arindam project report
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Preface.
What is learned when combined with what is practiced, makes a student realise
the ultimate goals of education. Theoretical concepts do not always suffice the needs of
modern education. Its a blend of both practical and theoretical aspects, which is in need in
todays competitive environment. As with any other professional course, students of MBA,are also expected to have a certain practical knowhow of the concepts learned by them
theoretically.
To reinforce the theoretical base in practical problems, the students are required to
undertake a winter internship for two months in a company of repute, as par requirements of
the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Full Time) of Dibrugarh University.
I was assigned to undertake the project titled A Study on Establishing an
Alternate Marketing Channel and making it countable for Aircel prospective, in
Guwahati city for 2 months (January-february,2012).
As this study was intended to help the management in taking decision, hence care
has been taken to present the information in the most authentic manner, such that it represents
the actual situation, but still some unfortunate mistakes may have occurred, for which I
sincerely apologise.
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Acknowledgement
No job or task can be completed without the co-operation and support of people
around us. I being no exception had to seek the help of others to make this project successful.First of all I would like to thank the Management at Dishnet Wireless Ltd. for giving me the
opportunity to do my 2 month winter internship project training in their esteemed
organization.
I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Bhaskar Jyoti Bezbaruah, Device Head
Assam, who has been provided me with guidance, inspiration, perspective and stimulating
discussion, throughout the writing of this report. I am grateful for his constant review
and excellent suggestions throughout the project.
I would like to put my sincere thanks to Mr Rudrajeet Lashkar, Asst. Manager,
Marketing Communication, for his sincere help and support in the form of guidance andinformation required during the study.
My sincere thanks goes to Dr Arup Goswami, Faculty, CMSDU, for his guidance,
support and inspiration during the project.
I am thankful to all the employees of Dishnet Wireless Ltd. for their timely help
encouragement, support, valuable comments, suggestions and many innovative ideas
in carrying out these projects.
It is my proud privilege and pleasure to have done my winter internship at Dishnet
Wireless Ltd., Guwahati.
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Executive summary
Project Title:
A Study on Establishing an Alternate Marketing Channel and making it countable for
Aircel prospective.
Organisation: Dishnet Wireless Limited (Aircel), Guwahati.
Organisational Guide: Mr Bhaskar Jyoti Bezbaruah, Device HeadAssam, Dishnet
Wireless Limited
Academic Guide: Dr. Arup Goswami, Faculty member, CMS-DU
Duration of the Project: 1st January to 29th February, 2006
Objective of the Study:
The project is based on the establishment of alternate marketing channel of Aircel in
the form of Cyber caf in Guwahati. Since telecom companies have less ventured into
making cyber caf, a retail outlet, therefore this is quite an unexplored territory. Cyber caf
will provide a better reach to the target market and will significantly bring down the
advertisement cost. The main objectives of the project are as follows:
Update the database of the already active cyber cafes dealing with Aircelproducts.
Communicate with other cyber cafes and enquire about the business prospects.
Research methodology
This research is an exploratory research as the study is based on the securing information
about the various aspects of the alternate marketing channel.
Sample size
The sample consisted of 24 cyber caf which where branded earlier and were already dealing
with Aircel products. In the second phase 53 cyber caf were approached to note their interest
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in dealing with Aircel products. These 53 sample were chosen on the basis of cluster
sampling, in which some major areas of Guwahati were selected for sampling
Analysis Technique
The research is a qualitative research and therefore interpretation of data is of utmostimportance. Various graphical tools such as bar diagram as well as self-interpretation has
been done to evaluate the data
Findings.
Because of the increase of internet penetration, cyber caf business is on the downward slide.
The owners of cyber caf is seeking new ways to diversify their business and therefore this
project of giving the cyber caf owners a chance to retail Aircel products is feasible to a great
extent.
1. About 42% of the cyber caf that were branded stills deals with the Aircelproducts but 58 % have left retailing Aircel products.
2. Most of the retailers of Aircel were found dealing with various other competitorbrands. In all 8 cyber caf are dealing with other telecom products.
3. 78% of the retailers are satisfied with the commission provided for retailingdifferent products and also with the demand of the products and also with the
demand of the products.
4. Branding of Aircel products was visible in majority of the cyber cafes (18 out of24). Most of the branding was that of PI plans whereas dongle has also a
considerable share of branding.
5.
15 respondents said that the sales person visit their outlet about 2 to 3 times, 3respondents said 3-4 times and 5 respondents said 1-2 times. Some of the caf
owners make personal contact with the sales person to replenish their stock.
