The User Behaviour and Satisfaction

A STUDY ON THE RECENT IPAD AIR FOCUSING ON THE USER’S BEHAVIOUR & SATISFACTION

Introduction

1.1 Rationale for this study

The consumer buying behavioural action had been the primary critical success factor for the marketers to develop the product and campaign to hit the segments. Customers are highly fickle regarding gadgets. Thus, discrepancy in innovation might affect a brand with a high customer turnover rate.

1.2 What is the research issue?

The consumers’ buying behaviours are well analyzed by the competitive brands. However, with the iOS 8.3 update, majority of the users of iPad Air have found the photos missing from the Camera Roll. Due to the specific issue customers are getting highly influenced by the flagships of Samsung, LG and Microsoft.

1.3 Why is it an issue?

Various technological companies are investing on the R&D actions to innovate the products. The customers have indifferent choices of tablets to fit the expectations. The laidback attitude of Apple regarding the internal operations of its devices is enforcing the loyal users to switch the brand choice.

1.4 Research Aim

The present study evaluates on the current market position of iPad and the reaction of the customers with regards to its features and specification offerings. Apple has a leading brand position due to its strong distribution network and the deputed channels. The customers have embraced the swift computing of the tablets. However, the competitors are excessively transmittable in catching the speed of technology. Therefore, the current study would consider the initiation followed by Apple to derive a better customer satisfaction rate with regards to its iPad Air devices.

1.5 Research Objectives?

• To evaluate the factors affecting customers’ purchasing behaviour
• To analyze the consumers’ involvement which impacts on the purchase behaviour regarding the iPad Air
• To determine the consumers’ satisfaction rate that has been developed by iPad Air’s functionality
• To understand the value created by the brand to create an impact on consumers’ purchasing actions
• To scrutinize the variables that influence the consumers’ decision making attributes

1.6 Importance of the Study

The customers are more service centric than the product advancement concept (Amlinger et al. 2008). Therefore, the current study would be extremely fundamental to understand the factors and marketing methods used by apple to increase the satisfaction rate if iPad Air’s customers.

1.7 Research Question

• What are the factors affecting the purchasing behaviour of the customers regarding the iPad Air product?
• How the customers’ involvement impact on the purchasing behavioural actions?
• How the functionality of iPads Air had developed the satisfaction rate of its customers?
• How the brand value had led to affect the behavioural actions of the customers?
• What would be the suitable variables to influence the customer decision making actions?

1.8 Hypothesis

H₀: The product features of iPad Air positively impact on the buying behavioural actions and satisfaction rate of the customers

H₁: The product features of iPad Air negatively impact on the buying behavioural actions and satisfaction rate of the customers

Literature Review

2.1 Consumers Buying Behaviour

According to Birnik and Moat (2009), the consumers’ buying behaviour is highly influenced by the innovation and the service offerings of the brand.

Table 1: Literature review of Consumers Buying Behaviour

2.2 Consumers Involvement Level

Customers’ involvement occurs when the brand manages to connect with the emotional constrains and upgrade the individual standards through its product offerings (Carroll and Shabana, 2009).

Table 2: Literature review of Consumers Involvement Level

A study had been conducted by considering 30 random users of iPad Air to understand the factors that enhance the customers’ involvement with the brand. The outcome reflects that the customers basically get involved with the lucrative promotional aspects and the word of mouth influence. 20 respondents were students and 10 are the administrative clerks. The student segment gets involved by the word of mouth influence and the clerk segment is derived by the specification of the products.

2.3 Consumers Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction can be identified as the gesture, which customers provide with regards to the offerings the brands make through its product and services (Chan et al. 2009).

Table 3: Literature review of Consumers Satisfaction

According to Crowther and Reis (2011), price range and the customer service are the two primary aspects that derive the satisfaction level of consumers. A survey on 40 customers had been conducted to understand the satisfaction rate of the customers derived out of iPad Air product. The survey reflects that the customers are highly influenced by the brand offering and the innovations in the electronics devices.

2.4 Market positioning of iPad Air

In the present framework, Choudhury and Chowdhury (2015) mentioned that the customers basically get influenced by the brand, which directly reflects in its attitude towards the product lines.

