Marketing Strategy of Airtel

Marketing strategy of AIRTEL
Marketing strategy of airtel 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. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.
Definition: A strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive whole. Ideally drawn from market research, it focuses on the ideal product mix to achieve maximum profit potential. The marketing strategy is set out in a marketing plan.
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TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is the fifth largest in the world and is the second large st among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the f a s t e s t g r o w i n g m a r k e t i n t h e w o r l d a n d r e p r e s e n t s u n i q u e opportunities for UK companies in the stagnant global scenario. Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in 1999, has shown an impressive jump to 9.5% in 2006 and 10.5% in 2007 and is set to increase to 20% in the next five years beating the Govt. Target b y t h r e e y e a r s . A c c o r d i n g l y , I n d i a r e q u i r e s i n c r e m e n t a l investments of USD 20 25 bins for the next five years.
Private
operators
have made mobile telephony the
fastest
growing (over 164% p.a.) in India. million and With users more (both than 33
CDMA the
GSM),
wireless is
p r i n c i p a l g r o w t h engine of the Indian telecom industry. Given the current growth trends, cellular
connections in India will surpass fixed line by late 2 0 0 4 / e a r l y 2 0 0 5 . Intense competition between t h e f o u r m a i n private groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a s i g n i f i c a n t d r o p i n t a r i f f s . T h e r e h a s b e e n a l m o s t 7 4 % i n c e l l Phone charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25% drop in NLD charges, resulting in a boom time for the consumers.
The Government has played a key enabling role by deregulating and liberalizing the industry, ushering in competition and paving the way for growth. While there were
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regulatory irregularities earlier, resulting in litigation, these have all been addressed now. Customs duties on hardware and mobile handsets have been reduced from 14 percent to 5 percent. The India government has merged the it sector and telecomminitries to speed up reforms and decision on communication convergence bill to enable the common regulation of the internet, B r o a d c a s t i n g a n d t e l e c o m s w i l l b e taken after the new Government assumes responsibilities in May this year. An independent regulatory body (TRAI) and dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is fully functional.
Telecom sector in India is fully liberalized; with there being intense competition and free or pure play of market forces. Various policy measures and regulatory initiatives over the last several years have put the telecom sector in India on a high growth trajectory. The industry has invested over Rs. 80,000 crores in setting up 133 state-of-threat cellular mobile networks in around 8,000 cities/towns and over 1-lakh villages all over the country. The Cellular service providers are offering world-class digital mobile services to the consumers at the most affordable tariffs in the world.
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The Indian GSM Mobile industry today boasts of:

Highest level of competition as compared to international benchmarks, which is driving the growth of the sector. Lowest tariffs in the world with the mobile service thus being the most affordable for subscribers as compared to the global bench marks. Highest mobile subscriber additions every month as compared to other parts of the world. The dynamics of market forces are driving the expansion of service and the growth of the sector. India today has a robust mobile telecom industry which has become the backbone of the Service sector in India. The Mobile Telecom industry is the only sector in India which has witnessed a continuous decline in tariffs over the last 10 years. As against this, all other service sectors such as power, water, hotels etc have witnessed a significant increase in end-user tariffs. Thus the mobile telecom sector has continuously absorbed inflation. There isno other sector in India where tariffs have been continuously falling. However, the ever falling tariffs and the resultant decline in ARPUs has become a serious area of concern for service providers. Declining ARPU leaves the service provider with lesser amount of re-investible surplus for expansion of service which otherwise could have been far more widespread by now. Cellular Operators Association of India
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INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to ba the country's largest cellular operator, with 50 lakh subscribers.BSNL, which operates in 22 circles, has a subscriber base of 37l a k h s u b s c r i b e r s . T h u s B S N L s t a n d s s e c o n d l a r g e s t c e l l u l a r operator in terms of subscriber b a s e a t t h e e n d o f t h e f i s c a l ending March 31, 2007, displacing Vodafone from the second position.
Vodafone, which operates in only eighteen circles, is the third largest operator with a subscriber base of 32 lakh. Unlike fellow public sector undertaking, MTNL, which operates in Mumbai and Delhi, BSNL, has been a very aggressive player in the market." C e l l u l a r o p e r a t o r s w h o e x p e c t e d B S N L t o g o t h e M T N L w a y, were taken by surprise and did not take effective steps to counter it, till it was too late in the day," said a telecom analyst.
Belying fears of a slowdown in cellular subscriber acquisitions, the cell club has reported a 7.92% growth, the highest growth inane month so far, during March 2005. Year-on-year, the cellular s u b s c r i b e r b a s e i n t h e c o u n t r y h a s a l m o s t d o u b l e d i n M a r c h 2005, and is expanding at the rate of 25% per year thereafter.
The cellular subscriber club expanded by 21.31 lakh last month. This is much higher than 5.9 lakh subscribers added in February2 0 0 5 a n d 2 . 1 3 l a k h i n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 5 . I d e a , w h i c h o p e r a t e s i n seven circles, is the fourth l argest operator with a subscriber b a s e o f 1 7 . 8 0 l a k h , h i g h e r t h a n B P L ' s 1 1 . 3 1 l a k h s u b s c r i b e r s across four circles. The subscriber numbers per operator drop sharply with the sixth largest operator, Spice Communications, h a v i n g a subscriber base of 9.40 lak h, followed by Reliance T e l e c o m ' s 8 . 9 l a k h s u b s c r i b e r s . M T N L i s t h e n i n t h l a r g e s t operator, with a base of 8.32 lakh subscribers.
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While the subscriber base-jumped by 3.38% to 44.39 lakh in the metros, subscriber base of category A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu jumped by1 0 . 1 8 % t o r e a c h 4 3 . 6 4 l a k h . C a t e g o r y B c i r c l e s o f K e r a l a , P u n j a b , H a r ya n a , a n d U t t a r P r a d e s h ( W e s t ) , U t t a r P r a d e s h ( E a s t ) , Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal recorded a jump of 10.69%, with a total base of 33.74 lakh subscribers. Circle C has reported 12.74 % growth with subscriber numbers jumping to 5.08 lakh. Among the metros, while Mumbai added 1, 63,180 subscribers, higher than the 1, 58,646 added by Delhi, the Capital's cellular s u b s c r i b e r b a s e o f o v e r 8 0 l a k h i s s t i l l h i g h e r t h a n M u m b a i ' s 66.89 lakh. While the cellular industry has been on roll for the first three quarters of the previous financial year with an average of 16.75 lakh monthly additions in the third quarter, the first two months of 2007 had seen the growth slowing down.
