A

RESEARCH REPORT

ON

“Comparative analysis of MARKETING STRATEGIES

OF

Vodafone & AIRTEL”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement
For the award of the degree of Master Of Business Administration.

Department Of Business Administration

SESSION (2014-2015)

Under the guidance of Submitted by:

Deeksha Tripathi Rajnish Parashar
Assistant Professor MBA IInd year
Kanpur Institute of Technology Roll No.-1316570045
Kanpur, 208001

KANPUR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KANPUR

AFFILIATED TO

UPTU- LUCKNOW
 COLLEGE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this Research Report

entitled”……………….………………………………………
………………………………………………………..…” has
been prepared by Mr. /Ms. ……………………… Of MBA
Semester IV during session ……….under my supervision.
The summer training report is up to the standard and I
forward it to the director Kanpur Institute of Technology
for getting it evaluated as per the ordinances governing
the MBA course.

…………………….
(Signature)

Date…………………. …… ………………
(Name)

.………..……….
(Designation)

2
 STUDENT DECLARATION

I, Rajnish Parashar student of M.B.A at Kanpur Institute of Technology,

Kanpur of hereby declare that the Project work Comparative analysis of
MARKETING STRATEGIES OF Vodafone & AIRTEL” is compiled and
submitted under the guidance of Mr. Pankaj Das Kanpur. This is my original
work.

What ever information furnished in this project report is true to the best of my
knowledge.

Name: Rajnish Parashar

MBA IInd year

Roll No: 1316570045

3
 Acknowledgement

It is my proud privilege to release the feelings of my gratitude to several persons who helped

me directly or indirectly to conduct this project work. I express my heart full indebtness and

owe a deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Brajesh Varshney, Director, KIT, Kanpur and Mr.

Pramendra kumar Singh, H.O.D ,KIT, Kanpur for their sincere guidance and inspiration in

completing this project.

I express my sincere gratitude to my Project mentor Prof. Anjulika Singh, Assistant

Professor,KIT ,Kanpur for her valuable guidance as and when I required, moral support, her

persistent encouragement during project work and of course, for giving freedom during our

project work by which I enthusiastically completed it within stipulated time.

I am thankful to my faculty Guide Deeksha Tripathi , Assistant Professor,KIT

,Kanpur for her guidance and support.

I also thank all my friends who have more or less contributed to the preparation of this

project report. I will be always indebted to them.

4
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 2008 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 2008 as compared to 232.87 million in
July 2007. The overall Teledensity has increased to 23.63% in January 2008
as compared to 21.20% in August 2007.

Wireless Service: The wireless segment saw a surge of 8.77 million subscribers last mont
compared to 8.17 million in December2007. This pushed the total wireless subscribers base
to 242.40 million by Jan 31 2008.

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 January 2008.

Teledensity: The gross subscriber base reached 206.83 million at the end of March 2007.
The Teledensity is 24.63%at the end of January 2008 as compared to 18.31% at the end of
March 2007, 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
2007 from 64.14 per cent in November 2006.

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

5
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.

AIRTEL

Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airtel. Airtel is

the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of subscribers. Bharti Airtel
owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services under the brand name Airtel:
Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services (Fixed line,
Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and Enterprise
Services (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates). It has presence in all 23 circles of
the country and covers 71% of the current population (as of FY07). Leading international
telecommunication companies such as Vodafoneand SingTel held partial stakes in Bharti
Airtel.

VODAFONE ESSAR

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16
telecom circles in India Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are
simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage
throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros.
Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16
telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products
aresimply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone
coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar
provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering
voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.

(TAKE THE DATA OF CURRENT YEAR)

6
7
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.. introduction of the topic …………………………………………………….....10-31
Telecom sector in India
Airtel
Vodafone
Background
Company profile of Airtel
Comparison between marketing strategy of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone
Swot analysis ………………………………………………………….………56-58

objectives of the study …………………………………………………………06

Research Methodology …………………………………………………………32-45
Data collection method
Method of collection

Data Analysis and Interpretation ……………………………………………..46-55 Swot

analysis ………………………………………………………….………56-58
Findings
Conclusion ……………………………………………………….…………….. 61
Limitation ……………………………………………………………………..59
Suggestion ………………………………………………………………….… 60
Recommendations ………………………………………………….…………. Bibliography
…………………………………………………………….……… 63

8
INTRODUCTION

9
TELECOM INDUSTRY

https://www.dnb.co.in/IndianTelecomIndustry/OverviewTI.asp

https://www.equitymaster.com/research-it/sector-info/telecom/Telecom-
Sector-Analysis-Report.asp

10
11
12
13
14
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COMPANY
PROFILE

17
Airtel Company

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its strategies and how
the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and how it is scooping
up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report begins with the history of the
products and the introduction of the Airtel Company. This report also contains the basic
marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel Company of manufacturing process,
technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and
government policies. The report includes some of the key salient features of market trend
issues. In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not only exist
but also to excel in the market.

