for more than one year. In the aspect of the previous model of the mobile phone, 45% of the respondents showed that they owned different mobile phone models before switching to their current models. These findings confirm that the needs and preferences of customers are dynamic because they vary from time to time depending on the prevailing market forces.
Table 1: Responses of the Attractive Features of the Phone
The above table indicates that the mobile operating system is the most attractive feature of a mobile phone. It satisfies the unique needs of 40% of customers in Dubai. The most common mobile operating systems are Android OS, Symbian OS, Windows 8, Linux OS, Apple OS, and BlackBerry OS. The operating systems used by Samsung, Apple, and BlackBerry are Android, Apple, and BlackBerry respectively. According to Venkateswaran et al. (2014), Android OS is the dominant mobile operating system because it enjoys 57% of the market share globally.
Likewise, the findings of the study show that Samsung is the leading mobile phone in Dubai owing to the attractiveness of its operating system. The second leading feature of the mobile phones in Dubai is compatibility with mobile applications. Customers are more satisfied with phones that are compatible with many applications than those that are compatible with few applications. Ham and Park (2011) observe that the Android OS, compared to other mobile operating systems, is compatible with numerous applications in the market. Hence, compatibility with Android OS explains why most people rated it as the best mobile operating system.
Other leading features of the phones that determine satisfaction of customers are the connectivity to the Internet, Bluetooth, and USB (25%), pixels of camera (22%), security (22%), memory size (20%), video calling (15%), colour (8%), and screen capture (5%). Regarding the recommended features, most respondents noted that the mobile companies should increase memory to support multiprocessing of applications.
In determining loyalty and satisfaction of customers, most respondents showed that they would not change the model of their phones. Moreover, most respondents indicated that they would recommend their friends to buy the models of the mobile phones they own because they are satisfied with them. About 15% of the respondents indicated that they have experienced technical failures when using their mobile phones and they sought support from the available vendors. Harrison, Flood, and Duce (2013) write that the availability of vendor support is necessary in the mobile industry because mobile phones are fragile and delicate products that require constant maintenance and repair.
The respondents also rated their models of mobile phones on a scale of 1 to 10. Samsung received an averaged rating of eight, Apple received an average rating of seven, and BlackBerry received an average rating of five. In this view, Samsung has the highest satisfaction rating, which indicates that it is the most satisfying model of mobile phones.
References
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