MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE TELECOM COMPANIES IN THE UK
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Aims and Objectives................................................................................................................................ 4
Industry Definition .................................................................................................................................. 5
Background of the UK telecommunication industry............................................................................... 5
Characteristics of the UK Telecommunication Industry ......................................................................... 6
Industry Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Level of Competition in the Market .................................................................................................... 6
Segmentation Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 8
Market Demographics ........................................................................................................................ 8
New Trends ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Marketing Audit .................................................................................................................................... 10
PESTEL Analysis of the Industry ........................................................................................................ 10
Political factors.............................................................................................................................. 10
Economic factors........................................................................................................................... 11
Social factors ................................................................................................................................. 11
Technological factors .................................................................................................................... 12
Environmental factors................................................................................................................... 13
Legal factors .................................................................................................................................. 13
Porter 5 Forces Analysis .................................................................................................................... 14
The threat of the entry of new competitors ................................................................................. 14
The threat of substitute products or services ............................................................................... 14
The bargaining power of customers ............................................................................................. 14
The bargaining power of suppliers ............................................................................................... 15
The intensity of competitive rivalry .............................................................................................. 15
Customer Decision Making Process and the Role of CRM .................................................................... 15
Evaluation of Product Range................................................................................................................. 16
O2 ...................................................................................................................................................... 16
Vodafone........................................................................................................................................... 17
T-Mobile ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Pay-as-you-go vs. Long-Term Contracts ............................................................................................... 17
Role of Promotion Strategies in Building Long-Term Customer Relationship ...................................... 19
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 20
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 24
Research Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 24
Introduction
This report is intended to conduct market analysis of telecom companies operating in the UK
with the focus on their customer relationship. It will take into account different companies’
strategies to influence customers in order to retain them for long-run. In addition to this, this
report will also examine market factors which bear influence on companies’ strategic and
tactical choices. The importance of telecom sector for UK economy can be gauged from the
fact that it is increasingly becoming chief and essential feature of manufacturing sector.
Therefore, it is essential that competing firms come up with new and innovative product
range which allows them to develop a close and long-term relationship with customers. In
addition to this, it is also pertinent that other fields make use of telecommunication
technology to derive advantages and benefits for themselves. However, it is also true that
there are number of trends and regulations which cast deep shadow on the nature of this
industry. International regulations determine the industry standards which are required for
each firm to follow. In addition to this, multimedia content and speed are becoming new
factors which determine the attractiveness of service providers (Engelhardt, 2005).
Aims and Objectives
Following are the primary aims and objectives of this report:
1. To determine different market segments of the UK telecom industry.
2. To conduct marketing audit of this industry.
3. To determine different factors affecting macro-environment of the industry.
4. To determine factors influencing customer buying pattern.
5. To determine relative value of different companies and their products.
6. To analyse customer’s attitudes in context of customer relationship
7. To determine those factors which allow companies to build long-term relationship
with their customers.
8. To analyse the performance of different firms operating in the market.
9. To determine the critical success factors of the industry.
10. To identify the factors that determines the relationship between customer loyalty and
provision of service.
Industry Definition
UK telecom sector not only represents the telephone services of different companies but it
also include all types of access to different networks such as internet. This definition covers
dissemination of all type of information which can take shape of sound, pictures, etc. The
mediums are also several. Transmission medium can include cables, radio waves, relay or
satellite networks. Telecommunication industry is not limited to cellular technology but it
also takes into account telegraph and telex communication (Gallacci, 2006).
Background of the UK telecommunication industry
Telecommunication sector traces its roots from the development of telephone exchange in the
country. However, growth was witnessed in this sector during late 90s which completely
changed the outlook of the industry. Then in the succeeding years, deregulation and
privatization further improved efficiency and brought new competition in the market.
Recently, the UK telecom sector has experienced increased competition which has forced
competitors to focus on both price and non-price competition. Moreover, EU regulatory
framework has also brought changes in the UK telecom industry. However, there are number
of constraints which have limited the growth of this sector. One such constraint is the
difference between expected and actual demand of telecomm services. However, on overall
performance, UK telecomm sector is among the four big markets of the Europe. At the same
time, it also the second largest telecommunication industry as far as the value-addition is
concerned (Gallacci, 2006).
Characteristics of the UK Telecommunication Industry
This industry can be characterized as a mixture of monopolistic competition and oligopoly.
