A Seminar Report

On
COMAPARATIVE STUDY ON MARKETING STRATEGIES
OF AIRTEL AND VODAFONE

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT TO

THE IIS UNIVERSITY

For the Degree of

MBA-INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
(Department of HRM & IB))

SUPERVISED BY: CHETANGANA CHOUDHARY

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Department of HRM & IB

SUBMITTED BY:ANCHAL AGARWAL

MBA-IB (Semester I)
Enroll No. ICG/2014/17781

2014-15

TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.No.

Chapter 1

Topic
Acknowledgement
Preface
Introduction

Chapter 2

Research Methodology
Meaning of Research
Sources of Data Collection
Objective of Research
Limitations of Study

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Review Of Literature
Company Profile

Chapter 5

Analysis and Interpretation

Chapter 6

Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion

Bibliography

A C KN OWL E D GE M EN T
I Anchal Agarwal, sincerely thankful to all those people who have been
giving me any kind of assistance in the making of this project report.
I express my gratitude to Miss.Chetangana Choudhary, who has through
her vast experience and knowledge has been able to guide me, both ably
and successfully towards the completion of the project. I express my
gratitude to IIS University, jaipur

I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest

thanks to all my faculties whose teachings gave me

conceptual

understanding and clarity of comprehension, which ultimately made my

job more easy. Credit also goes to all my friends whose encouragement
kept me in good stead.

Their continuous support has given me the

strength and confidence to complete the project without any difficulty.

Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my gratitude
to the respondents without whom this survey would have been incomplete.
I am also thankful to authority of Airtel & Vodafone for providing me the
information.

ANCHAL AGARWAL

CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

Telecom Sector In India

Than 125 million telephones network is one of the largest communication

networks in world, which continues to grow at a blistering pace.
The rapid growth in the telecom sector can be attributed to the various pro-active
and positive policy measures taken by the government as well as the dynamic and
entrepreneurial spirit of the various telecom service providers both in private and
public sector. The telecom sector has shown impressive growth during the past
decade. Today, more
Two striking features of this growth viz. increasing preference for mobile phones
and higher contribution of private sector in the incremental growth have
predominated the telecom sector. The share of mobile phones (including WLL
mobile) has overtaken the share of landlines with 62% in the total number of
phones. The private sector's contribution is also increasing rapidly. Currently more
than 30 lakh phones are being added each month and it is targeted that by the end
of 2010 the total number of phones may reach a level of 350 million taking the
tele-density to more than 30% which is currently at 24.63%.
Network Expansion: The total number of telephone subscribers has reached
281.62 million at the end of January 2010 as compared to 232.87 million in July
2009. The overall Teledensity has increased to 23.63% in January 2010 as
compared to 21.20% in August 2009.
Wireless Service: The wireless segment saw a surge of 78.77 million subscribers
last month compared to 78.17 million in Mar. 2010. This pushed the total wireless
subscribers base to 282.40 million by Apr. 31 2010.

Wire line Subscribers: The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 39.73
million with a decrease of 0.16 million at the end of Apr. 2010.
Teledensity: The gross subscriber base reached 206.83 million at the end of March
2009. The Teledensity is 24.63%at the end of Apr. 2010 as compared to 18.31% at
the end of March 2009, registering an increase of 6%.
Increasing Role of Private Sector: The private sector has played a significant role
in the growth of telecom sector. The share of private sector has risen to 85 per cent
in December 2009 from 64.14 per cent in November 2008.
Tariff Rebalancing Measures: There has been a dramatic fall in the tariffs due to
increased competition. The minimum effective charges for local calls have fallen
considerably in recent months especially for cellular service. The long distance
domestic as well as international charges have also fallen considerably.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): TRAI was established under
the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 enacted on March 28,1997.
The goals and objectives of TRAI are focused towards providing a regulatory
framework that facilitates achievement of the objectives of New Technology
Policy

(NTP) 1999. TRAI has endeavored to encourage greater corporation in

the telecom sector together with better quality and affordable prices.

