A

Project Report
On
“Comparative analysis of MARKETING STRATEGIES OF
Vodafone & AIRTEL”
“BACHELORS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”
SUBMITTED BY:-
Deepanshu Tanwar
BBA 3rd sem
Roll No. 083
SUBMITTED TO
Mrs. Anjali Singh
lecturer
Jagannath international management school
Vasant kunj New Delhi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I Deepanshu Tanwar, sincerely thankful to all those people who have been
giving me any kind of assistance in the making of this project report.
I express my gratitude to Mrs. Anjali, who has through her vast experience
and knowledge has been able to guide me, both ably and successfully
towards the completion of the project. I express my gratitude to Jagannath
international management school.

I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest

thanks to all my faculties whose teachings gave me conceptual
understanding and clarity of comprehension, which ultimately made my job
more easy. Credit also goes to all my friends whose encouragement kept me
in good stead. Their continuous support has given me the strength and
confidence to complete the project without any difficulty.
Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my gratitude
to the respondents without whom this survey would have been incomplete.
 Declaration

I, deepanshu tanwar hereby declares that the project report under title
“Comparative Analysis of Marketing Strategies of Vodafone & Airtel.” Is my
own work it is the analysis of the big scale sector of communication. This
project involves the big scale services involved in telecommunication sector
provided by Airtel and Vodafone to its customers. The survey was
conducted so as to analyze the big scale sector prevailing in the current
industry and the improvement that can be made upon it. All care has been
taken to keep this report error free and I sincerely regret for any unintended
discrepancies that might have crept into this report. I shall be highly obliged if errors
(if any) be brought to my attention.

Thank You
Deepanshu tanwar
CONTENT

1. Synopsis
2. introduction
3. Need of the study

4. objectives of the study

5. introduction of the topic
• Telecom sector in India
• Airtel

• Vodafone

• Background

• Company profile of Airtel

• The magic
• Comparison between marketing strategy of Bharti Airtel and
Vodafone
6. Research Methodology
• Type of research methodology

• Data collection method

• Method of collection
7. Data Analysis and Interpretation
8. Swot analysis

9. Suggestion & Conclusion

10. Recommendations

11. Bibliography
 12. Questionnaire

 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential
for an organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive
products. This survey research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for
the product. The objective of the study is as under:-

1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and

Vodafone.
2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale
telecommunication sector.
3. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing

process, technology adopted production policy, advertising,

collaboration, export scenario, future prospect for the two companies and
government policies.
4. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase
decision process.
5. To know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive
marketing strategies of competitors.
 \

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding the subject. The
prime objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitor
(Vodafone) in the market and the impact of WLL on Airtel.
The research methodology adopted is basically based on primary data via which the
most recent and accurate piece of first hand information could be collected.
Secondary data has been used to support primary data wherever needed.
Primary data was collected using the following techniques
Questionnaire Method
Direct Interview Method and
Observation Method
The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method,
where a face-to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has
been continuous with the questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the
surrounding environment he works in.
 Type of Research Methodology

EXPLORATORY:

TYPE OF RESEARCH CARRIED OUT WAS EXPLORATORY IN NATURE;

THE OBJECTIVE OF SUCH RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE THE
APPROXIMATE AREA WHERE THE DRAWBACK OF THE COMPANY LIES
AND ALSO TO IDENTIFY THE COURSE OF ACTION TO SOLVE IT. FOR
THIS PURPOSE THE INFORMATION PROVED USEFUL FOR GIVING RIGHT
SUGGESTION TO THE COMPANY.
 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

THERE TWO TYPE OF METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION.

• PRIMARY DATA

• SECONDARY DATA

Primary data was collected using the following techniques

Questionnaire Method
Direct Interview Method and
Observation Method
The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method,
where a face-to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has
been continuous with the questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the
surrounding environment he works in.

DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS PRIMARY IN NATURE.

PRIMARY DATA:
PRIMARY DATA IS THAT WHICH IS THE COLLECTED FOR THE
FIST TIME AND THUS HAPPEN TO BE ORIGINATED IN CHARACTER.

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY:
IN THE STUDIES A QUESTIONNAIRE IS PREPARED. THE
QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTS OF 15 QUESTIONS.

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

• BOOKS, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS

• INDUSTRY REPORTS

• COMPANY’S INTERNET SITE

• SOMEOTHER RELEVANT STUDY MATERIAL AND WEBSITES..

SAMPLE UNIT: - DELHI & NCR.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS WAS DONE BY INTERACTING WITH NUMBER

OF CUSTOMERS DURING THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED, WHICH
INCLUDED, MARKETS, COLD CALLING, CANOPIES, ETC. SAMPLE
DESIGN CONSISTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING.

SAMPLE SIZE: - 50 PEOPLE

 METHOD OF COLLECTION: -
FIELD PROCEDURE FOR GATHERING PRIMARY DATA INCLUDED
OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEW SCHEDULE IN WHICH THE
QUESTIONNAIRES WERE FILED BY THE INTERVIEWER.
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS THROUGH SELF ADMINISTERED SURVEY WAS
DONE TO COLLECT THE DATA, MARKET RESEARCH WAS
UNDERTAKEN, THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED BY PERFORMING VARIOUS
ACTIVITIES DESIGNED.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT:
QUESTIONNAIRE

THE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS FORMULATED BY KEEP IN MIND THE

FOLLOWING POINTS: -

• GIVING THE RESPONDENTS. CLEAR COMPREHENSION OF THE

QUESTION.
• INDUCING THE RESPONDENTS TO CO-OPERATE.

• GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO WHAT IS NEEDED.

• IDENTIFYING THE NEEDS TO BE KNOWN.

