MARKETING STRATEGIES OF BHARTI AIRTEL IN

NORTHEAST
SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED TOWARDS PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

(APPROVED BY AICTE, GOVT.OF INDIA)

2016-2018

SUBMITTED BY:

XXXXXXXXXXX
(BM-XXXXXXX)

INDUSTRY MENTOR: FACULTY MENTOR:

XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX

1
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, XXXXXXXXX, student of PGDM from INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

(IMS) hereby declare that I have completed summer internship on “Marketing Strategies of
Bharti Airtel in Northeast” as part of the course requirement.

I, further declare that the information presented in this project is true and original to the best
of my Knowledge.

DATE: XXXXXXXXXX
Roll No – BM-XXXXXX
PLACE: PGDM (2016-2018)

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project has been a great learning experience for me & I would like to express my sincere
gratitude to all the people who guide me through the project and without the valuable
guidance and suggestions of these people the project would not have been completely
successful.
I owe enormous intellectual debt towards my industry mentor Mrs. XXXXXXX, Manager,
Bharti Airtel, Guwahati, ASSAM and Faculty Mentor XXXXXXX Professor: Marketing
Department at IMS Ghaziabad, for their continuous support & cooperation throughout my
project without which the present work would not have been possible.

XXXXXXXXXXX
Roll No: BM-XXXXX
PGDM (2016-2018)

3
 PREFACE

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

The project report consists of detailed Study of “MARKETING STRATEGIES OF

BHARTI AIRTEL IN NORTHEAST” A sincere effort has been made to analyze working
pattern of Mobile Services.

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

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SYNOPSIS 6

2. NEED OF THE STUDY 7

3. INTRODUCTION 8

4. COMPANIES PROFILE 12

5. COMPETITORS PROFILE 24

6. MARKETING STRATEGY ADAPTED BY BHARTI 30

7. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDYS 38

8. LITERATURE REVIEW 39

9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 41

10. FINDINGS 43

11. SWOT ANALYSIS 52

12. CONCLUSION 54

13. LIMITATION 56

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY 57

15. ANNEXURE 58

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 CHAPTER 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The present business scenario is totally customer oriented. Each company faces stiff
competition from its competitors, each provides the best services at competitive rates. As a
result customer has lot of choices to get the best with least cost. To face this competition, it is
very important to know customer’s behavior towards different products and services.

This project is aimed at understanding the Marketing strategies adopted by Airtel and its
impact on the perception of Airtel Customers.

Research has showed that it is far more costly to win a new customer than it is to maintain an
existing one, and there is no better way to retain a customer than to exceed his expectations.
For this purpose it is essential to know the level of customer satisfaction. The focus of my
research was the measurement of customer satisfaction level for the services provided by
Bharti Airtel. My job was to collect the feedback from the customers and also to get their
suggestions about the other products. There can be no better opportunity to interact with the
external as well as the internal customers of an organization. Finally the results of the
research verify the fact that keeping the customer satisfied is the best strategy to not only
retains the existing customers but also to expand the business to new horizons.

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 CHAPTER 2

NEED OF THE STUDY

In the recent years there were so many new telecom sectors has arise in the country who are
giving services to their customers in many different ways. Airtel being the top most service
provider for so many years proving their services through India and abroad also.

The northeastern part of the country has long an untapped market for Airtel and service
providers, in order to gain users in that region Airtel would need a different marketing
strategy than it has been using for other areas. To find out what marketing strategy needs to
be followed this study was needed.

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 CHAPTER 3

INTRODUCTION

 Industry Introduction:

India's telecommunication network is the second largest in the world based on the total
number of telephone users (both fixed and mobile phone). It has one of the lowest call
tariffs in the world enabled by the mega telephone networks and hyper competition
among them. It has the world's third largest Internet user base. According to the Internet
and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the Internet user base in the country stood at
432 million at the end of December, 2016.

Major sectors of the Indian telecommunication industry are telephony, internet and
television broadcast Industry in the country which is in an ongoing process of
transforming into next generation network, employs an extensive system of modern
network elements such as digital telephone exchanges, mobile switching Centre’s, media
gateways and signaling gateways at the core, interconnected by a wide variety of
transmission systems using fiber optics or Microwave radio relay networks. The access
network, which connects the subscriber to the core, is highly diversified with different
copper pair, optic fiber and wireless technologies. DTH, a relatively new broadcasting
technology has attained significant popularity in the Television segment. The introduction
of private FM has given a fillip to the radio broadcasting in India. Telecommunication in
India has greatly been supported by the INSAT system of the country, one of the largest
domestic satellite systems in the world. India possesses a diversified communications
system, which links all parts of the country by telephone, Internet, radio, television and
satellite. Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalization and
growth since the 1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and one of the
fastest growing telecom markets. The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten
years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 1.05billonsubscribers in
the year 2016

8
 Sectors in India Telecommunication:

Major sectors of telecommunication industry in India are telephony, internet, Data

centers and broadcasting.

 Telephony:

The telephony segment is dominated by private sector and two state run Businesses. Most
companies were formed by a recent revolution and restructuring launched within a
decade, directed by Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of
Telecommunications and Minister of Finance. Since then, most companies gained 2G, 3G
and 4G licenses and engaged fixed line, mobile and internet business in India. On
landlines, intracircle calls are considered local calls while intercircle are considered long
distance calls. Foreign Direct Investment policy which increased the foreign ownership
cap from 49% to 74%.Now it is 100%. The Government is working to integrate the whole
country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls, the area code prefixed with a zero
is dialed first which is then followed by the number (i.e., to call Delhi, 011 would be
dialed first followed by the phone number). For international calls, "00" must be dialed
first followed by the country code, area code and local phone number. The country code
for India is +91. Several international fiber optic links include those to Japan, South
Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major telecom operators in India include
Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance Communications, TATA
Teleservices, Uninor and TATA DoCoMo.

 Wireless Internet:

2nd Generation Internet is the most prevalent in India in the Past Decade. Wireless ISPs
in India use both CDMA and Edge technologies for 2G.