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product to customers,

for the purpose of selling that product (goods or services. Another simple
definition of "marketing" is "managing profitable customer relationships".
Marketing can be looked at as an organizational function and a set of processes for
creating, delivering and communicating value to customers, and customer
relationship management that also benefits the organization. Marketing is
the science of choosing target markets through market analysis and market
segmentation, as well as understanding consumer behaviour and providing superior
customer value. From a societal point of view, marketing is the link between a
society's material requirements and its economic patterns of response. Marketing
satisfies these needs and wants through exchange processes and building long term
relationships.
The management process through which goods and services move from concept to
the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of
marketing:

(1) Identification, selection and development of a product,

(2) Determination of its price,
(3) Selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and
(4) Development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

For

example,

new Apple products are developed to

include

improved applications and systems, are set at different prices depending on how
much capability the customer desires, and are sold in places where other Apple
products are sold. In order to promote the device, the company featured its debut
at tech events and is highly advertised on the web and on television.

Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and
their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of Harvard
Business

School's retired professor

"Selling concerns itself

with

the

of

marketing

tricks

Theodore

and techniques of

C.

Levitt)

getting

people

to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the
exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariable does, view the
entire business

process as

consisting

of

tightly

integrated

effort

to

discover, create, arouse and satisfy customer needs." In other words, marketing has
less

to

do

with

getting

customers

to pay for

your

product

as

it

does developing a demand for that product and fulfilling the customer's needs.

Marketing strategy is the goal of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable

competitive advantage. 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 marketoriented strategies and therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its
marketing objectives.
The field of marketing strategy considers the total marketing environment and its
impacts on a company or product or service. The emphasis is on "an in depth
understanding of the market environment, particularly the competitors and
customers."
A given firm may offer numerous products or services to a marketplace, spanning
numerous and sometimes wholly unrelated industries. Accordingly, a plan is
required in order to effectively manage such products. Evidently, a company needs
to weigh up and ascertain how to utilize its finite resources. For example, a start-up
car manufacturing firm would face little success should it attempt to rival Toyota,
Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, or any other large global car maker. Moreover, a product
may be reaching the end of its life-cycle. Thus, the issue of divest, or a ceasing of

production, may be made. Each scenario requires a unique marketing strategy.

Listed below are some prominent marketing strategy models.
A marketing strategy differs from a marketing tactic in that a strategy looks at the
longer term view of the products, goods, or services being marketed. A tactic refers
to a shorter term view. Therefore, the mailing of a postcard or sales letter would be
a tactic, but changing marketing channels of distribution, changing the pricing, or
promotional elements used would be considered a strategic change.
A marketing strategy considers the resources a firm has, or is required to allocate
in effort to achieve an objective. Marketing Strategies include the process and
planning in which a firm may be expected to achieve their company goals, in
which usually involves an effort to increase revenues or assets, through a series
of milestones or benchmarks of business and promotional activities.
Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing
plans designed to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives. Plans and
objectives are generally tested for measurable results. Commonly, marketing
strategies are developed as multi-year plans, with a tactical plan detailing specific
actions to be accomplished in the current year. Time horizons covered by
the marketing plan vary by company, by industry, and by nation, however, time
horizons are becoming shorter as the speed of change in the environment
increases. Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially
planned and partially unplanned. See strategy dynamics. Marketing strategy needs
to take a long term view, and tools such as customer lifetime value models can be
very powerful in helping to simulate the effects of strategy on acquisition, revenue
per customer and churn rate.

Marketing strategy: objectives

Your marketing objectives will focus on how you increase sales by getting and
keeping customers.
To explain how to do this, experts talk about how best to package your products
and services, how much to charge for them and how to take them to market.

A marketing strategy will help you tailor your messages and put the right mix of
marketing approaches in place so that you bring your sales and marketing activities
together effectively in an effective marketing plan.

Marketing strategy: knowing your customers

A successful marketing strategy depends on understanding your customers, what
they need and how you can persuade them to buy from you.
There's no substitute for knowledge. Experience and regular two-way
communication

will

tell

targeted market research will

you

lot

build

more

about

your

detailed

customers.

picture

But

of customer

segments with similar needs. It will help you understand how to target these people
so you're not wasting time on people who aren't interested in your offer.
But you'll also need to understand how your market works - where do your
customers find out about your offer, for example? Your strategy should even tell
you how you measure up against the competition and what new trends to expect in
your market.

