MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

I dedicate this project to my beloved parents, teachers and friends for keeping my spirit high and for their love, support and guidance throughout my life. WAQAR AZEEM

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All Praise to Allah. First and foremost I thank Allah, the Generous, for having finally made this effort a reality. I praise Him because if it were not for His Graciousness, it would never materialize. Im extremely grateful to my course instructors entire course instructor. who spent a lot of valuable time with me and gave all the related information and expertise very generously about related courses. I thankful to UFONE PTML and its employees who provide the platform to complete my report successfully, specially thanks to Sr. Manager HR Abdul Rehman Fiasal, Astt. Manager HR Farooq Naeem Sofi, Sr. HR Ex. Waheed Anwar, HR Ex. Raza Hussain, and HR Ex. Mohammad Shawzib. At last I, express our deepest gratitude to all those who contributed directly or indirectly to bring this report to this final format, because I would never have been able to achieve this by my self.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Executive Summary.......................................................................................4 2. Introduction...................................................................................................5 3. History Of Ufone............................................................................................6 4. Mission Statement.........................................................................................7 5. Vission Statement..........................................................................................7 6. Company Analysis..........................................................................................7 7. Environmental Analysis.................................................................................12 8. Major Product Lines & Market Segments.....................................................12 9. Marketing Strategies.....................................................................................13 10. Marketing Mix...............................................................................................14 11. Market Share.................................................................................................15 12. SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................16 13. Conclusion.....................................................................................................17

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project has been undertaken in order to highlight the Human Resource Practices of Ufone. Its all about YOU its all about Ufone, a company very highly spoken of these days. A company paying more attention to its customers delights rather then the customers satisfaction. Ufone is a company starting from scratch and has shown utmost performance in the last four years. Ufone owes its success to its employees believing that providing employees with job satisfaction, motivates them to work hard and provide better results.

Proper planning is Ufones strongest point; all the products that they have launched so far are backed by wise strategies with proper market research and massive advertisement campaigns. Decisions are taken at top level with some participation from the lower levels showing that they do comprehend the worth of Group decision-making. However goal setting is a procedure dedicated to only the top management. Working on newer technologies is a specialty of ufone.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE INTRODUCTION

Background of Telecom Industry In Pakistan
Today information has become the most vibrant force and factor of production in the new economy the foundation of the information infrastructure is the telecom system. Initially, the telecom industry was monopoly. The world started to see an initiation of reform in this sector from early eighties of previous century. In Pakistan the liberalization of telecom sector started in early 1990s. The real defining moment was the passage of Telecom Re-organization Act of 1996, which established the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) as independent regulator of the sector and set timeframe for ending the PTCL monopoly. This act paved the path for liberalization of the telecom sector in line with the global trends and Pakistans commitment to the international treaties like WTO.
With the deregulation of telecommunications sector in Pakistan in early 90s, Ministry of Communications awarded two licenses to begin cellular operations based on AMPS technology. Paktel and Instaphone were formed as joint venture between foreign and local partners. Instaphone initiated its services in 1990, while Paktel started its operations in 1992. Both the companies were using AMPS technology. A year later, a third license was awarded to the Saif Group that led to the inception of Mobilink that started its services in 1994. It was the first company that introduced GSM technology in Pakistan. In 1995, the Cellular Industry suffered a major blow with the closure of operations in Karachi, the largest market, but the closure sanction was lifted after almost two years. On January 19th, 2001, PTCL entered the cellular market with its on operator based on GSM technology under the brand name of Ufone. In April 2004 Pakistan Telecommunication authority (PTA) awarded two new licenses under an open auction process for a fee of $291 million. These were purchased by two companies namely, Warid telecom and Telenor. Telenor started its operations on March 15, 2005. Al-Warid started its operations on 23rd May 2005. The cellular industry had been offering attractive rewards and pays since the beginning. However, with the introduction of the two new companies Telenor and Al Warid, the pays and rewards have taken a rise. The two new companies especially Telenor have been able to attract highly qualified workers of two main companies namely Ufone and Mobilink by offering them higher pays and rewards. Keeping this in view, the Mobilink and Ufone had to revise their pay plans and rewards. Currently, there is tough competition in the cellular industry and all the companies are trying hard to attract, retain and motivate their employees by offering them attractive pay packages.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