India's wireless Internet frequencies are

2G: GSM 900 MHz, GSM 1800 MHz

3G: UMTS 2100 MHz

4G: TDLTE 2300-2400 MHz, FDLTE 1800 MHz

9
 Broadcasting:
Television broadcasting began in India in 1959 by Doordarshan, a state run medium
of communication, and had slow expansion for more than two decades. The policy
reforms of the government in the 1990s attracted private initiatives in this sector, and
since then, satellite television has increasingly shaped popular culture and Indian
society. However, still, only the government owned Doordarshan has the license for
terrestrial television broadcast. Private companies reach the public using satellite
channels both cable television as well as DTH has obtained a wide subscriber base in
India. In 2016, India had about 183 million TV homes of which 150 million has
access to cable and satellite services.

10
 CHAPTER 4

COMPANY PROFILE

Airtel is a name that connects India with millions of people all over the world with millions
of people in India. Today, this telecom giant is amongst the most trusted telecommunication
brands in the world. The company’s modest journey from a regional operator limited to the
city of Delhi to second largest mobile operator in the Asia Pacific region is nothing short of
inspiring.

Airtel has its roots in Bharti Telecom Limited. Founded in 1986 by Sunil Bharti Mittal, the
company was the first in India to offer push button telephones, when the rest of the country
was still using rotary phones.

The first partnership they had was with Siemens AG of Germany, and they started making
push-button landlines in India rather than importing it from Taiwan

In 2003, Sunil Bharti Mittal rebranded all of his mobile telecom ventures under a single brand
named Airtel

Bharti Airtel is one of the leading alternative providers of telecommunications services in

India and the first private telecom services provider with footprint in all the 23 telecom
circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has
11
steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and
services. As one of Asians leading integrated telecom services providers with operations in
18 countries across Asia and Africa. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront
of technology and has pioneered several innovations in the telecom sector. The company is
structured into four strategic business units - Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The
mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23
Telecom circles and also in countries like Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Telemedia
business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in89 Indian cities. The Digital TV
business provides Direct-to-Home TV services across India. The Enterprise services provide
end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national & international long
distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel, in
just ten years of operations, rose to the pinnacle to achievement and continues to lead. As
India's leading telecommunications company Airtel brand has played the role as a
major catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence.

Airtel operates in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, a few countries in African continent and the
Channel Islands. They are one of the largest mobile operator networks in the world in terms
of subscribers, and has a commercial presence in over 20 countries.

Its area of operations includes:

• The Indian Subcontinent:

• Airtel India, in India

• Airtel Sri Lanka, in Sri Lanka

• Airtel Bangladesh, in Bangladesh

• Airtel Africa, which operates in 17 African countries:

• Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo,
Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles,
Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

• The British Crown Dependency islands of Jersey and Guernsey, under the brand name
Airtel-Vodafone, through an agreement with Vodafone.

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 The Airtel Brand and its Logo

There has been no change in the brand name Airtel was born free, a force to unleash into the
market with a relentless and unwavering determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy
creativity and team driven to seize the day with an ambition to become the most globally admired
telecom service.

The Airtel logo is a strong, contemporary and confident symbol for a brand that is always ahead
of the rest. It is a specially drawn word mark.

 The unique symbol is an interpretation of the 'a' in Airtel. The curved shape & the gentle
highlights on the red color make it warm & inviting, almost as if it were a living object.

 The logo represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy that brings us and our
customers closer," it added.

 The "unboxed" having been freed of its rigid boundaries. Airtel calls the new
logo youthful, international, inclusive and dynamic – representing the journey of the first
Indian brand to go truly global. The new identity underlines Airtel’s willingness to
embrace everything that is new. The red color, which is an integral part of the brand,
continues to represent the energy and dynamism that has made Airtel the success it is
today. The new curved addition to the logo is a symbol which will help ensure instant
recognition across diverse international markets.

13
  The color "Red is part of our heritage. It is the color of energy & passion that expresses
the dynamism that has made Airtel the success it is today, in India, and now on the global
stage.

 BRAND AMBASSADORS USED BY AIRTEL

In order to take the advantage of the growing number of youth in our country, Airtel introduced
Sachin Tendulkar,Shahrukh khan, Saifali khan, Kareena Kapoor, GautamGambhir and many
others as brand ambassadors to tap the potential.

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 Airtel has taken the lead on many occasions. It has been the first

 Launched Cellular service in Delhi on November, 1995.

 Operator to revolutionize the concept of retailing with the inauguration of Airtel Connect
(exclusive showrooms) in 1995.

 To expand its network with the installation for second mobile switching center in April,
1997 and the first in Delhi to introduce the Intelligent Network Platform First to provide
Roaming to its subscribers by forming an association called World 1 Network.

First to provide roaming facility in USA. Airtel has the largest automatic roaming
service "SMART ROAM"- National in 400 cities in India and "SMART ROAM" -
International in over 60 countries and 95 networks all over the world.

 It is also the first company to export its products to the USA.

 Services

Mobile Services

 Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti
Enterprises, India's leading integrated telecom service provider. Going mobile
with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of life. With a host of great features, also simple
to use, Airtel Prepaid makes everything that you dreamt and believed, possible.
 3G:
Airtel 3G services are available in 200 cities through its network and in 500 cities
through intra-circle roaming arrangements with other operators. Airtel had about
5.4 million 3G customers of which 4 million are 3G data customers as of
September 2012
 4G

Airtel launched 4G services using TD-LTE technology in Kolkata, becoming the

first company in India to offer 4G services. Airtel had 20,000 4G subscribers as of
March 2013.

 Smart Drive

Smart Drive is navigation app exclusive to Airtel customers. The app features
voice-based turn by turn navigation, real time information update on traffic,
15
 approximate time of the travel on the basis of the traffic situation on the
various routes and also lets users see their location on the map and plan the
journey accordingly. It also suggests the subscriber an alternate route in case
of traffic congestion on the normal route.

 Network Experience Centre

Airtel has a Network Experience Centre (NEC) which observes end to end
customer experience, in near real time, along with the standard network
elements on Airtel's operations. The NEC is located in Manesar, Haryana and
went live on 31 October 2012. It is the first such facility in India and will be
able to monitor Airtel's network performance across mobile, fixed line,
broadband, DTH, M-Commerce, enterprise services, International Cable
Systems and internet peering points from a single location. It will monitor all
Airtel and partner NOCs. In case of an emergency, the NEC will enable the
operator to prioritize actions to restore normalcy and reduce resolution time.

