1.INTRODUCTION

Telecom Sector In India

Than 125 million telephones network is one of the largest communication

networks in world, which continues to grow at a blistering pace.

The rapid growth in the telecom sector can be attributed to the various pro-

active and positive policy measures taken by the government as well as the

dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit of the various telecom service providers

both in private and public sector. The telecom sector has shown impressive

growth during the past decade. Today, more

Two striking features of this growth viz. increasing preference for mobile

phones and higher contribution of private sector in the incremental growth

have predominated the telecom sector. The share of mobile phones (including

WLL mobile) has overtaken the share of landlines with 62% in the total

number of phones. The private sector's contribution is also increasing rapidly.

Currently more than 30 lakh phones are being added each month and it is

targeted that by the end of 2008 the total number of phones may reach a level

of 350 million taking the tele-density to more than 30% which is currently at

24.63%.

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Network Expansion: The total number of telephone subscribers has reached

281.62 million at the end of January 2008 as compared to 232.87 million in

July 2007. The overall Teledensity has increased to 23.63% in January 2008

as compared to 21.20% in August 2007.

Wireless Service: The wireless segment saw a surge of 8.77 million

subscribers last month compared to 8.17 million in December2007. This

pushed the total wireless subscribers base to 242.40 million by Jan 31 2008.

Wire line Subscribers: The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 39.73

million with a decrease of 0.16 million at the end of January 2008.

Teledensity: The gross subscriber base reached 206.83 million at the end of

March 2007. The Teledensity is 24.63%at the end of January 2008 as

compared to 18.31% at the end of March 2007, registering an increase of 6%.

Increasing Role of Private Sector: The private sector has played a

significant role in the growth of telecom sector. The share of private sector

has risen to 85 per cent in December 2007 from 64.14 per cent in November

2006.

Tariff Rebalancing Measures: There has been a dramatic fall in the tariffs

due to increased competition. The minimum effective charges for local calls

have fallen considerably in recent months especially for cellular service. The

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long distance domestic as well as international charges have also fallen

considerably.

AIRTEL

Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airtel.

Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of

subscribers. Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following

services under the brand name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM

Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line, Internet

Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and Enterprise

Services (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates). It has presence in

all 23 circles of the country and covers 71% of the current population (as of

FY07).

Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and

SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti Airtel.

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VODAFONE ESSAR

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that

covers 16 telecom circles in India Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar,

its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM

cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major

metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital

GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license

areas.

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that

covers 16 telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar,

its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM

cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major

metros.

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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND

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 scooping 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.

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Evaluation of Marketing:

Marketing as we know today it today began in the 1970s with the birth of

“Marketing Orientation”. During the first stage of capitalism business had a

production orientation. Business was concern with production, manufacturing and

efficiency issues. By the mid of 1950s a second stage emerged, the Sale Orientation

stage. Business prime concern is to sell what it produced. By the early 1970s the

third stage, the Marketing Orientation stage emerged as business came to realize that

customers need and want drove the whole process. Marketing research became

important. Businesses realized it was futile putting a lot of production and sales

effort in to product that people did not want. Some commentators claim that we are

now verge of the fourth stage, one of the personal marketing orientations

Marketing Mix:

A Marketing Mix is the combine of these four variables in a way that will meet

exceed organizational objective. A separate marketing mix is usually for each

product offering. When constructing the mix, marketing must always be thinking of

how their target markets are. Mix coherency refers to how well the components of

the mix blend together. A strategy of selling expensive luxury product in discount

store has poor coherency between distribution and product offering.

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In long term, all four of the mix variable can be change, but in the short term it is

difficult to modify the product or the distribution channel. Therefore in the short

term, marketers are limit to working with only half their tool kit. This limitation

underscores the importance of long term strategic planning.

Marketing Management: Marketing Management is a practical application of marketing techniques. It is the

analysis, planning, implementation and control of program design to create, build

and maintain mutually beneficial exchange with target markets. The marketing

manager has a task of influence the level, timing and composition of demand in a

way that will achieve organization objectives.

In popular usage the term Marketing refer to the promotion of products especially

advertising, and branding. However it professional usage the term has a wider

meaning. It can be divided in to four section, often call the “Four Ps,” only one of

which is promotion. They are:

a) Product -The product management aspect of marketing deal with the

specification of the actual good or service and how it relates to the end-user’s

need and wants.