History of Ufone

Uf

Ufone PTML is a wholly owned subsidiary of PTCL established to operate cellular telephony. The company commenced its operations, under the brand name of Ufone, from Islamabad on January 29, 2001 During the year, as a consequence of PTCLs privatization, 26% of its shares were acquired by Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat). Being part of PTCL, the management of Ufone has also been handed over to Etisalat. During the year July 2005 to June 2006, Ufone continued on the path to success. The Company further expanded its coverage and has added new cities and highways. Ufone has network coverage in more than 750 cities, towns and across all major highways of the country. During the year Ufone successfully completed the network expansion of Phase IV in existing as well as in new cities and towns, which amounted to more than US Dollar 170 million. As a result the asset base of the Company has increased from Rs. 20 billion to Rs. 27 billion. During the year Ufone adopted the policy of simplified tariffs with no hidden charges, which resulted in positive impacts on the usage trends of subscribers as well as total subscriber base, which has increased from 2,579 k in June 2005 to 7,487 k in June 2006. Ufone currently caters for International Roaming to more than 200 live operators across 121 countries and introduced International roaming facility for Prepaid subscribers in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Portugal, Thailand, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Tunisia and Kuwait with lowest rates, featuring no security deposit and activation charges. GPRS Roaming facility is available with more than 90 Live Operators across 66 countries. The company has also been awarded a new License for providing cellular services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Northern Areas.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE Mission Statement

To become the best cellular communication option available in the country for u.

Vision Statement
In order to evolve with our customers and to keep pace with your needs, we rejuvenated and revamped our image by changing our visual identity. At Ufone we understand the value of words and the need to communicate effectively and efficiently at all levels of society, which is why our primary focus is on U, our valued customers bring strength to our company. With a fresher look than is accepted and appreciated across the board by people of all ages, we aim to connect with you and provide you state of the art services. No matter who you are, where you are, what you want to say, how you want to say it or how you feel, you are our focus. Because at Ufone, its all about U,

COMPANY ANALYSIS Operational Analysis

When a company wants to compete in innovation, it needs to maximize flexibility. Flexibility is maximized by aggregating work into larger, holistic pieces that are executed by teams of higher wages, high skilled workers. Giving the units their own support systems and decision-making authority to take advantage of local opportunities in regional or specialized product markets also enhances flexibility.
Keeping in view of all these factors the structure of Ufone is designed i.e. the overall Structure of the Ufone is Divisional (More flexible and innovative). Mainly Ufone has four regions and within those regions the structure is functional .The decision making authority is centralized at the top but within the regions it is decentralized i.e. regional heads have to inform top management before making any decision

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

Board of Directors

CEO

Project Director

Marketing & Sales

Customer Care

Information System

Finance

Engineering

HR &

Business
Unit Khi/Lhr/Fsd

QualityAssurance

Admin

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

This is what Ufone looks from the organizational hierarchy point of view. There are eight different departments each headed by a Project Director. They report directly to the CEO. There are four BU (Business Unit) each Project Director is responsible for these eight divisions. BUs are divided geographically into three divisions

BU North (Peshawar to Jehlum, including Islamabad) BU Central-1 (Gujranwala till Sialkot) BU Central-2 (Multan till Rahim Yar Khan) BUM South (Sindh and Balochistan)

Operating Performance
Ufones operational performance has been very encouraging. Despite the stiff competition in Pakistan telecom market which has led to reduction of prices to bare minimum level, due to its aggressive policies and exercising strict control over expenses the Company managed to improve its revenue and after-tax profit by 87% and 54% respectively, as compared to last year.

Financial Analysis
Ufone has over the last six and a half years made huge investments in the national economy. PTML has successfully been able to build upon its excellent financial results from the previous year. During the year Ufone successfully completed the network expansion of Phase IV in existing as well as in new cities and towns which amounted to more than US Dollar 170 million. As a result the asset base of the Company has increased from Rs. 20 billion to Rs. 27 billion. Since Ufone is an SBU of PTCL therefore they are not authorized to disclose their profits separately. For the same reason PTCLs financial statement incorporates the profits earned through its mobile operations and the figure are displayed in their annual reports.

