marketing strategy of airtel

Marketing strategy of AIRTEL

Marketing strategy of airtel

Marketing strategy: is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited

resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable

competitive. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term activities in the field of

marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and

the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore

contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.

Definition: A strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive

whole. Ideally drawn from market research, it focuses on the ideal product

mix to achieve maximum profit potential. The marketing strategy is set out in

a marketing plan.


TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is

the fifth largest in the world and is the second largest among the emerging

economies of Asia. Today it is the f a s t e s t g r o w i n g m a r k e t i n t h e

w o r l d a n d r e p r e s e n t s u n i q u e opportunities for UK companies in the stagnant

global scenario. Tele-density, which was languishing at 2% in 1999, has shown an impressive jump to

9.5% in 2006 and 10.5% in 2007 and is set to increase to 20% in the next five years

beating the Govt. Target b y t h r e e y e a r s .

A c c o r d i n g l y , I n d i a r e q u i r e s i n c r e m e n t a l investments of USD 20 –

25 bins for the next five years.

P r i v a t e o p e r a t o r s h a v e m a d e m o b i l e t e l e p h o n y t h e f a s t e s t

g rowing (ove r 164% p . a . ) i n

Ind i a . Wi th more t han 33

mi l l i on u se r s ( bo th CDMA

and GSM) , w i r e l e s s i s t he

p r i nc ipa l g rowth engine of the

Indian telecom industry. Given the

current growth trends, cellular

connections in India will surpass fixed

line by late 2004 / ea r l y 2005 .

I n t ense compe t i t i on be tween

t he fou r ma in private groups - Bharti,

Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has

brought about a s i gn i f i c an t d rop i n t a r i f f s . The re ha s been a lmos t 74%

in ce l l Phone charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25% drop in NLD charges,

resulting in a boom time for the consumers.

The Government has played a key enabling role by deregulating and liberalizing the

industry, ushering in competition and paving the way for growth. While there were


regulatory irregularities earlier, resulting in litigation, these have all been addressed now.

Customs duties on hardware and mobile handsets have been reduced from 14

percent to 5 percent.

The India government has merged the it sector and telecomminitries to speed up reforms and decision on

communication convergence bill to enable the common regulation of the internet,

B roadcas t i ng and t e l e coms w i l l be taken after the new Government assumes

responsibilities in May this year. An independent regulatory body (TRAI) and

dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is fully functional.

Telecom sector in India is fully liberalized; with there being intense competition and free

or pure play of market forces. Various policy measures and regulatory initiatives over the

last several years have put the telecom sector in India on a high growth trajectory.

The industry has invested over Rs. 80,000 crores in setting up 133 state-of-threat cellular

mobile networks in around 8,000 cities/towns and over 1-lakh villages all over the

country. The Cellular service providers are offering world-class digital mobile services to

the consumers at the most affordable tariffs in the world.


The Indian GSM Mobile industry today boasts of:

• Highest level of competition as compared to international benchmarks, which is driving

the growth of the sector.

• Lowest tariffs in the world with the mobile service thus being the most affordable for

subscribers as compared to the global bench marks.

• Highest mobile subscriber additions every month as compared to other parts of the

world.

The dynamics of market forces are driving the expansion of service and the growth of the

sector. India today has a robust mobile telecom industry which has become the backbone

of the Service sector in India.

The Mobile Telecom industry is the only sector in India which has witnessed a

continuous decline in tariffs over the last 10 years. As against this, all other service

sectors such as power, water, hotels etc have witnessed a significant increase in end-user

tariffs.

Thus the mobile telecom sector has continuously absorbed inflation. There isno other

sector in India where tariffs have been continuously falling.

However, the ever falling tariffs and the resultant decline in ARPUs has become a serious

area of concern for service providers. Declining ARPU leaves the service provider with

lesser amount of re-investible surplus for expansion of service which otherwise could

have been far more widespread by now. Cellular Operators Association of India


INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

The Bharti Group, which operates in 23 circles, continues to ba the country's

largest cellular operator, with 50 lakh subscribers.BSNL, which operates in 22

circles, has a subscriber base of 37l a k h s u b s c r i b e r s . T h u s B S N L

s t a n d s s e c o n d l a r g e s t c e l l u l a r ope ra to r i n t e rms o f subsc r i be r

ba se a t t he end o f t he f i s ca l ending March 31, 2007, displacing Vodafone

from the second position.

Vodafone, which operates in only eighteen circles, is the third largest operator

with a subscriber base of 32 lakh. Unlike fellow public sector undertaking, MTNL, which

operates in Mumbai and Delhi, BSNL, has been a very aggressive player in the

market."Ce l l u l a r ope ra to r s who expec t ed BSNL to go t he MTNL way ,

w e r e t a k e n b y s u r p r i s e a n d d i d n o t t a k e e f f e c t i v e s t e p s t o

counter it, till it was too late in the day," said a telecom analyst.

Belying fears of a slowdown in cellular subscriber acquisitions, the cell club

has reported a 7.92% growth, the highest growth inane month so far, during March 2005.

Year-on-year, the cellular subsc r i be r ba se i n t he coun t ry ha s a lmos t

doub l ed i n March 2005, and is expanding at the rate of 25% per year thereafter.

The cellular subscriber club expanded by 21.31 lakh last month. This is much higher

than 5.9 lakh subscribers added in February2005 and 2 .13 l akh i n J anua ry

2005 . I dea , wh ich ope ra t e s i n seven circles, is the fourth largest operator

with a subscriber ba se o f 17 .80 l akh , h ighe r t han BPL ' s 11 .31 l akh

subsc r i be r s across four circles. The subscriber numbers per operator drop

sharply with the sixth largest operator, Spice Communications, hav ing a

subsc r i be r ba se o f 9 .40 l akh , f o l l owed by Re l i ance T e l e c o m ' s 8 . 9

l a k h s u b s c r i b e r s . M T N L i s t h e n i n t h l a r g e s t operator, with a base of 8.32

lakh subscribers.


While the subscriber base-jumped by 3.38% to 44.39 lakh in the metros, subscriber

base of category A circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka

and Tamil Nadu jumped by1 0 . 1 8 % t o r e a c h 4 3 . 6 4 l a k h . C a t e g o r y B

c i r c l e s o f K e r a l a , Pun j ab , Ha ryana , and U t t a r P r adesh (Wes t ) ,

U t t a r P r adesh (Eas t ) , Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal recorded a

jump of 10.69%, with a total base of 33.74 lakh subscribers. Circle C has reported

12.74 % growth with subscriber numbers jumping to5.08 lakh.

Among the metros, while Mumbai added 1, 63,180 subscribers, higher than

the 1, 58,646 added by Delhi, the Capital's cellular subsc r i be r ba se o f ove r

80 l akh i s s t i l l h i ghe r t han Mumba i ' s 66.89 lakh. While the cellular

industry has been on roll for the first three quarters of the previous financial year with an

average of 16.75 lakh monthly additions in the third quarter, the first two months of 2007 had

seen the growth slowing down.


MARKET IN INDIA

Regional Interest Groups - GSM India

With a population of around 1.1 billion growing at roughly 1.7 percent a year, India is

potentially one of the most exciting GSMmarkets- in the world. After two rather

difficult years, the past 12months have seen the region's promise beginning to

come to fruition much of this success ca be attributed to destabilization of

licensing ad regulatory environment.

