document of airtel and recom

8/7/2019 document of airtel and recom

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A

A

Project ReportOn

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF BHARTI AIRTEL AND COMPARISON WITH

RELIANCE INFOCOMM.

Submitted for the partial fulfillment of therequirementFor the awardBACHELOR OF BUSINESSADMINISTRATION


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SUBMITTED BY:-SHIKHAR VERMA

BBA VI SemRoll No. 8240642 SUBMITTED TO

MISS. CHARU JOSHI Lecturer

CONTENTCONTENT1.Introduction2.Research Methodology3.Descriptive work on the sub topic of study4.Data Analysis and Interpretation4.1. comparison4.2swot analysis4.3 Suggestion & Conclusion4.4 recommendations

6.Bibliography7.Appendix8.Checklist


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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONI, Shikhar Verma, being a student of BBA of InderprasthaEngineering college.The project title Marketing Strategies of Bharti AIRTELandcomparison with Reliance Infocomm. is the analysis of the

big scale sector of communi cat i on. Thi s project i nvolves the big

scale level prov id ed by Ai rtel to i ts customers. The survey was

cond ucted so as to anal yz e the big scale sector prevai l i ng i n the

current i nd ustr y and the i mprovement that canbe mad e upon i t.

NEED OF THE STUDY1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtelindustry and Reliance Infocomm.


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2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and RelianceInfocomm. onbig scale sector.

3.To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufactur i ng process, technology ad opted , prod uct i on pol i c y ,

ad vert i s i ng, collaborat i on, export scenar i o, future prospect for

the two compani es an d government pol i c i es.4. To study the level of customer satisfaction in Airtel &Reliance

Info.5. To study customer buying behavior and factors whichinfluence

the purchase d ec i si on process.

6. To stu dy consumer preferences.

7. To stu dy the consumer trend i n telecommuni cat i on sector.8.To study competitive marketing strategies adopted by Airteland Reliance Infocomm.

BACK GROUNDBACK GROUNDThe project i s an extens i ve report on how the Ai rtel Company

markets i ts strategi es an d how the company has been a ble i n

tackl i ng the present tou gh compet i t i on and how i t i s coopi ng up

by the allegat i ons of the qual i t y of i ts prod ucts. The report


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begi ns w i th the hi stor y of the prod ucts and the i ntrod uct i on of the

Ai rtel Company . Thi s report also contai ns the bas i c market i ng

strategi es that are use d by the Ai rtel Company of manufactur i ng process, technology , prod uct i on pol i c y , ad vert i si ng,

collaborat i on, export scenar i o, future prospect and government

pol i c i es. The report i nclu d es some of the key sal i ent features of

market trend i ssues.In tod ay s worl d of cutthroat f i erce compet i t i on, i t i s ver y essent i al to not onl y ex i st but also to excel i n the market.

Tod ay s market i s enormousl y more complex. Hence forth, tosurv i ve i n the market, the company not onl y need s to

max i miz e i ts prof i t but also need s to sat i sf y i ts customers and shoul d tr y to bu i l d upon from there.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYAchi ev i ng accurac y i n any research requ i res a d eep stu dy regar di ng

the su bject. As the pr i me object i ve of the project i s to compare Ai rtel

w i th the ex i st i ng compet i tor(rel i ance i nfocomm.)i n the market and the

i mpact of WLL on Ai rtel,

The research method ology ad opted i s bas i call y base d on pr i mar y

d ata v i a whi ch the most recent and accurate pi ece of f i rst hand i nformat i on coul d be collected . Second ar y d ata has been use d to

support pr i mar y d ata wherever need ed .Primary data was collected using the following techniques


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Quest i onnai re Method

Di rect Interv i ew Method and

Observat i on Method The mai n tool used was, the quest i onnai re method . Further di rect i nterv i ew method , where a face-to-face formal i nterv i ew was taken.Lastl y observat i on method has been cont i nuous w i th thequest i onnai re method , as one cont i nuousl y observes the surroundi ng env i ronment he worksi n.

TYPE OF RESEARCH METHODLOGYTYPE OF RESEARCH METHODLOGYEXPLORATORY:EXPLORATORY:TYPE OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT WASEXPLORATORYTYPE OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT WASEXPLORATORYIN NATURE; THE OBJECTIVE OF SUCHRESEARCH IS TOIN NATURE; THE OBJECTIVE OF SUCHRESEARCH IS TO

DETERMINE THE APPROXIMATE AREA WHERETHEDETERMINE THE APPROXIMATE AREA WHERETHE


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DRAWBACK OF THE COMPANY LIES AND ALSOTODRAWBACK OF THE COMPANY LIES AND ALSOTOIDENTIFY THE COURSE OF ACTION TO SOLVEIT. FOR IDENTIFY THE COURSE OF ACTION TO SOLVEIT. FOR THIS PURPOSE THE INFORMATION PROVED

USEFULTHIS PURPOSE THE INFORMATION PROVEDUSEFULFOR GIVING RIGHT SUGGESTION TO THECOMPANY.FOR GIVING RIGHT SUGGESTION TO THECOMPANY.

DATA COLLECTION


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DATA COLLECTION METHOD METHOD

THERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATACOLLECTIONTHERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATACOLLECTION . .

PRIMARY DATA

PRIMARY DATASECONDARY DATA SECONDARY DATADATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WASPRIMARYDATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS

PRIMARYIN NATURE.IN NATURE.PRIMARY DATAPRIMARY DATA : :PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THEPRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THECOLLECTED FOR THE FIST TIME AND THUSHAPPEN


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COLLECTED FOR THE FIST TIME AND THUSHAPPENTO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY : :IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE ISPREPARED.IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE ISPREPARED.THE QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 20QUESTIONS.THE QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 20QUESTIONS.

SECONDARY DATASECONDARY DATA : :SECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATASECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATATHAT HAS BEEN ALREADY COLLECTED .THETHAT HAS BEEN ALREADY COLLECTED .THE


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SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TOSECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TOCARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:CARRY OUT THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:

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

INDUSTRY REPORTS INDUSTRY REPORTS

COMPANYS INTERNET SITE COMPANYS INTERNET SITE

OTHER RELEVANT STUDIES MATERIAL AND OTHER RELEVANT STUDIES MATERIAL ANDWEBSITES.WEBSITES.SAMPLE UNITSAMPLE UNIT : - NEW DELHI : - NEW DELHI


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THE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BYINTERACTINGTHE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BYINTERACTINGWITH NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DURING THEWITH NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DURING THEACTIVITIESPERFORMED,WHICH

INCLUDED,ACTIVITIESPERFORMED,WHICHINCLUDED,MARKETS, COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC.SAMPLEMARKETS, COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC.SAMPLEDESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING.DESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING.SAMPLE SIZESAMPLE SIZE : - 50 PEOPLE

: - 50 PEOPLE


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METHOD OF COLLECTIONMETHOD OF COLLECTION : - : -FIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARYDATAFIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY

DATAINCLUDED OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEWSCHEDULEINCLUDED OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEWSCHEDULEIN WHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILEDBY THEIN WHICH THE QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILEDBY THEINTERVIEWER.INTERVIEWER.


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PERSONALINTERVIEWSTHROUGHSELFPERSONALINTERVIEWSTHROUGHSELFADMINISTERED SURVEY WAS DONE TO

COLLECT THEADMINISTERED SURVEY WAS DONE TOCOLLECT THEDATA, MARKET RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN,THATDATA, MARKET RESEARCH WAS UNDERTAKEN,THATWAS ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMINGVARIOUSWAS ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMINGVARIOUSACTIVITIES DESIGNED.ACTIVITIES DESIGNED.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTRESEARCH INSTRUMENT : :QUESTIONNAIREQUESTIONNAIRE


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THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BYKEEPTHE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BYKEEPIN MIND THE FOLLOWING POINTSIN MIND THE FOLLOWING POINTS : - : -

GIVING THERESPONDENTSCLEAR GIVINGTHERESPONDENTSCLEAR

COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.COMPREHENSION OF THE QUESTION.

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

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT ISNEEDED. GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT ISNEEDED.IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.


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IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.