6. It can be seen that 62% of the existing cyber cafs are interested in continuingtheir retail business of Aircel products since the returns are satisfactory and,
whereas 38% are not. . Interested cyber caf are those who have a diversified
business or are trying to diversify their business.
Recommendations:
1. Special benefits, more than that of the competitors, should be made available.2. Promotion of the products and business scheme targeted to the cyber caf owners
should be undertaken.
3. After sales service for the retailers should be taken care of.4. The retailers should be provided with Gift coupon or other rewarding benefits to make
them interested in the business.5. The caf visited during this study should be further communicated with and pursued
for the business.
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Chapter 1
Introduction:
1.1 TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN INDIA
At 110.01 million connections ' Indian Telecom Industry' is the fifth largest and fastest
growing in the world. The subscriber base has grown by 40% in 2005 and is expected to
reach 250 million in 2007.
Over the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone connections were wireless.
Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as
compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to grow at 2.5 millionnew subscribers every month in 2007. The wireless subscriber base skyrocketed from 33.69
million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY 2004 -2005. The wireless technologies currently in use
' Indian Telecom Industry ' are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators
providing mobile services in 19 telecommunication circles and 4 metro cities, covering more
than 2000 towns across the country. And the numbers are still growing for ' Indian Telecom
Industry '. Telecom Industry in India ' is regulated by 'Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India' (TRAI). It has earned good reputation for transparency and competence. Three types of
players exists in ' Telecom Industry India ' community -
* State owned companies like - BSNL and MTNL.
* Private Indian owned companies like - Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices.
* Foreign invested companies likeHutchison-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea
Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications, Aircel etc.
The Indian Telecom Industry services are not confined to basic telephone but it also
extends to internet, broadband (both wireless and fixed), cable TV, SMS, IPTV, soft switches
etc.
The bottlenecks for ' Indian Telecom Industry ' are:
Slow reform process.
Low penetration. Service providers bears huge initial cost to make inroads and achieving
break-even is difficult.
Huge initial investments.
Limited spectrum availability and interconnection charges between the private and state
operators.
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1.3 CELLULARMOBILE PRICING STRUCTURE ANDTRENDS
Successful growth and diffusion of mobile communication services is focusing greater
attention on how mobile relates to fixed networks. Accordingly, it is necessary for regulatory
authorities to review current frameworks in those instances where regulation might impede
the offering of certain pricing structures, such as calling party pays. This issue is critical inputting fixed and mobile networks on an equal footing, so the potential for competition
between networks can be exploited. Testing the demand for new pricing structures can be left
to the market. Successful growth and diffusion of mobile communication services is focusing
greater attention on how mobile communication relates to the Internet and electronic
commerce. This report reviews and benchmarks the pricing of emerging services such as
short message services. Policy makers need to review current regulatory frameworks to
enhance pricing innovation and competition in the provision of these services.
1.4 Company profile: Aircel
Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM
cellular phone coverage throughout India.
The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and
Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority
stake of 74%.
Aircel is owned by Mr.C.Sivasankaran and Mr.Jean Paschal is the CEO of the company.
Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil
Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in Chennai and quickly
established itself as a market leadera position it has held since.Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in the
Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern
provinces within 18 months of operations. Till today, the company gained a foothold in 17
circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu &
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Delhi, UP(West), UP(East) and Mumbai.
The Company has currently gained a momentum in the space of telecom in India post the
allocation of additional spectrum by the Department of Telecom, Govt. of India for 13 new
circles across India. These include Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP
(West) and UP (East).
With over 20 million happy customers in the country, Aircel the fast growing telecom
company in India has revved up plans to become a full-fledged national operator by end of
2009. Aircel got the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in
2006 by Voice and Data. Aircel was rated as the top mid-size utility company in Business
World. List of Best Mid-Size Companies in 2007. Moreover, Aircel has been selected as the
best regional operator in 2008 by Tele.net. Aircel is headed by Shahid Mustafa who was
asked to leave Hutchinson Essar Ltd - Mumbai.
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Aircel are one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League Cricket Team Chennai Super
Kings captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It is also the sponsor for Professional Golf Tour
of India from 2009 onwards, Aircel is proud to be sponsoring the NTBTC (NationalTenpin
Bowling Team Championship), Aircel has embraced its new passion on the form of an
association with the Shillong Lajong Football Club (SLFC), Aircel has partnered with major
fashion shows of the country such as Lakm Fashion Week and Delhi Couture Week, Aircelis a part of LFW for the second consecutive year as the Associate sponsor. A key highlight
this year is Ariels association with leading designer Sabyasachi for a collection based on the
Save Our Tigers theme, a CSR initiative from Aircel, Aircel also partners with the Delhi
Couture Weeka great showcase of the best in Indian couture designs. The last edition took
place in July 2011.
