Inspire the World, Create the Future.
For Smartphone Users.
Purpose.
The purpose of this study is to reveal the attitudes and behaviors of the target audience.
Background.
A total of 129 respondents participated in the survey with 57% female respondents, 40% male respondents and 3% who preferred to be kept anonymous. ​
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Based on the exploratory research, we formulated 5 hypotheses (aligned with CBBE pyramid model) to test:
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Samsung has a high-level brand recall
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Despite Samsung being known for its advanced technology and trendiness, the brand is not salient in the young category.
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Samsung users are satisfied with the overall phone performance, but do not see any added value for Samsung pre-installed apps.
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There is a perception that Apple iPhones are still of a higher tier compared to Samsung phones.
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Samsung users are brand loyal and would be happy to recommend their phones to others.
BRAND AWARENESS
Out of 129 respondents, around 28% of respondents mentioned Samsung first when they were asked to list down the first three phone brands that came into mind, this was usually followed by Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo.
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​From the chart below, we can see that the top three brand recalls are Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. These three brands cover the premium phone segment. Nevertheless, in terms of Android phones, Samsung still tops the list for brand recalls given that Apple runs on iOS. This indicates that there is high brand recall for Samsung in the smartphone market.
Verdict on Hypothesis 1: Yes, Samsung does have high brand recall. It tops the list for android phones but comes in second when including Apple.
BRAND IMAGE
Respondents were given 7 pairs of words and were asked to associate either word with Samsung’s brand image. As shown in the below graphs, Samsung’s image is more skewed to:
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Trendy
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Young
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Advanced technology
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Friendly
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Premium
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Credible
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Superior
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However, when comparing the answers from Samsung users and All users, we can see that for “All” users, most of them feel indifferent about the brand, especially in the following categories: “Young vs Old”, “Friendly vs Cool”, “Premium vs Affordable”, “Credible vs Trustworthy”, and “Superior vs Modest”.
Verdict on Hypothesis 2: Yes, despite Samsung being known for its advanced technology and trendiness, the brand is not salient in the young category, as well as premium, credibility, and superior categories among all types of smartphone users.
BRAND PERFORMANCE
Samsung users were asked to rate their satisfaction of their current Samsung phone along 8 categories: phone design, phone durability, battery life, software design, software efficiency, Samsung pre-installed apps, memory space, and compatibility with other devices.
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From the data gathered below, we can see that most Samsung users are satisfied their Samsung phones. However, almost half of the Samsung users (42%) are dissatisfied with the software design. This is due to Samsung using the android system, which is an open source operating system.
Verdict on Hypothesis 3: No, only a few Samsung users are dissatisfied with Samsung pre-installed apps, but 42% of Samsung users are more dissatisfied with the software design.
BRAND JUDGEMENT
Respondents were given scenario questions in which if they had a certain amount of money, which phone model would they wat to purchase.
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The first scenario is if they had 3000 RM to spend on a flagship phone (choices included Apple iPhone 11 Pro, Huawei P40 Pro, One Plus 9, and Samsung Galaxy S20):
From the data above, we can see that majority of “All” users would pick Apple iPhone 11 Pro. But, majority of Samsung users will stick with the brand and pick the Galaxy S20.
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The second scenario is if they had 4000 RM to spend on a flagship phone (choices included Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, Huawei Mate 30 Pro, One Plus 8 Pro, and Samsung Note 10 Plus):
From the data above, we can see that majority of “All” users would still pick Apple. And again, majority of Samsung users will stick with the brand and pick the Note 10 Plus.
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The last scenario is if they had 2000 RM to spend on a mid-range phone (choices included Apple iPhone SE, Huawei Nova 5T, Samsung Galaxy A71, and Xiaomi RedMi Note 10):
From the data above, we can see that majority of “All” users would pick Samsung Galaxy A71. But Apple iPhone SE is also as popular as Galaxy A71 among “All” users. And again, majority of Samsung users will stick with the brand and pick the Galaxy A71.
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We can assume that Samsung users trust the brand and believe in Samsung’s quality, credibility and superiority when making their purchase decision.
Verdict on Hypothesis 4: Yes, we may assume that there is a perception that Apple iPhones are still of a higher tier compared to Samsung phones when we consider “All” users. However, Samsung users are brand loyal and will stick with the brand.
BRAND RESONANCE
Samsung users were asked how likely they were to recommend their current phones to others, and the results showed that those who are using the premium line (e.g. Galaxy S line and Galaxy Note line) are more inclined to be promoters (35%). Meanwhile, those who are using the mid-range line (e.g. Galaxy A line and Galaxy J line) lean more towards being a Detractor (19%).
Verdict on Hypothesis 5: No, even though Samsung users are brand loyal, it does not necessarily mean that they would be happy to recommend their phones to others. Those who are using the premium line would be more willing to be promoters, but those who are using the mid-range line think otherwise.