 Instant Balance and Validity Enquiry

Your account balance is updated on the screen of your handset at the end of each chargeable
call. You can also call 123 from your mobile phone and listen to the voice announcement or

simply dial *123#, press 'OK' or 'YES' button and your account balance will
be displayed on the screen of your handset.

 Recharge your Airtel Prepaid

Recharging is Easy. The calling value on your card keeps reducing as you
make calls or use any other chargeable service. Choose the Airtel Prepaid
Recharge Coupon that’s right for you, from a variety of tailor– made recharge
coupons with different denominations, which are available at a number of
0utlets across your city. Simply follow the procedure mentioned below, to
recharge your phone.

 Prepaid Roaming

Airtel Prepaid comes pre activated with 'National Roaming', so you stay
connected no matter wherever you are. You can also send or receive MMS,
check your email and access other GPRS services while roaming in India as

16
 you would in your own city. While traveling abroad you can receive calls &
send or receive SMS.

 Airtel Postpaid

Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting,

innovative yet simple new ways to communicate, just when you want to, not just
through words but ideas, emotions and feelings. To give you the unlimited
freedom to reach out to your special people in your special way.

 Easy Billing
Enjoy a host of rich features only with Airtel e-bill. Register free on “My
Airtel” for the last three months. Sort your calls between personal and official
or analyze your usages, at the click of a button.
 Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere
You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only with Airtel.
1. Walk into any Airtel relationship center and make your payments by
cash or credit card. Drop a cheque at any of the drop boxes for making
payments or simply log on to My Airtel section and pay instantly
through your credit card.
2. You can also opt for easy payment options like:

Standing Instructions

You can give us standing instructions to debit your credit card account
for your monthly Airtel bills. All you have to do is fill the Standing
Instruction Form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship
centers.

3. Electronic Clearing System

Fill an ECS form and mail, fax it to us or drop it any of our

relationship centers to directly debit your bank account for your
monthly Airtel bill.

4. Pay while roaming

Airtel has introduced 'anywhere payment' that offers you the

convenience of making payments while you roam. Walk in to any
17
 Airtel Relationship Centre in the country, make payments by cash or
credit card and enjoy uninterrupted Airtel Services.

 Credit limit

Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you keep your
mobile charges in control, keeps track of your usage and ensures that your
mobile phone is not misused. Should you exceed your credit limit, you will be
informed via a voice or a non-voice message to make an interim payment and
reduce your account balance below your credit limit. You may also choose to
pay us an additional refundable deposit to enhance your credit limit or opt for
our convenient payment method of Credit Card Standing instruction .You can
also make use of ECS facility.

 Long Distance Calling Facilities

Call long distance calls in India and Overseas with STD/ISD facility from
your Airtel number
Other Services Airtel brings you, a wide range of Services that will change the way you
communicate. Try them and discover a whole new world of fun and excitement.

 Call management Services

Call waiting, call hold, call divert and Caller Line Identification Presentation –
all with your Airtel prepaid connection.

 Voice Mail

When your handset is switched off, or you’re too busy to answer the phone,
Airtel Voicemail will answer your calls and record a message. The best part is
that there's no extra monthly cost for setting up Voicemail - you just pay for
the phone call when you use the service.

 SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Send messages quickly and easily using text, if it's too noisy to talk or you
don't have much time. It's the way to share those interesting one-liners,
important reminders and rib-tickling jokes, with anyone, anytime, anywhere in
the world.

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 Airtel Live!

Make your mobile the most happening entertainment destination with Airtel
Live! Airtel brings you the latest in entertainment and information services,
right on your phone!

 Airtel Live! WAP Services

Download the latest ring tones, games, wallpapers, videos and much more.
You can also get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on your
phone. To get Airtel Live! Settings on your phone, SMS 'Live' to 56465 and
save the settings that you receive as your preferred connection. Airtel Live!
Portal can be accessed from you GPRS enabled phone, by sending a SMS
'FUN' to 56465.
 Airtel Live! Voice Services
Just Dial 56465, and name the service. For e.g. say ring tones to download
your favorite ring tones. You can also choose a variety of content options like
Live Cricket Commentary, latest National / International News, Movie
reviews or Stock Market Updates.
 Airtel Live! SIM Services
Access loads of fun content and exciting services like cricket, stocks, on your
phone at the touch of a few buttons with Airtel Live! SIM based Services on
your SIM card menu. To download new services on Your Airtel SIM, choose
the "What's new" option under the "Airtel services".You can enjoy a host of
services by sending a keyword as an SMS to 56465! Choose Astrology /
Horoscope, Cricket, Bollywood / Hollywood / Indi Pop Ring tones. In case
you need assistance SMS, Help to 56465.
 Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tringtring’ on your phone? Well now when a friend
calls, you can make them groove to the hottest new tracks burning up the
music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel! You get a wide choice of songs in
the Popular & New Arrivals categories that are updated regularly. What's
more you can directly call the number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005
for English New and 678001 for Hindi New. This would directly take you to
your favorite artist's Hello Tunes listing.
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 Copy a Hello Tune

Get the tune you want, all you have to do is call 55055 and follow the simple
voice instructions to copy your favorite Hello Tunes. Once inside the copy
feature, just key in the 10-digit Airtel mobile number you want to copy the
Hello Tune from and you get the same Hello Tune assigned to your number.

 Gift a Hello Tune

Gift a Hello Tune to that special someone. Just call 55055 and choose the song
that you want to gift. Follow the simple voice instructions and key in the 10
digit Airtel mobile number that you want to gift the Hello Tune to. You will
get an SMS notification upon successful receipt of that gift.

 Conference call

You can hold a teleconference with 5 people simultaneously with Call

Conferencing service from Airtel. In fact, you can set up a conference even
when the other five are using a landline phone. To know more, call customer
service at 121.

 Missed call alert

A missed call alert is a SMS that you will receive for all the calls that you
missed. The SMS will detail the CLI and the time when the call was made. To
activate, dial *135*2# then press the call button and wait for the request to be
completed.

 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.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) Log on to the internet, with GPRS that
allows data transmission at a higher speed. Access e-mails and internet across
Airtel's pan-India presence using 'Mobile Office' with your phone or a phone
and laptop both.