Today’s market is enormously more complex. Hence forth, to survive in the market, the
company not only needs to maximize its profit but also needs to satisfy its customers and
should try to build upon from there.
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. 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 inDelhi, 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, Delhi,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, Delhi,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 Chennai-Singapore 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

18
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-

19
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.

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”.

BHARTI AIRTEL (Cellular Operations)

20
TOUCHTEL (Basic Service Operations)
INDIA ONE (National Long Distance)

Brand Strategy :

To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building exercise associated
with Airtel — a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new needs in the
market. When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass
market by any means.
For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a
minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as much as buying a second-
hand car. Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the
economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy would
not have worked for the simple reason that the value from using the phone at the time was not
commensurate with the cost. “Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address
the sensory benefit it gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a
badge value brand,” he explains. So the Airtel “leadership series” campaign was launched
showing successful men with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In
simple terms, it meant Airtel was positioned as an inspirational brand that was meant for
leaders, for customers who stood out in a crowd.

Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three core
benefits that were clearly associated with the brand — leadership, dynamism and
performance. These were valuable qualities, but they only took Airtel far enough to establish
its presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for Airtel to
appeal to a wider audience. And the various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all
these good things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand — it was perceived as cold,
distant and efficient. Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer
relationships were the core this could be a major weakness. The reason with tariffs identical
to competitor Vodafone telecomm and roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had
now become important for Bharti to “humanize” Airtel and use that relationship as a major
differentiation.

The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they needed
was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in tack was important
because this was a time when the cellular market was changing. The leadership series was
okay when you were wooing the creme de la creme of society. Once you reached them you
had to expand the market so there was need to address to new customers. By that time, Bharti
was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.8
million customers). And with tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell companies started
cutting prices — it was time to expand the market. How could Bharti leverage this leadership
position down the value chain? Surveys showed that the concept of leadership in the
customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean directing subordinates to
execute orders but to work along with a team to achieve common objectives — it was, again,
a relationship game that needed to be reflected in the Airtel brand.

Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone brand
mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or colleagues. Thus,

21
existing customers were an important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on
building closer relationships with them. That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve
through its new positioning under the Airtel “Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This set of
campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by caring family members. Says Sachdev:
“The new campaign and positioning was designed to highlight the relationship angle and
make the brand softer and more sensitive.” As it looks to expand its cellular services
nationwide —to eight new circles apart from the seven in which it already operates — Bharti
is now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the Airtel brand, and a new
exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now, the company is unwilling to discuss the
new positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning Airtel as a power brand
with numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the country.
If Airtel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also understood
that one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work in urban markets
that are now getting increasingly saturated. To bring in new customers, the company decided
that it needed to segment the market. One such experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia, a
brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and for those who are “young at heart”.
With its earlier positioning, Airtel was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older
customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, Airtel hoped to reverse that.
In order to deliver the concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30
seconds) at night to Youtopia customers — a time when they make the maximum number of
calls. It also setup merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for
young people to buy things or bid for goods.

The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this segment
which include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to
make it cheaper for young people to use.
The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product segmentation through
the Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface
services or what is known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). The idea was to bring
Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The name was chosen from thepopular movie title
It Takes Two to Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer customers a
new choice”, says Sachdev.

This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with inefficiency of service
(accusingly slow download speeds) and the limited utility of WAP services. Subsequently,
the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding exercise could be
revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet
connectivity on the mobile phone — which Airtel is expected to launch soon.

The Magic

Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the pre-paid card. The idea
was to make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of
expanding the market even faster.

PHASE I –

22
 Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into the market and
assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer used the phone
sparingly — mostly for emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile
connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include rental charges). To
achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.

One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs 300 to
Rs 3,000 with no strings attached and was simple to operate.

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

Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the customer, the company came with
vernacular ad campaigns Like “Magic Daalo Say Hello” which appealed to local
sensibilities. This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for a
major ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from
5.47 lakh to 1.2 million today, overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed, which was
launched much ahead of Magic. The company is now re-working its Magic strategy even
further. Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers —
that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now, with basic
service providers having been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service
providers could find themselves under threat again.

That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact strategy is
under wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at offering them value
which they had not perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card.

PHASE II -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion
through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

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

A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect
with the masses of India

Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel
Magic - Mumkin Hai’ come alive

All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the category to
the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment – the middle class non-mobile user.

Airtel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency situations -
increasing productivity as a part of everyday life.

Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing pretty Kareena
Kapoor with Airtel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid mobile card.

23
Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new Airtel
Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. The strategy is targeted at
the nonuser segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment
is aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a
person’s desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The
new campaign for Airtel Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of
their lives. The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all
their dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month Airtel
Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening
up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before.
Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand
slogan
‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’ has been specially created to capture this effectively.

This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the tone, manner &
language of the masses. The “Mumkin hai” value proposition will help us expand the market
and gain a higher percentage of market shares in the process. The brand ambassadors
Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody this ‘can do’ or “Mumkin Hai” spirit (infact
that is the reason they were selected as brand ambassadors). Sharukh rose from a TV actor to
become India’s top film star and national heartthrob. Kareena’s success is due to her
‘attitude’, talent, hard work and the sheer ability to make a mark in such a short time. Both
these stars have said ‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves. The genre of this new
strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This genre connects millions across India.

The spirit of romance, dancing… the Indian cinema, well known to most as Bollywood,
holds millions of Indians together as one. The new TV campaign of Airtel Magic crafted in
the Hindi film idiom, magnifies the empowering optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the
endearing situation of a boy-girl romance. Where Sharukh Khan, sets his eyes on Kareena
Kapoor and wins her love with the help of Airtel Magic. Poignantly conveying that special
feeling we all get when a dream is made possible and a victory of the heart is won). The
strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped base of intending mobile
customers from Sec A, B & C. The estimated addressable market of such customers in the
next two years is around 25 million in Airtel’s 16 states. The new strategy aims at correcting
the perception that the mobile category is useful mainly for ‘business’ or ‘work’ related
scenarios. The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an outcome of an extensive
nationwide
research and is an integral part of Airtel Magic’s new multi-media campaign. The campaign
has been created by Percept Advertising.

PHASE III -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion
through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

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

24
 A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect
with the masses of India

Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel
Magic - ‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive

Sharukh Khan Makes ‘everything in life possible’ Airtel today unveiled its strategy for
market expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign –
‘Magic Hai to Mumkin Hai’. . The value proposition is centered on a person’s desire to make
all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel
Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives. The brand is
positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams, hopes &
desires come alive… instantly .At a amount of your choice you can recharge your account
with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and
opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never
possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The
new brand slogan ‘Aisi azadi aur kahan’ has been specially created to capture this effectively.

Other Brand Building Initiatives :-

The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months. Working on the above
game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with newer product offerings for the customers.

The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.

To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities, Airtel has devised
common numbers for subscribers across the country for services like customer care, food
services and cinema amongst others.

It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so, customers moving from one
place to another do not have to close and then again open new accounts at another place.

To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a storehouse of 40,000
frequently asked questions and their answers have been stored on the computers.

Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it would be 60 to 70
per cent of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So,
they must be given value-added products and services which competitors don’t provide.

25
 Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer roaming services
even to its pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region in which they
buy the card. To ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing services (which is
known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the customer base every month), the
company is also working on a loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible cash
benefitsdepending upon their usage of the phone.

The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will provide real benefits to
customers. The idea is to create an Airtel community.

Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a new roaming
service launched in Delhi under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city
will be routed directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network.

The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under which customers having
a specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it
in the phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7.

Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular service much
easier than it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation centers. Earlier
Bharti had 250 Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its services) and about
250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation can be done by all of
them, and not only by Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison, the
competition takes two to four hours.

Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users and it is actually
helping the market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike
post-paid, one need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is often
available even withpaanwalas. As befits a fast-moving consumer service, the game is now
moving beyond price to expanding distribution reach and servicing a well-spread-out
clientele with technology and strategic alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make
pre-paid cards more attractive. Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making
recharging more convenience.

Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering food at
home, to reach its Magic pre-paid cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also
joining hands with local grocery shops which will enable users to recharge their cards by just
making a phone call to the shop. Apart from improving the convenience of recharging,
mobile operators are beefing up their distribution channels. The company is constantly
innovating to enhance the value proposition for its pre-paid service. They are leveraging
technology to expand their distribution network and deliver round-the-clock recharge options
to its MOTS (Mobile on the Spot) subscribers.

Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service, CareTouch, for high-value,
corporatecustomers, providing them with instant, single-point access for any assistance they

26
require. Customers can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which includes easier payment
of bills, service on priority basis, and value-added services without any additional paper
work. Bharti
Cellular is offering a range of services without going through an interactive voice recorder
ensuring that they save time. Dedicated‘CareTouch’ executives are expected to assist
customers
with any service on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive reminder calls for bill
payment, customers can also call CareTouch for bill payments at free of cost.