 LIMITATIONS

No project is without limitations and it becomes essential to figure out the various
constraints that we underwent during the study. The following points in this
direction would add to our total deliberations:-

1. During the study, on many occasions the respondent groups gave us a cold
shoulder.
2. The respondents from whom primary data was gathered any times displayed
complete ignorance about the complete branded range, which was being studied.
3. Lack of time is the basic limitation in the project.
4. Some retailers/whole sellers refuse to cooperate with the queries.
5. Some retailers/wholesalers gave biased or incomplete information regarding the
study.
6. Money played a vital factor in the whole project duration.
7. Lack of proper information and experience due to short period of time.
8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not have time to answer.
SYNOPSIS

Telecom Sector In India

Than 125 million telephones network is one of the largest communication

networks in world, which continues to grow at a blistering pace.
The rapid growth in the telecom sector can be attributed to the various pro-
active and positive policy measures taken by the government as well as the
dynamic and entrepreneurial spirit of the various telecom service providers
both in private and public sector. The telecom sector has shown impressive
growth during the past decade. Today, more
Two striking features of this growth viz. increasing preference for mobile
phones and higher contribution of private sector in the incremental growth
have predominated the telecom sector. The share of mobile phones (including
WLL mobile) has overtaken the share of landlines with 62% in the total
number of phones. The private sector's contribution is also increasing rapidly.
Currently more than 30 lakh phones are being added each month and it is
targeted that by the end of 2008 the total number of phones may reach a level
of 350 million taking the tele-density to more than 30% which is currently at
24.63%.
Network Expansion: The total number of telephone subscribers has reached
281.62 million at the end of January 2008 as compared to 232.87 million in
July 2007. The overall Teledensity has increased to 23.63% in January 2008
as compared to 21.20% in August 2007.
Wireless Service: The wireless segment saw a surge of 8.77 million
subscribers last month compared to 8.17 million in December2007. This
pushed the total wireless subscribers base to 242.40 million by Jan 31 2008.
Wire line Subscribers: The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 39.73
million with a decrease of 0.16 million at the end of January 2008.
Teledensity: The gross subscriber base reached 206.83 million at the end of
March 2007. The Teledensity is 24.63%at the end of January 2008 as
compared to 18.31% at the end of March 2007, registering an increase of 6%.
Increasing Role of Private Sector: The private sector has played a
significant role in the growth of telecom sector. The share of private sector
has risen to 85 per cent in December 2007 from 64.14 per cent in November
2006.
Tariff Rebalancing Measures: There has been a dramatic fall in the tariffs
due to increased competition. The minimum effective charges for local calls
have fallen considerably in recent months especially for cellular service. The
long distance domestic as well as international charges have also fallen
considerably.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): TRAI was established
under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 enacted on March
28,1997. The goals and objectives of TRAI are focused towards providing a
regulatory framework that facilitates achievement of the objectives of New
Technology Policy (NTP) 1999. TRAI has endeavored to encourage
greater corporation in the telecom sector together with better quality and
affordable prices.
A brief history of Tele sector in India
In the early 1990s, the Indian government adopted a new economic policy aimed at
improving India's competitiveness in the global markets and the rapid growth of
exports. Key to achieving these goals was a world-class telecom infrastructure.
In India, the telecom service areas are divided into four metros (New Delhi,
Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) and 20 circles, which roughly correspond to the
states in India. The circles are further classified under "A," "B" and "C," with the
"A" circle being the most attractive and "C" being the least attractive. The regulatory
body at that time — the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) — allocated two
cellular licenses for each metro and circle. Thirty-four licenses for GSM900 cellular
services were auctioned to 22 firms in 1995. The first cellular service was provided
by, Modi Telstra in Kolkata in August 1995. For the auction, it was stipulated that
no firm can win in more than one metro, three circles or both. The circles of Jammu
and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar had no bidders, while West Bengal and
Assam had only one bidder each.
In 1996, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) bill was introduced in
the Lok Sabha, and the president officially announced the TRAI ordinance on 25
January 1997. The government decided to set up TRAI to separate regulatory
functions from policy formulation, licensing and telecom operations. Prior to the
creation of TRAI, these functions were the sole responsibility of the DOT.
High license fees and excessive bids for the cellular licenses put tremendous
financial burden on the operators, diverting funds away from network development
and enhancements. As a result, by 1999 many operators failed to pay their license
fees and were in danger of having their licenses withdrawn. In March 1999, a new
telecom policy was put in place (New Telecom Policy [NTP] 1999). Under this new
policy, the old fixed-licensing regime was to be replaced by a revenue-sharing
scheme whereby between 8-12 percent of cellular revenue were to be paid to the
government.
 AIRTEL

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

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

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that

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

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its
strategies and how the company has been able in tackling the present tough
competition and how it is scooping up by the allegations of the quality of its
products. The report begins with the history of the products and the
introduction of the Airtel Company. This report also contains the basic
marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel Company of manufacturing
process, technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export
scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report includes some
of the key salient features of market trend issues.
In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not
only exist but also to excel in the market. Today’s market is enormously
more complex. Hence forth, to survive in the market, the company not only
needs to maximize its profit but also needs to satisfy its customers and
should try to build upon from there.
COMPANY PROFILE
OF
AIRTEL
Vision
"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the
fundamental focus remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and
put it at the service of our ultimate user: our customer."
These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire plan of action.
Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized
telecommunications with its world-class products and services.
Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With
many firsts and innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service
in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian
company to provide comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles and
first private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance Services in
India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers – nearly 2.88 million
mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers.
Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai,
Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya
Pradesh circle, Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh
(West) circle. In addition, it also has fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and
nationwide broadband and long distance networks.
Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data
transmission services and voice transmission services for calls originating and
terminating on most of India's mobile networks.
The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-
Singapore for providing international bandwidth.
Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless
phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is
also the first telecom company to export its products to the USA.
Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is “to capitalize on the growth opportunities
that the Company believes are available in the Indian telecommunications market
and consolidate its position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services
provider in key markets in India, with a focus on providing mobile services”.

The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic
objective:
• Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;
• Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum
geographical coverage;
• Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-
stop shop" solution;
• Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced
mobile data services;
• Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of
customer satisfaction;
• Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and
• Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational
efficiencies.
Businesses

Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -

• Mobile services
• Fixed-line
• National and international long distance services
• VSAT, Internet services and network solutions
• Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi network

Competitive Strengths
Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the
Company's success as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India
and will provide the Company with a solid foundation to execute its business
strategy:
• Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers
resided in the Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively
accounted for approximately 56% of India's land mass;
• Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate
industry trends and capitalize on new telecommunications-related business
opportunities.
• The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality
service to its customers;
• Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and
 • The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial
investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance
Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life Insurance.

