A study on retailers’ perspective about

market performance of Airtel in selected

areas of Trivandrum city

Project report

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

University of Kerala

Submitted by:

Arun Mohan, Belli P K, Bijoy Baby, Reshma Mathew

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING TRIVANDRUM

June 2013

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

College of Engineering Trivandrum

Declaration We undersigned, hereby declare that the project titled "A study on retailers’ perspective about market performance of Airtel in selected areas of Trivandrum city" is a bonafide record of work done by us. Arun Mohan, Belli P K, Bijoy Baby, Reshma Mathew

Abstract

This project aims to find the market performance of Airtel in selected

regions of Trivandrum city. Airtel has been the number one player in the

market for the past few years, however to maintain the market

leadership Airtel needs to continuously modify its strategy and tactics. In

this project factors that make Airtel both customer friendly and retailer

friendly are analyzed. The other facts analyzed include: - how far the

retailers are benefitting from Airtel, why Airtel is the most preferred brand

for customers, what are the tactics used by Airtel to retain market

leadership etc.

Keywords: Market leadership, market performance, Airtel, customer

preference, Retailers perspective, retailer friendliness etc.

Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Industry profile .................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction to company ..................................................................................................................... 8

Brief introduction to the research methodology .................................................................................. 8

Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Research methodology .................................................................................................................... 9

Research design ............................................................................................................................... 9

Sources of data ................................................................................................................................ 9

Statistical analysis tools used ........................................................................................................... 9

Period of the study .......................................................................................................................... 9

Scope of Study ................................................................................................................................... 10

Limitation of study ............................................................................................................................. 10

Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 11

Literature review ............................................................................................................................... 11

STUDIES RELATED TO GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR ...................... 11

STUDIES RELATING TO COMPETITION IN INDIAN TELECOM SERVICE SECTOR ................................. 14

STUDIES RELATED TO CRM IN SERVICES SECTOR ............................................................................ 15

STUDY RELATED TO MARKETING STRATEGY ................................................................................... 16

Chapter 3 .............................................................................................................................................. 18

Data collection and analysis ............................................................................................................... 18

Chapter 4 .............................................................................................................................................. 33

Findings and suggestions ................................................................................................................... 33

Findings ......................................................................................................................................... 33

Suggestions ................................................................................................................................... 34

Chapter 5 .............................................................................................................................................. 35

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 35

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 36

Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 38

Questionnaire .................................................................................................................................... 38

Chapter 1

Introduction India’s telecom boom has been well charted. Some 18 years after the mobile phone first appeared

on the Indian consumer stage, there are more than 900 million mobile phone users in a country of

1.2 billion—more people than have access to a toilet, according to a statistic often touted by

development agencies, and three times the entire population of the US. And the growth of the

sector in the last decade has been explosive—in 2002, the number was just 6.68 million. India’s

telecom sector is now the second largest in the world, and the fastest growing.

For India’s economy, mobile phones mean money: for every 10% of the population using basic

services (voice and SMS) in the country, national gross domestic product rises by 0.5%,

according to a department of telecommunications (DoT) report, and for Internet and other non-

voice communications (data), the same penetration adds 1%. It’s not surprising then that the

telecom tower sector has become an industry in its own right.

The major network providers in Trivandrum city is Idea, Airtel, Tata Docomo, Vodafone, BSNL

etc. This study aims to find out the market performance of Airtel from a retailers’ perspective.

Industry profile The Indian telecommunication industry is the third largest telecommunication network in the

world and the second largest in terms of number of wireless connections. The Indian telecoms

industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and is projected that India will have 'billion

plus' mobile users by 2015. Projection by several leading global consultancies is that India’s

telecom network will overtake China’s in the next 10 years. India's mobile phone market is the

fastest growing in the world, with companies adding some 19.1 million new customers added in

December 2009. India has become one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. India

ranks second in mobile phone usage to China, with 506million users as of November 2009.

Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. The

total subscriber base for internet users in India is 81 million as of 2009. The number of

broadband connections in India has seen a continuous growth since the beginning of 2006. At the

end of January 2010,total broadband connections in the country have reached 8.03 million.

Thriving telecommunication industry has opened up door for huge business opportunities by way

of telecommunications global projects, international projects, International Bids, ICBs, public

projects, online projects, government telecom projects and project news world wide.