Liberalization allowed induction of new competition which introduced new and differentiated
products and services. In addition to this, the market can be categorized as mass due to
presence of large number of customers. Moreover, industry structure demands capital and
intensive approach which means a lot of money is required to enter this market. This also acts
as a barrier to new entrants. Service is loosely based on infrastructure e.g. 3G, EDGE, etc.
Another characteristic which provides benefit to present firms is large economies of scale
which put them in cost-advantage against new competition.
Industry Analysis
The UK telecommunication sector has experienced phenomenal growth in last few years. In
2007, it was able to generate revenues of £61.5bn which made it one of the largest industries
in the country. There are many firms competing in the industry but there are only few which
can be characterized as major players. Among these players, British Telecom is the oldest
player but lately has been losing its market share from new vibrant competitors. Other than
BT, the major players in UK telecommunication industry are Orange, Vodafone, T-Mobile,
O2 and Virgin (Gallacci, 2006).
Level of Competition in the Market
The competition is high in the industry which has forced competitors to indulge in both price
and non-price competition. Mobile retail is the leading factor in industry’s revenue stream.
New technologies such as 3G are also gaining popularity which has further stepped up the
competition. Voice and data-related revenues have reached figure of £15.1 billion. In similar
fashion, revenues form SMS has also seen an increase of 28%. The figures relating to the
industry paint a very healthy picture (Ofcom, 2010). Following table shows some of the data
relating to the industry:
Subscriptions 3.7 million new subscriptions
3G connections increase of 60%
SMS 59 billion SMS in 2007 alone (an increase by
28%)
MMS 59.1 billion
Revenue revenues rose by 4% in 2007
SMS revenue per connection 17% increase
Adopted from: (Ofcom, 2010)
O2 is currently the market leader as it took the number one position in 2007. It enjoys fine
run as it shares keep on increasing in comparison to other competitors. The position of O2
can be measured from the fact that it generated revenue of about £4.1 billion whereas T-
Mobile and Virgin Mobile generated revenue pf£2.7 billion. Following table shows
subscriptions of each major player (Ofcom, 2010):
Vodafone 16.5 million subscriptions
O2 20.0 million subscriptions
T-Mobile 17.3 million subscriptions
Orange 15.7 million subscriptions
3UK 4.0 million subscriptions
Adopted from: (Ofcom, 2010)
Segmentation Analysis
Market Demographics
United Kingdom has total population of 60 million. Around 48 million people use mobile
phones which not only show consumer inclination towards cellular technology but also make
visible the potential of growth. Moreover, around 70 million people have active connections
which show consumers’ preference for multiple connections (Ofcom, 2010).
Around 57% of the mobile users belong to male gender whereas rest are female users. It also
indicates that advertisement targeted towards male members of the society is more effective
than their counterparts. In addition to this, mobile are mostly used by population under the
age of 34. Around 59% of mobile usage is done by market of age 34 and below. On the other
hand, people above age of 65 represent the smallest segment for mobile companies. This can
be seen from the fact that this segment makes only 7% of total calls while their contribution
towards SMS stands at 5% (Ofcom, 2010).
Mobile internet has been very popular in public and has fuelled the demand of not only
mobiles but also service providers. In 2007, there was increase of 7.8 million 3G connections
which only substantiates the popularity of new technology in public.
New Trends
Mobile advertisement is one of new trends which have gripped the UK telecommunication
industry. This trend has taken birth from the explosion of mobile internet and new devices
such as IPhone and Google Android phone which are more internet friendly than other
mobile devices. These mobile devices are more supportive to multimedia content such as
YouTube which are very popular among general public. Resultantly, mobile advertisement
has increased manifolds. It is estimated that there have been an increase of 300% in this
segment. It is also estimated that mobile advertisement segment will stand at £187m by the
end of 2011. Similarly, mobile devices have also witnessed different trends. As technology
intensive field, it has seen many new innovations which have completely reshaped the
landscape of the cellular technology. Apple iPhone and the iPhone 3G have completely
revolutionized the market. Similarly, O2 has also changed the market dynamics with the
introduction of unlimited bandwidth utility. However, there is still potential of growth in
internet mobile market. Only 11% of mobile users use mobile for the purpose of accessing
internet. This market segment is leveraged by mobile companies through introduction of pay-
as-you-go models which makes around 22% of the mobile broadband connections. Following
are some of the other new trends that have recently emerged in the mobile market of the
United Kingdom (Trauth & Pitt, 1992).