Future Financial Plans

Keeping in view the growth potential of the cellular industry there is no option but to be aggressive in order to remain a potent force in the cellular industry. In order to extend cellular network to new cities, towns and highways and enhance its current installed capacities in existing cities, Ufone has finalized a huge network expansion contract amounting to about USD 550 million, which will enhance the subscribers capacity by 10 million. This is the largest ever expansion project of Ufone.
A strong focus will be on maintaining high quality of service, which is always a benchmark of Ufone, increasing usage and exploring new revenue streams on value added services, market visibility through various market initiatives to fulfill subscribers satisfaction and demand and above all to increase the value of investment for the shareholders.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

Advertisements
Since most of the posts are of a specialist nature, they intend on advertising in the journals of professional bodies and the trade press. Their next step is to find out how much adverts cost for varying amount of space and decide what they can afford. The HR management has hired the services of Interflow, an advertising agency, to propagate their service and company for them. They are also using the services of a web designer, Eveready media, to post the advertisement of the company on the Internet.

Marketing Analysis
Today, Ufone is the affordable mobile service option available in the local market with all facilities available at affordable prices. Right now Ufone commercials are beings aired in 15 different TV dramas. These television commercials have received a lot of appreciation from both their valued customers and advertising industry professionals in Pakistan. Ufone, with Pakistan's largest advertising company Interflow Communications Private Limited, has always tried to deliver truthful and interesting advertising to its viewers. Ufone invests heavily on its advertising budget and its commercials are not only aired on TV and radio but are also printed in the leading newspapers and magazines of the country. Huge billboards and banners have also been put up at eye catching locations in different cities, advertising the latest new services being offered. It also participates in sponsoring various theatre and stage plays in various cities along with live rock concerts held across the country.

Cricket matches are another area in which Ufone ads are commonly viewed. It even allows its subscribers to receive wicket alerts and download animated video clips of falling wickets and via its MMS service.

At times Ufone has even restored to aggressive marketing strategy in order to gain a larger market share. They are using dumping strategy to gain maximum market.

Marketing Department
Their Marketing department consists of following four units.

Brand Marketing Value Added Services (VAS) International Roaming Marketing Operations.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

Marketing

Brand VAS Marketing

International Roaming

Marketing Operations

Brand Marketing Department

Brand marketing department of Ufone deals with the advertisement agencies, all the ads shootings, animation, posters, billboards, TV ads, radio newspaper etc. They Create ideas ot hire some firm to make their up coming promotion.

Value Added Service (VAS) Department

Value added service department deals with the different packages related with the ufone connection, they do research and market analysis to find out customer needs and then design vale added package for those customer like for example these days most famous value added package is 1000 SMS is Rs 75 which can be activated by dialing 777 from the Ufone prepaid connection. Some of the features offered on Prepay are as follows:

Voice Mail: Ufone Voice mail lets you receive and store messages when you are unable to attend your calls; if your phone is switched off, not responding, busy or out of coverage. SMS: With Ufone's Short Messaging Service you can send unlimited messages to your friends, loved ones and colleagues GPRS: Ufone GPRS allows you to check your e-mails, chat with friends or browse the internet from your mobile phone MMS: MMS allows you to send photographs or video clips to an email or another Ufone. International SMS: International SMS: You can now send unlimited messages to 449 operators in over 169 countries all over the world at a standard SMS rate. Page 11

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

Downloads: Ufone provides a wide range of downloads for your mobile in form of Java Games picture messages, color wallpapers, ring tones, logos etc.

International Roaming Department

International Roaming department deals with people who went across the country boarder with Ufone SIM with international roaming activated. I more frequently related with the people who went for Umrah and Hajj.

