ON

“Marketing strategies of Airtel”

Submitted to

AMITY UNIVERSITY

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF MBA

SESSION 2017-2018
DEPTT. OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

1
 Govt. College, Daulatpur, UNA

Under the guidance of:- Submitted by:-

Bobby Dadwal Akash Deep

Lecturer (Govt. College, Daulatpur) Roll: - 2104

Daulatpur, Una (H.P.)

 STUDENT DECLARATION

I, AKASH DEEP, student of MBA here by declared that the research report entitled “MARKETING

STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL” is completed and submitted under the guidance of

BOBBY DADWAL is my original work. The imperial finding in this report is based on the data collected by me. I

have not submitted this project report to AMITY University, Noida or any other University for the purpose of

compliance of any requirement of any examination or degree.

DATE: 22/10/2017 AKASH DEEP

MBA III SEM

ROLL NO. A19201167204

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge the sincere assistance provided to me from several rather unexpected quarters during the

course of execution of this study. It would be a mammoth task to place on record my gratitude to each and

every one of them but a whole hearted attempt would be made nevertheless, least I be branded ungrateful.

I am extremely thankful to GUIDANCE AT AIRTEL , (Unit Advisor) for giving me an opportunity to undergo

training in BHARTI AIRTEL MARKETING and making my stay at AIRTEL MARKETING a memorable learning

experience.

Where the emotions are involved words cease to work. I am deeply in debt to ---------------------- for her

encouragement, affections, valuable advice and guidance that helped me to complete this project successfully.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project aims at understanding the Marketing strategies at Airtel and its impact on the perception of Airtel

Cellular Services.

Research has demonstrated conclusively that it is far more costly to win a new customer than it is to maintain

an existing one. And there is no better way to retain a customer than to exceed his expectations. For this

purpose it is essential to know the level of customer satisfaction. The focus of my research was the

measurement of customer satisfaction level for the services provided by Bharti Airtel. The research was done

for the corporate clients of Bharti Airtel. My job was not only to represent the Corporate Sales Dept. and

collect the feedback from the clients but also to get the major complaints resolved through internal

counseling. There can be no better opportunity to interact with the external as well as the internal customers
of an organization. Finally the results of the research verify the fact that keeping the customer satisfied is the

best strategy to not only retains the existing customers but also to expand the business to new horizons.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA 7

2. GSM MARKET IN INDIA 11

3. INTRODUCTION 23

4. TARIFF STRUCTURE 39

5. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 48

6. MARKET SITUATION 50

7. COMPETITIVE SITUATION 51

8. MARKETING STRATEGY ADAPTED BY BHARTI 60

9. OBJECTIVE 69

10. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 70

11. LIMITATION 71

12. SWOT ANALYSIS 79

13. CONCLUSION 81

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY 82
 ACKOWLEDGEMENT

Achievement is finding out what you would be then doing, what you have to do. The higher the summit, the harder
is the climb. The goal was fixed and we began with a determined resolved and put in ceaseless sustained hard
work. Greater challenge, greater was our effort to overcome it.
This project work, which is my first step in the field of professionalization, has been successfully accomplished
only because of my timely support of well-wishers. I would like to pay my sincere regards and thanks to those,
who directed me at every step in my project work.
I would also like to thank the faculty members and the staff members of “S N S TRADERS” for their kind support
and help during the project.
 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is the fifth largest in the world and

is the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the fastest growing market in the

world and represents unique 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 by three years. Accordingly, India

requires incremental investments of USD 20-25 bln for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164% p.a.) in India. With more than

33 million users (both CDMA and GSM), wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom

industry. Given the current growth trends, cellular connections in India will surpass fixed line by late

2004/early 2005. Intense competition between the four main private groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and

Reliance and with the State sector incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop in
tariffs. There has been almost 74% in cell 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 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 Indian government has merged the IT and Telecom Ministries to speed up reforms and decision on the

Communication Convergence Bill to enable the common regulation of the Internet, broadcasting and telecoms

will be taken after the new Government assumes responsibilities in may this year. An independent regulatory

body (TRAI) and dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is fully functional.

INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to be the country's largest cellular operator, with

50 lakh subscribers. BSNL, which operates in 22 circles, has a subscriber base of 37 lakh subscribers. Thus

BSNL stands second largest cellular operator in terms of subscriber base at the end of the fiscal 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. "Cellular operators who expected BSNL to go the MTNL way, 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 in any month so far, during March 2005. Year-on-year, the cellular subscriber base in the

country has almost doubled in March 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 February 2005 and 2.13 lakh in January 2005. Idea, which operates in Seven circles, is

the fourth largest operator with a subscriber base of 17.80 lakh, higher than BPL's 11.31 lakh subscribers

across four circles. The subscriber numbers per operator drop sharply with the sixth largest operator, Spice

Communications, having a subscriber base of 9.40 lakh, followed by Reliance Telecom's 8.9 lakh subscribers.