India’ telecommunications have undergone a steadyiberaisation since 1994

when the government first ought private investment in the sector. More

significant liberalization followed in 1996 with licensing of new local fixed

ad mobile service providers.


However, it has been the Government’s New Telecom Policy (1999) that has had the

most radical impact on the development of GSM services. 'The policy’s mission

statement is 'affordable communications for all’; There i s a genu ine commi tmen t

t o c r ea t i ng a mode rn and e f f i c i en t c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

i n f r a s t r u c t u r e t h a t t a k e s a c c o u n t o f t h e convergence of

telecom, IT and media. In addition, the policy places significant emphasis on

greater competition for both fixed and mobile services.

‘ C o m p e t i t i o n i n t h e m o b i l e s e c t o r h a s a l r e a d y h a d a v i s i b l e

impact on prices with calls currently costing less than 9 cents per minute. This means that

service costs have fallen by 60 per cent since the first GSM networks became live

in 1995. It also helps explain why a recent Telecom Asia survey revealed that

more t han 70 pe r c en t o f I nd i an mob i l e subsc r i be r s f e l t t ha t p r i c e s

were now at a reasonable level.

O n e o f t h e c h a l l e n g e s f a c i n g G S M o p e r a t o r s i n I n d i a i s t h e

diversity of the coverage regions -from remote rural regions twosome of the

most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world. India has more than 40

networks, which cover the seven largest cities, over 7000 towns and several Laces

villages. Such dep th o f cove rage ha s r equ i r ed eno rmous i nves tmen t

f rom India’s operators. It is estimated that more than Rs200 billion

Had been invested in India's GSM industry by mid-2000, a figure that is set to be

supplemented by a further Rs. 300 billion over the next five years.

The good news is that subscriber growth is beginning to look h e a l t h y .

W i t h I n d i a ' s l o w P C p e n e t r a t i o n a n d h i g h a v e r a g e Internet usage -

at 14-20 hours a month per user it is comparable to the US -the market for mobile

data and m-commerce looks extremely promising. WAP services have already been

launched i n t h e s u b c o n t i n e n t a n d t h e f i r s t G P R S n e t w o r k s a r e i n

t h e p roce s s o f be ing ro l l ed ou t . I n t he yea r ahead , GSM Ind i a w i l l


work with its members to realize the potential of early packet services in

anticipation of the award of 3GSM licenses.

India fastest growing GSM mart


Ind i a i s expec t ed t o have 145 mi l l i on GSM (g loba l sy s t em fo r mobile

communications) customers by 2007-08 compared to 26million subscribers as on

March 2005, according to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. "For GSM,

India is a success story. It is one of the fastest growing markets with its subscriber base

d o u b l i n g i n 2 0 0 5 . A t t h i s p a c e , t h e t a r g e t o f 1 5 0

m i l l i o n subscribers by 2007-2008 is definitely achievable," Alan Haden,

p r e s i d e n t o f G S A , s a i d a t a n e w s c o n f e r e n c e i n N e w D e l h i .

Globally, the GSM market reached 1 billion users in February 2005, he said,

adding GSM accounted for 80 per cent of the new subscriber growth in 2005."Almost every

Latin American operator has chosen GSM. In North America GSM growth is bigger

thanCDMA (code division multiple access)," he said. Commenting on t he r ag ing

deba t e ove r GSM ve r sus CDMA in mob i l e s e rv i ce s arena, Haden said:

"GSM is the world's most successful mobile s t a n d a r d w i t h o v e r 1 b i l l i o n

u s e r s , a n d i s a n o p e n m o b i l e standard. It also supports automatic international

roaming, which is a major contributor to business plans."

India’s GSM mobile firms’ revenue up 30 pct


I n d i a ’ s p r i v a t e t e l e c o m s f i r m s o f f e r i n g G S M - b a s e d m o b i l e

s e rv i ce s r epo r t ed a 24 pe rcen t r i s e i n r evenue i n t he yea r t o March

2007 but said future growth rates could slow because of heavy taxes on the

nascent industry. Although India’s mobile sector is the world’s fastest growing

major wireless market, it is amongs t t he h ighes t t axed i ndus t r i e s i n t he

coun t ry . Mob i l e carriers pay as much as 25 percent of their revenue as

licensee, spectrum charges and other taxes. The Cellular Operators Association

of India (COAI) said revenue for fiscal 2003/04 stood at 83.08 billion rupees ($1.86

billion) compared with 64 billion rupees a year earlier. According to T.V.

Ramachandran, director g e n e r a l a t C O A I , “ T h e s e r e v e n u e g r o w t h

r a t e s c a n n o t b e maintained unless there is a concerted effort by the government to

cut excessive levies and allow sharing of infrastructure”

“But the potential to do much better exists as there is still huge demand in the sector.”

Ramachandran said the sector was still losing money but declined to elaborate.

Sales jumped because o f a d o u b l i n g o f t h e G S M

( G l o b a l S y s t e m o f M o b i l e C o m m u n i c a t i o n s )

u s e r b a s e a s m o r e p e o p l e e n t e r e d t h e flourishing market thanks

to one of the lowest call rates in the world. But the monthly average revenue per user, a key

measure of profitability, declined 17.4 percent to 432 rupees in the fourth quarter

compared with 523 rupees in the first quarter due to acu t e i n t a r i f f s and

exces s ive compe t i t i on among compan i e s . Growth s l owing , demand

un t apped : The a s soc i a t i on ha s no t included the financial performance and

the GSM-user base of state-run firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the second-

ranked player, and Mahan agar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Ramachandransaid.

There are 150 million GSM customers and more than 96 mi l l i on u se r s o f

t he r i va l CDMA-based mob i l e s e rv i ce s i n t he country.

The pace of growth in monthly additions is slowing after just 1.25m i l l i o n u s e r s

t o o k u p t h e s e r v i c e i n A p r i l c o m p a r e d w i t h 1.9 million In the


previous month and 1.63 million in February. Ramachandran blamed the

slowdown on a majority of small GSMoperators being unable to expand networks

into rural swathes where demand remained largely untapped.

“ O u r s u r p l u s e s a r e n o t e n o u g h t o c o v e r c o s t s o f

n e t w o r k e x p a n s i o n a n d f i n a n c i n g c h a r g e s o n l o a n s . W e a r e

m a k i n g money only to cover operating expenses,” he said. Carriers are n o w

s u b s i d i z i n g h a n d s e t c o s t s t o w o o u s e r s i n t o

t h e underpenetrated industry forecast to have more than 250 million cus tomer s by 2007 .

Rough ly t h r ee pe r cen t o f I nd i ans own m obile phone compared with about 20

percent in China. About do z e n f i r m s s u c h a s B h a r t i A i r t e l L t d , 2 8

p e r c e n t o w n e d b y Singapore Telecommunications, Reliance Infocomm Ltd and

the I n d i a n G S M - u n i t o f V o d a f o n e g r o u p b a t t l e i n

t h e h o t l y competitive sector.

DOES GSM HAVE THE EDGE?


GSM operators are not the only ones who are worried about the rapid strides made by

CDMA mobile players Reliance Info command Tata Idiom in the Indian cellular market?

