1

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Internet cafs have contributed a huge change in the lifestyle of Kabacan computer users, for easy access of internet services and for lifting up the knowledge of many to technology changes. Therefore, this study will be a great help to the society specifically to those where interests lies in the computer area. Furthermore, this will serve as a reference for future studies for those students who wish to conduct a paper which is similar to such topic. For the Internet cafs owners, this study can further help them in choosing the best strategic promotion of their cafs which could make a larger number of customers and make their business profitable. For the consumers, this study helped identify their preferred internet cafs in terms of convenience and most especially boosting their interpersonal communication. For the researchers, this study enlightened their thinking with regards to the reality of life especially as we walk towards the path of the technological development. Also aside from being informative this research will encourage the readers to stay abreast to the various developments in the internet which is after all is considered as the worlds largest library of information on-line.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The general objective of this study was to know the Strategic Promotion and Consumer Preferences in Choosing Internet Cafs in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Specifically, this study aims to:

1. Determine the demographic profile of the consumers such as age, gender, and allowance.

2. Determine the strategic promotion of internet cafs owners in terms of pricing and promotional services.

3. Determine the most preferred internet caf of consumers in terms of easy accessibility and promotional tactics.

4. Determine the motives and habits of consumers related using the Internet caf as an access point to the Internet.

5. Determine the relationship between strategic promotion and consumer preferences in choosing internet caf.

PLACE AND TIME OF THE STUDY

This study was conducted specifically in Kabacan, North Cotabato and covered from July to October 2013. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study was focused only to know the strategic promotion and consumer preferences in choosing internet cafs in Kabacan, North Cotabato.

The scope of the study covered students as type of respondent. They are students who are near the proposed location; the school that was covered is the University of Southern Mindanao.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

To understand of whomever to read this study, it is important to give definitions to the terminologies used like of the following:

Internet Caf refers to the internet accessible shops in Kabacan.

Respondent refers to the Students and Internet Caf owner that is subject to answer the provided questionnaire in the study.

Kabacan refers to the place to where the study is going to be conducted.

Strategic Promotion refers to the different service strategy of internet cafs in operating their business.

Consumer refers to the expected subject target market of internet cafs.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) refers to company that sells access to the Internet, allowing computer users to send electronic mail (e-mail) and browse the World Wide Web (WWW), among other tasks.

World Wide Web (WWW) refers to as a computer-based network of information resources that combines text and multimedia. The information on the World Wide Web can be accessed and searched through the Internet, a global computer network. The World Wide Web is often referred to simply as the Web.

Preference refers to the view of the consumers, or course of action that they desire or their choice based on choosing internet caf in Kabacan.

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

According to the study of P-O Hansson and Elin Wihlborg (2010), Internet caf as a Supportive Educational Arena, new information and communication technology (ICT) is a tool for learning and educational development. It is can both be considered as a tool but also as contextual

setting for learning (Orlikowski, 2000). The Internet Cafe was mainly considered as a NGO activity and a local business the social and learning out comes were not primarily visual. Thus there are needs to both promote these and make them more visualize in order to improve and support them.

An Internet caf offers opportunities for low income people to access the Internet (Adetoro, 2010). Internet cafs businesses that offer access to computers and the Internet on a drop-in basis for hourly fees are a kind of informal learning environment where social interaction is at the heart of computer use. (Cilesiz, 2009)

Similar to the Mexican context (Robinson, 2004) customers in the internet cafes of East Africa are those who cant afford computers at home, or not have access in school or at work. And it is an increasing number of small internet cafes in towns of Mexico, and we can also see that upcoming trend in Kenya. The findings of Robinsons (2004) survey also show that the clients are young, often students, and are often doing their school work in the internet. There is a risk that the trend polarizes the society between youth who are Internet literate and the rest of population (Robinson, 2004).