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MARKET IN INDIA
Regional Interest Groups - GSM India With a population of around 1.1 billion growing at roughly 1.7 percent a year, India is potentially one of the most exciting GSM markets- in the world. After two rather difficult years, the past 12months have seen the region's promise beginning to come to fruition much of this success ca be attributed to destabilization of licensing ad regulatory environment. India telecommunications have undergo ne a steadyiberaisation since 1994 when the government first ought private investment in the sector. More significant liberalization followed in 1996 with licensing of new local fixed ad mobile service providers.
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However, it has been the Governments New Telecom Policy (1999) that has had the most radical impact on the development of GSM services. 'The policys mission statement is 'affordable communications for all; There i s a g e n u i n e c o m m i t m e n t to creating a modern that and efficient of communications the convergence of
infrastructure
takes
account
telecom, IT and media. In addition, the policy places significant emphasis on greater competition for both fixed and mobile services. Competition in the mobile sector has already had a visible impact on prices with calls currently costing less than 9 cents per minute. This means that service costs have fallen by 60 per cent since the first GSM networks became live in 1995. It also helps explain why a recent Telecom Asia survey revealed t hat more t h a n 7 0 p e r c e n t o f I n d i a n m o b i l e s u b s c r i b e r s f e l t t h a t p r i c e s were now at a reasonable level.
One of the challenges facing GSM operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions -from remote rural regions twosome of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world. India has more than 40 networks, which cover the seven largest cities, over 7000 towns and several Laces villages. Such depth of coverage has required enormous i n v e s t m e n t f r o m Indias operators. It is estimated that more than Rs200 billion
Had been invested in India's GSM industry by mid-2000, a figure that is set to be supplemented by a further Rs. 300 billion over the next five years. The good news is that subscriber growth is beginning to look h e a l t h y . W i t h I n d i a ' s l o w P C p e n e t r a t i o n a n d h i g h a v e r a g e Internet usage at 14-20 hours a month per user it is comparable to the US -the market for mobile data and m-commerce looks extremely promising. WAP services have already been launched i n t h e s u b c o n t i n e n t a n d t h e f i r s t G P R S n e t w o r k s a r e i n
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t h e p r o c e s s o f b e i n g r o l l e d o u t . I n t h e ye a r a h e a d , G S M I n d i a w i l l work with its members to realize the potential of early packet services in anticipation of the award of 3GSM licenses.
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India fastest growing GSM mart
I n d i a i s e x p e c t e d t o h a v e 1 4 5 m i l l i o n G S M ( g l o b a l s ys t e m f o r mobile communications) customers by 2007-08 compared to 26million subscribers as on March 2005, according to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. "For GSM, India is a success story. It is one of the fastest growing markets with its subscriber base doubling million in 2005. At this pace, the target of 150
subscribers by 2007-2008 is definitely achievable," Alan Haden,
president of GSA, said at a news conference in New Delhi.
Globally, the GSM market reached 1 billion users in February 2005, he said, adding GSM accounted for 80 per cent of the new subscriber growth in 2005."Almost every Latin American operator has chosen GSM. In North America GSM growth is bigger thanCDMA (code division multiple access)," he said. Commenting on t h e r a g i n g d e b a t e o v e r G S M v e r s u s C D M A i n m o b i l e s e r v i c e s arena, Haden said: "GSM is the world's most successful mobile s t a n d a r d with over 1
b i l l i o n u s e r s , a n d i s a n o p e n m o b i l e standard. It also supports automatic international roaming, which is a major contributor to business plans."
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Indias GSM mobile firms revenue up 30 pct
Indias private telecoms firms offering GSM -based mobile s e r v i c e s r e p o r t e d a 2 4 p e r c e n t r i s e i n r e v e n u e i n t h e ye a r t o March 2007 but said future growth rates could slow because of heavy taxes on the nascent industry. Although Indias mobile sector is the worlds fastest growing major wireless market, it is a m o n g s t t h e h i g h e s t t a x e d i n d u s t r i e s i n t h e c o u n t r y. M o b i l e carriers pay as much as 25 percent of their revenue as licensee, spectrum charges and other taxes. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said revenue for fiscal 2003/04 stood at 83.08 billion rupees ($1.86 billion) compared with 64 billion rupees a year earlier. According to T.V. Ramachandran, director g e n e r a l at COAI, These revenue growth
r a t e s c a n n o t b e maintained unless there is a concerted effort by the government to cut excessive levies and allow sharing of infrastructure But the potential to do much better exists as there is still huge demand in the sector. Ramachandran said the sector was still losing money but declined to elaborate. Sales jumped because ( G l o b a l o f a o f d o u b l i n g M o b i l e o f t h e G S M
S y s t e m
Communications)
u s e r b a s e a s m o r e p e o p l e e n t e r e d t h e flourishing market thanks to one of the lowest call rates in the world. But the monthly average revenue per user, a key measure of profitability, declined 17.4 percent to 432 rupees in the fourth quarter compared with 523 rupees in the first quarter due to a c u t e i n t a r i f f s a n d excessive competition among companies. Growth slowing, demand u n t a p p e d : T h e a s s o c i a t i o n h a s n o t included the financial performance and the GSM-user base of state-run firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the second-ranked player, and Mahan agar Telephone Nigam Ltd,
Ramachandransaid. There are 150 million GSM customers and more than 96m i l l i o n u s e r s o f t h e r i v a l C D M A - b a s e d m o b i l e s e r v i c e s i n t h e country.