Let's take a look at Trivandrum’s major telecom service providers in India in terms of revenue.

1. Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel retained its leading position among telecom service providers and posted a growth

of five per cent to end 2009-10 fiscal with revenues of Rs 38,800 crore (Rs 388 billion). The

company is structured into four strategic business units -- mobile, telemedia, enterprise and

digital TV. The company has with operations in 18 countries with a footprint covering 1.8 billion

people. Sunil Bharti Mittal is the chairman and managing director of the company. In March

2010, Bharti Airtel bought the African operations of Kuwait-based Zain Telecom for $10.7

billion.Recently, it has joined a consortium of global telecom operators to announce the launch

of the EASSy cable system -- the 10,000 km undersea cable connecting Africa to Europe.

2. BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited saw a drop in its revenue for the second consecutive year to post

Rs 30,240 crore (Rs 302.4 billion), a drop of 14 per cent, even though it retained the number two

position among telecom players. BSNL offers both fixed line and mobile services with

broadband connections. With over 71.68 million subscribers, BSNL currently is the largest

wireline service provider in India. The company has reported around 6 crore (600 million) 2G

connections and 9,73,378 3G connections since February 2010. All major towns and cities are

covered through BSNL network. Gopal Das is the new chairman and managing director of

BSNL.

3. Vodafone Essar

The Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group, Vodafone Essar recorded 13.7 per cent growth to

emerge as the third largest player with revenue of Rs 23,200 crore (Rs 232 billion). The company

commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular

license for Mumbai. It has operations across the country with over 106.34 million customers.

It is the world's leading international mobile communications group with approximately 347

million proportionate customers as on 30 June 2010 and has around 40 partner networks

worldwide. Vittorio Colao is Vodafone chief executive, and Marten Pieters is managing director

and CEO, Vodafone Essa

4. Reliance Communications

Reliance ADA Group's flagship company, Reliance Communications reported a negative growth

of 3.5 per cent with revenue of Rs 22,130 crore (Rs 221.3 billion). It is India's largest private

sector information and communications company, with over 100 million subscribers. It has

established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data

and video) digital network, to offer services spanning the entire infocomm value chain. Anil D

Ambani is the chairman of the company.

5. Idea Cellular

Idea Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group and has a revenue of Rs 11,390 crore (Rs 113.9

billion). It is a leading GSM mobile services operator in India with 67 million subscribers. Idea

offers both prepaid and post paid services. It is a pan-India operator with services being made

available in all parts of the country. Idea was the first cellular service provider to launch General

Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) in the

country. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chairman of the group.

6. Tata Communications

Tata Communications reported revenue of Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion). The company holds

leadership position in emerging markets. Tata Communications leverages its advanced solutions

capabilities and domain expertise across its global and pan-India network to deliver managed

solutions to multi-national enterprises, service providers and Indian consumers. The Tata Global

Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP

network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 400 PoPs, and nearly 1 million

square feet of data center and collocation space worldwide. Srinath Narasimhan is the managing

director and CEO of Tata Communications.

7. Tata Teleservices

Tata Teleservices spearheads the Tata Group's presence in the telecom sector. It has posted

revenue of Rs 6,900 crore (Rs 69 billion). Established in 1996, Tata Teleservices, one of the 96

companies of Tata Group, has its network in 20 circles. It is the first company to launch CDMA

mobile services in India. It launched mobile operations in January 2005 under the brand name

Tata Indicom. It enjoys a pan-India presence through existing operations in all of India's 22

telecom circles. Tata Teleservices operates under five different brands -- Tata Indicom (CDMA

services), Tata DOCOMO (GSM services), Virgin Mobile, Tata Walky (which is the brand for

fixed wireless phones), Tata Photon (the company's brand that provides a variety of options for

wireless mobile broadband access) and T24. Tata Teleservices Ltd, along with Tata Teleservices

(Maharashtra) Ltd, serves nearly 70 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and villages

across the country. Anil Sardana is the managing director of Tata Teleservices.

Introduction to company Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20

countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks

amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the

company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed

line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national &

international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G

wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 269 million customers across its

operations at the end of March 2013. It was established in 7th

July 1995 as a public limited

company.

Brief introduction to the research methodology

A description of research plan for the present study is discussed as under.