Brand Architecture:
Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture — to:
• Create specific brands for each service,

• Build sub-brands within each of these services and

• Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate
identity as well as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms
infrastructure.
 BHARTI

AIRTEL TOUCHTEL INDIA ONE

(Cellular (Basic Service (National Long
Operations) Operations) Distance)

Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the Indian
country.
Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.
India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony
Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to
create “distinct independent brands to address different customers and
profiles”.
Brand Strategy:
To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building exercise
associated with Airtel — a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new
needs in the market.
When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass
market by any means. For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was
expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a minute) as well as instrument prices were steep —
sometimes as much as buying a second-hand car.
Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the
economic advantage of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy
would not have worked for the simple reason that the value from using the phone at
the time was not commensurate with the cost.
“Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the sensory benefit it
gave to the customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a badge value
brand,” he explains.
So the Airtel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing successful men
with their laptops and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In simple terms, it
meant Airtel was positioned as an inspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for
customers who stood out in a crowd.
Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three
core benefits that were clearly associated with the brand — leadership, dynamism
and performance.
These were valuable qualities, but they only took Airtel far enough to establish its
presence in the market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for Airtel to
appeal to a wider audience. And the various brand-tracking exercises showed that
despite all these good things, there was no emotional dimension to the brand — it
was perceived as cold, distant and efficient.
Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer relationships
were the core this could be a major weakness. The reason with tariffs identical to
competitor Vodafone telecomm and roughly the same level of service and schemes,
it had now become important for Bharti to “humanize” Airtel and use that
relationship as a major differentiation.
The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they
needed was to become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in
tack was important because this was a time when the cellular market was changing.
The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de la crème of
society. Once you reached them you had to expand the market so there was need to
address to new customers.
By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Delhi with a base
of 3.77 lakh (it now has 1.8 million customers). And with tariffs becoming more
affordable — as cell companies started cutting prices — it was time to expand the
market.
How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value chain? Surveys
showed that the concept of leadership in the customer’s minds was also changing.
Leadership did not mean directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along
with a team to achieve common objectives — it was, again, a relationship game that
needed to be reflected in the Airtel brand.

Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone
brand mostly through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or
colleagues. Thus, existing customers were an important tool for market expansion
and Bharti now focused on building closer relationships with them.
That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new positioning under
the Airtel “Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed
mobile users surrounded by caring family members. Says Sachdev: “The new
campaign and positioning was designed to highlight the relationship angle and make
the brand softer and more sensitive.”
As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new circles apart
from the seven in which it already operates — Bharti is now realizing that there are
new compulsions to rework the Airtel brand, and a new exercise is being launched to
this effect. Right now, the company is unwilling to discuss the new positioning in
detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning Airtel as a power brand with
numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the
country.
If Airtel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also
understood that one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work
in urban markets that are now getting increasingly saturated.
To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to segment the
market. One such experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia, a brand aimed at the
youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket and for those who are “young at heart”. With its
earlier positioning, Airtel was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled older
customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia, Airtel hoped to
reverse that.
In order to deliver the concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30
seconds) at night to Youtopia customers — a time when they make the maximum
number of calls. It also set up merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a
special portal for young people to buy things or bid for goods.
The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this
segment which include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with
normal calls to make it cheaper for young people to use.
The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product segmentation
through the Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-
interface services or what is known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).
The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The name was
chosen from the popular movie title It Takes Two to Tango: basically, you need the
two services to tango to offer customers a new choice”, says Sachdev.
This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with inefficiency of
service (accusingly slow download speeds) and the limited utility of WAP services.
Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding
exercise could be revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services —
or permanent Internet connectivity on the mobile phone — which Airtel is expected
to launch soon.
 The Magic
Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the pre-paid card.
The idea was to make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly,
feasible as a means of expanding the market even faster.
PHASE I –
Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into the market
and assure him that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer
used the phone sparingly — mostly for emergencies — and was not willing to pick
up a normal mobile connection with its relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not
include rental charges).
To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.
• One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs 300 to Rs
3,000 with no strings attached and was simple to operate.
• Two, the product was made accessible and distributed through small stores,
telephone booths and even kirana shops so that the offering was well within arms
reach.
• Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the customer, the company
came with vernacular ad campaigns
Like “Magic Daalo Say Hello” which appealed to local sensibilities.
This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for a major
ad campaign all across Delhi, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from
5.47 lakh to 1.2 million today, overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed,
which was launched much ahead of Magic. The company is now re-working its
Magic strategy even further.
Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers —
that is, customers who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now,
with basic service providers having been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper
rates, mobile service providers could find themselves under threat again.
That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact
strategy is under wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at
offering them value which they had not perceived would be available from using a
pre-paid card.
PHASE II -
Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market
expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign
• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV
• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to
connect with the masses of India
• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of
Airtel Magic - ‘Mumkin Hai’ come alive
• All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the
category to the lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment – the middle class non-
mobile user.
• Airtel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency
situations - increasing productivity as a part of everyday life.
• Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing pretty
Kareena Kapoor with Airtel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid mobile card.
Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new
Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. The
strategy is targeted at the non-user
segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is
aimed at accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a
person’s desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly
possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is all about empowering millions of
Indians to be on top of their lives.
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their
dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month Airtel
Magic is so easy to buy.) Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and
opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way
never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with
Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’ has been specially
created to capture this effectively.
This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the tone, manner
& language of the masses. The “Mumkin hai” value proposition will help us expand
the market and gain a higher percentage of market shares in the process.
The brand ambassadors Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody this ‘can do’
or “Mumkin Hai” spirit (infact that is the reason they were selected as brand
ambassadors). Sharukh rose from a TV actor to become India’s top film star and
national heartthrob. Kareena’s success is due to her ‘attitude’, talent, hard work and
the sheer ability to make a mark in such a short time. Both these stars have said
‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves.
The genre of this new strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This genre
connects millions across India. The spirit of romance, dancing… the Indian cinema,
well known to most as Bollywood, holds millions of Indians together as one.
The new TV campaign of Airtel Magic crafted in the Hindi film idiom, magnifies
the empowering optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the endearing situation of a boy-girl
romance. Where Sharukh Khan, sets his eyes on Kareena Kapoor and wins her love
with the help of Airtel Magic. (Poignantly conveying that special feeling we all get
when a dream is made possible and a victory of the heart is won).
The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped base of
intending mobile customers from Sec A, B & C. The estimated addressable market
of such customers in the next two years is around 25 million in Airtel’s 16 states.
The new strategy aims at correcting the perception that the mobile category is useful
mainly for ‘business’ or ‘work’ related scenarios.
The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an outcome of an extensive
nationwide research and is an integral part of Airtel Magic’s new multi-media
campaign. The campaign has been created by Percept Advertising.
PHASE III -
Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market
expansion through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign
• First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such freedom to recharge
any value
• A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to
connect with the masses of India
• Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of
Airtel Magic - ‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive
• Sharukh Khan Makes ‘everything in life possible’ Airtel today unveiled its
strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic pre-paid
card brand campaign – ‘Magic Hai to Mumkin Hai’. . The value proposition is
centered on a person’s desire to make all his / her dreams, ambitions &
aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is all about
empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.
The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their
dreams, hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a amount of your choice you can
recharge your account with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting
you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It gives you the freedom to
control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that you think is
possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Aisi azadi aur kahan’
has been specially created to capture this effectively.
Other Brand Building Initiatives:-
The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months. Working on the
above game plan Bharti is constantly coming up with newer product offerings for the
customers.
The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.
• To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities, Airtel has
devised common numbers for subscribers across the country for services like
customer care, food services and cinema amongst others.
• It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so, customers moving
from one place to another do not have to close and then again open new accounts at
another place.
• To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a storehouse
of 40,000 frequently asked questions and their answers have been stored on the
computers.
• Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it would be
60 to 70 per cent of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid
card segment. So, they must be given value-added products and services which
competitors don’t provide.
• Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer roaming
services even to its pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region
in which they buy the card. To ensure that customers don’t migrate to other
competing services (which is known as churn and ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of
the customer base every month), the company is also working on a loyalty program.
This will offer subscribers tangible cash benefits depending upon their usage of the
phone.
• The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will provide real
benefits to customers. The idea is to create an Airtel community.
• Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a new
roaming service launched in Delhi under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is
visiting the city will be routed directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home
network.
• The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under which
customers having a specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-
mail it to friends or store it in the phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs
7.
• Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular service
much easier than it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation
centers. Earlier Bharti had 250 Airtel Connect stores which were exclusive outlets
(for its services) and about 250 Airtel Points which were kiosks in larger shops. Now
activation can be done by all of them, and not only by Connect outlets, all within 15
to 20 minutes. In comparison, the competition takes two to four hours.
• Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users and it is
actually helping the market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and
convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one need not pay security deposits for picking
up a pre-paid card. It is often available even with paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving
consumer service, the game is now moving beyond price to expanding distribution
reach and servicing a well-spread-out clientele with technology and strategic
alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive.
Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making recharging more convenience.
• Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance with Mumbai-
based Company Venture InfoTech which will enable a pre-paid card user to renew
his subscription by just swiping a card. The system will not only save users the
hassle of going out and buying a card every time it expires but also enable mobile
companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards.
• Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering
food at home, to reach its Magic pre-paid cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The
company is also joining hands with local grocery shops which will enable users to
recharge their cards by just making a phone call to the shop. Apart from improving
the convenience of recharging, mobile operators are beefing up their distribution
channels. The company is constantly innovating to enhance the value proposition for
its pre-paid service. They are leveraging technology to expand their distribution
network and deliver round-the-clock recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile on the
Spot) subscribers.
• Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service, CareTouch, for high-value,
corporate customers, providing them with instant, single-point access for any
assistance they require. Customers can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which
includes easier payment of bills, service on priority basis, and value-added services
without any additional paper work. Bharti Cellular is offering a range of services
without going through an interactive voice recorder ensuring that they save time.
Dedicated ‘CareTouch’ executives are expected to assist customers with any service
on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive reminder calls for bill payment,
customers can also call CareTouch for bill payments at free of cost.
• Airtel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-air’ SMS based interactive music
dedication show exclusively for Airtel and Airtel Magic customers. Highly
interactive VJ based show with real-time feedback mechanism. Both brands joined
hands to target the high growth youth segment.
Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-
First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a more holistic
manner. Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps the most potent key to build
a brand that lasts.
Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success factor.
Customers (be it for industrial products or consumer goods and services) across the
world are more informed and, at the same time, becoming more individualistic in
their needs and far more demanding with the passage of time.
Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating redefined or
emerging customer needs, and then reacting in “real-time” are essential to attract and
retain customer loyalty — a key element of creating brand equity in the present
situation.
Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the specific
needs of various consumer/customer sub-segments is the third element in creating
brand appreciation.
As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too many
companies mistakenly allocate a disproportionate amount on mere advertising and
promotion. This is not to say that advertising and promotion are less relevant. On the
contrary, with more choices and higher media clutter, businesses need to budget for
an increasingly higher spend on their brand promotion but this has to be undertaken
in tandem with enterprise-wide “reengineering” of the business philosophy and core
design, production, and delivery operations for the product itself.
The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the fundamentals, the
enterprise itself becomes more competitive. This can be the beginning of a virtuous
cycle wherein brand equity continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery
of an appropriate product or service at an ever increasing value.
It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the cost of
building a regional or a national (or an international) brand will continue to rise but
also the time taken to do so will be longer and will need sustained and focused
efforts.

Comparison of marketing strategies

between
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.
 Purpose of comparison

• The sub main purpose of this report is to compare the marketing Strategies
adopted by Bharti Airtel and its rival Vodafone

• The comparison shows how both of the companies have been challenging
each other to gain market shares.

Why comparison with vodafone

 Bharti Airtel is the leader in telecommunication sector.

 Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of market of communication sector.

 However, Vodafone has been giving tough competition to Bharti Airtel.

 Vodafone is the second largest player and share holder in Communication

sector.
 Since its launch Vodafone has been adopting aggressive marketing strategies.