Scope of the study# To conduct this research the target population was themobileusers, Who are using GSM technology.# Target geographic area. Sample size of 50 was taken.# To these 50 people a questionnaire was given, thequestionnairewas a combination of both open ended and closed endedquestions.# The date during which questionnaires were filled.# Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective.Interviews with the managers of GSM service providers werealsoconducted.

# Finally the collected data and information was analyzed andcompiled to arrive at the conclusion and recommendationsgiven.Sources of secondary dataUsed to obtain information on, Bhartis history, current issues,


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pol i c i es, proced ures etc, wherever requ i red .

# Internet

# Magazi nes

# Newspapers

# Journals # Bharti Circulars # Bharti News LettersLIMITATIONS:LIMITATIONS:The following were the limitations that were there during thecourse of the

stu dy :1. Li mi ted t i me per i od .2. Less number of respond ents.Biasness of the respondents.Primary data was collected using the following techniques

Quest i onnai re Method

Di rect Interv i ew Method and

Observat i on Method


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The mai n tool used was, the quest i onnai re method . Further di rect

i nterv i ew method , where a face-to-face formal i nterv i ew was taken.

Lastl y observat i on method has been cont i nuous w i th thequest i onnai re method , as one cont i nuousl y observes the surroundi ng

env i ronment he worksi n.

A brief history of tele sector in IndiaIn the earl y 1990s, the Indi an government ad opted a new economi c

pol i c y ai med at i mprov i ng Indi a's compet i t i veness i n the global

markets and the rapid growth of exports. Key to achi ev i ng thesegoals was a worl d -class telecom i nfrastructure.

In Indi a, the telecom serv i ce areas are di v id ed i nto four metros (New

Delhi , Mumbai , Chennai and Kolkatta) and 20 c i rcles, whi ch rou ghl y

correspond to the states i n Indi a. The c i rcles are further classi f i ed

und er "A," "B" and "C," w i th the "A" c i rcle bei ng the most attract i veand "C" bei ng the least attract i ve. The regulator y body at that t i me

the Department of Telecommuni cat i ons (DOT) allocate d two

cellular l i censes for each metro and c i rcle. Thi rt y -four l i censes for


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GSM900 cellular serv i ces were auct i oned to 22 f i rms i n 1995. The

f i rst cellular serv i ce was prov id ed by , Modi Telstra i n Kolkatta i n

Au gust 1995. For the auct i on, i t was st i pulated that no f i rm can w i n i nmore than one metro, three c i rcles or both. The c i rcles of Jammu and

Kashmi r and And aman and N i cobar had no bidd ers, whi le West

Bengal and Assam had onl y one bidd er each.In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)bill was

introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the president officiallyannounced

the TRAI or di nance on 25 Januar y 1997. The government d ec id ed to

set up TRAI to separate regulator y funct i ons from pol i c y formulat i on,

l i censi ng and telecom operat i ons. Pr i or to the creat i on of TRAI, these

funct i ons were the sole responsibi l i t y of the DOT.H igh l i cense fees an d excess i ve bid s for the cellular l i censes put

tremend ous f i nanc i al bur d en on the operators, di vert i ng fund s away

from network d evelopment and enhancements. As a result, by 1999

many operators fai led to pay thei r l i cense fees an d were i n d anger of

hav i ng thei r l i censes w i thd rawn. In March 1999, a new telecom pol i c y

was put i n place (New Telecom Pol i c y [NTP] 1999). Und er thi s new

pol i c y , the ol d f i xed -l i censi ng regi me was to be replaced by a


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revenue-shar i ng scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular

revenue were tobe paid to the government.1.1 INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET - EARLIER ROADBLOCKSAND THEIR RESOLUTION

Indi an Cellular market i mmedi atel y after the f i rst round of l i censi ng i n

1994-96 was beset by several problems for 3 - 4y ears t i ll the New

Telecom Pol i c y of 1999 was announced . Some of these roadblocks /

current posi t i on i s tabulated below:ROADBLOCKSCURRENT POSITIONHigh license feesMigration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates highinitialfund requirements for payment of license fees.Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmentedpromoters

Busi nesses that have s i nce been ad equatel y fund ed grow i ng at over

60% per annum, whi le busi nesses w i th weak promoters cont i nu i ng to

langu i sh - spate of acqu i si t i ons / mer gers, w i th 4/5 major groups

emer gi ng i n the last one/twoy ears.Regulatory authority not in place

Telecom Regulator y Author i t y of Indi a (TRAI) f i rml y i n place, and i ts

role bei ng accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommuni cat i ons


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(DOT) restructured , w i th operat i ons and pol i c y mak i ng roles vested i n

di fferent bodi es.

Issues relat i ng to unfavorable i nterconnect terms for pr i vateoperators, pass throu gh i ncome, i ntra c i rcle long di stance, spectrum

avai labi l i t y and allocat i on and the l i ke remai ned unresolved for long

per i od s.

Interconnect terms si nce rat i onal iz ed , r i sks on pass throu gh i ncome

to DOT / BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom N igam Lt d .) resolved to thesat i sfact i on of all part i es w i th changes i n method ology / revenue

shar i ng, i ntra c i rcle long di stance allowed , spectrum avai labi l i t y

cleared w i th vacat i on of frequenc i es for usage by GSM operators.Problems in Financial closures due to:

Licensing tenure of 10 years

Large up front cash requirements from promoters due to heavy license fee burden in initial stages of deployment Assetbased financing approach by Indian Financial Institutions.

Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years Large up front cash requirements for license fee payments

mi t igated w i th migrat i on to revenue shar i ng mod e allow i ng promoters

to d eploy more capi tal for capi tal expendi ture; project f i nanc i ng bei ng consid ered by most f i nanc i al i nst i tut i ons.

Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations


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Foreign ownershi p norms clar i f i ed , and change of partners allowed

as a matter of rout i ne allow i ng ease of entr y / ex i t - paves the way for

full control of busi nesses by foreign compani es.Inadequate growth of market / subscribers

Roadblocks spelt out earl i er resulted i n low market / su bscr iber

growth,but w i th correct i ve measures taken, market / su bscr iber base

expected to z oom1.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY

The interconnection regime between cellular operators andfixed-line operators is still biased against the former.

Despi te the recent gai ns of the cellular i nd ustr y , not ever y thi ng i s

rosy . The cellular penetrat i on rate i s st i ll ver y low at 0.8 percent i n a

nat i on of over onebi ll i on people.

In recent y ears, many foreign compani es had pulled out from thei r cellular joi nt ventures i n Indi a d ue to the di ff i cult operat i ng

env i ronment and bureaucrac y . In 1999 alone, Sw i sscom pulled out

from Sterl i ng Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra and both the

Telecom Or ganiz at i on of Thai land and Jasm i ne Internat i onal from JT

Mobi le. In 2000, Telecom Malay si a sol d i ts stake i n Usha Mart i n

Telecom, and both Shi nawatra of Thai land and Bez eq ex i ted from

Fascel. In June 2001, Br i t i sh Telecom ex i ted from Bhart i Cellular. Bell

South Internat i onal has also i ndi cated i ts i ntent i on to pull out from


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Sk y cell Communi cat i ons, and Hong Kong-base d Di stacom i s seek i ng

to sell i ts stake i n Spi ce Communi cat i ons. F i rst Pac i f i c's ( base d i n

Hong Kong) cont i nued commi tment to Escotel i s uncertai n, and theformer i s rev i ew i ng var i ous opt i ons.

The str i ng of sell-outs notw i thstandi ng, there has been a mer ger and

acqu i si t i on wave sweepi ng across the Indi an cellular i nd ustr y i n

recent y ears. Hong Kong-base d Hutchi son Whampoa, v i a Hutchi son

Telecommuni cat i ons (HK), acqu i red major stakes i n Sterl i ng Cellular (December 1999), Usha Mart i n Telecom (mid -2000) and Fascel

(September 2000). Throu gh a partnershi p w i th local company , Kotak

Mahi nd ra F i nance, Hutchi son Whampoa pract i call y controls Fascel

and Usha Mart i n Telecom, thus c i rcumvent i ng the 49 percent l i mi t on

foreign ownershi p i n Indi an cellular operators. Hutchi son Whampoa i s

also the controll i ng sharehol d er of Hutchi son Max Telecom. Not tobe

out d one, Bhart i Enterpr i ses another major cellular pla y er

acqu i red control of JT Telecom, whi ch was later renamed Bhart i

Mobi le (December 1999), and Sk y cell Communi cat i ons renamed

Bhart i Mobi net (Au gust 2000).