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The pace of growth in monthly additions is slowing after just 1.25m i l l i o n u s e r s t o o k u p t h e s e r v i c e i n A p r i l c o m p a r e d w i t h 1.9 million In the previous month and 1.63 million in February. Ramachandran blamed the slowdown on a majority of small GSMoperators being unable to expand networks into rural swathes where demand remained largely untapped. Our surpluses are not enough to cover costs of
n e t w o r k expansion and financing charges on loans. We are m a k i n g money only to cover operating expenses, he said. Carriers are n o w s u b s i d i z i n g i n t o h a n d s e t c o s t s t o w o o u s e r s
t h e underpenetrated industry forecast to have more than 250 million c u s t o m e r s b y
2 0 0 7 . R o u g h l y t h r e e p e r c e n t o f I n d i a n s o w n m obile phone compared with about 20 percent in China. About do z e n f i r m s s u c h a s B h a r t i A i r t e l L t d , 2 8 p e r c e n t o w n e d b y Singapore Telecommunications, Reliance Infocomm Ltd and the I n d i a n GSM-unit of Vodafone group battle
i n t h e h o t l y competitive sector.
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DOES GSM HAVE THE EDGE?
GSM operators are not the only ones who are worried about the rapid strides made by CDMA mobile players Reliance Info command Tata Idiom in the Indian cellular market? The GSM suppliers both handset and equipment - who incidentally also have their other foot firmly placed in the Dampi e r , a r e b e g i n n i n g t o l o s e s o m e s l e e p o v e r w h a t w a s e a r l i e r termed as `niche and `minuscule data carriage market by the operators.
Apart from the strong success of the two CDMA operators whose networks are based on code division multiple accesses (CDMA), the miserable showing of the four global standard for mobile (GSM)
b a s e d n e t w o r k s t h a t l a u n c h e d g e n e r a l p a c k e t r a d i o s e r v i c e (GPRS) service for data connectivity in last three years, has the vendors worried. Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) now b e l i e v e s t h a t e v e n t h o u g h I n d i a w i l l primarily remain a voice t r a f f i c - l e d m a r k e t i n n e x t t w o - t h r e e y e a r s , t h e d a t a t r a f f i c component will grow by 25-30 per cent, an optimism that its trying to make GSM operators feel as well.
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THE CDMA CHALLENGE

CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1X-based networks, which can give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to the Internet, and other data services. GSM operators, on the other hand, have had to migrate from the frustrating experience of WAP (wireless application protocol) to GPRS, which has not Significantly improved the subscribers experience of surfing tenet on/ from mobile.
The
top
brass
of
GSA,
an
organization
comprising
N o k i a , Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies - met o n Tuesday in the capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE(Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) and leave GPRS behinds a dream gone sour.
Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Idea Cellular had launchedGPRS, but the data transfer speeds of GPRS have been abysmal. The field trials gave a speed of around 54 kbps, but the actual speeds have not exceeded 14-18 kbps, a major reason why GPRSgrowth has been so slow. As against the total GSM cellular base of 5.61 crore, the country has between 2, 80,000 lakh GPRS users only. In comparison, the two CDMA operators have about 120lakh connections. All these sets are data compliant. Though no figures are available as to how many use these for data services, the figure is believed to be respectable as percentage ratio for CDMA
Bharti is almost there B u t f i r s t , t h e E D G E ! B h a r t i C e l l u l a r i s c l o s e t o c o m m e r c i a l l y launching its EDGE service in Delhi and Mumbai by end May or early June, sources said. The company was the first to conduct field trials in November with its equipment supplier Ericsson. Idea too held EDGE field trials in February this year with its vendorN o k i a . V o d a f o n e a n d B P L a r e y e t t o h o l d t h e t r i a l s . T h e t w o companies would eventually migrate to EDGE, but perhaps after seeing the response to Bhatias service.
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EDGE holds the promise of delivering data speeds of around 170-180 kbps (as against the theoretical speed of around 380 kbps) promises the launch of which, m any if data achieved, applications. The
scalable cost of migrating from GPRS to Edges not too high and mainly comprises software upgrades in case of a modern network such as Bharti and Hutch, claimed chairman of GSA India chapter Rakish Mali.
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Will GSM maintain its head start?
At the GSM Evolution Forum held in New Delhi, GSA president Alan Haden predicted that GSM growth will far outstrip CDMA as was happening globally. He felt India could have as many as 200million GSM subscribers by 2007-2008, up from nine million in D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 4 . A c c o r d i n g t o G S A , t h e r e a r e o v e r 1 . 1 billion subscribers worldwide as against 250 million
C D M A customers. The revenue of top 25 global operators from data averages 18 per cent and 22 of these operators run GSM
Networks. Overall, there are 76 operators in 50 countries that have committed to deploy EDGE. Almost every country has a GSM-based network and even those US operators, which operated on now-defunct TDMA technology, were migrating gradually to GSM, not CDMA, pointed out Hadean the GSM Evolution Forum. The Forum is a global GSA program t o a s s i s t t h e o p e r a t o r s f o r e v o l u t i o n t o t h i r d g e n e r a t i o n ( 3 G ) technologies. People are using their phones for much more than voice. Fifteen networks have commercially launched EDGE as it c a n r u n 3 G l i k e s e r v i c e s i n t h e e x i s t i n g s p e c t r u m f o r t h e operators without needing a 3G license. Even the migration to full-fledged 3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be smooth with EDGE, said Haden.
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Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in almost 200 countries is a power that CDMA doesnt give you. We k n o w f o r s u r e t h a t a l m o s t 2 0 - 2 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e r e v e n u e f o u rsome GSM operators come from roaming customers, he added. But CDMA is no pushover with Korea and Philippines as the shining jewels in its crown. The first CDMA 2000 1X w a s commercially deployed in October 2000.
Already, 81 operators have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks w h e r e a s n i n e h a v e launched services based on 1 x E V - D O platform across Asia, the
Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new1X and six 1xEV-DO networks are scheduled to be deployed in2004, according to CDMA Development Group. EV-DO and EV-Dare the next level of evolution on the CDMA 2000 1X platform, capable of delivering services comparable to 3G WCDMA.
Where are the models?
What will matter a lot in this war will be the availability of EDGE c o m p l i a n t h a n d s e t s a t a f f o r d a b l e r a t e s . W h i l e t h e t w o C D M A operators have been giving out handsets that can give hi-speed data transfer, same has not been the case with GSM. Even now, G P R S h a n d s e t s h a v e n o t b e c o m e c o m m o n p l a c e a n d G P R S feature is found only in mid and high-end segment handsets. End sum game.
W h e n t h e n e t w o r k s d e p l o y E D G E , s u b s c r i b e r s c a n e x p e c t t h e delivery of advanced mobile services such as easy downloading o f v i d e o a n d m u s i c c l i p s , f u l l m u l t i m e d i a m e s s a g i n g , b e s i d e s high-speed Internet and e-mail access, provided their handset supports all this.
