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CHAPTER I 1. ABSTRACT 2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .. CHAPTER II 3. OBJECTIVES .. 3.1. PRIMARY OBJECTIVES 3.2. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES CHAPTER III 4. CONSUMER ATTITUDE ON BUYING LAPTOPS . 4.1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER IV 5. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESUTS .. CHAPTER V 6. CONCLUSION 43 17 14 12 7 8
APPENDIX I APPENDIX II
BIBLIOGRAPHY . QUESTIONNAIRE .
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CHAPTER I
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CHAPTER I ABSTRACT:
A customer is anyone makes regular purchases from a company or a store, while a consumer is one who makes any transactional decisions of economic nature including buying of goods and services. Consumer can be both personal consumer who buy for his or her own person and family consumption and organizational consumer which could include nongovernmental organization, political groups, companies and
governments. Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, group, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer. Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products which includes social and mental processes. This study was undertaken in order to find out the factors influencing consumers purchase decision of laptop. And the findings of this first objective will provide the basis for the second research objective in the study. Secondly, it is intended to find out whether there are differences among consumer groups of a laptop company with respect to the importance given to the factors influencing consumers laptop purchases. The customer base of a company consists of four groups of consumers fresher ,stayers (those who had never switched from a previous brand), satisfied switchers (those who switched for reasons other than dissatisfaction) and dissatisfied switchers (those who switched because they were dissatisfied from their previous brand).This study, thus looks into the understanding of the attitudes of these three different groups of customers which plays an important role when implementing effective and feasible retention and loyalty strategies. Furthermore, it is also crucial to understand whether
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there are differences among these groups in terms of the factors affecting their future laptop purchases when they are upgrading their laptops.
INTRODUCTION: Laptop sales in India have risen drastically, which accounts for over 25% of the total personal computer market. Laptop sales only accounted for a 3% of the total personal computer till 2003. The sales of the laptops has reached a mark of 5.68 million unit in fiscal year 2012-2013 which accounts for a growth of 80% over the same period in fiscal year 2011-2012. Sale of desktop computers and laptops has touched the mark of 8.5 million units in the fiscal year 2010-2011. There are various main players in the Indian notebook market. The objectives of the study are to understand the brand position in the minds of the laptop owners and to map their perception. It also focuses on mapping the dealer perception about the top performing brands in the laptop sales. From the study it was found that customers prefer a particular brand compared to others. This particular brand is preferred mainly by the youths because of the good configuration available and its brand image. The company being studied seems to be lacking in considered attributes. Businessmen however use a combination of all the brands; this could be probably because of the various applications of theirs. The customers find cash discount and free accessories most attractive while making a purchase. A reasonable percentage of people also have a mind to accept new offers also. The success rate in achieving good market share by the highly preferred company by customers proves that the advertising media plays a crucial part in promoting their products. The dealers find the incentives by this particular company most attractive compared to other IT and technology companies.
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There are seminal studies on consumer purchase decision models in the literature, however, consumer purchase decisions vary greatly depending on the product to be purchased. Therefore, sectoral studies are needed to delineate the factors affecting consumer purchase decisions in various product markets. The International Data Corporation (IDC, 2013) report mentioned that in 2012 consumers continued to respond very positively to very attractive price points, but portable demand in the business space remained very strong too. According to What Laptop (2013), Dell was the number one choice in worldwide with 17.9 million sales. It was followed respectively by HP (17.4 million), Toshiba (15.8 million), IBM (14.3 million), and Acer (13.9 million) in year 2012. Furthermore, revenue generated from notebooks has long surpassed desktops, thanks to higher average selling prices for notebooks. In addition, new product launches to the market, acquisitions and mergers in the sector, rapid developments in the nano-technology, integrated wireless networking, and decreased prices make it extremely vital for the companies to understand the factors underlying consumers laptop purchase decisions. The customer base of a company consists of four groups of consumers: fresher (those who dont have laptop, but frequently using in college, net caf etc.,) stayers (those who had never switched from a previous brand), satisfied switchers (those who switched for reasons other than
dissatisfaction), and dissatisfied switchers (those who switched because they were dissatisfied from their previous brand). Understanding the attitudes of these four different groups of customers plays an important role when implementing effective and feasible retention and loyalty strategies. Furthermore, it is also crucial to understand whether there are differences among these groups in terms of the factors affecting their future laptop purchases when they are upgrading their computers.