Bhart i also acqu i red the Punjab l i cense of Essar and started

operat i ons, gi v i ng compet i t i on to the lone operator there, Spi ce

Communi cat i ons. Goi ng forwar d , Bhart i i s l i kel y to mer ge all i ts

cellular compani es i nto one ent i t y .


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F i ve compani es together bid Rs16.3 bi ll i on to bag the l i censes for the

fourth operator slotsi n four metros and 13 c i rcles. Bhart i emer ged as

the No. 1 bidd er w i th eight new l i censes, followed by Escotel w i thfour, Hutchi son w i th three, and Rel i ance and I d ea cellular w i th one

each. Bhart i and Hutchi son have already commenced operat i ons i n

all the c i rcles whi le I d ea i s set to launch i n Delhi . Escotel and

Rel i ance have not mad e any head way .

BHARTI, the thi r d cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai , started serv i ces i n March 2001. BSNL, as the thi r d nat i onw id e cellular

operator, launched serv i ces i n Kolkatta and Bi har i n Januar y 2002.

Thi s was followed by Tami l Nad u i n Jul y 2002. A nat i onw id e launch

was sched uled for 2 October 2002. However, thi s has been

postponed unt i l after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out i ts serv i ce,

most telecom c i rcles w i ll have four cellular operators. There w i ll be

tremend ous compet i t i ve pressure, whi ch w i ll result i n lower tar i ffs.

Future rate cuts are expected , whi ch w i ll d r i ve d emand , together w i th

fall i ng hand set pr i ces and the i ntrod uct i on of prepaid serv i ces.

In the mid st of d ecl i ni ng i nterest i n technology stocks, Bhart i came

out w i th i ts long-awai ted i ni t i al pu bl i c offer i ng (IPO) i n Januar y 2002.

Leveragi ng on the success of i ts cellular serv i ce, the company got a

ver y good response from the pr i mar y market. The total siz e of the

IPO was 185 mi ll i on shares at a floor pr i ce of Rs10. The i ssue was


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Broad cast i ng serv i ces are also qu i te popular, espec i all y among fast

food centers that have a central number. Group SMS i s qu i te popular,

espec i all y among enterpr i ses both i n the serv i ce as well as the fast-mov i ng consumer good s (FMCG) segment that have a lar ge f i el d

force and need to prov id e regular upd ates on i nventor y status,

di scount schemes and movement of good s from warehouse to the

retai l outlet. Banks too f i nd bulk SMS serv i ce ver y useful to forwar d

transact i onal alerts to thei r customers.1.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTThere will be more competition, forcing operators toconstantlyfocus on differentiations to maintain their lead.

The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable operators to offer data services. This is an opportunityto customize and differentiate better.

The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means that prices will no longer be controlled, thus there isless chance of a cartel being formed.

Network coverage in terms of geographic spread andquality of coverage is crucial especially for the business subscriber.

The bigger the service provider's national presence, thebetter it is for businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with anational operator is advantageous.


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Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed

network serv i ce prov id ers) w i ll be a di sad vantage for cellular

operators i n the short term. Consequentl y , operators need to

streaml i ne thei r customer relat i on act i v i t i es and ad opt aggress i ve

su bscr iber acqu i si t i on and retent i on strategi es.1.4 REGULATORY ISSUES

The operat i ons of thi s sector are d etermi ned as und er the Indi an

Telegraph Act of 1885. Ad ocument bur i ed i n the sand s of t i me. The

next major pol i c y d ocument, whi ch was prod uced , was the Nat i onal Telecom Pol i c y of 1994, a consequence of the ongoi ng process of

l iberal iz at i on.Year Event

1851First telephones in India1943Nationalization of telephone companies1985DoT was created1986Creation of BHARTI and VSNL1991Telecom equipment liberalized1994Licenses for paging1994


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Telecom policy announcedSeptember 1994Guidelines for private sector participation in

basic servicesNovember 1994Cellular licenses issued for metrosDecember 1994Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apartfrom 4 metrosJanuary 1995Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services apartfrom DoT on circle basis.August 1995VSNL launches Internet servicesJanuary 1996TRAI formedNovember 1998Internet policy announced

The Nat i onal Telecom Pol i c y of 1994d ocument, whi ch laid out broad

pol i c y gu id el i nes rather than a ser i es of act i on poi nts. Li ke other

pol i c i es, i t sou ght to achi eve the i mpossible i n f i ni te t i me l i ke i mprove

qual i t y of serv i ce and i ts avai labi l i t y , w id e coverage (a

phone i n ever y v i llage), at reasonable rates, etc. The tar gets i nquant i f i able terms were i nstallat i on of 9.5mn addi t i onal l i nes,

telephone on d emand by 1997, and a PCO pop of 500. The E ighth

Plan had also allowed pr i vate operators i n value add ed serv i ces. To


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fac i l i tate l i censi ng, the nat i on was di v id ed i nto 20 c i rcles (ak i n to a

state) for bas i c and 21 c i rcles for cellular telephony . Mumbai falls i n

Maharashtra c i rcle and Delhi i n i tself a c i rcle.The bas i c premi se on whi ch compet i t i on has been i ntrod uced i s that

ever y c i rcle w i ll have one pr i vate operator apart from DoT/ BHARTI

for bas i c and two operators for cellular. DoT/ BHARTI have the opt i on

to become the thi r d cellular operator i n future.

Government did not achi eve most of i ts stated tar gets. The bas i c theme, whi ch was broad eni ng the reach of telephony i n Indi a, has not

been met. Even l iberal iz at i on pol i c i es were not i mplemented properl y .

The regulator TRAI was set up after d elay s and confusi on and even

after i ts creat i on, DoT cont i nued to f ight w i th i t i n courts. It was also

affected by the resource crunch, and f i nanc i ng opt i ons l i ke BOT,

BOOT and BOLT was not used at all. The major pol i c y di rect i on i t

showed was to allow pr i vate sector entr y i n both bas i c and value

add ed serv i ces. The i ntent i on, thou gh noble fai led to

achieve its goals because of improper implementation, theeconomic costs are still borne by the end user.

The telecom sector has w i tnesse d some fund amental structural and

i nst i tut i onal reforms i n the past d ecad e. telecom equ i pment


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manufactur i ng was completel y d eregulated i n 1991. Value-add ed

serv i ces ( i nclu di ng cellular serv i ces) were thrown open to pr i vate

sector part i c i pat i on i n 1992. Basi c serv i ces were opened to pr i vatepart i c i pat i on i n 1994 by di v idi ng the countr y i nto 21 telecom C i rcles

and allow i ng one pr i vate operator per C i rcle to compete w i th DoT. An

i nd epend ent telecom regulator y Author i t y of Indi a was set up i n 1997.

A new Pol i c y for Internet Serv i ce Pol i c y Prov id ers (ISPs) was

announced i n 1998 allow i ng i nd epend ent serv i ce prov id ers to enter the sector endi ng the earl i er monopol y of VSNL. Reor ganiz at i on of

DOT, separat i ng pol i c y mak i ng funct i on and serv i ce prov i si on and

corporat iz at i on of DOT's operat i onal network are two major

i nst i tut i onal reforms, whi ch need to be i mplemented .


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COMPANY PROFILE OF BHARTI

AIRTELVision"As we spread w i ngs to expand our capabi l i t i es and explore new

hor iz ons, the fund amental focus remai ns unchanged : seek out the

best technology i n the worl d and put i t at the serv i ce of our ult i mate

user: our customer." These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has baseditsentire plan of action.

Bhart i Enterpr i ses has been at the forefront of technology and has

revolut i oniz ed telecommuni cat i ons w i th i ts worl d -class prod ucts and

serv i ces.