A study on retailers’ perspective about market performance of Airtel in selected areas of

Trivandrum was done to know more about the Airtel brand from retailers perspective. The means

of collecting data is through secondary and primary data collection methods.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

1. To evaluate the market performance of Airtel in selected areas

2. To know about the factors contributing to customer preference for Airtel

3. To know the factors contributing to retailer friendliness by Airtel

Research methodology

Primary data was collected from the retailers’ through personnel visit, questionnaire, interviews

and discussions etc. The variable used in the questionnaire includes brand, offers, customer

preference, market, messages, network quality and availability.

Research design

A research design is a master plan, which specifies various methods and procedure for collecting

and analyzing the needed information. Descriptive research design is followed.

Sample size: 25

Sampling method: Simple random sampling

Sampling unit: Retailers of Sreekaryam, Chavadimukh and CET campus area.

Nature of data: Primary & secondary data

Place of study: Sreekaryam, Chavadimukh and CET campus area.

Sources of data

•Primary data

The primary data was collected by means of a survey. Questionnaires were prepared and given to

retailers of selected area. The questionnaire contains 20 questions which covers various aspects

of marketing performance. The filled up information was later analyzed to obtain the

interpretations and the findings.

•Secondary data

The data was collected from websites, journals, company records and brochures.

Statistical analysis tools used

The various statistical tools used for the analysis and interpretation of the data is percentage

analysis.

Period of the study

The study was conducted over a period of one month from 11-03-2013 to11-04-2013.

Scope of Study Market performance is important to retain market leadership. Idea and Airtel have frontal

competition in Kerala. The study was needed to know the current performance of Airtel in the

market. The factors contributing to Airtel popularity in the market, its relevance etc is analyzed.

The major competitors of Airtel in the selected market include Idea, Tata Docomo, Vodafone,

BSNL etc. the study also enabled us to give valuable suggestions for Airtel to retain market

leadership in the market

Limitation of study 1. The time frame given for the study is limited.

2. The study is based on selected areas hence results can’t be generalized.

3. Retailers were not willing to provide correct information on various aspects.

Chapter 2

Literature review INTRODUCTION

The growth in demand for telecom services in India is not limited to basic telephone services.

India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio paging; value added services, internet and

global communication by satel item (GMPCS) services. The agents of change, as observed from

international perspective, have been broadly categorized into economic structure, competition

policy and technology. Economic reforms and liberalization have driven telecom sector through

several transmission channels of which these three categories are of major significance.

The effective research cannot be accomplished without critically studying what already exists in

the form of general literature and specific studies. Therefore, it is considered as an important pre-

requisite for actual planning and execution of research project. This helps to formulate

hypotheses and framework for further investigation. In this research, the survey of literature has

been classified into two parts - studies related to telecom sector and studies related to marketing

strategies.

STUDIES RELATED TO GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR

Muller (1990)1 in his a research focuses that the success of the mobile commerce can be

attributed to the personal nature of wireless devices. Adding to this are its unique features of

voice and data transmission and distinct features like localization, feasibility and convenience.

The sustained growth of the mobile commerce around the world has been more because of the

transfer of technology according to the needs of local geography.

National Telecom Policy (1999) projected a target 75 million telephone lines by the year 2005

and 175 million telephone lines by 2010 has been set. Indian telecom sector has already achieved

100 million lines. With over 100 million telephone connections and an annual turnover of Rs.

61,000 crores, our present teledensity is around 9.1%. The growth of Indian telecom network has

been over 30% consistently during last 5 years.

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) 16th Annual Report (2002) India like many other

countries has adopted a gradual approach to telecom sector reform through selective privatization

and managed competition in different segments of the telecom sector. India introduced private

competition in value-added services in 1992 followed by opening up of cellular and basic

services for local area to competition. Competition was also introduced in National Long

Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) at the start of the current decade.

World Telecommunication Development Report (2002) explains that network expression in

India was accompanied by an increase in productivity of telecom staff measured in terms of ratio

of number of main lines in operation to total number of staff.

Economic Survey, Government of India (2002-2003) has mentioned two very important goals

of telecom sector as delivering low-cost telephony to the largest number of individuals and

delivering low cost high speed computer networking to the largest number of firms. The number

of phone lines per 100 persons of the population which is called teledensity, has improved

rapidly from 3.6 in March 2001 to 4.9 in December 2002.

