STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN

AIRTEL GHANA

Submitted by: (Group Two -2)

(December, 2011)
Table of Contents 1.0
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................4

Airtel is the fastest growing operator in the Ghanaian market but recently suffered the heaviest fine slapped by NCA as it is expected to pay GH350,000 for allege provision of poor services. The target market of Airtel is clearly defined: Elite group (above 25years of age), Up market professionals and entrepreneurs and, Women and senior citizens. The Company aims to increase the current market share of 10% to 25% by December 2015 by continuously expanding and widening its coverage to the remotest areas in Ghana and creating Customer Care Touch Points across the Country......................................................4
2.0 MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT..................................................................................5 3.2 Collaborators.............................................................................................................................7 3.3 Products Airtel products and services are categorized into three individual strategic business units (SBSs) Mobile Services, Broadband and Telephony Services & Enterprise Services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand and are summarized into:.......................................................8 Airtel currently runs the following products and service solutions;................................................8 3.5 Competitors...............................................................................................................................9 4.0 SWOT ANALYSIS ...............................................................................................................10 4.2 Weakness................................................................................................................................10 4.4 Threats ...................................................................................................................................11 5.0 CRITICAL ISSUES................................................................................................................11 6.0 MARKET DEFINITION ...................................................................................................13

Airtel possesses good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of the most prized customer. This information will be leveraged to better understand who is served, what their specific needs are, and how Airtel can better communicate with them. .......................................................................................................14 The target market of Airtel is clearly defined: ....................................................................15 Elite group (above 25years of age).......................................................................................15 Up market professionals and entrepreneurs and...................................................................15 Women and senior citizens ..................................................................................................15
8.0 MARKETING STRATEGY ..................................................................................................16 8.3 Ansoff- Product/Market Growth Matrix.................................................................................19 9.0 MARKETING PROGRAM- TACTICS.................................................................................21 10.0 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN................................................................................................24 APPENDIX II...............................................................................................................................27 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................27 Marketing Plan for Airtel Ghana Page 2 of 28

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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Airtel Ghana is subsidiary of an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of. The vision of Airtel is to be globally admired for telecom services that; Delight customers, Targeted by top talents and Benchmarked by more business. Airtel products and services are categorized
into three individual strategic business units (SBSs) Mobile Services, Broadband and Telephony Services & Enterprise Services. It currently has approximately 10% of the

Ghanaian market share with a total customer base of two million as at the end of August, 2011. Airtel is in fierce competition with MTN, Tigo, Vodafone and Expresso.

Airtel is the fastest growing operator in the Ghanaian market but recently suffered the heaviest fine slapped by NCA as it is expected to pay GH350,000 for allege provision of poor services. The target market of Airtel is clearly defined: Elite group (above 25years of age), Up market professionals and entrepreneurs and, Women and senior citizens. The Company aims to increase the current market share
of 10% to 25% by December 2015 by continuously expanding and widening its coverage to the remotest areas in Ghana and creating Customer Care Touch Points across the Country.

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2.0 MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT 2. 1 Vision Statement To be globally admired for telecom services that

Delight customers Targeted by top talents Benchmarked by more business.

2.2 Mission Statement

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We will meet the mobile communication needs of our customers through:

Error-free service delivery. Customer service focus Empowered Employees Innovative products and services. Cost efficiency. Unified messaging solution

2.3 Core Values We will always put our customers first. We will always trust and respect each other. We will respect our associates as we respect each other. We will work together through a process of continuous improvement.

Empower People- to do their best Being Flexible-to adopt to changing environment and evolving customer needs Making it Happen- by striving to change the status quo, innovate and energize new ideas with a strong passion and entrepreneurial Openness and transparency with an innate desire to do good Creating positive impact- with the desire to create a meaningful difference in society

3.0 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS 3.1 Company Bharti Airtel Limited (NSE: BHARTIARTL, BSE: 532454), commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G
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or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with about 230.8 million subscribers across 19 countries at the end of June 2011. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 171.85 million subscribers as of August 2011. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom.

