A REPORT ON Marketing Strategies Of Bharti Airtel In B2B For Voice and Data Products In Pune(2013)

BY SHRADHA PANDEY

MIT PUNEs MIT SCHOOL OF TELECOM MANAGEMENT (MITSOT), PUNE

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A REPORT ON Marketing Strategies Of Bharti Airtel In B2B For Voice and Data Products In Pune(2013)

BY SHRADHA PANDEY PRN: 12096 Batch: 2012-2014 Under the guidance of PROF. RAJASHRI KADAM

A REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMTS OF PGDM (MARKETING) BATCH 2012-2014

MIT PUNEs MIT SCHOOL OF TELECOM MANAGEMENT (MITSOT), PUNE

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Acknowledgements:
I would like to acknowledge all of my family members to making me avail this opportunity and my whole heartedly gratitude to all the staff teaching or non-teaching involved directly or indirectly in making my project successful. I would like to thank the following contributions in preparing this report:

Mr. Manish Mishra

Project Manager (Airtel)

Selected me and made me available with all the available resources and provided valuable insights about future findings.

Mr. Paras Doshi

Project Manager (Airtel)

Mentoring throughout the project through day to day discussions,providing valuable insights to the different issues and helping to come out with major proposals.

Mr. Amol Shinde

IT Head (Airtel)

Provided the trainings from the starting till the end helped in getting out of all the situations, explained all the product portfolios that are new in the market.

Prof. Rajashri kadam

Faculty Department

Guided me from the very beginning by helping to choose the project title, Marketing explaining the significance and scope of the project, facilitating all the data feed and overall monitoring.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Acknowledgement...... Executive Summary List of Tables.. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 1.2Aim and Objectives 1.3 Research Problem Statement. 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Rational for the Study...................................................................................... CHAPTER 2 Profile of the Company and Industry Overview 2.1Industry Overview. 2.2 Company Overview. 2. .... 2.4 Product Portfolio.. 2.4 Market Share/Financial Analysis...................................................................

CHAPTER 3 Data Analysis 3.1 Overall Research Process45 4.2 Research Design47 4.3 Research Methods.48 4.4 Quantitative and Qualitative Research...49 4.5 Types of Data: Secondary Data & Primary Data...52 4.6 Data Collection Instruments..53 4.6.1 Selected Data Collection Method..57 4.6.2 Questionnaire Design.57 4.7 Survey Procedure57 4.7.1 Sampling.58 4.7.2 Sampling Techniques.59 4.7.3 Probability Sampling...61 4.7.4 Non-Probability Sampling.. 62 4.8 Sampling Elements... 63 4.8.1 Population63 4.8.2 Sampling Unit63 4.8.3 Sample Size..63 4.9 Research Limitations..64

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CHAPTER 5 Findings and solutions 7.1 Suggestions73 7.2 Conclusion......73 CHAPTER 6 .......................................................74 Annexure Annexure- 1- Sample Questionnaire...................................................................77 Annexure- 2- Statistical Outputs.. ..78

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Executive summary: The objective of this report is to summarize the activities I undertook as part of my summer internship at Bharti Airtel Limited, Pune. I had work in coordination with the companys sales and marketing team to analyze the and to access the benefit derived from it. Its include dealers and distributers visiting in Jaipur city and surrounding areas. This report on Bharti Airtel is done to find out certain objectives regarding the strategic approach Adopted by Airtel to stand strongly in the competitive telecom market. Airtels marketing strategies are analyzed using various models like SWOT analysis, BCG Matrix, , porters five forces etc. The outcomes of these models are properly analyzed to find out the various aspects like companies position and competitors position in the market. The report not just focus on the company but also on the telecom industry and it also talks about the various marketing strategy adopted by the company. SWOT analysis of Airtel helps to find out the weak points of the company and to find out the way to overcome this problem. and to understand the strategy why company is looking for overseas market like Nigeria and Seychelles.

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I. About telecom industry:

Introduction:

Until the late 90s the Government of India held a monopoly on all types of communications as a result of the Telegraph Act of 1885.Till the industry was liberalized in the early nineties, it was a heavily government-controlled and small-sized market, Government policies have played a key role in shaping the structure and size of the Telecom industry in India. As a result, the Indian telecom market is one of the most liberalized market in the world with private participation in almost all of its segments. The New Telecom Policy (NTP-2012) provided the much needed impetus to the growth of this industry and set the trend for globalization in the industry.