1.5 AIRCEL AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network
quality in 2006.
Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Business worlds List of Best Mid-
Size Companies in 2007.
Tele.net recognized Aircel as the best regional operator in 2008.
Aircel have been honoured by CMAI INFOCOM for excellence in marketing of new telecom
service in 2009.
Aircel also won the GLOBAL MOBILE AWARD ON 2010.
AIRCEL WON THE 4TH BEST EMPLOYER AWARD ON 2009-10
Indias 5th largest GSM Mobile service operator Aircel won the Business Delivery
Innovation award ON 2010
COMPANY OFFERING (PRODUCTS)
Aircel mainly deal in its core business of cellular connection. It provides variety of products
such as.
-Post-paid mobile connections
-Prepaid mobile connections
-Recharge vouchers
-Value added services
-Broadband connections
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1.6 MISSION STATEMENT:
We are conditionally to exceeding our customers expectations. We will provide network and
services that are innovative and reliable, allowing our customers any time anywhere
communications. We will attract, develop and retain an exceptional team of people. We
committed to enhancing the quality of real life in the community in which we operate. Wewill meet the financial expectation of our shareholders.
1.7 AIRCELS GOAL AND VALUES:
Customers: Our customers are our most valued assets. We will strive to exceed their
expectations at all time by providing them with superior services that embody value,
innovation, quality and care.
People: Our people are our greatest resources. We will attract, train and retain the best. We
will challenge them to develop their full potential in the context of our company goals.
Integrity: We will maintain and strive for the highest level of personal and professional
integrity and honesty in all our dealings. We will keep our promises.
Respect: We will treat with respect and dignity all people we deal with.
Excellence: We are committed to excellence in all what we do. There will be no place for
mediocrity.
Work: We will promote a work environment that embraces creativity, promotes
empowerment and encourages them work, innovation, prudent risk taking, honest and opencommunication and respectful iconoclasm.
Quality: The hallmark of our internal and external outputs and processes will be quality. This
will pervade every aspect of our functioning
1.8 AIRCEL IN ASSAM
Aircel a fastest growing telecom service provider company has started its proceedings and
operations in Assam in 2005 and since then it is quickly progressing company in terms of -
Sales
Services
Offers and Schemes
Network
After Sales Services
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At present Aircel is available in all over Assam.
Aircel is one of the finest and best network providers in Assam with a strong network which
is improving day by day. If we take value added services and after activation facilities there
also Aircel gives strong competition to its competitors with its eye catching and popular
schemes for consumer as well as for its retailers.
1.9 COMPETITORS PROFILES
Airtel comes from Bharti Cellular Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom
conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include
Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also
manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the
largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export
its products to the USA. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 15
states covering all four metros and more than 7 million satisfied customers.
Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for promoting investments in
telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India.
Bharti Tele-Ventures is India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications
services based on a strong customer base consisting of 7.42 million total customers, which
constitute, 6.76 million mobile and 657,000 fixed line customers, as of April 30, 2004.
Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states in India. It initiallystarted in 1995 as a joint venture among theTatas, Aditya Birla Group and AT&T by
merging "'Wings Cellular'" operating in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (UP) West,
Rajasthan and Tata Cellular as well as Birla AT&T Communications.
Initially having a very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel in 2004
gave Idea a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan
and Delhi (inclusive of NCR).
Initially the Birlas, the Tatas and AT&T Wireless each held one-third equity in the
company. But following AT&T Wireless' merger with Cingular Wireless in 2004, Cingulardecided to sell its 32.9% stake in Idea. This stake was bought by both the Tatas and Birlas
at 16.45% each.
Vodafone Groupis the worlds leading international mobile communications corporation. It
currently has equity interests in 27 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with
over 303 million proportionate customers worldwide. The Essar Group is Vodafones
principal partner in India.
The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in
the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping
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Ports & Logistics, and Projects. Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in
Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 23
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 coveragethroughout India with good presence in the metros.
Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology, offering voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 license areas. It is
among the top three GSM mobile operators of India.
Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group, 33% and other Indian nationals,
15%.
Reliance Communications
The Late Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of a digital Indiaan India where the common man
would have access to affordable means of information and communication. Dhirubhai, who
single-handedly built Indias largest private sector company virtually from scratch, had stated
as early as 1999: Make the tools of information and communication available to people at an
affordable cost. They will overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and lack of mobility.