Establ i shed i n 1985, Bhart i has been a pi oneer i ng force i n the

telecom sector. W i th many f i rsts and i nnovat i ons to i ts credi t, rangi ng

from bei ng the f i rst mobi le serv i ce i n Delhi , f i rst pr i vate bas i c

telephone serv i ce prov id er i n the countr y , f i rst Indi an company to

prov id e comprehensi ve telecom serv i ces outsid e Indi a i n Sey chelles

and f i rst pr i vate sector serv i ce prov id er to launch Nat i onal Long

Di stance Serv i ces i n Indi a. Bhart i had approx i matel y 3.21 mi ll i on total

customers nearl y 2.88 mi ll i on mobi le and 334,000 f i xed l i ne

customers.


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Its serv i ces sector busi nesses i nclu d e mobi le operat i ons i n And hra

Prad esh, Chennai , Delhi , Gujarat, Har y ana, H i machal Prad esh,

Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Mad hy a Prad esh c i rcle, Maharashtra

c i rcle, Mumbai , Punjab, Tami l Nad u and Uttar Prad esh (West) c i rcle.

In addi t i on, i t also has a f i xed -l i ne operat i ons i n the states of Mad hy a

Prad esh and Chatt i sgarh, Har y ana, Delhi , Karnataka and Tami l Nad u

and nat i onw id e broadband and long di stance networks.

Bhart i has recentl y launched nat i onal long di stance serv i ces by

offer i ng d ata transmi ss i on serv i ces and voi ce transmi ss i on serv i ces

for calls or igi nat i ng and termi nat i ng on most of Indi a's mobi le

networks.

The Company is also implementing a submarine cable projectconnectingChennai-Singaporefor providinginternationalbandwidth.

Bhart i Enterpr i ses also manufactures and exports telephonetermi nals and cor d less phones. Apart from bei ng the lar gest

manufacturer of telephone i nstruments, i t i s also the f i rst telecom

company to export i ts prod ucts to the USA.


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Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective isto capitalise on the growth opportunities that the Companybelieves

are available in the Indian telecommunications market andconsol id ate i ts posi t i on to be the leadi ng i ntegrated

telecommuni cat i ons serv i ces prov id er i n key markets i n Indi a, w i th a

focus on prov idi ng mobi le serv i ces.The Company has developed the following strategies toachieve itsstrategic objective:Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential withminimum geographical coverage;

Offer multiple telecommunications services to providecustomers with a "one-stop shop" solution;

Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data services;

Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring highlevel of customer satisfaction;

Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and

Emphasize on human resource development to achieveoperational efficiencies.

BusinessesBharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -

Mobile services


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Fixed-line

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutionsCompetitive Strengths

Bhart i Tele-Ventures bel i eves that the follow i ng elements w i ll

contr ibute to the Company 's success as an i ntegrated

telecommuni cat i on serv i ces prov id er i n Indi a and w i ll prov id e the

Company w i th a sol id found at i on to execute i ts busi ness strate gy :

Nat i onw id e Footpr i nt - approx i matel y 92% of Indi a's total mobi le

su bscr ibers resid ed i n the Company 's f i fteen mobi le c i rcles. These 15

c i rcles collect i vel y accounted for approx i matel y 56% of Indi a's land

mass;

Focus on telecommuni cat i ons to enable the Company to better ant i c i pate i nd ustr y trend s and capi tal iz e on new telecommuni cat i ons-

related busi ness opportuni t i es;

The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its customers;

Quality management team with vision and proven executionskills; and

The Company 's strong relat i onshi ps w i th i nternat i onal strategi c and

f i nanc i al i nvestors such as S i ngTel, War bur g P i ncus, Internat i onal


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F i nance Corporat i on, Asi an Infrastructure Fund Group and New York

Li fe Insurance.Brand Architecture:Bharti is working on a complex three-layered brandingarchitecture to:

Create specific brands for each service,

Build sub-brands within each of these services and

Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as well as defining its goal to become anational builder of telecoms infrastructure.


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AirTel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across

the country.Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD)telephonyThough the costs of creating new brands are heavy but thegroup wants to create distinct independent brands toaddress different customers and profiles.


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Brand Strategy:

To und erstand the brand strategy , let s f i rst look at thebrand bu i l di ng

exerc i se assoc i ated w i th Ai rTel a brand that had to be reposi t i oned

recentl y to add ress new need s i n the market.When the brand was launched seven y ears ago, cellular telephony

wasn t a mass market by any means. For the average consumer,

owni ng a cellular phone was expensi ve as tar i ff rates (at Rs 8 a


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mi nute) as well as i nstrument pr i ces were steep somet i mes as

much as bu yi ng a second -hand car.

Bhart i coul d have add resse d the customer by rat i onall y explai ni ng tohi m the economi c ad vantage of usi ng a mobi le phone. But Sachd ev

say s that such a strategy woul d not have worked for the si mple

reason that the value from usi ng the phone at the t i me was not

commensurate w i th the cost.

Instead of the value-proposi t i on mod el, we d ec id ed to add ress thesensor y benef i t i t gave to the customer as the mai n sell i ng tack. The

id ea was to become a badge value brand , he explai ns.

So the Ai rTel lead ershi p ser i es campaign was launched show i ng

successful men w i th thei r laptops and i n thei r d eluxe cars usi ng the

mobi le phone. In si mple terms,i t meant Ai rtel was posi t i oned as an

aspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customerswhostood out in a crowd.

Did i t work? Repeated survey s follow i ng the launch showed that

there were three core benef i ts that were clearl y assoc i ated w i th the

brand lea d ershi p, dy nami sm and performance.These were valuable qual i t i es, but they onl y took Ai rTel far enou gh to

establ i sh i ts presence i n the market. As tar i ffs started d roppi ng, i t

became necessar y for Ai rTel to appeal to a w id er au di ence. And the


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var i ous brand -track i ng exerc i ses showed that d espi te all these good

thi ngs, there was no emot i onal di mensi on to the brand i t was

percei ved as col d , di stant and eff i c i ent.Sachd ev and hi s team real iz ed that i n a busi ness i n whi ch customer

relat i onshi ps were the core thi s coul d be a major weakness. The

reason? W i th tar i ffs id ent i cal to compet i tor Rel i ance Infocomm. and

rou ghl y the same level of serv i ce and schemes, i t had now become

i mportant for Bhart i to humaniz e Ai rTel and use that relat i onshi p asa major di fferent i at i on.

The brand had become somethi ng l i ke Lufthansa col d and

eff i c i ent. What they need ed was to become S i ngapore Ai rl i nes,

eff i c i ent but also human. A change i n tack was i mportant because

thi s was a t i me when the cellular market was changi ng.

The lead ershi p ser i es was okay when y ou were wooi ng the crme d e

la crme of soc i et y . Once y ou reached them y ou had to expand the

market so there was need to add ress to new customers.

By that t i me, Bhart i was already the leadi ng cellular su bscr iber i n

Delhi w i th a base of 3.77 lakh ( i t now has 1.2 mi ll i on customers). And

w i th tar i ffs becomi ng more affor d able as cell compan i es started

cutt i ng pr i ces i t was t i me to expand the market.


40/85


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brand , and a new exerc i se i s bei ng launched to thi s effect. Right now,

the company i s unw i ll i ng to di scuss the new posi t i oni ng i n d etai l. But

broad l y , the focus i s on posi t i oni ng Ai rTel as a power brand w i thnumerous regi onal su b-brand s reflect i ng customer need s i n var i ous

parts of the countr y .

If Ai rTel i s becomi ng more humane and more sensi t i ve as a brand ,

Bhart i has also und erstood that one common brand for all cellular

operat i ons might not alway s work i n ur ban markets that are now gett i ng i ncreasi ngl y saturated .

To br i ng i n new customers, the company d ec id ed that i t need ed to

segment the market. One such exper i ment, launched last y ear, i s

Youtopi a, a brand ai med at the y outh i n the 14 to 19 age bracket and

for those who are y oung at heart. W i th i ts earl i er posi t i oni ng, Ai rTel

was percei ved as a brand for the well-heeled ol d er customer;there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, AirTelhopedto reverse that.

