SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 86
Download to read offline
A
PROJECT REPORT
ON
“CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF AIRTEL”
FOR PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE
DEGREE OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
(2007-2009)
SUBMITTED TO:SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:SUBMITTED BY:
U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITYU.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY Shailendra KumarShailendra Kumar
BharadwajBharadwaj
MBA III SEM.MBA III SEM.
ROLL NO.:ROLL NO.:
07029700030702970003
1
KRISHNA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &KRISHNA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &
TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY
(AFFILIATED TO U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW)
2
CONTENTS
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT -- 4
 PREFACEPREFACE -- 5-- 5
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- 7-- 7
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY -- 9
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY -- 11
 INTRODUCTION -- 15
 COMPANY PROFILE -- 30
 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS -- 58
 SUGGESTIONS -- 68
 SWOT ANALYSIS -- 70
 RECOMMENDATION -- 74
 LIMITATIONS -- 77
 CONCLUSION -- 80
 BIBLIOGRAPHY -- 82
 QUESTIONNAIRE -- 84
3
Acknowledg
ement
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am sincerely thankful to all those people who have been
giving me any kind of assistance in the making of this project
report.
I express my gratitude to Mr. Chetan Kumar (Branch
Manager), who has through his vast experience and knowledge
has been able to guide me, both ably and successfully towards
the completion of the project. I express my gratitude, Krishna
Institute of Engineering & Technology. I would hereby, make
most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest thanks to
Mrs. Mani Tyagi and all my faculties whose teachings gave me
conceptual understanding and clarity of comprehension, which
ultimately made my job more easy. Credit also goes to all my
friends whose encouragement kept me in good stead.
Their continuous support has given me the strength and
confidence to complete the project without any difficulty.
Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my
gratitude to the respondents without whom this survey would
have been incomplete.
I am also thankful to authority of Airtel for providing me the
information.
(SHAILENDRA KUMAR BHARADWAJ)
5
Prefac
e
6
PREFACEPREFACE
I, Shailendra Kumar Bharadwaj, being a student of MBA, of
KIET, Ghaziabad.
The project title “Consumer Behaviour of Airtel” is the analysis
of the big scale sector of communication. This project involves
the big scale level provided by Airtel to its customers. The
survey was conducted so as to analyze the big scale sector
prevailing in the current industry and the improvement that can
be made upon it.
Market research study has been conducted in order to bring out
the picture of big scale sector that exists in this industry. The
differences in service quality that exists in the market. What the
customer’s preferences are provided by the Airtel?
7
Executiv
e
Summar
y
8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel
company markets its strategies and how the company has been
able in tackling the present tough competition and how it is
cooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The
report begins with the history of the products and the
introduction of the Airtel company. This report also contains the
basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel company
of manufacturing process, technology, production policy,
advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and
government policies. The report includes some of the key salient
features of market trend issues.
In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very
essential to not only exist but also to excel in the market.
Today’s market is enormously more complex. Hence forth, to
survive in the market, the company not only needs to maximize
its profit but also needs to satisfy its customers and should try to
build upon from there.
9
Objectiv
e of the
Study
10
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1. To identify the difference in market performance of Airtel industry.
2. To study the market of Airtel Industry in big scale sector.
3. To compare various parameters of manufacturing process,
technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration,
export scenario, future prospect and government policies.
11
Researc
h
Methodo
logy
12
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Achieving accuracy in any research requires in depth study
regarding the subject. As the prime objective of the project is to
compare Airtel with the existing competitors in the market and the
impact of WLL on Airtel, the research methodology adopted is
basically based on primary data via which the most recent and
accurate piece of first hand information could be collected.
Secondary data has been used to support primary data wherever
needed.
Primary data was collected using the following techniques
Questionnaire Method
Direct Interview Method and
Observation Method
The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct
interview method, where a face-to-face formal interview was taken.
Lastly observation method has been continuous with the questionnaire
method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he
13
works in.
Procedure of research methodology
# To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users,
Who are using GSM technology.
# Target geographic area. Sample size of 100 was taken.
# To these 100 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire
was a combination of both open ended and closed ended questions.
# The date during which questionnaires were filled.
# Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective.
Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also
conducted.
# Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and
compiled to arrive at the conclusion and recommendations given.
Sources of secondary data
Used to obtain information on, Bharti’s history, current issues, policies,
14
procedures etc, wherever required.
# Internet
# Magazines
# Newspapers
# Journals
# Bharti Circulars
# Bharti News Letters
15
Introduct
ion
16
INTRODUCTION
In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic
policy aimed at improving India's competitiveness in the global markets
and the rapid growth of exports. Key to achieving these goals was a
world-class telecom infrastructure.
In India, the telecom service areas are divided into four metros (New
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta) and 20 circles, which roughly
correspond to the states in India. The circles are further classified
under "A," "B" and "C," with the "A" circle being the most attractive and
"C" being the least attractive. The regulatory body at that time — the
Department of Telecommunications (DOT) — allocated two cellular
licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900
cellular services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular
service was provided by, Modi Telstra in Kolkatta in August 1995. For
the auction, it was stipulated that no firm can win in more than one
metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu and Kashmir and
Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and Assam
had only one bidder each.
17
In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was
introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the president officially announced the
TRAI ordinance on 25 January 1997. The government decided to set
up TRAI to separate regulatory functions from policy formulation,
licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the creation of TRAI, these
functions were the sole responsibility of the DOT.
High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put
tremendous financial burden on the operators, diverting funds away
from network development and enhancements. As a result, by 1999
many operators failed to pay their license fees and were in danger of
having their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new telecom policy
was put in place (New Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new
policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be replaced by a revenue-
sharing scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue
were to be paid to the government.
1.1 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER ROADBLOCKS AND
THEIR RESOLUTION
Indian Cellular market immediately after the first round of licensing in
1994-96 was beset by several problems for 3 - 4 years till the New
Telecom Policy of 1999 was announced. Some of these roadblocks /
18
current position is tabulated below:
19
ROADBLOCKS
CURRENT POSITION
High license fees
Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund
requirements for payment of license fees.
Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters
Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over
60% per annum, while businesses with weak promoters continuing to
languish - spate of acquisitions / mergers, with 4/5 major groups
emerging in the last one/two years.
Regulatory authority not in place
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its
role being accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommunications
(DOT) restructured, with operations and policy making roles vested in
different bodies.
Issues relating to unfavorable interconnect terms for private operators,
pass through income, intra circle long distance, spectrum availability
and allocation and the like remained unresolved for long periods.
20
Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through income to
DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the
satisfaction of all parties with changes in methodology / revenue
sharing, intra circle long distance allowed, spectrum availability cleared
with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM operators.
Problems in Financial closures due to:
 Licensing tenure of 10 years
 Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy
license fee burden in initial stages of deployment Asset based
financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.
 Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years
 Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments
mitigated with migration to revenue sharing mode allowing
promoters to deploy more capital for capital expenditure; project
financing being considered by most financial institutions.
Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations
Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as
a matter of routine allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full
21
control of businesses by foreign companies.
Inadequate growth of market / subscribers
Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth,
but with corrective measures taken, market / subscriber base expected
to zoom
1.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY
The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line
operators is still biased against the former.
Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy.
The cellular penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation
of over one billion people.
In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their
cellular joint ventures in India due to the difficult operating environment
and bureaucracy. In 1999 alone, Swisscom pulled out from Sterling
Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the Telecom Organization
of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT Mobile. In 2000,
Telecom Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin Telecom, and both
Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from Fascel. In June 2001,
British Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell South International has
22
also indicated its intention to pull out from Skycell Communications,
and Hong Kong-based Distacom is seeking to sell its stake in Spice
Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong Kong) continued
commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is reviewing
various options.
The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and
acquisition wave sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent
years. Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, via Hutchison
Telecommunications (HK), acquired major stakes in Sterling Cellular
(December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid-2000) and Fascel
(September 2000). Through a partnership with local company, Kotak
Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa practically controls Fascel
and Usha Martin Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit on
foreign ownership in Indian cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is
also the controlling shareholder of Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be
outdone, Bharti Enterprises — another major cellular player —
acquired control of JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti Mobile
(December 1999), and Skycell Communications renamed Bharti
Mobinet (August 2000). Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of
Essar and started operations, giving competition to the lone operator
there, Spice Communications. Going forward, Bharti is likely to merge
23
all its cellular companies into one entity.
Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the
fourth operator slots in four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as
the No. 1 bidder with eight new licenses, followed by Escotel with four,
Hutchison with three, and Reliance and Idea cellular with one each.
Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced operations in all the
circles while Idea is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and Reliance have
not made any headway.
BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started
services in March 2001. BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular
operator, launched services in Kolkatta and Bihar in January 2002.
This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002. A nationwide launch
was scheduled for 2 October 2002. However, this has been postponed
until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out its service, most telecom
circles will have four cellular operators. There will be tremendous
competitive pressure, which will result in lower tariffs. Future rate cuts
are expected, which will drive demand, together with falling handset
prices and the introduction of prepaid services.
In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out
with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002.
24
Leveraging on the success of its cellular service, the company got a
very good response from the primary market. The total size of the IPO
was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue was
oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will
be used to fuel its investment in long-distance, basic and cellular
services.
As of October 2002, only BPL Mobile has launched commercial
general packet radio service (GPRS) in Mumbai. However, large-scale
uptake remains elusive. While both Bharti and Idea have GPRS-
enabled networks, there is caution on their part to launch the service.
With hardly any applications, the success of GPRS remains a
question.
Building visibility and awareness
Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are
actively promoting their brand and service portfolio through high-
visibility advertising and promotional campaigns. Cellular operators like
Bharti, Orange and BPL Mobile have been advertising aggressively on
hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the city rail system and
cabs are used widely to carry the message of mobility.
Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular
25
operators with the establishment of longstanding consumer benefit
programs. Orange in Mumbai offers "Orange Holidays" and "Orange
Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added benefits like
discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer
special privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops.
Enterprise mobile applications — promising revenue stream
All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus.
Few operators have concentrated on offering differentiated services for
businesses. However, as operators realize that offering basic voice
and Short Message Service (SMS) will get them the numbers but not
the margins, some are now seriously looking at the enterprise segment
for provisioning superior services.
Cost-centered solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like
unified messaging and instant alerts are being offered.
A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise
segment. Bharti is in the process of introducing a facility to fleet
management companies so that they can improve the efficiency of
trucks or buses by tracking movement and ensuring higher-use,
accurate route planning. Premium automakers are also installing a
global system for mobile communications inside a vehicle to help trace
26
lost vehicles and track down stolen cars.
Corporations can choose enhanced services like user-defined call
routing to prevent misuse. Calls can be barred, limiting access to
select numbers and diverting calls to one single number. Broadcasting
services are also quite popular, especially among fast food centers that
have a central number. Group SMS is quite popular, especially among
enterprises both in the service as well as the fast-moving consumer
goods (FMCG) segment that have a large field force and need to
provide regular updates on inventory status, discount schemes and
movement of goods from warehouse to the retail outlet. Banks too find
bulk SMS service very useful to forward transactional alerts to their
customers.
1.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT
There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus
on differentiations to maintain their lead.
• The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable
operators to offer data services. This is an opportunity to
customize and differentiate better.
27
• The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means
that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there is less chance
of a cartel being formed.
• Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of
coverage is crucial especially for the business subscriber.
• The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it
is for businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with a
national operator is advantageous.
• Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed network
service providers) will be a disadvantage for cellular operators in
the short term. Consequently, operators need to streamline their
customer relation activities and adopt aggressive subscriber
acquisition and retention strategies.
1.4 REGULATORY ISSUES
The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian
Telegraph Act of 1885. A document buried in the sands of time. The
next major policy document, which was produced, was the National
Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of the on going process of
liberalization.
28
Year Event
1851 First telephones in India
1943 Nationalization of telephone companies
1985 DoT was created
1986 Creation of BHARTI and VSNL
1991 Telecom equipment liberalized
1994 Licenses for paging
1994 Telecom policy announced
September 1994 Guidelines for private sector participation in
basic services
November 1994 Cellular licenses issued for metros
December 1994 Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apart
from 4 metros
January 1995 Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services
apart from DoT on circle basis.
August 1995 VSNL launches Internet services
January 1996 TRAI formed
November 1998 Internet policy announced
The National Telecom Policy of 1994 document, which laid out broad
policy guidelines rather than a series of action points. Like other
policies, it sought to achieve the impossible in finite time like improve
quality of service and its availability, wide coverage (a phone in every
village), at reasonable rates, etc. The targets in quantifiable terms were
29
installation of 9.5mn additional lines, telephone on demand by 1997,
and a PCO pop of 500. The Eighth Plan had also allowed private
operators in value added services. To facilitate licensing, the nation
was divided into 20 circles (akin to a state) for basic and 21 circles for
cellular telephony. Mumbai falls in Maharashtra circle and Delhi in itself
a circle.
The basic premise on which competition has been introduced is that
every circle will have one private operator apart from DoT/ BHARTI for
basic and two operators for cellular. DoT/ BHARTI have the option to
become the third cellular operator in future.
Government did not achieve most of its stated targets. The basic
theme, which was broadening the reach of telephony in India, has not