Marketing Operations

Marketing Operations department at Ufone deals with all non-electronic activities like billboards, outdoor, sponsorship, event-sponsorship, franchise out-wall and in-wall monitoring

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES
The environment of any organization plays a very vital role in bringing out the inner qualities and talents of people. On entering the Ufone office, what strikes a person most is their atmosphere and decor. The atmosphere of the Ufone head office is a very pleasant one, with a large impressive lobby welcoming the distinguish customers. The dcor includes glass and steel walls. This communicates that Ufone has effectively dealt with its most toughest and delicate issues with care. To make the atmosphere more pleasant, a touch of greenery has been added, to communicate that Ufone is an ecofriendly organization. The security check on entering the majestic hall gives the customer a sense of security. It requires the person visiting the office to sign an entry form and wear a badge. All these things made the office informally communicate that it welcomed customers and guests, but the most important element that makes this backdrop complete is the employees, all formally dressed, communicating that the organization strictly adheres to dress code.

Industry & Market Analysis

All mobile phone operators in Pakistan have two basic types of connections i.e.

Prepaid

Post paid

Major Product Lines & Market Segments Ufone Product Lines

There are two basic products of Ufone Ufone Prepaid and Ufone Postpay. Both pf these products are available at their franchise for public.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

1.

Ufone Prepaid

Ufone Prepaid is with a wide range of products and features your Ufone Prepay connection is a complete communication solution that offers you SMS, GPRS, MMS, Call Features, International Roaming and a variety of amazing Mobile Products 2.

Ufone Postpay

Ufone Postpay is a brand that keeps up with you, understanding your drive for victory in the business arena and your sense of belonging in your personal life. On Ufone postpaid they aim at providing you with the most superior mobile phone services, widest quality network & best customer services for you on your journey to success. It have following features;

MARKETING STRATEGIES MARKET SEGMENTATION

Cellular service market is a diverse set of people. Ufone as well as other cellular service companies segment their market on four bases: - economy, age, gender & occupation. I. ECONOMY : Upper class, Middle class, socio-economic class, lower class II. AGE : Teenagers, youngsters, middle age, aged people III. GENDER : Male & Female IV. OCCUPATION : corporate class, Business class, working class etc

TARGET MARKETS
Cellular phones are the technology of new era, the 21st century. These cellular phones are the main focus of our youngsters. All the cellular companies are targeting The Youth one way or other. Ufone is no longer a follower in this race. Its main focus is THE YOUTH of Pakistan which is its Target Market. Target marketing strategy Ufone has always been targeting Youth Market by using young brand endorsers or ambassadors. It always brings such packages and offers that precisely meet the needs of our young people. No doubt it has also launched packages, brands and offers for working people, business class, ladies and aged ones. Ufone seeks to target masses in the long run.

POSITIONING
Positioning is the process of creating an image of companys brand in the mind of market. Companies position themselves emotionally, functionally or on the basis of brand quality. Ufone is still a market challenger in comparison to market leader MOBILINK. It is still to reach to the top most position of cellular companies. So Ufone positions itself on the basis of its services. Ufones former Positioning Statement: Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS) Page 13

MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

Everybody Loves to Ufone Prepay Ufones new Positioning Statement: Ufone tum hi toh ho! Or Its All About U Ufones positioning strategy: Ufone changed the image of mobile phones from a luxury only affordable by the elite, to a necessity affordable by the common man. Since its inception, Ufone has positioned its brand for

DIFFERENTIATION
In these days of intense competition marketers find it hard to differentiate their services from those of competitors. Now customer care about only price. An unsatisfied customer will immediately go for brand switching. Thus leaving a customer unsatisfied and not meeting his/her demands is out of question for marketers. Differentiation Strategy : Ufone has always strategized in satisfying the demands of its customers. In doing so it has been successful in differentiating itself in terms of:-