In or d er to d el i ver the concept, Ai rTel offered rock bottom tar i ff rates

(25 pai se for 30 second s) at night to Youtopi a customers a t i me

when they make the max i mum number of calls. It also set up

merchandi si ng exerc i ses around the scheme l i ke a spec i al portal

for y oung people to bu y thi ngs or bid for good s.


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The company i s now look i ng at offer i ng other serv i ces at affor d able

pr i ces to thi s se gment whi ch i nclu d e musi c d ownload s on the mobi le

and bund l i ng SMS rates w i th normal calls to makei t cheaper for y oung people to use.

The other exper i ment that Bhart i has worked on i s to go i n for prod uct

segmentat i on throu gh the Tango brand name. The brand was

created to offer mobi le users Internet-i nterface serv i ces or what i s

known as WAP (W i reless Appl i cat i on Protocol).The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony.Thename was chosen from the popular movie title It Takes TwoToTango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer customers a new choice, says Sachdev.

Thi s, however, had less to d o w i th the brandi ng exerc i se as w i thi neff i c i enc y of serv i ce (accusi ngl y slow d ownload speed s) and the

l i mi ted ut i l i t y of WAP serv i ces.

Su bsequentl y , the ad s were w i thd rawn, but the company re-i terated

that the brandi ng exerc i se coul d be rev i ved because Tan go w i ll be

the brand to offer GPRS serv i ces or permanent Internet connect i v i t y on the mobi le phone wh i ch Ai rTel i s expected to

launch soon.The Magic:


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Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been withMagic thepre-paid card. The idea was to make the brand affordable,

accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of expandingthe market even faster.PHASE I

Magi c was ai med at br i ngi ng i n i nfrequent users of a mobi le phone

i nto the market and assure h i m that he woul d have to pay onl y i f he

mad e a call. Such a customer used the phone spar i ngl y mostl y for emer genc i es an d was not w i ll i ng to pi ck up a normal mobi le

connect i on w i th i ts relat i vel y high rentals (pre-paid car d s d o not

i nclu d e rental char ges).To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.

One, the product was made available at prices ranging

from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple tooperate.

Two, the product was made accessible and distributedthrough small stores, telephone booths and even kirana shops so thatthe offering was well within arms reach.

Third, to make the product more approachable to the customer, the company came with vernacular ad campaigns


44/85

like Magic Daalo Se Hello which appealed to localsensibilities.

Thi s apart, the company roped i n Kar i sma Kapoor and Shah Rukh

Khan for a major ad campaign all across Delhi , a ruse that saw the

number of su bscr ibers go up from 5.47 lakh to 12 lakh tod ay ,

overtak i ng Essar s brand ed pre-paid car d Speed , whi ch was launched

much ahead of Magi c. The company i s now re-work i ng i ts Magi c

strategy even further.

Earl i er, the brandi ng strategy was ai med at ropi ng i n onl y i nterested customers that i s, customers who were already i ncl i ned to opt for

mobi le serv i ces. But now, w i th basi c serv i ce prov id ers hav i ng been

allowed l i mi ted mobi l i t y at far cheaper rates, mobi le serv i ce prov id ers

coul d f i nd themselves und er threat agai n.

That i s why the new exerc i se i s ai med at co-opt i ng non-ad opters.Whi le the exact strategy i s und er wraps, i nsid ers say the new

brandi ng strategy woul d be ai med at offer i ng them value whi ch they

had not percei ved woul d be avai lable from usi ng a pre-paid car d .

PHASE II -

Bhart i used Ai rTel Magi c to bu i l d a strong value proposi t i on and accelerate market expansi on throu gh Indi a s f i rst nat i onal pre-paid

car d TV brand campaign

First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV


45/85

A combination of the film genre exposed through the TVmediumdesigned to connect with the masses of India

Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes thevalueproposition of AirTel Magic - Mumkin Hai come alive

All elements - user i mager y , context, tone & language created to

connect the categor y to the l i ves of the SEC B & SEC C segment

the midd le class non-mobi le user.

Ai rTel Magi c posi t i ons i tself on the platform of bei ng excellent for

emer genc y si tuat i ons - i ncreasi ng prod uct i v i t y as a part of ever yd ay

l i fe.

Sharukh Khan makes ever y thi ng i n l i fe possible whi le romanc i ng

prett y Kareena Kapoor w i th Ai rTel Magi c, Indi a s leadi ng pre-paid mobi le car d .

Ai rTel tod ay unvei led i ts strategy for market expansi on w i th the

launch of i ts new Ai rTel Magi c pre-paid car d brand campaign

Magi c hai to Mumk i n hai . The strategy i s tar geted at the non-user

segment d ef i ned as y oung ad ults, 15-30 y ears of age; i n the Sec B &C segment i s ai med at accelerat i ng market expansi on. The value

proposi t i on i s centered around a person s d es i re to make all hi s / her

d reams, ambi t i ons & aspi rat i ons i nstantl y possible. The new


46/85

campaign for Ai rTel Magi c i s all about empower i ng mi ll i ons of Indi ans

to be on top of thei r l i ves.

The brand i s posi t i oned to be relevant to the mass-market who want tomake all thei r d reams, hopes & d esi res come al i ve i nstantl y . (At just

Rs.300/- per month Ai rTel Magi c i s so eas y to bu y .) Improv i ng

prod uct i v i t y , lett i ng y ou befr i end the worl d and openi ng up new

hor iz ons. It gi ves y ou the freed om to control y our l i fe i n a way never

possible before. Ind eed , any thi ng that y ou thi nk i s poss ible i s poss iblew i th Ai rTel Magi c. The new brand slogan Magi c hai to Mumk i n hai

has been spec i all y created to capture thi s effect i vel y .This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segmentdirectly inthe tone, manner & language of the masses. The Mumkinhai

value proposition will help us expand the market and gain ahigher percentage of market shares in the process.

The brand ambassa d ors Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor

embody thi s cand o or Mumk i n Hai spi r i t ( i nfact that i s the reason

they were selected as brand ambassa d ors). Sharukh rose from a TV actor to become Indi a s top f i lm star and nat i onal heartthrob.

Kareena s success i s d ue to her att i tu d e , talent, har d work and the


47/85

sheer abi l i t y to make a mark i n such a short t i me. Both these stars

have sa id Mumk i n hai and mad e i t happen for themselves.

The genre of thi s new strategy & campaign i s H i ndi c i nema led . Thi sgenre connects mi ll i ons across Indi a. The spi r i t of romance,

d anc i ng the In di an c i nema, well known to most as Boll y wood , hol d s

mi ll i ons of Indi ans together as one.

The new TV campaign of Ai rTel Magi c crafted i n the H i ndi f i lm idi om,

magni f i es the empower i ng opt i mi sm of Mumk i n Hai , i n theend ear i ng si tuat i on of a boy -gi rl romance. Where Sharukh Khan, sets

hi s ey es on Kareena Kapoor and w i ns her love w i th the help of Ai rTel

Magi c. (Poignantl y conveyi ng that spec i al feel i ng we all get when a

d ream i s mad e poss ible and a v i ctor y of the heart i s won).The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large

untapped base of intending mobile customers from Sec A, B &C.

The est i mated add ressa ble market of such customersi n the next two

y ears i s around 25 mi ll i on i n Ai rTel s 16 states. The new strategy

ai ms at correct i ng the percept i on that the mobi le categor y i s useful

mai nl y for busi ness or work related scenar i os.The new strategy , brand posi t i oni ng &brand slogan i s an outcome of an extensi ve nat i onw id e research

and i s an i ntegral part of Ai rTel Magi c s new mult i -medi a campaign. The campaign has been created

by Percept Ad vert i si ng.


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PHASE III -Bhart i used Ai rTel Magi c to bu i l d a strong value proposi t i on and

accelerate market expansi on throu gh Indi a s f i rst nat i onal pre-paid car d TV brand campaign

First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives suchfreedom to recharge any value

A combination of the film genre exposed through the TVmedium

designed to connect with the masses of IndiaYouth based - romance driven strategy platform makes thevalueproposition of AirTel Magic - Aisi azaadi aur kahan? comealive

Sharukh Khan makes ever y thi ng i n l i fe possible Ai rTel tod ay

unvei led i ts strategy for market expansi on w i th the launch of i t s new Ai rTel Magi c pre-paid car d brand campaign Magi c hai to Mumk i n

hai . . The value proposi t i on i s centered around a person s d es i re to

make all hi s / her d reams, ambi t i ons & aspi rat i ons i nstantl y possible.