MTNL is the ninth largest operator, with a base of 8.32 lakh subscribers.

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 by 10.18 % to reach 43.64

lakh. Category B circles of Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), 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 subscriber base of over 80 lakh is still higher than Mumbai'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.
 GSM MARKET IN INDIA

Regional Interest Groups - GSM India

With a population of around 1.1 billion growing at roughly 1.7 per cent a year, India is potentially one of the

most exciting GSM markets in the world. After two rather difficult years, the past 12 months have seen the
region's promise beginning to come to fruition. Much of this success can be attributessSd to the stabilization

of the licensing and regulatory environment.

India's telecommunications have undergone a steady liberalization since 1994 when the Indian government

first sought private investment in the sector. More significant liberalization followed in 1996 with the licensing

of new local fixed line and mobile service providers. However, it has been the government's New Telecom Policy

(1999) that has had the most radical impact on the development of GSM services. 'The policy's mission

statement is 'affordable communications for all'. There is a genuine commitment to creating a modern and

efficient communications infrastructure that takes account of the convergence of 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 that more than

70 per cent of Indian mobile subscribers felt that prices 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 to some 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 Lacs villages. Such depth of

coverage has required enormous investment from India's 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 healthy. With India's low PC penetration and

high average 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 in the

subcontinent and the first GPRS networks are in the process of being rolled out. In the year ahead, GSM India

will work with its members to realize the potential of early packet services in anticipation of the award of

3GSM licenses.

India fastest growing GSM mart

India is expected to have 145 million GSM (global system for mobile communications) customers by 2007-08

compared to 26 million 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

in 2005. At this pace, the target of 150 million subscribers by 2007-2008 is definitely achievable," Alan

Hadden, 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 than

CDMA (code division multiple access)," he said. Commenting on the raging debate over GSM versus CDMA in

mobile services arena, Hadden said: "GSM is the world's most successful mobile standard with over 1 billion

users, and is an open mobile standard. It also supports automatic international roaming, which is a major

contributor to business plans."

India’s GSM mobile firms’ revenue up 30 pct

India’s private telecoms firms offering GSM-based mobile services reported a 24 percent rise in revenue in the

year to March 2007 but said future growth rates could slow because of heavy taxes on the nascent industry.

Although India’s mobile sector is the world’s fastest growing major wireless market, it is amongst the highest

taxed industries in the country. Mobile carriers pay as much as 25 percent of their revenue as licence fee,

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 general at COAI. “These revenue growth rates cannot be 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 of a doubling of the GSM

(Global System of Mobile Communications) user base as more people entered the 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 cut in tariffs and excessive competition among companies. Growth slowing, demand

untapped: The association has not included the financial performance and the GSM-user base of state-run

firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the second-ranked player, and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd,
Ramachandran said. There are 150 million GSM customers and more than 96 million users of the rival

CDMA-based mobile services in the country.

The pace of growth in monthly additions is slowing after just 1.25 million users took up the service in April

compared with

1.9 million in the previous month and 1.63 million in February. Ramachandran blamed the slowdown on a

majority of small GSM operators being unable to expand networks into rural swathes where demand

remained largely untapped.

“Our surpluses are not enough to cover costs of network expansion and financing charges on loans. We are

making money only to cover operating expenses,” he said. Carriers are now subsidising handset costs to woo

users into the underpenetrated industry forecast to have more than 250 million customers by 2007. Roughly

three percent of Indians own a mobile phone compared with about 20 percent in China. About a dozen firms
such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, 28 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications, Reliance Infocomm Ltd and

the Indian GSM-unit of Vodafone group battle in the hotly competitive sector.
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 Infocomm and Tata Indicom in the Indian cellular market?

The GSM suppliers – both handset and equipment - who incidentally also have their other foot firmly placed

in the CDMA pie, are beginning to lose some sleep over what was earlier 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

access (CDMA), the miserable showing of the four global standard for mobile (GSM) based networks that

launched general packet radio service (GPRS) service for data connectivity in last three years, has the vendors

worried. Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) now believes that even though India will primarily remain

a voice traffic-led market in next two-three years, the data traffic component will grow by 25-30 per cent, an

optimism that it’s trying to make GSM operators feel as well.

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 subscriber’s experience of surfing the Net on/from mobile.

The top brass of GSA, an organisation comprising Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies

- met on Tuesday in the capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM

Evolution) and leave GPRS behind as a dream gone sour.

Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Idea Cellular had launched GPRS, 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 GPRS growth 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 120 lakh 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 a percentage ratio for

CDMA.
Bharti is almost there

But first, the EDGE! Bharti Cellular is close to commercially 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 vendor Nokia.