T h e G S M s u p p l i e r s – b o t h h a n d s e t a n d e q u i p m e n t - w h o

incidentally also have their other foot firmly placed in the Dampie r , a r e beg inn ing

t o l o se some s l e ep ove r wha t was ea r l i e r termed as `niche’ and `minuscule’

data carriage market by the operators.

Apart from the strong success of the two CDMA operators whose networks are based on

code division multiple accesses (CDMA), the miserable showing of the four global

standard for mobile (GSM)

based ne tworks t ha t l aunched gene ra l packe t r ad io s e rv i ce (GPRS)

service for data connectivity in last three years, has the vendors worried. Global mobile

Suppliers Association (GSA) now be l i eve s t ha t even t hough Ind i a w i l l

p r ima r i l y r ema in a vo i ce t r a f f i c - l e d m a r k e t i n n e x t t w o - t h r e e

y e a r s , t h e d a t a t r a f f i c component will grow by 25-30 per cent, an

optimism that it’s trying to make GSM operators feel as well.

THE CDMA CHALLENGE


CDMA players had launched their services with CDMA 2000 1X-based networks, which

can give hi-speed, always-on connectivity to the Internet, and other data services.

GSM operators, on the other hand, have had to migrate from the frustrating experience

of WAP (wireless application protocol) to GPRS, which has not Significantly

improved the subscriber’s experience of surfing tenet on/ from mobile.

T h e t o p b r a s s o f G S A , a n o r g a n i z a t i o n c o m p r i s i n g

N o k i a , S i emens , E r i c s son , A lca t e l and Lucen t Techno log i e s - me t

on Tuesday in the capital to persuade the operators to adopt EDGE(Enhanced Data rates

for GSM Evolution) and leave GPRS behinds a dream gone sour.

Only Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Idea Cellular had launchedGPRS, but the data

transfer speeds of GPRS have been abysmal. The field trials gave a speed of around

54 kbps, but the actual speeds have not exceeded 14-18 kbps, a major reason why GPRSgrowth

has been so slow. As against the total GSM cellular base of 5.61 crore, the country has

between 2, 80,000 lakh GPRS users only. In comparison, the two CDMA

operators have about 120lakh connections. All these sets are data compliant.

Though no figures are available as to how many use these for data services, the figure is

believed to be respectable as percentage ratio for CDMA

Bharti is almost there Bu t f i r s t , t he EDGE! Bha r t i Ce l l u l a r i s c l o se t o

commerc i a l l y launching its EDGE service in Delhi and Mumbai by end May

or early June, sources said. The company was the first to conduct field trials in

November with its equipment supplier Ericsson. Idea too held EDGE field trials in

February this year with its vendorNok ia . Voda fone and BPL a r e ye t t o

ho ld t he t r i a l s . The two companies would eventually migrate to EDGE, but

perhaps after seeing the response to Bhatia’s service.

EDGE holds the promise of delivering data speeds of around 170-180 kbps (as against the

theoretical speed of around 380 kbps) w h i c h , i f a c h i e v e d ,


p r o m i s e s t h e l a u n c h o f m a n y d a t a applications. The

scalable cost of migrating from GPRS to Edges not too high and mainly comprises

software upgrades in case of a modern network such as Bharti and Hutch, claimed chairman of GSA

India chapter Rakish Mali.

Will GSM maintain its head start?


At the GSM Evolution Forum held in New Delhi, GSA president Alan Haden

predicted that GSM growth will far outstrip CDMA as was happening globally. He felt India

could have as many as 200million GSM subscribers by 2007-2008, up from nine

million in Decembe r 2004 . Acco rd ing t o GSA, t he r e a r e ove r 1 .1

b i l l i on s u b s c r i b e r s w o r l d w i d e a s a g a i n s t 2 5 0 m i l l i o n

C D M A customers. The revenue of top 25 global operators from data

a v e r a g e s 1 8 p e r c e n t a n d 2 2 o f t h e s e o p e r a t o r s r u n G S M

Networks. Overall, there are 76 operators in 50 countries that have committed to

deploy EDGE.

Almost every country has a GSM-based network and even those US operators, which

operated on now-defunct TDMA technology, were migrating gradually to GSM, not

CDMA, pointed out Hadean the GSM Evolution Forum. The Forum is a global GSA

program to a s s i s t t he ope ra to r s f o r evo lu t i on t o t h i rd gene ra t i on (3G)

technologies. “People are using their phones for much more than voice. Fifteen networks

have commercially launched EDGE as it c a n r u n 3 G l i k e s e r v i c e s i n

t h e e x i s t i n g s p e c t r u m f o r t h e operators without needing a 3G license.

Even the migration to full-fledged 3G level of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) will be

smooth with EDGE,” said Haden.

http://convergence.in/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/India-wireless_market_share-june-2010.png


“Besides, the automatic roaming provided by GSM networks in almost 200 countries is a

power that CDMA doesn’t give you. We know fo r su r e t ha t a lmos t 20 -25 pe r

c en t o f t he r evenue fou rsome GSM operators come from roaming customers,” he added.

Bu t CDMA i s no pushove r w i th Korea and Ph i l i pp ine s a s t he

s h i n i n g j e w e l s i n i t s c r o w n . T h e f i r s t C D M A 2 0 0 0 1 X

w a s commercially deployed in October 2000.

Already, 81 operators have launched 77 CDMA 2000 1X networks w h e r e a s n i n e h a v e

l a u n c h e d s e r v i c e s b a s e d o n 1 x E V - D O platform across Asia, the

Americas and Europe. At least, 16 new1X and six 1xEV-DO networks are

scheduled to be deployed in2004, according to CDMA Development Group. EV-DO

and EV-Dare the next level of evolution on the CDMA 2000 1X platform,

capable of delivering services comparable to 3G WCDMA.

Where are the models?

What will matter a lot in this war will be the availability of EDGE compl i an t

handse t s a t a f fo rdab l e r a t e s . Whi l e t he two CDMA operators have been

giving out handsets that can give hi-speed data transfer, same has not been the case with

GSM. Even now, G P R S h a n d s e t s h a v e n o t b e c o m e c o m m o n p l a c e

a n d G P R S feature is found only in mid and high-end segment handsets. End sum game.

When t he ne tworks dep loy EDGE, subsc r i be r s c an expec t t he delivery

of advanced mobile services such as easy downloading o f v ideo and mus i c c l i p s ,

f u l l mu l t imed i a messag ing , be s ide s high-speed Internet and e-mail

access, provided their handset supports all this.

But the real cruncher will be the migration at a later stage to 3Gtechnologies such as

WCDMA, EV-DO or EV-DA as and when the government decides what to do with the

3G licenses. WCDMA for WCDMA for example promises delivery of a


phenomenal 2 megabytes per second (mbps), equivalent to what a leased line in

many middle levels corporate gives.

More importantly, WCDMA will spawn a whole new range of full motion audio-video

applications, including video telephony. GSMlobby may continue to remain gung

ho over the future of their technologies over that boosted by the American firms

QUALCOMM and Motorola, but Indian market could well throw an interesting

s c e n a r i o t h a t i n d u s t r y e x p e r t s w i l l d o w e l l t o w a t c h . I n t h e

coming mon ths , Re l i ance p l ans t o o f f e r i t s CDMA subsc r i be r s much

more t han wha t GSM p l aye r s i n t end t o de l i ve r t h rough their EDGE for

their subscribers.