been met. Even liberalization policies were not implemented properly.
The regulator TRAI was set up after delays and confusion and even
after its creation, DoT continued to fight with it in courts. It was also
affected by the resource crunch, and financing options like BOT,
BOOT and BOLT was not used at all. The major policy direction it
showed was to allow private sector entry in both basic and value
added services. The intention, though noble failed to achieve its goals
because of improper implementation, the economic costs are still
borne by the end user.
30
The telecom sector has witnessed some fundamental structural and
institutional reforms in the past decade. telecom equipment
manufacturing was completely deregulated in 1991. Value-added
services (including cellular services) were thrown open to private
sector participation in 1992. Basic services were opened to private
participation in 1994 by dividing the country into 21 telecom Circles
and allowing one private operator per Circle to compete with DoT. An
independent telecom regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997.
A new Policy for Internet Service Policy Providers (ISPs) was
announced in 1998 allowing independent service providers to enter the
sector ending the earlier monopoly of VSNL. Reorganization of DoT,
separating policymaking function and service provision and
corporatization of DoT's operational network are two major institutional
reforms, which need to be implemented.
31
Compan
y Profile
32
COMPANY PROFILE
Vision
"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new
horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out
the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our
ultimate user: our customer."
These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its
entire plan of action.
Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has
revolutionized telecommunications with its world-class products and
services.
Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom
sector. With many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from
being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone
service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide
comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first
private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance
Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers
33
– nearly 2.88 million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers.
Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra
Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra
circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In
addition, it also has a fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya
Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.
Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering
data transmission services and voice transmission services for calls
originating and terminating on most of India's mobile networks.
The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project
connecting Chennai-Singapore for providing international bandwidth.
Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals
and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of
telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to export its
products to the USA.
Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is
“to capitalise on the growth opportunities that the Company believes
34
are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate
its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services
provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile
services”.
The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its
strategic objective:
• Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;
• Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with
minimum geographical coverage;
• Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers
with a "one-stop shop" solution;
• Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer
advanced mobile data services;
• Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high
level of customer satisfaction;
• Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and
• Emphasize on human resource development to achieve
operational efficiencies.
35
Businesses
Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -
• Mobile services
• Fixed-line
• National and international long distance services
• VSAT, Internet services and network solutions
Competitive Strengths
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will
contribute to the Company's success as an integrated
telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the
Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy:
• Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile
subscribers resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles.
These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of
India's land mass;
• Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better
anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new
telecommunications-related business opportunities;
36
• The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering
high quality service to its customers;
• Quality management team with vision and proven execution
skills; and
• The Company's strong relationships with international strategic
and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus,
International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund
Group and New York Life Insurance.
Brand Architecture:
Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding
architecture — to:
•Create specific brands for each service,
•Build sub-brands within each of these services and
•Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its
corporate identity as well as defining its goal to become a
national builder of telecoms infrastructure.
Error: Reference source not found
37
AirTel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the
country.
Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.
India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD)
telephony
Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group
wants to create “distinct independent brands to address
different customers and profiles”.
Brand Strategy:
To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building
exercise associated with AirTel — a brand that had to be repositioned
recently to address new needs in the market.
38
When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony
wasn’t a mass market by any means. For the average consumer,
owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a
minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as
much as buying a second-hand car.
Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to
him the economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev
says that such a strategy would not have worked for the simple reason
that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate
with the cost.
“Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the
sensory benefit it gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The
idea was to become a badge value brand,” he explains.
So the AirTel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing
successful men with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the
mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant AirTel was positioned as an
aspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood
out in a crowd.
Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there
were three core benefits that were clearly associated with the brand —
39
leadership, dynamism and performance.
These were valuable qualities, but they only took AirTel far enough to
establish its presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it
became necessary for AirTel to appeal to a wider audience. And the
various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all these good
things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand — it was
perceived as cold, distant and efficient.
Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer
relationships were the core this could be a major weakness. The
reason? With tariffs identical to competitor Essar and roughly the
same level of service and schemes, it had now become important for
Bharti to “humanize” AirTel and use that relationship as a major
differentiation.
The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient.
What they needed was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also
human. A change in tack was important because this was a time when
the cellular market was changing.
The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de
la crème of society. Once you reached them you had to expand the
market so there was need to address to new customers.
40
By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi
with a base of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.2 million customers). And with
tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell companies started cutting
prices — it was time to expand the market.
How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value
chain? Surveys showed that the concept of leadership in the
customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean
directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team
to achieve common objectives — it was, again, a relationship game
that needed to be reflected in the AirTel brand.
Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a
mobile phone brand mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from
friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers were an
important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on
building closer relationships with them.
That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new
positioning under the AirTel “Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign.
This set of campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by caring
family members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign and positioning
was designed to highlight the relationship angle and make the brand
41
softer and more sensitive.”
As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new
circles apart from the seven in which it already operates — Bharti is
now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the AirTel
brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now,
the company is unwilling to discuss the new positioning in detail. But
broadly, the focus is on positioning AirTel as a power brand with
numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various
parts of the country.
If AirTel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand,
Bharti has also understood that one common brand for all cellular
operations might not always work in urban markets that are now
getting increasingly saturated.
To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to
segment the market. One such experiment, launched last year, is
Youtopia, a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and
for those who are “young at heart”. With its earlier positioning, AirTel
was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older customer; there
was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, AirTel hoped to
reverse that.
42
In order to deliver the concept, AirTel offered rock bottom tariff rates
(25 paise for 30 seconds) at night to Youtopia customers — a time
when they make the maximum number of calls. It also set up
merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for
young people to buy things or bid for goods.
The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable
prices to this segment which include music downloads on the mobile
and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it cheaper for young
people to use.
The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product
segmentation through the Tango brand name. The brand was created
to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what is known as
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).
The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The
name was chosen from the popular movie title It Takes Two To
Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer
customers a new choice”, says Sachdev.
This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with
inefficiency of service (accusingly slow download speeds) and the
limited utility of WAP services.
43
Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated
that the branding exercise could be revived because Tango will be the
brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet connectivity on
the mobile phone — which AirTel is expected to launch soon.
The Magic:
Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the
pre-paid card. The idea was to make the brand affordable, accessible
and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expanding the market
even faster.
PHASE I –
Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into
the market and assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a
call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly — mostly for
emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile
connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include
rental charges).
To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.
44
• One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs
300 to Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple to
operate.
• Two, the product was made accessible and distributed through
small stores, telephone booths and even kirana shops so that the
offering was well within arm’s reach.
• Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the customer,
the company came with vernacular ad campaigns like “Magic
Daalo Se Hello” which appealed to local sensibilities.
This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh
Khan for a major ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the
number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 12 lakh today,
overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed, which was launched
much ahead of Magic. The company is now re-working its Magic
strategy even further.
Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested
customers — that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for
mobile services. But now, with basic service providers having been
allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers
could find themselves under threat again.
45
That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters.
While the exact strategy is under wraps, insiders say the new branding
strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they had not
perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card.
PHASE II -
Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and
accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card
TV brand campaign
• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV
• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium
designed to connect with the masses of India
• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value
proposition of AirTel Magic - ‘Mumkin Hai’ come alive
• All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to
connect the category to the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment –
the middle class non-mobile user.
• AirTel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for
emergency situations - increasing productivity as a part of everyday
life.
46
• Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing
pretty Kareena Kapoor with AirTel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid
mobile card.
AirTel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch
of it’s new AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to
Mumkin hai’. The strategy is targeted at the non-user segment defined
as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is
aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is
centered around a person’s desire to make all his / her dreams,
ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for
AirTel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of
their lives.
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to
make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just
Rs.300/- per month AirTel Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving
productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new
horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never
possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible
with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’
has been specially created to capture this effectively.
47
This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the
tone, manner & language of the masses. The “Mumkin hai” value
proposition will help us expand the market and gain a higher
percentage of market share in the process.
The brand ambassadors Sharukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody
this ‘can do’ or “Mumkin Hai” spirit (infact that is the reason they were
selected as brand ambassadors). Sharukh rose from a TV actor to
become India’s top film star and national heartthrob. Kareena’s
success is due to her ‘attitude’, talent, hard work and the sheer ability
to make a mark in such a short time. Both these stars have said
‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves.
The genre of this new strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This
genre connects millions across India. The spirit of romance, dancing…
the Indian cinema, well known to most as Bollywood, holds millions of
Indians together as one.
The new TV campaign of AirTel Magic crafted in the Hindi film idiom,
magnifies the empowering optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the endearing
situation of a boy-girl romance. Where Sharukh Khan, sets his eyes
on Kareena Kapoor and wins her love with the help of AirTel Magic.
(Poignantly conveying that special feeling we all get when a dream is
48
made possible and a victory of the heart is won).
The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped
base of intending mobile customers from Sec A, B & C. The estimated
addressable market of such customers in the next two years is around
25 million in AirTel’s 16 states. The new strategy aims at correcting
the perception that the mobile category is useful mainly for ‘business’
or ‘work’ related scenarios.
The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an outcome of
an extensive nationwide research and is an integral part of AirTel
Magic’s new multi-media campaign. The campaign has been created
by Percept Advertising.
PHASE III -
Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and
accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card
TV brand campaign
• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such
freedom to recharge any value
• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium
49
designed to connect with the masses of India
• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value
proposition of AirTel Magic - ‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive
• Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ AirTel today
unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of it’s new
AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin
hai’. . The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire
to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly
possible. The new campaign for AirTel Magic is all about
empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to
make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a
amount of your choice you can recharge your account with available
validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and
opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life
in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is
possible is possible with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Aisi
azadi aur kahanhas been specially created to capture this effectively.
Amount
Servi
ce
Processin
g
Talk
Time
Validi
ty
(Rs.) Tax Fees(Rs. (Rs.) (Day
50
(8%) ) s)
54 4 25 25 5
60 4.44 25 30.56 5
75 5.56 25 44.44 5
100 7.41 25 67.59 5
125 9.26 50 65.74 10
150 11.11 50 88.89 10
175 12.96 50 112.04 10
200 14.81 50 135.19 10
216 16 85 115 20
225 16.67 85 123.33 20
250 18.52 85 146.48 20
275 20.37 85 169.63 20
300 22.22 85 183.78 20
Amount
Servi
ce
Processin
g
Talk
Time
Validi
ty
(Rs.)
Tax
(8%)
Fees(Rs.
) (Rs.)
(Day
s)
324 24 150 150 30
350 25.93 150 174.07 30
360 26.67 150 183.33 30
375 27.78 150 197.22 30
400 29.63 150 220.37 30
425 31.48 150 243.52 30
475 35.19 150 289.81 30
500 37.04 150 312.96 30
525 38.89 150 336.11 30
540 40 150 350 30
600 44.44 150 405.56 30
650 48.15 150 451.56 30
700 51.85 150 498.15 30
775 57.41 150 567.59 30
800 50.36 150 580.74 30
( Rs.)
Tax
(8%)
Fees(Rs.
)
(Rs.
)
(Day
s)
850 62.96 150 637.04 60
51
900 66.67 150 683.33 60
1000 74.07 150 775.93 60
1080 80 150 850 60
1200 88.89 150 961.11 60
1300 96.3 150 1053.7 60
1400 103.7 150 1146.3 60
1500 111.11 150 1238.89 60
1800 133.33 150 1516.67 60
2000 148.15 150 1701.85 60
2160 160 150 1850 60
3000 222.22 150 2627.78 60