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Icafnegosyo (2009), 28% of Filipinos in National Urban Philippines have accessed the Internet in the past month. 5% access the Internet every day. Filipino internet users are likely to be below 29 years old, single and are better educated Internet use is not restricted just to the big cities like Metro Manila. Other cities are experiencing internet growth. For example, 35% of Filipinos in Cagayan de Oro have accessed the internet in the past month. Filipino Internet users are more likely to be opinion leaders and early adopters compared to traditional media consumers. They are likely to be individualistic, trend conscious, willing to pay for quality products and are tech-enthusiasts. Internet usage is particularly higher amongst the younger segments. 50% of those below 20 years old have accessed the internet in the past month. Internet Cafes are an important internet access point. 71% have accessed the internet from internet cafes in the past 3 months. 47% of all internet time are spent in internet cafes. Internet cafes are also a dominant access point for user from the lower socio-economic classes. Email, Instant messaging and Search are the most common online activities for Filipino internet users. Yahoo! is the dominant web-based email, instant messaging and search service in the Philippines. Social networking is a key online activity. 51% claimed to have visited a social networking site in the past month. 1 in 3

Filipino internet users have a blog. Friendster is the leading social network in the Philippines.

Lee (1999: 344) stated that the Internet cafes provided a more lucrative environment for the female users to access a computer and the Internet, as the caf environment makes internet use more of a social activity than a gadget. The females in the caf were also found to be more geared towards maintaining social networks and seeking information than the male users, who were more likely to surf entertainment sites and play games.

An Internet caf offers opportunities for low income people to access the Internet (Adetoro, 2010). Internet cafs businesses that offer access to computers and the Internet on a drop-in basis forhourly fees are a kind of informal learning environment where social interaction is at the heart of computer use. (Cilesiz, 2009, p, 233).

An Internet cafe offers public access online computers for web surfing or other services. Individuals can use a computer with Internet access for a fee. Internet cafe owners collect money through computer use fee and other value added services. In terms of group structure, Internet cafe can be classified into independent Internet cafs and chain Internet cafes. In terms of business scope, Internet cafe can be classified into pure Internet cafe and

multi-function Internet cafe. Pure Internet cafe is an Internet caf that merely provides online computers. On the contrary, multi-function Internet cafe also offer other services such as entertainment service, catering service, etc. (iResearch 2005:9). Based on the research, beyond students use of the Internet as a source of news, a number of studies have also examined students use of the Internet in general. For example, Anderson (2001) 4 examined how Internet use has impacted on the social or academic lives of university students. Kandell (1998) analysed Internet addiction among students. Similarly, Kubey et al. (2001) examined the relationship between heavy Internet use and students academic performance, while Jones et al. (2009) studied how college students in the US used the Internet. In their study, Kubey et al. (2001: 366) note the increasing use of the Internet by university students while Jones et al. (2009) report that students are heavy users of the Internet (2009).

People use Internet cafs for various reasons such as interpersonal communication (e-mail, chat), professional development (job search), entertainment (games, surfing, browsing pornographic sites), academic uses (school search, using various software such as word processors), technical uses (printing, scanning) to name just a few. Internet cafs not only offer online means of communication, people also use these places for sociability and socializing with other caf users (Miller and Slater, 2000: 72-79). Thus, as

Musatov (2001) keenly observes: Internet cafs satisfy a combination of physiological and information needs of the individual. In the year 1960, RAND Corporation introduced the first computer network to the U.S Military. They used command and control network where there was only one authority who can convey message which can be linked from city to city, state to state, and base to base. Four years later, Paul Baran from the same company proposed in public the first public networks that have no central authority. It was designed to operate on a get-go transcend where all the nodes in the network would be equal in status to all the other nodes, each node with its own authority to originate, pass, and receive.

The national physical laboratory in Great Britain set up the first test network of this principal in 1968. Shortly afterward, the Pentagons Advanced Research Projects Agency funded a larger and more ambitious network nodes were built-in high-speed super computers. In the fall of 1969, the first node was installed in UCLA by ARPANET which can transfer data on a high-speed transmission lines. By 1970, ARPANET grew and its structure expands easily because it can accommodate many different kinds of machine. The original standard for communication was known as the Network Control Protocol (NCP), but as time passed by and the technique advanced, the NCP was superseded by a much higher-level, and more sophisticated standard known as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP/IP). It converts messages into

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streams of packets from the source, and then resembles them back into messages to the destination. Internet Protocol handles the addressing aspect while seeing to it that the packets are well routed across multiple nodes and even across multiple networks. As the 70s and 80s advanced, many social groups found themselves in possession of powerful computers. The use of network became a public domain. Its basic technology was decentralized because networks fell into the digital which came to be known as the Internet.

The powerful and sophisticated access that it provides to specialized date and communication has speed up the pace of scientific research enormously. It made a great impact on society thats in railways, electronic power and telephones. It is probably the most important scientific instrument of the late twentieth century.