Price Quality service Technology

MARKETING MIX
1 - PRODUCT/SERVICES Ufone is a service providing company. Service is any intangible product that consists of activities, benefits or satisfactions offered for sale. Strategy: Ufone makes strategies to provide a better cellular telephonic service which excels its competitors at all levels. When Ufone launches a new package in a market, it actually makes it a complete package of core benefit, design, features, brand name, quality, and after sale service. 2 PRICE Cellular service providers are facing intense price competition in contemporary market. Customers perceive pricing as the heart of brand selection. Price has always been the core differentiation of Ufone. Ufone is the one who is offering least call rates off-network. Strategy : Ufone strategize to capture the existing pricing needs of its customers and use it well on occasional or timely basis. For example Ufone offered very good call rates on international calls in Eid days. It offered hourly call rates in Ramadan when people were least likely to avail the offer that much that it might prove unprofitable for Ufone. It was a fantastic strategy to beautify the brand image in term of pricing in customers minds as well as remain profitable in doing so. Ufone follows market penetration pricing strategy and dynamic pricing strategy to meet the customer needs and ever changing price competition.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE

3 - PLACE Place plays a very important part in the distribution and promotion of services. Competitors of Ufone are seeking to penetrate into places where others havent reached. Cellular service providers are drastically widening their network & coverage in every area of Pakistan. Mobilink has this edge in place excellence because it is the pioneer in cellular telephonic field. Strategy : Ufone strategize to widen its coverage to all places in Pakistan in order to meet the requirements of its increasing customer base. Now Ufone is heading from cities to remote northern areas in expanding its network. Ufone has intensive promotion in cities, but it is also considering improving its promotion in rural areas as well. 4 - PROMOTION Ufone believes in Integrated Marketing Communication which is a carefully blended mix of promotion tools. Ufone employ different marketing activities and channels to communicate and deliver value to customer. These activities are coordinated to provide maximum communication output. These communication channels includes:- Advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing & personal selling. Ufone strategize to carry out promotion in order to increase its market share. Strategy : Public Relations : Ufone is less conscious of developing its general public relations. But recently it has launched its Hajj Guide service on Ufone. It avoids getting in news stories and controversies but sometimes it proves inevitable. Direct Marketing : Ufone employ on-road umbrella franchises where the directly market and sell their connections and Sims. Personal Selling : Ufone administer personal selling facility to sell their PostPay connections targeting well to do people and businessmen .

MARKET SHARES
According the the results of research on market shre of Pakistans mobile companies we have following data

Ufone 21% Mobilink 49% Telenor 11% Waird Telecom 14% Page 15

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE SWOT ANALYSIS

Paktel 5%

Strengths Ufone is

a government company and therefore it enjoys a lot of concessions, which the private cellular companies cannot enjoy. GSM technology. It has a strong brand identity. It has successfully projected itself as a company meant to serve its people. Ufone has Wide network. Ufone has a comprehensive promotional strategy. Ufone has a unified network of franchises. Electronic Voucher Distribution (EVD) is a great new re-charge option for prepaid subscribers that doesn't relay on the availability of scratch cards for topping up their Ufone credit. This service is great because it ensures that the credit require for Ufone connection will always be available on-demand.

Weakness Ufone

being a government organization has relatively less human and financial capital available as compared to its major competitors that are subsidiaries of large multinationals such as Mobilink and Telenor. Customer services provided by Ufone are not according to the requirements of their customers. High Turnover rate.

Opportunities There are vast opportunities of growth as market penetration rate of the cellular market of Pakistan is only
2.3%

The introduction of new technologies in the cellular industry has increased the demand for it along with reducing the operation costs for these companies. Ufone can develop direct relationship with retailers on large scale through Electronic Voucher Charge. Ufone can further improve its network in order to make more loyal customers. With the globalization of the world Mobilink can further increase its market.

Threats Just

as Telenor, Ufones greatest threat is its competitors especially Telenor and Al-Warid. These companies have introduced new technologies with consumer friendly packages. Ufone will have to devise its defensive strategies tactfully in order to retain its share in the market Changing technology is also a threat for Ufone because things are changing so frequently in the market with the change in technology.

Hamdard Institute Of Management Sciences (HIMS)

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF UFONE CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION

Motivation
Again although Ufone HR management says that it motivates its employees but according to the employees there is no motivational aspect present which gives a positive impact.

Have A More Professional Attitude

Ufone does not follow a very professional attitude and a lot of biasness and personal favoritism is present and employees are also evaluated on the personal relations with their respective upper management with out taking performance much into consideration

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