SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL

AT BHARTI AIRTEL, LUCKNOW

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE MASTERS DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
OF

UTTARAKHAND TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

SUBMITTED TO:
INTERNAL GUIDE
Name
Designation
IMS
Dehradun

EXTERNAL GUIDE
Name
Designation
Company Name
Location
SUBMITTED BY:
ADITYA BHATT
(MB12FA33)

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, DEHRADUN

BATCH 2012-14

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 Mr. PAVEL RAJ, for giving me an opportunity to
undergo training in MARKETING STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL and making my
stay at bharti airtel a memorable learning experience.

I am deeply thankful to Dr. Vishal Shukla (Internal guide) for his

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

CERTIFICATE
I have the pleasure in certifying that Mr. Aditya Bhatt is a bonafide student
of IInd Semester of the Masters Degree in Business Administration (Batch
2012-14),

of

Institute

of

Management

Studies,

Dehradun

under

Uttarakhand Technical University Roll No. 120140500014

He has completed his project work entitled Marketing Strategies of
Airtel under my guidance.
I certify that this is his/her original effort & has not been copied from any
other source. This project has also not been submitted in any other Institute
/ University for the purpose of award of any Degree.
This project fulfils the requirement of the curriculum prescribed by this
Institute for the said course. I recommend this project work for evaluation &
consideration for the award of Degree to the student.

Signature
:
Name of the Guide :
Designation
:
Date
:

PREFACE
In the present scenario marketing and sales is a major challenge for
seasoned professional. And it is no surprise that Marketing is a tough
concept to understand. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and
processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings
that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

The project report consists of detailed Study of MARKETING STRATEGIES

OF AIRTEL A sincere effort has been made to analyze working pattern of
Mobile Services.

The report further provides information regarding Bharti Airtel, its financial
position, infrastructure with its product and services offered by them, which
facilitate the buyer effectively. It is very important that trained marketing
professionals who are able to communicate specific features of the services
should sell the products. In the millennium all these activities would play a
crucial role in the overall development and maturity of the organization.

I hope that the research work made by me will be of great help to get the
comprehensive knowledge of the organization.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The present business scenario is totally customer oriented. Each company
faces stiff competition from its competitors, each provides the best services
at competitive rates. As a result customer has lot of choices to get the best
with least cost. To face this competition, it is very important to know
customers behavior towards different products and services.
This project is aimed at understanding the Marketing strategies adopted by
Airtel and its impact on the perception of Airtel Customers.

Research has showed 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. My job was to collect the feedback from the distributors and
also to get their suggestions about the other products. 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

2.

GSM MARKET IN INDIA

3.

INTRODUCTION

16

4.

TARIFF STRUCTURE

31

5.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

39

6.

MARKET SITUATION

41

7.

COMPETITIVE SITUATION

8.

MARKETING STRATEGY ADAPTED BY BHARTI

50

9.

OBJECTIVE

58

10.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

59

11.

LIMITATION

60

12.

SWOT ANALYSIS

68

13.

CONCLUSION

70

14.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

71

15.

QUESTIONNAIRE

72

42

LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective behind this research project is to study about the importance
and development of telecommunication industry in todays scenario.
To understand the Marketing strategies which are used by Bharti Airtel to
Survive in highly competitive cell phone market and different services which
are offered by Bharti Airtel. An overview of the Indian telecommunication
market is also given, along with the growing GSM market and challenges
before the CDMA market in India. A brief introduction about Bharti Airtel
has also been given, covering all the services provided by Bharti Airtel.

It also includes Indian market study, Bharti Airtel Corporate Study. Under
this research project following points about Bharti Airtel are covered:

Promotional Strategy
Market Situation
Competitive Situation
Market segmentation
Positioning
Pricing Policy

INTRODUCTION
The Indian telecommunications Network is the second largest in the world
860.9 million telephone connections based on the total number of telephone
users (both fixed and mobile phone).It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the
world enabled by the mega telephone networks and hyper-competition among
them. It has the worlds third-largest Internet user-base with over 137 million
as of June 2012. Major sectors of the Indian telecommunication industry are
telephone, Internet, and television broadcasting. Today it is the fastest growing
market in the world with 8.35 million monthly additions.
Telephone density in the country which is in an ongoing process of
transforming into next generation network, employs an extensive system of
modern network elements such as digital telephone exchanges, mobile
switching centres, media gateways and signaling gateways at the core,
interconnected by a wide variety of transmission system using fibre-optics or
Microwave radio relay networks. The access network which connects the
subscriber to the core, is highly diversified with different copper-pair, opticfibre and wireless technologies. DTH, a relatively new broadcasting technology
has attained significant popularity in the Television segment. The introduction

of private FM has given a fillip to the radio broadcasting in India.