Present Status of the Telecommunication Sector (As on December 31, 2012) Indian telecom network is second largest in the world after China. The country has 895.51 million telephone connections, including 864.72 million wireless telephone connections. Overall tele-density in the country is 73.34%. Urban tele-density is 149.55%, whereas rural tele-density is 39.90%.
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 The share of wireless telephones in total telephones is 96.56%. The share of private sector in total telephones is 85.51%. Number of Broadband connections is 14.98 million. The entire evolution of the telecom industry can be classified into three distinct phases. The objectives of the NTP-2012, inter-alia, include the following: Provide secure, affordable and high quality telecommunication services to all citizens Strive to create One Nation - One License across services and service areas. Achieve One Nation - Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation Free Roaming. Increase rural tele-density from 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year 2020. To recognize telecom, including broadband connectivity as a basic necessity like education and health and work towards Right to Broadband. Provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on demand. Provide high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through a combination of technologies by the year 2014 and progressively to all villages and habitations by 2020. Recognize telecom as Infrastructure Sector to realize true potential of ICT for development Address the Right of Way (RoW) issues in setting up of telecom infrastructure. Mandate an ecosystem to ensure setting up of a common platform for interconnection of various networks for providing non-exclusive and non-discriminatory access. Enhanced and continued adoption of green policy in telecom and incentivize use of renewable resources for sustainability. Achieve substantial transition to new Internet Protocol (IPv 6) in the country in a phased and time bound manner by 2020 and encourage an ecosystem for provision of a significantly large bouquet of services on IP platform.

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Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Foreign direct investment has been one of the major contributors in the growth of the Indian economy, and therefore, the need for higher FDI is felt across sectors in the Indian economy. The telecom sector has played a crucial role in attracting FDI in India. The share of telecom sector in the total FDI inflows in India has gone up to 10% in FY09 as compared with just 3% in FY05. The telecom sector requires huge investments for its expansion as it is capital-intensive and FDI plays a vital role in meeting the fund requirements for expansion of the telecom sector. Telecom accounts for almost 10% of the total FDI inflows in the country and has been the third-largest sector to attract FDI in India in the post-liberalization era.

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Contribution to GDP According to the UNCTAD, there is a direct correlation between the growth in mobile Teledensity and the growth in GDP per capita in developing countries, which tend to have a high percentage of rural population. The share of the telecom services industry in the total GDP has been rising over the past few years (the telecom sector contribution in GDP went up from 2.52% in FY05 to 2.83% in FY07).

Employment The Indian telecommunication industry employs over 400,000 direct employees and about 85% of these employees are from government-owned companies. The ratio of number of subscribers to employees, an indication of efficiency and profitability, is much higher for private companies than for government companies.

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1.1) About Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, Headquarter in New Delhi, India. The company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 269 million customers across its operations at the end of March 2013. Bharti Airtel Limited is India's leading provider of telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three main strategic business groups Mobile Services, Broadband & Telephone Services and Enterprise Services. Bharti Airtel Limited is one of India's leading private sector providers of telecommunications services with a market share of all India wireless subscribers at 30%. The company is the only operator to provide mobile services in all the 23 circles in India. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 15 circles. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai (Network i2i), which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company is a key consortium partner, which jointly owns and has developed the next generation undersea cable system SMW-4.The SMW-4 (South East Asia, Middle East and Western Europe 4) is the new undersea cable connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic, and has been built with 4th generation Terabit DWDM technology. The company provides reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. Latest projects of Bharti Airtel in partnership with radio mirchi has launched mirchi mobile. Bharti Airtel said it has launched a new SIM card for global travelers. Bharti Airtel ranked second best corporate governance.

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1.2) SWOT Analysis of Airtel

Strengths Largest telecom operator in India: Bharti Airtel is the largest telecom service provider in India and the 5th largest integrated telecom operator in the world. Strong customer base growth: Bharti Airtel's subscriber base has grown from 137.0 mn in Mar 2010 to 220.9 mn in Mar 2011, a phenomenal growth of 61.2%. 4G service launch: The telecom operator has bagged 3G spectrum in 13 out of the 22 circles in India and plans to offer these services in all these circles (covering 65-70% of its subscriber base) by the end of March 2011. Large passive infrastructure: Bharti has 32,792 towers under Bharti Infratel and 108,586 towers under Indus at the end of FY2011. Increase in total minutes on network: The total minutes on network have increased from 182,001 million minutes in Q4FY10 to 240,245 mn in Q4FY11. Maximum number of active customers: Bharti Airtel has ~92% active customers, the maximum in the industry. Focus on rural sales: The Company enjoys one-fourth of the rural market share and is focused on increasing it further. Global infrastructure: the only Indian company which is havin international submarine cable.