 The comparison shows how Hutchison Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market
share in one month of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.

 With a different technology Vodafone creates its own market.

 Vodafone odafone. Today deals in every business of communication sector.

 Vodafone making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares
Brand positioning by Bharti Airtel

Market segmentation

 Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India)

 Demographic segment - middle income groups

 People age group of 20 to 28 year

Target marketing

 People who living in cities and towns.

 Poor or middle income group people.

 Youngsters in big cities.

 Businessmen
Positioning

 Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)

 Ads and promotions

 Promotion for study of poor childrens.

Marketing mix

 Price: low price strategy

 Place: maximum outlets and service centers

 Product: verities available for various groups

 Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

MARKETING STRATEGIES
OF
VODAFONE.
Vodafone target the rural India

The main targeted customers of Vodafone are from rural India.

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

Offering cheap handsets

Vodafone offers cheap and free connections to all customers.

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

Free support and services

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

Strong logistics and supply chain

Vodafone has a strong logistic and supply all over India.

In every small town the potential customers can easily purchase the Vodafone SIM
& Sets.
Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

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

BRAND POSITIONING
BY
VODAFONE
Market segmentation

 Geographical segment (rural India)

 Demographic segment - middle income groups

Target marketing

 People living in small towns and villages.

 Poor and middle income groups.

 Youngsters in big cities.

 Businessmen

Positioning

 Creating brands

 Ads and promotions

Marketing mix
  Price : low price strategy

 Place : maximum outlets and service centers

 Product : verities available for various groups

 Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

Services provided by Bharti Airtel

• Mobile services with GSM technology
• Fixed-line connections
• National and international long distance services
• VSAT, Internet services and network solutions
• Broadband services

Services provided by Vodafone.

●mobile services with GSM technology

●fixed-line telephone services

●Universal Internetworking
●VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

●Interactive Television

●Visual Communication
ROADBLOCKS
CURRENT POSITION
High license fees
Migration to revenue sharing mode in 1999 mitigates high initial fund requirements
for payment of license fees.
Inadequately funded businesses / weak and fragmented promoters
Businesses that have since been adequately funded growing at over 60% per annum,
while businesses with weak promoters continuing to languish - spate of
acquisitions / mergers, with 4/5 major groups emerging in the last one/two years.
Regulatory authority not in place
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) firmly in place, and its role being
accepted by all operators; Deptt of Telecommunications (DOT) restructured, with
operations and policy making roles vested in different bodies.
Issues relating to unfavorable interconnect terms for private operators, pass through
income, intra circle long distance, spectrum availability and allocation and the like
remained unresolved for long periods.
Interconnect terms since rationalized, risks on pass through income to DOT /
BHARTI (Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd.) resolved to the satisfaction of all parties
with changes in methodology / revenue sharing, intra circle long distance allowed,
spectrum availability cleared with vacation of frequencies for usage by GSM
operators.
Problems in Financial closures due to:
 Licensing tenure of 10 years
 Large upfront cash requirements from promoters due to heavy license fee
burden in initial stages of deployment Asset based financing approach by
Indian Financial Institutions.
 Licensing tenure increased from 10 to 20 years
 Large upfront cash requirements for license fee payments mitigated with
migration to revenue sharing mode allowing promoters to deploy more capital
for capital expenditure; project financing being considered by most financial
institutions.
 Foreign ownership / change of partner limitations
Foreign ownership norms clarified, and change of partners allowed as a matter of
routine allowing ease of entry / exit - paves the way for full control of businesses by
foreign companies.
Inadequate growth of market / subscribers
Roadblocks spelt out earlier resulted in low market / subscriber growth, but with
corrective measures taken, market / subscriber base expected to zoom.
2.2 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CELLULAR INDUSTRY
The interconnection regime between cellular operators and fixed-line operators is
still biased against the former.
Despite the recent gains of the cellular industry, not everything is rosy. The cellular
penetration rate is still very low at 0.8 percent in a nation of over one billion people.
In recent years, many foreign companies had pulled out from their cellular joint
ventures in India due to the difficult operating environment and bureaucracy. In
1999 alone, Swisscom pulled out from Sterling Cellular, Telstra from Modi Telstra
and both the Telecom Organization of Thailand and Jasmine International from JT
Mobile. In 2000, Telecom Malaysia sold its stake in Usha Martin Telecom, and both
Shinawatra of Thailand and Bezeq exited from Fascel. In June 2001, British
Telecom exited from Bharti Cellular. Bell South International has also indicated its
intention to pull out from Skycell Communications, and Hong Kong-based Distacom
is seeking to sell its stake in Spice Communications. First Pacific's (based in Hong
Kong) continued commitment to Escotel is uncertain, and the former is reviewing
various options.
The string of sell-outs notwithstanding, there has been a merger and acquisition
wave sweeping across the Indian cellular industry in recent years. Hong Kong-based
Hutchison Whampoa, via Hutchison Telecommunications (HK), acquired major
stakes in Sterling Cellular (December 1999), Usha Martin Telecom (mid-2000) and
Fascel (September 2000). Through a partnership with local company, Kotak
Mahindra Finance, Hutchison Whampoa practically controls Fascel and Usha Martin
Telecom, thus circumventing the 49 percent limit on foreign ownership in Indian
cellular operators. Hutchison Whampoa is also the controlling shareholder of
Hutchison Max Telecom. Not to be outdone, Bharti Enterprises — another major
cellular player — acquired control of JT Telecom, which was later renamed Bharti
Mobile (December 1999), and Skycell Communications renamed Bharti Mobinet
(August 2000). Bharti also acquired the Punjab license of Essar and started
operations, giving competition to the lone operator there, Spice Communications.
Going forward, Bharti is likely to merge all its cellular companies into one entity.
Five companies together bid Rs16.3 billion to bag the licenses for the fourth operator
slots in four metros and 13 circles. Bharti emerged as the No. 1 bidder with eight
new licenses, followed by Escotel with four, Hutchison with three, and Vodafone
and Idea cellular with one each. Bharti and Hutchison have already commenced
operations in all the circles while Idea is set to launch in Delhi. Escotel and
Vodafone have not made any headway.
BHARTI, the third cellular operator for Delhi and Mumbai, started services in
March 2001. BSNL, as the third nationwide cellular operator, launched services in
Kolkatta and Bihar in January 2002. This was followed by Tamil Nadu in July 2002.
A nationwide launch was scheduled for 2 October 2002. However, this has been
postponed until after mid October. Once BSNL rolls out its service, most telecom
circles will have four cellular operators. There will be tremendous competitive
pressure, which will result in lower tariffs. Future rate cuts are expected, which will
drive demand, together with falling handset prices and the introduction of prepaid
services.
In the midst of declining interest in technology stocks, Bharti came out with its long-
awaited initial public offering (IPO) in January 2002. Leveraging on the success of
its cellular service, the company got a very good response from the primary market.
The total size of the IPO was 185 million shares at a floor price of Rs10. The issue
was oversubscribed by more than 2.5 times, netting Rs8.3 billion. This will be used
to fuel its investment in long-distance, basic and cellular services.
As of October 2002, only BPL Mobile has launched commercial general packet
radio service (GPRS) in Mumbai. However, large-scale uptake remains elusive.
While both Bharti and Idea have GPRS-enabled networks, there is caution on their
part to launch the service. With hardly any applications, the success of GPRS
remains a question.