3.2 Collaborators Airtel has strategic alliance with the following companies relating to operations, customer service, innovation and technology; Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei for the launch of 3G services. These partners will plan, design, deploy and maintain a state of the art 3G HSPA Network in the Companys 3G license circles. This deployment would enable the Company to extend its leadership position in the telecom market and meet the growing demand for high speed surfing and wireless entertainment in the country. Airtel also have major agreement with;

Nokia to launch Ovi Life Tools service targeted at providing Airtel's mobile customers with access to relevant content on agriculture, education and entertainment

Radio Mirchi, to launch Mirchi Mobile on airtel, enabling its customers to choose and follow their favourite local Mirchi radio station from anywhere

Encyclopedia Britannica to offer airtel broadband customers two year free access to Britannica online, the worlds most trusted information source.

VMware, to launch virtualisation services based on VMware vSphere platform, extending the Managed Service portfolio.

Servion and Cisco for launch of Hosted Contact Center services for large, medium and small enterprises offering freedom from technology obsolescence, capital

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investments and continuity challenges while leveraging the capability to customize the solution, based on business requirements.

3.3 Products Airtel products and services are categorized into three individual strategic business units (SBSs) Mobile Services, Broadband and Telephony Services & Enterprise Services. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand and are summarized into: Voice Services Mobile Services Satellite Services Managed Data and Internet Services Managed e-business Services Value Added Services (VAS)

Airtel currently runs the following products and service solutions;

Airtel Pre-paid Airtel Post-paid Blackberry Wireless Handheld

The different value added services provided by Airtel are

Instant Balance Enquiry 24Hr recharge Facility Caller line identification Call divert, Call wait & Call Hold

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Multimedia messaging service (MMS) Airtel Live Portal SMS based Information Service Hello Tunes & Ring Tones Voice Mail Service Easy Post-paid bill collection Gifting of Ring Tones & Hello Tunes GPRS

3.4 Customer Airtel currently has approximately 10% of the Ghanaian market share with a total customer base of two million as at the end of August, 2011. 3.5 Competitors The Ghanaian telecom industry is fast growing. There are five major operators currently. Airtel though not new to the telecom industry globally is very young in the Ghanaian market and is in fierce competition with. MTN which is the market leader with a subscriber base of 9.8 million subscribers, as of the end of September 2011; Tigo which is operated by Millicom is the market challenger with 4.2 million subscribers as of the end of August 2011, and controls 20.59 per cent of the telecoms market in the country; Voda Fone which is in the third spot, controls 18.48 per cent of the market with 3.73 million subscribers. Its subscriber base for January 2011 was 2.81 millionn, and Expresso, formally known as Kassapa is in the last spot with a subscriber base of 206,606 in August, 2011. There is also a treat of new operators entering the market such as Glow 3.6 Climate

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The climatic condition in the telecom industry in Ghana is very fierce with the five major operators deploring various kinds of marketing strategies in order to sustain their market share.

4.0 SWOT ANALYSIS

4.1 Strengths

Airtel is the fastest growing operator in the Ghanaian market Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia - and Sing Tel, with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications world.

The company has covered the entire Ghanaian nation with its network. This has underpinned its large and rising customer base

4.2 Weakness

Recent traffic channel congestion in Tamale, Upper East and Upper West, Sekondi/Takoradi and the Greater Accra Region could put Airtel in a very bad competitive situation.

The youngest operator in the Ghanaian market The lack of qualified professionals to manage the affairs of the company

4.3 Opportunities

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The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities.

Bharti Airtel parent company of Airtel Ghana is the 3rd largest telecom operator in the world and hence best practices could easily be benchmarked and information sharing can serve as a major resource to Airtel Ghana.

The ability to leverage other industry participants marketing efforts to help grow the general market.

4.4 Threats

The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks about the potential purchase of South Africa's MTN in May 2008.

Airtel, recently suffered the heaviest fine slapped by NCA as it is expected to pay GH350,000 for allege provision of poor services.

5.0 CRITICAL ISSUES As the youngest operator in the Ghanaian industry, Airtel is still in the early stages and the critical issues are; Airtel should establish itself as the leading brand that is loved by customers Constantly monitor customer satisfaction, ensuring that the growth strategy will never compromise service and satisfaction levels.

