Effectiveness of Positioning Strategies Used by Mobile Phone Providers in Kenya

Abstract

Positioning is concerned with the attempt to modify the tangible characteristics and the intangible perceptions of a marketable offering in relation to the competition. In the mobile industry, the positioning involves communicating value of a service which is more difficult than positioning a product because of the need to communicate vague and intangible benefits. The mobile phone companies in Kenya are Safaricom, Zain Kenya, Telkom Kenya and Yu.

This study on the effectiveness of positioning in Kenya’s mobile phone shed light on the various positioning strategies used by the four players and what impact these strategies have had on mobile phone users in Kenya. This was done due to market share, ad recall among consumers and company reference were important indicators in understanding the efficacy of the various positioning strategies.

The research is a field survey whose variables were positioning strategies and consumer choice. The population of the study was the mobile phone users in Nairobi. A sample size of 150 mobile phone subscribers within Sarit Centre was chosen. Systematic sampling which involved a random start and then proceeds with the selection of every kth element from then onwards. The study collected primary data using a structured questionnaire and the data analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS. The analyzed data was summarized and presented in the form of simple frequency distribution tables and percentages.

The conclusion is that the positioning strategies employed by the mobile providers are effective and appropriate. They include offering certain benefits such as ring tones, good services and wallpapers; use of promotions and discount offers was also noted through offering free airtime and use of certain symbols that the client can identify with. This made the respondent be loyal to the provider as there was provision of good quality of services and the value of their money. The recommendations are that the mobile providers should provide good services of good quality at cheaper rates so as to retain the customers and also have an increase in number. The use of data services provided by the mobile provider should also be marketed and customer awareness created especially in the rural areas so as to target them. Also the promotion durations given is too short hence should be lengthened so as to deliver the message right and on time