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The objectives of this study are twofold. Initially, it is aimed to determine the factors influencing consumers laptop purchases, and the findings of this first objective will provide the basis for the second research objective in the study. Secondly, it is intended to find out whether there are differences among consumer groups of a computer company with respect to the importance given to the factors influencing consumers laptop purchases. In the following part a brief and recent literature will be given about consumers purchase decisions. BACKGROUND: The computers have come a long way from their birth as complex mechanical calculating machines available only to a few large institutions to being ubiquitous complex electronic systems capable of handling large amount of data and executing complex calculation in the todays world. Their power and performance has been growing at an incredible pace which has made them a must-have for every business from a retail shop to airlines. The ever decreasing price of the computer systems has only added to the trend. All these factors have increased the importance of computers in the business world and otherwise at a phenomenal rate especially over the past few years. As the requirement for better, powerful, compact, faster & higher memory computer systems grew, smaller & portable computer systems called laptops was introduced. These wonderful machines are a great help to the user owing to their compactness and capabilities. In the present age of information, laptops have proved to be an executives best friend. Their feature of compactness over desktop PCs gives the user the convenience to work, share and stay connected while on the go.
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CHAPTER II
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CHAPTER II
OBJECTIVES:
Primary objectives:
1. To identify the consumer attitude towards buying a laptop 2. To conclude or identify the appropriate laptop for the consumer
Secondary objectives :
1. To study the importance of various attribute which effect the purchasing decision of customers in regard of laptops.
2. To study consumers buying behaviours.
3. To study the satisfaction level of the customers on overall performance and after sale service of their existing laptops/ New laptops
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CHAPTER III
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CHAPTER III
CONSUMER ATTITUDE ON BUYING LAPTOPS: Consumer attitude is designed to give merchants, media and industry analysts insight into shopping trends, pricing and market share. Consumer would consider a portable-style laptop when purchasing a new laptop; however, performance and price play a significant part in their decision to purchase. Research methodology: For exploratory research, the following techniques were used: a) Open-ended questionnaire These questions were used to know what are the different attributes which a student at SIC
looks for while selecting a laptop. b) Focused group discussions Here, a discussion among a group of students was arranged to bring out the attributes that are evaluated by the students while selecting a laptop. For secondary research, the following sources were used: a) Websites of different laptop brands to know their unique selling propositions. b) Other journals and tech magazines available online and at SCMHRD library. Based on the attributes found out in the exploratory research and the secondary research, the information gap was identified and hence it was decided to conduct primary research to fill the gap. The research was conducted by administering questionnaire on the students of the TBAK campus. For primary data collection, Questionnaire administration was done personally and through online questionnaires.
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Data Collection In line with the research purposes of this study, a questionnaire was prepared. With the help of my friends I could spread this questionnaire and collect the data of consumer buying behavior on purchase of laptop. Since this research was focused on the factors influencing laptop purchase decisions of consumers, it was seen appropriate to perform a traditional survey. In addition, a cover letter, which had explained the purpose of the study, with the questionnaire was sent to the customers. During the data collection of this research, most of the electronic shops were selling IBM laptops as well as desktops. Hence, even though IBM no longer exists as a PC brand name, Lenova was included to the questionnaire as IBM launched Lenova logo for its expansion. Another PC brand Compaq was eliminated from the questionnaire, since it was long ago merged with HP. Furthermore, in order to omit the confusion of national or international brand distinction from the minds of consumers, only international brands were examined in this study. The laptop brands examined in this research were limited by the following brands: Acer, Dell, HP, HCL, Lenova, and Sony. A total of 50 responses were collected, but only 27 of the respondents declared that they had a laptop. Limitations of the study Any research is composed of its own set of constraints. Similarly; this research work also bears limitations. The study is confined only to TBAK Campus. Only 50 respondents are taken for the study. There was also time constrain for the study.