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Improve upon service quality across all products and service solution categories.

5.1 Key Success Factors 0% calls drop rate is key for success in the industry Superior customer service care Low voice call tariffs Innovative and Intelligent service offerings

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6.0 MARKET DEFINITION 6.1 History of Industry By any measure, the telecommunications industry has grown dramatically over the last century. During the first three-quarters of this century, growth in telecommunications came mainly from wireline applications and was largely due to growth in developed countries. However, during the last quarter of this century, growth has come as the result of three main influences: global deregulation, the advent of wireless technologies, and the building of infrastructure in developing countries. As the demand for telecommunications grew over the past century so has the infrastructure. In the past 37 years the global telecommunication network has grown at a fairly constant rate and generated a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% per year, resulting in an enormous increase in main telephone lines worldwide. By the end of 1997, it was estimated that there were approximately 800 million main telephone lines installed worldwide. Main telephone lines represent a physical connection between a subscriber and an exchange and therefore exclude wireless connections. By the end of 1996, approximately 40 percent of all households worldwide had a telephone; conversely, 60 percent or some 870 million households did not. By far the largest percentage of those households that did not have a telephone were in developing countries. The rapid growth in main telephone lines and teledensity has led to a corresponding increase in telecommunication service revenues. As previously mentioned, the historic growth in telecommunication services over the past quarter century is not entirely attributed to growth in traditional wireline telephony. Since the early 1980's, the rapid growth of wireless services has accounted for a significant portion of the entire telecommunication industry growth. The telecommunication market has experienced tremendous growth over the past 100 years and, as the graphs illustrate, the growth rates have been increasing in recent years, due in

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large part to deregulation, wireless technology, and the buildout of developing countries. Obviously, telecommunications is a thriving and expanding market worldwide.

6.2 Total Market Growth The market continues to grow aggressively in all segments, particularly, in the telephony space. Over the last five years and eight years respectively, the market uptake has be growing at compound average of 62.3% and 58.3% respectively. In terms of penetration the year ended 52.4%. Total access lines in operation at the year-end 2008 was eleven million, seven hundred and twelve thousand, four hundred and fifty (11,712,450) with almost 99% being due to mobile telephony, a 52.6% increase over prior year. 6.3 Market Knowledge

Airtel possesses good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of the most prized customer. This information will be leveraged to better understand who is served, what their specific needs are, and how Airtel can better communicate with them.

6.4 Market Segmentation Airtel has segmented the Ghanaian market into the following segments Behavioral Segmentation Benefits Segmentation Demographic Segmentation Market Niche Mass Customization

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6.5 Target Markets The target market of Airtel is clearly defined:

Elite group (above 25years of age) Up market professionals and entrepreneurs and Women and senior citizens

6.6 Positioning Airtel will position itself as the most affordable network.

7.0 OBJECTIVES

7.1 Profitability Objectives To achieve a 20% return on capital employed by August 2013. 7.2 Market Share Objectives To increase the current market share of 10% to 25% by December 2015 7.3 Promotional Objectives To become the most admired telecom operator in the country by June 2015. 7.4 Objectives for Survival To survive the current double-dip recession. 7.5 Objectives for Growth To increase the size of our African operation from $2m in 2010 to $4m in 2018.

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7.6 Objectives for Branding To make the Airtel brand the most preferred brand in the telecom industry across the globe by 2018

8.0 MARKETING STRATEGY Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Airtel as a market follower in the current Ghanaian telecom industry has to deploy various kinds of strategies in order to be able to stand the intense competition.

8.1 Porters Generic Strategies

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Cost Leadership: Airtel will gain competitive advantage in other words, developing the "edge" that gets Airtel the sale and takes it away from its competitors. There are two main ways that Airtel will use to achieving this within a Cost Leadership strategy: 1. Airtel will increase its profits by reducing costs, while charging

industry-average prices. 2. Increase its market share through charging lower prices, while still

making a reasonable profit on each sale because it has reduced costs. The cost leadership strategy that is adopted will be successful because

Airtel has Access to the capital needed to invest in technology that will

bring costs down.