In 2005 Hutchison Essar an Indian and hongkong telecommunication alliance was

taken over by the United Kingdom based telecommunication company name
Vodafone telecomm services and comes with the name of Vodafone essar.
Virgin mobile comes in Indian Territory with the alliance of TATA
telecommunication Maharashtra in 2008.
Mitsubishi a Japanese telecomm services (MTS) company comes in India in 2009
and take over first rainbow in Rajasthan with CDMA network criteria.
Building visibility and awareness
Deviating from competing on the price platform, cellular operators are actively
promoting their brand and service portfolio through high-visibility advertising and
promotional campaigns. Cellular operators like Bharti, Orange and BPL Mobile
have been advertising aggressively on hoardings and kiosks. Public transport like the
city
rail system and cabs are used widely to carry the message of mobility.
Customer-focused activities are gaining traction among cellular operators with the
establishment of longstanding consumer benefit programs. Orange in Mumbai offers
"Orange Holidays" and "Orange Monsoon Offers" at very attractive rates and added
benefits like discounts on airfare, food and beverages, among others. Others offer
special privileges in retail outlets, cinemas and music shops.
Enterprise mobile applications — promising revenue stream
All along, customer acquisition and the top line have been the focus. Few operators
have concentrated on offering differentiated services for businesses. However, as
operators realize that offering basic voice and Short Message Service (SMS) will get
them the numbers but not the margins, some are now seriously looking at the
enterprise segment for provisioning superior services.
Cost-centered solutions like closed user group (CUG), value-adds like unified
messaging and instant alerts are being offered.
A variety of mobile applications are finding takers among the enterprise segment.
Bharti is in the process of introducing a facility to fleet management companies so
that they can improve the efficiency of trucks or buses by tracking movement and
ensuring higher-use, accurate route planning. Premium automakers are also
installing a global system for mobile communications inside a vehicle to help trace
lost vehicles and track down stolen cars.
Corporations can choose enhanced services like user-defined call routing to prevent
misuse. Calls can be barred, limiting access to select numbers and diverting calls to
one single number. Broadcasting services are also quite popular, especially among
fast food centers that have a central number. Group SMS is quite popular, especially
among enterprises both in the service as well as the fast-moving consumer goods
(FMCG) segment that have a large field force and need to provide regular updates
on inventory status, discount schemes and movement of goods from warehouse to
the retail outlet. Banks too find bulk SMS service very useful to forward
transactional alerts to their customers.

2.3 FUTURE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT

There will be more competition, forcing operators to constantly focus on
differentiations to maintain their lead.
• The implementation of enhanced networks like 2.5G will enable operators to
offer data services. This is an opportunity to customize and differentiate
better.
• The entry of state-run operators like BSNL and BHARTI means that prices
will no longer be controlled, thus there is less chance of a cartel being formed.
• Network coverage in terms of geographic spread and quality of coverage is
crucial especially for the business subscriber.
• The bigger the service provider's national presence, the better it is for
businesses. On the roaming front, signing up with a national operator is
advantageous.
• Limited mobility wireless in local-loop services (by fixed network service
providers) will be a disadvantage for cellular operators in the short term.
Consequently, operators need to streamline their customer relation activities
and adopt aggressive subscriber acquisition and retention strategies.
2.4 REGULATORY ISSUES
The operations of this sector are determined as under the Indian Telegraph Act of
1885. A document buried in the sands of time. The next major policy document,
which was produced, was the National Telecom Policy of 1994, a consequence of
the on going process of liberalization.