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CHAPTER IV
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CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Questionnaire Design and Measures of Constructs In the first part of the questionnaire, the consumers were asked whether they had a laptop or not. The brand name of their laptop was also asked to the consumers. As stated earlier, this course of independent study has classified the consumer base of a company into four groups: Fresher, stayers, satisfied switchers, and dissatisfied switchers. Therefore, the consumers in this study replied to the question about whether the current brand that they were using was their first laptop brand or whether they had switched from a previous laptop brand. As a following question, consumers, who had switched, were asked to state the reason of why they switched from a previous laptop brand to their current brand. The options for switching included (a) Overall dissatisfaction from the previous laptop brand, (b) Reasons other than dissatisfaction. These questions helped us divide respondents into four groups as (1) Fresher (those who dont have laptop but used frequently in colleges, browsing centers etc.,) (2) Stayers (those who had never switched from a previous laptop brand), (3) Satisfied switchers (those who switched for reasons other than dissatisfaction), (4) Dissatisfied switchers (those who switched because they were dissatisfied from their previous laptop brand). One of the objectives of this study was to investigate the factors that influence consumers laptop purchase decisions. For that purpose, a list of
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laptop features was stated in the questionnaires, which were gathered from the analysis of PC journals as well as personal interviews with the experts from the sector. The consumers were asked which factors they found important when they were purchasing a laptop. Finally, demographic questions such as age, education and gender were also asked.
. Brand Usage Profile of the Respondents
The participants were asked to choose the laptop brand that they were using and aware at the time of the survey. Table 1 illustrated the frequency
distribution of laptop brands by the respondents of the survey. In other words, the frequency of laptop brands used by the respondents can be summarized as follows: Table1 Frequency Distribution of Laptop Brands:
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF LAPTOP BRANDS BRANDS ACER DELL H.P HCL SONY LENOVA OTHERS FREQUENCY 4 9 14 6 5 9 7 PRECENTAGE % 8% 18% 28% 12% 10% 18% 14%
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PRECENTAGE %
The respondents of this study were also asked whether the current laptop brand that they were using was their first laptop brand or whether they had switched from a previous laptop brand. Furthermore, the participants who declared that they had switched from another brand were asked to state the reason of why they had switched. The alternatives for switching included (a) overall dissatisfaction from the previous laptop brand, and (b) reasons other than dissatisfaction. Hence, the laptop users were classified into four groups: (a) Fresher (b) stayers (those who did not switch), (c) satisfied switchers (those who switched for reasons other than dissatisfaction), and (d) dissatisfied switchers (those who switched because they were dissatisfied from their previous laptop phone brand). Percentage Analysis The data gathered for the study is also presented in terms of percentages. The percentages are calculated to the total of the subject. The
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processed data was analyzed and interpreted in the chapter Analysis and interpretation. No. of Respondents Percentage Analysis = Total No. of Responded X 100
FRESHER
STAYERS SATISFIED SWITCHERS DISSATISFIED SWITCHERS TOTAL
23 18
46% 36%
12%
3 50
6% 100.00%
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The Features Influencing Consumers Laptop Purchase Decisions Consumers, who participated to this survey, were given a list of features related with laptops and then they were asked to show how important these features for them while purchasing a laptop. Respondents who found a feature very important gave 4 to that item while others who found it unimportant gave 1. Hence, as it was seen in Table 3, processor speed and type, memory and hard disk capacity, guarantee and warranty conditions, wireless internet and display resolution quality became the top five features which had the following highest mean values respectively: 3.80, 3.66, 3.66, 3.62, and 3.58. It was also noteworthy to mention that all the features listed in the survey were considered important by the respondents since the lowest mean value was 2.65 for the feature of TV/Audio Connection.
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Table:3 Importances of Laptop Features in Consumers Purchase Decisions Importance of Laptop Features in Consumers Purchase Decisions
ITEMS Processor speed and type Memory & Hard Disk Capacity Guarantee & Warranty Wireless Internet Display Resolution Quality Maintenance & Repair Price DVD-CD Player Speakers Weight Stand by Duration Payment Conditions Bluetooth Design & Color Brand Image Infrared Technology TV/Audio Connection N 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 MEAN 3.8 3.66 3.66 3.62 3.58 3.57 3.53 3.44 3.39 3.38 3.37 3.21 3.11 3.07 2.99 2.93 2.65 STANDARD DEVIATION 0.413 0.524 0.522 0.529 0.519 0.612 0.615 0.608 0.742 0.672 0.684 0.819 0.829 0.752 0.865 0.9 0.938
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3.5
2.5
0.5
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The mean importance scores for three groups of consumers with respect to factors influencing laptop purchase decisions are presented in Table 4. According to this table, dissatisfied switchers gave less importance to price and payment conditions when compared to stayers and satisfied switchers. Furthermore, stayers found price and payment conditions factor more important than satisfied switchers. In addition, it has to be noted that connectivity & mobility feature has the lowest mean score across all groups of consumers. On the other hand, core technical features has the highest mean score for all consumer groups (stayers: 3.68, satisfied switchers: 3.66, and dissatisfied switchers: 3.69) which means that stayers, satisfied switchers, and dissatisfied switchers gave the highest importance to this factor among all factors, and the three consumer groups did not show any difference with respect to core technical features. On the other hand, the second most important factor was found to be post purchase services for all four groups of consumers.