Telecommunication in India has greatly been supported by the INSAT system of
the country, one of the largest domestic satellite systems in the world. India

possesses a diversified communications system, which links all parts of the

country by telephone, Internet, radio, television and satellite. Indian telecom
industry underwent a high pace of market liberalization and growth since
1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and one of the fastest
growing telecom markets. The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten
years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 846 million
subscribers in the year 2011. India has the world's second-largest mobile
phone user base with over 929.37 million users as of May 2012. [6] It has
the world's third-largest Internet user-base with over 137 million as of June
2012. The total revenue of the Indian telecom sector grew by 7% to
283207 crore (US$48 billion) for 201011 financial year, while revenues from
telecom

equipment

segment

stood

at 117039 crore (US$20 billion).

Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and

has played a significant role to narrow down the rural-urban digital divide to
some extent. It also has helped to increase the transparency of governance with
the introduction of e-governance in India. The government has pragmatically

used modern telecommunication facilities to deliver mass education programs

for the rural folk of India. Indian Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in
1999, has shown an amazing jump to 47.89 in 2010 and is set to increase by
20% in the next five years. Accordingly, India requires incremental investments
of USD 20-25 billion for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164%
p.a.) in India. With more than 930 million users (both CDMA and GSM),
wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom industry. 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 over 191 million subscribers. RIM, which operates
in 23 circles, is the second largest operator with a subscriber base of 150
million. Vodafone, which operates in 23 circles, has a subscriber base of 142
million subscribers. Thus VODAFONE stands third largest cellular operator in
terms of subscriber base at the end of the fiscal ending March 31, 2011,
displacing BSNL from

the third

position. 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 8.92% growth, the highest growth in any month so far, during
March 2011. Year-on-year, the cellular subscriber base in the country has
almost doubled in March 2012, and is expanding at the rate of 20% per year
thereafter.
The cellular subscriber club expanded by 17.46 million last month. This is
much higher than 15 million subscribers added in June 2013 and. Idea, which
operates in 22 circles, is the fifth largest operator with a subscriber base of 91
million, higher than BSNLS 98 million subscribers across 22 circles. The

subscriber numbers per operator drop sharply with the sixth largest operator,
TataDocomo, having a subscriber base of 43 million, followed by Uninor
Communications with 26 million subscribers and Aircel. MTNL is the ninth
largest operator, with a base of 11 million subscribers.
While the subscriber base-jumped to 229 million in the metros, subscriber
base of category A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu jumped by 30.18 %. Category B circles of Kerala, Punjab,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan, Madhya

Pradesh and West Bengal recorded a jump of 26 %. Circle C has reported
19.74% growth.
Among the metros, while Mumbai added 3 million subscribers, higher than the
1.9 million added by Delhi, the Capital's cellular subscriber base is still higher
than Mumbai. While the cellular industry has been on roll for the first three
quarters of the previous financial year with an average of 30 lakh monthly
additions in the third quarter, the first two months of 20011 had seen the
growth slowing down.

GSM MARKET IN INDIA

Regional Interest Groups - GSM India

With a population of around 1.3 billion growing at roughly 1.9 per cent a year,
India is potentially one of the most exciting GSM markets in the world.
India's telecommunications have undergone a steady liberalisation since 1994
when the Indian government first sought private investment in the sector. More
significant liberalisation 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 mcommerce 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
realise the potential of early packet services in anticipation of the award of
3GSM licences.

India fastest growing GSM market

The Cellular Operators Association of India (which includes most of Indias
GSM telecom operators), has reported an addition of 3.50 million GSM
connections in April 2013, closing in at 664.4 million subscribers, a 0.53%
increase from 660.9 million subscribers in the previous month.

Globally, the GSM market reached 3.9 billion users in February 2013, adding
GSM accounted for 80 per cent of the new subscriber growth in 2012."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 2 billion
users, and is an open mobile standard. It also supports automatic
international roaming, which is a major contributor to business plans."