It was with this belief in mind that Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance
Infocomm) started laying 60,000 route kilometres of a pan-India fibre optic backbone. This
backbone was commissioned on 28 December 2002, the auspicious occasion of Dhirubhais
70th birthday, though sadly after his unexpected demise on 6 July 2002.
Reliance Communications has a reliable, high-capacity, integrated (both wireless and
wireline) and convergent (voice, data and video) digital network. It is capable of delivering a
range of services spanning the entire infocomm (information and communication) value
chain, including infrastructure and servicesfor enterprises as well as individuals,
applications, and consulting.
Reliance Communications (formerly Reliance Infocomm), along with Reliance Telecom and
Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance CommunicationsVentures (RCoVL). It is an Indian
telecommunications company. According to National Stock Exchange data, Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani controls 66.77 per cent of the company, which accounts for more than 1.36 billion
share. It is the flagship company of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, comprising
of power (Reliance Energy), financial services (Reliance Capital) and telecom initiatives of
the Reliance ADAG. It uses CDMA2000 1x technology for its existing CDMA mobile
services, and GSM-900/GSM-1800 technology for its existing/newly launched GSM
services.
RelCom is also into Wireline Business throughout India and has the largest optical fibercommunication (OFC) backbone architecture [roughly 110,000 km] in the country.Reliance
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Communications has interests in Direct To Home (DTH) TV also, known as "Big TV". It
plans to launch its DTH business by July 2008. Once launched, RelCom will have presence
across all B2C communications channel in one of the fastest growing markets.
On the 30th December 2008, Reliance Communications became the first telecom operator in
the history of Indian telecommunications to simultaneously launch its GSM services in 17circles, namely Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh (excluding East Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh),
Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (East & West) thereby
establishing itself as a pan-India operator. It already operates GSM services in 8 circles
namely Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, North Eastern states,
Orissa, West Bengal.
1.10 Products that are focussed in the study
Pocket Internet:Aircel PocketInternet is the mobile data service of Aircel. With AircelPocketInternet card, you can browse the net at an affordable cost. To download music, checkmails, connect on Facebook and much more, cards are available from Rs. 5, Rs.14, Rs.28,
and Rs. 98 with validity from 1 day to 1 month.
PocketInternet cards/plans are available for both Prepaid/Postpaid. Aircel PocketInternet
services are charged at a base tariff of 10p/10KB after expiry of validity period or usage of
data limit, whichever is earlier. Downloads will be charged at actual cost
3G Services On Aircel:
The Third Generation of mobile communication technology, 3G, will bring to life theexperience of mobile broadband on a mobile phone. With this technology you can enjoy
superior videos, enhanced video calls and swift data transmission on the mobile phone that
will make browsing quicker, exciting and efficient
The various 3G services are
http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402280341298108525392http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000586561300852995596http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000186561300164673686http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402180341298107991677http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402080341298107831425http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402280341298108525392http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000586561300852995596http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000186561300164673686http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402180341298107991677http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402080341298107831425http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402280341298108525392http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000586561300852995596http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000186561300164673686http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402180341298107991677http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402080341298107831425http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402280341298108525392http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000586561300852995596http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000186561300164673686http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402180341298107991677http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402080341298107831425http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402280341298108525392http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000586561300852995596http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P19000186561300164673686http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402180341298107991677http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18402080341298107831425 -
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3G Devices
3G is a new technology and not all phones support 3G features. Aircel has a range of gadgets
with attractive tariff plans, which provides internet connectivity at a superfast speed.
Aircel offers a range of USB dongles for your convenience.
3G USB Stick
> 7.2 Mbps Download> 5.76 Mbps Upload
> MicroSD card support
upto 32 GB
MMX 352G
> 7.2 Mbps Download> 5.76 Mbps Upload
> Flash memory card
support upto 16 GB
http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P26000248391311571618339http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18800222611299734015874http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P26000248391311571618339http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18800222611299734015874http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P26000248391311571618339http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18800222611299734015874http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P26000248391311571618339http://www.aircel.com/AircelWar/appmanager/aircel/ne?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P18800222611299734015874http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P22800124451306212937994%27http://location.href%3D%27/?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=P2160076281304577187417%27 -
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1.11 Marketing channelis the ultimate route through which the business processesare delivered to the targeted customers. A conventional marketing channel comprises an
independent producer, whole seller(s), and retailer(s). Each is a separate business seeking to
maximize its own profits, even if this goal reduces profit for the system as a whole. Most
companies today adopted multichannel marketing. Multichannel marketing occurs when a
single firm uses two or more marketing channel to reach one or more customersegments.(Kotler, P).