The new campaign for Ai rTel Magi c i s all about empower i ng mi ll i ons

of Indi ans to be on top of thei r l i ves.The brand i s posi t i oned to be relevant to the mass-market who want

to make all thei r d reams, hopes &d es i res come al i ve i nstantl y .At a

amount of y our choi ce y ou can rechar ge y our account w i th avai lable


49/85

val idi t y t i me .Improv i ng prod uct i v i t y , lett i ng y ou befr i end the worl d and

openi ng up new hor iz ons. It gi ves y ou the freed om to control y our l i fe

i n a way never possible before. Ind eed , any thi ng that y ou thi nk i spossible i s poss ible w i th Ai rTel Magi c. The new brand slogan Ai si

az adi aur kahanhas been spec i all y created to capture thi s effect i vel y .Other Brand Building Initiatives:-

The mai n id ea i s to stay ahead of compet i t i on for at least si x months.

Work i ng on the above game plan Bhart i i s constantl y comi ng up w i th

newer prod uct offer i ngs for the customers.The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.

To make the service simpler for customers using roaming

fac i l i t i es, Ai rtel has d ev i sed common numbers for su bscr ibers across

the countr y for serv i ces l i ke customer care, food serv i ces and c i nema

amongst others.It will also launch a unified billing system across circles

so, customers moving from one place to another do not have toclose and then again open new accounts at another place.

To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a storehouse of 40,000 frequently asked questions

and their answers have been stored on the computers.Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one

estimate is


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that i t woul d be 60 to 70 per cent of the total new su bscr iber base)

woul d come from the pre-paid car d segment. So, they must be gi ven

value-add ed prod ucts and serv i ces whi ch compet i tors d on t prov id e.Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has

decided to

offer roami ng serv i ces even to i ts pre-paid customers, but the fac i l i t y

woul d be l i mi ted to the regi on i n whi ch they bu y the car d . To ensure

that customers d on t migrate to other compet i ng serv i ces (whi ch i s

known as churn and ranges from

10 to 15 per cent of the customer base ever y month), the company i s

also work i ng on a loy alt y program. Thi s w i ll offer su bscr ibers tangible

cash benef i ts d ependi ng upon thei r usage of the phone.The loyalty program will not be only for a badge value,

it will provide real benefits to customers. The idea is to create anAirtel community.

Another key area which Bharti is concentrating itsattention

upon i s a new roami ng serv i ce launched i n Delhi und er whi ch calls of

a roami ng su bscr iber who i s v i si t i ng the c i t y w i ll be routed di rectl y to

hi s mobi le i nstead of travel i ng v i a hi s home network.The company also offers multi-media messaging systems


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und er whi ch customers hav i ng a spec i al iz ed phone w i th a i n- bu i lt

camera can take pi ctures and e-mai l i t to fr i end s or store i t i n the

phone. The cost per pi cture i s between Rs 5 to Rs 7.Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-

use

cellular serv i ce much easi er than i t i s tod ay . A key area i s to i ncrease

the number of act i vat i on centers. Earl i er Bhart i had 250 Ai rtel

Connect stores whi ch were exclusi ve outlets (for i ts serv i ces) and

about 250 Ai rtel Poi nts whi ch were k i osks i n lar ger shops. Now act i vat i on can be d one by all of them, and not onl y by Connect

outlets, all w i thi n 15 to 20 mi nutes. In compar i son, the compet i t i on

takes two to four hours.Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile

phone

users and i t i s actuall y helpi ng the market to i ncrease. F i rst, they are

eas i er to obtai n and conveni ent to use. Unl i ke post- paid , one need

not pay secur i t y d eposi ts for pi ck i ng up a pre- paid car d . It i s often

avai lable even w i th paanwalas. As bef i ts a fast-mov i ng consumer

serv i ce, the game i s now mov i ng bey ond pr i ce to expandi ng

di str ibut i on reach and serv i c i ng a well-spread -out cl i entele w i th

technology and strategi c all i ances. Bhart i i s focusi ng on two factors to

make pre-paid car d s more attract i ve. Keepi ng the entr y cost low for

consumers and mak i ng rechar gi ng more conveni ence.


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Bharti is in the process of launching a new system inalliance w i th Mumbai -base d company Venture Infotech whi ch w i ll enable a

pre-paid car d user to renew hi s su bscr i pt i on by just sw i pi ng a car d .The sy stem w i ll not onl y save users the hassle of goi ng out and bu yi ng a car d ever y t i me i t expi res but also enable mobilecompanies to reduce the cost of printing and

distributing cards.Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a

company d el i ver i ng food at home, to reach i ts Magi c pre-paid car d sto su bscr ibers' d oorsteps. The company i s also joi ni ng hand s w i th

local grocer y shops whi ch w i ll enable users to rechar ge thei r car d s by

just mak i ng a phone call to the shop. Apart fromi mprov i ng the

conveni ence of rechar gi ng, mobi le operators are beef i ng up thei r

di str ibut i on channels. The company i s constantl y i nnovat i ng toenhance the value proposi t i on for i ts pre-paid serv i ce. They are

leveragi ng technology to expand thei r di str ibut i on network and d el i ver

round -the-clock rechar ge opt i ons to i ts MOTS (Mobi le On the Spot)

su bscr ibers.Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service,

CareTouch, for high-value, corporate customers, prov idi ng them w i th

i nstant, si ngle-poi nt access for any ass i stance they requ i re.

Customers can di al 777 and enjoy a slew of serv i ces, whi ch i nclu d es


53/85

eas i er pay ment of bi lls, serv i ce on pr i or i t y bas i s, and value-add ed

serv i ces w i thout any addi t i onal paper work. Bhart i Cellular i s offer i ng

a range of serv i ces w i thout goi ng throu gh an i nteract i ve voi cerecor d er ensur i ng that they save t i me. Dedi cated CareTouch

execut i ves are expected to ass i st customers w i th any serv i ce on

pr i or i t y bas i s. Besid es the regular proact i ve remi nd er calls for bi ll

pay ment, customers can also call CareTouch for bi ll pay ments at free

of cost.Ai rTel presented MTV Inbox; the f i rst on-ai r SMS base d

i nteract i ve musi c d edi cat i on show exclusi vel y for Ai rTel and Ai rTel

Magi c customers. H ighl y i nteract i ve VJ base d show w i th real-t i me

feedback mechani sm. Both brand s joi ned hand s to tar get the high

growthy outh segment.Bhartis View on its Branding strategy:-F i rst, brand bu i l di ng efforts i n tod ay s context have to be seen i n a

more hol i st i c manner. Del i ver i ng value on a sustai ned bas i s i s

perhaps the most potent key to bu i l d a brand that lasts.

Unfl i nchi ng or i entat i on to customer need s i s the second key successfactor. Customers ( be i t for i nd ustr i al prod ucts or consumer good s

and serv i ces) across the worl d are more i nformed and , at the same


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t i me, becomi ng more i ndi v id ual i st i c i n thei r need s and far more

d emandi ng w i th the passage of t i me.

Pro-act i ve track i ng of shi fts i n consumer behav i or, ant i c i pat i ng red ef i ned or emer gi ng customer need s, and then react i ng i n real-

t i me are essent i al to attract and retai n customer loy alt y a ke y

element of creat i ng brand equ i t y i n the present si tuat i on.

Customizi ng the prod uct (and communi cat i on of i ts benef i t) to meet

the spec i f i c need s of var i ous consumer/customer su b-segments i sthe thi r d element i n creat i ng brand apprec i at i on.

As far as allocat i on of t i me and f i nanc i al resources are concerned ,

too many compani es mi stakenl y allocate a di sproport i onate amount

on mere ad vert i si ng and promot i on. Thi s i s not to say that ad vert i si ng

and promot i on are less relevant. On the contrar y , w i th more choi ces

and higher medi a clutter, busi nesses nee d to bu dget for an

i ncreasi ngl y higher spend on thei r brand promot i on but thi s has to be

und ertaken i n tand em w i th enterpr i se-w id e reengi neer i ng of the

busi ness phi losophy and core d es ign, prod uct i on, and d el i ver y

operat i ons for the prod uct i tself.