Marketing strategy: making a plan

A marketing plan explains how to put your strategy into action. It will set
marketing budgets and deadlines, but it will also tell you how you're going to talk
to your target customers - whether that's through advertising, networking, going
to trade shows, direct marketing, and so on.
Crucially, it will tell you when to talk to your customers. Timing your activities to
fit their buying cycles will save money and maximise sales.
Finally, your marketing plan should look to the future: it should outline how you
follow up sales and what you're doing to develop your offer.
As with any plan, progress should be regularly measured and reviewed to see
what's working and what isn't, so you can set new targets as your market changes.

TYPES OF MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Social Marketing:
It refers to the design, implementation and control of programs to increase the
acceptability of a social cause or practice among people e.g. No Smoking
campaign in Delhi University, publicity campaign for casting vote.

2. Augmented Marketing:
It refers to providing additional services by way of innovative offerings and
benefits to the customers to increase his level of satisfaction e.g. free home
delivery service by Supermarkets.
3. Direct Marketing:
Marketing through various advertising media that interact directly with consumers,
generally calling for the consumer to make a direct response, e.g. Catalogue
Selling, Mail-order, Tele-calling and TV shopping.
4. Relationship Marketing:
Marketing through creating, maintaining and enhancing strong long-term
relationships with customers in order to win his loyalty e.g. a restaurant can build
relationships with customers by sending him wishes and discount offers on his
birthdays.
5. Services Marketing:
It is applying the concepts, tools and techniques of marketing to services like
banking, insurance, retailing, educational etc.
6. Person Marketing:

It consists of activities undertaken to create, maintain or change attitudes or

behaviour towards particular people like politicians, sports stars, film stars,
professionals to promote their careers and income.
7. Organisation Marketing:
It consists of activities undertaken to create, maintain or change attitudes and
behaviour of target audiences towards an organisation.
8. Place Marketing:
Place marketing involves activities undertaken to create, maintain, or change
attitudes and behaviour towards particular places e.g. tourism marketing.
9. Differential Marketing:
A market-coverage strategy in which a firm decides to target different markets
through different strategies or offers e.g. Hindustan Unilever offers different types
and qualities soaps for different markets and customers.
10. Synchro marketing:
It refers to balancing the fluctuations in irregular demand for a product due to
seasons, timings etc, through flexible pricing, promotion and other incentives e.g.
heavy off-season discount on woollens may increase its demand to some extent.

CHAPTER-2
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH is a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for
new facts in any branch of knowledge.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY is a way to systematically solve the research

problem. It may be understood as science of studying how research is done
scientifically. It includes various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in
studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.
It is defined as highly intellectual human activity used in the investigation of
nature and matters and deals especially with the manner in which data is collected,
analyzed and interpreted.
Research is diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order
to discover or revise facts, theories, application, etc. methodology is the system of
methods followed by particular discipline. Thus, research methodology is the way
how we conduct our research.
Research Methodology can be:
the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a
discipline
the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a
discipline

TYPES OF RESEARCH:

Applied research refers to scientific study and research that seeks to solve

practical problems, rather than to acquire knowledge for knowledge's sake.

Basic research is driven by a scientist's curiosity or interest in a scientific

question. It is related to natural phenomena and mathematical problem. The main

motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something.

Descriptive research refers to research that provides an accurate portrayal of

characteristics of a particular individual, situation, or group. Descriptive research,

also known as statistical research/ex post facto.

Experimental research is an objective, systematic, controlled investigation

for the purpose of predicting and controlling phenomena and examining

probability and causality among selected variables.

Exploratory research is a type of research conducted for a problem that has

not been clearly defined. Exploratory research helps determine the

best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects.

Qualitative research deals with phenomena that are difficult or impossible to

quantify mathematically, such as beliefs, meanings, attributes, and symbols .It

aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behaviour.

Quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of any

phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques of

quantitative research are to develop and employ mathematical
models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining.

Historical research is research involving analysis of events that occurred in

the remote or recent past . Historical research can show patterns that occurred in
the past and over time which can help us to see where we came from and what
kinds of solutions we have used in the past. Understanding this can add perspective
on how we examine current events and educational practices. Historical research
gives a social scientist a better context for making realistic decisions.