Who succeeds in this battle for mobile customer’s eyeballs is most difficult to

predict. A Korea and Japan may not be waiting to happen in India, but India will

probably be more like the Chinese market with both standards co-existing. For now, GSM rules!


INTRODUCTION

Bharti AirTel

Bharti AirTel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in

19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data

services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions

for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti

AirTel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the

world by business week. Bharti Airtel had 200 million customers across its operations.

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 provider to launch National& International Long Distance Services in

India. Bharti Enterprises has successfully focused its strategy on telecom while straddling

diverse fields of business. From the creation of 'AirTel', one of India's finest brands,

to becoming the largest manufacturer and exporter of world class telecom terminals under

its 'Beetle' brand, Bharti has created a significant position for itself I gobal

communication sector.

. Bharti Tele-Ventures is today acknowledged as one of India's finest companies,

and its flagship brand 'AirTel', has over 12 million customers across the length and breadth of

India. Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, a part of Bharti Enterprises is India's leading provider

of telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Tele-Ventures have

been structured into two main strategic business groups – the Mobility Leaders business

group and the Infotel Leaders business group. The Mobility business group providesGSM

mobile services across India in twenty three telecom circles, while the

Infidel business group provides broadband & telephone services, long distance services a

nd enterprise services. All these services are provided under the AirTel brand. AirTel comes to

you from Bharti Cellular Limited - a part of the biggest private integrated telecom

conglomerate, Bharti Enterprises. Bharti provides a range of telecom services, which include Cellular,

Basic, Internet and recently

introducedNationalLongdistance. Bharti also manufactures and exports telephone


terminals and cordless phones. Apart from being the largest manufacturer of

telephone instruments in India, it is also the first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti

is the leading cellular service provider, with a footprint in 15 states covering all four metros

and more than 7million satisfied customers

Our brand:


AirTel was born free, a force unleashed into the market with a relentless and unwavering

determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy, creativity and a team driven “to seize the

day” with an ambition to become the most admired telecom service provider globally.

AirTel, in just ten years of operations, rose to the pinnacle of achievement and continues to

lead

s India's leading telecommunications company, AirTel brand has played the role of major

catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence.

Today we t ouch peop l e ' s l i ve s w i th ou r Mob i l e s e rv i ce s , Te l emed ia

s e rv i ce s , t o connecting India's leading 1000+ corporate. We also connect Indians

living in USA,UK and Canada with our call home service.

include Cellular, Basic, Internet and recently introduced National Long Distance. Bharti

also manufactures and exports telephone t e rmina l s and co rd l e s s phones . Apa r t

f r om be ing t he l a rge s t manufacturer of telephone instruments in India, it is also the

first company to export its products to the USA. Bharti has also put its footsteps into Insurance and

Retail segment in collaboration withMul t i - Na t i ona l g i an t s . Bha r t i i s t he


l e ad ing ce l l u l a r s e rv i ce provider, with a footprint in 23 states covering all

four metros and more than 50 million satisfied customers.


SERVICES

Airtel Prepaid

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you f rom Bha r t i

En t e rp r i s e s , I nd i a ' s l e ad ing i n t eg ra t ed t e l e com service provider. Going mobile

with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of l i f e . Wi th a hos t o f g r ea t f e a tu r e s , a l so

s imp le t o u se , A i r t e l P r e p a i d m a k e s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t y o u d r e a m t

a n d b e l i e v e d , possible.

Total Cost Control

You can control your Airtel Prepaid like never before. No more rentals or deposits – simply recharge as

much as you need to from as low as Rs. 10, to as high as Rs. 10,000/-.

Pre activated STD/ISD without deposits or rentals

You can now enjoy a pre-activated STD/ISD on your AirtelPrepaid. No more paying deposits or having

a minimum balance in your account to make an STD/ISD call. Hassle-free calls are here to stay!

Strong Network Coverage

Enjoy complete clarity when calling with Ariel’s world-class technology and unbreakable network

coverage that spans over23 circles across the country.

Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each

chargeable call. You can also call 123 from you r mob i l e phone and l i s t en

t o t he vo i ce announcemen t o r simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES'

button and your account balance will be displayed on the screen of your handset.

Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

R e c h a r g i n g i s E a s y . T h e c a l l i n g v a l u e o n y o u r c a r d

k e e p s reducing as you make calls or use any other chargeable service. Choose the

Airtel Prepaid Recharge Coupon that’s right for you, from a variety of tailor– made

recharge coupons with differentdenominations, which are available at a number of outlets


across you r c i t y . S imp ly fo l l ow the p rocedu re men t i oned be low , t o re

charge your phone.

Prepaid Roaming

AirTel Prepaid comes reactivated with 'National Roaming', so you stay

connected no matter wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS,

check your email and access other GPRSservices while roaming in India as

you would in your own city. While traveling abroad you can receive calls &

send or receives.

Other Services

Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you communicate. Try them and

discover a whole new world of fun and excitement.

Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation– all

with your Airtel prepaid connection.

Voice Mail

When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer the phone, Airtel

Voicemail will answer your calls and record message. The best part is that there's

no extra monthly cost foresting up Voicemail - you just pay for the phone call

when you use the service.

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to t a l o r you

don ' t have much t ime . I t ' s t he way t o sha re t hose interesting one-liners,

important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Subscription Alerts

Get regular alerts on news, jokes, business, health and films on your Airtel mobile phone

with Subscription Services. SMS <SUBNEWS> to 3333 for News, <SUB JOKE> for

Jokes, <SUB BIZ> for Business News, <SUB SPO> for Sports Alerts & <SUB

VAASTU>for Vast tips.


MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Jazz up your messages with pictures, images and video clippings, with MMS from Airtel! To activate

MMS on your phone, SMS'MMS' to 56465 and save service settings.

Airtel Live!

Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel Live! Airtel brings

you the latest in entertainment and information services, right on your phone!

Airtel Live! WAP Services:

Download t he l a t e s t r i ng t ones , games , wa l l pape r s , v ideos and much

more . You can a l so ge t news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on you

phone. To get Airtel Live! settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 a n d

s a v e t h e s e t t i n g s t h a t y o u r e c e i v e a s y o u r p r e f e r r e d

connection. Airtel Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by

sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

Airtel Live! Voice Services:

J u s t D ia l 56465 , and name t he service. For e.g. say ring tones to

download your favorite ringtones. You can also choose a variety of content options

like Live Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie Reviews or

Stock Market Updates.

Airtel Live! SIM Services:

Acces s l oads o f f un con t en t and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your

phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on your

Filmcard menu. To download new services on your Airtel SIM, choose t he "Wha t ' s

new" op t i on unde r t he "A i r t e l s e rv i ce s " menu .

Airtel Live! SMS Services:

You can enjoy a host of services by s end ing a keyword a s an SMS to 56465!

Choose As t ro logy


Horoscope, Cricket, Hollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case you need

assistance SMS, Help to 56465.

Bharti AirTel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operationsin

19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice &

dataservices, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions

for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti

Airtelhas been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world

by business week. Bharti Airtel had 200 million customers across its operations.