In the Philippines, several individual and institution have pioneered in providing Internet services to people who have natural inclination to computers by the use of low-speed mode of transmission in the late 80s. It is after when the leading telecommunication and broadcasting companies step into the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business that Filipinos finally got the hand of getting wired in the world through the use of Internet.

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The technology of ISP succeeded in keeping and pushing the boundaries that leads Filipinos into the next millennium which resulted to a dramatic change in the face of technology communication in the Philippines. Through the use of the World Wide Web, students, businessmen and other of the same sort found an indispensable tool for research and relaxation. Using the variety of websites, mailing list, new groups, and chat room, the wired community was able to find new ways to old things.

To date, it provides an excellent platform for experimenting with almost all types of online multimedia services that range from video phone applications to virtual reality environments, where participants will interact with each other. (Anonymous, 2007)

Nowadays, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) plays a major role in our society. Its rapid progress and development influenced us in different aspects such as in education, businesses and government. The main purpose of ICT in education is to implement ICT Equipment and Tools in Teaching-Learning process as a media and methodology, and to familiarize students with the use and workings of computers, and related social and ethical issues. For an instance, in Kenya, ICT is not taught as a subject in primary school. It is taught as an added advantage to some schools. In the university level, students are offered several options to choose from. ICT in government, like the government, is about using the tools and systems made

12

possible by ICTs, to provide better public services to citizens and businesses. ICTs are already widely used by government bodies, just as in enterprises, but government involves much more than just tools. (Bayaborda, Jason Aguirre, October 2010)

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METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study used descriptive research design. It was descriptive because it determined the demographic profile of the respondents, strategic promotion of internet caf, most preferred internet caf of consumers and the motives and habits of consumers in using internet caf as access point to internet.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study are the students who are near the proposed location; the school that is covered was University of Southern Mindanao.

Sampling Procedure

The researchers used a purposive sampling method to the respondents in order to be reliable and secure the data to be collected.

To determine the sample size of the respondents, the researchers will be using a Slovins formula.

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Where: n = Number of samples or the sample size N = Total population e = Margin of error is 10% or 0.10

USM Students n n
( )( )

99.12 100

Research Instrument

This study was conducted by means of a survey questionnaire to collect data. The Part I was the demographic profile of the respondents. The Part II was the internet cafs strategic promotion in terms of pricing and promotional services. The Part III was about the most preferred internet caf of the respondents. The Part IV was about the motives and habits of respondents in using internet caf. questions about respondents

The

questionnaire

contained

demographic information, internet caf factors, services, perceived impacts, and past experiences. Open questionnaires are used in respondent survey to

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exert most variety of preferred choices and perceived benefits. Answers are summarized by the frequency of factors. Similar factors in different expressions are considered as the same factor. Judgments are made by researchers. Observations on internet caf environment, customers identities and activities, and service provided are recorded as supplemental information in future analysis.

Data collected and Data Gathering Procedure

The data collected was based on the objectives of the study.

The

instrument used has four parts. The first part determined the demographic profile of the respondents. This was designed to collect the following data: age, gender, and weekly allowances. The second part determined the strategic promotion of internet cafs. This was design to collect the following data: pricing and promotional services offered by internet cafs. The third part determined the most preferred internet caf of consumers and lastly the fourth part the motives and habits of consumers related in using internet caf as an access point to the internet.

A note for permission to conduct this study was first secured. After obtaining the signatures from the authorize persons of the study, the note was distributed to the respondent in the USM together with the questionnaires.

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After which the questionnaires were answered, data was collected, tabulated, and summarized for statistical analysis.

Statistical Analysis

The data gathered was tabulated and analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, and weighted mean. A variable was correlated in order to measure the relationship to the consumer preferences.

The motives and habits of consumers related in using the internet caf as an access point to the Internet in Kabacan, North Cotabato was analyzed using the Linkert scale.

1.00 1.66 Frequently 1.67 2.33 Occasionally 2.34 2.00 Never

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Demographic Profile of the Respondents

There were 100 respondents and the study was conducted last July to September 2013 in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Table 1 show that 66% of the respondents are 16-19 years old, followed by 12-15 years old and 20 and above with the same percentage of 17%. Majority of the respondents were male which 61% of the entire respondents and only 39% are female.