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Table: 4
Differences in Four Consumer Groups about Importance of Laptop Purchase Decision Factors
FRESHER
STAYERS
SATISFIED SWITCHERS
DISSATISFIED SWITCHERS
Mean
Mean
Mean
Mean
2.8482
23
2.7978
18 18
2.8482
06 06
2.9551
03 03
3.2026
23
3.2026 18
3.5685
23
3.5993
Peripheral Specifications
3.4
23
3.3598
3.6627
23
3.6846
3.2821
23
3.2328
3.141
23
3.4387
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Purpose of using laptop: For the purpose of using laptop, respondents are classified into office application, web surfing, educational purpose and others. This is shown in the table 5
S.No 1 2 3 4
No. of respondents 6 4 32 8 50
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 64% of the respondents are using laptops for educational purpose, 16% for personal use, 12% for office application and 8% for web surfing. Hence majority of the respondents are using laptops for educational purpose.
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Number of hours of usage: The below table shows that number of hours the respondents are using the laptop per day. The classification is presented in table 6
S.No 1 2 3 4
Usage Hours
No. of respondents 21 19 4 6
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 42% are using laptops for minimum of 2hrs a day, 38% are using up to 3 to 4 hrs a day, 8% for more than 5 hrs a day and 12% for 4-5 hrs a day. Hence majority of the respondents are using the laptop up to 2 hrs a day.
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S.No 1 2 3
Level of satisfaction
No. of respondents 18 25 7
Total
50
100%
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 50% are satisfied about the timely service, 36% are highly satisfied and 14% are not satisfied about the timely service of the product. Hence majority of the respondents are satisfied about the timely service given by the company.
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Table: 8
Easy approachability of service man S.No Approachability
No. of respondents
35 15 50
Percentages
70% 30% 100%
1 2 Total
Yes no
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 70% of the respondents have answered service man are easily approachable and 30% of the respondents have answered service man not easily approachable . Hence majority of the respondents are satisfied have satisfied that the company service man are easy approachable
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Opinion about the quality of service: Table: 9 Opinion about the quality of service
S.No 1 2 3
Level of satisfaction
No. of respondents 18 25 7
Total
50
100%
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 50% are satisfied about the quality of service, 36% are highly satisfied and 14% are not satisfied about the quality of service of the product. Hence majority of the respondents are satisfied about the quality of service given by the company.
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Chances for replace the laptops: Table: 10 Chances for replace the laptops
S.No 1 2 3 4
No. of respondents 12 18 11 9 50
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 36% of the respondent having little bit of chance , 24% , 22% have low chance ,23% have high chance and 18% are not having to idea to switch over the other brand. Hence majority of the respondents are little bit of chance to change the laptop.
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Table: 11
Recommendation of the product S.No Recommendation of the product 1 2 Total Yes no
No. of respondents
35 15 50
Percentages
70% 30% 100%
The above table shows that out of 50 respondents, 70% of the respondents recommend the product and 30% of the respondents will not recommend the product to others. Hence, most of the respondents are recommending the product to others.