TARIFF STRUCTURE

Prepaid Tariffs

A i r t e l P r e p a i d R e a d y C e l l u l a r C a r d a n d R e c h a r g e C a r d s a r e

available, all over the city at over retail outlets including 24-houroutlets. Airtel

Prepaid Ready Cellular Card and Recharge Cards are available, all over the city at

over retail outlets including 24-hour outlets.

Pulse Rate 60 sec

Price of Pack (Rs.) Rs.449

Free Airtime on Pack (Rs.) Nil

Incoming Calls (Rs.) Free while in home network

LOCAL RATES (Rs./min) Rs.1.20 Rs.2.00 Rs.2.40

STD RATES (Rs./min) Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75 Rs.2.75

ISD (Rs./min)

USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line), Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand,

Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand.Rs.6.40Gulf, Europe (Mobile), SAAR countries,

Africa & Rest of theworldRs.9.20Cuba, Sao Tome & Principe, Guinea Bissau, Diego

Garcia, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Norfolk

Island,SakhalinRs.40.00

SMS (Rs.)

LOCAL RS. 1.00

NATIONAL RS. 2.00

INTERNATIONAL RS. 5.00


Other Details

*Rs 50 Local Airtel-Airtel Mobile talk time per month for 6 months

* First month Airtel-Airtel credit within 72hrs of activation & balance credit by 1st week

of eve month)

*The SMS charge as applicable is per 160 characters

* Validity- 24 months

POSTPAID

Airtel Postpaid allows you to choose from a variety of affordable talk plans, convenient

payment options and host of rich features. So get set to enjoy a world of limitless possibilities!

Reference Tariff Packages (RTP)

MONTHLY CHARGES (FIXED) Rs. 524

MONTHLY CHARGES (OPTIONAL)

STD RATES 50 – 200 Km200 – 500 Km500 + Km

ISD USA, Canada, Europe (Fixed Line),Aus t r a l i a , S ingapo re , Hong

Kong , Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, newZealandRs. 7.20G u l f , E u r o p e

( M o b i l e ) , S A A R C o u n t r i e s , A f r i c a & R e s t o t h e r world Rs

9.99C u b a , S a o t o m e & P r i n c i p l e , G u i n e a B i s s a u ,

D i e g o G a r c i a , Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu,Rs. 40.00


ONE TIME CHARGES

ACTIVATION CHARGES RS 250

MEMBER SHIP FEES RS 250( CONVERTS IN TO SECURITY

AFTER 240 MOMTHS)

SECURITY DEPOSITS NA

MONTHLY CHARGES FIXED RS 150

BILL PLAN CHARGE RS 50

MONTHLY RENTAL RS 150

CLIP NA

MONTHLY CHARGES OPTIONAL

CLIP RS 50

SMS

LOCAL RS 1.00

NATIONAL RS 2.00

INRERNATIONAL RS 5.00

VALUE ADDDED SERVICES RS 3.00

This Bill Plan is also available under Advance Rental of Rs. 799for 2 years.

Local Pack

Airtel to other local mobiles (non Airtel) At Rs 1 / min

Monthly rental Rs 25 per months/-

STD Pack

Ai r t e l t o o the r mob i l e s ( non A i r t e l ) & f i xed l i ne s nos . a t Rs 2 / min.

Monthly rental Rs 75 per month/-


Special offer for Airtel Telephone service customers for availing AirTel Mobile services

If you already have Airtel Telephone service, you can buy anew Airtel Mobile

connection under Airtel One Standard150 Plan.

Benefits:

Non security deposit.

No membership / activation fee

Enjoy calls to your Airtel fixed line no. at just 50 P / min.

Monthly rent of Rs 25 for reduced call rates to your Airtel fixed line has been

waived off for 1 year.

For details, call us 516-12345

Advance Rental benefits (1year scheme)

Pay an advance rent of Rs 499 and enjoy Airtel One Standard 150 plan at Zero

monthly rental for one year. Advance rental of Rs 499 gives you a rental discount of Rs

150e v e r y m o n t h f o r t h e n e x t 2 m o n t h s . A l l o t h e r o p t i o n s a n d

charges are as per the existing Airtel One Standard 150 Plan.


PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted AirTel cellular service will go in for

r e p o s i t i o n i n g o f i t s b r a n d i m a g e . T h e n e w b r a n d

e t h o s i s p o r t r a y e d i n t w o d i s t i n c t f a s h i o n s

- t h e t a g l i n e " T o u c h Tomorrow", which underscores the

leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The Good Life",

which underscores amore caring, more customer centric organization.

Aimed at re-engineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all

out information communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to

embrace the new generation of mobile communication services and the

changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that come along with it.

The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular category that goes

beyond the Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the whole gamut of

wireless digital broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The

new campaign is in two phases - the first of which will communicate

overall brand philosophy and the second products and services. A c c o r d i n g t o M r .

J a d i s h K i n i , C h i e f O p e r a t i n g O f f i c e r , B h a r t i M o b i l e L i m i t e d ,

K a r n a t a k a " W e a r e a d o p t i n g a n e w b r a n d - platform - Touch

Tomorrow - not only to reflect our corporate ethos but also business strategy".


The new iden t i t y w i l l have t he l ogo i n Red , B l ack and Whi t eco lou r s

a l ong w i th l ower c a se t ypog raphy t o convey wa rmth .

AirTel will i n c o r p o r a t e t h e l a t e s t b r a n d i n g i n a l l o f i t s

c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d w i l l s o o n b e g o i n g i n f o r a n e n h a n c e d

promotional drive to establish the brand's presence

.


For them the main promotional strategy is advertisements on television. Although

in advertisements also the advertisement should be entertain able with currently

popular Bollywood actors and actresses.


LIFE TIME PLAN

PRE-PAID card users need not worry anymore about recharging their coupons every

month. Company has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with

lifetime validity f o r a o n e t i m e p a y m e n t o f R s . 9 9 9 .

S u b s c r i b e r s a v a i l i n g t hemse lve s o f t h i s s cheme wi l l a l so ge t

f u l l t a l k t ime fo r t he re charge coupon they purchase and also have the option to

buy Taiwanese manufactured Bird mobile handsets for as low as Rs.1,399.

T h e m o v e i s a i m e d a t s t o p p i n g t h e c h u r n i n t h e p r e - p a i d

subscriber base. Once a subscriber takes this plan, he will always be an Airtel subscriber

whether the mobile is being used or not.


M A R K E T S I T U A T I O N

At the time of launch

The f i r s t move r i n t he ma rke t was A i r t e l wh i ch l aunched i t s services

in Delhi in Aug 1995 (Informal launch). Essar Cell phone followed by launching its

services informally in Oct 95. At this po in t o f t ime , t he ma rke t was a t a

na scen t s t age , awa renes s level was low and both operators independently tried to

spread awareness and educate the people.

Once t he ne tworks we re commerc i a l l y l aunched , i t b ecame n umber

game with a multitude of schemes being offered to woo cus tomer s In i t i a l l y t he

c e l l phone was pe r ce ived a s a s t a t u s symbol and utility took a back seat The

target segment in Delhi w e r e c o r p o r a t e a n d t h e h i g h i n c o m e g r o u p .