Weaknesses Decline in customer market share: Bharti Airtel's customer market share has declined to 20.0% in March 2011 compared to 21.8% in March 2010. However, all the major telecom service providers except Tata Teleservices have taken a hit on their market share during this period due to the new Greenfield operators offering rock bottom prices Decline in ARPU's: Due to the company's focus on the rural markets, ARPU's have declined from Rs 220 in Q4FY10 to Rs 194 in Q4FY11.

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Opportunities India is the fastest growth mobile services market in the world : The mobile connections in India increased by ~20 million in March 2011 to reach 811.6 million. The high growth is expected to continue, going further. New subscriber additions through MNP: Bharti Airtel has the opportunity of attracting subscribers of other telecom service providers after the launch of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) recently, as the company has a reputation of providing excellent services. Future potential of Telemedia services: The government has a huge stake in the growth of these services as a 10% growth in the broadband services results in ~1.38% growth in the GDP of the country. This presents a good opportunity for Airtel in the coming years. Opportunities in Africa: Airtel is the dominant player is most of the 16 African countries that it operates in. The remaining countries in the continent, where the company has no presence provide an opportunity for the future. Possibility of acquisitions: The new Greenfield operators have not been successful in acquiring a decent revenue and customer market share, in spite of offering lower prices. This may lead to an opportunity for the bigger players like Bharti to acquire these businesses in the future.

Threats MNP can be a double edged sword: Other telecom service providers, especially the new Greenfield entrants could try to entice Airtel's customers through rock bottom prices. Temporary setback to telecom tower growth: Due to the uncertainty faced by the new operators over license conditions, the new operators have put their network rollout on hold, thus affecting the tower business.

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1.3)BCG Matrix Study Bharti Airtel (Enterprise Services)

BCG Matrix(Airtel portfolio):Star SBU: Enterprise & ? SBU: 4G-LTE Reason:-(Very new

Services(Carriers Corporate)

approach but quick grip of market/Good Collaborations like-Indus Towers/Untapped Market) Dog SBU: Tele-media Services Reason : (Significant fall in ARPU/Other Big Players

Reason :-( Major Contributor to revenue in just 4 years of coming ) Cash Cow SBU: Mobile Services Reason:-(Legacy of Bharti)

existing in Market)

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1.4) About the project: Business Telecommunications Portfolio: Mobile services Telemedia services Airtel business Digital TV services Airtel business: This business unit delivers end to end telecom solutions to India's large corporates. It serves as the single point of contact for all telecommunication needs for corporate customers in India by providing full suite of communication services across data, voice and managed services. These services include; Internet, MPLS -VPN, domestic and international private leased circuits, Satellite services (VSAT), Audio & Video conferencing, Data centre services, Managed network services, corporate value added services, EPBX, Centrex, Contact centre solutions. Airtel business: Emerging business Enterprise & government Global business End-to-end comprehensive managed solution with flexibility to customize solutions as per your needs: Managed transport services Managed MPLS services Managed services MPLS transport services Make your network efficient, scalable and reliable with our MPLS solutions. We offer end-toend comprehensive solutions for network connectivity, thus giving you flexibility through customized solutions and increased coverage. MPLS solutions portfolio MPLS Layer 2, Layer 3 Our global MPLS backbone is capable of carrying any type of data (i.e. voice, video, CRM, ERP, FTP etc.) across the globe. With direct and extended coverage in more than 190 countries, our MPLS network is the right choice for managing your Global WAN connectivity requirements. Airtel offers four classes of service to suit various application requirements.

Managed MPLS Service Airtel has been certified as the first Tier-1 service provider in Asia-Pacific under the CISCO Managed Services Channel Partnership (MSCP) program. Airtel is the 1st Service Provider in Asia-Pac to get this Tier 1 Global Certification

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II. .

Research methodology:

2.1) Objective of the study: To analyze different strategies in detail and find out the adoption timing of all strategies among existing and new customers requirements so that the ground can be set for the development of the comprehensive marketing plan for the competition of Bharti Airtel Limited. To understand the requirements of different data products in the Pune market ,we were required to connect with the market directly and understand requirements through a structured questionnaire designed for in-depth interview or survey. We were supposed: To study marketing strategies Airtel is implementing to defend and increase the market share. To find who are the competitors of the Airtel and the market shares of the competitors. To find out market potential of data products i.e. MPLS, leased line for SME segment. To study the factors influencing the buying decision of customers having data products. To find out need of internet leased line from customers. To study satisfaction level of Airtel/Non-Airtel customers in Data products.