The posi t i ve spi n to thi s ar gument i s that by f i rst add ress i ng the

fund amentals, the enterpr i se i tself becomes more compet i t i ve. Thi s

can be the begi nni ng of a v i rtuous c y cle wherei n brand equ i t y


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cont i nues to i ncrease as the enterpr i se susta i ns d el i ver y of an

appropr i ate prod uct or serv i ce at an ever i ncreasi ng value.

It i s, however, cruc i al to note that i n the y ears to come, not onl y w i ll the cost of bu i l di ng a regi onal or a nat i onal (or an i nternat i onal) brand

w i ll cont i nue to r i se but also the t i me taken to d o so w i ll be longer and

w i ll need susta i ned and focused efforts.

Comparison of marketing strategies betweenBharti Airtel and Reliance Infocomm.The sub main purpose of this report is to compare themarketingStrategies adopted by Bharti Airtel and its rival RelianceInfocomm.The comparison shows how both of the companies havebeenChallenging each other to gain market shares.Why comparison with Reliance Infocomm?

Bhart i Ai rtel i s the lead er i n telecommuni cat i on sector.

Bhart i Ai rtel hol d s the l i on share of market of communi cat i on sector.


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However, Rel i ance has been gi v i ng tou gh compet i t i on to Bhart i Ai rtel.

Rel i ance Infocommi s the second lar gest play er and share hol d er i nCommunication sector.

Since its launch Reliance info. has been adopting aggressivemarketingStrategies.

The comparison shows how reliance info. Captured 22%market share in

One month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in2002.AD.

With a different technology cdma Reliance creates it ownmarket.

Reliance Info. today deals in every business of communicationsector.making and changing the strategies to capture the market

shares


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Brand positioning by Bharti AirtelMarket segmentationGeographi cal segment (metropol i tans & c i t i es Indi a)

Demographi c segment - midd le i ncome groupsPeople age group of 20 to 28 y ear Target marketing

People l i v i ng c i t i es and towns.

Poor and midd le i ncome groups.

Youngsters i n big c i t i es.

Busi nessmenPositioningCreating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)Ads and promotionsMarketing mixPrice :

low price strategyPlace :maximum outlets and service centersProduct :verities available for various groupsPromotion:


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various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

MAR KETING STRATEGIES OF RELIANCE INDIAMOBILE.(RIM)Rim target the rural IndiaThe main targeted customers of Rim are from rural India.By offering cheap and light mobile sets Rim attracts most of the customersOf small villages and towns.Offering cheap handsetsRim offers cheap and free connections to all costumers.The cost for Rs-700\set and onward . Free support and servicesIn every district and big towns rim opens its service centers to providebetter support and services.Strong logistics and supply chainRim has a strong logistict and supply all over India.In every small town the potential costumers can easily purchase the rimsets.Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

Rim attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset atvery low prices.


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Brand positioning by RimMarket segmentationGeographical segment (rural India)Demographic segment - middle income groupsTarget marketing

People l i v i ng i n small towns and v i llages.

Poor and midd le i ncome groups.

Youngsters i n big c i t i es.

Busi nessmenPositioningCreating brandsAds and promotionsMarketing mix

Pr i ce : low pr i ce strategy

Place : max i mum outlets and serv i ce centres

Prod uct : var i t i es ava i lable for var i ous groups

Promot i on:var i ous schemes for pre-paid and post-paid


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Schemes started by RIM-Smart Office - Call chargesEffective Rate/Min - 24 hrs)Plan namePlan

1000Plan1500Plan2000Monthly Plan Charge (Rs.)1000

15002000Free Calls Worth (Rs.)100015002000Rate per Call Unit # (Rs./Pulse)

1.000.900.85Refundable Deposit for ILD(Rs.)1000


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d ay s(06:30 - 22:30)0.10

4501.000.1314Off-Peak Hour Rates on all d ay s(22:30 - 06:30)0.109001.000.0710Schemes and plans by Bharti Airtel

RegionCall UnitLength (Pulse) (Sec.)Rate (Rs.)Atlantic Ocean - East15.83Pacific Ocean15.83Indian Ocean15.83


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Services provided by Bharti AirtelMobile services with GSM technology

Fixed-line connections

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Broadband services

Services provided by Reliance Infocomm.mobi le serv i ces w i th CDMA technology

f i xed -l i ne telephone serv i ces

Uni versal Internetwork i ng

VoIP (Voi ce over Internet Protocol)

Interact i ve Telev i si on

V i sual Communi cat i on

Broadband Portal

Telecommut i ng


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051015202530

3540RFSAreaRelianceAirtelTataBSNL

Time to provideservice in daysReliance Take moretime in comparison toAirtel & Tata thats


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why company loosi ng thei r customer, and market positionFINDINGS AND ANALYSISAge Group Graph

As we can see from the above graph, the people who arei n the age

group of 21-28 y ears are the ones who are the max i mum users of

mobi le phones. Thi s se gment i s the one whi ch gi ves max i mum

busi ness to the mobi le operators. Thi s se gment const i tutes the y oung

execut i ves and other off i ce goi ng people. They are 65% of the total

people who werei nterv i ewed . The next age group are thepeople who are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total.They

are those who are at home or have small business units etc.

And the next age group i s the y oungest generat i on who are 15-21

y ears ol d . They are school and college goi ng stu d ents and carr y

mobi le phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total i nterv i ewed people.


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the next age group i s the y oungest generat i on who are 15-21y ears

ol d . They are school and college goi ng stu d ents and carr y mobi le

phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total i nterv i ewed people.Occupation Graph

As the above graph shows that 55% of the total peoplei nterv i ewed

are work i ng. So, these people are the ones who are the max i mum

users of mobi le phones. They are the y oung execut i ves, managers,

Tele - callers etc. who requ i re mobi le for thei r off i c i al purposes. The

OCCUPATION next categor y i s the househol d s, who are ei ther

housew i fe, small uni ts whi ch operate from thei r homes etc. They are

20% of the whole. The next segment i s the stu d ents. They are 15%

of the whole. And 10% of the whole i s categor i es who are the

professi onals

next categor y i s the househol d s, who are ei ther housew i fe, small

uni ts whi ch operate from thei r homes etc. They are 20% of the whole.


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The next segment i s the stu d ents. They are 15% of the whole. And

10% of the wholei s categor i es who are the professi onals.Service Provider Graph

The above graph shows a sl i ce of 50%. These are the total no. of

people who are usi ng Ai rtel. It seems that people are more aware of

Ai rtel than any other brand . The next popular brand i s Hutch. 305 of

the people i nterv i ewed had Hutch connect i ons. The next popular

brand was I d ea. 15% people had I d ea connect i ons. As i t came ver y

late i n the market when Ai rtel had establ i shed i t self ver y well. So,

that coul d be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The

remai ni ng 5% had trump connect i ons.

the people i nterv i ewed had Hutch connect i ons. The next popular

brand was I d ea. 15% people had I d ea connect i ons. As i t came ver y

late i n the market when Ai rtel had establ i shed i t self ver y well. So,

that coul d be one of the reasons of such a low percentage. The

remai ni ng 5% had trump connect i ons.Customer Service At Airtel Graph


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be eas i l y and readi l y avai lable i n the local markets. Ai rtel shoul d make sure that

Magi c

Awareness About WLL Graph

WLL seemed to be a new wor d for many of the people. 45% of the

people were not at all aware of such a technology . So, i n or d er to get

the answer for thi s quest i on they were f i rst explai ned the concept.

Onl y , 55% people knew what WLLi s all about.

Awareness of WLL Players GraphRel i ance was the brand whi ch was popular amongst the i nterv i ewed

people. As Rel i ance had d one so much ad vert i si ng and has i t


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SUGGESTIONSFollowing are the few suggestions toAIRTEL for

improvingthe market share and image of the productsconcerned.1. PRODUCT*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, interms of quality. Its demand should be increased.2. PLACE* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO&general stores.3. PROMOTION*Company must und ertake extensi ve promot i onal act i v i t i esl i ke ad vert i sements must be released i n di fferent Medi as tocreate brand awareness.*Free samples shoul d be di str ibuted among the prospects.Sales promot i on tools l i ke gi fts, contests and coupons must be gi ven to retai lers as well as customers and prospects.