Vodafone and BPL are yet to hold the trials. The two companies would eventually migrate to EDGE, but

perhaps after seeing the response to Bharti’s service.

EDGE holds the promise of delivering data speeds of around 170-180 kbps (as against the theoretical speed of

around 380 kbps) which, if achieved, promises the launch of many data applications. The scalable cost of

migrating from GPRS to EDGE is 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 Rakesh Malik.
Will GSM maintain its headstart?

At the GSM Evolution Forum held in New Delhi, GSA president Alan Hadden predicted that GSM growth will

far outstrip CDMA as was happening globally. He felt India could have as many as 200 million GSM

subscribers by 2007-2008, up from nine million in December 2004. According to GSA, there are over 1.1

billion GSM subscribers worldwide as against 250 million CDMA 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 Hadden at the GSM Evolution

Forum. The Forum is a global GSA program to assist the operators for evolution to third generation (3G)

technologies. “People are using their phones for much more than voice. Fifteen networks have commercially

launched EDGE as it can run 3G like services in the existing spectrum for the operators without needing a
3G license. Even the migration to a full-fledged 3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be smooth with

EDGE,” said Hadden.

“Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in almost 200 countries is a power that CDMA

doesn’t give you. We know for sure that almost 20-25 per cent of the revenue for some GSM operators comes

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 was commercially deployed in October 2000.

Already, 81 operators have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks whereas nine have launched services based

on 1xEV-DO platform across Asia, the Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new 1X and six 1xEV-DO networks

are scheduled to be deployed in 2004, according to CDMA Development Group. EV-DO and EV-DV are 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 compliant handsets at affordable rates.

While the two CDMA operators have been giving out handsets that can give hi-speed data transfer, same has

not been the case with GSM. Even now, GPRS handsets have not become commonplace and GPRS feature is

found only in mid and high-end segment handsets.

End sum game

When the networks deploy EDGE, subscribers can expect the delivery of advanced mobile services such as

easy downloading of video and music clips, full multimedia messaging, besides 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 3G technologies such as WCDMA, EV-DO or EV-

DA as and when the government decides what to do with the 3G licenses. WCDMA for example promises

delivery of a phenomenal 2 megabytes per second (mbps), equivalent to what a leased line in many middle

level corporates gives.

More importantly, WCDMA will spawn a whole new range of full motion audio-video applications, including

video telephony. GSM lobby 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 more than what GSM players intend to deliver through their EDGE for their subscribers.
Who succeeds in this battle for mobile customer’s 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!

 INTRODUCTION

Airtel (Bharti Airtel Ltd.)

Bharti Airtel Limited was incorporated on July 7, 1995 for promoting investments in telecommunications

services. Its subsidiaries operate telecom services across India. Bharti Airtel is India's leading private sector

provider of telecommunications services based on a strong customer base consisting of 50 million total

customers, which constitute, 44.6 million mobile and 5.4 million fixed line customers, as of March 31, 2007.

Airtel comes to us from Bharti Airtel Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom conglomerate,

Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular, Basic, Internet and

recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and

cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the

first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into Insurance and Retail

segment in collaboration with Multi- National giants. Bharti is the leading cellular service provider, with a

footprint in 23 states covering all four metros and more than 50 million satisfied customers.

S E R V I C E S
Airtel Prepaid

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti Enterprises, India's leading

integrated telecom service provider. Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of life. With a host of great

features, also simple to use, Airtel Prepaid makes everything that you dreamt and believed, 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 Airtel Prepaid. 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 Airtel’s world-class technology and unbreakable network coverage

that spans over 23 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 your mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or 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 keeps reducing as you make calls or use any other

chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that’s right for you, from a variety of tailor–
made recharge coupons with different denominations, which are available at a number of outlets across your

city. Simply follow the procedure mentioned below, to recharge your phone.

Prepaid Roaming

Airtel Prepaid comes preactivated 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 GPRS services while roaming in India

as you would in your own city. While traveling abroad you can receive calls & send or receive SMS.

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 you’re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your

calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for setting 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 talk or you don't have much time. It's the way

to share those 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 <SUB NEWS> to 3333 for News, <SUB JOKE> for Jokes, <SUB BIZ> for Business News, <SUB

SPO> for Sports Alerts & <SUB VAASTU> for Vaastu tips.

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 much more. You

can also get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on you phone. To get Airtel Live! settings on
your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the settings that you receive as your preferred connection. Airtel

Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services: Just Dial 56465, and name the service. For e.g. say ring tones to download your

favorite ring tones. 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: Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your

phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your SIM card menu. To download

new services on your Airtel SIM, choose the "What's new" option under the "Airtel services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465!

Choose Astrology / Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case you need

assistance SMS, Help to 56465.

Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tring tring’ on your phone? Well now when a friend calls, you can make them groove

to the hottest new tracks burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! You get a wide choice of

songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories that are updated regularly. What's more you can directly call

the number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005 for English New and 678001 for Hindi New. This would

directly take you to your favorite artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Copy a Hello Tune

Get the tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow the simple voice instructions to copy your

favorite Hello Tunes. Once inside the copy feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number you want to

copy the Hello Tune from and you get the same Hello Tune assigned to your number.
Gift a Hello Tune

Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a song instead! Gift a Hello Tune to that

special someone. Just call 55055 and choose the song that you want to gift. Follow the simple voice

instructions and key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get

an SMS notification upon successful receipt of that gift.

Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops

Buying your favorite Hello Tune or Ring tone is as simple as recharging your phone with talk time. Simply

walk into your nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favorite song. Choose from Bollywood Hits to

Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati Garba, Bhajans to Jazz and Bhangra Beats to foot tapping Tamil Hits

from a list of more than 18000 songs.

Reach us Anytime Anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number, accessible from anywhere in the country, even

while roaming. You can also send us an SMS to 121 or mail us at 121@airtelindia.com.

*In case of email, mention your mobile no. like, 9816012345, in the subject of the mail for a quicker

response.

Airtel Postpaid

Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting, innovative yet simple new

ways to communicate, just when you want to, not just through words but ideas, emotions and feelings. To give

you the unlimited freedom to reach out to your special people in your special way.

Easy Billing

Enjoy a host of rich features only with Airtel e-bill. Register free on ‘My Airtel’ section and view your monthly

bill with call details for last three months. Sort your calls between personal and official or analyze your usage,

at the click of a button. To change your tariff plan call our IVR at 121 and leave a request.
Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere

You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only with Airtel. Walk into any Airtel relationship

centre and make your payments by cash or credit card. Drop a cheque at any of the drop boxes for making

payments or simply log on to My Airtel section and pay instantly through your credit card. You can also opt

for easy payment options like:

Standing Instructions

You can give us standing instructions to debit your credit card account for your monthly Airtel bills. All you

have to do is fill the Standing Instruction Form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship centres.
Electronic Clearing System

Fill an ECS form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship centres to directly debit your bank

account for your monthly Airtel bill.

Pay while roaming

Airtel has introduced 'Anywhere payment' that offers you the convenience of making payments while you

roam. Walk in to any Airtel Relationship Centre in the country, make payments by cash or credit card and

enjoy uninterrupted Airtel Services.

Credit limit

Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you keep your mobile charges in control, keeps

track of your usage and ensures that your mobile phone is not misused. Should you exceed your credit limit,

you will be informed via a voice or a non-voice message to make an interim payment and reduce your account
balance below your credit limit. You may also choose to pay us an additional refundable deposit to enhance

your credit limit or opt for our convenient payment method of Credit Card Standing instruction .You can also

make use of ECS facility.

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtel .It offers you world class technology and unbreakable network

coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country.

Long Distance Calling Facility

Call long distance calls in India and Overseas with STD / ISD facility on your Airtel phone.

Widest Roaming - National and International

Airtel's roaming service allows you to stay connected and use your mobile phone to make or receive calls from

almost anywhere in India and also over 160 countries, abroad.

GPRS - Roaming

Use Airtel Postpaid's GPRS services, while roaming, to access the internet and office mails (eg. BlackBerry

services), from almost anywhere in India and abroad.

Say it. In more than just words, with Services from Airtel

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, help you do more with your

Airtel Postpaid connection!

Conference call

You can hold a teleconference with 5 people simultaneously with Call Conferencing service from Airtel. In fact,

you can set up a conference even when the other five are using a landline phone. To know more, call customer

service at 121.

Missed call alert

A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls that you missed. The SMS will detail the CLI

and the time when the call was made. To activate, dial *135*2# then press the call button and wait for the

request to be completed.

Voice Mail

When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your

calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for setting 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 talk or you don't have much time. It's the way

to Share those 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 <SUB NEWS> for News, <SUB JOKE> for Jokes, <SUB BIZ> for Business News, <SUB SPO>

for Sports Alerts & <SUB VAASTU> for Vaastu tips to 3333.

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 ringtones, games, wallpapers, videos and much more. You

can also get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on your phone! To get Airtel Live! settings on

your phone SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the settings that you receive as your preferred connection. Airtel

Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services: Just Dial 56465 and say the name of the service. For e.g. say ‘Ring tones’ to

download your favorite ring tones. 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: Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your

phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your SIM card menu. To download

new services on your Airtel SIM, choose the "What's new" option under the "Airtel services" menu.

Airtel Live! SMS Services: You can enjoy a host of services by sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465!