Indias GSM mobile firms revenue up 30 percent

Indias private telecoms firms offering GSM-based mobile services reported a
21 percent rise in revenue in the year to March 2012 but said future growth
rates could slow because of heavy taxes on the nascent industry. Although
Indias mobile sector is the worlds fastest growing major wireless market, it is
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 650 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 increasing after just 8.25 million
users took up the service in April compared with 6.9 million in the previous
month. 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 750 million
customers by 2014.

THE CDMA CHALLENGE

CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1X-based
networks, which can give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to the Internet, and
other data services. GSM operators, on the other hand, have had to migrate
from the frustrating experience of WAP (wireless application protocol) to GPRS,
which has not significantly improved the subscribers experience of surfing 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 40 crore, the country has between 9 crore GPRS users only. In
comparison, the two CDMA operators have about 23 crore 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.

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 600 million GSM subscribers by 20122013 . According to GSA, there are over 2.7 billion GSM subscribers worldwide
as against 1.3 billion 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 doesnt 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 EVDV 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 licences. 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 audiovideo 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 customers eyeballs is most difficult to
predict. A Korea and Japan may not be waiting to happen in India, but India
will probably be more like the Chinese market with both standards co-existing.
For now, GSM rules!

Airtel (Bharti Airtel Ltd.)

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with

operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi,
India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally
in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G,
3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed
DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national &
international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it
offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over
269 million customers across its operations at the end of March 2013.
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
Mobile Services
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.
3G
Airtel 3G services are available in 200 cities through its network and in 500
cities through intra-circle roaming arrangements with other operators. Airtel

had about 5.4 million 3G customers of which 4 million are 3G data customers
as of September 2012

4G
Airtel launched 4G services using TD-LTE technology in Kolkata, becoming the
first company in India to offer 4G services. Airtel had 20,000 4G subscribers as
of March 2013.

WiFi
Airtel has plans to launch WiFi services in India. It intends to start offering
WiFi services in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore in initial phase. All plans
will be on secure wireless broadband internet with unlimited usage and will be
session or time based. Users can use the service by finding a hotspot,
selecting airtel WiFi Zone', activating the voucher and then login to start
browsing. Airtel intends to partner with establishments to set up hotspots
which will be termed WiFi Hangout for an establishment owner and WiFi
Partner for the cafe and restaurant owners. Airtel WiFi Partners can offer
services at zero investments and can earn commission on every WiFi session
sold.
Airtel Money
Airtel has started a new mCommerce platform called Airtel Money in
collaboration with Infosys and SmartTrust (now Giesecke & Devrient). The
platform was launched on 5 April 2012, at Infosys' headquarters in Bangalore.
Using Airtel Money, users can transfer money, pay bills and perform other
financial transactions directly on the mobile phone.

Smart Drive
SmartDrive is navigation app exclusive to Airtel customers. The app features
voice-based turn by turn navigation, real time information update on traffic,
approximate time of the travel on the basis of the traffic situation on the
various routes and also lets uers see their location on the map and plan the
journey accordingly. It also suggests the subscriber an alternate route in case
of traffic congestion on the normal route.
Network Experience Centre
Airtel has a Network Experience Centre (NEC) which observes end to end
customer experience, in near real time, along with the standard network
elements on Airtel's operations. The NEC is located in Manesar, Haryana and
went live on 31 October 2012. It is the first such facility in India and will be
able to monitor Airtel's network performance across mobile, fixed line,
broadband, DTH,

M-Commerce, enterprise services, International Cable

Systems and internet peering points from a single location. It will monitor all
Airtel and partner NOCs. In case of an emergency, the NEC will enable the
operator to prioritize actions to restore normalcy and reduce resolution time.
iPhone

The iPhone 3G was rolled out in India in 2008 by Airtel. However, high prices
and contract bonds discouraged consumers and it was not as successful as

the iPhone is in other markets of the world. Airtel introduced the iPhone 4 on
27 May 2011 and the iPhone 5 on 2 November 2012.
Strong Network Coverage
Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Airtels 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 thats 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 pre activated 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 youre 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".
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 10digit 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, 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, 9810012345, 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.

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 GPRS services, while roaming, to access the internet and
office mails (e.g. 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 youre 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 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 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 10digit 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 Ringtone 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 Indi pop Remixes, Hard
Rock to Guajarati Garba, Bhajans to Jazz, 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 9810012345 in the subject of the mail for a quicker
response. TARIFF

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 color 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.

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 Cell phone 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 cell
phone 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 emphasizing 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)

C.

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

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.

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.