But the real cruncher will be the migration at a later stage to 3Gtechnologies such as WCDMA, EV-DO or EV-DA as and when the government decides what to do with the 3G licenses. WCDMA for WCDMA for example promises delivery of a
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phenomenal 2 megabytes per second (mbps), equivalent to what a leased line in many middle levels corporate gives. More importantly, WCDMA will spawn a whole new range of full motion audio-video applications, including video telephony. GSMlobby may continue to remain gung ho over the future of their technologies over that boosted by the American firms QUALCOMM and Motorola, but Indian market could well throw an interesting scenario that industry experts will do well to watch. In the coming months, Reliance plans to offer its CDMA subscribers much m o r e t h a n w h a t G S M p l a ye r s i n t e n d t o d e l i v e r t h r o u g h their EDGE for their subscribers. Who succeeds in this battle for mobile customers eyeballs is most difficult to predict. A Korea and Japan may not be waiting to happen in India, but India will probably be more like the Chinese market with both standards co-existing. For now, GSM rules!
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INTRODUCTION
Bharti AirTel Bharti AirTel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti AirTel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by business week. Bharti Airtel had 200 million customers across its operations. Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector with many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector provider to launch National& International Long Distance Services in India. Bharti Enterprises has successfully focused its strategy on telecom while straddling diverse fields of business. From the creation of 'AirTel', one of India's finest brands, to becoming the largest manufacturer and exporter of world class telecom terminals under its 'Beetle' brand, Bharti has created a significant position for itself I gobal communication sector. . Bharti Tele-Ventures is today acknowledged as one of India's finest companies, and its flagship brand 'AirTel', has over 12 million customers across the length and breadth of India. Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises is India's leading provider of telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti TeleVentures have been structured into two main strategic business groups the Mobility Leaders business group and the Infotel Leaders business group. The Mobility business group providesGSM mobile services across India in twenty three telecom circles, while the Infidel business group provides broadband & telephone services, long distance services a nd enterprise services. All these services are provided under the AirTel brand. AirTel comes to you from Bharti Cellular Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently
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introducedNationalLongdistance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone te rminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 15 states covering all four metros and more than 7million satisfied customers
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Our brand: AirTel was born free, a force unleashed into the market with a relentless and unwavering determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy, creativity and a team driven to seize the day with an ambition to become the most admired telecom service provider globally. AirTel, in just ten years of operations, rose to the pinnacle of achievement and continues to lead s India's leading telecommunications company, AirTel brand has played the role of major catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence.
Today we touch people's lives with our Mobile services, Telemedia s e r v i c e s , t o connecting India's leading 1000+ corporate. We also connect Indians living in USA,UK and Canada with our call home service.
include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone t e r m i n a l s a n d c o r d l e s s p h o n e s . A p a r t f r o m b e i n g t h e l a r g e s t manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into Insurance and Retail segment in collaboration withM u l t i - N a t i o n a l g i a n t s . B h a r t i i s t h e
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l e a d i n g c e l l u l a r s e r v i c e provider, with a footprint in 23 states covering all four metros and more than 50 million satisfied customers.
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SERVICES
Airtel Prepaid Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you f r o m B h a r t i E n t e r p r i s e s , I n d i a ' s l e a d i n g i n t e g r a t e d t e l e c o m service provider. Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of l i f e . W i t h a h o s t o f g r e a t f e a t u r e s , a l s o simple to use, Airtel P r e p a i d m a k e s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t y o u d r e a m t a n d b e l i e v e d , possible.
Total Cost Control You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more rentals or deposits simply recharge as much as you need to from as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.
Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your AirtelPrepaid. No more paying deposits or having a minimum balance in your account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-free calls are here to stay! Strong Network Coverage Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Ariels world-class technology and unbreakable network coverage that spans over23 circles across the country.
Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each chargeable call. You can also call 123 from yo u r m o b i l e p h o n e a n d l i s t e n t o t h e v o i c e a n n o u n c e m e n t o r simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will be displayed on the screen of your handset.
Recharge your Airtel Prepaid Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card
k e e p s reducing as you make calls or use any other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon thats right for you, from a variety of tailor made recharge coupons with differentdenominations, which are available at a number of outlets
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across yo u r c i t y. S i m p l y f o l l o w t h e p r o c e d u r e m e n t i o n e d b e l o w , t o re charge your phone.
Prepaid Roaming AirTel Prepaid comes reactivated with 'National Roaming', so you stay connected no matter wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS, check your email and access other GPRSservices while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While traveling abr oad you can receive calls & send or receives. Other Services Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try them and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement. Call management Services Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation all with your Airtel prepaid connection. Voice Mail When your handset is switched off, or youre too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record m essage. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost foresting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use the service.
SMS (Short Messaging Service) Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to t a l o r yo u d o n ' t h a v e m u c h t i m e . I t ' s t h e w a y t o s h a r e t h o s e interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. Subscription Alerts Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone with Subscription Services. SMS <SUBNEWS> to 3333 for News, <SUB JOKE> for Jokes, <SUB BIZ> for Business News, <SUB SPO> for Sports Alerts & <SUB VAASTU>for Vast tips.
Page 24
MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service): Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings, with MMS from Airtel! To activate MMS on your phone, SMS'MMS' to 56465 and save service settings. Airtel Live!
Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel Live! Airtel brings you the latest in entertainment and information services, right on your phone!
Airtel Live! WAP Services: Download the latest ring tones, games, wallpapers, videos and m u c h m o r e . Y o u c a n a l s o g e t news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on you phone. To get Airtel Live! settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465a n d save the settings that you receive as your
p r e f e r r e d connection. Airtel Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRSenabled phone, by sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.
Airtel Live! Voice Services: J u s t D i a l 5 6 4 6 5 , a n d n a m e t h e service. For e.g. say ring tones to download your favorite ringtones. You can also choose a variety of content options like Live Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie Reviews or Stock Market Updates.
Airtel Live! SIM Services: A c c e s s l o a d s o f f u n c o n t e n t a n d exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your Filmcard menu. To download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose t h e " W h a t ' s new" option under the "Airtel services" menu.
Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by s e n d i n g a k e yw o r d a s a n S M S t o 5 6 4 6 5 ! Choose Astrology
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Horoscope, Cricket, Hollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case you need assistance SMS, Help to 56465.
Bharti AirTel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operationsin 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & dataservices, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti Airtelhas been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by business week. Bharti Airtel had 200 million customers across its operations.
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TARIFF STRUCTURE
Prepaid Tariffs
Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-houroutlets. Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-hour outlets.
Pulse Rate Price of Pack (Rs.) Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.) Incoming Calls (Rs.)
60 sec Rs.449 Nil Free while in home network
LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) STD RATES (Rs./min) ISD (Rs./min)
Rs.1.20 Rs.2.00 Rs.2.40 Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line), Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand.Rs.6.40Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAAR countries, Africa & Rest of theworldRs.9.20Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk Island,SakhalinRs.40.00
SMS (Rs.) LOCAL NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL RS. 1.00 RS. 2.00 RS. 5.00
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Other Details *Rs 50 Local Airtel-Airtel Mobile talk time per month for 6 months * First month Airtel-Airtel credit within 72hrs of activation & balance credit by 1st week of eve month) *The SMS charge as applicable is per 160 characters * Validity- 24 months
POSTPAID Airtel Postpaid allows you to choose from a variety of affordable talk plans, convenient payment options and host of rich features. So get set to enjoy a world of limitless possibilities!
Reference Tariff Packages (RTP) MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 524 MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL) 50 200 Km200 500 Km500 + Km
STD RATES ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line),A u s t r a l i a , S i n g a p o r e , H o n g Europe
K o n g , Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, newZealandRs. 7.20G u l f , (Mobile), 9.99C u b a , SAAR Sao
C o u n t r i e s , A f r i c a & R e s t o t h e r world Rs & Principle, Guinea Bissau,
tome
D i e g o G a r c i a , Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,Rs. 40.00
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ONE TIME CHARGES ACTIVATION CHARGES MEMBER SHIP FEES RS 250 RS 250( CONVERTS IN TO SECURITY AFTER 240 MOMTHS) SECURITY DEPOSITS MONTHLY CHARGES FIXED BILL PLAN CHARGE MONTHLY RENTAL CLIP MONTHLY CHARGES OPTIONAL CLIP SMS LOCAL NATIONAL INRERNATIONAL VALUE ADDDED SERVICES RS 1.00 RS 2.00 RS 5.00 RS 3.00 RS 50 NA RS 150 RS 50 RS 150 NA
This Bill Plan is also available under Advance Rental of Rs. 799for 2 years.
Local Pack Airtel to other local mobiles (non Airtel) At Rs 1 / min
Monthly rental Rs 25 per months/-
STD Pack A i r t e l t o o t h e r m o b i l e s ( n o n A i r t e l ) & f i x e d l i n e s n o s . a t R s 2 / min. Monthly rental Rs 75 per month/-
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Special offer for Airtel Telephone service customers for availing AirTel Mobile services
If you already have Airtel Telephone service, you can buy anew Airtel Mobile connection under Airtel One Standard150 Plan.
Benefits: Non security deposit. No membership / activation fee Enjoy calls to your Airtel fixed line no. at just 50 P / min.
Monthly rent of Rs 25 for reduced call rates to your Airtel fixed line has been waived off for 1 year. For details, call us 516-12345
Advance Rental benefits (1year scheme) Pay an advance rent of Rs 499 and enjoy Airtel One Standard 150 plan at Zero monthly rental for one year. Advance rental of Rs 499 gives you a rental discount of Rs 150e v e r y m o n t h f o r t h e n e x t 2 m o n t h s . A l l o t h e r o p t i o n s a n d charges are as per the existing Airtel One Standard 150 Plan.
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PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY Airtel to Touch Tomorrow with a new brand vision
The Bharti Mobile promoted AirTel cellular service will go in for repositioning brand ethos of is t h e its brand image. i n t w o The new
p o r t r a y e d t a g l i n e
d i s t i n c t
f a s h i o n s
" T o u c h Tomorrow", which
underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The Good Life", which underscores amore caring, more customer centric organization. Aimed at re -engineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all out information communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to embrace the new generation of mobile communication services and the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that come along with it.
The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular category that goes beyond the Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the whole gamut of wireless digital broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The new campaign is in two phases - the first of which will communicate overall brand philosophy and the second products and services. A c c o r d i n g t o M r . Jadish Kini, Chief Operating "We are Officer, adopting a Bharti M o b i l e new brand-
Limited,
Karnataka
platform - Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but also business strategy".
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The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and Whitecolours along with lower case t yp o g r a p h y to convey warmth.
AirTel will i n c o r p o r a t e t h e l a t e s t b r a n d i n g i n a l l o f i t s communication and will soon be going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish the brand's presence
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For them the main promotional strategy is advertisements on television. Although in advertisements also the advertisement should be entertain able with currently popular Bollywood actors and actresses.
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LIFE TIME PLAN
PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging their coupons every month. Company has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime validity Subscribers for a one time payment of Rs. 999.
a v a i l i n g themselves of this scheme will also get
f u l l t a l k t i m e f o r t h e re charge coupon they purchase and also have the option to buy Taiwanese manufactured Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs.1,399.
The
move
is
aimed
at
stopping the
churn
in
the
pre-
p a i d subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan, he will always be an Airtel subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not.
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M A R K E T
S I T U A T I O N
At the time of launch
T h e f i r s t m o v e r i n t h e m a r k e t w a s A i r t e l w h i c h l a u n c h e d i t s services in Delhi in Aug 1995 (Informal launch). Essar Cell phone followed by launching its services informally in Oct 95. At this p o i n t o f t i m e , t h e m a r k e t w a s a t a n a s c e n t s t a g e , a w a r e n e s s level was low and both operators independently tried to spread awareness and educate the people.
O n c e t h e n e t w o r k s w e r e c o m m e r c i a l l y l a u n c h e d , i t b e c a m e n umber game with a multitude of schemes being offered to woo c u s t o m e r s I n i t i a l l y t h e c e l l p h o n e w a s p e r c e i v e d a s a s t a t u s symbol and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi w e r e c o r p o r a t e a n d t h e h i g h i n c o m e g r o u p . T h e a v e r a g e capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with the steep license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly expanding their markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of schemes being offered and prices crashing.
