CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This dissertation report deals with the study on the factors that enhance a dealer to

gain a competitive advantage over other dealers in cellular industry.

The study was carried out within the Ludhiana city amongst a sample size of

dealers appointed as franchisees the four cellular service providers i.e., Airtel, Idea,

Vodafone, BSNL. The sample has been chosen on convenience basis.

The report has taken into consideration the contribution of attributes such as price,

quality, catchy advertising, public relation, reliability and ready availability of the

product concerned at a favorable product price, good distribution network at the

concerned dealers.

The major findings of the report are that the general conversion rate of cold calls into

productive call ranges from 50% to 60% and the conversion rate of a direct enquiry

received by the company which is passed on to the dealer ranges between 60% to 70%.

Customers are taking more time to place an order due to the competition in market and

the confusion prevailing in the minds of the customers either to opt for a GSM based

service or CDMA based operators of which pricing being the single largest

1.1 HISTORY OF CELLULAR TELEPHONY IN INDIA

The technology that gives a person the power to communicate anytime, anywhere

- has spawned an entire industry in mobile telecommunication. Mobile telephones have

become an integral part of the growth, success and efficiency of any business /

economy.The most prevalent wireless standard in the world today, is GSM. The GSM

Association (Global System for Mobile Communications) was instituted in 1987 to

promote and expedite the adoption, development and deployment and evolution of the

GSM standard for digital wireless communications.

The GSM Association was formed as a result of a European Community

agreement on the need to adopt common standards suitable for cross border European

mobile communications. Starting off primarily as a European standard, the Groupe

Speciale Mobile as it was then called, soon came to represent the Global System for

6

Mobile Communications as it achieved the status of a world-wide standard. GSM

is today, the world's leading digital standard accounting for 68.5% of the global digital

wireless market.

The Indian Government when considering the introduction of cellular services

into the country, made a landmark decision to introduce the GSM standard, leapfrogging

obsolescent technologies / standards.

Although cellular licenses were made technology neutral in September 1999, all

the private operators are presently offering only GSM based mobile services. The new

licensees for the 4th cellular licenses that were awarded in July 2001 too, have opted for

GSM technology in india. .

1.2 CELLULAR INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The Government of India recognizes that the provision of a world-class

telecommunications infrastructure and information is the key to rapid economic and

social development of the country. It is critical not only for the development of the

Information Technology industry, but also has widespread ramifications on the entire

economy of the country. It is also anticipated that going forward, a major part of the GDP

of the country would be contributed by this sector. Accordingly, it is of vital importance

to the country that there be a comprehensive and forward looking telecommunications

policy which creates an enabling framework for development of this industry.

1.3 NEW TELECOM POLICY 1999

Telecommunications is now universally recognized as one of the prime movers of

the modern economy; hence it's vital importance for a developing country like India. The

availability of adequate infrastructure facilities is critical for acceleration of the economic

development of any country. In fact international studies have established that for every

1% increase in tele-density, there is a 3% increase in the growth of GDP.

Accordingly, the Government of India has accorded the highest priority to

7

investment and development of the telecommunications sector.

Telecom requires very heavy investment and it was not possible for the Indian

Government to organize public funding of this sector on such a massive scale. In fact the

national telecom Policy 1994, estimated a resource gap of Rs. 23,000 crores to meet the

telecom targets of the eighth five-year plan of the Government of India (1992-97).

It was for this reason to bridge the resource gap between government funding and

the total projected funds requirement and to provide the additional resources to achieve

the nation's telecom targets that the telecommunications sector was liberalized in 1992

and the Government invited private sector participation in telecommunications.

Cellular mobile services were one of the first areas to be opened up to private

competition.

However, the attractiveness of the Indian market did not last for very long, as by

1997-98, the private cellular operators were confronted with a series of problems that

threatened their very viability and survival.

1.4 PROFILE OF THE ORAGANISATIONS:

a) Idea Communications Limited

Address:

Hemkunt Towers, 98,

Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019

INDIA

Service Area:

Brand Name:

Website :

Karnataka, Punjab

IDEA

www.idea cellular .com

8

New Service Areas

The New Service Areas are Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar,

Mumbai, Karnataka and Punjab

Licenses for Uttar Pradesh (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh were acquired

through the acquisition of Escotel (Escorts Telecommunications Limited).

Services in Karnataka and Punjab were launched through the acquisition of Spice

Communications.