Table 4: Literature review of Market positioning of iPad Air

2.5 Consumer Decision-Making

Eizmendi (2008) stated that the consumers’ decision making is the process where the customers behave in a pattern against the promotional aspect of a product. Table 5: Literature review of Consumer Decision-Making

The customers basically gets influenced by the brand and behave exactly in the manner the brand wants (Ioriatti et al. 2011). A quantitative survey method had been followed to between 20 customers using iPad Air to understand the decision-making aspects. The finding signifies that customers’ loyalty towards a specific brand converts into a positive decision making action. The brand loyalty of Apple helps automatically influence the customers to showcase a positive decision making aspect towards iPad Air.

2.6 Strategic alternative to increase the satisfaction rate of the customers

The strategic alternatives facilitate the marketers to understand the acute areas that demand an improvement. Based on which the markers formulate the plans to mitigate the specified criteria.

As per the opinion of Bowman (2014), inference can be drawn that that the customers highly get satisfies with a constructive engagement. In the similar manner, effective CRM approaches would help Apple to enhance the satisfaction level of the customers using the iPad Air, Singapore. A survey had been conducted with the group of 40 customers. 20 of the segments believe that co0nstructive engagement facilitates the customers to resolve the frequent obscurities. Another 20 segments believe that the CRM actions increase a loyalty towards the brand. The specific positive attitude directly reflects on the upcoming product of the brand.

3.0 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1: Conceptual framework

(Source: Self created)

4.0 Research Method and Design

The research method and design had been identified as the activities and the paradigms the researcher establishes to understand the essence of the existing subject (Sekaran and Bougie,

2013). The methodology had been adopted based on the research aim and objectives.

4.1 Research Onion

(Source: Branco and Delgado, 2012, pp. 365)

The research onion had been identifies as the study problem that had been initiated by the researcher to put the practice in the research method as per the framed objectives (Brians et al. 2010). It has been recognised as the systematic method and critical scrutiny to place the identified subject into its appropriate shapes. The research onion demonstrates the stages that that need to be covered while developing a research strategy. The external layer of the onion reflects the detailed stages of the research process. The research onion offers an effective sequence, which helps to design the research methodology. The paradigms of the research paradigms include research philosophy, research design, research approach, research strategy, choices, time horizons, data collection analysis and samples. The researcher needs to emphasise on the above attributes to understand the correct essence of the research subject.

4.2 Research Process

The research would use the concept of research onion to identify the research process. According to Grbich (2012), in the initiation phrase, the researcher needs to identify the exact research philosophy that gets tallied with the research subject. The second stage clearly defines the research approach selection. In the third stage the strategy needs to be developed and the fourth layer recognises the time horizon. Finally, the fifth state represents the data collection and analysis techniques.

4.2.1 Research Philosophy

The research philosophy is comprised of three components, which include positivism, realism and interpretive. The researcher would select the positivism philosophy for the specific research study. It had been assessed that the positivism philosophy is scientific by nature and thereby, supports the scientific studies. The positivism study supports the researcher to evaluate the research subject on the basis of the framed objectives and questions. The positivism philosophy would help the researcher to illustrate the data as per the qualitative and quantitative approach.

4.2.2 Research Approach

The research approach h approach involves the inductive and deductive approach (McGee,

2007). in the specific research study the researcher would consider the deductive approach to understand the effectiveness of the study. The deductive approach would assist the researcher to identify the current brand positioning of iPad Air and the customers satisfaction rate towards the particular product. Deductive approach deals with theory testing, therefore the researcher would get to test the secondary theories that would be chosen for the study.

4.2.3 Research Strategy

The common components of research strategy are experiment, survey and case study (Thomas, 2015). Aligning with the present research topic, the researcher would use the survey session. The customers who would be quantitative sample for the research study are generally surveyed by sending over the close-ended questionnaires through the email. The survey technique would benefit the researcher in its timely data collection action, thereby, supporting the research study to complete with the speculated timeframe. Some of the loyal customers have been survey to understand the buying behaviour and the satisfaction rate derived out of iPad Air, in the market of Singapore.

4.2.4 Choices

The research choice of the specific study needs to be a Mono method. This facilitates the researcher with the single quantitative data collection techniques and comparative analysis of the procedure. According to Waite (2011), the Mono method is a simpler system to plan and carry out the research process with correct efficacy. The Mono methods basically support the mixed method, which allows the research to gather relevant data as per its individual choice in the quantitative and qualitative analysis.

4.2.5 Time Horizons

The time horizon is a time-based framework that within which the project is supposed to make its completion. Two types of time horizon are included in the specific subject, which is cross sectional and longitudinal. The cross-sectional time horizon has been established with the collection of the data. It had been identified as the snapshot time collection, in which the data are accumulated at certain check point. The longitudinal time horizon signifies the collection of the data repeated over the extended period.