COMPETITIVE SITUATION
Airtel launched its services before Essar and skimmed the market picking up the bulk of the high usage premium clients. T h i s i s a v e r y c o m p e t i t i v e i n d u s t r y w i t h t h e t w o c o m p a n i e s differentiating either on value-added services or price. Airtel is perceived as the high quality provider and has a premium image .Essar, on the other hand, is perceived as the lower end service provider. Airtel positions itself as the market leader on the basis of the number of subscribers. Essar is trying to counter this by emphasizing on the reach of its network and the quality of its service. However, Essar is some what not been very successful largely due to the inconsistency in advertising
Page 35
To promote themselves, both the players have been dependent on tactical advertising However, they have restrained from using comparative advertising Hoardings have been a very popular m e d i u m f o r c a r r yi n g t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s A i r t e l h a s a l s o b e e n advertising on television using the Bharti Telecom name.
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SALES DEPARTMENT AND STRATEGY
A. Major Accounts (Direct Channel)
Handles corporate (named and famed) accounts
Forecasting of sales
Mapping the accounts
Providing after sales support to the subscribers. Maintaining call reports for records. Providing Feedback to the marketing department regarding the requirement of the market.
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MARKET SEGMENTATION
Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer group, minimization of risk exposure, better a b i l i t y t o f i n e - t u n e a product/service to the requirement of t a r g e t buyer and the
r e s u l t a n t e a s e i n d e s i g n i n g a p r o p e r designing marketing mix strategy In this case segmentation is on the bade of income.
In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two factors The overall attractiveness of the segments and the c o m p a n y s o b j e c t i v e s & r e s o u r c e s T h e p r e s e n t m a r k e t f o r Cellular phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows phones is as follows
TARGET MARKET SEGMENT Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The r a t i o n a l e b e h i n d i t i s t h a t o n l y t h o s e s e g m e n t s s h o u l d b e targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to target the business tourists during their stay in thecapitalA b o u t 6 0 % o f t h e c l i e n t e l e a r e top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are foreign
organizations and the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During
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the introduction s t a g e t h e r e w a s i n t e n s e p r e s s u r e t o g e t c o n s u m e r s a c r o s s t o hook up with their brand, because getting them to switch brand loyalty later would be hard So far AirTel marketers have been concentrating totally on the business executive class but now that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and prices have declined to a certain extent they are planning to venture further a field.
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POSITIONING The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency tool. a lifestyle revolution and a status symbol The emphasis is
To remove misconception that the cell phone is an expensive means of communication and drive home the point that the cell phone is actually a day-to-day utility.
PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING
T h e p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e is t h e h e a r t o f t h e m a r k e t i n g m i x . Without cannot a product or a service customers' needs
b e satisfied. The basic product promise by Airtel is mobilit y.
Ariels main m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g y i s t o b e a f i r s t m o v e r a l l t h e t i m e . I t h a s recognised the significance of making the first move-- because in the field of Communication & Information Technology changes occur at a tremendous pace. Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously because basic services can be and will be copied and in time b e c o m e e x p e c t e d c o m p o n e n t o f t h e p r o d u c t . A i r t e l s e e k s t o carry out this segmentation through provision of new information services and making new facilities available. The product policy and planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle.
Page 40
Promotional police: At p r e s e n t t h e c e l l u l a r p h o n e m a r k e t h a s r e a c h e d t h e m a t u r i t y stage. Since, the premium segment is nearing saturation the company targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to do so Airtel is trying to optimize the price performance package by offering suitable "product bundling". This involves the selection of the suitable hardware (handset) and its software (its services.) with reasonable price in order to d e l i v e r maximum price performance to its
c u s t o m e r s . I n addition, it offers free Airtime services and other concessions to make the prices and thus the product more attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours customer service. O n l y price doesn't serve as an effective
d i f f e r e n t i a t o r , v a l u e -added services become the effective differentiator.
The "Value Added Services" provided from AirTel are:1) Voice Mail service This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able to answer a call for some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice mail box which can be later retrieved byte utter i) Short Message Service The short message service is like a two -way pager. ii) It gives ad option of sending and receiving text messages directly from one mobile phone to another without the intervention of an operator. iii) Mobile Fax 1 Data Service
This service helps the subscriber to send and receive Faxes, access E-mail, download computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another computer and surf the Internet. 2) Cash Card The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows t h e b u y e r s t o b u y a i r t i m e i n a d v a n c e . A l l i t r e q u i r e s i s t h e payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people w h o t r a v e l t o D e l h i
Page 41
o f t e n a n d t h o s e w h o w a n t t o c o n t r o l t h e expenses on their calls) Caller I Displays calling person's number. Outgoing call restriction To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, exclude any in peak one hours. or Also possible countries to or
several
geographical region, to permit only local
c a l l s , o r t o l i m i t t h e outgoing calls to a listed number. Call forward I n c o m i n g calls can be forwarded to
a n o t h e r f i x e d o r m o b i l e phone.Besides these some other services provided by Airtel are - Call conferencing, Call broadcast et cetera. It not a l s o
is
in only
the
operators many t o
-Interest
that
they b u t
get
s u b s c r i b e r s u s e t h e
g e t
t h e m
m o b i l e
f a c i l i t y
frequentl y. In the earl y stages getting
increases to subscribe may be easier than getting them to talk since they will find it costlier to use the mobile phone as compared to a conventional phone [if is believed that initially cell phones would be used buy
Roaming Facility Roaming facilit y is available while the subscriber is travelling. The billing is done in the home network (Delhi). Roaming facility is available manuall y* as well as semi-automaticall y. Once subscriber is In any other city or country, where a GSM networks available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator Into your handset and start talking. Manual SIM card Roaming is means a separate
provided
f o r each city S e m i
Page 42
a u t o m a t i c h a s Placing polices: t h e
r o a m i n g
m e a n s
o n e
c a r d
f a c i l i t y for different cities.
AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION. Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service provider has to fully take care of the customers. a) They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for a n y problem faced by the customer. b) They anticipate customers' problems and take pro -active steps to prevent them.
c)
They
give
answers
to
the
questions
&
r e q u e s t s , q u i c k l y & efficiently d) They have a positive tone & manner while
i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h customers. e)They end the interaction on a positive or a
h u m o r o u s n o t e - making the last 30 seconds count.Airtel realizes that attracting people 'Is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard, hence emphasis is on maintaining a S m i l i n g a n d a F r i e n d l y A t m o s p h e r e ' t o p l e a s e a n d r e t a i n t h e customer.