Dutt and Sundram (2004) studied that in order to boost communication for business, new

modes of communication are now being introduced in various cities of the country. Cellular

Mobile Phones, Radio Paging, E-mail, Voice-mail, Video, Text and Video-Conferencing now

operational in many cities, are a boon to business and industry. Value- added hi-tech services,

access to Internet and Introduction of Integrated Service Digital Network are being introduced in

various places in the country.

A study by Jeanette Carless on and Salvador Arias (2004)10 wireless substitution is

producing significant traffic migration from wire line to wireless and helping to fuel fierce price

competition, resulting in margin squeezes for both wire line voice tariffs in organization for

Economic Co-operation and Development Countries have fallen by an average of three percent

per year between 1999 and 2003.

T.V. Ramachandran (2005) analysed performance of Indian Telecom Industry which is based

on volumes rather than margins. The Indian consumer is extremely price sensitive. Various

socio-demographic factors- high GDP growth, rising income levels, booming knowledge sector

and growing urbanization have contributed towards tremendous growth of this sector. The

instrument that will tie these things together and deliver the mobile revolution to the masses will

be 3 Generation (3G) services.

Rajan Bharti Mittal (2005) explains the paradigm shift in the way people communicate. There

are over 1.5 billion mobile phone users in the world today, more than three times the number of

PCOs. India today has the sixth largest telecom network in the world up from 14th in 1995, and

second largest among the emerging economies. It is also the world‟s 12th biggest market with a

large pie of $ 6.4 billion. The telecom revolution is propelling the growth of India as an

economic powerhouse while bridging the developed and the developing economics.

Aisha Khan and Ruche Chaturvedi (2005) explain that as the competition in telecom area

intensified, service providers took new initiatives to customers. Prominent among them were

celebrity endorsements, loyalty rewards, discount coupons, business solutions and talk time

schemes. The most important consumer segments in the cellular market were the youth segment

and business class segment. The youth segment at the inaugural session of cellular summit, 2005,

the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran had

proudly stated that Indian telecom had reached the landmark of 100 million telecom subscribers

of which 50% were mobile phone users. Whereas in African countries like Togo and Cape Verde

have a coverage of 90% while India manages a merely mobile coverage of 20%.

Marine and Blanchard (2005) identifies the reasons for the unexpected boom in mobile

networks. According to them, cell phones, based on Global System for Mobile Communication

(GSM) standard require less investment as compared to fixed lines. Besides this, a wireless

infrastructure has more mobility, sharing of usage, rapid profitability. Besides this, usage of

prepaid cards is the extent of 90% simplifies management of customer base. Moreover, it is

suitable to people’s way of life-rural, urban, and sub-urban subscribers.

Illustrating the lead achieved by Gujarat. According to Business and Economy (2005) the

catalyst for Indian mobile operators in the future will undoubtedly be increased marketing and

advertisement expenditure, along with better deals for mobile phone users like the previously

mentioned full talk time Rs. 10 recharge card, will go a long way in not only retaining customers

but also acquiring the vast market of lowered customers who are extremely sticky about value

for money and have extremely low loyalties and almost non-existent switching costs.

According to Oliver Stehmann (2005) the telecommunications industry is characterized by

rapid innovation in the service and the transmission market. The legally protected public or

private monopolist does not have the same incentive to foster innovation that would exist in a

competitive environment. Thus, state intervention based on the natural monopoly argument

neglects dynamic aspects, which are crucial in the telecommunications sector.

According Economic Times (2005) Indian mobile phone market is set to surge ahead since

urban India has a teledensity of 30 whereas rural India has a teledensity of 1.74. It indicates that

the market is on ascent, with more than 85000 villages yet is come under teleconnectivity.

Virat Bahri (2006) explains the viewpoint of Sam Pitroda the Chairman of Worldtel that

identifies opportunities for investments in telecommunications. He analyses that there is an

increasing role for telecom in e-governance in India. According to him, technology can be

leveraged to take India‟s development to next level.