A marketing channel is a set of practices or activities necessary to transfer the ownership of
goods, and to move goods, from the point of production to the point of consumption and, as
such, which consists of all the institutions and all the marketing activities in the marketing
process. A marketing channel is a useful tool for management.
Roles of marketing channel in marketing strategies:
Links producers to buyers.
Performs sales, advertising and promotion. Influences the firm's pricing strategy. Affecting product strategy through branding, policies, willingness to stock. Customizes profits, install, maintain, offer credit, etc( wikipedia)
Telecommunication network has a huge penetration, as with the rapid need of communication
and data usage services, infrastructure as well as growth opportunities has increased
manifold. In this age of communication, a reliable telecommunication network with a wide
coverage will always have a demand in the market. This market for telecommunication
products are ever growing and are intensely competitive.
Primarily Marketing Channel for telecommunication products includes retailers dedicated to
various products and also dealing with various brands. These retailers depend on agents for
their supply. It is worth mentioning that rarely we will find retailers dealing exclusively with
telecommunication products. This business is clubbed with other products and services.
The purpose of creating a alternate channel is to make a Demand chain which sense and
respond to the needs of the target customer and the firm responds to these needs by
organizing a chain of resources and activities with the goal of creating customer value
Channel level refers to each layer of marketing intermediaries that performs some work inbringing the product and its ownership closer to the final buyer
Direct marketing channel has no intermediary levels; the company sells directly to
consumers
Indirect marketing channels contain one or more intermediaries
The importance of distribution is evident: customers must have access to the products in
order to purchase them . This network of distributors and retailers can be described as a
marketing channel, as they perform more tasks than just distribution and sales, the task of,
eitherdirectly or indirectly, making anything of value available for use or consumption.
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Channel members are in the business of acquiring and selling manufacturer products,
whatever the underlying conditions, and are in principle not exclusive to only one
manufacturer.
Multiple marketing channels are defined as using more than one channel to reach the
customer. Multiple marketing channels are used as different customers, with different buyingbehaviours, will flexibly use the channel that best serves their needs .
Offering multiple marketing channels to consumers may have both competitive and
complementary efforts: competitive as it might lead to channel preference, complementary as
it might lead to higher customer satisfaction. Channels require operating as an integrated
whole to attain efficiency, which can only be accomplished with effective cooperation and
coordination between members.
1.12Alternate marketing channel
Alternate marketing channel is a source of making the products available for a particular
target market through an unconventional route. These channels are better related to the
targeted customers because of their proximity and better penetration in the target market. It
also provides an additional promotion opportunity and a good amount of attention to targeted
segment as the unconventional channels are not properly explored by the competitors.
Alternate Channels is also the development of new marketing channels through which itsclients can reach new customers and increase sales and brand awareness.
These channels consist of affiliates, or promoters, who have face-to-face contact and existing
relationships with the customers you seek, and produce leads that result in much higher close
rates (typically triple) than other channels
Venturing into the alternate channels also give the retailers of the channel a good amount of
business opportunity and a source of additional profit. It helps to diversify the investment and
provides exit opportunities if the current business is not giving sufficient returns.
Benefits of alternate channel
The company realizes significantly increased sales and brand awareness, with little
investment or risk.
Retailers benefit from the opportunity to earn additional income by leveraging their existing
customer relationships and contacts. They also benefit by being able to offer their customers
access to valuable products and services.
Customers benefit by receiving compelling offers and access to high quality products and
services
Sales representatives benefit from receiving higher quality leads that enable them to close ahigher percentage of sales
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Chapter 2
Introduction to the Project.
2.1 Title: Establishing an alternate marketing channel andmaking it countable for Aircel prospective.
The study is based on the enquiry into the business prospects and establishment of Alternate
Marketing Channel of Aircel in the form of Cyber caf in Guwahati city. Apart from the
usual retailers , Aircel has ventured into retailing in cyber caf to make it as an alternate
marketing channel for their various telecom products. In the initial stages of the establishment
of alternate channel, 27 cyber cafes were branded and the products were made available.
2.2 Cyber caf was chosen as an alternate channel because of the following reasons:
1. The customers visiting an internet caf are in need of internet connection andtherefore placing PI cards or Dongle in a cyber caf will definitely attract customers
for the company. Generally visitors of a cyber caf dont have an internet connection
of their own, and can become the prospective buyer of the internet products. Also
people who are on the move visit a caf for their communication needs. therefore it
make sense to cater them with these products as they may be interested to have a
wireless net connection
2. Cyber caf provide good amount of branding space and will help to promote theproducts of Aircel. Most of the cyber caf have cubicles, which can be used as a good
display space. As this concept is new , therefore competition is less and display space
can be obtained at a reasonable price.