Idea launched its services in Mumbai and Bihar in 2008. The Mumbai launch was

the largest Metro City launch in India.  

.

Our Promoters

IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, India's first truly

multinational corporation. Global in vision, rooted in Indian values,

the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on value creation

for its multiple stakeholders.

Our Promoters are -

1. Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited

2. Grasim Industries Limited

8

3. Hindalco Industries Limited

4. Birla TMT Holdings Private Limited.

Key People   Board of Directors -

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman)

Smt. Rajashree Birla

Mr. Sanjeev Aga (Managing Director)

Launch of Service {online}

Idea's Value Added Services are as innovative and exciting as your desires.

Click here to view the GPRS settings for different handsets

GPRS settings for different handsets ( Punjab )

Click here to view SMS festive charging rates

Toll Free numbers to Unsubscribe Dialer Tone

Idea Toll Free Service

Idea Dhamaka 3 Winners List

After all, an Idea can change your life

b) Bharti Mobile Limited

Address:

47, Millers Tank Bund Road

9

Bangalore 560052

INDIA  

Phone:

Fax:

Contact:

Service Area:

Brand Name:

Website:

+ 91 80 228 2211

+ 91 80 228 2200

Mr. Jag dish Kini

AP, Karnataka, Punjab

AirTel

www.airtelworld.com

Bharti Mobile Limited offers services in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab

under the brand name "Airtel"

Promoters:

Bharti Mobile Limited, a joint venture of Bharti Enterprises and Telia.

Technology Partners

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises

. The Bharti Group, has a diverse business portfolio and has created global

Brands in the telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into

Retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the

Cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture

With EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to

Markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance

10

Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial

Protection and wealth management.

The Bharti Enterprises, established in 1976, is today a multifaceted organization

and a leading group involved in the manufacturing and

the services sector. Its key focus is on the marketing and operations of

a comprehensive range of telecom services in addition to the Healthcare sector.

Launch of Services:

Karnataka: AirTel launched it's services in Karnataka on May 13,2000. The

services in Punjab started in February 2002.

AirTel is brought by Bharti Enterprises, India's leading telecom conglomerate,

through its company, Bharti Mobile Limited. Bharti Enterprises has

revolutionized Indian telecommunications with its world-class products and

services.

Pre-paid Card:

The pre-paid card "Magic" is a nation wide brand.

 

Chairman & Managing Director since October 2001

Board Director since: July 1995

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Chairman & Managing Director of Bharti Airtel Ltd. head

quartered at New Delhi, India.

11

 

Bharti Airtel, India's leading private integrated telecom company, has been at the

forefront of the telecom revolution and has transformed the telecom sector with its world-

class services built on leading edge technologies. Bharti has been a pioneering force in

the telecom sector and today enjoys a strong nationwide presence.

Bharti Airtel has grown successfully in partnership with various leading companies of

the world - Singapore Telecom, Vodafone, Warburg Pincus, British Telecom to name a

few.

Bharti Group has joint ventures with AXA for financial services, with Wal-Mart for

retail, and with Del Monte for its agri-business. Beetel Teletech, another group company,

is India's largest manufacturer and exporter of telephone terminals

c) Vodafone Essar Telecom Limited

Corporate office Vodafone Ltd.

Peninsula Corporate park

Ganbpatro Kadam Marg

Lower Parel

Telephone :- +91 22 666 45000

Fax :- +91 22 6666 1222

Email :- Vodafone care.pun@vodafone.co.in

Vodafone Essar Telecom Limited

Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced

operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license

for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 68.76 million

customers**. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named

12

the ‘Most Respected Telecom Company’, the ‘Best Mobile Service in the

country’ and the ‘Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year’.   Vodafone

Group is the world’s leading international mobile communications corporation. It

currently has equity interests in 27 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks

with over 289 million proportionate customers worldwide. The Essar Group is

Vodafone’s principal partner in India.   The Essar Group is a diversified business

corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors

of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects.

Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and the

Americas.   **Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, March

d) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is World's 7th largest

Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in

India: Wire line, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service,

MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Within a span of five years it has

become one of the largest public sector unit in India.

BSNL has installed Quality Telecom Network in the country and now focusing

on improving it, expanding the network, introducing new telecom services with ICT

applications in villages and wining customer's confidence. Today, it has about 47.3

million line basic telephone capacity, 4 million WLL capacity, 20.1 Million GSM

Capacity, more than 37382 fixed exchanges, 18000 BTS, 287 Satellite Stations, 480196

Rkm of OFC Cable, 63730 Rbkm of Microwave Network connecting 602 Districts, 7330

cities/towns and 5.5 Lakhs villages.