This implies that males were more using and visiting internet caf than of females. But it were females that are more exposed to technology because most of them are not only searching and visiting different social media sites but also for the reason that internet for them is a social activity than a playing zone. For most of the males, playing land or online games is the most usually doing when they are visiting internet caf.

Lee (1999: 344) stated that the Internet cafes provided a more lucrative environment for the female users to access a computer and the Internet, as the caf environment makes internet use more of a social activity than a gadget. The females in the caf were also found to be more geared towards maintaining social networks and seeking information than the male users, who were more likely to surf entertainment sites and play games.

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In terms of the respondents weekly allowance, 63% revealed that their weekly allowance range is 300 501 pesos, followed by 24% of the respondents with the weekly allowance of 501 700 pesos and 8 % have 900 pesos and above weekly allowance. It was also revealed that 5% of the respondents have 701 900 pesos weekly allowance.

It implies that internet cafs were most visited by those students with an average level of allowances. Internet cafs are not focusing on the rich consumers rather than focusing giving opportunities to those who are less money consumers. It is because there are more average consumers in Kabacan than those classified as rich.

An Internet caf offers opportunities for less money students to access the Internet (Adetoro, 2010). Internet cafs businesses that offer access to computers and the Internet on a drop-in basis for hourly fees are a kind of informal learning environment where social interaction is at the heart of computer use. (Cilesiz, 2009, p, 233).

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Table 1. Demographic profile of the respondents at Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013. PERCENTAGE (N=100)

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE AGE 12-15 16-19 20 and above GENDER Male Female WEEKLY ALLOWANCE 300-500 501-700 701-900 901 and above

17 66 17

61 39

63 24 5 8

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The strategic promotion of internet cafs in terms of pricing and promotional services in Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013.

Table 2 shows that in terms of pricing, 36% of the respondents said that they usually like giving Php8 per hour in internet cafs. 25% are for Php15 per hour, followed by 23% for Php8 per hour, 6% for Php12 per hour, 5% for Php45 3+1 hour, and also 5% of the respondents chosen Php70 10 to sawa hours.

For the services offered by the internet cafs, 40% of the respondents said that printing as primary promotional services of internet cafs, followed by gaming with 13%, surfing promos with 10%, 9% answered that it would be better to offer beverages + free internet browsing as promotional services. Also, 8% of the respondents answered scanning and popular software application as promotional services, photocopying with only 6% and only 3%of the respondents choose food + free internet browsing and CDs burning.

It implies that most of the respondents like to pay Php8 per hour of using internet. Respondents are most likely in the average level with weekly allowance ranging from 300-501pesos. Printing services is primarily the most commonly preferred offer service of the respondents.

An Internet cafe offers public access online computers for web surfing or other services. Individuals can use a computer with Internet access for a

21

fee. Internet cafe owners collect money through computer use fee and other value added services. In terms of group structure, Internet cafe can be classified into independent Internet cafs and chain Internet cafes. In terms of business scope, Internet cafe can be classified into pure Internet cafe and multi-function Internet cafe. Pure Internet cafe is an Internet caf that merely provides online computers. On the contrary, multi-function Internet cafe also offer other services such as entertainment service, catering service, etc. (iResearch 2005:9).

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Table 2: The strategic promotion of internet cafs in terms of pricing and promotional services at Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013. PERCENTAGE (N=100)

STRATEGIC PROMOTION PRICING Php10 per hour Php15 per hour Php8 per hour Php12 per hour Php45 3 hours + 1 Php70 10 sawa hours SERVICES Printing Gaming Surfing promos Beverages + free internet browsing Scanning Popular software applications Photocopying Food + free internet browsing CD Burning

36 25 23 6 5 5

40 13 10 9 8 8 6 3 3

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The most preferred internet caf of consumers in terms of easy accessibility and promotional tactics in Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013.

Table 3 shows that 21% of the respondents most preferred internet caf is CDR Ink, followed by Spongha and Cybernet with the same 15%, 13% were given to Yomik. Also 8% of the respondents answered Quaknet as preferred internet caf, only 5% answered Tagpuan. Also, only 3% for Horizon so as with Romar G2, with the same 2% are the Webnet, Micronet, Xizzors, Yellowgreen and I-Red. The internet cafs with only 1% are the St. Joseph, Livespot, WKB net, ACA, Eye Corner, E-Caf and CIM.

It implies that in terms of easy accessibility and promotional tactics CDR ink is the most preferred internet caf of the respondents.