3. Most of the customers visiting a cyber caf fall in the younger generation, and thiswill be a good target segment for Aircel. This segment wants a good mobile internet
connection both for mobile and laptop. And therefore cyber caf is a good place to
target this segment in the market
4. Cyber caf has already an established market of its own and most of the customers areloyal customers, therefore it becomes easy for Aircel to target those customers of the
cyber caf. This cuts down the acquisition cost of the company to target new
customers. Most are the customers visiting a caf have a good relation with the caf
owner, and therefore those customers can be convinced to buy the product quit easily.
5. Advertisement time and cost of Aircel significantly falls down since the owner andmanager of cyber caf plays a great role in convincing and converting their customersto move to Aircel network.
6. Cyber caf is present in every corner of the city. This gives a lot of advantage inreaching a large number of people throughout the city.
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2.3 Objectives
The project is based on the following objectives:
1. Update the database of the already active cyber cafes dealing with Aircelproducts.
2. Communicate with other cyber cafes and enquire about their interest in thebusiness.
Update the database of the already active cyber cafes dealing with Aircel products.
There are 24 cyber cafes in Guwahati already dealing with Aircel products but it was found
that some important information, about the cyber cafs was missing from the database. This
creates problem in communicating with those retailers and keeping track of their business
with Aircel. The information about those cyber cafes were collected in a predetermined
format.
The survey was conducted to get a clear idea about the number of active cyber caf in
Guwahati dealing with Aircel products. This will help in giving better attention to those cyber
caf and will cut down the time and effort given to those caf which are no longer active.
Another major point was to find out the level of interest of those caf to do business and also
to convince them to increase the products they deal with. The feedback of those retailers was
noted as this will help in providing them with all the necessary requirements for the
betterment of the business.
Communicate with other cyber cafes and enquire about their interest in the business.
For exploring further opportunities, new cyber cafes were contacted and informed about the
project. The owners of the cyber cafes were briefed up about the business prospects in
dealing with Aircel products and their interest for the business was observed. Most
importantly the acceptance level of the cyber caf owners for taking up the business was
noted.
Since some of the cyber caf were not active, it became necessary to increase the number of
cyber caf dealing with Aircel products. As the main objective of the project was to establish
the alternate marketing channel, therefore it became necessary to bring in more cyber cafunder the project and make the products available in those counters.
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2.4 Significance of the study.
The study holds its significance in the fact that alternate marketing channel in the form of
cyber caf is a very new concept and an unexplored territory with few competitors. Thischannel provides adequate promotional advantages and better positioning of the products for
the target market. This project revolves round the business prospects of the company with
respect to the cyber cafes and is of immense importance in reviewing the alternate marketing
channel.
Telecommunication industry is a rapidly growing industry and is fiercely competitive.
Therefore companies have to evolve new and innovative methods to reach out to the market
and advertise themselves. The products of all the company are more or less same; therefore,
the companies can leverage the marketing option to increase the sales. Better positioned and
better displayed products will definitely have a good advantage in the market.
Cyber caf therefore provides a good alternate channel and the proper update about the
various aspects is of utmost importance. Therefore this project was carried out to get a clear
idea about the various active cyber caf dealing with Aircel products and also to bring new
cyber caf to deal with Aircel.
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Chapter 3:
Research Methodology
3.1 Research plan:
This research is a exploratory research as the study is based on the securing information
about the various aspects of the alternate marketing channel. At the initial stages we lacked a
clear idea about the various aspects of this marketing channel and viability of the project. The
questions asked during the interview were aimed at exploring the feasibility of the marketing
channel and capturing prospective retailers interest about the business prospect.
3.2 Data collection Method:
3.2.1 Sample Size:
The sample consists of 77 cyber cafes spread throughout Guwahati city. During the first
phase 24 cafes were visited which are currently retailing Aircel products. During the second
phase 53 cyber cafes were visited with the objective to get an idea about the interest of new
cyber cafes to deal with Aircel products.
3.2.2 Sampling Method:
For the first objective, all the 24 cyber cafes dealing with Aircel products were approached to
gather information. These new information were added with the already known facts to give
an updated database of the existing retailers. The sample consisted of 24 cyber cafes.