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* Catalogues should be distributed amongcustomers.

SWOT ANALYSISStrengths

Being one of the largest companies in India thecompany has achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its

products.It has a strong brand name, superior quality productsand an enviable distribution network.

It has a clear and well-defined organization structureand limits of financial authority.

Increase in advertisement spends affect the companys

margins.The companys bottom line falls victim to the bloated

and highly paid workforce, which affects its margins.Weakness:

Little efforts over the Advertising of products.

Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.


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Premium priced products, hence cant compete in low

price segment.

No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities:

The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from its cost reduction efforts.

There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.

Exports of products will also have huge chances inthe coming years.

Airtels business has ample scope for gaining marketshare from the unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holdsvast potential to bring about growth.Threats

The slowdown in the economy has restricted toplinegrowth

of most FMCG majors and for Ai rtel also i t w i ll be di ff i cult to

mai ntai n hi stor i cal growth rates i n such a d epresse d scenar i o.Companys major raw materials are influenced by

government pol i c i es / controls as well as vagar i es of the

monsoons. Fluctuat i ons i n the pr i ces of raw mater i als woul d have


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RECOMMENDATIONSI have made following recommendation to thecompanyafter do ing the summer training there:

The company should modify its credit policy asthey only target the cash paying customers who are not

easy to trace.The company should emphasis more on the quality

of Pharmaceut i cals Prod ucts i t was mostl y clai med by the exporters that thei r recei pts from company d oesn t matches w i th the sample s qual i t y shown before

gi v i ng or d ers.The company should makes its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to face competition.

The company should keep an eye on the proper d el i ver y of thegood s to exporter on t i me, as i t hasbeen recommend ed by exporters to make thed el i ver y on t i me.

The company rate policy must be flexible enoughto catch new customersbecause i f company offers lower pr i ce to a new customer then he may cont i nue bu y the


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good s and can be a permanent customer for thecompany .

The company should offers such rate in the marketso that it may able to catch a biger market share and itshould be able to compete with the local traders and

commi ss i on agents whi le hav i ng a brand name.The company shoul d take the opi ni on of exporters fromt i me to t i me to know what problems they are fac i ng fromthe company s sid e? And i f any change they requ i re i npresent suppl yi ng condi t i on?

LIMITATIONSNo project i s w i thout l i mi tat i ons and i t becomes essent i al tof igure out the var i ous constrai nts that we und erwent d ur i ng the stu dy . The follow i ng poi nts i n thi s di rect i on woul d add toour total d el iberat i ons:-1. Dur i ng the stu dy , on many occasi ons the respond ent groups gave us a col d shoul d er.2. The respond ents from whom pr i mar y d ata was gathered


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any t i mes di splay ed complete ignorance about thecompletebrand ed range, whi ch was bei ng stu di ed .

3. Lack of t i me i s the bas i c l i mi tat i on i n the project.4. Some retai lers/whole sellers refuses to cooperate w i ththe quer i es.5. Some retai lers/wholesellersgave bi ased or i ncompletei nformat i on regar di ng the stu dy .

6. Money play ed a v i tal factor i n the whole project d urat i on.7. Lack of proper i nformat i on and exper i ence d ue to short per i od of t i me.8. Some retai lers did not answer all the quest i ons or d o not have t i me to answer.


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CONCLUSIONAfter anal yzi ng the f i ndi ngs of the research, I can conclu d e that Ai rtel

lagged behi nd i ts compet i tors as far as customer serv i ce and

avai labi l i t y i s concerned . The max i mum no. of people who use the

mobi le i s i n the age group of 20 to 28. Cash car d s are the most popular t y pe of mobi le connect i ons, as they are consumer fr i end l y

and rechar gi ng the connect i on i s not a problem.

Max i mum no. of people spend s RS 500 on thei r connect i ons. As

Ai rtel i s the onl y company hav i ng the max i mum no of mobi le

connect i ons so i t must ser i ousl y look i nto the loop holes of theex i st i ng customer serv i ce d epartment.

As we know that now Ai rtel has already launched i ts prod uct w i th

logo Ai si az aadi aur kahan has already became popular i n market.

So we can say that i n spi te of so many compet i tor i n the market Ai rtel

i s hav i ng a good

position just because every time, it tries its best to understandtheneed of its important customers.


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From the compar i son and d eep anal y si s of ever y aspect of busi ness

of both the compani es we can conclu d e that bhart i ai rtel has to more

work i n ever y f i el d of communi cat i on busi ness.It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the marketfor along time.For this Airtel has to work on its all marketingstrategies,marketing,promotion,brand image.etc.Airtel has to take Reliance info. Very seriously and update its

ownstrategies from time to time and when the need arises.With aggressive marketing strategies airtel has to target ruralIndiaas 70% of population of India live in these areas.The other segment may be costumers of all age groups.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


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In thi s project report, whi le f i nal izi ng and for anal yzi ng qual i t y problem

i n d etai ls the follow i ng Books, Magazi nes/Journals and Web S i tes

have been referred . All the mater i al d etai led below prov id es effect i vehelp and a gu idi ng lay out whi le d es igni ng thi s text report.Books :

Pr i nc i ples of Market i ng Phi l i p Kotler & Kev i n keller edi . 12

Market Research D.D. Sharma

Research Method ology C.R. Kothar i Websites:www.airtelworld.comwww.google.comwww.india.comhttp://www.blonnet.com/2004/06/26/stories/2004062602180700.htm, Mumbai,June25, 2004.com/companies/companies_r/reliance_infocom/20031104_stop-roaming.htm, 4November 2003DomainB, Missed Call, At http://www.domainb

Magazines:

Ai rtel (2 Jul y to 10 Jul y 2004)

Ai rtel Indi a page of HT paper (Thursd ay 1December

QUESTIONNAIREDear Sir/Madam,

I ,Mohd Jami l Qureshi , stu d ent of MBA of Acad emy of Busi ness an d Engi neer i ng Sc i ence d oi ng my summer trai ni ng project


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on consumer behav i or from Ai rtel. Please gi ve y our prec i ous t i me for f i ll i ng these d etai ls.Q.1 For how long you have been using Airtel Product?

0-2 Years

2-5 Years

5-10 Years

More than 10 years Q.2 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?

Ye s No

Q.3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?

Reliance

Hutch

Airtel Q. 4 How would you rate the experience with Brand?

Reliance

Hutch

Airtel Q.5 Do you collect any information search before making

purchase?Ye s

No. ExcellentGood Average


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BelowAverage

Q.6 If yes, which sources are used?

Magazines

Dealers

Sales Executives

Operators reference

Pamphlets and catalogue

Reference from friends and relatives

Any other Q.7 What are the features you look for in a product beforemakingpurchase decision? Give preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)

Brand credibility

Price and Discount

After sales services and parts, network

Value for money

Vehicle performance

Add on features or ergonomics of design Q.8. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts youwhilepurchasing any connection?


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Good Network

Discount scheme

Service package

Any other Q.9 If you have to purchase a new connection or product innear future, which Brand will you go for and why?_________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Q.10 Are you aware of various promotional activities beingrun byAirtel,if yes then how? Are you satisfied with thesepromotional activities?

Customer Care

By Ad Films

By Camp

24 hrs call center servicesQ.11How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation on 5 points scale (5 Highest)123


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4 5

After Sale service

Maintenance

Product as per expectation Q.12 What are you suggestions for improving the productquality,service availability and parts availability?_________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ VerySatisfiedSatisfied SomewhatSatisfiedNot

satisfied

DECLARATIONI hereby declare that I have carried out Summer TrainingProject onthe topic entitled Marketing strategies Bharti Airtel ANDcomparison with Reliance Infocomm. from New DelhiI further d eclare that thi s project work i s based on my or igi nal work and no part of thi s project has been pu bl i shed or su bmi tted to anybody .SHIKHAR VERMA


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document of airtel and recom

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