Year Event
1851 First telephones in India
1943 Nationalization of telephone companies
1985 DOT was created
1986 Creation of BHARTI and VSNL
1991 Telecom equipment liberalized
1994 Licenses for paging
1994 Telecom policy announced
September 1994 Guidelines for private sector participation in basic
services
November 1994 Cellular licenses issued for metros
December 1994 Tenders for cellular licenses in 19 cities apart from
4 metros
January 1995 Tenders for 2nd operator in basic services apart
from DOT on circle basis.
August 1995 VSNL launches Internet services
January 1996 TRAI formed
November 1998 Internet policy announced
The National Telecom Policy of 1994 document, which laid out broad policy
guidelines rather than a series of action points. Like other policies, it sought to
achieve the impossible in finite time like improve quality of service and its
availability, wide coverage (a phone in every village), at reasonable rates, etc. The
targets in quantifiable terms were installation of 9.5mn additional lines, telephone on
demand by 1997, and a PCO pop of 500. The Eighth Plan had also allowed private
operators in value added services. To facilitate licensing, the nation was divided into
20 circles (akin to a state) for basic and 21 circles for cellular telephony. Mumbai
falls in Maharashtra circle and Delhi in itself a circle.
The basic premise on which competition has been introduced is that every circle will
have one private operator apart from DoT/ BHARTI for basic and two operators for
cellular. DoT/ BHARTI have the option to become the third cellular operator in
future.
Government did not achieve most of its stated targets. The basic theme, which was
broadening the reach of telephony in India, has not been met. Even liberalization
policies were not implemented properly. The regulator TRAI was set up after delays
and confusion and even after its creation, DoT continued to fight with it in courts. It
was also affected by the resource crunch, and financing options like BOT, BOOT
and BOLT was not used at all. The major policy direction it showed was to allow
private sector entry in both basic and value added services. The intention, though
noble failed to achieve its goals because of improper implementation, the economic
costs are still borne by the end user.
The telecom sector has witnessed some fundamental structural and institutional
reforms in the past decade. Telecom equipment manufacturing was completely
deregulated in 1991. Value-added services (including cellular services) were thrown
open to private sector participation in 1992. Basic services were opened to private
participation in 1994 by dividing the country into 21 telecom Circles and allowing
one private operator per Circle to compete with DOT. An independent telecom
regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997. A new Policy for Internet Service
Policy Providers (ISPs) was announced in 1998 allowing independent service
providers to enter the sector ending the earlier monopoly of VSNL. Reorganization
of DOT, separating policymaking function and service provision and corporatization
of DOT's operational network are two major institutional reforms, which need to be
implemented.
 Scope of the study
# To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, Who are using
GSM technology.
# Targeted geographic area of Delhi/ NCR. Sample size of 50 persons was taken.
# To these 50 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire was a combination
of both open ended and closed ended questions.
# The date during which questionnaires were filled.
# Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective. Interviews with the
managers of GSM service providers were also conducted.
# Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and compiled to arrive at
the conclusion and recommendations given.

Sources of secondary data

Used to obtain information on, Bharti’s history, current issues, policies, procedures
etc, wherever required.
# Internet
# Magazines
# Newspapers
# Journals
# Bharti Circulars Store
# Bharti News Letters
# Vodafone Store
# Vodafone Ministore
Data analysis
And
Interpretation
 Subscriber numbers in (mn) held by Vodafone and Airtel

June-05 Sep-06 Dec-07 Mar-08 Dec-08 Mar-09

Airtel 3.19 4.62 5.50 6.54 10.98 14.07

Vodafone 1.82 4.19 6.24 7.26 10.45 12.99

Source TRAI:
MARKET PLAYERS IN TELE COMMUNICATION

Operator Market share Market share

Aug''05 Aug''09
Bharti Airtel 19.06 22.49
Vodafone 21.81 16.96
Vodafonecomm 17.03 16.01
Idea Cellular 10.45 8.49

25

20

15 Bharti Airtel
vodafone
10 Reliance infocomm
IdeaCellular
5

0
Market share Aug''05 Market share Aug''09
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Age Group Graph

As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age group of 21-28
years are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. This segment is
the one which gives maximum business to the mobile operators. This segment
constitutes the young executives and other office going people. They are 65% of the
total people who were interviewed. The next age group are the
people who are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total. They are those who are
at home or have small business units etc. And the next age group is the youngest
generation who are 15-21 years old. They are school and college going students and
carry mobile phones to flaunt. They are 15% of the total interviewed people.

Occupation Graph

OCCUPATION

10% 15%

20%

55%

STUDENTS EXECUTIVES HOUSEHOLDS OTHERS

As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are working. So,
these people are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. They are
the young executives, managers, Tele - callers etc. who require mobile for their
official purposes. The next category is the households, who are either housewife,
small units which operate from their homes etc. They are 20% of the whole. The
next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of the whole is
categories who are the professionals.
Service Provider Graph

These are the total market share of mobile user or people captured by the mobile
provider company. There two major company in mobile phone service sector
Vodafone and Airtel who respectively hold the market share with other company as
17% and 20% of total market user segment of mobile customer.
Customer Service At Airtel Graph

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVEL

10% 20%

10%

60%

FULLY PARTIALLY
DISSATISFIED FULLY DISSATISFIED

As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel seems poor. 60%
of the people are dissatisfied with the customer services provided by Airtel. They are
the ones who have the maximum share in the market but they are lagging behind in
the customer services. 10% of the people were fully dissatisfied with the customer
services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of the consumer. He can
even switch over his brand. 20% of the people seemed partially satisfied with the
customer services and only 10% seem to be fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer
services, which is a very small amount.
Type Of Card Graph

Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85% of the total
mobile users were having cash card connections. This means that the cash cards
should be easily and readily available in the local markets. Airtel should make sure
that Magic is available in each and every nook and corner of the market. 15% of the
people were having sim connections which is the regular bill.
Monthly expense graph
People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone expense. 64%

Monthly Expense

12%
24%

Rs 600
Rs 450
Rs 200

64%

people spend this amount. 24% people spend RS 300 per month as their monthly
mobile expense. And the remaining 12% had an expense more than RS 1000, they
could the ones having sim connections or having cash cards and having a lot of
business calls on their mobiles.
Awareness About WLL Graph

WLL seemed to be a new word for many of the people. 45% of the people were not
at all aware of such a technology. So, in order to get the answer for this question
they were first explained the concept. Only, 55% people knew what WLL is all
about.
Awareness of WLL Players Graph

80%
70%
60%
50%
Vodafone
40%
Airtel
30%
20%
10%
0%

Vodafone was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed people. As
Vodafone had done so much advertising and has it banners and hoarding spread all
over Delhi. So, this could be one the reasons of its popularity. Tata was hardly a
known brand in this new field. Possibly, because of less promotions done by them as
compared to Vodafone.
On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the maximum no. of
people who use mobile phones is in the age group of 20 to 28. Who are the young
executives and other office goers?
They spend a maximum of RS 500 as their mobile expense.
There is more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The mobile users want to
spend money side by side than to spend money at the end of the month on a big bill.
Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point of view of the
consumer I found that on the basis of Tariff plan, value added services and billing
accuracy Airtel is at par or ahead of its competitor but in the case of customer care
and availability they lag behind there competitors. As, Airtel has a hold in the
market because it has the maximum no. of connections, so it must improve upon it
customer services. As far as WLL is concerned people are aware about it but not
many people are aware about Tata. They only know more about Vodafone. People at
this point of time are not interested to switch over from GSM to WLL
Customer Response towards Questionnaire
 Which Brand you, prefer most?