Based on the research, students preferred those internet cafs that has more pleasant surrounding and those who offer different internet services. Beyond students use of the Internet as a source of news, a number of studies have also examined students use of the Internet in general. For example, Anderson (2001) 4 examined how Internet use has impacted on the social or academic lives of university students. Kandell (1998) analysed Internet addiction among students. Similarly, Kubey et al. (2001) examined the relationship between heavy Internet use and students academic performance, while Jones et al. (2009) studied how college students in the US used the

24

Internet. In their study, Kubey et al. (2001: 366) note the increasing use of the Internet by university students while Jones et al. (2009) report that students are heavy users of the Internet (2009).

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Table 3: The Most Preferred Internet Cafs of the respondents at Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013.
MOST PREFERRED INTERNET CAFS PERCENTAGE (N=100)

CDR Ink Spongha Cybernet Yomik Quaknet Tagpuan Horizon Romar G-2 Webnet I Red Micronet Yellowgreen Xizzors St. Joseph Livespot ACA Eye Corner E-Caf WKB Net CIM

21 15 15 13 8 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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Motives and habits in choosing internet caf as an access point to internet at Kabacan, North Cotabato.

Table 4 explains the motives of respondents in choosing internet cafs in Kabacan, North Cotabato. The table shows that most of the respondents motives of using internet caf for educational use were searching information about various topics with a quantity description of occasionally (1.68), doing school requirements using Microsoft word, power point, etc with a quantity description of occasionally (1.72), and respondents are downloading and saving important documents with a quantity description of occasionally (1.76). It implies that for educational use of the respondents, they are using internet to gather information they need. Haseloff (2005) states that internet cafs can function as centers for support, education and learning about new tools and therefore could help people to overcome skill deficits which would normally exclude them from access to information and new technologies.

For casual research, respondents are taking national or international news as occasionally with 2.25, respondents occasionally (2.32) visiting weather condition forecast and news advisory in accessing to the internet and

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with quantitative description of never (2.42) most of the respondents are rarely doing online shop and online networking.

For general communication, chatting with family and friends has qualitative description of occasionally (1.72), occasionally (2.17) are sending emails and blogs, and also with a qualitative description of never (2.35) used video and voice calls.

For entertainment, respondents with qualitative description of frequently (1.45) do like visiting social networking sites, (1.82) occasionally likes downloading and playing and with a qualitative description of occasionally (2.04) are watching dramas and movies online.

The table 4 also shows the different habits of respondents in choosing internet cafs in Kabacan, North Cotabato.

It shows in the table that email (2.04) has a quantitative description of occasionally, chat (instant messaging) (2.06) occasionally, research (1.51) with a quantity description of frequently, social media (1.63) with a quantity description of frequently, online dating/Pen Pal (2.72) never, local

news/weather (2.23) occasionally, international news (2.27) occasionally, education/training (1.91) occasionally, purchasing goods online (2.47) never, online music/video/radio/TV (1.88) occasionally, online games (2.30)

occasionally, doing and typing report (using word, excel, publisher, etc) (1.70)

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occasionally, health/medical information (2.15) occasionally, job/career search (2.23) occasionally, travel information (2.44) never, online banking (2.70) never.

It implies that of all the habits of the respondents, they usually doing research and social media networking frequently. When visiting to their preferred internet caf they are most engage in researching different types of information with regards to their educational and personal needs. Also the respondents are more interested visiting social media such as facebook, google, twitter, yahoo, etc. as a usual habit.

An internet caf or cybercaf is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access (Siegfredn, 2009). Internet cafs are located worldwide, and many people use them when traveling to access webmail and instant messaging services to keep in touch with family and friends (Wikipedia, 2013).

People use Internet cafs for various reasons such as interpersonal communication (e-mail, chat), professional development (job search), entertainment (games, surfing, browsing pornographic sites), academic uses (school search, using various software such as word processors), technical uses (printing, scanning) to name just a few. Internet cafs not only offer online means of communication, people also use these places for sociability and socializing with other caf users (Miller and Slater, 2000: 72-79). Thus, as

29

Musatov (2001) keenly observes: Internet cafs satisfy a combination of physiological and information needs of the individual.