BSNL is the only service provider, making focused efforts and planned

initiatives to bridge the Rural-Urban Digital Divide ICT sector. In fact there is no telecom

operator in the country to beat its reach with its wide network giving services in every

nook & corner of country and operates across India except Delhi & Mumbai. Whether it

is inaccessible areas of Siachen glacier and North-eastern region of the country. BSNL

serves its customers with its wide bouquet of telecom services.

13

"Service is our Motto"

Salient Features Offered

1. Prepaid services

2. Postpaid services

3. Supplementary services

Call waiting or Call Alert

This facility alerts you to an incoming call while you are already engaged in a

conversation. You may either discontinue the first call and take the waiting one or

put the first call on hold and take the second one .

Call Hold

An outgoing call presently engaged can be put-on hold status while another fresh

call can be initiated .You may switch over between the two calls alternatively.

Call Diversion or Call Forwarding

You may divert all the incoming calls to your mobile number to another mobile

number or a PSTN number. This is called call Diversion un-conditionally. As an

alternate you may divert all incoming calls to your Voice Mail Box by

programming the destination as 17000. Also call diversion can be achieved when

the number is either busy or no-answer or when you are out of reach.

Calling Line Identification

The identification of the calling number (CLIP) is presented on your telephone to

enable you to recall at a later time, besides knowing your Caller

Calling Line Identification Restriction (CLIR)

If you do not want your number to be presented to the called party always, then

the same can be activated upon request.

14

Unified Messaging System (UMS)

The objective of UMS is to allow subscribers to send, retrieve & manage

messages in a uniform way, regardless of whether the message is a Voice Mail, a

Fax Mail or an e-mail. Each UMS -subscriber is assigned a unified message mail

box number, which is usually the mobile number itself and e-mail address.

UMS mailbox can be accessed either by invoking call-forwarding feature or by

directly dialing Unified Message Mail Box Number. It shall also be accessed from

web-browsers, a standard e-mail clients and WAP- terminals.

Features

1. Call answering

2. FAX answering

3. Message Deposit Services

4. Message Retrieval Services

5. Message Delivery Services

6. Call Return

7. Message Management (New/Listened Message, Urgent delivery, Replay etc.)

8. Mail Box Management (Tutorial, system generated or customized greeting,

password, user language etc)

E-mail

e-mail address http://www.bsnl.co.in

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The main purpose of this study is to analyze as to why some dealers in the cellular

industry are not doing as well compared to other dealers who are performing extremely

well when all of them are selling similar products and services at similar prices and

similar market conditions with very few or no differentiation of the product or service at

all

15

This problem is analyzed by gaining some very intricate information through

various dealers of various operators like Airtel, IDEA, Vodafone and BSNL

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The study is exclusively conducted on the cellular industry operating on the GSM

platform. To analyze the operations of its various dealers and to get an insight to the

various factors that help a dealer gain a competitive edge over that of its rivals. The study

was carried for the dealers located with in Ludhiana City only, for a period of 3 weeks.

As both personal and organizational customers use the product, their needs, preference,

usage, habits, post purchase action vary widely which in turn gave a wide and large scope

for analysis.

1.7 NEED FOR THE STUDY:

The need of the study is to find out the existing market opportunities in today's

highly competitive consumer market for cellular services. This study apart from market

opportunities also includes a study on the profile of the various organization, where

topics such as origin of the organizations, future prospects of the organizations,

functional departments of the organizations, capability and organizations structure is

covered

1.8 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The main objectives of the study cannot be minimized to one or two points

because one point leaves one with another question to be answered. The main objectives

are as listed as follows:

1. The study helps to appreciate the factors leading to customer satisfaction.

2. The study helps to understand how to gain a competitive edge over other players in

the market.

16

3. To understand various factors that play a major role in marketing GSM based cellular

services

4. To find out the effectiveness of customer support provided by the organizations

1.9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

The study for the research work is conducted in Ludhiana City and there are

certain limitations in carrying on the study. Some of the limitations are as follows.

1. The survey is limited to areas in and around Ludhiana City only.

2. In view of parity of time and resources, the study is limited to in and around Ludhiana

city only.

3. The study which was being conducted needed a wide & analysis expertise &

knowledge skill which was lacking.