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b) Pricing - This refer to the process of setting a price for a product including

discounts.

c) Promotion -This include advertisement, sales promotion, publicity and

personal selling and refers to the various method of promoting the product,

brand or company.

d) Place or distribution refers to how the product gets to the customers. For

example, point of sale placement or retailing.

These four elements are often refers to the marketing mix. A marketer’s will uses

this variables to craft a marketing plan. For a marketing plan to be successful, the

mix of the four “P’s” must reflect the wants and desire of the consumers in the target

market. Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they don’t want

which it is extremely expensive .

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2. RESEARCH DESIGN

Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding the subject. The

prime objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitor

(Vodafone) 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 works in.

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Type of Research Methodology

EXPLORATORY:EXPLORATORY:

TYPE OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT WAS EXPLORATORY IN NATURE;TYPE OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT WAS EXPLORATORY IN NATURE;

THE OBJECTIVE OF SUCH RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THETHE OBJECTIVE OF SUCH RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE

APPROXIMATE AREA WHERE THE DRAWBACK OF THE COMPANY LIESAPPROXIMATE AREA WHERE THE DRAWBACK OF THE COMPANY LIES

AND ALSO TO IDENTIFY THE COURSE OF ACTION TO SOLVE IT. FORAND ALSO TO IDENTIFY THE COURSE OF ACTION TO SOLVE IT. FOR

THIS PURPOSE THE INFORMATION PROVED USEFUL FOR GIVING RIGHTTHIS PURPOSE THE INFORMATION PROVED USEFUL FOR GIVING RIGHT

SUGGESTION TO THE COMPANY.SUGGESTION TO THE COMPANY.

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DATA COLLECTIONDATA COLLECTION METHODMETHOD

THERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATA COLLECTIONTHERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION..

PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA

SECONDARY DATASECONDARY DATA

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 works in.

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DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY IN NATURE.DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY IN NATURE.

PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA: :

PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE COLLECTED FOR THEPRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE COLLECTED FOR THE

FIST TIME AND THUS HAPPEN TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.FIST TIME AND THUS HAPPEN TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYQUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY ::

IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THEIN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THE

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 15 QUESTIONS.QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 15 QUESTIONS.

SECONDARY DATASECONDARY DATA::

SECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATA THAT HAS BEENSECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATA THAT HAS BEEN

ALREADY COLLECTED .THE SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEENALREADY COLLECTED .THE SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN

USED TO CARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW: USED TO CARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:

BOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERSBOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS

INDUSTRY REPORTSINDUSTRY REPORTS

COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE

SOMEOTHER RELEVANT STUDY MATERIAL AND WEBSITES.. SOMEOTHER RELEVANT STUDY MATERIAL AND WEBSITES..

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SAMPLE UNITSAMPLE UNIT: - DELHI & NCR.: - DELHI & NCR.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTING WITH NUMBERTHE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTING WITH NUMBER

OF CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED, WHICHOF CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED, WHICH

INCLUDED, MARKETS, COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC. SAMPLEINCLUDED, MARKETS, COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC. SAMPLE

DESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING.DESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING.

SAMPLE SIZESAMPLE SIZE: - 50 PEOPLE: - 50 PEOPLE

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METHOD OF COLLECTIONMETHOD OF COLLECTION: -: -

FIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY DATA INCLUDED OBSERVATION ANDFIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY DATA INCLUDED OBSERVATION AND

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE IN WHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILED BY THEINTERVIEW SCHEDULE IN WHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILED BY THE

INTERVIEWER. INTERVIEWER.

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS THROUGH SELF ADMINISTERED SURVEY WAS DONE TOPERSONAL INTERVIEWS THROUGH SELF ADMINISTERED SURVEY WAS DONE TO

COLLECT THE DATA, MARKET RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN, THAT WASCOLLECT THE DATA, MARKET RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN, THAT WAS

ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMING VARIOUS ACTIVITIES DESIGNED.ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMING VARIOUS ACTIVITIES DESIGNED.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTRESEARCH INSTRUMENT::

QUESTIONNAIREQUESTIONNAIRE

THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BY KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWINGTHE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BY KEEP IN MIND THE FOLLOWING

POINTSPOINTS: -: -

GIVING THE RESPONDENTS. CLEAR COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.GIVING THE RESPONDENTS. CLEAR COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.