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 Services that Airtel is providing to their customers
 Airtel Money

Airtel has started a new mCommerce platform called Airtel Money with
collaboration with Infosys and Smart Trust (now Giesecke&Devrient). It was
launched on April 5, 2012, in Infosys Campus of Bangalore, with the help of
Airtel money, users can transfer money, pay bills and other financial
transactions using mobile phone

 Digital TV Services
“Airtel Digital TV” service Launched in October 2008 as fifth operator
providing Direct-to-Home (DTH) services in India. First Company in India
which provides real integration of all the three screens ex. mobile, television
and computer enabling our customers to record their favourite Television
programs through mobile and webSubscriber base is 10.142 million
subscribers. Digital TV service Present across 639 districts in India.Airtel
Digital TV offers 470 channels including 30 HD channels, four international
channels and three interactive services.Airtel Digital TV offers High
Definition (HD) Set Top Boxes and Digital TV Recorders with 3D capabilities
delivering superior customer experience

 Wi-Fi

Airtel has plans to launch Wi-Fi services in India. It intends to start offering Wi-Fi
services in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore in initial phase. All plans will be on secure
wireless broadband internet with unlimited usage and will besession or time based. Users
can use the service by finding a hotspot, selecting Airtel Wi-Fi Zone', activating the
voucher and then login to start browsing.Airtel intends to partner with establishments to
set up hotspots which will be termed Wi-Fi Hangout for an establishment owner and Wi-
Fi Partner for the cafe and restaurant owners. Airtel Wi-Fi Partners can offer services at
zero investments and can earn commission on every Wi-Fi session sold

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 Awards in the last 5 years
 Bharti Airtel secured the top spot in Brand Equity’s ‘50 Most Trusted Service Brands’
2014.
 Bharti Airtel secured the second position in the ‘BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable
Indian Brands 2014’.
 Bharti Airtel ranked first in a listing of 100 emerging market multinational
companies by Transparency International on corporate transparency and reporting.
According to the study, the Company topped the list with a cumulative score of 7.3
out of 10.
 Bharti Airtel was ranked among the top three in a listing of the Top 100 BSE listed
companies in FTI Consulting’s ‘India Disclosure Index 2015’ Report with a
composite score of 10 out of 10.
 Bharti Airtel’s e-Shakti (Madhya Pradesh) bagged the ET Telecom Award as the
best initiative in the ‘Use of Telecom for Social Good’ category.
 Bharti Airtel was recognised for excellence in internal auditing at the ‘Innovation
Award 2016’ by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Delhi.
 Bharti Airtel has been recognised as an ‘Innovator & Disruptor in HR Technology
Practices’ by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
 Bharti Airtel’s e-Shakti (Andhra Pradesh) won ‘Telecom Service Provider’ Award
from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for women empowerment.
 Bharti Airtel was recognised for ‘Legal Finesse, Innovation & Accomplishments:
In-House Team’ at the Legal Era Awards 2015-16.
 Bharti Airtel won ‘India’s Top Mobile Service Operator’, ‘Top Internet Services
Operator’ and ‘Top Broadband Wireless Access Operator’ at the annual Cyber
media ICT Awards 2015.
 Bharti Airtel won the ‘Firm of the year – Telecommunication’ Award at the CNBC
TV18 India Risk Management Awards 2015 held in New Delhi.
 Bharti Airtel honoured with the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Sustainability 2015’
at the London Global Convention on Corporate Governance & Sustainability held
in London, UK

22
 Bharti Airtel won the ‘Operator Excellence Award’ in the ‘Business Innovation in
Risk Management’ category at Subex User Conference held in Prague, Czech
Republic.
 Bharti Airtel won the ‘Top Treasury Team (Asia) Award’ at the Adam Smith Asia
Awards 2015.
 Bharti Airtel won the ‘Data Security Council of India (DSCI) Excellence Award’
for security in Telecom at the NASSOCM-DSCI Annual Information Security
Summit 2015.
 Bharti Airtel honoured with ‘Company of the Year for Sustainability
Telecommunication India & South Asia’ Award at the IAIR Awards 2015

23
 CHAPTER 5

Competitors

 Vodafone

Vodafone, previously Hutchison is a cellular operator in India that covers 16

telecom circles in India. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its
products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and post-paid GSM
cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major
metros. Vodafone Essar provides2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz
digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's
23license areas.
Company profile:
In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a
company that in 1994 was awarded a license to provide mobile
telecommunications services in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and launched
commercial service as Hutchison Max in November 1995. Analjit Singh of Max
still holds 12% in company. By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public
Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had acquired interests in six mobile
telecommunications operators providing service in 13 of India's23 license areas
and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL that number increased to
16. In2006, it announced the acquisition of company that held license applications
for the seven remaining license areas. In a country growing as fast as India, a
strategic and well managed business plan is critical to success. Initially, the
company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India – in Cities like
Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to
24
establish a robust network, well-known brand and large distribution network -all
vital to long-term success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-
end post-paid customers which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a
higher Average Revenue per User ("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this
focused growth plan, it was able to establish leading positions in India's largest
markets providing the resources to expand its footprint nationwide.

 IDEA CELLULAR

Idea Cellular is a wireless telephony company operating in various states in India. It

initially started in 1995 as a join venture between the Tata’s, Aditya Birla Group and
AT&T by merging Tata Cellular and Birla AT&T Communications. Initially having a
very limited footprint in the GSM arena, the acquisition of Escotel in 2004 gave Idea
a truly pan-India presence covering Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai), Goa, Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh (East and West),
Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi (inclusive of NCR).The company has its retail
outlets under the "Idea n' U" banner. The company has also been the first to offer
flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in urban areas.
Presently, operations exist in 11 Service Areas covering Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP-

25
 West, Himachal Pradesh, UP-East, Rajasthan and Kerala. With a customer base of
over 23 million, IDEA Cellular footprint currently covers approximately 60% of
India's telecom population