T h e a v e r a g e capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with the

steep license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly

expanding their markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of

schemes being offered and prices crashing.

COMPETITIVE SITUATION

A i r t e l l a u n c h e d i t s s e r v i c e s b e f o r e E s s a r a n d s k i m m e d t h e

market picking up the bulk of the high usage premium clients. Th i s i s a ve ry

compe t i t i ve i ndus t ry w i th t he two compan i e s differentiating either on

value-added services or price. Airtel is perceived as the high quality provider and has a premium

image .Essar, on the other hand, is perceived as the lower end service provider. Airtel

positions itself as the market leader on the basis of the number of subscribers. Essar is

trying to counter this by emphasizing on the reach of its network and the quality

of its service. However, Essar is some what not been very successful largely due to the

inconsistency in advertising


To promote themselves, both the players have been dependent on tactical advertising

However, they have restrained from using comparative advertising Hoardings have

been a very popular med ium fo r c a r ry ing t he adve r t i s emen t s A i r t e l ha s

a l so been advertising on television using the Bharti Telecom name.


SALES DEPARTMENT AND STRATEGY

A . M a j o r A c c o u n t s ( D i r e c t C h a n n e l )

Handles corporate (named and famed) accounts

Forecasting of sales

Mapping the accounts

Providing after sales support to the subscribers.

• Maintaining call reports for records.

• Providing Feedback to the marketing department regarding the requirement of the market.


MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer

group, minimization of risk exposure, better ab i l i t y t o f i ne - t une a

p roduc t / s e rv i ce t o t he r equ i r emen t o f t a r g e t b u y e r a n d t h e

r e s u l t a n t e a s e i n d e s i g n i n g a p r o p e r designing marketing mix strategy In this

case segmentation is on the bade of income.

In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two factors The

overall attractiveness of the segments and the c o m p a n y ’ s o b j e c t i v e s &

r e s o u r c e s T h e p r e s e n t m a r k e t f o r Cellular phones, pagers and conventional

phones is as follows phones is as follows

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The r a t i o n a l e

b e h i n d i t i s t h a t o n l y t h o s e s e g m e n t s s h o u l d b e targeted who

value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to target the business

tourists during their stay in thecapitalA b o u t 6 0 % o f t h e c l i e n t e l e a r e

t o p e x e c u t i v e s o f c o r p o r a t e houses. About 15% are foreign

organizations and the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During

the introduction s t age t he r e was i n t ense p r e s su re t o ge t consumer s


ac ros s t o hook up with their brand, because getting them to switch brand loyalty later

would be hard So far AirTel marketers have been concentrating totally on the

business executive class but now that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and

prices have declined to a certain extent they are planning to venture further a field.

.

POSITIONING


The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency tool. a lifestyle

revolution and a status symbol The emphasis is

To remove misconception that the cell phone is an expensive means of communication

and drive home the point that the cell phone is actually a day-to-day utility.

PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

T h e p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e is t h e h e a r t o f t h e m a r k e t i n g m i x .

W i t h o u t a p r o d u c t o r a s e r v i c e c u s t o m e r s ' n e e d s

c a n n o t b e satisfied. The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility.

Ariel’s main m a r k e t i n g s t r a t e g y i s t o b e a f i r s t m o v e r a l l t h e

t i m e . I t h a s recognised the significance of making the first move-- because in the

field of Communication & Information Technology changes occur at a

tremendous pace. Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously

b e c a u s e b a s i c s e r v i c e s c a n b e a n d w i l l b e c o p i e d a n d i n t i m e

b e c o m e e x p e c t e d c o m p o n e n t o f t h e p r o d u c t . A i r t e l s e e k s t o carry

out this segmentation through provision of new information services and making new facilities

available. The product policy and planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle.

Promotional police:


At p r e s e n t t h e c e l l u l a r p h o n e m a r k e t h a s r e a c h e d t h e m a t u r i t y

stage. Since, the premium segment is nearing saturation the company targeting

the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to do so Airtel is trying to optimize the price

performance package by offering suitable "product bundling". This involves the selection of

the suitable hardware (handset) and its software (its services.) with reasonable price

in order to d e l i v e r m a x i m u m p r i c e p e r f o r m a n c e t o i t s

c u s t o m e r s . I n addition, it offers free Airtime services and other concessions to

make the prices and thus the product more attractive. It has also opened a 24

hours customer service. O n l y p r i c e d o e s n ' t s e r v e a s a n e f f e c t i v e

d i f f e r e n t i a t o r , v a l u e -added services become the effective differentiator.

The "Value Added Services" provided from AirTel are:-

1) Voice Mail service

This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able

to answer a call for some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice

mail box which can be later retrieved byte utter

i) Short Message Service The short message service is l ike a two-way

pager.

ii) It gives adoption of sending and receiving text messages directly from one

mobile phone to another without the intervention of an operator.

iii) Mobile Fax 1 Data Service

T h i s s e r v i c e h e l p s t h e s u b s c r i b e r t o s e n d a n d r e c e i v e F a x e s ,

access E-mail, download computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another

computer and surf the Internet.

2) Cash Card

The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows t h e b u y e r s t o

b u y a i r t i m e i n a d v a n c e . A l l i t r e q u i r e s i s t h e payment of an

initial amount. This is a useful service for people w h o t r a v e l t o D e l h i o f t e n

a n d t h o s e w h o w a n t t o c o n t r o l t h e expenses on their calls’) Caller I

Displays calling person's number.


Outgoing call restriction To prevent or l imit outgoing calls, for

example, in peak hours. A l s o p o s s i b l e t o

e x c l u d e o n e o r s e v e r a l c o u n t r i e s o r

a n y g e o g r a p h i c a l r e g i o n , t o p e r m i t o n l y l o c a l

c a l l s , o r t o l i m i t t h e outgoing calls to a listed number.

Call forward I n c o m i n g c a l l s c a n b e f o r w a r d e d t o

a n o t h e r f i x e d o r m o b i l e phone.Besides these some other

services provided by Airtel are - Call conferencing, Call broadcast et

cetera.

I t i s i n t h e o p e r a t o r s - I n t e r e s t t h a t t h e y

n o t o n l y g e t m a n y s u b s c r i b e r s b u t

a l s o g e t t h e m t o u s e t h e m o b i l e

f a c i l i t y frequently. In the early stages getting

increases to subscribe may be easier than getting them to

talk since they will find it costlier to use the mobile phone as

compared to a conventional phone [if is believed that initially cell phones would

be used buy

Roaming Facility Roaming facili ty is available while the

subscriber is travelling. The billing is done in the home network

(Delhi). Roaming facility is available manually* as well as

semi-automatically. Once subscriber is In any other city or

country, where a GSM networks available, simply insert the SIM card

of the local operator Into your handset and start talking.

M a n u a l R o a m i n g m e a n s a s e p a r a t e S I M

c a r d i s p r o v i d e d f o r each city S e m i

a u t o m a t i c r o a m i n g m e a n s o n e c a r d

h a s t h e f a c i l i t y for different cities.

Placing polices:


AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION.

Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service provider has to fully take care of

the customers.

a ) T h e y t a k e p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o " g e t " t h e a n s w e r f o r

a n y problem faced by the customer.

b) They anticipate customers' problems and take pro-active steps to prevent

them.

c ) T h e y g i v e a n s w e r s t o t h e q u e s t i o n s &

r e q u e s t s , q u i c k l y & efficiently

d) T h e y h a v e a p o s i t i v e t o n e & m a n n e r w h i l e

i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h customers.

e ) T h e y e n d t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o n a p o s i t i v e o r a

h u m o r o u s n o t e - making the last 30 seconds count.Airtel realizes that attracting people

'Is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard, hence emphasis is on

maintaining a ‘ S m i l i n g a n d a F r i e n d l y A t m o s p h e r e ' t o p l e a s e a n d

r e t a i n t h e customer.

PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

http://asiancorrespondent.com/indianomics-images/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/image4.png


A I R T E L h a s r e a l i z e d t h a t t h e I n d i a n m a r k e t i s p r i c e

s e n s i t i v e . T h e r e f o r e i t c a r e o f t h e h a s c o m e u p w i t h v a r i o u s

i n n o v a t i v e tariff schemes to take needs of different category of customers-Generally,

the cellular services are more expensive than the landline based telephone services. This

is due to the reason that the o p e r a t i n g c o m p a n i e s a r e

r e q u i r e d t o p a y a f e e t o t h e government for using airtime.

Marketing strategy adopted by Bharti AirTel:


Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service,

Airtel . Besides print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and

kiosks in and around Delhi. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign

for the‘Airtel’ services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences. I t

i s t r y i n g t o s e t u p a t h e m a t i c c a m p a i g n t o b u i l d a s t r o n g e r

brand equity for Airtel. Since the cellular phone category itself is t o o r e s t r i c t e d ,

a l s o t h e f a c t t h a t a C e l l u l a r p h o n e i s a h i g h

i n v o l v e m e n t p r o d u c t , p r i c e d o e s n ' t q u a l i f y a s a n

e f f e c t i v e differentiator. The image of the service provider counts a great deal.

Given the Cell phone category, it is the network efficiency and the quality of

service that becomes important. What now the buyer is looking at is to get the

optimum price-performance package. This also serves as an effective differentiator

Brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand p r e f e r e n c e

t h r o u g h b r a n d s t a t u r e . A r i e l ’ s c a m p a i g n i n t h e capital began with a

series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city, ‘bearing just the company's name and

without explaining whatAirtel was. In the next phase the campaign associated Airtel with

C e l l u l a r o n l y t h e r e a f t e r w a s t h e B h a r t i C e l l u l a r

c o n n e c t i o n brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out

brochures about the company and its services to all consumers. About

50,000 direct callers were sent out. When the name was w e l l e n t r e n c h e d i n t h e

D e l i b e s ’ s m i n d , t h e A i r t e l c a m p a i g n b e g a n t o f o c u s o n t h e

u t i l i t y o f C e l l p h o n e . I n t h e f i r s t f o u r m o n t h s a l o n e

A i r t e i ' s a d v e r t i s e m e n t s p e n d e x c e e d e d R s . 4 crores.As of

today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or

knowledgeable consumers are asked to name Cellular phone service provider that

is on the top of his/her mind 60% of them would name Airtel. As for

aided it -is 100%(by giving clues and hints etc.).

Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured by the percentage score of the

brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that Airtel is a

healthy and thriving brand. Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales


target a n d a g a m e p l a n w i t h d u e r e g a r d t o i t s c o m p e t i t o r . A i r t e l

' c ampaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy.

The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the

image of a market leader in terms of its m a r k e t s h a r e . I t t r i e s t o p o r t r a y

t h e i m a g e o f b e i n g a " f i r s t mover every time" and that of a "market leader".

T h e s t a t u s o f t h e p r o d u c t i n t e r m s o f i t s l i f e c y c l e h a s

j u s t reached the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the product life cycle

curve in the maturity stage. The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the

users classified into heavy, medium and low categories. The right hand side

shows the revenue share earned from the three types of users.Airtel, keeping in mind the

importance of the customer retention, v a l u e s i t s h e a v y u s e r s t h e m o s t

a n d c o n s t a n t l y i n d u l g e s i n -service innovation. But, since heavy

users comprise only 15 -20% of the population the other segment cannot be neglected. The

population which has just realized the importance of cellular phones has to be roped in. It

is for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives and discounts.

Concerts like the "Freedom concert" are being organised by AirTel in order to promote

sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in mind. The target segment is

not very concrete but, there is an a t t e m p t t o f o c u s o n

t h o s e w h o c a n a f f o r d . T h e p r i n t advertisements

and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas w h i c h m o s t l i k e l y t o c a t c h

t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h o s e w h o n e e d c ellular phone. The product promise

(which might cost different1 h i g h e r ) i s a n i m p o r t a n t v a r i a b l e i n

d e t e r m i n i n g t h e t a r g e t audience. Besides this, other promotional strategies that

Airtel has adopted are .

( i ) P e o p l e w h o h a v e b o o k e d A i r t e l s e r v i c e s h a v e b e e n

t r e a t e d to exclusive premiers of blockbuster movies. Airtel has tie-u p w i t h

L u f t h a n s a t o o f f e r c u s t o m e r b o n u s m i l e s o n t h e German airlines frequent

flier's programs.

( i i ) T h e r e h a v e b e e n e d u c a t i o n a l

c a m p a i g n s , i m a g e c a m p a i g n s , p r e l a u n c h


a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , l a u n c h a d v e r t i s e m e n t s ,

c o n g r a t u l a t o r y a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , promotional

advertise-ments, attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements.

75% of the money and the franchises contribute 25% of the money. The dealers under the franchisee receive the

same commission. The franchises and the dealer obtain the feedback from the customers and they are sent

through the liaison officer on a day-to-day basis to Airtel. The dealer has to invest Rupees. One Lakh as an initial

investment. The dealer of Airtel is not allowed to provide any other operators' service. Target set for distributors

and the dealers is 100 -150 activations per month. Hence the dealers can also go for their own promotions like

banners and discounts on festivals etc. The dealer provides service promptly. The consumer on providing the bill

of purchase for the handset and proof of residence has only to wait an hour before getting connected. The staff of

the dealers and the franchisees is provided training by the Airtelpersonnel. The complaints encountered by the

franchisees and dealers are either handset being non-functional or the SIM Card not getting activated. Anything

more complicated is referred to the mainAirtel office in Delhi.

WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?

With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that lets him/her be in touch, always, but also gets a

host of benefits that let him/her manage his/her time like never before. An AirTel subscriber is provided with a


Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM card) - that is the key to operating his/her cellular phone. His card activates

Airtel cellular services and contains complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's

cellular phone thoroughly. Each SIM card contains pin code (Personal Identity Number) which may be entered

byone. Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN code and it becomes 'your' personal phone'.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The pattern of cellphone subscriber growth observed elsewherein the world reveals that the growth in the market

is Initially slowfollowed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has nothappened in India. As far as the Product Life

Cycle is concerned.Indians are at the beginning of the maturity stage.

Introduction Growth Maturity

MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Create product awareness and trialMaximise marketshareMaximise profits whole defending market share

Strategies Product

Offer a basic product/service. Offer value-added services Increase in number of value added services.

Price

Charge cost-plus Price topenetratemarketPrice to matcher best competitors

Distribution

Build selectivedistributionBuild Intensivedistribution.Build moreintensivedistribution.