5000 370.37 300 4329.63 366
6000 444.44 300 5255.56 366
7000 518.52 300 6181.48 366
8000 592.59 300 7107.41 366
9000 666.67 300 8033.33 366
9999 740.67 300 8958.33 366
YOUR TALK TIME = MRP - PROCESSING FEE -
SERVICE TAX
Other Brand Building Initiatives:-
The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months.
Working on the above game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with
newer product offerings for the customers.
The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.
• To make the service simpler for customers using roaming
facilities, Airtel has devised common numbers for subscribers
across the country for services like customer care, food services
and cinema amongst others.
• It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so,
52
customers moving from one place to another do not have to
close and then again open new accounts at another place.
• To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber
queries, a storehouse of 40,000 frequently asked questions and
their answers have been stored on the computers.
• Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is
that it would be 60 to 70 per cent of the total new subscriber
base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So, they
must be given value-added products and services which
competitors don’t provide.
• Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to
offer roaming services even to its pre-paid customers, but the
facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card.
To ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing
services (which is known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per
cent of the customer base every month), the company is also
working on a loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible
cash benefits depending upon their usage of the phone.
• The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will
provide real benefits to customers. The idea is to create an Airtel
53
community.
• Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon
is a new roaming service launched in Delhi under which calls of a
roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed directly
to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network.
• The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under
which customers having a specialized phone with a in-built
camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the
phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7.
• Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use
cellular service much easier than it is today. A key area is to
increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250
Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its
services) and about 250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger
shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only
by Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison,
the competition takes two to four hours.
• Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone
users and it is actually helping the market to increase. First, they
are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one
54
need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is
often available even with paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving
consumer service, the game is now moving beyond price to
expanding distribution reach and servicing a well-spread-out
clientele with technology and strategic alliances. Bharti is
focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive.
Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making recharging
more convenience.
• Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance
with Mumbai-based company Venture Infotech which will enable
a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just swiping a
card. The system will not only save users the hassle of going out
and buying a card every time it expires but also enable mobile
companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards.
• Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a
company delivering food at home, to reach its Magic pre-paid
cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also joining
hands with local grocery shops which will enable users to
recharge their cards by just making a phone call to the shop.
Apart from improving the convenience of recharging, mobile
55
operators are beefing up their distribution channels. The
company is constantly innovating to enhance the value
proposition for its pre-paid service. They are leveraging
technology to expand their distribution network and deliver
round-the-clock recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile On the
Spot) subscribers.
• Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service, CareTouch,
for high-value, corporate customers, providing them with instant,
single-point access for any assistance they require. Customers
can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which includes easier
payment of bills, service on priority basis, and value-added
services without any additional paper work. Bharti Cellular is
offering a range of services without going through an interactive
voice recorder ensuring that they save time. Dedicated
‘CareTouch’ executives are expected to assist customers with
any service on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive
reminder calls for bill payment, customers can also call
CareTouch for bill payments at free of cost.
• AirTel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-air’ SMS based
interactive music dedication show exclusively for AirTel and
56
AirTel Magic customers. Highly interactive VJ based show with
real-time feedback mechanism. Both brands joined hands to
target the high growth youth segment.
57
Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-
First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a
more holistic manner. Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps
the most potent key to build a brand that lasts.
Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success
factor. Customers (be it for industrial products or consumer goods and
services) across the world are more informed and, at the same time,
becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more demanding
with the passage of time.
Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating
redefined or emerging customer needs, and then reacting in “real-time”
are essential to attract and retain customer loyalty — a key element of
creating brand equity in the present situation.
Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the
specific needs of various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third
element in creating brand appreciation.
As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too
many companies mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on
mere advertising and promotion. This is not to say that advertising and
58
promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more choices and
higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for an increasingly
higher spend on their brand promotion but this has to be undertaken in
tandem with enterprise-wide “reengineering” of the business
philosophy and core design, production, and delivery operations for the
product itself.
The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the
fundamentals, the enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This
can be the beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand equity
continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an
appropriate product or service at an ever increasing value.
It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the
cost of building a regional or a national (or an international) brand will
continue to rise but also the time taken to do so will be longer and will
need sustained and focused efforts.
59
Findings
and
Analysis
60
AGE GROUP
15-21
15%
21-28
65%
28-35
20%
OCCUPATION
15%
55%
20%
10%
STUDENTS EXECUTIVES HOUSEHOLDS OTHERS
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
Age Group Graph
As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age
group of 21-28 years are the ones who are the maximum users of
mobile phones. This segment is the one which gives maximum
business to the mobile operators. This segment constitutes the young
executives and other office going people. They are 65% of the total
people who were interviewed. The next age group are the people who
are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total. They are those who
are at home or have small business units etc. And the next age group
is the youngest generation who are 15-21 years old. They are school
and college going students and carry mobile phones to flaunt. They are
15% of the total interviewed people.
Occupation Graph
As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are
working. So, these people are the ones who are the maximum users of
mobile phones. They are the young executives, managers, Tele -
callers etc. who require mobile for their official purposes. The next
category is the households, who are either housewives, small units
61
SERVICE PROVIDER
15%
30%
5%
50%
IDEA AIRTEL HUTCH OTHERS
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL
20%
10%
60%
10%
FULLY PARTIALLY
DISSATISFIED FULLY DISSATISFIED
which operate from their homes etc. They are 20% of the whole . The
next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of
the whole is a category who are the professionals.
Service Provider Graph
The above graph shows a slice of 50%. These are the total no. of
people who are using Airtel. It seems that people are more aware of
Airtel than any other brand. The next popular brand is Hutch. 305 of
the people interviewed had Hutch connections. The next popular brand
was Idea. 15% people had Idea connections. As it came very late in
the market when Airtel had established it self very well. So, that could
be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The remaining 5%
had trump connections.
Customer Service At Airtel Graph
As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel
seems poor. 60% of the people are dissatisfied with the customer
services provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the maximum
share in the market but they are lagging behind in the customer
services. 10% of the people were fully dissatisfied with the customer
services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of the
consumer. He can even switch over his brand. 20% of the people
62
TYPES OF CARDS
CASH
CARD
85%
SIM
CARD
15%
Monthly Expense
12%
64%
24%
Rs 600
Rs 450
Rs 200
seemed partially satisfied with the customer services and only 10%
seem to be fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer services, which is a
very small amount.
Type Of Card Graph
Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85%
of the total mobile users were having cash card connections. This
means that the cash cards should be easily and readily available in the
local markets. Airtel should make sure that Magic is available in each
and every nook and corner of the market. 15% of the people were
having sim connections which is the regular bill.
Monthly expense graph
People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone
expense. 64% people spend this amount. 24% people spend RS 300
per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the remaining 12%
had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim
connections or having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on
63
AWARENESS ABOUT WLL
YES
55%
NO
45%
AWARENESS OF WLL PLAYERS
RELIANCE
85%
TATA
INDICOM
15%
their mobiles.
Awareness About WLL Graph
WLL seemed to be a new word for many of the people. 45% of the
people were not at all aware of such a technology. So, in order to get
the answer for this question they were first explained the concept.
Only, 55% people knew what WLL is all about.
Awareness of WLL Players Graph
Reliance was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed
people. As Reliance had done so much advertising and has it banners
64
and hoarding spread all over Delhi. So, this could be one the reasons
of its popularity. Tata was hardly a known brand in this new field.
Possibly, because of less promotions done by them as compared to
Reliance.
On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the
maximum no. of people who use mobile phones are in the age group
of 20 to 28. who are the young executives and other office goers.
They spend a maximum of RS. 500 as their mobile expense.
There are more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The
mobile users want to spend money side by side than to spend money
at the end of the month on a big bill.
Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point of view
of the consumer I found that on the basis of Tariff plan, value added
services and billing accuracy Airtel is at par or ahead of its competitor
but in the case of customer care and availability they lag behind there
competitors. As, Airtel has a hold in the market because it has the
maximum no. of connections, so it must improve upon it customer
services. As far as WLL is concerned people are aware about it but
not many people are aware about Tata. They only Know more about
Reliance. People at this point of time are not interested to switch over
65
from GSM to WLL.
66
Suggesti
ons
67
SUGGESTIONS
Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving
the market share and image of the products concerned.
1. PRODUCT
*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms
of quality. Its demand should be increased.
2. PLACE
* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO &
general stores.
3. PROMOTION
*Company must undertake extensive promotional
activities like advertisements must be released in
different Medias to create brand awareness.
*Free samples should be distributed among the
prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contests and
coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers
and prospects.
* Catalogues should be distributed among
customers.
68
SWOT
Analysis
69
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
• Being one of the largest companies in India the company has
achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its
products.
• It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an
enviable distribution network.
• It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and
limits of financial authority.
• Increase in advertisement spends affect the company’s
margins.
• The company‘s bottom line falls victim to the bloated and
highly paid workforce, which affects its margins.
Weakness:
• Little efforts over the Advertising of products.
• Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.
• Premium priced products, hence can’t compete in low price
70
segment.
• No separate strategy for rural market.
Opportunities:
• The company's financial performance can receive a major
boost from its cost reduction efforts.
• There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.
• Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming
years.
• Airtel’s business has ample scope for gaining market share
from the unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast
potential to bring about growth.
Threats
• The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of
most FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to
maintain historical growth rates in such a depressed scenario.
• Company’s major raw materials are influenced by government
policies / controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons.
Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials would have
71
significant impact on costs and margins of the company.
Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would
also increases company’s production and distribution cost.
72
RECOMMENDAT
ION
73
RECOMMENDATION
I have made following recommendation to the company after
doing the summer training there:
• The company should modify its credit policy as they only
target the cash paying customers who are not easy to
trace.
• The company should emphasis more on the quality of
Pharmaceuticals Products it was mostly claimed by the
exporters that their receipts from company doesn’t
matches with the sample’s quality shown before giving
orders.
• The company should makes its marketing strategy
flexible enough in order to face competition.
• The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery
of the goods to exporter on time, as it has been
recommended by exporters to make the delivery on time.
• The company rate policy must be flexible enough to
catch new customers because if company offers lower
price to a new customer then he may continue buy the
goods and can be a permanent customer for the
company.
• The company should offers such rate in the market so
74
that it may able to catch a biger market share and it
should be able to compete with the local traders and
commission agents while having a brand name.
The company should take the opinion of exporters from time
to time to know what problems they are facing from the
company’s side? And if any change they require in present
supplying condition?
75
LIMITATI
ON
76
LIMITATIONS
No project is without limitations and it becomes essential to
figure out the various constraints that we underwent during
the study. The following points in this direction would add to
our total deliberations:-
1. During the study, on many occasions the respondent
groups gave us a cold shoulder.
2. The respondents from whom primary data was gathered
any times displayed complete ignorance about the complete
branded range, which was being studied.
3. Lack of time is the basic limitation in the project.
4. Some retailers/wholesellers refuses to cooperate with the
queries.
5. Some retailers/wholesellers gave biased or incomplete
information regarding the study.
6. Money played a vital factor in the whole project duration.
7. Lack of proper information and experience also because
77
hurdle for me.
8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not
have time to answer.
78
CONCLUSI
ON
79
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel
lagged behind its competitors as far as customer service and
availability is concerned. The maximum no. of people who use the
mobile are in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most
popular type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly and
recharging the connection is not a problem.
Maximum no. of people spend RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel
is the only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so
it must seriously look into the loop holes of the existing customer
service department.
As we know that now airtel has already launched its product with logo
“’ Aisi azaadi aur kahan”’ has already became popular in market. So
we can say that inspite of so many competitor in the market Airtel is
having a good position just because every time, it tries its best to
understand the need of its important customer.
80
BIBLIOGRAPHY
81
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem
in details the following Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites
have been referred. All the material detailed below provides effective
help and a guiding layout while designing this text report.
Websites:
www.airtelworld.com
www.google.com
www.india.com
Magazines:
Airtel (2 July to 10 July 2004)
Airtel India page of HT paper (Thursday 1December 2004)
Cowards India (26 December to 4 Jan. 2004)
82
Question
naire
83
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a student of MBA of Krishna Institute of Engineering &
Technology, Ghaziabad, doing my summer training project on
consumer behavior from Airtel. Please give your precious time for
filling these details.
Q.1 For how long you have been using Airtel Product?
 0-2 Years
 2-5 Years
 5-10 Years
 More than 10 years
Q.2 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?
 Yes
 No
Q.3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?
 Idea
 Hutch
 Airtel
Q. 4 How would you rate the experience with Brand?
 Idea
 Hutch
 Airtel
Q.5 Do you collect any information search before making purchase?
 Yes
 No.
Excellent Good Average Below
Average
84
Q.6 If yes, which sources are used?
 Magazines
 Dealers
 Sales Executives
 Operators reference
 Pamphlets and catalogue
 Reference from friends and relatives
 Any other
Q.7 What are the features you look for in a product before making
purchase decision? Give preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)
 Brand credibility
 Price and Discount
 After sales services and parts, network
 Value for money
 Vehicle performance
 Add on features or ergonomics of design
Q.8. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while
purchasing any connection?
 Good Network
 Discount scheme
 Service package
 Any other
Q.9 If you have to purchase a new connection or product in near
future, which Brand will you go for and why?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
85
Q.10 Are you aware of various promotional activities being run by
Airtel, if yes then how? Are you satisfied with these promotional
activities?