A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans; IDEA Cellular has the distinction of
offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in
India in an increasingly segmented market Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers
of this Cellular Brand. A brand known for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch
GPRS and EDGE in the country. Idea has received international recognition for its path-
breaking innovations when it won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and
Customer Care Solution" for 2 Consecutive years. IDEA Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla
Group, a US$ 24 billion corporation with a market cap of US$ 31.5 billion and in the league
of Fortune 500. Anchored by an extraordinary force of over 100,000 employees belonging to
25 different nationalities, over 50% of its revenues flow from its overseas operations. With
ambitious future plans, the company is poised for rapid growth across the whole country.
 The Brand Idea
It is almost impossible to disintegrate brand Idea from the corporate Idea. Brand
values are the company values and vice versa.
 The Brand Vision
It goes without saying that the brand vision of idea mirrors the
 Company’s vision
The brand mission statement is to be the most customer-focused mobile service brand,
continuously innovating to help liberate our customers from the shackles of time& space

 RELIANCE JIO

26
Reliance JioInfocomm Limited, or Jio, is an LTE mobile network operator in India. It
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries headquartered
in NaviMumbai, Maharashtra that provides wireless 4G LTE service network
(without 2G/3G based services) and is the only 'VoLTE-only' (Voice over LTE)
operator in the country which lacks legacy network support of 2G and 3G, with
coverage across all 22 telecom circles in India. The services were first beta-launched
to Jio's partners and employees on 27 December 2015 on the eve of 83rd birth
anniversary of late DhirubhaiAmbani, founder of Reliance Industries,and later
services were commercially launched on 5 September 2016.

Company profile:

RJIL is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest private

sector company, is the first telecom operator to hold pan India Unified License. This
license authorizes RJIL to provide all telecommunication services except Global
Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite. Company holds Universal Service
License and is the only pan India operator with Broadband Wireless Access (‘BWA’)
spectrum for commercial Long-Term Evolution (LTE) services across 22 circles
capable of offering fourth generation (4G) LTE wireless services across India.
Reliance Jio is setting up a pan India telecom infrastructure to provide fourth
generation 4G LTE TDD high speed wireless internet and mobile communication
services which may be launched by June 2015. The company is in process to set-up
the 4G LTE infrastructure which will also be an enabler for a portfolio of rich multi-
media digital services including education, health-care, entertainment, payment and
cloud services for millions of individuals, homes and businesses across India.

RJIL is setting up a pan India telecom network to provide to the highly underserviced
India market, reliable (4th generation) high speed internet connectivity, rich
communication services and various digital services on pan India basis in key
domains such as education, healthcare, security, financial services, government
citizen interfaces and entertainment. RJIL aims to provide anytime, anywhere access
to innovative and empowering digital content, applications and services, thereby
propelling India into global leadership in digital economy

27
RJIL is also deploying an enhanced packet core network to create futuristic high
capacity infrastructure to handle huge demand for data and voice. In addition to high
speed data, the 4G network will provide voice services from / to non-RJIL networks.

Reliance Jio is part of the “Bay Of Bengal Gateway” Cable System, planned to
provide connectivity between South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, and
also to Europe, Africa and to the Far East Asia through interconnections with other
existing and newly built cable systems landing in India, the Middle East and Far East
Asia.

 BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LTD.COMPANY OVERVIEW

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited provides telecommunications services in India. Its

services include wire line and cellular services, as well as other value added services,
such as voice mail service, short message service (SMS), group messaging, national
and international roaming, call forwarding, corporate virtual private network, call
conferencing, friend and family talk, call waiting, and call holding services. The
company also provides3G; wireless in local loop (WLL)mobile telephone; Internet;
Web-hosting; Web co-location; SMS and bulk SMS; and broadband services. In
addition, it offers managed network services; multi-protocol label switching based
virtual private network (VPN) services; integrated services digital network (ISDN)
services; data communication services; intelligent network services consisting of toll
free phone service, universal access number, voice VPN, tele-voting, and virtual
calling cards; and video, audio, and Web conferencing services. Further, the company
28
provides fleet management solution comprising track, an on-line tracking system to
manage fleet, such as trucks, car carriers, trailers, tankers, containers, or vehicles
carrying hazardous and specialty explosive chemicals; net services for use in various
applications, including electronic mail services, corporate communications,
information retrieval, database services, remote job applications, credit card
verifications, travel reservations, and Internet connectivity; telex/telegraph
services;PABX/EPABX services; and DSPT services, as well as offers VSAT, voice
over Internet protocol, and IN services. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited was founded
in2000 and is based in New Delhi, India.

29
 CHAPTER 6

 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 all
over the country. The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the
‘Airtel’ services is to promote the brand awareness and to build brand preferences.

It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build a stronger brand equity for Airtel.
Since the cellular phone category itself is too restricted, also the fact that a Cellular
phone is a high involvement product, price doesn't qualify as an effective
differentiator. The image of the service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell
phone category, it is the network efficiency and the quality of service that becomes
important. What now the buyer is looking at is to get the optimum price-performance
package. This also serves as an effective differentiatorBrand awareness is spread
through the' campaigns and brand preference through brand stature. Airtel's campaign
in the capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the country,' bearing just
the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was. In the next phase the
campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only thereafter was the Bharti Cellular
connection brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out brochures
about the company and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers were
sent out.

As of today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or
knowledgeable consumers are asked to name a Cellular phone service provider that is
on the top of his/her mind 60% of them would name Airtel. As for aided it is 100%
(by giving clues and hints etc.).

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

score of the brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that
Airtel is a healthy and a thriving brand.Every company has a goal, which might
comprise a sales target and a game plan with due regard to its competitor. Airtel’s
campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy. The tone, tenor
and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of a market leader in
terms of its market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover every
30
time" and that of a "market leader”. The status of the product in terms of its life cycle
has just reached the maturity stage in India. It is still on the rising part of the product
life cycle curve in the maturity stage.

Airtel, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention, values its heavy
users the most and constantly indulges in service innovation. But, since heavy users
comprise only 15 - 20% of the population the other segment cannot be neglected.

The population which has just realized the importance of cellular phones has to be
roped in. It is for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives
and discounts. Concerts like the "Freedom concert" are being organized by Airtel in
order to promote sales. The media channel is chosen with economy in mind. The
target segment is not very concrete but, there is an attempt to focus on those who can
afford. The print advertisements and hoarding are placed in those strategic areas
which most likely to catch the attention of those who need a cellular phone. The
product promise (which might cost different 1 higher) is an important variable in
determining the target audience.

Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted are,

(i) People who have booked Airtel services have been treated to exclusive
premiers of blockbuster movies. Airtel has tied up with Lufthansa to offer
customer bonus miles on the German airlines’ frequent flier's programs.
(ii) There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch
advertisements, launch advertisements, congratulatory advertisements,
promotional advertisements, attacking advertisements and tactical
advertisements.

31
 Offer a basic Offer value added Increase in number
product/ service. services of value added
Product
services.

Price Charge cost- plus Price to penetrate Price to match or

market best competitors

Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more

distribution distribution. intensive
distribution.

Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand

awareness among and interest in the differences and
early adopters and mass market benefits.
dealers.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Increase to build Increase to

promotion to entice and maintain encourage brand-
people to subscribe. relationships with switching.
customers.

 MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer

group, minimization of risk exposure, better ability to fine-tune a product / service to
the requirement of target buyer and the resultant ease in designing a proper designing
marketing mix strategy In this case segmentation is on the bade of income.

In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two factors The overall
attractiveness of the segments and the company's objectives & resources The present
market for Cellular phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows

32
 Premium Middle Economy

Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower

Cellular Phones X X X - - -

Pager X X X X - -

Conventional X X X X X -
Phones

X Market Segment Targeted

 TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that
only those segments should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity.
It is also planning to target the business tourists during their stay in the capital.

About 60% of the clientele are top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are
foreign organisations and the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During
the introduction stage there was intense pressure to get consumers across to hook up
with their brand, because getting them to switch brand loyalty later would be hard

So far Airtel marketers have been concentrating totally on the business executive class
but now that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and prices have declined to a
certain extent they are planning to venture further

 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

33
  PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix. Without a product or a
service customers' needs cannot be satisfied. The basic product promise by Airtel is
mobility. Airtel's main marketing strategy is to be a first mover all the time. It has
recognized the significance of making the first move-- because in the field of
Communication & Information Technology changes occur at a tremendous pace.
Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously because basic
services can be and will be copied and in time become expected component of the
product. Airtel seeks to carry out this segmentation through provision of new
information services and making new facilities available. The product policy and
planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle. At present the cellular phone
market has reached the maturity stage. Since, the premium segment is nearing
saturation the company targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order
to do so Airtel is trying to optimize the price performance package by offering
suitable "product bundling”. This involves the selection of the suitable hardware
(handset) and its software (its services.) with reasonable price in order to deliver
maximum price performance to its customers. In addition, it offers free Airtime
services and other concessions to make the prices and thus the product more
attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours customer service.

Only price doesn't serve as an effective differentiator, value added services become
the effective differentiator.

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

1. Voice Mail service

This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able to answer a call
for some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice mail box which can be later
retrieved by the user

2. Short Message Service

The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an option of sending and
receiving text messages directly from one mobile phone to another without the
intervention of an operator.
3. Mobile Fax 1 Data Service
34
 This service helps the subscriber to send and receive Faxes, access E-mail, download
computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another computer and surf the
Internet.

4. Cash Card

The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows the buyers to buy air time
in advance. All it requires is the payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service
for people who travel to Delhi often and those who want to control the expenses on their
calls.

 AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION.

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

a) They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for any problem faced
by the customer

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

them

c) They give answers to the questions & requests, quickly & efficiently.

d) They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with customers.

e) They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note-making the last

30 seconds count.

Airtel realizes that attracting people is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard,
hence emphasis is on maintaining a 'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain
the customer.

 PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

AIRTEL has realized that the Indian market is price sensitive. Therefore it care of the
has come up with various innovative tariff schemes to take needs of different
category of customers- Generally, the cellular services are more expensive than the
land line based telephone services.

35
  Marketing Strategies in the Northeast

In the Northeastcircle Airtel has been divided into 4 zones

1. Assam
2. Northeast 1
3. Northeast 2
4. Upper Assam
 In Assam Zone it is subdivided into two zones

1. Kamrup Metro

2. Kamrup Rural
 In each of the 4 zones there are 4 Zonal Business Managers (ZBM) are appointed,
with each ZBM there are several Zonal Sales Managers (ZSM) and under each ZSM
various Treasure Manager works
 TM looks reports to the ZSM about the new launched sites of 2g,3g or 4g and ZSM
update it to their respective ZBM and the Airtel Head Office of the Northeast zone
which is situated in Guwahati, ASSAM

 In the time, where technology has always played vital roles for the companies in
making aware of their products in the mind of customers by various ways like
Advisement, Hoardings, etc. but in when it comes in the promoting the rural areas
where still technology has just landed their feet there is always problems faced by the
companies in promoting their products, where customers only knows the name of the
brand but have no idea about it. To solve this problems and to promote the brands by
organizing few road side stalls where they give details about their process .They also
educated the retail shopkeepers about the offers which Airtel were providing so that
the customers do not face any problem while availing the offers. Below some of the
pictures of the road side stall.

36
37
 CHAPTER 7

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 Objectives:
 To study the importance and development of telecommunication industry
in today’s scenario.

 To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted

to survive in highly competitive cell phone industry

38
 CHAPTER 8

Literature Review

The growth in demand for telecom services in India is not limited to basic telephone services.
India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio paging; value added services, internet and
global communication by satellite item (GMPCS) services. The agents of change, as observed
from international perspective, have been broadly categorized into economic structure,
competition policy and technology. Economic reforms and liberalization have driven telecom
sector through several transmission channels of which these three categories are of major
significance.

The effective research cannot be accomplished without critically studying what already exists
in the form of general literature and specific studies. Therefore, it is considered as an
important pre-requisite for actual planning and execution of research project. This helps to
formulate hypotheses and framework for further investigation. In this research, the survey of
literature has been classified into two parts - studies related to telecom sector and studies
related to marketing strategies.