Advertising

Build product warenessamong early adopters anddealers.Build awareness and interest in the mass market Stress

brand differences and benefits Great marketing strategy:

Bharti AirTel is one of the most valued company of India. It is also the leading telecom

provider in India. Reliance Communications follows AirTel in market capitalization.


Interestingly the same order holds good for the total number of subscribers these telecom

companies has.

Bharti has a subscriber base of 91.1 million and added 2.7 million subscribers in Feb

2009. Reliance added 3.3 million new subscribers in FEB 2009 to

take the total to 69.6 million. Reliance rolled out its GSM operations

late last year following which there was a surge in the number of

new subscribers. It also added more subscribers than AirTel in a

month. Contact

Following MTNL is the list of other telecom providers in infrastructure, equipment and

value added services. Vodafone-Essar which has 66 million subscribers is not listed on

the Indian Bourses.

BSNL is also not listed and that is the reason why it is not in the list. If listed it could be

one of the top companies. There is a lot of things happening around BSNL’s IPO even

before the recession started. Now, that the recession has started the IPO plans were

postponed. But, BSNL will dilute 10% stake sooner than later.


List of top 30

Telecom

companies in

India :

Here's How:

1. Describe your

company's

unique selling

proposition

(USP).

2. Define your

target market.

3. Write down

the benefits of

your products

or services.

4. Describe how

you will

position your

products or

services.

Company Name

Mark

et Cap

in

Crore

s

Bharti Airtel

10806

6.23

Reliance Communications

32683.

44

Idea Cellular

14368.

92

Tata Communications

13181.

25

Tata Teleservices

4393.0

6

Spice Communications

4136.1

3

MTNL 4044.6

GTL

2475.1

2

GTL Infrastructure

2210.4

9

OnMobile Global

1403.5

2

HFCL Infotel 457.73

ITI 413.28

Him.Fut.Comm 386.99

Astra Microwave 241.88

Gemini Communications 125.71

Avaya Global 118.54

Shyam Telecom 64.58

Nelco 63.55

XL Telecom & Energy Limited 55.96

Goldstone Infratech Ltd 52.6

Nu Tek 48.16

Kavveri Telecom 26.51

Krone Communications 24.52

Mobile Telecommunications Ltd 17.37

Valiant Communications 16.58

Pun.Communi. 16.19


5. Define your marketing methods. Will you advertise, use Internet marketing, direct

marketing, or public relations?

People power

Total commitment from top leadership, keeping in mind that rural marketing is a long-

term relationship, is imperative - the successes of Hindustan Lever and ITC are proof of

this statement. But even more important is the need for a dedicated task force.

Rural marketing efforts need special mindsets, which many of the urban-oriented

management graduates who are at the helm of affairs at most organizations do not

possess.

A separate marketing and sales vertical headed by people with passion and commitment

to rural marketing and supported by a field team that can face the rough and tough of the

vast country-side with courage and conviction is a must.

The best bet is to recruit students from specialized institutes such as the Indian Institute

of Rural Management, or at least, management graduates who have studied the subject as

an elective.

Many of these are students from small towns, people with fire in their bellies who want to

prove themselves in big companies and have no issues about working in smaller markets.

Pay them well - remember, you pay peanuts, you get only monkeys - and discuss the path

their careers are likely to take in the organisation. And send them out in the field only

after thorough training.

Ensure the consistency of the team involved in any project, until the completion of a

specific task. Recently, we were involved with two big clients. In both cases, the teams

that briefed us in the initial stages and participated enthusiastically in the campaign, were

shifted out midway, in keeping with their companies' policy of shifting and promoting

people.

The teams that succeeded felt no ownership of the campaigns they had not initiated. What

started as a great rural marketing initiative has been relegated to the dustbin... the fate of

many rural marketing initiatives in the country.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/indianomics-images/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/image4.png


Goals are good

Early on in the campaign, define your objective: is it a tactical effort to achieve increased

sales in specific areas during a specific time, or do you want to build a strong equity for

your brand in rural India?

Our experience with FMCG companies is that they are more interested in the first choice.

Most of them have previously appointed vendors who implement the company's ideas

blindly, be they van campaigns or below-the-line activities.

There is very little effort to tailor whatever communication is made in such efforts, to suit

the local audience or fit it with the overall campaign efforts in the mass media.

This invariably leads to less than satisfactory results in terms of awareness of the brands

and long-term impact of the efforts in the targeted markets. If you are interested in the

second alternative, a comprehensive brand building strategy in rural India, with both

short term and long term goals, is a must.

Know your customers

A good place to begin is studying the mindset of your customers, so you can create a

customized plan of action. All too often, clients insist their knowledge of their customers

(based on studies of urban India) is enough on which to base an action plan. Our

experience shows that the attitudes, aspirations and fears of rural customers, with regard

to products and brands, is very different from their urban counterparts.

Research can give you invaluable ideas for new product development as well as new

methods of reaching your target audience. The refrigerator with standby power for 12

hours, pressure cookers with two handles and a radio with key-winding mechanism are

all the result of research.

More and more companies turn to the local haats to sell their products. While haats offer

opportunities to target consumers from several villages at one place, and to that extent

make your effort cost-effective, ensure that the people who patronize these haats are the

kind who will buy your brand.


For instance, we recently conducted a survey among some haats in Tamil Nadu, with

some interesting results. The haatswere popular with the poorest agricultural laborers

who consciously buy the duplicate, spurious products that are sold in these bazaars, since

they can't afford the real thing. It is estimated that FMCG companies lost more than Rs

10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) to spurious products, mostly sold through such

local haats and bazaars.

Ensure availability

Most anecdotes about rural marketing centre on the distribution aspect - the humongous

task of physically reaching your product to over 600,000 villages, most of them without

motor able roads. But it's not really as nightmarish as it is made out to be, at least keeping

in mind the present goals of marketing companies in rural India.

We've all heard about the shampoo sachets that are available in even the smallest

villages. How does that happen? It's a direct result of rising aspirations, fuelled by

television commercials. The consumer demands the product from the local shopkeeper,

who then buys the products from the nearest feeder markets.

SWhich means if you can ensure distribution to the feeder markets in towns or villages

with populations of 10-15,000, you’ve already taken the first step towards reaching your

target customer?

Studies also indicate that rural consumers prefer to shop for durables such as televisions,

automobiles and appliances in the nearest big town or city. So, if your products a


How to Do a SWOT Analysis

Evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

A SWOT analysis is the best way to really focus your marketing strategies in ways that

will drive optimal business growth and profits.


STRENGTHS

Cost advantage

Current leaders in quality service

Largest distribution network

Ability to constantly innovate

Highly skilled workforce

Entrepreneurial zeal

Aritel’s increased equity and market cap.


WEAKNESSES

To prove credibility

Price pressures

Need for Government support

Awareness

Sales and Marketing

OPPORTUNITIES

To sustain passion and commitment.

AirTel’s market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out.

Attain higher value services

Collaborative business needs to be explored

Vertical repeatable solutions.

Low penetration level in rural markets.

THREATS


Foreign investment

Global trends moving from GPS to WLL.

Lack of global parity in telecom tariff

Other competition

marketing strategy of airtel

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