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Table 4: Motives and habits in choosing internet caf as an access point to internet in Kabacan, North Cotabato 2013. MOTIVES EDUCATIONAL USE 1. Doing school requirements using Microsoft word, power point, etc. 2. Searching information about various topics 3. Downloading and saving important documents Sub Mean CASUAL RESEARCH 1. Weather condition forecast and news advisory 2. National or international news 3. Online shop and online networking Sub Mean GENERAL COMMUNICATION 1. Chatting with family and friends 2. Sending emails and blogs 3. Video and voice call Sub Mean ENTERTAINMENT 1. Watching dramas and movies online 2. Downloading and playing games, music, video, etc. 3. Social networking (facebook, twitter, yahoomail, etc.) Sub Mean WEIGHTED MEAN 1.72 QUALITATIVE DISCRIPTION Occasionally

1.68 1.76

Occasionally Occasionally

1.72

Occasionally

2.32 2.25 2.42

Occasionally Occasionally Never

2.33

Occasionally

1.72 2.17 2.35 2.07

Occasionally Occasionally Never Occasionally

2.04 1.82 1.45

Occasionally Occasionally Frequently

1.77

Occasionally

Overall Mean

1.98

Occasionally

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HABITS Email Chat (Instant Messaging) Research Social Media (google, facebook twitter, yahoo, etc.) Online dating / Pen Pal Local news / weather International news Sport Education/Training Purchasing goods online Online music /video / radio / TV Online games Doing and typing report (using word, excel, publisher, etc) Health / medical information Job / Career search Travel information Online banking

WEIGHTED MEAN 2.04 2.06 1.51 1.63 2.72 2.23 2.27 2.20 1.91 2.47 1.88 2.30 1.70 2.15 2.23 2.44 2.70

QUALITATIVE DISCRIPTION Occasionally Occasionally Frequently Frequently Never Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Never Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Never Never

Overall Mean

2.14

Occasionally

Legend: Mean Range 1.00 1.66 1.67 2.33 2.34 3.00 Qualitative Description Frequently Occasionally Never

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SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This study was undertaken to determine the strategic promotion and consumer preferences in choosing internet cafs in Kabacan, North Cotabato and was conducted last July to September 2013. The objective of the study was to determine the demographic profile of the consumers such as age, gender, and allowance, determine the strategic promotion of internet cafs owners in terms of pricing and promotional services, determine the most preferred internet caf of consumers in terms of easy accessibility and promotional tactics, determine the motives and habits of consumers related using the Internet caf as an access point to the Internet. This study used a descriptive research design and purposive sampling design as sampling instrument. The Slovins formula was used to determine the number of respondents. All the data collected were based on the actual results in the survey questionnaire. The data gathered was tabulated and analyzed using frequency counts, percentage, and weighted mean.

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn: The internet caf business in Kabacan, North Cotabato is considered as one way tool in order for students to access the internet easily. Males (69%) are the most commonly users of internet caf as access point to internet than females (31%). Ages ranging from 16-19 are preferably the most students

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using internet cafs. The majority of the students have already long-time experience of internet use. Those students with a weekly allowance ranging from 300-501 pesos are basically the frequent customer on internet cafs.

The data also says that most of the respondents are paying Php10 per hour in using internet. They are much more using printing as a frequently used services in internet caf shops. Followed by surfing promos, photocopying and the rest of the services offered in the internet cafs at Kabacan. CDR Ink is considered as the most preferred internet caf in Kabacan. Most of the student respondents answered CDR Ink their most likely visited internet caf shop.

The motives depend upon their personal use either of educational use, casual use, general use or entertainment use. And the habits of the respondents, it appeared that research and social media have been more frequently habit of respondents while using internet.

On

the

bases

of

the

findings

and

conclusions,

the

following

recommendations are posted: Internet users especially students of any age and of any course may consider engaging into internet caf. Students are more becoming aggressive and technology-oriented these past years. They are more engage in using internet caf as a tool to access internet anytime. It appeared that of all the motives and habits, social media or social networking and research is the most frequently done by the students. The strategic

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promotions of internet cafs had greatly influenced the preferences of the students in terms of their pricing and promotional services. Internet caf owners must develop and improve their services and strategies so that consumers will have more options engaging to their cafs as access point to internet.