Around 37% of mobile users have used their mobile devices for the purpose of
recording videos.
Around 50% of the consumers give preference to Bluetooth enabled mobile sets when
making buying decision regarding new mobiles.
More than 20% of mobile users also use mobile for downloading audio content such
as latest music tracks.
Internet usage stands at 50% which means that half of mobile owners in UK use
internet feature of their mobile devices.
Usage of mobile for downloading and uploading video and pictorial content stands at
25%.
GPS is gaining popularity but it currently used by 20% of mobile population.
Video streaming is done by almost 18% of the population.
The application of e-commerce through cellular technology is still low as only 9% of
the mobile users use it to either make purchases or pay utility bills.
Marketing Audit
Marketing audit is done to determine and understand the influence and impact of variables
operating in the internal and external environment of the industry. There are number of tools
which can be used to conduct marketing audit. As we are more interested in the macro-
environment of the industry, we will be making use of PESTEL analysis (Grant, 2005).
PESTEL Analysis of the Industry
PESTEL analysis allows clear and comprehensive understanding of macro-environment
which regulates the telecom industry in United Kingdom. Following is the breakdown of
PESTEL analysis:
Political factors
The current political conditions in the country promote the environment of deregulation.
Resultantly, new competition has emerged in the market which has increased the choices for
buyers. Similarly, as a result of deregulation from EU front, UK mobile market is expected to
face new competition in its market from the rest of the Europe (Bichta, 2001).
Economic factors
Global economic meltdown has put the UK economy into deep recession. The global
economic crisis has greatly influenced the public finances in UK and has left no visible path
to get out of it. The deficit ratio on GDP has reached 13% in UK arousing more fear on the
investors and policy makers. The official reports on the national debt rate states that it is
about 68% of GDP and is accelerating at continuous rate. This national debt ratio was 38%
only three years back and it now seems that it will exceed to 100% in the coming three years
(Global Economic Crisis, 2010). Numerous jobs have been lost which has decreased the
purchasing power of general population. Such economic scenario plays its role in hampering
growth of mobile market in the country (G.Jayalakshmi, 2009).
Social factors
Socio-cultural factors have deep influence on this sector. The emergence of social networking
platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has provided especially the young population with
another medium to interact. The analysis of culture of UK by the Hofstede (2011) dimensions
leads to the understanding that the people of United Kingdom scored low at Power Distance
Index (PDI), the rate of Individualism (IDV) is high among the people, the culture of UK is
male dominated and masculinity driven which means it scored high on Masculinity (MAS),
the people in UK are not superstitious to anything and the people are not very religious in
nature this leads to the understanding that the people of UK scored low at Uncertainty
Avoidance Index (UAI) and finally due to high rate of individualism, people do not seek long
term commitments which means the people score low at Long-term Orientation (LTO).
Source: Hofstede, 2011: Cultural Dimensions of UK
Various cultural studies noted that the culture has significant impact on the buying behaviour
of the consumers. The culture is the driving force that influences their decisions, acceptability
of technology and adoption of technology (Hofstede, 1991). This has brought significant
social and cultural change in not only United Kingdom but also in other developed
economies. Such happening has brought a change in the lifestyle of young urban population.
Such change has led to increase in demand of internet mobile devices as well as new
technologies such as 3G especially in younger segment of the market (Ivy Thesis, 2011).
Technological factors
Telecommunication industry is technology dependent and technology intensive industry.
Therefore, the emergence of new technologies has profound effect on the overall outlook of
the industry. Resultantly, cellular companies and service providers make use of new
innovations to gain competitive advantage. One such example is of iPhone by Apple. IPhone
revolutionized the landscape of mobile devices in the whole world as it introduced new
android technology in the market. Similarly, 3G technology has been very popular among
mobile users due to its advanced feature and high speed. 3K has the privilege of being market
leader in this market segment. It is essential for mobile companies to be proactive in
anticipating technology changes in order to survive in the market. The decline of British
Telecom can be attributed to their inability to anticipate and react to technology changes. It is
anticipated that number of radical changes in technology will occur in this sector which will
completely revolutionized this sector. These changes will be in form high internet speeds
available on internet and new technologies such as android which will make mobile interface
for user more friendly and convenient (Liao et al., 2009).
