ABSTRACT

This study sheds some light on the importance and consequences of satisfaction level of iPhone users in AURO University, Surat. The factors (such as features, looks and designs) are the most significant in determining satisfaction, retention, and likelihood of switching from one mobile provider to another. Conversely, intercommunication factors (such as customer service, friendly employees, user-friendly websites) were found to be the least significant. A significant positive relationship was found between satisfaction and retention while a poor association was noticed between satisfaction/retention and loyalty.

INTRODUCTION
APPLE INC.
Apple Computers 30-year history is full of highs and lows, which is what we would expect in a highly innovative company. They evolved throughout the years into an organization that is very much a representation of its leader, Steven Jobs. Apple made several hugely successful product introductions over the years. They have also completely fallen on their face on several occasions. They struggled mightily while Jobs was not a part of the organization. Apple reached a point where many thought they would not survive. When asked in late 1997 what Jobs should do as head of Apple, Dell Inc.'s (DELL) then-CEO Michael S. Dell said at an investor conference: "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders. (Burrows, Grover, and Green). Well, times changed. Less than 10 years later, Business Week ranked Apple as the top performer in its 2008 Business Week 50. Apple attributes their recent success to robust sales of iPod music players (62 million in 2008). They are optimistic about the economies of scope with media giants, such as Disney and Pixar. Apple rarely introduces a new type of product. Thus, instead of being the pioneer, they are an expert second mover by refining existing products. Portable music players and notebook computers are examples. products by making them stylish and more functional. Apple increases the appeal of these They now appear poised to make

significant strides in the home computer market and to creating a total digital lifestyle whereby the home is a multimedia hub.

CONSUMER
A consumer is an individual who purchase or has the capacity to purchase goods and services offered for sale by marketing institutions in order to satisfy personal or household needs, wants or desires. According to a statement made by Mahatma Gandhi, consumer refers to the following, A consumer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so. So, consumer is like the blood of our business and also a satisfied customer is a word of mouth advertisement of a product / services.

CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Every human being is a consumer of different produces. If there is no consumer, there is no business. Therefore, consumer satisfaction is very important to every businessperson. According to Philip Kotler consumer satisfaction is defined as, personal feeling of pleasure resulting from comparing a products pursued performance in relation to his /her expectations. Consumer attitude measurements are taken on either potential buries or existing clients buries in order to identify their characteristics. Why should the competent market engineer conduct consumer research? Consumers surveys can provide the researcher with a wealth of information, valuable of the marketing function. Detailed information regarding the customer in a market will provide the basic platform for all marketing decisions. Marketing decision maker needs descriptive information about the total potential unit and dollar sales in each segment. Perhaps the most important one is that sellers need to be aware of the relevant objective and need of consumer and how the products might best serve their objectives.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER SATISFACTION

The needs to satisfy customer for success in any commercial enterprise is very obvious. The income of all commercial enterprise is derived from the payments received for the products and services supplied to its customers. If there is no customer there is no income and there is no business. Then the core activity of any company is to attract and retain customers. It is therefore no surprise that Peter Drucker the renowned management Guru, has said to satisfy the customers is the mission and purpose of every business. Satisfaction of customer is essential for retention of customers and for continuous sales of the products and services of the company to customers. This establishes the needs for and the importance of customer satisfaction. The satisfaction of consumers is different from one to another. Became, each consumer has the different behavior in their life. So, the marketers satisfy the consumer, he must very well know the behavior of consumer.