Customer Care
 By Ad Films
 By Camp
 24 hrs call center services
Q.11 How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation
on 5 points scale (5 Highest)
1 2 3 4 5
 After Sale service
 Maintenance
 Product as per expectation
Q.12 What are you suggestions for improving the product quality,
service availability and parts availability?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Very
Satisfied
Satisfied Somewhat
Satisfied
Not
satisfied
86

More Related Content

What's hot

Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)
Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)
Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)ankan sengupta
 
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...Syed Naqvi
 
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)Chinmaya Mandal
 
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECT
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECTTATA INTERNSHIP PROJECT
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECTReeha Paul
 
Telecom industry in india
Telecom industry in indiaTelecom industry in india
Telecom industry in indiaRavindra Kumar
 
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.AmItHa RaJeSh
 
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptcl
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptclSWOT analysis: a case study of ptcl
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptclAqsaSiddiq
 
Ptcl imc plan
Ptcl imc planPtcl imc plan
Ptcl imc planbaglol
 
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtel
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on AirtelIndian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtel
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtelmini244
 
Tata Teleservices Industry Analysis
Tata Teleservices Industry AnalysisTata Teleservices Industry Analysis
Tata Teleservices Industry AnalysisI.F.I.M. B-School
 
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink Pakistan
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink PakistanStrategic Management Analysis of Mobilink Pakistan
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink PakistanSajjad Sayed
 
Airtel Industrial analysis
Airtel Industrial analysisAirtel Industrial analysis
Airtel Industrial analysisJeril Peter
 
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication Industry
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication IndustryMicro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication Industry
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication IndustryRohan Bharaj
 

What's hot (20)

Sm assignment
Sm assignmentSm assignment
Sm assignment
 
Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)
Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)
Marketing strategy of telecom sector in india(project)
 
Vodafone idea limited
Vodafone idea limitedVodafone idea limited
Vodafone idea limited
 
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...
A Comparative study of Vodafone Vs Airtel with special reference of Prepaid P...
 