According to Snyder (2006) Communications is a process that allows information to pass

between a sender and one or more receivers and. the transfer of meaningful information or ideas

from one location to a second location. Communications is a human process; humans

communicate by sending information between themselves. Whereas, telecommunication is the

transmission of data or information over a distance. Tele is a Greek word meaning at a distance,

far off. Thus, it classifies smoke signals, semaphore flags, lanterns and signal flares, telegraph

systems, televisions, telephones, written letters, and hand signals as capabilities that support

telecommunications. The problems with these communications forms include reliability, speed

of transmission, and comprehension purposes.

STUDIES RELATING TO COMPETITION IN INDIAN TELECOM SERVICE SECTOR

Melody (1990) points out various concerns for the telecom sector covering competition as

important one. Competition is considered more important factor than ownership in introducing

efficiency. Further the order in which structural adjustments take place determine the

effectiveness.

Shyamal Ghosh (2003) mentions that the most significant development since 1999 has been the

progressive reduction in tariffs which has been facilitated by competition through multi operator

environment. The most dramatic reduction in tariff has been from very high Rs. 16 per minute to

Rs. 2 per minute.

Kushan Mitra (2005) analyses various factors contributing to competition to Indian Telecom

Industry. Besides lowering of prices, increased efficiency, greater innovation, highly tech

industry better quality services are some of the reasons which are boosting competition amongst

various telecom service providers.

Michael Meltzer (2005) explain that in electronic age, the need to manage customer

relationships for profit is a marketing dilemma that many telecommunication companies face.

OECD (2007) by increasing competition uptake can be mainly realized by then following

incentives ; (1) bundling of services, such as offering telephone line plus broadband access to

internet ADSL at significantly reduced price, introducing triple play services on the subscriber

line and promoting digital T.V. as a revenue source for the fixed line operator. These would

however depend on the distance of the subscriber line from the local exchange and the quality of

the copper line. Reducing cost for the second line would also be effective. This would lead to

reduce prices for the consumer and reduce churn. (2) Increasing competition between broadband

service providers. (3) Reducing the monthly rates of increased speed internet access using

ADSL. (4) increasing awareness of the benefits of ADSL to the society.(5) increasing the local

content on the internet so to attract more users in attempt to find killer application that would

attract user to indispensable ADSL experience.(6) adopting convergence between wireless or

mobile and fixed services.

STUDIES RELATED TO CRM IN SERVICES SECTOR

(Bickert, 1992) Another narrow, yet relevant, viewpoint is to consider CRM only as customer

retention in which a variety of after marketing tactics is used for customer bonding or staying in

touch after the sale is made.

(Peppers and Rogers, 1993) Thus, Shani and Chalasani (1992) define relationship marketing

as ―an integrated effort to identify, maintain, and build up a network with individual consumers

and to continuously strengthen the network for the mutual benefit of both sides, through

interactive, individualized and value-added contacts over a long period of time”.

Berry (1995) in somewhat broader terms, also has a strategic viewpoint about CRM. He stresses

that attracting new customers should be viewed only as an intermediate step in the marketing

process. Developing closer relationship with these customers and turning them into loyal ones

are equally important aspects of marketing. Thus, he proposed relationship marketing as

―attracting, maintaining, and – in multi-service organizations – enhancing customer

relationships‖. Berry‟s notion of customer relationship management –resembles that of other

scholars studying services marketing. The core theme of all CRM and relationship marketing

perspectives is its focus on cooperative and collaborative relationship between the firm and its

customers, and/or other marketing actors.

Another important facet of CRM is ―Customer selectivity‖. As several research studies have

shown not all customers are equally profitable for an individual company (Storbacka, 2000).

The company therefore must be selective in tailors its program and marketing efforts by

segmenting and selecting appropriate customers for individual marketing programs. In some

cases, it could even lead to ―outsourcing of some customers‖ so that a company better utilize its

resources on those customers it can serve better and create mutual value. However, the objective

of a company is not to really prune its customer base but to identify appropriate programs and

methods that would be profitable and create value for the firm and the customer.

STUDY RELATED TO MARKETING STRATEGY

Strategy is the fundamental pattern of present and planned objectives, resources, developments

and intractions of an organizations with markets, competitors and other environmental

factors.(Mullins,Walker,Beyd &Larreche, 2002 ) for this reason , a good strategy should

always specify;

1. What is to be accomplished

2. Where – the product, market, or industries that are to be focused.

3. How – resources and activities that will be allocated to each market/ product to gain

sustainable competitive advantage.