The second objective is based on cluster sampling, through which some major places of
Guwahati, were selected for gathering data about the interest of those cyber cafes in dealing
with Aircel products. 53 new cybercaf were approached. The areas selected for visiting
those cyber caf were:
1. GS Road2. Silpukuri road( Guwahati club to Chandmari)3. ZOO Road4. Beltola5. Narengi6. Bhorolumukh
3.3 Research instrument:
This is an exploratory study trying to understand the viability and business prospects in the
alternate marketing channel and is based on the primary data collected through the interaction
with the owner or the manager of the various caf visited.
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3.4 Sources of data.
Primary Data was gathered through the interaction with the various executives of the
Marketing and Sales Department of Aircel, to get information about the different products of
Aircel and their business schemes.
Another source of primary data was the owner and managers of Cyber cafs and with the
interaction with them, their interest and also their information about the business in this
alternate channel was noted.
Secondary datawas gathered mainly through the company brochure related to thebusiness plan and schemes. Company website of Aircel and various other websites were
searched for information about the company and the industry as a whole.
3.5 Questioner for the study.
Interview method of data collection is used for the study. A definite set of questions were
prepared, keeping in mind the various information that need to be gather for the study. The
questions were open ended as no definite set of options were given to the respondents.
Because of the fact that the cyber cafs were visited on the business hours, no formal
questioner was prepared as it would have been time consuming. The following questions
were asked during the interaction with the owners or the managers and their reactions noted.
1. Are you still dealing with Aircel products?2. Are you dealing with any other telecom products?
3. What are the products of Aircel do you retail?4. Are you satisfied with the profits coming out of the business with Aircel?
5. Do you have the branding of Aircel products in your caf?6. How often does sales person from Aircel visit your outlet?
7. Do you have any feedback for the company in terms of services offered?8. Do you face any problem retailing Aircel products?9. Would you like to continue dealing with Aircel products in future?
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3.6 Analysis Technique
The research is a qualitative research and therefore interpretation of data is of utmost
importance. Various graphical tools such as bar diagram as well as self-interpretation has
been done to evaluate the data.
3.7 List of cyber cafs visited in the first phase that was already dealing with Aircel products.
1 Rakesh Communications
2 MAA Trading.
3 Saatbhani Advertising
4 Enigma Internet Caf
5 E point
6 Puspha internet Service
7 Huge internet caf
8 Sona Graphic
9 Dee Tech Solutions
10 UCN Associates
11 Om computers
12 NC Computer Training Institute
13 Comp Aid CS Hi speed internet
14 Kalpana internet
15 Shades
16 Kay Cee computers
17 OM e Communications
18 Annapurna Infotech
19 P communications
20 Click Internet
21 Fun Byte Cyber Adda
22 Choudhury Internet caf
23 Internet Hub
24 Computer Care
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Chapter 4:
Analysis and interpretation
The respondents consisted of the owners or managers of the cyber cafe. The survey wasconducted during business hours. Following are the interpretation of the questions asked
during the interaction.
1. Are you still dealing with Aircel products?
The chart shows that about 42% of the cyber caf that were branded stills deals with
the Aircel products but 58 % have left retailing Aircel products. Various reasons were
given by those cyber caf owners including over burden of work, lack of space and
also lack of demand because of competition in the market.
Some people feel that the customers are not aware of the various products and offers
provided by the company, which results in lack of demand.
2. Are you dealing with any other telecom brand?
yes
42%
no
58%
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Most of the retailers of Aircel were found dealing with various other competitor
brands. In all 8 cyber caf are dealing with other telecom products. But the competitor
branding were absent or negligible. In this case good amount of branding of Aircel
products gives a competitive advantage with respect to the competitors.
3. What are the products of Aircel do you retail?
Product-wise Distribution.
4. Are you satisfied with the profits coming out of the business with Aircel?
yes
80%
no
20%
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
0
2
4
6
8
PI E- Recharge Dongle RCV
products availible in no. of outlets
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78% of the retailers are satisfied with the commission provided for retailing different
products and also with the demand of the products. But they feel that the customers
are not aware of the products or the offers and therefore therefor there is a lack of
demand.
5. Do you have the branding of Aircel products in your caf?
78%
22%
Satisfaction with the Profit
yes
no
yes
82%
no
18%
Branding of Airel Products
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Branding of Aircel products were visible in majority of the cyber cafes (18). Most of
the branding was that of PI plans whereas dongle has also a considerable share of
branding.
Branding was both attractive and informative about the various products of Aircel. It
is definitely a good form of advertisement.