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)
airtel case study(ABM, OUAT)
 
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECT
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECTTATA INTERNSHIP PROJECT
TATA INTERNSHIP PROJECT
 
Telecom industry in india
Telecom industry in indiaTelecom industry in india
Telecom industry in india
 
Public Management Case Study "Privatization of PTCL"
Public Management Case Study "Privatization of PTCL"Public Management Case Study "Privatization of PTCL"
Public Management Case Study "Privatization of PTCL"
 
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Competitive analysis of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
 
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptcl
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptclSWOT analysis: a case study of ptcl
SWOT analysis: a case study of ptcl
 
Telecom Sector
Telecom SectorTelecom Sector
Telecom Sector
 
Ptcl imc plan
Ptcl imc planPtcl imc plan
Ptcl imc plan
 
Tata teleservices
Tata teleservicesTata teleservices
Tata teleservices
 
Suleman rasheed
Suleman rasheedSuleman rasheed
Suleman rasheed
 
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtel
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on AirtelIndian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtel
Indian Telecom Industry & role of HR in it, With emphasis on Airtel
 
Tata Teleservices Industry Analysis
Tata Teleservices Industry AnalysisTata Teleservices Industry Analysis
Tata Teleservices Industry Analysis
 
presentation on bsnl
presentation on bsnlpresentation on bsnl
presentation on bsnl
 
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink Pakistan
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink PakistanStrategic Management Analysis of Mobilink Pakistan
Strategic Management Analysis of Mobilink Pakistan
 
Airtel Industrial analysis
Airtel Industrial analysisAirtel Industrial analysis
Airtel Industrial analysis
 
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication Industry
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication IndustryMicro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication Industry
Micro Economics : Oligopoly in the Indian Telecommunication Industry
 

Similar to Airtell

22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-newniraj080685
 
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp0122463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01Ankur Jaiswal
 
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...Vineesh Earnest
 
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report aniketanny1995
 
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.Aditya Bhatt
 
Aircel Market Research Project
Aircel Market Research ProjectAircel Market Research Project
Aircel Market Research Projectanadhe
 
mba project in jio comunication in pratap college
mba project in jio comunication in pratap collegemba project in jio comunication in pratap college
mba project in jio comunication in pratap collegeSatyendra SinghS
 
Air1
Air1Air1
Air1bkt1
 
Internship report
Internship reportInternship report
Internship reportabhi5592
 
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysisSoumya Sahoo
 
Bsnl project........
Bsnl project........Bsnl project........
Bsnl project........rajnishalld
 
Airtel marketing-strategies-75
Airtel   marketing-strategies-75Airtel   marketing-strategies-75
Airtel marketing-strategies-75Bhuwnesh Sharma
 
marketing plan of airtel
marketing plan of airtel marketing plan of airtel
marketing plan of airtel Vicky Dhananjay
 
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...Projects Kart
 
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICES
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICESA STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICES
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICESPrashant Kumar
 
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladesh
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladeshResearch on telecommunication sector in bangladesh
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladeshImtiaz Ijaz Ahmed
 
Airtel and idea
Airtel and ideaAirtel and idea
Airtel and ideajyotsana06
 

Similar to Airtell (20)

22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new
 
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp0122463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01
22463913 consumer-behaviour-of-airtel-new-100428131852-phpapp01
 
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...
Summertrainingprojectreportonmarketingstrategiesofairtelairtel 100704131405-p...
 
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report
Bharti Airtel Pvt. Ltd. Summer training project report
 
Beacon january 2015
Beacon january 2015Beacon january 2015
Beacon january 2015
 
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.
Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.
 
Year Long Project - Reliance Jio
Year Long Project - Reliance JioYear Long Project - Reliance Jio
Year Long Project - Reliance Jio
 
Aircel Market Research Project
Aircel Market Research ProjectAircel Market Research Project
Aircel Market Research Project
 
mba project in jio comunication in pratap college
mba project in jio comunication in pratap collegemba project in jio comunication in pratap college
mba project in jio comunication in pratap college
 
Air1
Air1Air1
Air1
 
Internship report
Internship reportInternship report
Internship report
 
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis
28333950 airtel-and-vodafone-marketing-analysis
 
Bsnl project........
Bsnl project........Bsnl project........
Bsnl project........
 
Airtel marketing-strategies-75
Airtel   marketing-strategies-75Airtel   marketing-strategies-75
Airtel marketing-strategies-75
 
marketing plan of airtel
marketing plan of airtel marketing plan of airtel
marketing plan of airtel
 
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...
A project report on comparative analysis of marketing strategies of vodafone ...
 
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICES
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICESA STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICES
A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION REGARDING CELL PHONES SERVICES
 
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladesh
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladeshResearch on telecommunication sector in bangladesh
Research on telecommunication sector in bangladesh
 
Strategic analysis on telecom industries
Strategic analysis on telecom industriesStrategic analysis on telecom industries
Strategic analysis on telecom industries
 
Airtel and idea
Airtel and ideaAirtel and idea
Airtel and idea
 

Recently uploaded

Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garside
Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon GarsideInbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garside
Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garsiderobwhite630290
 
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surges
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surgesCost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surges
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surgesPushON Ltd
 
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdf
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdfDigital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdf
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdfDemandbase
 
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG compliance
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG complianceAvoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG compliance
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG complianceDamien ROBERT
 
Best Persuasive selling skills presentation.pptx
Best Persuasive selling skills  presentation.pptxBest Persuasive selling skills  presentation.pptx
Best Persuasive selling skills presentation.pptxMasterPhil1
 
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto SectorTAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto SectorSocial Samosa
 
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdf
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdfSnapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdf
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdfEastern Online-iSURVEY
 
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一s SS
 
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship Deck
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship DeckThe Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship Deck
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship DeckToluwanimi Balogun
 
Local SEO Domination: Put your business at the forefront of local searches!
Local SEO Domination:  Put your business at the forefront of local searches!Local SEO Domination:  Put your business at the forefront of local searches!
Local SEO Domination: Put your business at the forefront of local searches!dstvtechnician
 
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel MarketingOmnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel MarketingDove Soft Ltd
 
Storyboards for my Final Major Project Video
Storyboards for my Final Major Project VideoStoryboards for my Final Major Project Video
Storyboards for my Final Major Project VideoSineadBidwell
 
Jai Institute for Parenting Program Guide
Jai Institute for Parenting Program GuideJai Institute for Parenting Program Guide
Jai Institute for Parenting Program Guidekiva6
 
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdf
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdfDIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdf
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdfmayanksharma0441
 
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝soniya singh
 
BrightonSEO - Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptx
BrightonSEO -  Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptxBrightonSEO -  Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptx
BrightonSEO - Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptxcollette15
 
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web RevolutionGreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web RevolutionWilliam Barnes
 
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdf
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdfmarketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdf
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdfarsathsahil
 
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setup
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot SetupHow To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setup
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setupssuser4571da
 
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample Genres
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample GenresWord Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample Genres
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample GenresLisa M. Masiello
 

Recently uploaded (20)

Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garside
Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon GarsideInbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garside
Inbound Marekting 2.0 - The Paradigm Shift in Marketing | Axon Garside
 
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surges
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surgesCost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surges
Cost-effective tactics for navigating CPC surges
 
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdf
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdfDigital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdf
Digital Marketing Spotlight: Lifecycle Advertising Strategies.pdf
 
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG compliance
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG complianceAvoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG compliance
Avoid the 2025 web accessibility rush: do not fear WCAG compliance
 
Best Persuasive selling skills presentation.pptx
Best Persuasive selling skills  presentation.pptxBest Persuasive selling skills  presentation.pptx
Best Persuasive selling skills presentation.pptx
 
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto SectorTAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector
TAM AdEx 2023 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector
 
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdf
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdfSnapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdf
Snapshot of Consumer Behaviors of March 2024-EOLiSurvey (EN).pdf
 
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一
定制(ULV毕业证书)拉文大学毕业证成绩单原版一比一
 
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship Deck
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship DeckThe Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship Deck
The Skin Games 2024 25 - Sponsorship Deck
 
Local SEO Domination: Put your business at the forefront of local searches!
Local SEO Domination:  Put your business at the forefront of local searches!Local SEO Domination:  Put your business at the forefront of local searches!
Local SEO Domination: Put your business at the forefront of local searches!
 
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel MarketingOmnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel Marketing: Defining Omnichannel Marketing
 
Storyboards for my Final Major Project Video
Storyboards for my Final Major Project VideoStoryboards for my Final Major Project Video
Storyboards for my Final Major Project Video
 
Jai Institute for Parenting Program Guide
Jai Institute for Parenting Program GuideJai Institute for Parenting Program Guide
Jai Institute for Parenting Program Guide
 
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdf
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdfDIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdf
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY_INFOGRAPHIC IMAGE.pdf
 
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝
Call Girls in Lajpat Nagar Delhi 💯Call Us 🔝8264348440🔝
 
BrightonSEO - Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptx
BrightonSEO -  Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptxBrightonSEO -  Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptx
BrightonSEO - Addressing SEO & CX - CMDL - Apr 24 .pptx
 
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web RevolutionGreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution
 
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdf
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdfmarketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdf
marketing strategy of tanishq word PPROJECT.pdf
 
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setup
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot SetupHow To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setup
How To Utilize Calculated Properties in your HubSpot Setup
 
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample Genres
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample GenresWord Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample Genres
Word Count for Writers: Examples of Word Counts for Sample Genres
 