4. There was shortage of time.

The calculation regarding data interpretation of difficult

17

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Available literature relating to the problem must be reviewed before definitions of

the research problem are given. A detailed review is necessary of existing and available

literature that has already been published in some form or other. This is done to find out

what data and other material if any is available for operational purposes. Any published

articles that relate to the topic of study also give an accurate direction to the study.

Pawar (2008): In his studies he have concluded about the Indian telecom companies and

discussed about the gratitude of the customers who are with them for so many years ,

which reflects there monetary benefits that they earn. Her a study is made pertaining to

customers behavior regarding decision making and it has been ,her the companies tries’

to study and think the customer behavior , keeping this aspect in to consideration the

company tries’ to design a strategy which should be of same tangible use to customer

instead of just emotional showy, it has been studied how monetary benefits plays a big

factor in decision making of Indian customers. Hence the companies while designing

their benefit strategies should try to understand how attractive their strategies are? And

how much the customers are valuing their strategies? And they should also consider the

factor that what customer demands are?

Wagh & Sinha (2008): In their survey regarding consumer that how economy is the most

influencing factor for mobile subscribers, and how any fall or rise in tariffs directly

effects mobile usage ,as in survey in his survey 88% customers accept that they will talk

more if the call charges declines . In addition, multi usage, better services and other

factors influence customers. Thus more market could be tapped and more usage of cell

phones could be increased if call tariffs further decline good services or quality customers

services includes politeness, responsiveness ,promptness,carring and commitment toward

customers .

18

Reddy (2009): In his study he has taken in to consideration various types of devices for

communication, he has further done the product division, consisting of Nokia mobile

phones and its services are being studied in context to other mobile phones such as 3G\

WCDMA AND CDMA Cellular technologies. The enterprise solutions and networks

consisting of GSM, EDGE are studied further. What is the awareness’ level among

customer? Role of media in attracting customers, option about the price of Nokia hand

sets is further studied in comparisons to other hand sets

Sahu , Gauri & Gupta (2005): In their article they presents a framework to assess the

impact of Mobile Communications on the flexibility of the organizations. Following the

digital revolution Mobile space is offering opportunity to make business functions

effective. The most obvious impact is the flexibility gained in business operation. A

framework is suggested to assess the organization's flexibility gained due to mobile

applications. It takes into the consideration the various business applications that are

possible using mobile phones and suggest a flexibility index. This is illustrated with a

case study of a multinational organization. The flexibility index is subsequently

compared with other Indian organizations. .

Bureau march 25 (2008) : In this article of “ cellular traders.com” the top rated cellular

&mobile phones dealear dealing in buying & selling of mobile phones,cellphones and

reviews cells phone bongs and review ,whole sale mobile phone traders phone

unlocking etc,it is also given which service they provide :-

sagem,nokia,audiovox,Kyocera,Motorola,sumsung,Siemens,LG,Panasonic and others.

This article also gives the information about availability of global calling cards which are

available in cheap rates which are u unlock with experience and expertise ,even live chat

is available from where buying nad selling of phones are possible which are available in

cheap rates

Bureau (2006) :This article contain the over view of the GSM system and where this

article describes about the philosophy behind its design ,where it has been given that

19

GSM was a momentum task that the GSM original committee undertook and which has

proven a success showing that inter national corporation on such a project between

academia, industry and government can succeed .where it is a standard that ensures inter

operability without shifting competition and innovation among suppliers ,to the benefit of

the public both in terms of cost and service quality.

And where GSM has shown its commitment to openness , standards

& inter operability is the compatibility with the integrated services,digitial network that is

evolving in most industrialized countries and Europe in particular.

20

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN:

A central part of the research design is to develop an effective research strategy of

the design. A research design is a logical and systematic plan prepared for directing a

research study. It specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology of the study,

techniques to be adapted for achieving the objectives. It constituted the blue print for the

collection measurement and analysis of data.

Research designs can be classified in various ways.

a) EXPLORATORY DESIGNS:

Exploratory design is necessary as it gives valuable insight, results in a firm grape

of the essential character and purpose of specific research surveys and encourages the

development of creative alternative research strategies.

b) DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES

Descriptive studies start from substantial prior knowledge of marketing variables

for this type of research to be productive, questions should be designed to secure specific

kinds of information related, perhaps, to product performance, market share, competitive

strategies distribution etc.