Page 43
PRICE AND PRICING POLICY AIRTEL has realized that the Indian market is price
sensitive. Therefore it care of the has come up with various i n n o v a t i v e tariff schemes to take needs of different category of customers-Generally, the cellular services are more expensive than the landline based telephone services. This is due to the reason that the r e q u i r e d t o o p e r a t i n g a f e e t o c o m p a n i e s a r e
p a y
t h e government for using airtime.
Page 44
Marketing strategy adopted by Bharti AirTel: Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service, Airtel. Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the Airtel services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences. It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand equity for Airtel. Since the cellular phone category itself is restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone too is a
high involvement product, price doesn't qualify as an e f f e c t i v e differentiator. The image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell phone category, it is the network efficiency and the qualit y of service that becomes important. What now the buyer is looking at is to get the optimum price-performance package. This also serves as an effective differentiator Brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand p r e f e r e n c e t h r o u g h b r a n d s t a t u r e . A r i e l s c a m p a i g n i n t h e capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city, bearing just the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was. In the next phase the campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only thereafter was the Bharti Cellular
c o n n e c t i o n brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out brochures about the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers were sent out. When the name was w e l l e n t r e n c h e d i n t h e Delibess mind, the Airtel campaign b e g a n t o f o c u s o n t h e utility of Cell phone. In the first four months alone Airtei's advertisement spend exceeded Rs. 4 crores.As of
today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or knowledgeable consumers are asked to name Cellular phone service provider that is on the top of his/ her mind 60% of them would name Airtel. As for aided it -is 100%(by giving clues and hints etc.).
Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured by the percentage score of the brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that Airtel is a
Page 45
healthy and thriving brand. Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target a n d a g a m e p l a n w i t h d u e r e g a r d t o i t s c o m p e t i t o r . A i r t e l ' c ampaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of a market leader in terms of its m a r k e t s h a r e . I t t r i e s t o p o r t r a y t h e i m a g e o f b e i n g a " f i r s t mover every time" and that of a "market leader".
The
status
of
the
product
in
terms
of
its
life
cycle
h a s j u s t reached the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the product life cycle curve in the maturity stage. The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the users classified into heavy, medium and low categories. The right hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three types of users.Airtel, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention, v a l u e s i t s h e a v y u s e r s t h e m o s t a n d c o n s t a n t l y i n d u l g e s i n -service innovation. But, since heavy users comprise only 15 -20% of the population the other segment cannot be neglected. The population which has just realized the importance of cellular phones has to be roped in. It is for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives and discounts. Concerts like the "Freedom concert" are being organised by AirTel in order to promote sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in mind. The target segment is not very concrete but, there is an a t t e m p t f o c u s p r i n t o n t h o s e w h o c a n a f f o r d . t o T h e
advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas w h i c h
m o s t l i k e l y t o c a t c h t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h o s e w h o n e e d c ellular phone. The product promise (which might cost different1 higher) is an
i m p o r t a n t v a r i a b l e i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e t a r g e t audience. Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted are . (i)People who have booked Airtel services have been t r e a t e d to exclusive premiers of blockbuster movies. Airtel has tie-u p w i t h L u f t h a n s a t o o f f e r c u s t o m e r b o n u s m i l e s o n t h e German airlines frequent flier's programs.
Page 46
( i i )
T h e r e
h a v e i m a g e
b e e n
e d u c a t i o n a l p r e l a u n c h
c a m p a i g n s ,
c a m p a i g n s ,
a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , c o n g r a t u l a t o r y
l a u n c h
a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , promotional
a d v e r t i s e m e n t s ,
advertise-ments, attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements. 75% of the money and the franchises contribute 25% of the money. The dealers under the franchisee receive the same commission. The franchises and the dealer obtain the feedback from the customers and they are sent through the liaison officer on a day-to-day basis to Airtel. The dealer has to invest Rupees. One Lakh as an initial investment. The dealer of Airtel is not allowed to provide any other operators' service. Target set for distributors and the dealers is 100 -150 activations per month. Hence the dealers can also go for their own promotions like banners and discounts on festivals etc. The dealer provides service promptly. The consumer on providing the bill of purchase for the handset and proof of residence has only to wait an hour before getting connected. The staff of the dealers and the franchisees is provided training by the Airtelpersonnel. The complaints encountered by the franchisees and dealers are either handset being non-functional or the SIM Card not getting activated. Anything more complicated is referred to the mainAirtel office in Delhi.
WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?
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With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that lets him/her be in touch, always, but also gets a host of benefits that let him/her manage his/her time like never before. An AirTel subscriber is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM card) - that is the key to operating his/her cellular phone. His card activates Airtel cellular services and contains complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's cellular phone thoroughly. Each SIM card contains pin code (Personal Identity Number) which may be entered byone. Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN code and it becomes 'your' personal phone'.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE The pattern of cellphone subscriber growth observed elsewherein the world reveals that the growth in the market is Initially slowfollowed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has nothappened in India. As far as the Product Life Cycle is concerned.Indians are at the beginning of the maturity stage. Introduction Growth Maturity MARKETING OBJECTIVES Create product awareness and trialMaximise marketshareMaximise profits whole defending market share Strategies Product Offer a basic product/service. Offer value-added services Increase in number of value added services. Price Charge cost-plus Price topenetratemarketPrice to matcher best competitors Distribution Build selectivedistributionBuild Intensivedistribution.Build moreintensivedistribution. Advertising Build product warenessamong early adopters anddealers.Build awareness and interest in the mass market Stress brand differences and benefits Great marketing strategy:
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Bharti AirTel is one of the most valued company of India. It is also the leading telecom provider in India. Reliance Communications follows AirTel in market capitalization. Interestingly the same order holds good for the total number of subscribers these telecom companies has.