Airtell

  • 1. A PROJECT REPORT ON “CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF AIRTEL” FOR PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2007-2009) SUBMITTED TO:SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:SUBMITTED BY: U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITYU.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY Shailendra KumarShailendra Kumar BharadwajBharadwaj MBA III SEM.MBA III SEM. ROLL NO.:ROLL NO.: 07029700030702970003 1
  • 2. KRISHNA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &KRISHNA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY (AFFILIATED TO U.P. TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW) 2
  • 3. CONTENTS  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT -- 4  PREFACEPREFACE -- 5-- 5  EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- 7-- 7  OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY -- 9  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY -- 11  INTRODUCTION -- 15  COMPANY PROFILE -- 30  FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS -- 58  SUGGESTIONS -- 68  SWOT ANALYSIS -- 70  RECOMMENDATION -- 74  LIMITATIONS -- 77  CONCLUSION -- 80  BIBLIOGRAPHY -- 82  QUESTIONNAIRE -- 84 3
  • 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am sincerely thankful to all those people who have been giving me any kind of assistance in the making of this project report. I express my gratitude to Mr. Chetan Kumar (Branch Manager), who has through his vast experience and knowledge has been able to guide me, both ably and successfully towards the completion of the project. I express my gratitude, Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology. I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest thanks to Mrs. Mani Tyagi and all my faculties whose teachings gave me conceptual understanding and clarity of comprehension, which ultimately made my job more easy. Credit also goes to all my friends whose encouragement kept me in good stead. Their continuous support has given me the strength and confidence to complete the project without any difficulty. Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to the respondents without whom this survey would have been incomplete. I am also thankful to authority of Airtel for providing me the information. (SHAILENDRA KUMAR BHARADWAJ) 5
  • 7. PREFACEPREFACE I, Shailendra Kumar Bharadwaj, being a student of MBA, of KIET, Ghaziabad. The project title “Consumer Behaviour of Airtel” is the analysis of the big scale sector of communication. This project involves the big scale level provided by Airtel to its customers. The survey was conducted so as to analyze the big scale sector prevailing in the current industry and the improvement that can be made upon it. Market research study has been conducted in order to bring out the picture of big scale sector that exists in this industry. The differences in service quality that exists in the market. What the customer’s preferences are provided by the Airtel? 7
  • 9. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel company markets its strategies and how the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and how it is cooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report begins with the history of the products and the introduction of the Airtel company. This report also contains the basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel company of manufacturing process, technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report includes some of the key salient features of market trend issues. In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not only exist but also to excel in the market. Today’s market is enormously more complex. Hence forth, to survive in the market, the company not only needs to maximize its profit but also needs to satisfy its customers and should try to build upon from there. 9
  • 11. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 1. To identify the difference in market performance of Airtel industry. 2. To study the market of Airtel Industry in big scale sector. 3. To compare various parameters of manufacturing process, technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and government policies. 11
  • 13. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Achieving accuracy in any research requires in depth study regarding the subject. As the prime objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitors in the market and the impact of WLL on Airtel, the research methodology adopted is basically based on primary data via which the most recent and accurate piece of first hand information could be collected. Secondary data has been used to support primary data wherever needed. Primary data was collected using the following techniques Questionnaire Method Direct Interview Method and Observation Method The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he 13
  • 14. works in. Procedure of research methodology # To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, Who are using GSM technology. # Target geographic area. Sample size of 100 was taken. # To these 100 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire was a combination of both open ended and closed ended questions. # The date during which questionnaires were filled. # Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective. Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also conducted. # Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and compiled to arrive at the conclusion and recommendations given. Sources of secondary data Used to obtain information on, Bharti’s history, current issues, policies, 14
  • 15. procedures etc, wherever required. # Internet # Magazines # Newspapers # Journals # Bharti Circulars # Bharti News Letters 15
  • 17. INTRODUCTION In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic policy aimed at improving India's competitiveness in the global markets and the rapid growth of exports. Key to achieving these goals was a world-class telecom infrastructure. In India, the telecom service areas are divided into four metros (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta) and 20 circles, which roughly correspond to the states in India. The circles are further classified under "A," "B" and "C," with the "A" circle being the most attractive and "C" being the least attractive. The regulatory body at that time — the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) — allocated two cellular licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900 cellular services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular service was provided by, Modi Telstra in Kolkatta in August 1995. For the auction, it was stipulated that no firm can win in more than one metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and Assam had only one bidder each. 17
  • 18. In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the president officially announced the TRAI ordinance on 25 January 1997. The government decided to set up TRAI to separate regulatory functions from policy formulation, licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the creation of TRAI, these functions were the sole responsibility of the DOT. High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put tremendous financial burden on the operators, diverting funds away from network development and enhancements. As a result, by 1999 many operators failed to pay their license fees and were in danger of having their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new telecom policy was put in place (New Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be replaced by a revenue- sharing scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue were to be paid to the government. 1.1 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER ROADBLOCKS AND THEIR RESOLUTION Indian Cellular market immediately after the first round of licensing in 1994-96 was beset by several problems for 3 - 4 years till the New Telecom Policy of 1999 was announced. Some of these roadblocks / 18
  • 19. current position is tabulated below: 19
  • 20. ROADBLOCKS CURRENT POSITION High license fees Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund requirements for payment of license fees. Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over 60% per annum, while businesses with weak promoters continuing to languish - spate of acquisitions / mergers, with 4/5 major groups emerging in the last one/two years. Regulatory authority not in place Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its role being accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommunications (DOT) restructured, with operations and policy making roles vested in different bodies. Issues relating to unfavorable interconnect terms for private operators, pass through income, intra circle long distance, spectrum availability and allocation and the like remained unresolved for long periods. 20
  • 21. Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through income to DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the satisfaction of all parties with changes in methodology / revenue sharing, intra circle long distance allowed, spectrum availability cleared with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM operators. Problems in Financial closures due to:  Licensing tenure of 10 years  Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy license fee burden in initial stages of deployment Asset based financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.  Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years  Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments mitigated with migration to revenue sharing mode allowing promoters to deploy more capital for capital expenditure; project financing being considered by most financial institutions. Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as a matter of routine allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full 21
  • 22. control of businesses by foreign companies. Inadequate growth of market / subscribers Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth, but with corrective measures taken, market / subscriber base expected to zoom 1.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line operators is still biased against the former. Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy. The cellular penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation of over one billion people. In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their cellular joint ventures in India due to the difficult operating environment and bureaucracy. In 1999 alone, Swisscom pulled out from Sterling Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the Telecom Organization of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT Mobile. In 2000, Telecom Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin Telecom, and both Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from Fascel. In June 2001, British Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell South International has 22
  • 23. also indicated its intention to pull out from Skycell Communications, and Hong Kong-based Distacom is seeking to sell its stake in Spice Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong Kong) continued commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is reviewing various options. The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and acquisition wave sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent years. Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, via Hutchison Telecommunications (HK), acquired major stakes in Sterling Cellular (December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid-2000) and Fascel (September 2000). Through a partnership with local company, Kotak Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa practically controls Fascel and Usha Martin Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit on foreign ownership in Indian cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is also the controlling shareholder of Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be outdone, Bharti Enterprises — another major cellular player — acquired control of JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti Mobile (December 1999), and Skycell Communications renamed Bharti Mobinet (August 2000). Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of Essar and started operations, giving competition to the lone operator there, Spice Communications. Going forward, Bharti is likely to merge 23
  • 24. all its cellular companies into one entity. Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the fourth operator slots in four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as the No. 1 bidder with eight new licenses, followed by Escotel with four, Hutchison with three, and Reliance and Idea cellular with one each. Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced operations in all the circles while Idea is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and Reliance have not made any headway. BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started services in March 2001. BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular operator, launched services in Kolkatta and Bihar in January 2002. This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002. A nationwide launch was scheduled for 2 October 2002. However, this has been postponed until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out its service, most telecom circles will have four cellular operators. There will be tremendous competitive pressure, which will result in lower tariffs. Future rate cuts are expected, which will drive demand, together with falling handset prices and the introduction of prepaid services. In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002. 24
  • 25. Leveraging on the success of its cellular service, the company got a very good response from the primary market. The total size of the IPO was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue was oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will be used to fuel its investment in long-distance, basic and cellular services. As of October 2002, only BPL Mobile has launched commercial general packet radio service (GPRS) in Mumbai. However, large-scale uptake remains elusive. While both Bharti and Idea have GPRS- enabled networks, there is caution on their part to launch the service. With hardly any applications, the success of GPRS remains a question. Building visibility and awareness Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are actively promoting their brand and service portfolio through high- visibility advertising and promotional campaigns. Cellular operators like Bharti, Orange and BPL Mobile have been advertising aggressively on hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the city rail system and cabs are used widely to carry the message of mobility. Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular 25
  • 26. operators with the establishment of longstanding consumer benefit programs. Orange in Mumbai offers "Orange Holidays" and "Orange Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added benefits like discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer special privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops. Enterprise mobile applications — promising revenue stream All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus. Few operators have concentrated on offering differentiated services for businesses. However, as operators realize that offering basic voice and Short Message Service (SMS) will get them the numbers but not the margins, some are now seriously looking at the enterprise segment for provisioning superior services. Cost-centered solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like unified messaging and instant alerts are being offered. A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise segment. Bharti is in the process of introducing a facility to fleet management companies so that they can improve the efficiency of trucks or buses by tracking movement and ensuring higher-use, accurate route planning. Premium automakers are also installing a global system for mobile communications inside a vehicle to help trace 26
  • 27. lost vehicles and track down stolen cars. Corporations can choose enhanced services like user-defined call routing to prevent misuse. Calls can be barred, limiting access to select numbers and diverting calls to one single number. Broadcasting services are also quite popular, especially among fast food centers that have a central number. Group SMS is quite popular, especially among enterprises both in the service as well as the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment that have a large field force and need to provide regular updates on inventory status, discount schemes and movement of goods from warehouse to the retail outlet. Banks too find bulk SMS service very useful to forward transactional alerts to their customers. 1.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus on differentiations to maintain their lead. • The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable operators to offer data services. This is an opportunity to customize and differentiate better. 27
  • 28. • The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there is less chance of a cartel being formed. • Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of coverage is crucial especially for the business subscriber. • The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it is for businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with a national operator is advantageous. • Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed network service providers) will be a disadvantage for cellular operators in the short term. Consequently, operators need to streamline their customer relation activities and adopt aggressive subscriber acquisition and retention strategies. 1.4 REGULATORY ISSUES The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. A document buried in the sands of time. The next major policy document, which was produced, was the National Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of the on going process of liberalization. 28
  • 29. Year Event 1851 First telephones in India 1943 Nationalization of telephone companies 1985 DoT was created 1986 Creation of BHARTI and VSNL 1991 Telecom equipment liberalized 1994 Licenses for paging 1994 Telecom policy announced September 1994 Guidelines for private sector participation in basic services November 1994 Cellular licenses issued for metros December 1994 Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apart from 4 metros January 1995 Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services apart from DoT on circle basis. August 1995 VSNL launches Internet services January 1996 TRAI formed November 1998 Internet policy announced The National Telecom Policy of 1994 document, which laid out broad policy guidelines rather than a series of action points. Like other policies, it sought to achieve the impossible in finite time like improve quality of service and its availability, wide coverage (a phone in every village), at reasonable rates, etc. The targets in quantifiable terms were 29