3.2 SAMPLE DESIGN:

A sample design is a total structure and plan of the sampling exercise. It will have

details of the sampling techniques used, the size of the sample, the type of the sample and

any other relevant details.

a) SAMPLE SIZE:

The sample size chosen was some dealers of the four cellular service providers

i.e., Airtel, IDEA , Vodafone , BSNL within Ludhiana city .

21

b) SAMPLING TECHNIQUE ADOPTED

Convenience sampling: In this method of sampling selection, the sampler chooses the

sampling units on the basis of "convenience" or "accessibility". This type of sampling is

most recommended with exploratory research designs when all that is needed is an

approximation of the desired phenomena, and there is the constraint of obtaining this

approximate quickly and inexpensively.

c) SAMPLE UNIT:

The research is an effort to study the factors that enhance a dealer to gain a competitive

advantage over other dealers in cellular industry in Ludhiana city"” A survey of some

dealers is conducted in general to derive at the conclusion. The channel partners of Airtel,

Idea, BSNL, and Vodafone were interviewed in most of the cases since they had in depth

knowledge both with respect to the consumers as well as the parent company. In few

cases, where the channel partners were not actively involved managers of the showrooms

were interviewed.

3.3 SOURCES OF DATA:

Data collection is the most important step in the research work. The researcher

has to look for source of data, which can be collected and analyzed to achieve results as

per the set of objectives. In this study primary as well as secondary data is being used.

Primary data is mainly collected through the use of Questionnaires and also through

personal interviews. Secondary data has been procured from reference books and

information available on the website and other studies conducted on related topics. All

these have been used to provide a valuable and vital input to the study and also give

authenticity to the findings.

a) SECONDARY METHOD

Secondary data is a data, which is available from the post studies and records. The

secondary data is collected from the respective service providers , from their manuals,

website of the same organizations, from magazines and journals. It is more advantageous

in that it is cheaper and more readily available than primary data. But it has certain

22

disadvantages that it may be outdated and not collected for the purpose at hand.

Data Collection Instruments: For collecting good information, the researcher should

use effective data collection instruments. The data collection instrument used in the study

is the questionnaire. The questionnaires are distributed directly to the respondents by the

researcher. As far as possible the researcher has tried to see that the answers were given

immediately on order to minimize the influence of any third party opinions. The

questions asked are both open-ended as well closed questions.

b) PRIMARY DATA:

The research work is mainly dependent on primary data. It involves data, which

has been directly obtained form the respondents through the Questionnaires as well as

opinions expressed by the respondents. This is up to date data as the analysis is done

immediately after obtaining the data through the two methods. Two methods used for

collecting primary data are:

Personal interview method

It has been helpful in that the researcher has been able to clarify any doubts and

misunderstanding that the respondent may have had. However there has also been a

serious drawback in that there is the likelihood of bias in answers from the obtrusion of

the interviewer.

Survey method

In this case self-administered responses of the normal question and answer

method were handed out to respondents where they met. Clear instructions were given

along with questionnaires.

23

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CLASSIFICATION AND TABULATION OF DATA

Once the data has been collected, the process of analysis begins. Almost invariably

the data must be first translated into a form appropriate for analysis. This chapter

Concerns the process of taking completed questionnaires and preparing them for analysis.

The research steps following the gathering of data related to this process of data

preparation is presented below.

Validate data

Edit acceptable Questionnaire

Code the Questionnaire

Key punch the data

Clean the data set

Store the data set for analysis

Analyze the data

The conclusions about these preparatory steps are based on assumptions involving

general logic about the interpretative process and about the supposed nature of the data

relative to the appropriate analysis. The transformation of raw data into useful

information requires that the data be validated, edited, coded, so that it can be stored for

further analysis. The classified data are then analyzed using statistical tools. The data has

first been shown in a tabular form and a brief explanation is given following that. Each

table is followed by graphs, which provides for easy visual interpretation of the data.