LITERATURE REVIEW
A brief literature would be of immense help to the researcher in gaining insight into selected problem. The researcher would gain good background knowledge of the problem by reviewing certain studies. A reference to these entire studies will be related in the contest of the shaping the present study. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple on April 1, 1976. The two Steves, Jobs and Woz (as he is commonly referred to see woz.org), have personalities that persist throughout Apples products, even today. Jobs was the consummate salesperson and visionary while Woz was the inquisitive technical genius. Woz developed his own homemade computer and Jobs saw its commercial potential. After selling 50 Apple I computer kits to Paul Terrells Byte Shop in Mountain View, CA, Jobs and Woz sought financing to sell their improved version, the Apple II. They found their financier in Mike Markkula, who in turn hired Michael Scott to be CEO. The company introduced the Apple II on April 17, 1977, at the same time Commodore released their PET computer. Once the Apple II came with Visicalc, the progenitor of the modern spreadsheet program, sales increased dramatically. In 1979, Apple initiated three projects in order to stay ahead of the competition: 1) the Apple III their business oriented machine, 2) the Lisa the planned successor to the Apple III, and 3) Macintosh. In 1980, the company released the Apple III to the public and was a commercial flop. It was too expensive and had several design flaws that made for less-than-stellar quality. One design flaw was a lack of cooling fans, which allowed chips to overheat. In late 1980, Apple went public, making the two Steves and Markkula wealthy to the tune of nine figures. By 1981, the Apple III was not selling well and Scott infamously fired 40 people on Feb 25 (Black Wednesday). Scotts direct management style conflicted with the culture Jobs and Markkula preferred, and Scott resigned in July. Markkula stepped into his position as CEO. In August 1981, IBM released their PC. Unimpressed and unafraid, Apple welcomed IBM to the PC market with a slightly smug full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. It would not be long before IBMs PC dominated the market. The Xerox Alto was the inspiration for Apples Lisa. Apple employees were able to examine the Alto in exchange for allowing Xerox to invest in Apple before Apples initial public offering (IPO). Apple released the Lisa in January 1983 and was notable for being the first computer sold to the public that utilized a Graphic User Interface (GUI). Unfortunately, the Lisa was not compatible with existing computers, and therefore came bundled with everything and a list price

to match. At $9,995 (over $21,000 in 2005 dollars), the Lisa missed its target market by a wide margin. Jobs attempted to control the Lisa project. Scott, unimpressed with the performance of Jobs on the Apple III project, had Jobs head up the dog-and-pony show for the pending IPO. Jobs, looking for a project to lead, inserted himself into the Macintosh development team. Using his considerable influence, Jobs was able to procure the resources to produce a computer that was faster than Lisa, used a GUI, had a mouse, and sold for th of Lisas price. Apple introduced the Macintosh with great fanfare during the 1984 Super Bowl. The Orwellian-themed commercial (directed by Ridley Scott, of Alien fame) portrayed IBM as Big Brother and embodied Macintosh and Apple as freedom-seeking individuals breaking away from this oppressive regime.The commercial was largely successful and sales for the Mac started strong. However, Mac sales later faded. John Sculley left PepsiCo to join Apple in April 1983. He was famous for engineering the Pepsi Challenge, in which blinded testers tasted both Coke and Pepsi to unveil the truth of the taste of Pepsi. In response to lagging Mac sales, Sculley contrived the Test Drive a Macintosh campaign. In this promotion, prospective users could take home a Macintosh with only a refundable deposit on their credit card. While lauded by the public and the

advertising industry, this campaign was a burden on dealers and significantly impeded the availability of Macs to serious buyers. In 1985, Apple tried to have lightening strike twice with their Lemmings commercial during the Super Bowl. In what was becoming Apples typical patronizing fashion, this commercial insulted current PC users by portraying them as witless lemmings, unthinkingly doing harm to themselves. Although Jobs attempted to overthrow

Sculley, the board backed Sculley. Jobs left Apple to form NeXT computer. After Jobs left in 1985, sales of the Mac exploded when Apples LaserWriter met Aldus PageMaker. Apple dominated the desktop publishing market for years to come. Under Sculley, Apple grew from $600 million in annual sales to $8 billion in annual sales by 1993. Apple introduced Mac Portables in 1989 and the first PowerBooks in 1991. By 1992, PC competition ate into Apples margins and earnings were falling. Sculley was under pressure to have Apple produce another breakout product. He focused his energy on the Newton Apples introduction of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Despite Sculley generating substantial demand for Newton, it did not live up to the hype due to it being severely underdeveloped. Sculley resigned in 1993 and Michael Spindler replaced him. Spindler spent most of his time and energies on regaining profitability, with the end goal of finding a buyer for Apple. Over the next several years, Spindler shopped Apple to Sun