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LITERATURE CITED

http://www.icafebusiness.com/whyInternetCafeisstillagood.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/46537362/InternetCafeToday-v5-3-A-ProfitableInternet-Cafe-Business-Management-Guide http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/05/15/we-check-out-an-internet-cafe-inmyanmar-find-it-full-of-gamers/ http://www.docstoc.com/docs/50524144/Internet-cafes-pricing-isthisEFBC9Athe-seven-Internet-cafes-pricing-strategy Siegfredn (2009, 09). Research on Internet Cafe. Retrieved March 9, 2013, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Research-On-Internet-Cafe233198.html Wikipedia (2013, 03). Internet Caf. Retrieved March 9, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_cafC3A9#History Austin, Jeanne (2007, 06). The history of the Internet in the Philippines. Retrieved March 9, 2013, from http://www.helium.com/items/408716the-history-of-the-internet-in-the-philippines Sairosse, Tomas Mauta and Stephen M. Mutula (2004) Use of cyber cafs: study of Gaborone City, Botswana, Program: electronic library and information systems, 38(1): 60-66. Omotayo, Bukky Olufemi (2006) A survey of Internet access and usage among undergraduates in an African university, The International Information & Library Review, 38: 215-224. Anderson, Keith J. (2001) Internet use among college students: An exploratory study, Journal of American College Health, 50(1): 21-26. Adomi, E. E. Overnight Internet Browsing Among Cybercaf Users in Abraka, Nigeria, The journal of community informatics. 3(2). 2007 McKenna, K., Green, A., & Gleason, M. (2002). Relationship formation on the Internet: What's the big attraction? Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 9-31.

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Nie, N. H., & Hillygus, S. (2002). The impact of Internet use on sociability: Time-diary findings. IT & Society, 1(1), 1-20. Cole, J., & Robinson, J. P. (2007). Internet use and sociability in the UCLA data: A simplified MCA analysis. IT & Society, 1(1), 202-218.

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Appendices

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Republic of the Philippines University of Southern Mindanao College of Business, Development Economics, and Management Kabacan, North Cotabato Business Administration Department

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Strategic Promotion and Consumer Preferences in Choosing Internet Cafs Kabacan, North Cotabato Instruction: Please first answer these background questions, and then complete the rest of the survey. Please check the answer that you wish to make for each question (). Part I: Demographic Profile of the Respondents Name (optional): ________________________________ Gender: Age: ( ) male ( ) female ( ) 16-19 ( ) 20 and above

( ) 12-15

Weekly Allowance: ( ) Php300-500Php ( ) Php701-900Php ( ) Php501-700Php ( ) Php901 and more

Part II.1 In terms of pricing, how much do your favorite internet caf charge every hourly internet fee? ( ) Php8 per hour ( ) Php45 3 hours + 1 ( ) Php10 per hour ( ) Php70 10 to Sawa hours ( ) Php15 per hour Other: _______________________ (please specify) 2. Aside from internet browsing, what other promotional services do you prefer internet caf have for? Please check one. ( ) Food + free internet browsing ( ) Photocopying ( ) Beverages + free internet browsing ( ) Printing ( ) Scanning ( ) Layouting ( ) Gaming ( ) CD Burning ( ) Popular software applications ( ) Surfing promos ( ) Other: _____________________ (please specify) Part III: Most Preferred Internet Caf ( ) Yomik ( ) Romar G2 ( ) Quaknet ( ) WKB Net ( ) Spongha ( ) Horizon ( ) CDR Ink ( ) Tagpuan

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( ) CIM ( ) Cybernet ( ) ACA Other: _____________________________ (please specify) Part IV: Motives and habits in choosing internet caf as an access point to internet. Please check the frequency for each response.
N = never O = occasionally F = frequently Motives Educational use 1. Doing school requirements using Microsoft word, power point, etc. 2. Searching information about various topics 3. Downloading and saving important documents Casual research 1. Weather condition forecast and news advisory 2. National or international news 3. Online shop and online networking General communications 1. Chatting with family and friends 2. Sending emails and blogs 3. Video and voice call Entertainment 1. Watching dramas and movies online 2. Downloading and playing games, music, video, etc. 3. Social networking (facebook, twitter, yahoomail, etc.) Habits 1. Email 2. Chat (Instant Messaging) 3. Research 4. Social Media (google, facebook, twitter, yahoo, etc.) 5. Online dating / Pen Pal 6. Local news / weather 7. Local news / weather 8. Sport 9. Education / Training 10. Purchasing goods online 11. Online music /video / radio / TV 12. Online games 13. Doing and typing report (using word, excel, publisher, etc) 14. Health / medical information 15. Job / Career search 16. Travel information 17. Online banking N O F

Thank You! God Bless.