(IDD Market - Hutchison Page 8)

Consumer Decision Making Process

1.  Problem Recognition

When people realize that they need to communicate with their overseas relatives, friends or clients directly through the phone, they will try to find that service.

2.  Information Search

After a consumer identifies a problem, they began to acquire information so as to eliminate the problem. For example, IDD users thought that the brochure and comparison of IDD companies’ performance were helpful to them when choosing IDD service company.

3.  Alternative Evaluation

There are ten evaluation criteria for IDD service: company image, transmission quality, connection time, dialing procedure, price, pay-method, ease of application, customer service, benefits.

4.  Choice Making

Consumers choose which IDD service company they register with.

5.  Post-purchase Evaluation

When customers made a decision on which IDD service provider to register with, they had to acquire the service from the chosen company. Everyone enters into purchase with certain expectations about the service. After consumption, they would judge whether the outcome of the service is satisfied or not.

Positioning

A position is the way the service defined by consumers on the important attributes, that is the place the service occupies in consumer minds relative to competing service.

For Hutchison IDD service, their position is very similar to the other IDD service companies, e.g. CTI, New World, and New T$T.  It also tries to provide cheap price in order to catch the market, for example, it provides discount for customers who dial over 1000 minutes a month.

Also, it provides discount on specific day in specific period. e.g. the charge of calls to USA from 8:00pm to 10:00pm would be $0.2 per min.

However, the service of Hutchison is not as good as HK Telecom. Therefore, the position of Hutchison is very similar to CTI, New World and New T&T, but greatly differs from HK Telecom.

Targeting

1 Definition:

Target market specifies segment of consumers most likely to purchase a  particular product.

2 Target market of Hutchison

The target market of Hutchison is mass market, which including the residential and business market. Hutchison offers low price to capture the residential market and send agents to companies individually, in order to provide different prices and different services to the companies. For the other IDD companies, their target markets are also very general, which including the residential and business markets.

 4P’s Analysis

 In this section , we only concern on the most important areas , they are Promotion, Price and Product.

1 Promotion

Comparing with the price of other companies, that of 0080 is not regarded as the lowest one. In some unpopular countries, namely, Italy, Germany, it charges evenly more. However, due to its target clients are belonging to those who concern its prices rather than its quality. In view of this, 0080 provides a series of discount plans which are known as “IDD 0080 Supreme Rates” and “ Golden Night rate” so as to attract the users in the general public. Its reasons are in two: Its slightly higher normal price avoids the building up of feeling “ the lower price, the lower standard” in its clients’ mind. They may lose their satisfaction from purchasing 0080. More importantly, the giant difference of the normal price and the discount price enhances the effect of price promotion. It seems that it is worth to use such good standard of IDD connection at that sharp-drop price.

0080 Supreme Rates Promotion is valid from 30 March 1999 to 15 May 1999 (inclusive), and applies to registered personal subscribers of Hutchison IDD 0080 and all mobile phone subscribers using 0080 to make IDD calls from Hong Kong to the above selected destinations during the designated hours. Its target clients are the ones who have family relatives in mainland, namely new arrivals from China. Golden Night Rate is similar to that of 0080 Supreme Rates Promotion except the dialed region is in foreign countries. Its aim is to attract the users with overseas families such as in Canada or Australia. On the whole, such price promotion approach is to stress on its low price and convenience, just like talking on local phone.

On the other hand, Hutchison attaches “ Everyday Card” to their applicants. It offers special discount in five aspects of life, fashion, restaurants, living, transportation, and entertainment. Furthermore, 0080 try to convey its information via the World Wide Web. Users can not only dig out the latest information and announcement, but also seek help from Hutchison there. There is no difficulty for its customers to find out their need, even games by entering http//www.hutchnet.com.hk/Home/Home/H-Home.html via Internet.

Last but not least, Hutchison spares no efforts in advertising in public media so as to let the public feels like that “Hutchison is in everywhere”. 0080 mainly applies rational approach to convey their latest plan or price by advertising in popular newspapers or magazines. For television advertisement, 0080 is based on emotional approach. It spreads the idea, that IDD can maintain the relationship of the whole family, which is different from ordinary incorrect view that IDD is nonsense: wasting time and money.

2 Price

As we mentioned before, 0080 prefers to maintain its price to a competitive level. Its “talk more, save more” scheme, that is an extra monthly bonus discount once any total monthly IDD spending exceeds HK$2,000, encourages the usage of IDD so as to maximize its sale penetration in the local region, then build up the market share. There is no doubt that IDD is important for long run competitive picture rather than immediate high profit. Being a volume objective goer, Hutchison prefers such sale approach. On the other hand, Hutchison offer a wide range of method of payment which, no doubt, save much time, hence in turn reduces the opportunity cost for using IDD 0080.

3 Product

Hutchison is now continuously increasing the countries to be connected and improving the quality of dial, so as to satisfy more needs. Also, for better security and cost control, it provides an account and security code as means to restrict unauthorized use of Hutchison IDD service.

4 Place

Owing to the fact that IDD market has stepped in its mature state. Everyone can get access of IDD-connection from different companies easily, so we cannot do anything more in this field to enhance the sale.  

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