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
Upper Lower
X
X
X
X
X
X

Cellular Phones
Pager
Conventional
Phones
X Market Segment Targeted

Middle
Upper
X
X
X

Lower
X
X

Economy
Upper Lower
X
-

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 cell phone is an expensive means of communication and drive home the
point that the cell phone is actually a day-to-day utility

PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

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 et cetera.

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 cell phones would be used by]

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.

MARKETING STRATEGY
ADOPTED BY BHARTI AIRTEL
Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone
service, Airtel. Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of
hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi.
The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the Airtel services is
to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences.
It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand equity for
Airtel. Since the cellular phone category itself is 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 Delhiitess mind, the

Airtel campaign began to focus on the utility of Cell phone. In the first four
months alone Airtel's advertisement spend exceeded Rs. 4 crores.
As of today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential
or knowledgeable consumers are asked to name 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. Airtels 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 advertise--ments, attacking advertisements and tactical
advertisements.

DISTRIBUTION
Company

Franchisee

Dealer

Distributor

Dealers

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 franchise
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/her own promotional strategy. For this the. 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 are 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 are 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 cellophane 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.
Price

Distribution

added services.

Charge cost-

Price to

Price to match

plus

penetrate

or best

market

competitors

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 telecommunication industry in

todays 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)

Respondents 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
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea

Yes
4
4
4

No
1
1
1

MTNL

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.

No 1

MTNL
Yes

Idea

Vodafone

10

AirTel
4

12

14

16

18

2. Do you find that the governments telecom policy has had the most
radical impact on the development of mobile service providers?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes
4
3
3
5

No
1
2
2
3

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
governments telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the
development of mobile service providers, whereas some 5 (25%) of them deny
this.

Chart Title
No

AirTel
Vodafone
IDEA
MTNL

Yes

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in

India is the diversity of the coverage regions?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes
2
3
3
2

No
3
2
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.

No

AirTel

Vodafone

Idea

MTNL

Yes

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

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

To some extent

To great extent

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

(1-5)
3
2
2
3

(6-10)
2
3
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.

No

AirTel

Vodafone

Idea

MTNL

Yes

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

CONSUMER LEVEL
1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling
the requirements for a personal communication system?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes
9
8
8
5

No
1
2
2
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
AirTel

Vodafone

Yes

Idea

MTNL

No

2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and
satisfying mobile standard?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes
9
7
8
8

No
1
3
2
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.

No 1

MTNL

Yes

Idea

Vodafone

10

AirTel

15

20

25

30

35

3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to

creating a modern and efficient communications?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes
10
8
10
8

No
-2
-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.

2
0
No

0
AirTel

Vodafone

Idea

MTNL
8

Yes

10
8
10

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Cost advantage

Current leaders in quality service

Largest distribution network

Ability to constantly innovate

Highly skilled workforce

Entrepreneurial zeal

Airtels increased equity and market cap.

WEAKNESSES

To prove credibility

Price pressures

Need for Government support

Awareness

Sales and Marketing

OPPORTUNITIES

To sustain passion and commitment

Airtels market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus

opportunity to wipe it out.

Attain higher value services

Collaborative business needs to be explored

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

Robert G. Winch. Telecommunication Transmission Systems. McGraw-Hill

New York, 1993.

Bernard J. T. Mallinder. Specification Methodology Applied to the GSM

System. In EUROCON 88, June 2005.

Moe Rahnema. Overview of the GSM System and Protocol Architecture.

IEEE Communications Magazine. April 1993.

Seshadri Mohan and Ravi Jain. Two User Location Strategies for Personal
Communication Services. IEEE Personal Communications. 1(1), 1994.

C. Watson. Radio Equipment for GSM. In D.M. Balston and R.C.V Macario,
editors, Cellular Radio Systems, Artech House, Boston, 1993.

Vodafone

Airtel

Idea

MTNL

QUESTIONNAIRE
NAME: ____________________________________
ADDRESS: ____________________________________
OCCUPATION: ____________________________________

1. Which Among The Following is potentially one of the most exciting

mobile service providers in the world?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No

2. Do you find that the governments telecom policy has had the most
radical impact on the development of mobile service providers?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in

India is the diversity of the coverage regions?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No

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

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

To some extent

To great extent

(1-5)

(6-10)

CONSUMER LEVEL
1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling
the requirements for a personal communication system?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No

2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and
satisfying mobile standard?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No

3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to

creating a modern and efficient communications?
Company
Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
MTNL

Yes

No