Environmental factors
Telecom is least affected by environmental factors as unlike transportation or petroleum
sector, it does not directly or indirectly affect or alter environment. Gruber (2003) suggested
that the telecommunications industry is a fast paced industry that has become one of the
major contributors in the mobile phones industry. There are various trends in the industry that
affect the performance of the companies. In general, the environment of the mobile
companies is gravitating towards the global operations. The mobile firms like O2 face certain
challenges in the production and provision of new and better products at low costs and
competitive prices.
Moreover, the globalization is another trend that widely influence the way these firms are
operating in the domestic and international markets. The global operations allow the
companies to devise strategies in such a way that ensures the large scoop of profits from their
markets. Jonash (2000) noted that such environments are monitored by the firms via effective
information technology systems and internet to understand and identify these trends and their
impacts on the companies at large.
Legal factors
Legal influence exists in form of deregulation measures adopted by country’s legislative body
or organization like European Union. Such measures directly affect governing rules of this
sector. In addition to this, it also determines the level of competition in the industry. Telecom
sector is expected to witness more deregulation in the coming years (Gallacci, 2006).
Another effective tool to conduct marketing audit is Porter 5 forces model. This framework
allows comprehension of different variables operating in the external environment of the
industry (Porter, 1980).
Porter 5 Forces Analysis
The threat of the entry of new competitors
Threat of new entrants in UK telecom sector is significant. This is due to that fact that there is
still potential of growth in this sector. However, following are some of the factors which
reduce the level of this threat (Bichta, 2001).
Huge capital investment required to setup telecom operations.
Economies of scale enjoyed by companies currently present in the market.
Customer loyalty of present brands.
The threat of substitute products or services
The threat of substitution is very high due to presence of similar products and service, low
switching costs and ease of access to product’s information. However, companies make use
of new and innovative technologies to gain competitive advantage over their competitors
(Trauth & Pitt, 1992).
The bargaining power of customers
Customers are the king of UK telecom sector as they enjoy significant bargaining power. Due
to regulated nature of the industry, there is cut-throat competition between rival firms. Such
competition only benefits customers who are offered different products and services at
relative prices (Porter, 1980).
The bargaining power of suppliers
The suppliers mostly consist in form of companies which provide mobile operators with
technology infrastructure needed to setup mobile operations in the country. In addition to
this, mobile manufacturers are also the suppliers for this industry. Due to presence of large
number of suppliers, the bargaining power of suppliers is only moderate.
The intensity of competitive rivalry
The intensity of competition is very high in this industry. Rival firms make use of both price
and non-price strategies to gain competitive advantage over their rival firms. Another
indicator of intense competition is the level of budgetary allocation for marketing and
advertisement purposes. Another indicator is the expenditure on research and development in
order to develop new technologies which could allow companies to gain advantage over their
rivals (Gallacci, 2006).
Customer Decision Making Process and the Role of CRM
Customer Relationship Management is defined as enterprise-level system intended to conduct
customers’ interactions with the organization in most efficient manner. Therefore, it is
essential for any organization to make use of CRM systems to improve their relationship with
customers. For telecom sector, which is entirely dependent on IT infrastructure, CRM holds
a central position. As a result, companies like O2 and T-Mobile are increasingly cognizant of
its significance and are making use of it to develop long-term relationship with consumers
(G.Jayalakshmi, 2009).
CRM enables organization to take a complete and holistic view of customer decision making
process. It provides it with real-time information which enables it to react to customer needs
in most appropriate and timely manner. CRM allows telecom companies to interact with their
customers in order to entertain their queries, orders, suggestions and complaints. CRM also
assist companies’ sales force in identifying and prospecting new leads. It identifies problem
areas as well as performance gaps in the provision of goods and services. Telecom companies
can use CRM in following ways to improve their services and hence build long-term
relationship with their customers (Fendelman, 2010).
1. To provide their sales force with real-time and relevant information which could
allow them to respond to customer needs and demands in face-to-face contact.
2. CRM system can be integrated with call centre operations in order to collect customer
data relating to consumer needs and wants. Later, this information can be used to
extract trends through application of tools such as data mining.
3. CRM can be used to identify information which is mostly enquired by customers.
This information can then be provided on internet for the convenience and ease of
customers.
In addition to this, CRM system can allow any telecom company to determine buying pattern
of their customers. For instance, T-Mobile can use CRM system to determine the
demographics of their users which mostly conduct international calls. Such data will allow
them to respond to this market segment in most personalized manner. Customization of
service allows firms to build a sustainable completive advantage (Kotler, 1988).
Evaluation of Product Range
O2
It is known for offering simple pay-as-you-go packages. However, it is bit expensive in
comparison to other operators and has poor signal range in some parts of the country. Its
geographic coverage does not include whole country and its 3G signals are not up to mark.
Nevertheless, it offers best customer service in the industry (Telecoms Market Research,
2008).
Vodafone
Vodafone was the first mobile company to enter UK telecom sector. It is currently the world
largest telecommunication group. In United Kingdom, it offers comprehensive coverage
encompassing almost all of the country. It is also known for its pay-as-you-go service and
offers one of the best customer service which can be substantiated from it large customer
base (Telecoms Market Research, 2008).
T-Mobile
It offers service in relatively higher prices to other operators. Their customer service is also
reported to be very poor. It also offers good network coverage with strong signal strength. It
also intends to offer greater 3G service in the country (Telecoms Market Research, 2008).
The recent merger among T-Mobile and Orange in their UK operations has made it the
largest mobile phone operator in UK with more than 28.4 million customers and increased
market shares above 37%. This merger has become the competitive advantage for both of the
companies (Wray, 2009).
Pay-as-you-go vs. Long-Term Contracts
The introduction of pay-as-you-go has revolutionized the competitive setting of UK telecom
industry. It has liberated consumers from suffering agonizing post-paid service and its related
charges (Fendelman, 2010). However, there is still a market segment which prefers long-term
contracts due to their personal and business considerations. The popularity of pay-as-you-go
can be gauged from the fact that some people prefer to use pay-as-you-go pricing even when
using long-term contracts. Following are some of the factors which determine the choice of
the consumer to either use pay-as-you-go or long-term contract (Fendelman, 2010).
1. The financial ability of consumer. A person with regular and stable income stream
will most likely to go for long-term contract.
2. Age is another important factor. Young segment of the market will most likely to go
with pay-as-you-go packages as they usually are limited by financial constraints.
3. Usage. Customers with repetitive and routine usage will most likely to go for the
long-term contracts.
4. Tariff. Pay-as-you-go usually offers more choices of pricings than long-term contract.
5. Packages offered by different operators are also one of the factors which influence the
decision of consumer.
Usually, pay-as-you-go packages are considered more cost-effective than long-term
contracts. This can be substantiated from the fact that it is gaining more popularity than latter.
Following table shows tariff rates for pay-as-you-go package for O2.
O2
Pay-as-you-go
Price Minutes Messages
7.50 0 unlimited
10.5 100 500
15.5 300 unlimited
Adopted from: (Fendelman, 2010)
Role of Promotion Strategies in Building Long-Term Customer Relationship
Promotion is done to increase the awareness of the product as well as to persuade consumer
to give preference to a specific brand in his decision making process. There are number of
promotional tools which are available to manager which can be used for the purpose of
influencing and altering consumer behaviour. Following are some of the tools which can be
used by manager to build long-term relationship.
1. Advertising. It is defined as paid presentation of a brand where sponsor can be clearly
identified. The primary benefit of advertisement is that it can make use of different
media. Similarly, it has large market reach than other promotion tools. Telecom
companies excessively make use of advertising to promote their products and
services. For this purpose, they allocate a large amount of resources in their budget
(Assael, 1998).
2. Sales Promotion. It is another effective way to promote one’s product. Using sales
promotion, companies can induce customer to make purchase. This is quite relevant in
telecom sector as it can be used to make sales of complementary products and
packages. Sales promotion is used by companies to increase sales in short-term (Liao
et al., 2009).
3. Personal Selling. Sales force is responsible to conduct personal selling. CRM can play
essential role in personal selling. It can provide salesmen with the relevant
information which can be used to close the deals. As personal selling entails direct
interaction and communication between consumers and sellers, CRM can enable
organizations and their sales force to provide customized and personal service. Such
service goes long way in building sustainable relationship with customers (Liao et al.,
2009).
4. Publicity. Publicity is the below the line promotional methodology which is directed
on the consumers without letting them know about it (Kotler, 2009). Publicity is
mostly free of charge and it is a part of public relations maintained by the company to
obtain the favourable reviews of the customers, employees, stockholders, government
officials, and society in general (Berkowitz et al, 2000). Once publicity is done, it
cannot be repeated. It is an unconventional method of promoting products and service.
It is usually non-paid communication using different mediums but organization
indirectly incurs publicity costs. However, it can create both negative and positive
perception about the brand (Trauth & Pitt, 1992).
It is pertinent to note that managers and their organization do not make use of single method.
Instead, they develop promotion mix which makes use of each above-mentioned tool
according to their efficiency and efficacy.
Conclusion
After conducting market analysis of the UK telecom industry, we can deduce following key
findings:
1. There is potential of growth in this sector as there are number of niches present in the
market such as internet, mobile commerce, etc. which can easily be identified by
organizations. Focusing on such segments will allow telecom companies to establish
their foothold which could eventually result in increased profitability.
2. CRM plays significant role in developing long-term customer relationship. It is on the
basis of efficient and effective CRM system that O2 was able to achieve status of
market leadership.
3. Different factors influence the consumer choice in selecting either the pay-as-you-go
or long-term contract.
4. Different promotion strategy is required for each of the above-mentioned options.
5. New trends such mobile internet, advertisement are rapidly changing the competitive
landscape of the industry.
6. Technological changes have profound effect on the competitiveness of the industry.
Bibliography
Assael, H., 1998. Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action.
Berkowitz et al., 2000. Marketing, 4th edition, Canada: McGraw Hill
Bichta, C., 2001. The UK telecommunications industry 2001. The University of Bath.
Engelhardt, A., 2005. Customer equity and market value in the UK mobile industry. CYBAEA
Journal.
Feldmann, V., 2002. Competitive strategy for media companies in the mobile internet.
Schmalenbach Business Review.
Fendelman, A., 2010. Prepaid Cell Phones: Analysis of pay as You Go vs. monthly contract
plans. [Online] Available at:
http://cellphones.about.com/od/serviceplananalysis/a/payasyougo.htm [Accessed 17 June
2011].
G.Jayalakshmi, 2009. Crm and the telecom sector. [Online] Available at:
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/crm-and-the-telecom-sector-821599
[Accessed 17 June 2011].
Gallacci, L., 2006. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY REPORT.
Garnham, N., 1990. Telecommunications in the UK: A policy for the1990s.
Global Economic Crisis, 2010. UK Economic and Debt Crisis Approaches Dangerous
Tipping Point, [online] available at http://www.globaleconomiccrisis.com/blog/archives/983
[Accessed July 5, 2011]
Grant, R.M., 2005. Contemporary strategy analysis.
Gruber, H. 2003. The Economics of Telecommunications. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Hofstede, G. 1991. Cultures and organizations: software of the mind, New York: McGraw
Hill
Hofstede, G. 2011. Cultural Dimensions: UK, [online] available at http://www.geert-
hofstede.com/hofstede_united_kingdom.shtml [accessed July 5, 2011]
Ivy Thesis, 2011. the Critical factors of the telecommunication industry in the UK– A case
dissertation of 02.
Jonash, R. 2000. Product Innovation: Staying Ahead of the Competition. USA Today, Vol:
128 issue 2656, p. 24.
Kotler, P., 1988. Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning. In Implementation and
Control.
Kotler, P., 2009. Marketing Management, India: Pearson Education
Liao, S.-L., Shen, Y.-C. & Chu , C.-H., 2009. The effects of sales promotion strategy, product
appeal and consumer traits on reminder impulse buying behaviour. International Journal of
Consumer Studies.
Ofcom, 2010. The communications market.
Porter, M.E., 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and
competitors.
Siau, K. & Shen, Z., 2003. Building customer trust in mobile commerce. Communications of
the ACM.
Telecoms market Research, 2008. UK mobile operator subscriber data, statistics and market
share 4Q 2006 - 1Q 2008. [Online] Available at:
http://www.telecomsmarketresearch.com/resources/UK_Mobile_Operator_Subscriber_Statist
ics.shtml [Accessed 17 JUne 2011].
Trauth, E.M. & Pitt, D., 1992. Competition in the Telecommunication Industry:A new global
paradigm and its limits. Journal of Information Technology.
Wray, R. 2009. Orange and T-Mobile to create UK's largest mobile phone company, [online]
available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/08/orange-tmobile-merger
[Accessed July 5, 2011]
Zeithaml, V.A., Berry, L.L. & Parasuraman, A., 1996. The behavioral consequences of
organizational performance. Journal of Marketing.
Appendix
Research Methodology
Secondary data was to use to conduct this analysis. This secondary data was mostly in form
of books, article journals and research papers. The studies relating to customer loyalty and
role of CRM in telecom sector was given preference and priority. The information derived
from these studies and research paper was used to conduct thorough analysis after which
conclusion and recommendation were given.