 National Telecom Policy projected a target 75 million telephone lines by the year
2005 and 175 million telephone lines by 2010 has been set. Indian telecom sector has
already achieved 100 million lines. With over 100 million telephone connections and
an annual turnover of Rs. 61,000 crores, our present tele density is around 9.1%. The
growth of Indian telecom network has been over 30% consistently during last 5 years.
 In the study of consumer behaviour, it is possible to conclude that perception is
presented as one of personal factors determines consumer behaviour. A personal
factor is the closest environment of a consumer, including everything that makes up
the individual, his/her head and soul, which characterised his personality. Using
sensory receptors and influenced by external factors, the person receives information,
accepts and adapts it, forms his personal attitude, opinion, and motives that influence
behaviour. Perception within this context is one of the principal personal factors,
conditioning the nature of the consumer and his/her behaviour and other variables.
 This is based on the fact that an individual’s decisions and behaviours are not made
solely by him/her, but rather are influenced by the opinions and recommendations of
other important people. As a person is part of a social network, he/she normally

39
 interacts with others in daily life and talks and shares with others on what he/she sees,
thinks and experiences (Pedersen, 2005). That is why, for example, word of mouth is
known as one of the most effective channels through which positive and negative
ideas and perceptions and spread in a social setting. Today, for every firm a critical
question for its success is that how it can maintain its current customers and how it
can make them loyal to the brands.

 Loyal customers play important role in building businesses by making different

moves like buying more, by paying premium prices and most importantly providing
companies different sets of new customers by positive word of mouth (Aydin and
Ozer, 2004). In fact telecommunication companies lose their customer quite regularly.
So it’s very challenging task for the mobile phone operators to retain existing
customers as well as bringing new customers towards their brands and creating
loyalty in them. It happens in almost every industry but especially in
telecommunication services, it is said that when customers are connected to a
particular service provider or operator then their long term relationship with the
operator is of great importance for the success of the company in the competitive
market.

40
 CHAPTER 9
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is considered is considered as the nerve of the project, without a

proper well-organized research plan it is impossible to complete the project and reach to any
conclusion. The project was based on the survey plan. The main objective of survey was to
collect appropriate data, which work as a base for drawing conclusion and getting result.

 Research Design
 Descriptive Research:
The type of research adopted for the study is Descriptive.Descriptive
studies are undertaken in many circumstances when\the researches is
interested to know the characteristic of certain group such as age, sex,
education level occupation or income.
 Types of Data Collected
There have been two sources of information collected:
1. Primary Sources

I have met retailers of the Airtel company and have been able
to get first-hand information regarding the sales of the product,
number of up-gradation from 3g to 4g customers

2. Secondary Sources

Secondary source has played a vital role to play in this report.

A good amount of data has been collected from various
published articles and reports found in internet and particularly
the companies own website

 Research Tool
 Questionnaire
This the most popular tool for the data collection. Various
customers were approached through goggle doc. Which was
send through whatsapp and mails to fill the questionnaire
designed which is attached in the report

41
 Data Collection
The data collection is done through random sampling.

 Sample Size
The sample size for customer profile is 101

42
 CHAPTER 10

FINDINGS

GENDER

FEMALE, 35.6, 36%

MALE, 64.4, 64%

Interpretation

From the above pie-chart we can say that about 64.4% of the total responses are male
responders and the rest 35.6% are female responders

43
 AGE
33 Above
18-22
7%
15%
28-32
15%

23-27
63%

Interpretation

As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age group of 23-27 years are
the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. This segment is the one which give
maximum business to the mobile operators. This segment constitutes the young executives
and other office going people. They are 63.4% of the total people who were interviewed. The
next age group are the people who are 18-22 and 28-35 years old. They are 14.9% of the total
followed by 33 above age

44
 Which type of connection do you prefer

postpaid
30%

Prepaid
70%

Prepaid postpaid

Interpretation

The above data shows mostly prefer prepaid connection over postpaid because of offers they
are getting in the prepaid connections and they are in demand as earlier only network was
used for calls only and now it provides number of facilities like internet etc.

45
 Are you using any service provider instead of
Airtel

No
44%
Yes
56%

Yes No

Interpretation

Here we can clearly see that most of the customers are using other service providers other
than Airtel i.e. 56.4% where 43.6% of the total responses uses Airtel. To have more
customers Airtel have to work with their marketing strategies to attract more and more
customers

46
 IF YES, WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE AIRTEL SERVICE ?
Yes No

45%

55%

Interpretation

Here we can see that most of the respondents who were using other service
providers want to avail the service of Airtel i.e. 55.4% and 44.6% still do want
to change their service provider. To change the the mind of the rest 44.6%
customers Airtel have to make new strategies to make it 100%.

47
 How long have you been using this
connection of your service provider
10%

34%
23%

33%

less than 6 months 6-12 months 2-3 years 3-4 years

Interpretation

People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone expense. 64% people spend
this amount. 24% people spend RS 300 per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the
remaining 12% had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim connections
or having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on their mobiles.

48
 How much money do you spend per month?
9%

39% 22%

30%

100-200 200-300 300-400 400 Above

Interpretation

People on an average spend Rs 400 and above per month as their mobile phone expense.
39.6% people spend this amount. 29.7% people spend Rs 300-400 per month as their monthly
mobile expense. And the remaining 21.8% and 8.9% had an expense more than Rs 200-300
and Rs 100-200.

49
 Rate the following statements on your level of
agreement on the scale of
(Highly Satisfied to Highly Dissatisfied)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Brand Price and After Sales Networks Voice Clearity Value for Value Added
Credibility Offers Services Money Services

Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied

Interpretation

From the above,

 In the case of Brand Credibility 59% is satisfied with it followed by 25% who were
highly satisfied and 15% and 2% are neutral and dissatisfied
 In the case of Price and Offers 40% were satisfied and 40% are neutral 16% are highly
satisfied and 4% and 1% are totally disappointed with it
 In the case of After Sales and Services around 46% are satisfied with it where as 36% are
like neutral
 In the case of Network, more than 40% are satisfied with the network and around 35% are
highly satisfied with it
 In the case of Voice Quality, around 42% are satisfied and 29% are highly satisfied
 In the case of Value for money 39% are satisfied and 36% they are like neither satisfied
nor disappointed
 In the case of Value Added Services. Around 42% are satisfies and 36% are neutral

From the above cases we can conclude that most of the customers are satisfied with
services of the Bharti Airtel

50
 Suggest features you think needs
improvement
VLAUE OF NET PACK

INTERNET 1%

THE PRICE ARE TOO HIGH 1%

NETWORK 28.70%

TARIFF PLANS 14.90%

CALL CLARITY 15.80%

TRANSPARENCY IN BILLS 12.90%

SERVICES 18.80%

0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00%

Interpretation

From the above we can say that most of the customers i.e. 52.5% think that Airtel should
rethink about their tariff plans as their competitors are giving the same tariff plan at a less
price. 28.7% thinks Airtel should improve their network issues as many customers faced
networks issues, followed by service, call clarity, customer care transparency in bills and so
on have to improve each of it to stay in the top of the cellular market

51
 CHAPTER 11

SWOT ANALYSISS

One of the top telecommunication companies in India, Airtel has spread across far and wide
in the last 2 decades of its existence. The company is known for its availability and its smart
range of value added services. Here we present you the SWOT analysis of Airtel to
understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the company.

 Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Airtel

1. Renowned Telecom company: With its 19+ years of rich experience in telecom
industry this MNC had travelled far to become world’s 3 rd largest telecom operator
overseas with operations in nearly 20 countries.

2. High Brand Equity: It is one of the pioneer brands in telecommunication having a

high brand recall and with a whopping subscriber base.

3. Extensive infrastructure: With the formation of Indus tower & due to its partnership
with Idea & Vodafone, the infrastructure of Airtel has extended in all parts of the
country resulting into nationwide penetration.

4. Strategic Alliances: The Company has top notch stakeholders, namely Sony
Ericsson, Nokia and singtel, and the recent one being Apple. Such strategic alliances
boost the brand equity and the bottom line of the company.

5. Torchbearer of the telecom Industry: With its number 1 spot due to its excellent
services in developing economies, Airtel has interconnected the life of people in an
highly efficient way. Thus, where Vodafone is an external entrant, Airtel is a leading
nationwide player in India and the torchbearer of the telecom industry in India.

52
  Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Airtel
1. Outsourced Operations: Outsourcing operations helped Airtel in lowering its cost.
But on the other hand, they are running the risk of being dependent on some other
companies which may affect its operations.

2. Venturing into African operations: Although it’s been 4 years that Airtel has
acquired Zain’s Africa business, but Airtel is still struggling to turn around the unit
which was bought at 9 billion dollars.

3. High Debt: With its acquisitions turning out to bad investment, and credit being high
and margins being low, Airtel group is under high debt. Airtel does not have as deep
pockets as Vodafone.

 Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Airtel

1. Strategic Partnership: Partnering with smart phone companies is going to be a smart

strategy as far as MNP (mobile number portability in India) is concerned. This will
ensure fixed cash flows in the future and a higher customer base.

2. Market Development: With fierce competition in the telecom industry & shrinking
margins, venturing out in new markets/developing economies will prove fruitful for
the company.

3. VAS: VAS (Value Added services) is going to future of the telecommunication

industry & by specializing itself in this vertical Airtel can differentiate itself in highly
competitive market. With introduction of unique services, Airtel can avail higher
margins.

4. Untapped geography of the current market: Although it is currently providing 3G

& 4G services, but these services are limited to specific geographical locations.
Expansion of these services to most of its regions will help the company get more
margins and customers.

5. LTE: The whole wireless world is moving towards LTE (long term evolution or 4G).
LTE for mobile broadband can be a good solution for India where fixed broadband
penetration is otherwise low. Airtel has taken the lead with this version of LTE in 4

53
 cities, but deployment needs to catch up pace. Despite a weak LTE ecosystem in
India, Airtel should portray itself as the embracer of that technology. The company
lacks nationwide 3G license with spectrum in 13 out of 22 telecom service areas.
Airtel’s LTE network for mobile broadband is still confined to only 4 cities in India.

 Threats in the SWOT analysis of Airtel

1. Government Regulatory Framework: With the auction of spectrum & change in the
government policies on a regular basis, it is a potential threat to the stability &
existence of this industry thereby affecting the players.

2. Competition: Price war in the home market and declining margins due to this is
adversely affecting the overall business of the group.

3. MNP (Mobile number portability): MNP gives the customer independence to

change the service provider while retaining the number and as Airtel charges are
premium over other service providers, it can see slump in subscriber base in the next
fiscal year with PAN India MNP applicable from May 3 rd 2015.

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 CHAPTER 12

CONCLUSION

From above the details I conclude that 46% Airtel users preferred to remain with Airtel. Also
good no. of users who were willing to switch from their respective subscribers showed
interest in Airtel. Hence, these statistics imply a bright future for the company. Provides
internet access on the move as people are more dependent on it in their daily lives like wide
network and good 3G and 4G services

Airtel possesses congestion free & wide network, unique value added & customer
services.Providing customer satisfaction is the most crucial step of the company as they are to
be satisfied and provides Internet access on the move such as Wide network and good 3G and
4G services as they are important and technology advanced stuff required by almost
everybody in today’s environment

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 CHAPTER 13

LIMITATIONS

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in
this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of
following limitations-

 Respondent’s unavailability.

 Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer .

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 CHAPTER 14

Bibliography

In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in details the
following Web Sites have been referred. All the material detailed below provides effective
help and a guiding layout while designing this text report.

Web sites:

 www.wikipedia.com
 http://managementhelp.org/customer/satisfy.htm
 http://airtelbroadband.in/wps/wcm/connect/airtel.in/airtel.in/Home
 http://www.slideshare.net/muskan19/airtel-brand-analysis
 http://www.airtel.in/
 http://www.slideshare.net/dpdas3/bharti-airtel

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 CHAPTER 15

ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

CONSUMERS BEHAVIOR TOWARDS BHARTI AIRTEL

1. Name

_________________________________________

2. Gender

 Male

 Female

3. Age

 18-22

 23-27

 28-32

 33 Above

4. Which connection do you preferred more?

 Prepaid
 Postpaid
58
5. Are you using any other service provider instead of Airtel?

 Yes

 No

6. If yes, would you like to use Airtel service?

 Yes

 No

7. How long have you been using this connection of your service provider?
 Less than 6 months
 6-12 months
 2-3 Years
 3-4 Years

8. How much money do you spend for mobile connection per month?

 100-200

 200-300

 300-400

 400 Above

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9. Rate the following statement on your level of agreement on the scale of (Highly Satisfied
to Highly Dissatisfy)

Highly Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Highly

Satisfied Dissatisfy

 Brand and Credibility

 Price and Offers

 After Sales Services

 Networks

 Voice clarity

 Value for money

 Value added Services

10. Suggest features you think needs improvement

 Services

 Transparency in Billing

 Call Clarity

 Customer Care

 Tariff Plans

 Others
______________________________________
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