4.2.6 Data Collection

Secondary data would be accumulated from numerous secondary sources of information. The university online archive would be examined in this context to collect several e-journals, while internet proved to be a constructive resource for ebooks and assorted online articles. On the other hand, the primary respondents have been gathered through quantitative and qualitative approach.

4.2.7 Research Instrument

The research instrument helps to study the questionnaire. It helps to set relevant data received from the samples and designer as per the framed objectives and questions.

4.2.8 Research Design

In the similar instance, it could be inferred that the researchers had chosen the descriptive research design to understand the customer satisfaction rate with regards to the iPad Air. The descriptive research design often facilitates the research to understand the efficacy of the present product. It also determines the mentors the brand had initiated to enhance its customers buying behaviours towards the products.

4.2.8 Sample size

The choice of sample size is measured keeping in mind the needed data for completion of the study. Extensive sample size consumes adequate time in data collection while the sample size below 35 can increase ethical issues (Maistrenko, 2015). Therefore, the researcher had chosen 90 respondents for the quantitative approach and 60 brand managers of Apple.

4.2.9 Sampling Techniques

Probability sampling gives equal chances to the entire population to be a part of the study, nonprobability sampling selects only certain samples. The researcher would choose the simple random sampling process for the quantitative data collection and probability for the qualitative data collection process. It is not possible to interview the 90-sample upfront.

4.3 Accessibility Issues

It would be difficult to interview each of the loyal customers using iPad Air in the Singaporean market. Thus, a survey session would be conducted and the questionnaire would be sent via internet. Also, it would be a complex action to gather the secondary information from the relevant journals within the speculated time tenure.

4.4 Ethical Issues

Following the ethical considerations have helped in reducing assist the researcher from limiting the study. The ethical strategies are distinct between the acceptable and unacceptable attitude. Herein, the researcher would guarantee a free and decent process of sample selection. The collected data would not be misinterpreted and simultaneously both the customers and the managers would be provided an open forum to respond freely to the questions as per the individual choices. None of the information’ would be revealed to other parties. While conducting the survey methods, none of the sentiments would be hurt by the researcher.

4.5 Data Analysis Plan

The data analysis plan would be configured keeping in mind the data type. It would be relatively easy to measure the quantitative information; the interviewed details would be descriptive in nature and hence cannot be quantified (Foss, 2009). The customers’ feedbacks would be maintained via MS Excel and calculated in the similar sheet. The responses would be provided a percentage based on which graphs and tables will be framed.

4.6 Research Limitations

The time frame would be the primary limitation of the specific project as the entire activities needs to be restricted within the given period. It thus would prevent the researcher from gathering extensive and to detail the data on the present subject. Else, the conclusion would have been appropriate. The managers would be indisposed to allocate dates for the interview session for the busy schedules. The consumers’ might believe the survey session to be lengthy and thus might make a delay returning the filled-in questionnaires.

Conclusion

Summary

Google had tried a different identity of its fifth-generation flagship. The current study would evaluate on the current position of iPad air and the users’ reaction towards it. The entire study emphasise on the specific actions. The research is to study the current position of iPad Air and initiation taken by the brand to create a value proposition on the customers.

Recommendation

The management of the brand had initiated the smart effort of naming the fifth-generation iPad of $499 as iPad Air The management of the brand needs to enhance its innovation strategy and uphold its persistent effort to maintain the advancement. Customers are basically switching the brand due to latest offerings at affordable prices. Thus, a restricted production method with the software advancement needs to generate to enhance the customers’ satisfaction rate and the purchasing behaviour.

Future Study

Future online strategies of iPad Air, Singapore can be built based on the conclusions drawn herein. Future studies can also deem on the latest literature on the present topic. Instead of judging the customer satisfaction derived by iPad Air, the entire organization could have been considered. The prior scope will assist the prospect researchers to detail on the existing subject.

8.0 References

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Gantt Chart of Research Timetable Process

Table 5: Gnatt chart (Source: Self created)

Process: The individual task assigned in the time frame carries importance considerations in the present context. However, the time that has been prearranged, has been to make an acute completion of the study within the period. Every activity has been prearranged on the solitary weekly basis, hence, the researcher would get sufficient time to gather and evaluating the overall data. Hence, the conclusion and recommendations would be conducted in the final week after the finishing point of the research project.