  • 30. installation of 9.5mn additional lines, telephone on demand by 1997, and a PCO pop of 500. The Eighth Plan had also allowed private operators in value added services. To facilitate licensing, the nation was divided into 20 circles (akin to a state) for basic and 21 circles for cellular telephony. Mumbai falls in Maharashtra circle and Delhi in itself a circle. The basic premise on which competition has been introduced is that every circle will have one private operator apart from DoT/ BHARTI for basic and two operators for cellular. DoT/ BHARTI have the option to become the third cellular operator in future. Government did not achieve most of its stated targets. The basic theme, which was broadening the reach of telephony in India, has not been met. Even liberalization policies were not implemented properly. The regulator TRAI was set up after delays and confusion and even after its creation, DoT continued to fight with it in courts. It was also affected by the resource crunch, and financing options like BOT, BOOT and BOLT was not used at all. The major policy direction it showed was to allow private sector entry in both basic and value added services. The intention, though noble failed to achieve its goals because of improper implementation, the economic costs are still borne by the end user. 30
  • 31. The telecom sector has witnessed some fundamental structural and institutional reforms in the past decade. telecom equipment manufacturing was completely deregulated in 1991. Value-added services (including cellular services) were thrown open to private sector participation in 1992. Basic services were opened to private participation in 1994 by dividing the country into 21 telecom Circles and allowing one private operator per Circle to compete with DoT. An independent telecom regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997. A new Policy for Internet Service Policy Providers (ISPs) was announced in 1998 allowing independent service providers to enter the sector ending the earlier monopoly of VSNL. Reorganization of DoT, separating policymaking function and service provision and corporatization of DoT's operational network are two major institutional reforms, which need to be implemented. 31
  • 33. COMPANY PROFILE Vision "As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our ultimate user: our customer." These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire plan of action. Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized telecommunications with its world-class products and services. Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers 33
  • 34. – nearly 2.88 million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers. Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it also has a fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks. Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data transmission services and voice transmission services for calls originating and terminating on most of India's mobile networks. The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-Singapore for providing international bandwidth. Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company to export its products to the USA. Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is “to capitalise on the growth opportunities that the Company believes 34
  • 35. are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile services”. The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic objective: • Focus on maximizing revenues and margins; • Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum geographical coverage; • Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-stop shop" solution; • Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data services; • Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of customer satisfaction; • Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and • Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational efficiencies. 35
  • 36. Businesses Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include - • Mobile services • Fixed-line • National and international long distance services • VSAT, Internet services and network solutions Competitive Strengths Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business strategy: • Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively accounted for approximately 56% of India's land mass; • Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunications-related business opportunities; 36
  • 37. • The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its customers; • Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and • The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance. Brand Architecture: Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture — to: •Create specific brands for each service, •Build sub-brands within each of these services and •Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as well as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms infrastructure. Error: Reference source not found 37
  • 38. AirTel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the country. Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations. India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to create “distinct independent brands to address different customers and profiles”. Brand Strategy: To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building exercise associated with AirTel — a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new needs in the market. 38
  • 39. When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass market by any means. For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as much as buying a second-hand car. Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy would not have worked for the simple reason that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate with the cost. “Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the sensory benefit it gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a badge value brand,” he explains. So the AirTel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing successful men with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant AirTel was positioned as an aspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood out in a crowd. Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three core benefits that were clearly associated with the brand — 39
  • 40. leadership, dynamism and performance. These were valuable qualities, but they only took AirTel far enough to establish its presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for AirTel to appeal to a wider audience. And the various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all these good things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand — it was perceived as cold, distant and efficient. Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer relationships were the core this could be a major weakness. The reason? With tariffs identical to competitor Essar and roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had now become important for Bharti to “humanize” AirTel and use that relationship as a major differentiation. The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they needed was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in tack was important because this was a time when the cellular market was changing. The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de la crème of society. Once you reached them you had to expand the market so there was need to address to new customers. 40
  • 41. By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.2 million customers). And with tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell companies started cutting prices — it was time to expand the market. How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value chain? Surveys showed that the concept of leadership in the customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team to achieve common objectives — it was, again, a relationship game that needed to be reflected in the AirTel brand. Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone brand mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers were an important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on building closer relationships with them. That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new positioning under the AirTel “Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by caring family members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign and positioning was designed to highlight the relationship angle and make the brand 41
  • 42. softer and more sensitive.” As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new circles apart from the seven in which it already operates — Bharti is now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the AirTel brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now, the company is unwilling to discuss the new positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning AirTel as a power brand with numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the country. If AirTel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also understood that one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work in urban markets that are now getting increasingly saturated. To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to segment the market. One such experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia, a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and for those who are “young at heart”. With its earlier positioning, AirTel was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, AirTel hoped to reverse that. 42
  • 43. In order to deliver the concept, AirTel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30 seconds) at night to Youtopia customers — a time when they make the maximum number of calls. It also set up merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for young people to buy things or bid for goods. The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this segment which include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it cheaper for young people to use. The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product segmentation through the Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what is known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The name was chosen from the popular movie title It Takes Two To Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer customers a new choice”, says Sachdev. This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with inefficiency of service (accusingly slow download speeds) and the limited utility of WAP services. 43
  • 44. Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding exercise could be revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet connectivity on the mobile phone — which AirTel is expected to launch soon. The Magic: Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the pre-paid card. The idea was to make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expanding the market even faster. PHASE I – Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into the market and assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly — mostly for emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include rental charges). To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things. 44
  • 45. • One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple to operate. • Two, the product was made accessible and distributed through small stores, telephone booths and even kirana shops so that the offering was well within arm’s reach. • Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the customer, the company came with vernacular ad campaigns like “Magic Daalo Se Hello” which appealed to local sensibilities. This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for a major ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 12 lakh today, overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed, which was launched much ahead of Magic. The company is now re-working its Magic strategy even further. Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers — that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now, with basic service providers having been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers could find themselves under threat again. 45
  • 46. That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact strategy is under wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they had not perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card. PHASE II - Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign • First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV • A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect with the masses of India • Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of AirTel Magic - ‘Mumkin Hai’ come alive • All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the category to the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment – the middle class non-mobile user. • AirTel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency situations - increasing productivity as a part of everyday life. 46
  • 47. • Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing pretty Kareena Kapoor with AirTel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid mobile card. AirTel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of it’s new AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. The strategy is targeted at the non-user segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for AirTel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives. The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month AirTel Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’ has been specially created to capture this effectively. 47
  • 48. This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the tone, manner & language of the masses. The “Mumkin hai” value proposition will help us expand the market and gain a higher percentage of market share in the process. The brand ambassadors Sharukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody this ‘can do’ or “Mumkin Hai” spirit (infact that is the reason they were selected as brand ambassadors). Sharukh rose from a TV actor to become India’s top film star and national heartthrob. Kareena’s success is due to her ‘attitude’, talent, hard work and the sheer ability to make a mark in such a short time. Both these stars have said ‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves. The genre of this new strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This genre connects millions across India. The spirit of romance, dancing… the Indian cinema, well known to most as Bollywood, holds millions of Indians together as one. The new TV campaign of AirTel Magic crafted in the Hindi film idiom, magnifies the empowering optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the endearing situation of a boy-girl romance. Where Sharukh Khan, sets his eyes on Kareena Kapoor and wins her love with the help of AirTel Magic. (Poignantly conveying that special feeling we all get when a dream is 48
  • 49. made possible and a victory of the heart is won). The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped base of intending mobile customers from Sec A, B & C. The estimated addressable market of such customers in the next two years is around 25 million in AirTel’s 16 states. The new strategy aims at correcting the perception that the mobile category is useful mainly for ‘business’ or ‘work’ related scenarios. The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an outcome of an extensive nationwide research and is an integral part of AirTel Magic’s new multi-media campaign. The campaign has been created by Percept Advertising. PHASE III - Bharti used AirTel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign • First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such freedom to recharge any value • A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium 49
  • 50. designed to connect with the masses of India • Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of AirTel Magic - ‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive • Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ AirTel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of it’s new AirTel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. . The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for AirTel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives. The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a amount of your choice you can recharge your account with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with AirTel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Aisi azadi aur kahanhas been specially created to capture this effectively. Amount Servi ce Processin g Talk Time Validi ty (Rs.) Tax Fees(Rs. (Rs.) (Day 50
  • 51. (8%) ) s) 54 4 25 25 5 60 4.44 25 30.56 5 75 5.56 25 44.44 5 100 7.41 25 67.59 5 125 9.26 50 65.74 10 150 11.11 50 88.89 10 175 12.96 50 112.04 10 200 14.81 50 135.19 10 216 16 85 115 20 225 16.67 85 123.33 20 250 18.52 85 146.48 20 275 20.37 85 169.63 20 300 22.22 85 183.78 20 Amount Servi ce Processin g Talk Time Validi ty (Rs.) Tax (8%) Fees(Rs. ) (Rs.) (Day s) 324 24 150 150 30 350 25.93 150 174.07 30 360 26.67 150 183.33 30 375 27.78 150 197.22 30 400 29.63 150 220.37 30 425 31.48 150 243.52 30 475 35.19 150 289.81 30 500 37.04 150 312.96 30 525 38.89 150 336.11 30 540 40 150 350 30 600 44.44 150 405.56 30 650 48.15 150 451.56 30 700 51.85 150 498.15 30 775 57.41 150 567.59 30 800 50.36 150 580.74 30 ( Rs.) Tax (8%) Fees(Rs. ) (Rs. ) (Day s) 850 62.96 150 637.04 60 51
  • 52. 900 66.67 150 683.33 60 1000 74.07 150 775.93 60 1080 80 150 850 60 1200 88.89 150 961.11 60 1300 96.3 150 1053.7 60 1400 103.7 150 1146.3 60 1500 111.11 150 1238.89 60 1800 133.33 150 1516.67 60 2000 148.15 150 1701.85 60 2160 160 150 1850 60 3000 222.22 150 2627.78 60 5000 370.37 300 4329.63 366 6000 444.44 300 5255.56 366 7000 518.52 300 6181.48 366 8000 592.59 300 7107.41 366 9000 666.67 300 8033.33 366 9999 740.67 300 8958.33 366 YOUR TALK TIME = MRP - PROCESSING FEE - SERVICE TAX Other Brand Building Initiatives:- The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months. Working on the above game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with newer product offerings for the customers. The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service. • To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities, Airtel has devised common numbers for subscribers across the country for services like customer care, food services and cinema amongst others. • It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so, 52
  • 53. customers moving from one place to another do not have to close and then again open new accounts at another place. • To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a storehouse of 40,000 frequently asked questions and their answers have been stored on the computers. • Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it would be 60 to 70 per cent of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So, they must be given value-added products and services which competitors don’t provide. • Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer roaming services even to its pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card. To ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing services (which is known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the customer base every month), the company is also working on a loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible cash benefits depending upon their usage of the phone. • The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will provide real benefits to customers. The idea is to create an Airtel 53