DATA COLLECTION
In dealing with any research problem it is often found that data at hand are
inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate.
The task for data collection begins after a research problem has been defined and
research design chalked out.

Primary Data:
The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and
thus happen to be original in character Collection of primary data. There are
several method of collecting primary data, particularly in surveys and descriptive
researches. Such as observation method, interview method, through schedules,
through questionnaires, through experiment.

Questionnaire: This method of data collection is quite popular, particularly

in case of big enquires. In this method a questionnaire is sent to the persons

concerned with a request to answer the questions and return the questionnaire. The
questionnaire is having both open ended and close ended questions.

Survey: A field of applied statistics, survey methodology studies the

sampling of individual units from a population and the associated survey data
collection techniques, such as questionnaire construction and methods for
improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys.

Case study: A case study is a descriptive, exploratory or explanatory analysis

of a person, group or event. An explanatory case study is used to explore causation

in order to find underlying principles .Case study may be prospective or
restrospective.

Interview: An interview is a conversation between two or more people where

questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements from the

interviewee. Interviews are a standard part of journalism and media reporting, but
are also employed in many other situations, including qualitative research.

Secondary Data:
Secondary data are those which already been gathered early for some other
purpose are secondary data in the hands of the marketing researcher. In contrast,
those data which are collected at the first hand either by the researcher or by
someone else especially for the purpose of the study are known as primary data.
Thus, primary data collected by one person may become the secondary data for
another. Secondary data saves much of time, cost of the project. It also helps for
comparison with the primary data that the researcher has just collected.

Internal Sources of Data: If available, internal secondary data may be

obtained with less time, effort and money than the external secondary data. In
addition, they may also be more pertinent to the situation at hand since they are
from within the organization. The internal sources include :

Accounting resources- This gives so much information which can be used

by the marketing researcher. They give information about internal factors.

Sales Force Report- It gives information about the sale of a product. The

information provided is of outside the organization.

Internal Experts- These are people who are heading the various

departments. They can give an idea of how a particular thing is working.

Miscellaneous Reports-These are what information you are getting from

operational reports. If the data available within the organization are unsuitable or
inadequate, the marketer should extend the search to external secondary data
sources.

External Sources of Data: Sources which are outside the company in a larger

environment. Collection of external data is more difficult because the data have
much greater variety and the sources are much more numerous. External data
can be divided into following classes.

Government Publications- Government sources provide an extremely rich

pool of data for the researchers such as :

Registrar General of India- It is an office which generates demographic

data. It includes details of gender, age, occupation etc.

Planning Commission- It provides the basic statistics of Indian Economy.

RBI - This provides information on Banking Savings and investment. RBI

also prepares currency and finance reports.

National Sample Survey- This is done by the Ministry of Planning and it

provides social, economic, demographic, industrial and agricultural statistics.

Non Government Publications- This includes publications of various

industrial and trade associations.

*In the research SECONDARY DATA is used for the analysis of data.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential
for an organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive
products. This survey research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for
the product. The objective of the study is as under:-

1.

To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and

Vodafone.
2.

To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale

telecommunication sector.
3.

To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing

process, technology adopted production policy, advertising, collaboration,

export scenario, future prospect for the two companies and government
policies.
4.

To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase

decision process.
5.

To know how the company has been successful in encountering the

aggressive marketing strategies of competitors.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Time limitation.

Limited resource.

Possibility of error in data collection.

Possibility of error in analysis of data due to availability of limited data.

As per the company rules most of the information were not disclosed.

CHAPTER-3
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Samit Sinha, Managing Partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting

Airtel seems to have consciously decided to go for the belly of the market and
aggressive market expansion, while Vodafone seems to be pursuing a relatively
more sophisticated consumer. There isn't a great deal of differentiation in terms of
pricing, services, schemes and so on, but there are differences in approach. Overall,
AirTel is focused on functionality and efficiency, while Vodafone has veered
towards warmth and emotions.

Harminder Sahni, Principal, KSA Technopak

Vodafone has developed a more effective branding strategy purely through its
emotional connect with customers. While Vodafone used the powerful visual
imagery of a dog, Airtel chose to use music, which is not nearly as effective. Ad
recall for Vodafone has always been much higher.
Still, Airtel is more powerful by sheer physical presence, while Vodafone has been
too fragmented.