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Chart 5
PURPOSE OF USING LAPTOP
16%
12% 8%
office appliction
web surfing
eductional purposes
personal use
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31
31
20 18
price
quantity
brand nane
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13 12
up to 2 hrs
3 to 4 hrs
4 to 5 hrs
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40%
60%
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70
30
YES
NO
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50
36
14
highly satisfied
satisfied
not satisfied
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COST OF SERVICE
PERCENTAGE
56
39
highly satisfied
satisfied
not satisfied
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37
25 23
15
high chance
certain
low chance
never
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70
30
YES
NO
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CHAPTER V
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CONCLUSIONS:
Year by year the number of people who are using and owning personal computers (PC) substantially increases in all over the world. Contrary to the introduction years of computers, today they have been used by almost all age groups, and by both males and females, and the gap between age groups and the gap between males and females with respect to computer usage/ownership decreases. Furthermore, consumers desire for portable and attractively designed PCs forces the companies to produce laptops/notebooks. In addition, extended battery life, price cuts, prevalence of home-offices, and integrated wireless networking also cause to the increased sales of laptops. On the supply side of the market, the companies try to make profit and even survive in a highly competitive environment. Furthermore, the rapid development in technology, particularly in nano-technology, leads companies to make huge amounts of investments in R&D. Moreover, the acquisitions and mergers in the sector and new players in the market also influence the companies operating in IT industry. In such a volatile industry, it becomes extremely important to learn the factors that are influencing consumers purchase decisions. The customer base of a company is comprised of its current customers and those customers who are attracted from competitors. In addition, the customers who are acquired from competitors can be either satisfied switchers or dissatisfied switchers. Hence, it is equally crucial to learn about whether there is a difference among stayers, satisfied switchers and dissatisfied switchers with respect to their laptop purchase decision factors. This issue becomes exceptionally vital when the consumers decide to upgrade/change their laptops. In this study, it has been found that there are seven factors which influence consumers laptop purchase decisions. These factors can be stated as follows: core technical features, post purchase services, price and payment conditions, peripheral specifications, physical appearance, value added features, and
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connectivity and mobility. On the other hand, Fresher, stayers, satisfied switchers and dissatisfied switchers demonstrate a significant difference only in one factor: price and payment conditions. The results show that when compared to fresher and stayers, satisfied switchers, dissatisfied switchers give less importance to price and payment conditions related factor. From the managerial perspective, the findings of this study imply that when a consumer of a company decides to buy a new laptop or in technical terms to upgrade his laptop, the company should consider which customer base he belongs to. For instance, if the consumer is a fresher, the company should offer a discount price with decent core technical features, extended warranty and payment conditions also. If the consumer is a stayer, the company can offer price discounts when he decides to upgrade his laptop. Likewise, the company can give special promotions to stayers when they bring their former laptop and exchange it with a recent model of the companys laptops. It is also seen that among all factors, mobility and connectivity factor has received the lowest importance from three groups of consumers. This can be attributed to the fact that due to the nature of laptops, being mobile is an expected feature. Another explanation to this result can be that consumers usually do not like to use technological words such as infrared and Bluetooth, they prefer to say connecting to Internet or mobile phone, sending pictures and documents to printer, and etc. Hence, it will not be sufficient and efficient to merely underlie this feature in advertisements. If this feature has to be mentioned in ads then the tone and the words used should be plain and explanatory. However, since all consumer groups find core technical features and post purchase services extremely important, these features should be emphasized in advertisements. It has to be also noted that post purchase services factor is tremendously important since it is directly related with customers brand loyalty.
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From this study we can conclude that the consumers shall be always interested in economical price with well sounded latest core technology features with added value features laptops and also they prefer to buy which companies service centre near to their place and whose is providing a good after sale services. This study recommends companies to invest in technology through R&D and create differentiation at utmost level in technology and economical in price.
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APPENDIX I
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
PHILIPKOTLER C.R.KOTHARI
WEBSITES REFERED :
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APPENDIX II
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Department:..............................................................................................................
1.
- 60,000
2.
3.
Reply:...................................................................................................................... 4. Do you replace your old laptop with new same brand laptop?
Yes
No
Reply:...................................................................................................................... 5. What brand you prefer to buy ? Reply:...................................................................................................................... 6. Do you trust the brand behind it?
Yes
No
7.
Yes
No
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8.
What are the primary tasks will you be performing in this laptop? Home use Educational use Business use others
9.
How many hours of battery life do you need? 2 Hrs 3-4 Hrs 4-5 Hrs More
10. From the choice of below which brand of processer do you prefer?
Intel
AMD
Celeron
Mac
others
to 2 GHz
2 to 3 GHz
3 to 4 GHz
if more possible
80 -120GB
120-250 GB
250-500 GB
500-1000 GB
13. How many external monitor connecting port would you prefer?
2
If more possible
Yes
No
Yes
No
2GB
4GB
6 GB
if more possible
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LCD
LED
Others
Yes
No
Yes
No
21. Do you need additional security system to access laptop like finger print?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
One year
two year
if more possible
25. Would you recommend to buy this kind of laptop to your friends, colleagues?
Yes
No
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