Microsystems, Eastman Kodak, AT&T, and IBM. Meanwhile, Apple was unable to meet the
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growing demand for its products due to supplier problems and faulty demand predictions. To add insult to injury, Microsoft released Windows 95 with great fanfare in 1995. After significant quarterly losses in 1996, the board replaced Spindler with Dr. Gil Amelio, CEO of National Semiconductor. Dr. Amelio tried to bring Apple back to basics, simplifying the product lines and restructuring the company. One of Apples most pressing issues at the time was rele asing their next generation operating system (code named Copland) to compete with Windows 95. Amelio and his technology officers found that Copland was so behind schedule that they looked outside the company to purchase a new OS. Ultimately, and somewhat ironically, they decided to purchase NeXT computer from Jobs. Naturally, Apple welcomed Jobs back into the fold. The board became increasingly impatient with Amelio due to sales not rebounding quickly enough. Apple bought out Amelios contract after just 1 years on the job. Jobs eventually claimed the CEO position. Then, he cleaned house by revamping the board of directors and even replacing Mike Markkula (who had been with the company since the beginning). Jobs simultaneously put an end to the fledgling clone licensing agreements (which created a few Mac clones) and entered into cross-licensing agreements with Microsoft. On May 6, 1998, Apple introduced the new iMac, a product so secret that most Apple employees had never heard of it. The new iMac was a runaway success with its translucent case, all-in-one architecture, and ease of use. It brought Apple to a new market of users those who had never owned a computer before. Jobs further simplified the product lines into four quadrants along two axes: Desktop and Portable on one, Professional and Consumer on the other. Apple completed the matrix with the introduction of the consumer-based iBook in 1999. The year 2001 was an important year for consumers of Apple products. Apple opened their first 25 retail stores (totaling 163 stores in 4 countries as of May 2006). In September 2001, Apple introduced the new iMac featuring a screen on a swivel.The new iPods (portable music players) were a tremendous success. Apple sold so many that Apples dependence on Mac sales was significantly less. This was no small feat considering that the 2001 iMac became Apples best selling product by a long shot. Apple offered iTunes (a free application) to help their consumers organize music on iPods and Macs. In 2003, Apple expanded iTunes by 1) opening the iTunes music store to allow Mac users to purchase music online and 2) expanding iTunes to Windows users. Sales of iPods skyrocketed and currently provide the bulk of product sales to Apple. In 2005, Apple announced that it would start using Intel-based chips to run Macintosh computers. In April 2006, Apple announced Boot Camp, which allows users of Intel-based Macs to boot either Mac or Windows OS.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For the research to be undertaken about the Apple iPhone, the method for acquiring information needed to be both easy to use and understand. So, the written survey method with the help of questionnaire for collection information was used. The questionnaire was a structured questionnaire and it contained only closed end questions.

Data Source:
The primary data was used as the source of data in the survey.

Primary data:
The survey was based on the primary data where questionnaire was filled up in a one to one interaction with the customers.

Target Population and sampling plan:

The target population for this survey was all the existing customers of Apple iPhone of students, AURO University. The research was carried on in the AURO University at Hazira, Surat. Out of the entire population the sample of 30 was selected for the purpose and the simple random sampling was used.

Limitations of study:
The Limitation to this study is as follows: 1. The sample size is only 30, which may not depict the real scenario of the company. 2. The questionnaire filled was through interaction with the students, which may not give complete view of the company.

Analysis & Interpretations

1. Gender wise Classification Gender Male Female Total [Table no. 1] No. of respondents 21 09 30 Percentage (%) 70% 30% 100%

Responses
80 70 70% 60 50 40 30 30% 20 10 0 Male Female

Responses

[Chart no. 1] (Source: Questionnaire Personal Detail) INTERPRETATION Maximum number of respondents are Male which is 70% so we can conclude that mostly Boys prefers Apple iPhone as compares to Girls which is 30% in AURO University, Surat. So when we consider the demographic variable for gender then the male is the major target for the company.

2. Course wise Classification Course BBA BBA-LLB BHM BSC-IT MBA Total [Table no. 2] No. of respondents 12 03 01 03 11 30 Percentage (%) 40% 10% 3% 10% 37% 100%

Responses
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 BBA BBA-LLB BHM BSC-IT MBA 10% 3% 10% Responses 40% 37%

[Chart no. 2] (Source: Questionnaire Personal Detail) INTERPRETATION Maximum number of respondents is from BBA that is 40% and minimum number of respondents is from BHM course that is 3%. According to survey MBA student are 37% and BBA-LLB and BSC-IT students are 10%. Thus, we conclude that the BBA students have more iPhones compared to the BHM students.
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3.Which model of Apple smart phone do you own? Model 3G 3Gs 4G 4Gs 5G Total [Table no. 3] No. of respondents 01 00 05 13 11 30 Percentage (%) 3% 0% 17% 39% 41% 100%