Marketing is a process for analyzing, planning and managing the organization‟s resources while

identifying and serving current and potential client group and their needs profitability.

Reason for developing marketing strategy Dirks & Danniel(1991) mention that company

managers choose to introduced and / or reemphasize marketing strategy for a number of reasons,

which may range from personal interests to corporate policies. However the reason usually

centers around an opportunities or an identified problem that the company management needs to

explore. For example :

1. Introducing new products or services

2. Expanding into new markets.

3. Differentiating products or services.

4. Revitalizing products, services or markets.

5. Deleting or „demarketing‟ product or service

6. Responding to a drop in sales or profits.

7. Evaluating financial or legal risks of opportunities.

8. Enhancing company image, brand or reputation.

According Armstrong, kotler, Cunningham & Mitchell(2004) strategic marketing planning

are documents that outline in detail the marketing strategies which will help a company, product

or brand accomplish its overall business objectives.

Author such as stanton,etzel & walker (1991;13), McCartly & Perrearelt (1993;46) and

Kotler & armstrong (1997;52) agree that the traditional marketing mix has been defined as a

set of controllable instruments to manage the uncontrollable and dynamic marketing

environment and consist of four major element price, product, promotion or marketing

communication and place.

Chapter 3

Data collection and analysis Primary data was collected from retailers through survey. Retailers answered all 20 questions in

the survey which formed the basis for interpretation of the study. Additional information

received from field service executive and retailers also contributed for the analysis of study.

Gender wise classification of retailers

gender wise classification

male 18

female 7

Interpretation

It was found from the survey that 72% of the retailers were males and 28% were females

Experience wise classification

0-5 years 3

5-10 years 10

>10 years 12

male72%

female28%

Gender wise classification

Interpretation

It was found that 48% of the retailers’ have more than 20 years of experience in retailing.

Consumer preference on network

Airtel 10

Idea 9

Vodafone 3

Docomo 2

Others 1

0-5 years12%

5-10 years40%

>10 years48%

Experience wise classification

Airtel40%

Idea36%

Vodafone12%

Docomo8%

Others4% Consumer preference

Interpretation

It was found that 40% of the consumers prefer Airtel brand.

Demand for product

Call offers 18

Sms offer 5

Data Pack 1

Others 1

Interpretation

It was found that 72%of consumers demanded call offers, followed by sms offers.

Sims sold per month

0-10 7

20-10 6

20-30 2

>30 0

Call offers72%

Sms offer20%

Data Pack4%

Others4%

Demand for products

Interpretation

47% of the retailers agreed that the number of sims sold per month was between 0 and 10.

Data card sold per month

0-10 20

20-10 4

20-30 1

>30 0

0-1047%

20-1040%

20-3013%

>300%

sims sold per month

0-1080%

20-1016%

20-304% >30

0%

Data card sold per month

Interpretation

80% of the retailers’ agreed that the number of data card sold per month was between 0 and 10.

Customers’ opinion about Airtel offers

Excellent 10

Good 14

Neutral 1

Bad 0

Worse 0

Interpretation

56% of the retailers agreed that customers have good opinion about Airtel product offers.

Commission received from Airtel for distribution

<2% 2

2-3% 20

3-4% 3

>4% 1

Excellent40%

Good56%

Neutral4%

Bad0%

Worse0%

Customers opinion about Airtel package

Interpretation

77% of the retailers agreed that they got a commission of 2-3% from Airtel for product sales.

Amount of sales for Airtel per month

<5k 4

5-10K 17

10-20K 2

>20K 2

<2%8%

2-3%77%

3-4%11%

>4%4%

Commission received from Airtel

<5k16%

5-10K68%

10-20K8%

>20K8%

Amount of sales per month

Interpretation

68% of retailers agreed that they get a sales of 5000-10000 every month.

Rating of Airtel network

5star 8

4star 12

3star 4

2star 1

1star 0

Interpretation

48% of the retailers’ gave Airtel 4 star rating in the survey for the network availability

Factors consumers consider while purchasing Airtel products

brand 20

peer influence 30

price 10

network availability 30

quality 8

others 2

5star32%

4star48%

3star16%

2star4%

1star0%

Rating

Interpretation

30% of the retailers’ are of the opinion that peer influence and network availability plays a major

role for making Airtel the most preferred brand.

