An Investigation into the Determination of Brand Personality for a Telecommunications Company as Perceived by the Voice Services Customers: A Case Study of Powertel Communications
Bongani Ngwenya,
Admire R. Nyagura
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 3, June 2016
Pages:
22-30
Received:
31 August 2016
Accepted:
20 October 2016
Published:
12 December 2016
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijmfs.20160203.11
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Abstract: This research empirically measured the brand personality for Powertel Communications by using the five-dimension Brand Personality Scale developed by Aaker as a framework. Results of this investigation were obtained through an online questionnaire directed to Powertel customers whose response yielded 166 responses from a population of 264 customers. Reliability analysis using Cronbach alpha coefficient of the measurement model and the structural model provided evidence that the ‘sincerity’ dimension proposed by Aaker was not reliable. The reliability and validity test of the questionnaire resulted in the omission of the “sincerity” dimension. The T-Test showed respondent’s ideas about the personality of Powertel and they believed Powertel’s personality dimensions are: “excitement”, “competence” and “sophistication”. The respondents however, were not agreeing on the “rugged” dimension which showed that Powertel is not a rugged brand. The personality dimension “competence” was the most dominant personality amongst the customers followed by “excitement”. Some demographic effects on the personality perceptions were also analysed and found to be significant across all the dimensions except the rugged dimension. Finally, the hypothesis about the correlation between the customer traits and the customers’ perception on the brand personality for Powertel was tested and the results showed that there was significant correlation to justify Aaker’s model. The study makes the following recommendations: that Powertel envisages the philosophy of brand personality by modelling advertisements, marketing actions and price in a way that is congruent with the personalities of its target customers; that Powertel focusses more on innovations, value added services and promotions of its product portfolio. This is mainly because its customers largely perceive the company as competent and exciting as a result innovations and value added services will enhance the “competence” attribute whilst promotion will enhance the “exciting” attribute thus further strengthening the company’s competitive advantage, and finally, that Powertel reposition itself in a personality which distinctively differentiate itself from other competitors. The basis for differentiation need may come from the fact that at least 30% of the customers according to the research regard Powertel services as similar to competitors and at least 50% of the customers who are particular about branded products consider quality when making purchase decisions.
Abstract: This research empirically measured the brand personality for Powertel Communications by using the five-dimension Brand Personality Scale developed by Aaker as a framework. Results of this investigation were obtained through an online questionnaire directed to Powertel customers whose response yielded 166 responses from a population of 264 customers...
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