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 3% 0 3G 3Gs 0%

Responses
39% 41%

Responses 17%

4G

4Gs

5G

[Chart no. 3] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.1) INTERPRETATION 41% respondents own 5G while 3Gs is not owned by any number of respondents. This shows that 5G are the most preferred one among all the other generations of iPhone being the latest and the most updated model. Also it indicates that people have become technology-centric who are regularly updating themselves with the new technologies.
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4.How long have you been using this iPhone? Time Less than 1 year 1 -2 year 2 - 3 years 3 4 years More than 4 years Total [Table no. 4] No. of respondents 05 12 09 02 02 30 Percentage (%) 16% 40% 30% 7% 7% 100%

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Less than 1 years 1 - 2 years 16% 40%

Responses

30% Responses

7% 2 - 3 years 3 - 4 years

7% More than 4 years

[Chart no. 4] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.2) INTERPRETATION It has been observed that nearly 40% of the respondents are using iPhone since 1-2 years, which signifies a good level of satisfaction among the respondents. In fact, 30% respondents were using it since 2-3 years that shows that it is very much being preferred by the respondents and they are greatly satisfied by it as in this continuously changing technology era, very few stick to 1 cell phone and keep on changing it.
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5. What were the single most important reasons for initially buying the cell phone of this brand? Reasons Price Features Quality product Looks Brand name Others Total [Table no. 5] No. of respondents 00 10 10 03 07 00 30 Percentage (%) 0% 30% 30% 9% 21% 00% 100%

responses
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 0% Price 30% 30% 21% responses 9% Features Quality product Looks Brand name 0% Others

[Chart no. 5] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.3) INTERPRETATION A maximum number, that is 30% of respondents have bought iPhone due to the quality of product and a same number of respondents had bought these iPhones due to its features, while 21% of respondents bought iPhone because of its brand name. So we can conclude that people try to get best value for their money.
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6. How much are you satified with the following things respect to Apple iPhone? Highly Things Satisfied Resp. Looks Size Weight 10 15 12 % 34% 50% 40% 50% 40% 77% Resp. 18 08 14 12 07 06 % 60% 27% 47% 40% 23% 20% Resp. 2 07 04 03 10 00 % 6% 23% 13% 10% 34% 0% Resp. 00 00 00 00 01 01 % 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 3% Satisfied Netural Unsatisfied Highly Unsatisfied Resp. 00 00 00 00 00 00 % 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Features 15 Price ASS 12 23

[Table no. 6]

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Looks Size Weight Features Price After Sales Service Highly Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Nuetral Satisfied Highly Satisfied

[Chart no. 6] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.4)

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INTERPRETATION The highest mean obtained from the rating given is for the quality of the product and features of iPhone and the lowest is for looks and price of iPhone. All other features are also rated with very less deviation amongst them. The satisfaction is quite high but it can still increase by providing better features or options. Thus customers prefer Apple iPhone more for quality and features satisfaction. So, the people who are technology-centric prefer it. Thus, overall customers are satisfied with the Apple iPhone.

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7. Do you feel privileged to have an iPhone? Feel of Privilege Yes No Total [Table no. 7] No. of respondents 28 08 30 Percentage (%) 93% 7% 100%

Responses
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 7% 0 Yes No Responses 93%

[Chart no. 7] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.5) INTERPRETATION It has been observed that 93% of the respondents feel privileged to have an iPhone and very less number of respondents, i.e., only 7% felt that having an iPhone is not privilege for him or her. So, we can conclude that having an Apple iPhone is privilege for most of the users.

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8. Do you feel iPhone should be catered only for young generation? No. of respondents Yes No Total [Table no. 8] 16 14 30 Percentage (%) 53% 47% 100%

Responses
54% 53% 53% 52% 51% 50% 49% 48% 47% 47% 46% 45% 44% Yes No Responses

[Chart no. 8] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.6) INTERPRETATION A maximum number that is 53% of respondents said that iPhone is catered for young generation and 47% of respondents said that iPhone is catered not only for young generation but also for other generations. So we can conclude that students opinion is mixed in terms of which generation it caters to.

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9. From where did you get to know about Apple iPhone? Sources Advertisements Newspaper & Magazines Friends & Relatives Television & Radio Others Total [Table no. 9] No. of respondents 05 02 23 00 00 30 Percentage (%) 17% 7% 76% 0% 0% 100%

Responses
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Advertisements NP & Magazine Friends & Relatives Television & Radio Others 17% 7% 0% 0% Responses 76%

