Summer Internship Report on Marketing strategies of Airtel.

1. SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT ON “MARKETING STRATEGIES OF AIRTEL AT BHARTI AIRTEL, LUCKNOW” SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OF UTTARAKHAND TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN SUBMITTED TO: INTERNAL GUIDE EXTERNAL GUIDE Name Name Designation Designation IMS Company Name Dehradun Location SUBMITTED BY: ADITYA BHATT (MB12FA33) INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, DEHRADUN BATCH 2012-14

2. ii 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.

3. iii CERTIFICATE I have the pleasure in certifying that Mr. Aditya Bhatt is a bonafide student of IInd Semester of the Master‟s 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 : ……………………………………

4. iv 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.

5. v 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 customer‟s 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.

6. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA 1 2. GSM MARKET IN INDIA 5 3. INTRODUCTION 16 4. TARIFF STRUCTURE 31 5. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY 39 6. MARKET SITUATION 41 7. COMPETITIVE SITUATION 42 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

7. vii LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES

8. viii OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The objective behind this research project is to study about the importance and development of telecommunication industry in today‟s 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

10. 1 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 world‟s 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 centre‟s, 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, optic- fibre 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

11. 2 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 2010–11 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.

12. 3 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.

13. 4 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 BSNL‟S 98 million subscribers across 22 circles. The

14. 5 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.

15. 6 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.'

16. 7 Competition in the mobile sector has already had a visible impact on prices with calls currently costing less than 9 cents per minute. This means that service costs have fallen by 60 per cent since the first GSM networks became live in 1995. It also helps explain why a recent Telecom Asia survey revealed that more than 70 per cent of Indian mobile subscribers felt that prices were now at a reasonable level. One of the challenges facing GSM operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions -from remote rural regions to some of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world. India has more than 40 networks, which cover the seven largest cities, over 7000 towns and several Lacs villages. Such depth of coverage has required enormous investment from India's operators. It is estimated that more than Rs200 billion had been invested in India's GSM industry by mid-2000, a figure that is set to be supplemented by a further Rs. 300 billion over the next five years. The good news is that subscriber growth is beginning to look healthy. With India's low PC penetration and high average Internet usage -at 14-20 hours a month per user it is comparable to the US -the market for mobile data and m- commerce looks extremely promising. WAP services have already been launched in the subcontinent and the first GPRS networks are in the process of being rolled out. In the year ahead, GSM India will work with its members to realise the potential of early packet services in anticipation of the award of 3GSM licences.

17. 8 India fastest growing GSM market The Cellular Operators Association of India (which includes most of India‟s 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

18. 9 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." India’s GSM mobile firms’ revenue up 30 percent India‟s 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 India‟s mobile sector is the world‟s fastest growing major wireless market, it is amongst the highest taxed industries in the country. Mobile carriers pay as much as 25 percent of their revenue as licence fee, spectrum charges and other taxes. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said revenue for fiscal 2003/04 stood at 83.08 billion rupees ($1.86 billion) compared with 64 billion rupees a year earlier. According to T.V. Ramachandran, director general at COAI, “These revenue growth rates cannot be maintained unless there is a concerted effort by the government to cut excessive levies and allow sharing of infrastructure” “But the potential to do much better exists as there is still huge demand in the sector.” Ramachandran said the sector was still losing money but declined to elaborate. Sales jumped because of a doubling of the GSM ( Global System of Mobile Communications ) user base as more people entered the flourishing

19. 10 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.

20. 11 THE CDMA CHALLENGE CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1X-based networks, which can give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to the Internet, and other data services. GSM operators, on the other hand, have had to migrate from the frustrating experience of WAP (wireless application protocol) to GPRS, which has not significantly improved the subscriber‟s experience of surfing the Net on/from mobile. The top brass of GSA, an organisation comprising Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel and Lucent Technologies - met on Tuesday in the capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) and leave GPRS behind as a dream gone sour. Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Idea Cellular had launched GPRS, but the data transfer speeds of GPRS have been abysmal. The field trials gave a speed of around 54 kbps, but the actual speeds have not exceeded 14-18 kbps,

21. 12 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 2012- 2013 . 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

22. 13 license. Even the migration to a full-fledged 3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be smooth with EDGE,” said Hadden. “Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in almost 200 countries is a power that CDMA doesn‟t give you. We know for sure that almost 20-25 per cent of the revenue for some GSM operators comes from roaming customers,” he added. But CDMA is no pushover with Korea and Philippines as the shining jewels in its crown. The first CDMA 2000 1X was commercially deployed in October 2000. Already, 81 operators have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks whereas nine have launched services based on 1xEV-DO platform across Asia, the Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new 1X and six 1xEV-DO networks are scheduled to be deployed in 2004, according to CDMA Development Group. EV-DO and EV-DV are the next level of evolution on the CDMA 2000 1X platform, capable of delivering services comparable to 3G WCDMA. Where are the models? What will matter a lot in this war will be the availability of EDGE compliant handsets at affordable rates. While the two CDMA operators have been giving out handsets that can give hi-speed data transfer, same has not been the case with GSM. Even now, GPRS handsets have not become commonplace and GPRS feature is found only in mid and high-end segment handsets.