Meenakshi Madhvani, Managing Partner, Spatial Access

Brands of most mobile service providers enjoy a high unaided recall. One would
assume that this high level of awareness is driven by a constant media presence.
But this logic does not explain recall for BPL Mobile in Mumbai, which has
minimal media presence. In such a scenario, it would not be right to conclusively
say that Brand A is stronger than Brand B. However, if you consider adoption of

the service by consumers as an indicator of brand strength, then Airtel would rank
reasonably high.

TV Ads: Vodafone vs. Airtel

Published by sushubh January 27th, 2006 in Advertisements on TV
The latest advertisements from the two mobile giants in India: Vodafone and Airtel
stars Rahul Dravid and Shah Rukh Khan respectively. The difference however lies
in their approach. While, the Vodafone ad is focused on the brand name, that
Vodafone is and Rahul is just used to enhance the effect, Airtel ad is totally
focused on Shah Rukh Khan, the star playing a double role. You cannot realize that
the ad is for Airtel till the time they tell you that it is. Vodafone on the other hand
is easily recognizable.

Griffin Abbie ,Hauser John R , Integrating R&D and Marketing: A Review

and Analysis of the Literature ,Article first published online: 3 OCT 2003
Marketing integration is being reassessed in light of the movement toward flatter
organizational

structures

and

cross-functional

teams.

To

facilitate

that

reassessment, and to help guide future research in this area, they review recent
research on the methods employed for integrating R&D and marketing, and they
propose several hypotheses regarding those methods. They present their review
and hypotheses within the framework of a causal map they have developed for
studying functional integration.

CHAPTER-4
COMPANY PROFILE

AIRTEL

VISION
"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the
fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world
and put it at the service of our ultimate user: our customer."
These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire plan of
action.
Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized
telecommunications with its world-class products and services.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Established in 1985, 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 Jaipur, 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 service provider to launch National Long
Distance Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers
nearly 2.88 million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers.
Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh,
Chennai, Jaipur, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata,
Madhya Pradesh circle, Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and
Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it also has fixed-line operations in the
states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jaipur, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.
Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data
transmission services and voice transmission services for calls originating and
terminating on most of India's mobile networks.

The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting ChennaiSingapore for providing international bandwidth.
Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless
phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is
also the first telecom company to export its products to the USA.
Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is to capitalize on the growth
opportunities that the Company believes are available in the Indian
telecommunications market and consolidate its position to be the leading integrated
telecommunications services provider in key markets in India, with a focus on
providing mobile services.
The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic
objective:

Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum

geographical coverage;

Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a

"one-stop shop" solution;

Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced

mobile data services;

Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of

customer satisfaction;

Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and

Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational

efficiencies.

Businesses

Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include

Mobile services

Fixed-line

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi network

Competitive Strengths
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the
Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India
and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business
strategy:

Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers

resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively

accounted for approximately 56% of India's land mass;

Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate

industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunications-related business

opportunities.

The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality

service to its customers;

Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and

The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial

investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation,

Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance.

Brand Architecture:
Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture to:

Create specific brands for each service,

Build sub-brands within each of these services and

Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as

well as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms infrastructure.

BHARTI

AIRTEL

TOUCHTEL

INDIA ONE

(Cellular
Operations)

(Basic Service
Operations)

(National Long
Distance)

Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the Indian country.
Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.
India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony
Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to create
distinct independent brands to address different customers and profiles.

VODAFONE
Vodafone was formed in 1984 as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. Then
known as Racal Telecom Limited, approximately 20% of the company's capital
was offered to the public in October 1988.
It was fully demerged from Racal Electronics Plc and became an independent
company in September 1991, at which time it changed its name to Vodafone
Group
Plc.
Following its merger with AirTouch Communications, Inc. (AirTouch), the
company changed its name to Vodafone AirTouch Plc on 29 June 1999 and,
following approval by the shareholders in General Meeting, reverted to its former
name, Vodafone Group Plc, on 28 July 2000

Vodafone in india

Vodafone Essar started its operations in India in 1994 and is under the Vodafone
Group. The company Vodafone Essar Limited has become one of the leading
companies in the telecom sector in India due to its high standard of services that it
provides to its customers.
The company Vodafone Essar has its operations in 16 telecom circles of the
country, which covers around 86% of the customer mobile base in India. The
company offers both postpaid and prepaid GSM cellular mobile coverage all across
India and its hold is especially strong in the metropolitan cities. The company
Vodafone Essar Limited provides services like 2G, which are based on 1800Mhz
and 900Mhz GSM digital technology. The company Vodafone Essar also offers
voice

and

data

services.