[Chart no. 9] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.7) INTERPRETATION Maximum respondents gets the information about Apple iPhone from friends and relatives, thus very less respondents got inform from television and newspaper advertisements. Also we can say that the customers are mainly motivated to buy Apple iPhone from the influence of the people around them and not just mere advertisements. Thus, we can say that their promotion strategy of word of mouth is very strong that itself signifies that it has very high satisfactory level.
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10. Thinking of other companies in this segment, how would you rate Apple iPhone? Segments Much better Somewhat better About the same Much worse Total [Table no. 10] No. of respondents 19 05 06 00 30 Percentage (%) 63% 17% 20% 0% 100%

Responses
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Much better Somewhat better About the same Much worse 17% 20% 0% Responses 63%

[Chart no. 10] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.8) INTERPRETATION Maximum numbers of respondents think that, Apple iPhone is much better than other mobile companies, which shows a positive perception. There are 37% responses for the somewhat better and about the same categories also. Thus Apple is positioned as a superior one in the minds of the customer in comparison to other smart phone companies.
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11. What according to you is the biggest drawback of Apple iPhone? Drawback Price No easy connection to com. No Bluetooth No Extra Memory Slot Others Total [Table no. 11] No. of respondents 03 02 19 06 00 30 Percentage (%) 10% 7% 63% 20% 0% 100%

Responses
70 60 50 40 30 20 20% 10 10% 0 Price No easy conection to computer No Bluetooth No Extra Memory Slot Others 7% 0% Responses 63%

[Chart no. 11] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.9) INTERPRETATION According to the survey, 63% of the respondents said that iPhones biggest drawback is No Bluetooth and second major drawback that is No extra memory slot by 20% responses. 10% respondents said price is the biggest drawback for Apple iPhone and 7% respondents said that no easy connectivity to different computers is the biggest drawback.
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12. Would you like to buy an Apple iPhone again? Buy again Definitely yes Maybe Definitely no Total [Table no. 12] No. of respondents 21 09 00 30 Percentage (%) 70% 30% 0% 100%

Responses
80 70 70% 60 50 40 30 30% 20 10 0% 0 Definitely yes Maybe Definitely no Responses

[Chart no. 12] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.10) INTERPRETATION 70% respondents are willing to buy an Apple iPhone again. Thus the satisfaction is very high. The company can make efforts to change the perception of the respondents who are not sure about buying an Apple iPhone again.

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13. Would you like to recommend Apple iPhone to others? Option Yes Maybe No Total [Table no. 13] NO. of respondents 29 00 01 30 Percentage (%) 97% 0% 03% 100%

Responses
120 100 97% 80 60 40 20 0% 0 Yes Maybe No 3%

Responses

[Chart no. 13] (Source: Questionnaire Oue.11) INTERPRETATION 97% respondents are willing to recommend Apple iPhone to others. Word of mouth is a very effective tool of communication so this will help the company to increase it sells. Company should focus on 3% customers who do not recommend others to but an iPhone again.

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Conclusion & Recommendation

The study shows that most of the Apple iPhone owners fall in the young generation. Comparatively less number of Apple iPhone owners responded that it is not catered for only young generation. The study shows that a large number of students use 5G iPhone because of latest technology and features. The current trend is that maximum respondents prefer features and quality and then the price. The study shows that most of the respondents come to know about Apple iPhone from family and friends and a very few respondents know Apple through its advertisement, thus promotion is not very effective. In fact, maximum respondents are using Apple iPhone since 1-2 years and there are very much new buyers. Moreover, it has been noticed that features and quality of product are given higher rank as compared to looks and price of Apple iPhone. And an excellent rating is given to after sales services while the knowledge of the salesman is very good. Maximum respondents are highly satisfied with the features and performance of Apple iPhones. Many of the respondents are also dissatisfied with iPhones biggest drawback of no Bluetooth, no extra memory slot and no easy connectivity to different computers. The respondents are also highly satisfied with the companys overall and the after sale service. Most of the respondents are satisfied with the purchase made by them. According to the opinion of most of the respondents, Apple iPhone is much better when compared to other mobile companies. Most of the respondents are willing to buy an Apple iPhone again. Besides, many respondents are willing to recommend Apple iPhones to others as well.

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References
Sinha. A. (2008). Apple Inc.. Available: http://www.scribd.com/doc/14459393/major-projectreport-on-apple inc#download. Last accessed 14th March 2013. Sukumar. (2009). A Study Of Consumers Preference And Satisfaction Towards Various Cell Phone Service Provides .Available: http://www.scribd.com/doc/13489869/A-STUDY-OF-

CONSUMERS-PREFERENCE-AND-SATISFACTION-TOWARDS-VARIOUS-CELLPHONE-SERVICE-PROVIDES#download. Last accessed 14th March 2013.

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