24

Table -4.1 Name of parent company in which the dealer is dealing in

Name Of

Company

Respondents

Airtel 7

IDEA 2

Vodafone 2

Bsnl 4

GRAPH NO:-4.1 Name of parent company

ANALYSIS

From the above graph I have interpret that there are

BSNL: - 4 dealers

IDEA: - 2 dealers

Vodafone: - 2 dealers

Airtel: - 7 dealers 25

Table-4.2 Location of dealer offices in Ludhiana city.

z Services Percentage

Bharat nagar chowk BSNL 4

Mal road IDEA 2

Bhai wala chowk VODAFONE 2

Saraba nagar AIRTEL 7

TOTAL 15

Graph :-4.2 Location of dealer offices in Ludhiana city

ANALYSIS

The main offices of the dealers dealing in the services studied under were:-

BSNL: - 4 dealers

IDEA: - 2 dealers

Vodafone: - 2 dealers

Airtel: - 7 dealers 26

Table-4.3 Duration for which the dealers have been in cellular market

Graph 4.3 Duration for which the dealers have been in cellular market

Analysis:-

From the above graph it is clear that the dealers dealing in various cellular services were

maximum of were in 3to 6 years.

27

Duration Respondents

Less than one year 1

1-3 years 5

3-6 years 7

More than six years 2

Total 15

Table 4.4 Frequency of review meeting regarding sales and collection with the

parent company

Frequency Respondents

Daily once 9

yearly 0

Weekly once 5

monthly 1

Total 15

Graph 4.4

Inference : .

The no of dealers giving report to there parent company are seen maximum giving on

daily bases which is 7 out of 15 respondents, 0 for yearly bases , 4 for weekly bases & 1

for monthly basis

28

Table 4.5 Feedback about the nature of complaints received from the customers to

the dealers

Nature of complaint Respondents

Poor network 8

Late bill 2

Value additions 0

Bill discrepancies 5

Total 15

Graph 4.5Feedback about the nature of complaints received from the customers to the

dealers

Inference : we can see from the above table that the customers face much difficulty in

finding good network services, and then is the problem of bill discrepancies ,and last is

the problem of late bills

29

Table 4.6 Feedback about the nature of complaints to the parent company

Feedback of

dealers to the

company

Respondents

Yes 15

No 0

Total 15

Graph 4.6

INFERENCE:

As seen from the above table all the dealers do give feedback about the nature of

complaints from the customers to their respective parent companies on a regular

basis.

30

Table 4.7 Response of the dealers as to whether the parent company takes the

complaints into consideration to improve the quality of the product

Feedback of company

toward dealer

Respondents

Yes 12

No 3

Total 15

Graph: 4.7 customers complain in to consideration

Analysis

There were 12 dealers who gave the response that yes the company takes the

complain in to consideration and there were 2 who said no.

31

Table-4.8 Awareness of the dealers about their competitor’s sales network

Awareness Respondents

Good 7

Average 8

Nil 0

Total 15

Graph 4.8 awareness level of dealears

Inference : From the above table it is seen that 40% of the dealers believe that they

have a good awareness about their competitors sales network and the remaining 60% of

the dealers believe that their awareness about their competitors sales network is average.

32

Table-4.9 how long does the company takes to attend a complain

Hours Respondent

2hrs 1

2-4 hrs 2

4-6 hrs 6

More than 6hrs 6

Total 15

Graph 4.9

Inference : From the above table it is clear that the company takes minimum of 4-6 hrs

& more than it to solve the customers problems.

33

Table 4.10 What factors the customers take in mind to decide which services to

choose

Effect of time on services Responden

ts

price 6

Competition level 1

Facilities available 7

Advertisement 1

Total 15

Graph :-4.10 factors customer take in mind while deciding the services to choose

Inference :-From the above table it is clear that the consumer consider firstly the

availability of facility from the service provided to him secondly he consider the

price level of the service that is whether he is able to afford or not and competition

level and advertisement level comes under same level

34

Chapter 5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

The focus of the project was to study the various factors that enhance a cellular

service dealer to gain a competitive advantage over competitor's dealer in Bangalore City.

The various factors that can have an effect are listed below.

Brand Image

Pricing policy

Promotional policy

Sales force motivation levels/ Incentives

After sales service

Dealers investment/Infrastructure

Number of dealers

Delivery times

According to the survey the experience of the respondents in the industry varied

from a short period of less than a year to more than six years and the people who

managed these dealers were with immense cellular service background.

Most of them believed that a highly motivated sales force along with good after

sales service was very important to generate new business and retain them.

It was also found during the study that the general conversion rate of cold calls into

productive call range from 50% to 60% and the conversion rate of a direct enquiry

received by the company which is passed on to the dealer range between 60% to 70%.

Another important finding was, as to why customers are taking more time to place

an order is because of competition in market , confusion prevailing in the minds of the

customers either to opt for a GSM based service or CDMA based operators of which

pricing being the single largest factor.

