Customer Decision Making Process

1.       Which attributes are important and why?

-  Availability and Affordability : - As not all the telecom service  providers cater to  customers of all socio-economic classes and all the geographies,factors like availability and affordability play a critical role in  the consumer decision  making process  when it comes to choosing a telecom service provider. Vodafone is still trying to penetrate the rural Indian market and due to many hurdles like  lack of  adequate  infrastructure and awareness among  consumers, the progress  is comparatively  slow. Also, due to its unique  positioning in  the market as a  premium service provider, consumers in the urban and semi-urban areas can’t relate to the brand.

-  Quality of Service :-  Quality of service is the second most important factor in the customer decision making process after checking for the affordability and availability of a service provider in their desired price range and geography.Due to easy accessibility and availability various telecom service providers in almost the same price ranges and in almost all the geographies, a customer will switch to a competitor's services if a service provider is providing comparatively inferior service.

-  Value Added Services - As all the major service providers have started focusing on not only the core voice, data and messaging services but also on various value added services suited to each customer's individual needs, they are a critical part of a customer's decision making process when they choose a particular service provider.

    

- Customer relationship management :- As a customer is choosing to subscribe to a service and not just buying a product, customer relationship management becomes and indispensable component of a service provider's value propositions and a customer's decision making process.

2.       Which problem will the product solve and why?

-  The most basic problem which Vodafone’s products/services solve is that it helps people stay connected. In these extremely dynamic and competitive contemporary times, the exchange of ideas and information is a quintessential component of people’s lives and Vodafone helps them do not just that but a lot more than that. With its various value added services and superior connectivity and quality of service, it satisfies a lot more than just the core needs of its customers and consumers.

3.       Who buys this item?

     - People of all ages and professions belonging to almost all the social classes and geographies all over the world who want to stay connected and who can afford such services.

4.   How will the customer who is subscribing to the service for the very first time think as  compared to a customer who is already a subscriber and is choosing to either continue with the  same service provider or switching to a different service provider?

-   - All the factors which have already been mentioned in answering the first question are the factors a customer will consider if he is choosing to subscribe to the service for the first time. For a customer who has already subscribed to services of a particular service provider, the decision to either continue with services of the same service provider or switch to a different provider will depend on the quality of service and variety of customized value added services provided by the current provider and other personal contingencies. E.g.  If you are shifting to a different part of the country or a different country altogether.