Liu+J.+Focus+Group+Report

Liu J.

To: Proximity Mobile Team From: Jesse Liu Date: March 29, 2010 Subject: Focus Group Report

Here is my focus group regarding mobile devices and mobile phone providers. I found that most of these G en-Y users purchased their mobile phone based on the phone's' positive customer reviews, while others are influenced by the popularity when deciding what phone to purchase. Most of Gen-Y I interviewed with are Verizon users, except one person had to switch to AT&T in order to get an iPhone. U.S. users of smart phones typically buy a subsidized handset from a particular cell phone provider. Consequently they must consider trade-offs between handset features and the price and quality of the cell network. The purpose of our focus groups is to determine what factors influence these decisions, and whether they are driven primarily by the choice of handset or the provider network. We also want to determine the extent to which Gen-Y uses apps. This information will let us better advise Proximity clients about which handsets and networks are most attractive to Gen-Y users. The 45 min focus group session was held at Starbucks on Sunday, March 21, 2010. The involved participants were:
 * Rationale **
 * Setting and Participants **
 * Jennelle, 20, female, a sophomore at Indiana Uni. of PA with Fashion Merchandising major;
 * April, 22, female, a graduate student with Business major;
 * Jason, 22, male, a senior at Virginia Tech with Mechanical Engineering major;
 * Matt, 26, male, a junior at Loyola Uni. of MD with Accounting major;
 * Dave, 23, male, a senior at UMBC with Business major;

The following topics were covered during the session:
 * Session Topics**

__Purchase influence__ When asked what influenced their decision making in a particular handset, most of the participants agreed that their decision was based on personal desires and positive customer reviews. Both Jason, owner of LG EnV2, and Matt, owner of Blackberry Curve, said that they had known people that have the same handset were very satisfied. Matt also stated, “ I bought my handset because I needed something that I could use to get my emails and have access to the Internet” and “my friends who previously had Blackberrys pointed out they were reliable and robust.” Jennelle claimed that she mainly liked the fact her LG Env2 has a music player and Verizon was running a //Buy One, Get One Free// promotion. In addition, both April, owner of Blackberry Tour, and Dave, owner of iPhone 3G, said they were looking to purchase the newest phone in the market with great capabilities. __ Reputation of a cell provider __ When asked if the reputation of a carrier or quality of a network was important in their decision-making, all of the participant s believed the quality and the reputation are very crucial. Most of my participants are current Verizon customers, except Dave. He’s with AT&T because of AT&T and iPhone exclusivity. Jennelle was a former Cingular (now AT&T) customer. After she discovered Verizon eight years ago, she has been satisfied ever since. She added, “I switched to Verizon because Cingular didn’t have much coverage.” Likewise, April claimed, “Verizon is the best service I have experienced. My calls are never dropped, even on the metro or in a tunnel, and the customer service is very good.” Jason said his family has been very satisfied with Verizon for 6 years, and therefore he also joined. Matt also found out Verizon has the largest coverage before he became a customer. __Daily activities on handset__ When asked what features are used on daily basis, all of my participants implied that text messaging and picture capturing with the built-in camera are commonly used. In addition, Jennelle loves music, she claimed Verizon’s VCast is her favorite, “ I have VCast Song ID. This is where you put the phone against to the radio or any song that’s currently playing, and it will tell you the artist and title.” April, Matt and Dave enjoy utilizing apps on the go, such as E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Navigation, Internet and more. __ Satisfaction with current device __ When asked if everyone is happy with his or her device, and the current provider, Jason stated his EnV2 has horrible quality control, “the external keypad doesn’t work properly, and the phone powers down on its own.” He said he would buy a smartphone next time. Jennelle, who also has the same phone as Jason, informed the same issue abou t the keypad, and “it breaks all the time”. Meanwhile, both April and Matt thought their Blackberry is perfect for them and would not change a thing about it. Everyone is very satisfied with Verizon, except Dave. He loves his iPhone, but would prefer to use it on Verizon’s network. Findings ** The session revealed that the involved participants are:
 * Buying phones base on popularity and positive customer reviews;
 * Using their phones for many other activities, not limited to making a phone call;
 * happier with smartphones, because they are more durable than feature phones;
 * Very satisfied with Verizon’s coverage and service

These findings should be compared with the result from our other sessions with other Gen-Y. As demand of these smartphone increases, mobile data usage also increases. The cell providers would need to expend and improve their network coverage in order to supply the heavy data usage to user.

Although majority of the participants are on Verizon Network except for one. However, to some Gen-Y, a desire to own an Apple iPhone outweighs the poor service provided by AT&T. Meanwhile, there are many others who want to wait until the iPhone goes to Verizon. The biggest concern is that if the rumor about Verizon acquires iPhone is true, then when could we expect this to take place? Base on this session, we could conclude that smartphones are far better than feature phones; and choosing a cell provider is more important than the phone itself.