Most of the dealers had a average awareness about their competitors sales network

and felt that their sales force was stronger than their competitors because of their

technical competence, good marketing skills and good training imparted to their sales

force.

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Another important finding was that the top three companies for post paid cellular

service were

1. Airtel

2. BSNL

3. Vodafone

The top three companies in the market for prepaid services were

1. Airtel Magic

2. Idea

3. Hutch

The study also revealed that most of the companies/dealer undertake , Customers

meet ,road shows ,paper inserts etc on a regular basis.

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CHAPTER6 RECOMMENDATIONS;

The factors that are responsible for a dealer to gain a competitive edge

over their rivals are is quite simple and straight foreword as described

below.

If a dealer is associated with an organization, which already has, a good

brand image in the market, there is no shortage of direct enquiries received

by the company or the dealers. But having received an enquiry and to

convert it into business is the main task here.

In this busy world the customers or potential customers have very little

time to decide on products. They expect that the company/dealer who

approaches them are trustworthy and provide good value for their money.

It is here that the human relationship or human skills come into play. Once

a company or its sales person enjoys a good rapport with his customers

then he is more likely to pick the order.

Once this trust is gained the customer would be more comfortable to deal

with that particular individual than any other individual of the

company/dealer as such Efficient service and proper pricing are also very

important in this industry.

The trust gained by an individual from his customer can be retained by

efficient and reliable service. Thus the service department of the company

also plays an important role in this regard.

When we talk about human skills, then in this context we mean that the

customer is more comfortable with a particular individual of the

company/dealer and would always approach him for his services.

Since the customer is more comfortable with a particular individual of a

company, there is a negative aspect to this i.e., what happens if the

individual leaves the company and goes over to a competitor, then along

with him goes the customer also. Thus, it is very important for the dealer

to retain their employees.

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It is often said that 80% of your business always comes from 20% of your

existing clients. Thus the company-customer relationship is to be kept

going on for a long period of time.

In a highly competitive market situation prevailing as of now , it becomes

very important for the organizations to provide with a proper after sale

service and appropriate customer support .

It is also evident from the research that many customers have a complaint with

respect to the network coverage of the operators. Therefore enough support

needs to be provided by the parent organizations to the dealers by setting up

latest infrastructure and updating their technologies as and when needed

which increases the overall quality of the service which helps the dealer to

have an edge over the dealers of the competitive network.

.

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CONCLUSION:-

It also becomes the responsibility of the organizations to satisfy the current

customers by keeping them updated with the normal changes in their rate plans

and also the kinds of services introduced by them from time to time.

. This is because word of mouth communication by the existing customers plays a

vital role in influencing the purchasing decision of new customers. It was also found in

the research that any new offers introduced by the organizations are generally available

for the new customers only , which results in customer dissatisfaction, therefore

organizations need to spread the offers to the existing customers also which would

prevent them from switching to different operators.

More emphasis also needs to be given to promotions of their respective

organizations which would eventually help their dealers overall. Road shows in different

areas help the dealers of that particular area to gain a competitive edge over their

competitors.

Thus, the above-mentioned factors need to be undertaken by the dealers and

enough support must be provided to these dealers by the top management of the

respective organizations.

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Bibliography

Pawar Ananad,“Customer loyalty programs in mobile telecom sector”, GITAM Journal

of Management ,volume no : 6 ,Issue no : 4, October-December 2008 page (90 -105).

Wagh Ajay and Dr. Sinha S.K, “analyzing growth of cellular telecom sector and

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journal of marketing, Volume:-XXXVIII, Issue no: 9, September 2008 Page (27 – 35).

Reddy J.V, “Customer satisfaction of Nokia mobile handsets users”, Indian Journal Of

Marketing, Volume No:-XXXI , Issue no:-4, April 2009 (page: 33 -48).

Press Release information and reviews on GSM and Cellular Phones at Cellular,

Trader’s .com, March 25, 2008.

Article “Global Journal of flexible System management janauary (2005).

Article gsm server.com (2006).

G.P Sahu, Salil Gauri, M.P Gupta.” Cellular Telephone In Consideration To Indian

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www.idea cellular .com

vodafonecare.pun \ @vodafone.com

www.bsnl.co.in

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http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20329384_ITMm

http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20090417/1059/tbs-cdma-players-charge-dot-with-

favouri.html

http://www.techtree.com/India/News/

CDMA_GSM_Mobile_Phones_to_Have_11_Digit_Numbers/551-100779-613.html

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