Choose Astrology / Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case you need

assistance SMS ‘Help’ to 56465.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Services)

Log on to the internet, with GPRS that allows data transmission at a higher speed. Access e-mails and

internet across Airtel's pan-India presence using 'Mobile Office' with your phone or a phone and laptop both.

Get the EDGE

Browse the internet on your mobile phone with Airtel's EDGE services. Enjoy live TV, enhanced WAP

experience and Airtel Data Cards on our high speed network.

Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tring tring’ on your phone? Well now when a friend calls, you can make them groove

to the hottest new tracks burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! You get a wide choice of

songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories that are updated regularly. What's more, you can directly call
the number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005 for ‘English New’ and 678001 for ‘Hindi New’. This would

directly take you to your favorite artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Copy a Hello Tunes

Like a tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow the simple voice instructions to copy your

favourite Hello Tunes. Once inside the copy feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number you want to

copy the Hello Tune from and you get the same Hello Tune assigned to your number.

Gift a Hello Tunes

Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a song instead! Gift a Hello Tune to that

special someone. Just call 55055 and choose the song that you want to gift. Follow the simple voice

instructions and key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get

an SMS notification upon successful receipt of that gift.

Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops

Buying your favourite Hello Tune or Ringtone is as simple as recharging your phone with talktime. Simply

walk into your nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favourite song. Choose from Bollywood Hits to

Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati Garba, Bhajans to Jazz and Bhangra Beats to foot tapping Tamil Hits

from a list of more than 18000 songs.

Reach us, Anytime Anywhere

In case you need assistance, dial '121' - our toll-free number, accessible from anywhere in the country, even while

roaming. *In case of email, mention your mobile no. like 9816012345 in the subject of the mail for a quicker response.

TARIFF STRUCTURE

Prepaid Tariffs

Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at over retail outlets

including 24-hour outlets. Airtel Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the

city at over retail outlets including 24-hour outlets.

Airtel Prepaid Regular

449
SUK
Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) Rs.449

Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.) Nil

Incoming Calls (Rs.) Free while in home network

Airtel GSM / CDMA Landline / WLL

(10 Digit)

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) Rs.1.20 Rs.2.00 Rs.2.40

STD RATES (Rs./min) Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75

ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Rs.6.40

Line), Australia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, New Zealand.

Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC Rs.9.20

countries, Africa & Rest of the
world
 Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Rs.40.00
Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,
Nauru, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu,
Tokelau, Norfolk Island,
Sakhalin

SMS (Rs.)

Local Rs.1.20

National Rs.2.00

International Rs.5.00

Other Details

*Rs 50 Local Airtel-Airtel Mobile talktime per month for 6 months

* First month Airtel-Airtel credit within 72hrs of activation & balance credit by 1st week of every 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 Tarif Packages (RTP)

ON TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs. 250
Membership Fee Rs. 250
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 524
Bill plan Charge Rs. 444
Monthly Rental Rs. 150
Clip NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)
Clip Rs. 99
Airtel GSM / Landline /

CDMA (10 WLL

Digit)
Local Rates Rs. 1.99 Rs 1.99 Rs 1.99
STD RATES
50 – 200 Km
200 – 500 Km
500 + Km
ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line), Rs. 7.20

Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong,

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, new

Zealand
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC Rs 9.99

Countries, Africa & Rest of the

world
Cuba, Sao tome & Principle, Rs. 40.00

Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,

Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,

Cook Island, Tuvalu, Tokelau,

Norfolk Island, Sakhalin

SMS
Local Rs. 1.00
National Rs. 2.00
International Rs. 5.00
Value Added Services (Rs.) Rs. 3.00

Airtel One Standard 150

ONE TIME CHARGES
Activation Charges Rs 250
Membership Fee Rs 250 (Converts into security after

24 months)
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 150
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 50
Monthly Rental Rs. 150
Clip NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)
Clip Rs. 50
Bissau, Diego Garcia, Nauru,

Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook

Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk

Island, Sakhalin
SMS
Local Rs 1.00
National Rs 2.00
Intentional Rs. 5.00
VAS Rs. 3.00

 This Bill Plan is also available under Advance Rental of Rs. 799 for 2 years.
Local Pack

Airtel to other local mobiles (non Airtel) At Rs 1 / min

 Monthly rental Rs 25 per months/-

 STD Pack

Airtel to other mobiles (non Airtel) & fixed lines nos. at Rs 2 / min.

 Monthly rental Rs 75 per month/-

 Special offer for Airtel Telephone service customers for availing Airtel Mobile services

If you already have Airtel Telephone service, you can buy a new Airtel Mobile connection under Airtel

One Standard 150 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 150 every month for the next 2 months. All other

options and charges are as per the existing Airtel One Standard 150 Plan.