INDUCING THE RESPONDENTS TO CO-OPERATE.INDUCING THE RESPONDENTS TO CO-OPERATE.

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED.GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED.

IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.

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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 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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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

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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

.

 

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Scope of the study

# To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, Who are using

GSM technology.

# Targeted geographic area of Delhi/ NCR. Sample size of 50 persons was taken #

To these 50 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, procedures

etc, wherever required.

# Internet

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# Magazines

# Newspapers

# Journals

# Bharti Circulars Store

# Bharti News Letters

# Vodafone Store

# Vodafone Ministore

NEED OF THE Study

To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and

Vodafone.

1. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale

telecommunication sector.

2. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing

process, technology adopted production policy, advertising,

collaboration, export scenario, future prospect for the two companies

and government policies.

3. To study the level of customer satisfaction in Airtel & Vodafone.

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4. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase

decision process.

5. To study consumer preferences.

6. To study the consumer trend in telecommunication sector.

7. To study competitive marketing strategies adopted by Airtel and Vodafone.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential

for an organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive

products. This survey research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for

the product. The objective of the study is as under:-

1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and

Vodafone.

2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale

telecommunication sector.

3. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing

process, technology adopted production policy, advertising, collaboration,

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4. export scenario, future prospect for the two companies and government

policies.

5. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase

decision process.

6. To know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive

marketing strategies of competitors.

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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/whole sellers refuse to cooperate with the queries.

5. Some retailers/wholesalers 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 due to short period of time.

8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not have time to answer.

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3.COMPANY PROFILE

OF

AIRTEL

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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 – 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 fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya

Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and

nationwide broadband and long distance networks.

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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 capitalize on the growth opportunities

that the Company believes 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”.

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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.

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Business

Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -

Mobile services

Fixed-line 

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutions 

Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi network

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.

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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.

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Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the Indian

country.

Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.

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BHARTI

AIRTEL(CellularOperations)

TOUCHTEL(Basic Service Operations)

INDIA ONE(National Long

Distance)

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.

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.

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“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 inspirational 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 — 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 Vodafone telecomm 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.

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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.

By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base

of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.8 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.

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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 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.

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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.

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.

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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 promotion are less relevant. On the

~ 36 ~

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.

~ 37 ~

Comparison of marketing strategies

between

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

~ 38 ~

Purpose of comparison

The sub main purpose of this report is to compare the marketing Strategies adopted

by Bharti Airtel and its rival Vodafone

The comparison shows how both of the companies have been challenging each other

to gain market shares.

Why comparison with Vodafone

Bharti Airtel is the leader in telecommunication sector.

Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of market of communication sector.

However, Vodafone has been giving tough competition to Bharti Airtel.

~ 39 ~

Vodafone is the second largest player and share holder in Communication sector.

Since its launch Vodafone has been adopting aggressive marketing strategies.

The comparison shows how Hutchison Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market share

in one month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.

With a different technology Vodafone creates its own market.

Vodafone odafone. Today deals in every business of communication sector.

Vodafone making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares

~ 40 ~

Brand positioning by Bharti Airtel

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

People age group of 20 to 28 year

Target marketing

People who living in cities and towns.

Poor or middle income group people.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

Positioning

~ 41 ~

Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)

Ads and promotions

Promotion for study of poor childrens.

~ 42 ~

Marketing mix

Price: low price strategy

Place: maximum outlets and service centers

Product: verities available for various groups

Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

~ 43 ~

Marketing strategies of vodafone

Vodafone target the rural India

The main targeted customers of Vodafone are from rural India.

By offering cheap and light mobile sets Vodafone attracts most of the customers of

small villages and towns.

Offering cheap handsets

Vodafone offers cheap and free connections to all customers.

The cost for these sets was Rs-799-849-1099\set and onward.

Free support and services

In every district and big towns Vodafone opens its service centers to provide better

support and services.

~ 44 ~

Strong logistics and supply chain

Vodafone has a strong logistic and supply all over India.

In every small town the potential customers can easily purchase the Vodafone SIM

& Sets.

Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

Vodafone attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset at very low prices.

~ 45 ~

BRAND POSITIONING BY VODAFONE

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (rural India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

Target marketing

People living in small towns and villages.

Poor and middle income groups.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

~ 46 ~

Positioning

Creating brands

Ads and promotions

Marketing mix

Price : low price strategy

Place : maximum outlets and service centers

Product : verities available for various groups

Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

~ 47 ~

Services provided by Bharti Airtel

Mobile services with GSM technology

Fixed-line connections

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutions 

Broadband services

Services provided by Vodafone.

●mobile services with GSM technology

●fixed-line telephone services

●Universal Internetworking

~ 48 ~

●VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

●Interactive Television

●Visual Communication

●Broadband Portal

●Telecommuting

~ 49 ~

4. Data analysis

And

Interpretation

~ 50 ~

Subscriber numbers in (mn) held by and Airtel

June-05 Sep-06 Dec-07 Mar-08 Dec-08 Mar-09

Airtel 3.19 4.62 5.50 6.54 10.98 14.07

Vodafone 1.82 4.19 6.24 7.26 10.45 12.99

Source TRAI:

~ 51 ~

MARKET PLAYERS IN TELE

COMMUNICATION

~ 52 ~

Operator Market share

Aug''05

Market share

Aug''09

Bharti Airtel 19.06 22.49

Vodafone 21.81 16.96

Vodafonecomm 17.03 16.01

Idea Cellular 10.45 8.49

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

~ 53 ~

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.

Occupational 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 housewife,

~ 54 ~

small units 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

categories who are the professionals.

~ 55 ~

Service Provider Graph

These are the total market share of mobile user or people captured by the mobile

provider company. There two major company in mobile phone service sector

Vodafone and Airtel who respectively hold the market share with other company as

17% and 20% of total market user segment of mobile customer.

~ 56 ~

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 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.

~ 57 ~

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.

~ 58 ~

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 their mobiles.

~ 59 ~

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.

.

~ 60 ~

Awareness of WLL Players Graph

Vodafone was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed people. As

Vodafone had done so much advertising and has it banners 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 Vodafone.

On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the maximum no. of

people who use mobile phones is in the age group of 20 to 28. Who are the young

executives and other office goers?

~ 61 ~

They spend a maximum of RS 500 as their mobile expense.

There is 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 Vodafone. People at

this point of time are not interested to switch over from GSM to WLL

~ 62 ~

5.SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The findings are as follows:

a) The mobile dealers were interviewed to know the prospective.

b)interviews with the managers of GSM service providers were also conducted.

Some other sources are:-

1.internet

2.magazines

3.newspapers

4.journal

5.bharti circular store

6.bharti news letter

7.vodafone store

From the graphs it has been analysed that the maximum users of mobile phones are

who are in the age groups of 21-28 yrs.This segment gives the maximum business to

the mobile operators.

.

~ 63 ~

The next group are the people who are working, they are the people who are

working, they are the young executives ,managers .tele-sellers etc.

Who require mobile for their official purpose.

But the customer services at Airtel seems to be poor.

Airtel are the ones who have the maximum share in the market but they are lagging

behind.

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals.So it is very important for

them to know the views of consumers and their competitive products.

So, they need to compare various parameters of marketing strategies,marketing

process ,technology adopted policy,advertising and government policies.

~ 64 ~

6.SUGGESTIONS,RECOMMENDATION&CONCLUSION

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.

~ 65 ~

4. PRICE

* Price should be as competitive as other company maintains

* Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket

~ 66 ~

RECOMMENDATIONS

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 make 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.

~ 67 ~

The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to catch

a bigger 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?

~ 68 ~

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 is 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 spends 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 in

spite of so many competitors in the market Airtel is having a good position just

because every time, it tries its best to understand the need of its important

customers.

From the comparison and deep analysis of every aspect of business of both the

companies we can conclude that bharti Airtel has to more work in every field of

communication business.

It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long time.

~ 69 ~

For this Airtel has to work on its all marketing strategies, marketing, promotion,

brand image.etc.

Airtel has to take Vodafone. Very seriously and update its own strategies from time

to time and when the need arises.

With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as 70% of

population of India lives in these areas.

The other segment may be costumers of all age groups.

~ 70 ~