6. How often does sales person from Aircel visit your outlet?
15 respondents said that the sales person visit their outlet about 2 to 3 times, 3
respondents said 3-4 times and 5 respondents said 1-2 times. Some of the caf owners
make personal contact with the sales person to replenish their stock. On the other
hand some have complained about the indifferent attitude of some of the sales persons
who does not answer their repeated calls regarding delivery of stock and other
problems.
7. Do you have any feedback for the company in terms of services offered?Following are the various feedbacks gathered from the cyber caf owners.
1. Sales person visit should be made more frequent.2. Display shelf for the Aircel products should be provided.3. There should be a facility through which the sales person can be called if the
customer demands a definite product or service.
4. Retailers margin should be increased.8. Would you like to continue dealing with Aircel products in future?
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2-3 times 3-4 times 1-2 times
Number of times Sales People Visit the retailer.
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It can be seen that 62% of the existing cyber cafs are interested in continuing their
retail business of Aircel products since the returns are satisfactory and, whereas 38%
are not.In the second phase of the survey, it was seen that 9 cyber cafes were interested to
retail Aircel products after some time in future.
interested
62%
not interested38%
interest in the business
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Chapter 5:
Findings and Recommendations.
5.1 Findings.
Because of the increase of internet penetration, cyber caf business is on the
downward slide. The owners of cyber caf are seeking new ways to diversify their
business and therefore this project, by giving the cyber caf owners a chance to retail
Aircel products, is feasible to a great extent. The major findings of the project are:
7. About 42% of the cyber caf that were branded stills deals with the Aircelproducts but 58 % have left retailing Aircel products.
8.
Most of the retailers of Aircel were found dealing with various other competitorbrands. In all 8 cyber caf are dealing with other telecom products.
9. 78% of the retailers are satisfied with the commission provided for retailingdifferent products and also with the demand of the products and also with the
demand of the products.
10.Branding of Aircel products was visible in majority of the cyber cafes (18 out of24). Most of the branding was that of PI plans whereas dongle has also a
considerable share of branding.
11.15 respondents said that the sales person visit their outlet about 2 to 3 times, 3respondents said 3-4 times and 5 respondents said 1-2 times. Some of the caf
owners make personal contact with the sales person to replenish their stock.
12.It can be seen that 62% of the existing cyber cafs are interested in continuingtheir retail business of Aircel products since the returns are satisfactory and,whereas 38% are not. . Interested cyber caf are those who have a diversified
business or are trying to diversify their business.
13.The cyber caf retailers are looking forward for a better benefit than that given bythe competitors.
14.Most of the cyber caf are not interested in this business because they find itdifficult to operate individually.
15.Some of the cyber caf stopped dealing with Aircel products because of theimproper after sales services.
5.2 Recommendations
1. Special benefits in the form of better OTF commission compared to that given bythe competitors should be made available. The margin should be different from
that given to the usual retailers so that the cyber caf owners feel the difference in
benefit and are encouraged to take up the business.
2. The company should promote or advertise its products, specifically targeted to thecaf owners and should communicate the benefits associated with the business
through advertisement and other forms of promotion. This promotion with alsogive the various information about the business scheme
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3. The company may sponsor some of the products associated with the internet cafso that the caf owner become better attached to the company and became a
trusted retailer. The internet connection or some other devices may be given to the
cyber caf at a subsidised rate.
4. After sales service should be taken care of. During the study it was observed thatthe retailers were not satisfied with the after sales service. They complain about
the non-availability of sales person when called for.
5. A dedicated team should be made to look after the alternate marketing channel.Since this is a viable channel to market the products and services, it will be of
immense benefit to the company if this segment is better looked after. Specialised
personnel should look after the after sales services and the availability of products
at those outlets and should regularly look out for other cyber caf which can be
branded to be an Aircel retailer.
6. The retailers should be provided with Gift coupon or other rewarding benefits tomake them interested in the business. These benefits will became a source of
motivation for the retailers and they will always like to be engaged in the business
7. The cyber caf visited during this study should be further contacted to note theirinterest in the long run. Some of the cyber caf showed interest in the business but
will take it sometime in the future. They should be contacted and regularly
updated about the profits and the business scheme.
8. At least at the initial level, a different promotional and recharge schemes forcustomers at those cyber caf should be provided to help them get a better benefit
from Aircel branded cyber cafes. This will help the customers identify the cyber
caf as a retailer and will also help the cyber caf in their promotion of Aircel
products.
9. Other Alternate channel can also be explored. Newspaper Stalls can also be agood alternate channel as people visit them on a regular basis and they also have a
network of trusted customers.
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