23. 14 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 audio- video applications, including video telephony. GSM lobby may continue to remain gung ho over the future of their technologies over that boosted by the American firms Qualcomm and Motorola, but Indian market could well throw an interesting scenario that industry experts will do well to watch. In the coming months, Reliance plans to offer its CDMA subscribers much more than what GSM players intend to deliver through their EDGE for their subscribers. Who succeeds in this battle for mobile customer‟s eyeballs is most difficult to predict. A Korea and Japan may not be waiting to happen in India, but India will probably be more like the Chinese market with both standards co-existing. For now, GSM rules!

24. 15 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

25. 16 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

26. 17 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.

27. 18 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

28. 19 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 Airtel‟s world-class technology and unbreakable network coverage that spans over 23 circles across the country. Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each chargeable call. You can also call 123 from your mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will be displayed on the screen of your handset. Recharge your Airtel Prepaid Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing as you make calls or use any other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that‟s right for you, from a variety of tailor– made recharge coupons with different denominations, which are available at a number of outlets across your city. Simply follow the procedure mentioned below, to recharge your phone. Prepaid Roaming Airtel Prepaid comes pre activated with 'National Roaming', so you stay connected no matter wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS,

29. 20 check your email and access other GPRS services while roaming in India as you would in your own city. While traveling abroad you can receive calls & send or receive SMS. Other Services Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try them and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement. Call management Services Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation – all with your Airtel prepaid connection. Voice Mail When your handset is switched off, or you‟re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use the service. SMS (Short Messaging Service) Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you don't have much time. It's the way to share those interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

30. 21 Subscription Alerts Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone with Subscription Services. SMS to 3333 for News, for Jokes, for Business News, for Sports Alerts & 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

31. 22 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

32. 23 feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number you want to copy the Hello Tune from and you get the same Hello Tune assigned to your number. Gift a Hello Tune Forget gifting chocolates, flowers and greeting cards. Say it with a song instead! Gift a Hello Tune to that special someone. Just call 55055 and choose the song that you want to gift. Follow the simple voice instructions and key in the 10- digit Airtel mobile number that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get an SMS notification upon successful receipt of that gift. Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops Buying your favorite Hello Tune or Ring tone is as simple as recharging your phone with talk time. Simply walk into your nearest Airtel Shop and walk out with your favorite song. Choose from Bollywood Hits to Indipop Remixes, Hard Rock to Gujrati Garba, Bhajans to Jazz, 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.

33. 24 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 centre‟s.

34. 25 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.

35. 26 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.

36. 27 Missed call alert A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls that you missed. The SMS will detail the CLI and the time when the call was made. To activate, dial *135*2# then press the call button and wait for the request to be completed. Voice Mail When your handset is switched off, or you‟re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is that there's no extra monthly cost for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call when you use the service. SMS (Short Messaging Service) Send messages quickly and easily, using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you don't have much time. It's the way to Share those interesting one-liners, important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world. Subscription Alerts Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone with Subscription Services. SMS for News, for Jokes, for Business News, for Sports Alerts & for Vaastu tips to 3333.

37. 28 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

38. 29 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,

39. 30 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 10- digit Airtel mobile number that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will get an SMS notification upon successful receipt of that gift. Buy Music - Airtel Music Shops Buying your favorite Hello Tune or 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.

40. 31 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

41. 32 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

42. 33 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.

43. 34 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.

44. 35 Providing Feedback to the marketing department regarding the requirement of the market. B. IDC (indirect Channel) Handling distribution Maintaining records and level check of the channel partner Liaisoning between the channel partner and the company. Target achievement Training the executives of the channel C. Distribution Support 1. Logistics Monitor handset and SIM card requirements of channel partners and co-ordinate with stores Settle areas of concerns such as incentive claims of channel partners 2. Rental Provide cellular services (SIM cards) on rent. Provide cellular phones on rent Useful for people visiting Delhi for a short interval. 3 Telesales Call customers and generate sales lead. Follow up with the customers, if they need any assistance

45. 36 Pass on the sales lead to the channel department. 4 Audit Consultant to the AirTel showrooms. Monitor the operations at the AirTel distribution outlets Organize training. 5. Retail Locate shops to open retail counters. Monitor the retail counters.

46. 37 MARKET SEGMENTATION Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer group, minimization of risk exposure, better ability to fine-tune a product / service to the requirement of target buyer and the resultant ease in designing a proper designing marketing mix strategy In this case segmentation is on the bade of income. In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two factors The overall attractiveness of the segments and the company's objectives & resources The present market for Cellular phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows Premium Middle Economy Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower Cellular Phones X X X - - - Pager X X X X - - Conventional Phones X X X X X - X Market Segment Targeted TARGET MARKET SEGMENT Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that only those segments should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to target the business tourists during their stay in the capital

47. 38 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

48. 39 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.

49. 40 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.

50. 41 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,

51. 42 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.

52. 43 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.

53. 44 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

54. 45 sent out. When the name was well entrenched in the Delhiites‟s 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. Airtel‟s campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy. The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of a market leader in terms of its market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover every time" and that of a "market leader". The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just reached the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the product life cycle curve in the maturity stage. The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the users classified into heavy, medium and low categories. The right hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three types of users.