Quality of Data provided by Airtel

5star 8

4star 10

3star 6

2star 1

1star 0

brand20%

peer influence

30%

price10%

network availability

30%

quality8%

others2%

Factors consumers consider for purchase

Interpretation

40% of the retailers’ rated 4 stars for Airtel’s data quality.

Duration of stock out of Airtel products

<1week 21

1-2weeks 4

2-3weeks 0

>3weeks 0

Interpretation

5star32%

4star40%

3star24%

2star4%

1star0%

data quality provided

<1week84%

1-2weeks16%

2-3weeks0%

>3weeks0%

duration of stock out

84% of the retailers agreed that the stock out duration of Airtel products is less than a week.

Network provider most beneficial to retailers’

Airtel 11

Idea 10

Vodafone 2

Docomo 1

Others 1

Interpretation

44% of the retailers’ agreed that Airtel is the telecom provider which is most beneficial to them.

Retailers’ satisfaction over Airtel

Strongly agree 9

agree 12

neutral 4

disagree 0

strongly disagree 0

Airtel44%

Idea40%

Vodafone8%

Docomo4%

Others4%

Telecom provider most beneficial to retailers

Interpretation

48% of the retailers agreed that they are fully satisfied with Airtel.

Duration of sales boost due to promotional activities

1week 8

2week 12

3week 3

>3week 2

Strongly agree36%

agree48%

neutral16%

disagree0%

strongly disagree

0%

Retailers' satisfaction with Airtel

1week32%

2week48%

3week12%

>3week8%

Duration of sales boost

Interpretation

48% of the retailers’ agreed that duration sales boost after a promotional activity by Airtel is up

to 2 weeks.

Network problem associated with Airtel

Strongly agree 0

agree 0

neutral 4

disagree 12

strongly disagree 9

Interpretation

48% of the retailers disagreed that Airtel had network problems.

Increase in sales during season

Strongly agree 8

agree 14

neutral 2

disagree 1

strongly disagree 0

Strongly agree

0%agree

0%

neutral16%

disagree48%

strongly disagree

36%

Network problem

Interpretation

56% of the retailers agreed that there was an increase in sales

Type of consumer

school/college 8

employed 12

senior citizens 5

Strongly agree32%

agree56%

neutral8%

disagree4% strongly

disagree0%

Increase in sales during seasons

school/college32%

employed48%

senior citizens20%

Type of consumers

Interpretation

48% of the retailers agreed that their major customers were employed followed by school/

college going students.

Gender of consumers

male 15

female 10

Interpretation

Retailers agreed that 60% of the consumers were males.

Threat to retailers’

Strongly agree 5

agree 6

neutral 9

disagree 3

strongly disagree 2

male60%

female40%

Gender of consumers

Interpretation

36% of the retailers were neutral to the statement that new entrants of retailers were threat to

them, while 24% agreed for the same.

Strongly agree20%

agree24%neutral

36%

disagree12%

strongly disagree

8%

Threat for retailers

Chapter 4

Findings and suggestions

Findings

The major findings of the study are the following.

1. It was found from the survey that 72% of the retailers were males and 28% were females

2. It was found that 48% of the retailers’ have more than 20 years of experience in retailing.

3. It was found that 40% of the consumers prefer Airtel brand.

4. It was found that 72%of consumers demanded call offers, followed by sms offers.

5. 47% of the retailers agreed that the number of sims sold per month was between 0 and

10.

6. 80% of the retailers’ agreed that the number of data card sold per month was between 0

and 10.

7. 56% of the retailers agreed that customers have good opinion about Airtel product offers.

8. 77% of the retailers agreed that they got a commission of 2-3% from Airtel for product

sales.

9. 68% of retailers agreed that they get a sale of 5000-10000 every month.

10. 48% of the retailers’ gave Airtel 4 star rating in the survey for the network availability

11. 30% of the retailers’ are of the opinion that peer influence and network availability plays

a major role for making Airtel the most preferred brand.

12. 40% of the retailers’ rated 4 stars for Airtel’s data quality.

13. 84% of the retailers agreed that the stock out duration of Airtel products is less than a

week.

14. 44% of the retailers’ agreed that Airtel is the telecom provider which is most beneficial to

them.

15. 48% of the retailers agreed that they are fully satisfied with Airtel.