 Airtel
 Vodafone
 Reliance
 TATA
 Idea
How long you have been using this Product?

 0-2 Years
 2-5 Years
 5-10 Years
 More than 10 years

Consumers response shown in chart for usage

Are you using other product with Airtel?

 Yes
 No

33%
YES
NO
67%

Here are the customer responses about the use of the Airtel product and other
product rather than Airtel.
in this segment of survey 67 % of customer are aspire with Airtel and 33 % shown
interest in other telecom products in urban areas.
Do you collect any information search before making purchase?

70% 66%

60%
50%
40% 34% information
30% search

20%
10%
0%
YES NO
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
• Being one of the largest companies in India the company has achieved a
degree of focus in its core business of its products.
• It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an enviable
distribution network.
• It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and limits of
financial authority.
• Increase in advertisement spends affect the company’s margins.

• The company‘s bottom line falls victim to the bloated and highly paid
workforce, which affects its margins.
Weakness:
• Little efforts over the Advertising of products.

• Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.

• Premium priced products, hence can’t compete in low price segment.

• No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities:
• The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from its
cost reduction efforts.
• There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.

• Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming years.
• Airtel’s business has ample scope for gaining market share from the
unorganized sector. Rural penetration too holds vast potential to bring
about growth.
Threats
• The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of most
FMCG majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to maintain historical
growth rates in such a depressed scenario.
• Company’s major raw materials are influenced by government policies /
controls as well as vagaries of the monsoons. Fluctuations in the prices
of raw materials would have significant impact on costs and margins of
the company.
Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would also
increases company’s production and distribution cost.
 SUGGESTIONS

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

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

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

3. PROMOTION
*Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must
be released in different Medias to create brand awareness.
*Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like
gifts, contests and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and
prospects.
* Catalogues should be distributed among customers.
4. PRICE
* Price should be as competitive as other company maintains
* Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket
 CONCLUSION

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel lagged
behind its competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned. The
maximum no. of people who use the mobile is in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash
cards are the most popular type of mobile connections, as they are consumer friendly
and recharging the connection is not a problem.
Maximum no. of people spends RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the only
company having the maximum no of mobile connections so it must seriously look
into the loop holes of the existing customer service department.
As we know that now Airtel has already launched its product with logo “’ Aisi
azaadi aur kahan”’ has already became popular in market. So we can say that in spite
of so many competitors in the market Airtel is having a good position just because
every time, it tries its best to understand the need of its important customers.
From the comparison and deep analysis of every aspect of business of both the
companies we can conclude that bharti Airtel has to more work in every field of
communication business.
It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long time.
For this Airtel has to work on its all marketing strategies, marketing, promotion,
brand image.etc.
Airtel has to take Vodafone. Very seriously and update its own strategies from time
to time and when the need arises.
With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as 70% of
population of India lives in these areas.
The other segment may be costumers of all age groups.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the summer
training there:

• The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash
paying customers who are not easy to trace.
• The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals
Products it was mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from
company doesn’t matches with the sample’s quality shown before giving
orders.
• The company should make its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to
face competition.
• The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to
exporter on time, as it has been recommended by exporters to make the
delivery on time.
• The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers
because if company offers lower price to a new customer then he may
continue buy the goods and can be a permanent customer for the company.
 • The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to catch
a bigger market share and it should be able to compete with the local traders
and commission agents while having a brand name.
The company should take the opinion of exporters from time to time to know what
problems they are facing from the company’s side. And if any change they require in
present supplying condition?
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in details
the following Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites have been referred. All the
material detailed below provides effective help and a guiding layout while designing
this text report.
Books :
Principles of Marketing –Philip Kotler & Kevin keller edi. 12
Market Research – D.D. Sharma
Research Methodology – C.R. Kothari
Websites:
www.Airtelworld.com
www.google.com
www.india.com

www.Vodafone.in

http://www.blonnet.com/2004/06/26/stories/2004062602180700.htm, Mumbai,
June 25, 2004.

com/companies/companies_r/Vodafone_infocom/20031104_stop-roaming.htm, 4
November 2003
Domain, Missed Call, at http://www.domainb
Magazines:
Airtel (2 July to 10 July 2004)
Airtel India page of HT paper (Thursday 1December 2004)
Cowards India (26 December to 4 Jan. 2004)
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am doing my project on “Comparative analysis of marketing strategy of
Vodafone and Airtel”. Please give your precious time for filling these details.
Q.1 Name those companies which provide telecom services now a days?
 Airtel
 Vodafone
 Reliance
 TATA
 Idea

Q.2 which mobile company services you are using now a days?
 Airtel
 Vodafone
 Reliance
 TATA
 Idea

Q. 3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?

 Airtel
 Vodafone
 Reliance
 TATA
  Idea

Q.2 How long you have been using this Product?

 0-2 Years
 2-5 Years
 5-10 Years
 More than 10 years

Q.3 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?

 Yes
 No

Q.5 how would you rate the experience with Brand?

Excellent Good Average Below

 Airtel Average
 Vodafone
 Reliance
Q.6 Do you collect any information search before making purchase?

 Yes
 No

Q.7 If yes, which sources are used?

 Magazines
 Dealers
 Sales Executives
 Operators reference
 Pamphlets and catalogue
 Reference from friends and relatives
 Any other

Q.8 What are the features you look for in a product before making purchase
decision? Give preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)

 Brand credibility
 Price and Discount
 After sales services and parts, network
  Value for money
 Vehicle performance
 Add on features or ergonomics of design

Q.9. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while purchasing any
connection?

 Good Network
 Discount scheme
 Service package
 Any other

Q.10 If you have to purchase a new connection or product in near future, which Brand
will you go for and why?

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 Q.11 Are you aware of various promotional activities being run by Airtel, if yes
then how? Are you satisfied with these promotional activities?

Very Satisfie Somewhat Not

Satisfie d Satisfied satisfied
d
 Customer Care
 By Ad Films
 By Camp
 24 hrs call center services

Q.12 How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation on 5

points scale (5 Highest?)
1 2 3 4 5
 After Sale service
 Maintenance
 Product as per expectation

Q.13 What are you suggestions for improving the product quality, service availability and
parts availability?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________