Bharti has a subscriber base of 91.1 million and added 2.7 million subscribers in Feb 2009. Reliance added 3.3 million new subscribers in FEB 2009 to take the total to 69.6 million. Reliance rolled out its GSM operations late last year following which there was a surge in the number of new subscribers. It also added more subscribers than AirTel in a month. Contact Following MTNL is the list of other telecom providers in infrastructure, equipment and value added services. Vodafone-Essar which has 66 million subscribers is not listed on the Indian Bourses. BSNL is also not listed and that is the reason why it is not in the list. If listed it could be one of the top companies. There is a lot of things happening around BSNLs IPO even before the recession started. Now, that the recession has started the IPO plans were postponed. But, BSNL will dilute 10% stake sooner than later.
Page 49
Page 50
List of top 30 Telecom companies in India : Market Cap Company Name in
Crores 108066.
Bharti Airtel
23 32683.4
Reliance Communications
4 14368.9
Idea Cellular
2 13181.2
Tata Communications Tata Teleservices Spice Communications MTNL GTL GTL Infrastructure OnMobile Global HFCL Infotel ITI Him.Fut.Comm Astra Microwave Gemini Communications Avaya Global Shyam Telecom Nelco XL Telecom & Energy Limited Goldstone Infratech Ltd Nu Tek Kavveri Telecom Krone Communications
5 4393.06 4136.13 4044.6 2475.12 2210.49 1403.52 457.73 413.28 386.99 241.88 125.71 118.54 64.58 63.55 55.96 52.6 48.16 26.51 24.52
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Mobile Telecommunications Ltd Valiant Communications Pun.Communi. Nettlinx Aishwarya Telecom Ltd Interg.Digit
17.37 16.58 16.19 12.68 9.86 3.15
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Here's How: 1. Describe your company's unique selling proposition (USP). 2. Define your target market. 3. Write down the benefits of your products or services. 4. Describe how you will position your products or services. 5. Define your marketing methods. Will you advertise, use Internet marketing, direct marketing, or public relations? People power Total commitment from top leadership, keeping in mind that rural marketing is a longterm relationship, is imperative - the successes of Hindustan Lever and ITC are proof of this statement. But even more important is the need for a dedicated task force. Rural marketing efforts need special mindsets, which many of the urban-oriented management graduates who are at the helm of affairs at most organizations do not possess. A separate marketing and sales vertical headed by people with passion and commitment to rural marketing and supported by a field team that can face the rough and tough of the vast country-side with courage and conviction is a must. The best bet is to recruit students from specialized institutes such as the Indian Institute of Rural Management, or at least, management graduates who have studied the subject as an elective. Many of these are students from small towns, people with fire in their bellies who want to prove themselves in big companies and have no issues about working in smaller markets. Pay them well - remember, you pay peanuts, you get only monkeys - and discuss the path
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their careers are likely to take in the organisation. And send them out in the field only after thorough training. Ensure the consistency of the team involved in any project, until the completion of a specific task. Recently, we were involved with two big clients. In both cases, the teams that briefed us in the initial stages and participated enthusiastically in the campaign, were shifted out midway, in keeping with their companies' policy of shifting and promoting people. The teams that succeeded felt no ownership of the campaigns they had not initiated. What started as a great rural marketing initiative has been relegated to the dustbin... the fate of many rural marketing initiatives in the country. Goals are good Early on in the campaign, define your objective: is it a tactical effort to achieve increased sales in specific areas during a specific time, or do you want to build a strong equity for your brand in rural India? Our experience with FMCG companies is that they are more interested in the first choice. Most of them have previously appointed vendors who implement the company's ideas blindly, be they van campaigns or below-the-line activities. There is very little effort to tailor whatever communication is made in such efforts, to suit the local audience or fit it with the overall campaign efforts in the mass media. This invariably leads to less than satisfactory results in terms of awareness of the brands and long-term impact of the efforts in the targeted markets. If you are interested in the second alternative, a comprehensive brand building strategy in rural India, with both short term and long term goals, is a must. Know your customers A good place to begin is studying the mindset of your customers, so you can create a customized plan of action. All too often, clients insist their knowledge of their customers (based on studies of urban India) is enough on which to base an action plan. Our
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experience shows that the attitudes, aspirations and fears of rural customers, with regard to products and brands, is very different from their urban counterparts. Research can give you invaluable ideas for new product development as well as new methods of reaching your target audience. The refrigerator with standby power for 12 hours, pressure cookers with two handles and a radio with key-winding mechanism are all the result of research. More and more companies turn to the local haats to sell their products. While haats offer opportunities to target consumers from several villages at one place, and to that extent make your effort cost-effective, ensure that the people who patronize these haats are the kind who will buy your brand. For instance, we recently conducted a survey among some haats in Tamil Nadu, with some interesting results. The haatswere popular with the poorest agricultural laborers who consciously buy the duplicate, spurious products that are sold in these bazaars, since they can't afford the real thing. It is estimated that FMCG companies lost more than Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) to spurious products, mostly sold through such local haats and bazaars.
Ensure availability Most anecdotes about rural marketing centre on the distribution aspect - the humongous task of physically reaching your product to over 600,000 villages, most of them without motor able roads. But it's not really as nightmarish as it is made out to be, at least keeping in mind the present goals of marketing companies in rural India. We've all heard about the shampoo sachets that are available in even the smallest villages. How does that happen? It's a direct result of rising aspirations, fuelled by television commercials. The consumer demands the product from the local shopkeeper, who then buys the products from the nearest feeder markets.
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SWhich means if you can ensure distribution to the feeder markets in towns or villages with populations of 10-15,000, youve already taken the first step towards reaching your target customer? Studies also indicate that rural consumers prefer to shop for durables such as televisions, automobiles and appliances in the nearest big town or city. So, if your products a
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How to Do a SWOT Analysis Evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats A SWOT analysis is the best way to really focus your marketing strategies in ways that will drive optimal business growth and profits.
STRENGTHS
Cost advantage
Current leaders in quality service
Largest distribution network
Ability to constantly innovate
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Highly skilled workforce
Entrepreneurial zeal Aritels increased equity and market cap.
WEAKNESSES
To prove credibility
Price pressures
Need for Government support
Awareness
Sales and Marketing
OPPORTUNITIES
To sustain passion and commitment. AirTels market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out.
Attain higher value services
Collaborative business needs to be explored
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Vertical repeatable solutions.
Low penetration level in rural markets.
THREATS
Foreign investment
Global trends moving from GPS to WLL.
Lack of global parity in telecom tariff
Other competition
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