55. 46 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.

56. 47 DISTRIBUTION 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 Company Franchisee Distributor Dealers Dealer Customer Customer

57. 48 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.

58. 49 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

59. 50 MARKETING OBJECTIVES Create product awareness and trial Maximize market share Maximize profits whole defending market share Strategies Product Offer a basic product/ service. Offer value added services Increase in number of value added services. Price Charge cost- plus Price to penetrate market Price to match or best competitors Distribution Build selective distribution Build Intensive distribution. Build more intensive distribution. Advertising Build product awareness among early adopters and dealers. Build awareness and interest in the mass market Stress brand differences and benefits.

60. 51 Sales Promotion Use heavy sales promotion to entice people to subscribe. Increase to build and maintain relationships with customers. Increase to encourage brand- switching.

61. 52 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Objectives: To study the importance and development of telecommunication industry in today‟s scenario. To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in highly competitive cell phone industry. To make a comparative study of the major players in Indian Service Provider.

62. 53 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.

63. 54 LIMITATIONS Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of following limitations- (1) Respondent‟s unavailability. (2) Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer. (3) Courtesy bias.

64. 55 FINDINGS 1. Do you believe that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service providers in the world? Company Yes No Airtel 4 1 Vodafone 4 1 Idea 4 1 MTNL 4 1 As according to the above table 16 (80%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in all the above four specified Indian mobile service providers are of belief that India is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service providers in the world, whereas some 4 (20%) of them do not agree to this view. 4 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Yes No AirTel Vodafone

65. 56 2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers? Company Yes No Airtel 4 1 Vodafone 3 2 Idea 3 2 MTNL 5 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 government‟s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers, whereas some 5 (25%) of them deny this. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yes No Chart Title MTNL IDEA Vodafone AirTel

66. 57 3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions? Company Yes No Airtel 2 3 Vodafone 3 2 Idea 3 2 MTNL 2 3 As according to the above table 10 (50%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in the mobile service providers are of belief that one of the challenges facing mobile operations in India is the diversify of the coverage regions, whereas interestingly another 10 (50%) of them deny this. 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 Yes No MTNL Idea Vodafone AirTel

67. 58 4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers is a very complex standard? Company To some extent (1-5) To great extent (6-10) Airtel 3 2 Vodafone 2 3 Idea 2 3 MTNL 3 2 As according to the above table 10 (50%) out of the total 20 interviewed people in all the above four major the mobile service providers in Indian Cellular industry find only to some extent that GSM is a very complex standard, whereas the another 10 (50%) respondents find to great extent that mobile service providers is a very complex standard. 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 Yes No MTNL Idea Vodafone AirTel

68. 59 CONSUMER LEVEL 1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system? Company Yes No Airtel 9 1 Vodafone 8 2 Idea 8 2 MTNL 5 5 As the above shows 30 (75%) out of total 40 respondents are of the belief that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system, whereas 10 (25%) of them are in no way to this belief. 3 2 3 2 3 22 3 Yes No AirTel Vodafone Idea MTNL

69. 60 2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard? Company Yes No Airtel 9 1 Vodafone 7 3 Idea 8 2 MTNL 8 2 As the above shows 32 (80%) out of total 40 respondents find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard, whereas the remaining 8 (10%) respondents deny this. 9 1 7 3 8 2 8 2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Yes No AirTel Vodafone

70. 61 3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications? Company Yes No Airtel 10 -- Vodafone 8 2 Idea 10 -- MTNL 8 2 As the above shows 36 (90%) out of total 40 respondents are of the belief that their service providers have a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications whereas the remaining 4 (10%) respondents deny this. 10 0 8 2 10 0 8 2 Yes No MTNL Idea Vodafone AirTel

71. 62 SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Cost advantage Current leaders in quality service Largest distribution network Ability to constantly innovate Highly skilled workforce Entrepreneurial zeal Airtel‟s increased equity and market cap. WEAKNESSES To prove credibility Price pressures Need for Government support Awareness Sales and Marketing OPPORTUNITIES To sustain passion and commitment

72. 63 Airtel‟s market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out. Attain higher value services Collaborative business needs to be explored Vertical repeatable solutions. Low penetration level in rural markets. THREATS Foreign investment Global trends moving from GPS to WLL. Lack of global parity in telecom tariff Other competition

73. 64 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.

74. 65 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

75. 66 QUESTIONNAIRE NAME: ____________________________________ ADDRESS: ____________________________________ OCCUPATION: ____________________________________ 1. Which Among The Following is potentially one of the most exciting mobile service providers in the world? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL 2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL

76. 67 3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity of the coverage regions? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL 4. To what extent, does you find that mobile service providers is a very complex standard? Company To some extent (1-5) To great extent (6-10) Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL

77. 68 CONSUMER LEVEL 1. Do you believe that mobile service providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL 2. Do you find that mobile service providers as the most exciting and satisfying mobile standard? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL 3. Do you believe that your service provider has a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications? Company Yes No Airtel Vodafone Idea MTNL