Vodafone Essar Limited has received many awards over the years such as the Best
Mobile Service in India, Most Effective and Most Creative Advertiser of the Year,
and Most Respected Telecom Company. The company Vodafone Essar Limited's

chairman is Asim Ghosh, vice chairman is Arun Sarin, and non- executive
chairman is Ravi Ruia. The Vodafone Essar subscriber bases in the cities of India
are:

Kolkata - 1,632,875

Mumbai - 2,989,970

Delhi - 3,002,442

Chennai - 981,996

The company Vodafone Essar Limited plans to spend more than Rs.250 crore in
launching low price cell phones in India. The company's objective in doing this is
to bring in millions of cheap mobile handsets from around the world into the
country and then sell them under the Vodafone brand name in order to maximize
sales. It is expected that the company Vodafone Essar Limited will price the
handsets in the range of Rs.666, Rs.999, and Rs.888. In this way the company
expects to attract new customers and thus expand its customer base that stands at
35 million in 2007.

Vodafone Essar plans to sell the low price handsets from its 4 lakh distribution
outlets. The company will buy the low cost cell phones from the firm ZTE that is
located in China. The Company ZTE will ship more than 10 million low cost cell
phones to India that will then be sold by the company Vodafone Essar. Vodafone
Essar Company also has plans to expand in the near future and for this it is
planning to take a loan overseas of around US$ 500 million. The company
Vodafone Essar Limited will use the money to expand the company's network,
better its technology, and open more distribution centers. All these measures will
help to increase the customer base of the company Vodafone Essar.

Vodafone Essar is one of the topmost companies in the telecom sector in India and
is well known for the best quality of products and services offered to its customers.
And this is the reason that the customer base of the company Vodafone Essar
Limited has been increasing at a very rapid pace. The company is planning to
launch low price cell phones in the country and also expand its operations. This is
sure to help the company VodafoneEssar to grow and prosper even more in the
future.

CHAPTER-5
DATA ANALYSIS

Comparison of marketing strategies

between
Airtel and Vodafone

Purpose of comparison

The sub main purpose of this report is to compare the marketing Strategies

adopted by Bharti Airtel and its rival Vodafone

The comparison shows how both of the companies have been challenging

each other to gain market shares.

Why comparison with vodafone

Bharti Airtel is the leader in telecommunication sector.

Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of market of communication sector.

However, Vodafone has been giving tough competition to Bharti Airtel.

Vodafone is the second largest player and share holder in Communication

sector.

Since its launch Vodafone has been adopting aggressive marketing strategies.

The comparison shows how Hutchison Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market

share in one month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.

With a different technology Vodafone creates its own market.

Vodafone odafone. Today deals in every business of communication sector.

Vodafone making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares

BRAND POSITIONING BY AIRTEL

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

People age group of 20 to 28 year

Target marketing

People who living in cities and towns.

Poor or middle income group people.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

Positioning

Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)

Ads and promotions

Promotion for study of poor childrens.

Marketing mix

Price:

low price strategy

Place:

maximum outlets and service centers

Product:

verities available for various groups

Promotion:

various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

BRAND POSITIONING BY VODAFONE

Market segmentation

Geographical segment (rural India)

Demographic segment - middle income groups

Target marketing

People living in small towns and villages.

Poor and middle income groups.

Youngsters in big cities.

Businessmen

Positioning

Creating brands

Ads and promotions

Marketing mix

Price : low price strategy

Place : maximum outlets and service centers

Product : verities available for various groups

Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

Services provided by Bharti Airtel

Mobile services with GSM technology

Fixed-line connections

National and international long distance services

VSAT, Internet services and network solutions

Broadband services

Services provided by Vodafone

mobile services with GSM technology

fixed-line telephone services

Universal Internetworking

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

Interactive Television

Visual Communication

Broadband Portal

Telecommuting

SWOT ANALYSIS OF AIRTEL

Strengths

Being one of the largest companies in India the company has

achieved a degree of focus in its core business of its products.

It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an enviable

distribution network.

It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and limits of

financial authority.

Increase in advertisement spends affect the companys margins.

The companys bottom line falls victim to the bloated and highly paid

workforce, which affects its margins.

Weakness:

Little efforts over the Advertising of products.

Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.

Premium priced products, hence cant compete in low price segment.

No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities:

The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from

its cost reduction efforts.

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

Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming years.

Airtels business has ample scope for gaining market share from the

unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast potential to bring

about growth.

Threats

The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of

most FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to maintain
historical growth rates in such a depressed scenario.

Companys major raw materials are influenced by government

policies / controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons. Fluctuations in the

prices of raw materials would have significant impact on costs and margins
of the company.

Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would

also increases companys production and distribution cost.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF VODAFONE

Strength

Diversified geographical portfolio with strong mobile telecommunications

operations in rural areas.

Network infrastructure

Leading presence in emerging markets of India

Weaknesses

Negative return on assets (ROA) underperform key competitors like Airtel

and Reliance

India business not nearly as strong as rest of the world operations

80% of youth prefer other network over Vodafone due to high rates

Opportunities

Focus on cost reductions improving returns

Majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India

Research and development of new mobile technologies

Threats

Highly competitive market

Still lags behind major competitors in the India
Extremely high penetration rates
Indian Union regulation on cross-border cell phone usage by customers

CHAPTER-6
FINDINGS,
RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION

FINDINGS

Airtel is creating an image on the high-class customers by its good network

and good quality of voice in the long distance. Airtel is the choice of the high class
and the people who worked in the higher position.

Vodafone is the leading mobile service provider and is capturing a lot of

market because of its good networking in rural area. it is well accepted by the
people due to its low call rate & some and good connectivity.

RECOMMENDATIONS

I would like to suggest few point over which top management should think

and take corrective action to overcome those drawback due to which Mobile
Service providing companies & authorized dealer has gradually losing its market
position so that the company must take following measure to regain its market
position.

Company should encourage to solve the customer complaint customer

satisfaction should be the ultimate aim of the organization so customer complaints

should be removed.

Promotion by local advertisement & on electronic media more as to print

media as it is the biggest media to reach common customer.

Companies should also start promotional schemes for the customer.

To attracts the customer the firms should improve there services by

introducing latest technology in the market. & they should also try to increase the
range of there signals in the city.

The companies should try to increase there capacity to solve the

connectivity problem.

The marketing personnel should give complete feedback with logical

rejoining from the market to increase service standards.

For a particular order particular person should be made responsible not a

group as a whole this will increase the commitment of that. person towards the
work and would make him feel more responsible towards an order.

Marketing people should be given incentives for each order they

bring

to the company. It could be a fix percentage.

The local persons are appointed more in the field of marketing to attracts the

customer.

CONCLUSION
This research report is conducted to compare the two biggest competitors in all
time in the telecom sector. In this research we fined that the both Airtel and
Vodafone are the well-established companies in the market. Customers are aware
about the name of both the companies. They prefer to buy both.
Airtel is the more popular then the Vodafone. Airtel is preferred by the every class
and it established it self as a better quality and better service provider then its
competitors.
But Vodafone is no fear of it because the young customers are more attracted by it,
now the Vodafone takes over Airtel and now they give the new schemes in the
market and for the customers.
It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long time for this
Airtel has to work on its all marketing strategies, marketing, promotion, brand
image.etc.
Airtel has to take Vodafone. Very seriously and update its own strategies from
time to time and when the need arises.
With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as 70% of
population of India lives in these areas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books :
Principles of Marketing Philip Kotler & Kevin keller edi. 12
Market Research D.D. Sharma
Research Methodology C.R. Kothari
Websites:
www.Airtelworld.com
www.google.com
www.india.com

www.Vodafone.in

http://www.blonnet.com/2004/06/26/stories/2004062602180700.htm, Mumbai, June 25, 2004.