Airtel one Standard 299

ONE TIME CHARGES

Activation Charges Rs 250
Membership Fee Rs 250 (Converts into security after
 24 months)
Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs 299
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 150
Monthly Rental Rs. 299
Clip NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)
Clip Rs. 50
Airtel GSM / Landline /

CDMA (10 WLL

Digit)
LOCAL RATES Re. 1.00 Rs. 1.00 Rs. 1.00
STD RATES
50-200Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
200 – 500 Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
500 + Km Rs. 2.00 Rs. 2.40 Rs. 2.40
ISD
USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line), Rs. 7.20

Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong,

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, new

Zealand
Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAARC Rs 9.99

Countries, Africa & Rest of the

world
Cuba, Sao tome & Principle, Rs. 40.00

Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,

Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,

Cook Island, Tuvalu, Tokelau,

Norfolk Island, Sakhalin

SMS
Local Rs. 1.00
National Rs. 2.00
International Rs. 5.00
Value Added Services (Rs.) Rs. 3.00

You also enjoy 25 FREE local mobile to mobile SMS

Senior Citizen Plan

ONE TIME CHARGES

Activation Charges Rs. 250
Membership Fee Rs. 250 (Concerts into security

deposit after 24 months)

Security Deposit NA
MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 150
Bill Plan Charge Rs. 51
Monthly Rental Rs. 99
Clip NA
Cuba, Sao Tome & Principle,

Guinea Bissau, Diego Garcia,

Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,

Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau,

Norfolk Island, Sakhalin

SMS
Local Rs. 1.50
National Rs. 2.00
International Rs. 5.00
VAS Rs. 3.00

With Senior Citizen Plan

You can take 3 Friends and Family numbers:

 Airtel to Airtel (1local no.) – Rs. 0.5 / min.

 Airtel to Airtel (1 STD no.) – Rs 1.5 / min

 ISD calls to US / Canada / South East Asia / Australia / New Zealand) – Rs. 9.99 / min

You also get FREE alert subscription worth Rs 30 / alert or 3 months on:

 News

 Astrology

 Health Tips

The SMS charges as applicable is per 160 Characters.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted AirTel cellular service will go in for repositioning of its brand image. The new

brand ethos is portrayed in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch Tomorrow", which underscores the

leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The Good Life", which underscores a more 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. According to Mr. Jagdish Kini,

Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Mobile Limited, Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand- platform - Touch

Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but also business strategy".

The new identity will have the logo in Red, Black and White colours along with lower case typography to

convey warmth. AirTel will incorporate the latest branding in all of its communication and will soon be going

in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish the brand's presence.

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 for a one time payment

of Rs. 999. Subscribers availing themselves of this scheme will also get full talk time for the recharge 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-paid subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan,

he will always be an Airtel subscriber whether the mobile is being used or not.
 MARKET SITUATION

At the time of launch

The first mover in the market was Airtel which launched its services in Delhi in Aug 1995 (Informal launch).

Essar Cellphone followed by launching its services informally in Oct 95. At this point of time, the market was

at a nascent stage, awareness level was low and both operators independently tried to spread awareness and

educate the people

Once the networks were commercially launched, it became a number game with a multitude of schemes being

offered to woo customers Initially the cellphone was perceived as a status symbol and utility took a back seat

The target segment in Delhi were corporate and the high income group. The average 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. This is a very competitive industry with the two companies 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 emphasising on the reach of its

network and the quality of its service. However, Essar is somewhat not been very successful largely due to the

inconsistency in advertising

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 medium for carrying the

advertisements Airtel has also been advertising on television using the Bharti Telecom name.

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.

B. IDC (indirect Channel)

 Handling distribution

 Maintaining records and level check of the channel partner

 Liaisoning between the channel partner and the company.

 Target achievement
  Training the executives of the channel

C. Distribution Support

1. Logistics

 Monitor handset and SIM card requirements of channel partners and co-ordinate with stores

 Settle areas of concerns such as incentive claims of channel partners

2. Rental

 Provide cellular services (SIM cards) on rent.

 Provide cellular phones on rent

 Useful for people visiting Delhi for a short interval.

3 Telesales

 Call customers and generate sales lead.

 Follow up with the customers, if they need any assistance

  Pass on the sales lead to the channel department.

4 Audit

 Consultant to the AirTel showrooms.

 Monitor the operations at the AirTel distribution outlets Organize training.

5. Retail

 Locate shops to open retail counters.

 Monitor the retail counters.

MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer group, minimization of risk

exposure, better ability to fine-tune a product / service to the requirement of target buyer and the resultant

ease in designing a proper 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 company's objectives & resources

The present market for Cellular phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows

Premium Middle Economy

Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower
Cellular Phones X X X - - -
Pager X X X X - -
Conventional X X X X X -
Phones
X Market Segment Targeted

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that only those segments

should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to target the business

tourists during their stay in the capital

About 60% of the clientele are top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are foreign organisations and

the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During the introduction stage there was intense pressure

to get consumers across to 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.

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 cellphone is an expensive means of communication and

drive home the point that the cellphone is actually a day-to-day utility
PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix. Without a product or a service customers' needs

cannot be satisfied.

The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility. Airtel's main marketing strategy is to be a first mover all the

time. It has recognized 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 become expected component of the product. Airtel seeks to 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. At present the cellular phone market has reached the

maturity 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 deliver maximum price performance to its customers. In 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.

Only price doesn't serve as an effective differentiator, value 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 by the user
ii) Short Message Service:-

The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an 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.

iv) Cash Card:-

The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows the buyers to buy air time in advance. All it

requires is the payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people who travel to Delhi often and

those who want to control the expenses on their calls.

v) Caller ID

Displays calling person's number.

vi) Outgoing call restriction:-

To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, in peak hours. Also possible to exclude one or several

countries or any geographical region, to permit only local calls, or to limit the outgoing calls to a listed

number.

viii) Call forward:-

Incoming calls can be forwarded to another fixed or mobile phone.

Besides these some other services provided by Airtel are - Call conferencing, Call Broadcast etc.
It is in the operators -Interest that they not only get many subscribers but also get them to use the mobile

facility frequently. In the early 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 cellphone would be used buy.

viii) Roaming Facility:-

Roaming facility is available while the subscriber is travelling. The billing is done in the home network (Delhi).

Roaming facility is available manually* as well as semi-automatically. Once a subscriber is In any other city

or country, where a GSM network is available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator Into your

handset and start talking.

* Manual Roaming means a separate SIM card is provided for each city

** Semi automatic roaming means one card has the facility 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 any 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 & requests, quickly & efficiently.

d) They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with customers.

e) They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note-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 'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain the customer.

PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

AIRTEL has realized that the Indian market is price sensitive. Therefore it care of the has come up with

various innovative tariff schemes to take needs of different category of customers- Generally, the cellular

services are more expensive than the land line based telephone services. This is due to the reason that the

operating companies are required to pay a fee to the government for using airtime.
 MARKETING STRATEGY
ADOPTED BY BHARTI

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 stronger brand equity for Airtel. Since the cellular phone

category itself is too restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone is a high involvement product, price doesn't

qualify as an effective differentiator. The image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell

phone category, it is the network efficiency and the quality 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 preference through brand stature. Airtel's

campaign in the 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 connection 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 well entrenched in the Delibes’s mind, the Airtel campaign began to focus

on the utility of Cellphone. In the first four months alone Airtel’s advertisement spends 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 a 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 healthy and a thriving brand.
Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target and a game plan with due regard to Its

competitor. Airtel 's campaign 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 market

share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover every time" and that of a "market leader".

The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just 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, values its heavy users the most and

constantly indulges in 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 organized 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 attempt to focus on those who can afford.

The print advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas which most likely to catch the

attention of those who need a cellular phone. The product promise (which might cost different 1 higher) is an

important variable in determining the target audience.

Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted are .

(i) People who have booked Airtel services have been treated to exclusive premiers of blockbuster movies.

Airtel has tied up with Lufthansa to offer customer bonus miles on the German airlines frequent flier's

programs.
(ii) There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch advertisements, launch

advertisements, congratulatory advertisements, promotional advertisements, attacking advertisements

and tactical advertisements.

 DISTRIBUTION

Company

Franchisee Distributor

Dealers
Dealer

Customer
Customer

The- company whose operations are concentrated in and around Delhi. It 27 Franchisees and 15

Distributors- They also have 8 'instant access cash card counters- Each franchises or distributor can have
any number of dealers under him as long as the person is approved by the Airtel authority. Each franchisee

has to invest Rupees Ten Lakhs. to obtain a franchise and should employ an officer recruited by Airtel. This

person acts as a liaison between the company and the franchises. The franchises can it any number of

dealers as long as their territories do not overlap. But unfortunately Airtel has not been very successful in

controlling territorial overlaps of dealers. The franchises can carry out his 1 her own promotional strategy.

For this them, company contributes 75% of the money and the franchises contributes 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 Airtel

personnel.

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 main Airtel office in Delhi.
WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?

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 a complete micro-

computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's cellular phone thoroughly. Each SIM card contains a

PIN code (Personal Identity Number) which may be entered by one. 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 elsewhere in the world reveals that the growth in the

market is initially slow followed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has not happened 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 Maximize market Maximize profits

awareness and trial share whole defending

market share
Strategies

Product Offer a basic Offer value Increase in

product/ added services number of value

service. added services.

Price Charge cost- Price to Price to match

plus penetrate or best

market competitors
Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more

distribution distribution. intensive

distribution.

Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand

awareness and interest in differences and

among early the mass benefits.

adopters and market

dealers.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Increase to Increase to

promotion to build and encourage

entice people to maintain brand-

subscribe. relationships switching.

with customers.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Objectives:

 To study the importance and development of tele – communication industry in today’s scenario.

 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in highly competitive

cell phone industry.

 To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology adopted for this project is exploratory in nature since there is no hypothesis that has to be

tested. The conclusions have been drawn by exploratory research work.

There have been two sources of information collected:

a) Primary Sources

I have met retailers of the Airtel of the company and have been able to get first hand information regarding the

product, its features and the buying patterns of the product. Their input has been valuable.

b) Secondary Sources

Secondary source has played a vital role to play in this report. A good amount of data has been collected from

various published articles and reports found in magazines and journals. Another vital source has been the

Internet and particularly the companies own website.

 LIMITATIONS

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in this world is

100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of following limitations-

(1) Respondent’s unavailability.

(2) Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.

(3) Courtesy bias.

 FINDINGS

1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service providers in the world?

Company Yes No
Airtel 4 1
Vodafone 4 1
Idea 4 1
MTNL 4 1

As according to the above table 16 (80%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in all the above four specified

Indian mobile service providers are of belief that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service

providers in the world, whereas some 4 (20%) of them do not agree to this view.
2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the

development of mobile service providers?

Company Yes No
Airtel 4 1
Vodafone 3 2
Idea 3 2
MTNL 5 --

As according to the above table 15 (75%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in all the above four specified

Indian mobile service providers find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on

the development of mobile service providers, whereas some 5 (25%) of them deny this.
3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity of the coverage

regions?

Company Yes No
Airtel 2 3
Vodafone 3 2
Idea 3 2
MTNL 2 3

As according to the above table 10 (50%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in the mobile service providers

are of belief that one of the challenges facing mobile operations in India is the diversify of the coverage

regions, whereas interestingly another 10 (50%) of them deny this.

4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers is a very complex standard?

Company To some extent To great extent

(1-5) (6-10)
Airtel 3 2
Vodafone 2 3
Idea 2 3
MTNL 3 2

As according to the above table 10 (50%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in all the above four major the

mobile service providers in Indian Cellular industry find only to some extent that GSM is a very complex

standard, whereas the another 10 (50%) respondents find to great extent that mobile service providers is a

very complex standard.

 CONSUMER LEVEL

1. Do you believe that mobile service providers come close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal

communication system?

Company Yes No
Airtel 9 1
Vodafone 8 2
Idea 8 2
MTNL 5 5

As the above shows 30 (75%) out of total 40 respondents are of the belief that mobile service providers comes

close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system, whereas 10 (25%) of them are in no

way to this belief.

2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard?

Company Yes No
Airtel 9 1
Vodafone 7 3
Idea 8 2
MTNL 8 2

As the above shows 32 (80%) out of total 40 respondents find that mobile service providers as the most

exciting and satisfying mobile standard, whereas the remaining 8 (10%) respondents deny this.
3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications?

Company Yes No
Airtel 10 --
Vodafone 8 2
Idea 10 --
MTNL 8 2

As the above shows 36 (90%) out of total 40 respondents are of the belief that their service providers have a

genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications whereas the remaining 4 (10%)

respondents deny this.

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS

 Cost advantage

 Current leaders in quality service

 Largest distribution network

 Ability to constantly innovate

 Highly skilled workforce

 Entrepreneurial zeal

 Airtel’s 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

 Airtel’s market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out.

 Attain higher value services

 Collaborative business needs to be explored

 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
 CONCLUSION

From above the details I conclude that 70% Airtel users preferred to remain with Airtel. Also good no. of

users who were willing to switch from their respective subscribers showed interest in Airtel. Hence, these

statistics imply a bright future for the company. Also the company is now providing more services like the

door to door services which is you dial the Airtel customer care and would like to send someone flowers the

Airtel company delivers those flowers to the person concerned. Also Airtel is providing free text messaging

service and free voice mail service. Call conferencing is also another feature Airtel provides.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Bernard J. T. Millender. Specification Methodology Applied to the GSM System. In EUROCON 88, June

2005.

 Seshadri Mohan and Ravi Jain. Two User Location Strategies for Personal Communication Services. IEEE

Personal Communications. 1(1), 1994.

 Moe Rahnema. Overview of the GSM System and Protocol Architecture. IEEE Communications Magazine.

April 1993.

 C. Watson. Radio Equipment for GSM. In D.M. Balston and R.C.V Macario, editors, Cellular Radio Systems,

Artech House, Boston, 1993.

 Robert G. Winch. Telecommunication Transmission Systems. McGraw-Hill New York, 1993.

 Vodafone

 Airtel

 Idea

 MTNL