Airtel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-air’ SMS based interactive music dedication
show exclusively for Airtel and Airtel Magic customers. Highly interactive VJ based show
with real-time feedback mechanism. Both brands joined hands to target the high growth
youth segment.

Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-

First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a more holistic manner.
Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps the most potent key to build a brand that
lasts. Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success factor. Customers
(be it for industrial products or consumer goods and services) across the world are more
informed and, at the same time, becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more
demanding with the passage of time.

Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating redefined

or emerging customer needs, and then reacting in “real-time” are essential to attract and
retain customer loyalty — a key element of creating brand equity in the present situation.
Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the specific needs of
various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third element in creating brand appreciation.
As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too many companies
mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on mere advertising and promotion. This is not
to say that advertising and promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more choices
and higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for an increasingly higher spend on their
brand promotion but this has to be undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide
“reengineering” of the business philosophy and core
design, production, and delivery operations for the product itself.

The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the fundamentals, the
enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This can be the beginning of a virtuous cycle
wherein brand equity continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an
appropriate product or service at an ever increasing value.

It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the cost of building a
regional or a national (or an international) brand will continue to rise but also the time taken
to do so will be longer and will need sustained and focused efforts.

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VODAPHONE

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 Research Objective
Research methodology
Method of collection of data

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OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH REPORT

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 know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive
marketing strategies of competitors.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The aim of the survey to find out Foreign Direct Investment in Indian Retail
Sectors”

Type of research: Descriptive

Type of data collected: Secondary data

SECONDARY DATA REFER TO THE DATA THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY

COLLECTED .THE SECONDARY DATA, WHICH HAS BEEN USED TO CARRY OUT
THIS STUDY, ARE AS FOLLOW:

 BOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS

 INDUSTRY REPORTS

 COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE

 SOMEOTHER RELEVANT STUDY MATERIAL AND WEBSITES.

Data presentation tool used for analysis:

1) Table

2) Bar chart

3) Pie chart

4) Mean

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DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATIONS

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Comparison of marketing strategies

between

‘Bharti Airtel’
and
‘Vodafone’.

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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 Bharti 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.

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 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

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF VODAFONE .

Vodafone target the rural India

The main targeted customers of Vodafone are from rural India.

By offering cheap and light mobile sets Vodafone attracts most of the
customers of small villages and towns.

Offering cheap handsets

Vodafone offers cheap and free connections to all customers.

The cost for these sets was Rs-799-849-1099\set and onward.

Free support and services

In every district and big towns Vodafone opens its service centers to provide
better support and services.

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Strong logistics and supply chain

Vodafone has a strong logistic and supply all over India.

In every small town the potential customers can easily purchase the Vodafone
SIM & Sets.

Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

Vodafone attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset at very low prices.

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

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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

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Copy the complete pdf -----telecom industry in
india

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 Findings
 Conclusion
 Limitations
 Recommendations

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FINDINGS

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CONCLUSION

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 LIMITATIONS
Although the study was carried out with extreme enthusiasm and careful planning there are

several limitations, which handicapped the research viz,

1. Time Constraints: The time stipulated for the project to be completed is less and thus

there are chances that some information might have been left out, however due care is taken

to include all the relevant information needed.

2. Accuracy: It is difficult to know if all the respondents gave accurate information; some

respondents tend to give misleading information.

3. Availability: It was difficult to find respondents as they were busy in their schedule, and

collection of data was very difficult

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 SUGGESTIONS
Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market share
and image of the products concerned.

1. PRODUCT

*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand should be
increased.

2. PLACE

* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores.

3. PROMOTION

*Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must be

released in different Medias to create brand awareness.

*Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts,
contests and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and prospects.

* Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

4. PRICE

* Price should be as competitive as other company maintains

* Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS
I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the Research:

The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash
paying customers who are not easy to trace.

The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals

Products it was mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from
company doesn’t matches with the sample’s quality shown before giving
orders.

The company should make its marketing strategy flexible enough in order
to face competition.

The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to
exporter on time, as it has been recommended by exporters to make the
delivery on time.

The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers
because if company offers lower price to a new customer then he may
continue buy the goods and can be a permanent customer for the company.

The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to
catch a bigger market share and it should be able to compete with the local
traders and commission agents while having a brand name. The company should take the
opinion of exporters from time to time to know what problems they are facing from the
company’s side.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in
details the following Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites have been
referred. All the material detailed below provides effective help and a guiding
layout while designing this text report.

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.Vodafone.in
http://www.blonnet.com/2004/06/26/stories/2004062602180700.htm, Mumbai,
June 25, 2004.
com/companies/companies_r/Vodafone_infocom/20031104_stop-roaming.htm,
4 November 2003
Domain, Missed Call, at http://www.domainb

ADD CURRENT YEAR DETAILS OF WEBSITE

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