  • 54. community. • Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a new roaming service launched in Delhi under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network. • The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under which customers having a specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7. • Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular service much easier than it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250 Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its services) and about 250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only by Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison, the competition takes two to four hours. • Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users and it is actually helping the market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one 54
  • 55. need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is often available even with paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving consumer service, the game is now moving beyond price to expanding distribution reach and servicing a well-spread-out clientele with technology and strategic alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive. Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making recharging more convenience. • Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance with Mumbai-based company Venture Infotech which will enable a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just swiping a card. The system will not only save users the hassle of going out and buying a card every time it expires but also enable mobile companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards. • Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering food at home, to reach its Magic pre-paid cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also joining hands with local grocery shops which will enable users to recharge their cards by just making a phone call to the shop. Apart from improving the convenience of recharging, mobile 55
  • 56. operators are beefing up their distribution channels. The company is constantly innovating to enhance the value proposition for its pre-paid service. They are leveraging technology to expand their distribution network and deliver round-the-clock recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile On the Spot) subscribers. • Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service, CareTouch, for high-value, corporate customers, providing them with instant, single-point access for any assistance they require. Customers can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which includes easier payment of bills, service on priority basis, and value-added services without any additional paper work. Bharti Cellular is offering a range of services without going through an interactive voice recorder ensuring that they save time. Dedicated ‘CareTouch’ executives are expected to assist customers with any service on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive reminder calls for bill payment, customers can also call CareTouch for bill payments at free of cost. • AirTel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-air’ SMS based interactive music dedication show exclusively for AirTel and 56
  • 57. AirTel Magic customers. Highly interactive VJ based show with real-time feedback mechanism. Both brands joined hands to target the high growth youth segment. 57
  • 58. Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:- First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a more holistic manner. Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps the most potent key to build a brand that lasts. Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success factor. Customers (be it for industrial products or consumer goods and services) across the world are more informed and, at the same time, becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more demanding with the passage of time. Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating redefined or emerging customer needs, and then reacting in “real-time” are essential to attract and retain customer loyalty — a key element of creating brand equity in the present situation. Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the specific needs of various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third element in creating brand appreciation. As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too many companies mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on mere advertising and promotion. This is not to say that advertising and 58
  • 59. promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more choices and higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for an increasingly higher spend on their brand promotion but this has to be undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide “reengineering” of the business philosophy and core design, production, and delivery operations for the product itself. The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the fundamentals, the enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This can be the beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand equity continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an appropriate product or service at an ever increasing value. It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the cost of building a regional or a national (or an international) brand will continue to rise but also the time taken to do so will be longer and will need sustained and focused efforts. 59
  • 61. AGE GROUP 15-21 15% 21-28 65% 28-35 20% OCCUPATION 15% 55% 20% 10% STUDENTS EXECUTIVES HOUSEHOLDS OTHERS FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS Age Group Graph As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age group of 21-28 years are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. This segment is the one which gives maximum business to the mobile operators. This segment constitutes the young executives and other office going people. They are 65% of the total people who were interviewed. The next age group are the people who are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total. They are those who are at home or have small business units etc. And the next age group is the youngest generation who are 15-21 years old. They are school and college going students and carry mobile phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total interviewed people. Occupation Graph As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are working. So, these people are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. They are the young executives, managers, Tele - callers etc. who require mobile for their official purposes. The next category is the households, who are either housewives, small units 61
  • 62. SERVICE PROVIDER 15% 30% 5% 50% IDEA AIRTEL HUTCH OTHERS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL 20% 10% 60% 10% FULLY PARTIALLY DISSATISFIED FULLY DISSATISFIED which operate from their homes etc. They are 20% of the whole . The next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of the whole is a category who are the professionals. Service Provider Graph The above graph shows a slice of 50%. These are the total no. of people who are using Airtel. It seems that people are more aware of Airtel than any other brand. The next popular brand is Hutch. 305 of the people interviewed had Hutch connections. The next popular brand was Idea. 15% people had Idea connections. As it came very late in the market when Airtel had established it self very well. So, that could be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The remaining 5% had trump connections. Customer Service At Airtel Graph As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel seems poor. 60% of the people are dissatisfied with the customer services provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the maximum share in the market but they are lagging behind in the customer services. 10% of the people were fully dissatisfied with the customer services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of the consumer. He can even switch over his brand. 20% of the people 62
  • 63. TYPES OF CARDS CASH CARD 85% SIM CARD 15% Monthly Expense 12% 64% 24% Rs 600 Rs 450 Rs 200 seemed partially satisfied with the customer services and only 10% seem to be fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer services, which is a very small amount. Type Of Card Graph Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85% of the total mobile users were having cash card connections. This means that the cash cards should be easily and readily available in the local markets. Airtel should make sure that Magic is available in each and every nook and corner of the market. 15% of the people were having sim connections which is the regular bill. Monthly expense graph People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone expense. 64% people spend this amount. 24% people spend RS 300 per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the remaining 12% had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim connections or having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on 63
  • 64. AWARENESS ABOUT WLL YES 55% NO 45% AWARENESS OF WLL PLAYERS RELIANCE 85% TATA INDICOM 15% their mobiles. Awareness About WLL Graph WLL seemed to be a new word for many of the people. 45% of the people were not at all aware of such a technology. So, in order to get the answer for this question they were first explained the concept. Only, 55% people knew what WLL is all about. Awareness of WLL Players Graph Reliance was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed people. As Reliance had done so much advertising and has it banners 64
  • 65. and hoarding spread all over Delhi. So, this could be one the reasons of its popularity. Tata was hardly a known brand in this new field. Possibly, because of less promotions done by them as compared to Reliance. On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the maximum no. of people who use mobile phones are in the age group of 20 to 28. who are the young executives and other office goers. They spend a maximum of RS. 500 as their mobile expense. There are more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The mobile users want to spend money side by side than to spend money at the end of the month on a big bill. Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point of view of the consumer I found that on the basis of Tariff plan, value added services and billing accuracy Airtel is at par or ahead of its competitor but in the case of customer care and availability they lag behind there competitors. As, Airtel has a hold in the market because it has the maximum no. of connections, so it must improve upon it customer services. As far as WLL is concerned people are aware about it but not many people are aware about Tata. They only Know more about Reliance. People at this point of time are not interested to switch over 65
  • 66. from GSM to WLL. 66
  • 68. SUGGESTIONS Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market share and image of the products concerned. 1. PRODUCT *Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand should be increased. 2. PLACE * The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores. 3. PROMOTION *Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must be released in different Medias to create brand awareness. *Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contests and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and prospects. * Catalogues should be distributed among customers. 68
  • 70. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths • Being one of the largest companies in India the company has achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its products. • It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an enviable distribution network. • It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and limits of financial authority. • Increase in advertisement spends affect the company’s margins. • The company‘s bottom line falls victim to the bloated and highly paid workforce, which affects its margins. Weakness: • Little efforts over the Advertising of products. • Distribution channel is not accurately categorized. • Premium priced products, hence can’t compete in low price 70
  • 71. segment. • No separate strategy for rural market. Opportunities: • The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from its cost reduction efforts. • There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification. • Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming years. • Airtel’s business has ample scope for gaining market share from the unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast potential to bring about growth. Threats • The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of most FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to maintain historical growth rates in such a depressed scenario. • Company’s major raw materials are influenced by government policies / controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons. Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials would have 71
  • 72. significant impact on costs and margins of the company. Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would also increases company’s production and distribution cost. 72
  • 74. RECOMMENDATION I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the summer training there: • The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash paying customers who are not easy to trace. • The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals Products it was mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from company doesn’t matches with the sample’s quality shown before giving orders. • The company should makes its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to face competition. • The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to exporter on time, as it has been recommended by exporters to make the delivery on time. • The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers because if company offers lower price to a new customer then he may continue buy the goods and can be a permanent customer for the company. • The company should offers such rate in the market so 74
  • 75. that it may able to catch a biger market share and it should be able to compete with the local traders and commission agents while having a brand name. The company should take the opinion of exporters from time to time to know what problems they are facing from the company’s side? And if any change they require in present supplying condition? 75
  • 77. LIMITATIONS No project is without limitations and it becomes essential to figure out the various constraints that we underwent during the study. The following points in this direction would add to our total deliberations:- 1. During the study, on many occasions the respondent groups gave us a cold shoulder. 2. The respondents from whom primary data was gathered any times displayed complete ignorance about the complete branded range, which was being studied. 3. Lack of time is the basic limitation in the project. 4. Some retailers/wholesellers refuses to cooperate with the queries. 5. Some retailers/wholesellers gave biased or incomplete information regarding the study. 6. Money played a vital factor in the whole project duration. 7. Lack of proper information and experience also because 77
  • 78. hurdle for me. 8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not have time to answer. 78
  • 80. CONCLUSION After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel lagged behind its competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned. The maximum no. of people who use the mobile are in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most popular type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly and recharging the connection is not a problem. Maximum no. of people spend RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so it must seriously look into the loop holes of the existing customer service department. As we know that now airtel has already launched its product with logo “’ Aisi azaadi aur kahan”’ has already became popular in market. So we can say that inspite of so many competitor in the market Airtel is having a good position just because every time, it tries its best to understand the need of its important customer. 80
  • 82. BIBLIOGRAPHY In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in details the following Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites have been referred. All the material detailed below provides effective help and a guiding layout while designing this text report. Websites: www.airtelworld.com www.google.com www.india.com Magazines: Airtel (2 July to 10 July 2004) Airtel India page of HT paper (Thursday 1December 2004) Cowards India (26 December to 4 Jan. 2004) 82
  • 84. QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sir/Madam, I am a student of MBA of Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology, Ghaziabad, doing my summer training project on consumer behavior from Airtel. Please give your precious time for filling these details. Q.1 For how long you have been using Airtel Product?  0-2 Years  2-5 Years  5-10 Years  More than 10 years Q.2 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?  Yes  No Q.3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?  Idea  Hutch  Airtel Q. 4 How would you rate the experience with Brand?  Idea  Hutch  Airtel Q.5 Do you collect any information search before making purchase?  Yes  No. Excellent Good Average Below Average 84
  • 85. Q.6 If yes, which sources are used?  Magazines  Dealers  Sales Executives  Operators reference  Pamphlets and catalogue  Reference from friends and relatives  Any other Q.7 What are the features you look for in a product before making purchase decision? Give preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)  Brand credibility  Price and Discount  After sales services and parts, network  Value for money  Vehicle performance  Add on features or ergonomics of design Q.8. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while purchasing any connection?  Good Network  Discount scheme  Service package  Any other Q.9 If you have to purchase a new connection or product in near future, which Brand will you go for and why? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 85
  • 86. Q.10 Are you aware of various promotional activities being run by Airtel, if yes then how? Are you satisfied with these promotional activities?  Customer Care  By Ad Films  By Camp  24 hrs call center services Q.11 How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation on 5 points scale (5 Highest) 1 2 3 4 5  After Sale service  Maintenance  Product as per expectation Q.12 What are you suggestions for improving the product quality, service availability and parts availability? ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Very Satisfied Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Not satisfied 86