16. 48% of the retailers’ agreed that duration sales boost after a promotional activity by

Airtel is up to 2 weeks.

17. 48% of the retailers disagreed that Airtel had network problems.

18. 56% of the retailers agreed that there was an increase in sales

19. 48% of the retailers agreed that their major customers were employed followed by

school/ college going students.

20. Retailers agreed that 60% of the consumers were males.

21. 36% of the retailers were neutral to the statement that new entrants of retailers were

threat to them, while 24% agreed for the same.

Suggestions

1. One of the factors for a successful network is that it’s service are ubiquitous. Increase the

presence in the market.

2. It was found that consumers get dissatisfied when there if stock out of offer cards.

Company need to take care of this by increasing the visit to field service executives to the

shops.

3. Use of data card has not yet been fully utilized, if customers are given an option to free

access of packet data a day, they will know its worth and will use the same more often.

4. The DTH service of Airtel has not penetrated the selected region in Trivandrum, so there

is a lot of opportunity for the potential market. Company need to focus on this

opportunity.

5. CET campus area is a place where customer acquisition is easier. Company need to

provide special packages for students and boos its sales.

6. Demand for sms offers decreased among students due to proliferation of ―Whats app‖, a

smartfone application which is used to send messages, videos and photos. However data

packages are needed for the same. So company needs to make data cards available in the

CET campus area

7. Commission given by company to different retailers are based on the amount of sales,

this need to conveyed to retailers as it can be a motivating factor for boosting the sales.

8. Stock out occurs during seasons and events hence company need to ensure that surplus

amount of stock is given during the same.

Chapter 5

Conclusion From the study it was found that Airtel and Idea have head to head competition in the market,

followed by Vodafone, Tata Docomo and BSNL. Airtel is both retailer and consumer friendly.

Consumer prefers Airtel because of its brand value, peer influence, service offers, promotional

activities etc. out of the 3 regions CET campus area and Sreekaryam junction has more amounts

of sales. It is found that stock out happens in these areas hence field sales executive need to visit

these areas more often. Moreover these areas have more possibilities for customer acquisition

and hence promotional activities, product launch offers needs to be done here more often. Since

Government has revoked promotional activities done to retailer by the company, retailer purely

depends on the commission provided by the company. Hence company has to explore new

possibilities to acquire new customers. In an overall view Airtel is the most preferable brand in

the selected regions of Trivandrum city.

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Webiliography

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/09/slide-show-1-10-top-telcos-in-india.htm#2 http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/about+bharti+airtel/Bharti+Airtel/Investor+Relations/

Company+Profile/PG_Company_Profile?countrytabs=1

Appendix

Questionnaire

Title: A study on retailers’ perspective about market performance of Airtel in selected

areas of Trivandrum City.

Gender Male Female

Experience in retailing: 0-5 years 5-10 years >10 years

1) Which of the following Network has more consumers?

Airtel Idea Vodafone Tata Docomo Bsnl Other

2) Which of the following has more Demand?

Call offer sms offer data pack other

3) Number of sims sold per month

0-10 10-20 20-30 >30

4) Number of data cards sold per month

0-10 10-20 20-30 >30

5) Customers opinion about Airtel offers

Excellent Good Neutral Bad Worse

6) Commission received from Airtel for product distribution

<2% 2-3% 3-4% >4%

7) Amount of sales for Airtel per month

<5000 5000-10000 10000-20000 >20000

8) Airtel is a good network provider

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

9) Rating of Airtel network

1star 2star 3star 4star 5star

10) Factors consumers consider for purchase of Airtel

Brand Offers Network availability Peer influence Price

11) Quality of data provided Airtel

Excellent Good Neutral Bad Worse

12) Duration of stock out of Airtel products

<week 1-2weeks 2-3weeks >3 weeks

13) Telecom provider which is most beneficial for retailers

Airtel Idea Vodafone Tata Docomo Other

14) As a retailer I am satisfied with Airtel

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

15) Duration of sales boost due to promotional activities

>1 week 2 weeks 3weeks >3 weeks

16) Airtel has network problem

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

17) There is an increase in sales during seasons and events

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

18) Type of consumer

School/ college employed Senior citizens

19) Gender of consumers

Male Female

20) There is threat to existing retailers due to potential entrants

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree