Evaluate the present marketing mix for T-Mobile

To fully evaluate the current marketing mix for T-mobile I will make use of secondary research available from survey companies such as mintel or keynote I can analyze how T-Mobile have been trading in the past twelve months. When using my questionnaire I will use quota sampling doing this enables me to narrow the results down to certain age groups so when I put the information into graphs I can analyze further allowing me to make more accurate recommendations for T-Mobile. My primary research will be made up of visiting stores and making notes about their products and their price. Viewing the T-Mobile website will also help me gain a better understanding of how T-Mobile is part of a group (Desutshe telekom) the T-Mobile website also has information on up and coming promotions aiding me even further with evaluating T-Mobiles marketing mix.

OCR have compiled a list of the top 10 questions given to them by the whole country. The results of which were then compiled and were allowed to be analyzed by everyone taking part. The questions were of a closed format this was to be expected as people would not spend a great deal of time answering questions however using this format does not allow for specific detail to the personal needs of different individuals cannot be recorded.

I interviewed my interviewees and slough high street as it contains different genders, age groups and socio economic groups I also used quota sampling so I could document and analyze the needs and wants of different parts of society . Quota sampling allows me segment the people I want to interview into mutually exclusive sub-groups, doing this allows me to view how different parts of the population answered the questionnaire. The advantages and disadvantages of using a survey such as this one is shown .

Secondary research

T-Mobile is the UK network of T-Mobile International, one of the three strategic growth areas of Deutsche Telekom AG. Over 120 million people throughout Europe and the USA use services provided by companies in which T-Mobile or Deutsche Telekom hold a stake. T-Mobile sponsor football teams which include, , Southampton Football Club, Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic, West Bromwich Albion Celtic football club, Birmingham City and Rangers Football Club. Other activities which included T-Mobile were the UEFA Euro 2004(tm).

Mintel report:

“The mobile handset market is currently in a healthy state. 3G technology is generating excitement among consumers and many are being encouraged to trade up to more expensive phones. Market growth in 2004 reached �1,105 million, a rise of 11% on 2003, while volume levels were also healthy at 13% growth, totaling over 18 million units. Much of this market growth is driven by the youth market, for whom the new technology holds the promise of a more exciting and interactive social life.”

“Subscription penetration levels are around 80%. For many consumers, the need for new technology is unimportant compared with the capacity to contact another person at the touch of a button, wherever they are. Security and emergency use are still strong motivating forces for the majority of mobile ownership.”

“68% of handset volume and 25% of total mobile calls are accounted for by pay-as-you-go.”

“28% of consumers don’t think about the bill when talking on their mobile phone.”

This is a brief extract from a very lengthy report carried out by mintel into the state of mobile communications. From this report we can see that 3G technology is exciting customers and that sales of mobile phones continue to rise. This report also indicates to us that the youth community are accountable for much of this growth as they view mobile phone as a fashion accessory. T-Mobile can use these reports to alter their promotion so that they are in line with market needs and wants.

What is the marketing mix?

* The marketing mix consists of what is known as the four Ps

Importance to T-mobile?

This is important to t-mobile because if they wish to sell a product they must first see if it suitable to the market. Then they must choose a price accessible for the part of the market that they are targeting. After choosing both of these T-mobile must then choose a place to sell it while keeping in mind that consumers are not prepared to travel far for what is a luxury. Ample promotion must be installed if the wish the product to be successful.

Product

Range of services t-mobile offer

* Pay Monthly

* Pay as you Go

* U fix

* Small Range of Mobile Phones

Pay monthly

This service gives consumers a chance to pay per month for the minutes that they use. This type of tariff is generally aimed at people who use their phones on a more regular basis and would be impractical to keep “topping up” as you do with pay as you go. Signing up to a pay monthly contract means you are entering a contract and so cannot cancel until the duration of the contract has finished. These contracts are usually 12 or 18 months in duration so you lose some of the freedom gained in pay as you go. However with a wide range of tariffs overall value is increased and is cheaper per annum. These contracts are aimed at people older than 16 as you are unable to open one if you are under this age.

Pay as you go

This gives freedom as you only pay for what you use. You buy a voucher and use the �10 worth of calls on that voucher. Once that airtime is used you can simply buy another voucher. This is aimed at the U16s who are unable to purchase a contract also for people who do not use their phones frequently. However possible downsides are that unlike contracts you do not get a free phone as you do with nearly all contracts. So an initial outlay is needed.

U Fix

This is a new type of contract introduced buy T-mobile. You are able to manage a price plan around yourself and if you need more you can simply top up. This is still aimed at over 16s. You get all the same benefits as you do in pay monthly however the added luxury of being able to top up your account

Mobile Phones

T-mobiles also offer a small range of mobile phones developed by the company itself. These are an added incentive for people to use and sign up to T-mobile