Very efficient logistics. A low cost base (labor, materials, facilities), and a way of sustainably

cutting costs below those of its competitors- MTN, Vodafone, Tigo and Expresso.

Differentiation Strategy: Airtel will make its products or services different from and more attractive than those of its competitors ( MTN, Vodafone, Tigo and Expresso). Airtel will achieve this through the following activities; 1. Investment in Good research, development and innovation. 2. Delivering high-quality products or services.
3. Effective sales and marketing, to ensure that the market understands the

benefits offered by the differentiated offerings.

Focus Strategy: Airtel will concentrate on particular niche segments in the Ghanaian market and, by understanding the dynamics of that market and the unique

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needs of customers within it, develop uniquely low cost or well-specified products for the market. This will build a strong brand loyalty among its customers. 8.2 Boston Consulting Groups Matrix

Figure 2 BCG Growth-Share Matrix

Dogs It can be reasonably said that Airtel has no products that can be classified as dogs. Dogs have low market share and a low growth rate and thus neither generate nor consume a large amount of cash. However, dogs are cash traps because of the money tied up in a business that has little potential.

Question marks The ISP and Cellular Services category of Airtel Ghana can be said to be questions marks base on the BCG growth-share Matrix. Question marks are growing rapidly and thus consume large amounts of cash, but because they have low market shares they do not generate much cash. The result is a large net cash consumption. A question mark (also known as a "problem child") has the potential to gain market share and become a star, and eventually a cash cow when the market growth slows. If the question mark does not succeed in becoming the market leader, then after perhaps years of cash consumption it will degenerate into a dog when the market growth declines. Question marks must be analyzed

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carefully in order to determine whether they are worth the investment required to grow market share.

Stars The Lease, Private and Circuit Services are said to be starts because of their relative characteristics. Stars generate large amounts of cash because of their strong relative market share, but also consume large amounts of cash because of their high growth rate; therefore the cash in each direction approximately nets out. If a star can maintain its large market share, it will become a cash cow when the market growth rate declines. The portfolio of a diversified company always should have stars that will become the next cash cows and ensure future cash generation.

Cash cows The basic telephone (Fixed Line) of Airtel is classified as a cash cow product or service. As leaders in a mature market, cash cows exhibit a return on assets that is greater than the market growth rate, and thus generate more cash than they consume. Such business units should be "milked", extracting the profits and investing as little cash as possible. Cash cows provide the cash required to turn question marks into market leaders, to cover the administrative costs of the company, to fund research and development, to service the corporate debt, and to pay dividends to shareholders. Because the cash cow generates a relatively stable cash flow, its value can be determined with reasonable accuracy by calculating the present value of its cash stream using a discounted cash flow analysis.

8.3 Ansoff- Product/Market Growth Matrix

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Figure 3

Using the Ansoff Product/Market Growth Share Matrix, Airtel Ghana will per sue the following strategies in order to sustain its growth in the market.

1. Market penetration Airtel will penetrate the Ghanaian market by focusing on selling its existing products/service (Airtel Prepaid, Airtel Post-paid and Blackberry Wireless Handheld) in the existing market. This will help Airtel achieve the following objectives: to maintain or increase the market share of current products this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and more resources dedicated to personal selling Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure the market by driving out competitors; through the use of much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors Airtel will Increase usage by existing customers through the Introduction of loyalty schemes

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2. Market development Airtel will develop new markets where it will sell it existing products/services in. New geographical markets; by expanding its services into neighbouring countries such Burkina and Togo Airtel will introduce new product dimensions or packaging: Airtel will introduce new distribution channels Airtel will set different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments

3. Product development Airtel will seek to acquire new competencies the development of new and innovative products to be sold to the existing Ghanaian market. This will include customized Airtel branded smart phones and Airtel branded laptops with build in internet connectivity. 4. Diversification Airtel will seek to outsource all its non-core functions in order to concentrate on it core competence areas to gain competitive advantage. Such service include; customer care centers and repair and maintenance

9.0 MARKETING PROGRAM- TACTICS The elements of the marketing mix are the parameters that Airtel can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal of Airtel is to make decisions that center the extended services marketing mix on the customers in the

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target market (Ghanaian Market) in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response, and hence gain competitive advantage. Airtel will seek to combine and mix the 7 Ps in the following manner in order to achieve its strategic marketing objectives.

Marketing mix element: 9.1 Product

Tactics and Strategy to be deployed. Airtel will focus on developing new innovative products and services that will delight its customer. Special features and functionalities will be incorporated in existing products coupled with continues improvement in service level quality and after sales services.

9.2 Price

Airtel will practice a customer base pricing strategy, flexible pricing mechanisms and controlled by. In order to achieve the strategic goal of cost leader, we continue to maintain a pricing formula that is less than that of it strategic group competitors by 20%. Coupled with strong product and services road map, Airtel believes that this forms the core of a very strong value proposition

9.3 Promotion

Airtel will seek to communicate to it target customers via large scale print and video advertising. It will also use big celebrities to rope in the endorsement of its products and

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the Airtel brand. Specific promotional attacks will be lunched targeting it competitors weaknesses. Promotional ringtones such as the (Hands across the world) will also be use to keep the Airtel brand fresh in the minds of its customers. Loyalties schemes as the (Airtel freedom to dream) promo will be done once in a while to appeal to the moral humor of its customers. 9.4 Place Airtel will continue to expand and widen its coverage to the remotest areas in Ghana, Create customer Care Touch Points across the country 9.5 People Airtel will continue to train and develop its human capital base. Recruit, train and retain the best customer care and relationship marketing professional, harness highly dedicated and passionate workforce

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9.6 Processes

Airtel will streamline its service processes to make it very easy and ensure that customers can avail it very easily. Airtel will invest in R&D to avail the best innovative and technological telecom process that will satisfy and delight it customers

9.7 Physical Evidence

Airtel will maintain state of the act infrastructure and environment through its branches. Ensure a highly conducive and serene environment that is best for doing business. All branches of Airtel will make provision for access by the physically challenge.

10.0 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The implementation plan and milestones for the marketing program is elaborated in APPENDIX I This is important in ensuring the accomplishment of each programme on time and on budget.

10.1 Control and Evaluation of Performance Airtels marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization. The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance:

Revenue: monthly and annual

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Expenses: monthly and annual Customer satisfaction Market Share Subscriber base New product development

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APPENDIX II REFERENCES

Keith H. Hammonds, "Michael Porter's Rig Ideas," Fast Company, March 2001, pp. 150-154.

Baker, Michael The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit 2008. ISBN 1902433998. p.3 Marketing basics Marketing strategy based on market needs, targets and goals. Aaker, David Strategic Market Management 2008. ISBN 9780470056233 Reproduced from Marian BurkWood, The Marketing Plan: A Handbook. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003)

Marian BurkWood, The Marketing Plan: A Handbook (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003).

http://www.nca.org.gh/51/116/Industry-Information.html http://marketingteacher.com/search-marketing-teacher.html http://www.slideshare.net/gaurpiyush90/airtel-finncial-analysis-marketing-strategy http://www.scribd.com/doc/22741384/Promotions-Airtel

DETAILS OF GROUP TWO MEMBERS

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MEMBERS OF GROUP TWO (2) NAME Jameratu Bagonluri Abdulai Habib Augustina Gyimah Prospero Edjeani Henrietta Osei Daniel Bugyei Mary Anane Yvette Selinam Dzikunu Damaris Tanoh-Rivers Ayande A.B. Prosper Stella Addo INDEX NUMBER 10360211 10360174 10359346 10360490 10360171 10360425 10360690 10360114 10360351 10360344 10360230 COMPANY Immigration ASI Metro TV SEM Capital Limited Bank of Ghana Vodafone Ghana Limited Star life Assurance Zenith Bank Gh. Limited NSIA Gh. Insurance SAGE Petroleum Limited Winipros Limited Crown Agents Gh. Limited

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