2.2)Scope of the study: The research work was carried out in Pune in areas of Kothrud, Bavdhan-Khurd, Deccan ,JM road, Tilak road. The respondents were the executives from the IT/Non-IT companies. In view of the above mentioned reasons the selected topic i.e.Marketing strategies of Airtel in B2B for Voice and Data Products for the year 2013 is justifiable. 2.3)Research design: The market research can be divided into three types namely: 1. Exploratory research. 2. Descriptive research. 3. Causal research. I have used **Exploratory research design Exploratory research is conducted into an issue or problem where there are few or no earlier studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigations. Secondly on the basis of what calculations I got from exploring my problem I have done further descriptive type of research to give final solution and got the final findings and solutions. Here data is quantitative and statistical tools are applied for getting the final solutions. It is used to obtain information on a particular problem or issue. Finally causal or predictive research seeks to explain what are the strategies, what is happening in market and into a particular situation .

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Here exploratory research design used to understand the overall aspects of the respondents opinion. It was also done to discover ideas that may be potential business requirements. The study was done in steps stated below: 1. Understanding the data products through training given by the Airtel IT head. 2. Understand the difference between DSL (broadband) and Data products i.e. Leased line. 3. Finding different routes through which Airtel provides Internet leased line. 4. Strategies for differentiating the Market segment i.e. Corporate , SMEs, Commercials. 5. Doing cold calls and collecting data. Primary data- through questionnaire and personal interview of different companies in Pune region. Secondary data- through internal system & software , internet ,magazines, newspaper etc. 6. To analyze the data. 7. Finally the solutions and giving recommendations on the basis of research. 2.4)Research methods: In terms of data capture and analysis there are two main types of Market research methods . 1. Qualitative research. 2. Quantitative research. I have used** both of them for my final solutions and findings. Qualitative research: In this type of research ,Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. I have used**In-depth interview and focus groups. . In-depth interviews: The method of the in-depth interview is appropriate if you need to gain an insight into individual evaluations of specific material. In-depth interviews are most appropriate for situations in which you want to ask open-ended questions that elicit depth of information from relatively few people. Thats why they are used mainly research in business markets and they are the main form of qualitative research. Here I have spend time in one-to-one interview finding out the customers individual opinions. . 2.5) Quantitative research: It refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of quantitative
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research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to phenomena. Quantitative research is generally done using scientific methods, which can include:

The generation of models, theories and hypotheses. The development of instruments and methods for measurement Experimental control and manipulation of variables Collection of empirical data. Providing solutions through statistics. Analysis of data.

I have used **Questionnaire as my instrument in the research. Research instrument: A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton. The questionnaire helped us to get following information from customers: Satisfaction level of customers with their current brand or Airtel. Their current requirements. Their perception about Airtel. To understand their spending on Telecom (Voice and Data). To understand the factors that affects the buying behavior of the organizations. If they use ERP/Data centre. Types of Data: 1. Secondary data. 2. Primary data. I have collected **both the data. Secondary data: . It is collected through internet published data, magazines, newspapers. 1. Internet: Sites of various service providers were visited, the information studied and even non-numbered data was collected from the sites. 2. Journals: White papers from some consulting firms were used to collect data.

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Primary data: Data is collected to obtain desired information through structured questionnaire. The primary data for this project was collected through personal interviews with IT professionals from about 35 companies.

2.6) Survey procedure: Sampling techniques: 1. Probability sampling. 2. Non-probability sampling. I have used **Non-probability sampling,(convenience sampling) technique. Convenience sampling technique: This method is been used for obtaining data as per the convenience and because of time constraint of 2 months. The process followed was: 1. Firstly ,I differentiated all the companies and collected data at initial time of research about different companies and compiled in excel sheet. 2. The whole data is transferred into SPSS 17.0 . 3. Then I used SPS software for in-depth analysis of survey. 4. With the help of Descriptive analysis tools of Analysis in SPSS analyzed the whole data. 2.7) Sampling elements: Population: In view of scope of research the population was approximately 12000 IT/non-IT companies in Pune. I have covered approximately 50 companies in doing the survey. Sampling frame: The whole SMEs population was impossible to complete because of time constraint of 2 months so, I have divided the population of 12000 companies into a sample frame consisting of only IT/non-IT companies in some specific areas Kothrud, Bavdhan-Khurd, Deccan ,JM road, Tilak road as per my convenience. Sampling unit: The SMEs using Internet leased line or voice services or fixed lines. Sample size: The sample size taken is 50 companies. These companies have given complete detail on the basis of interview questions and the prepared questionnaire. Sample size was so small because of time and monetary constraints.

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III.

SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS:

(On the basis of industry) 1. PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL OF INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR

THREAT FROM NEW ENTRANTS Economies of Scale Demand Side Benefits Capital Requirement Incumbent Advantages Government Policy

BARGAINING POWER OF THE BUYER Less differentiation among the service providers. Cut throat competition among numerous suppliers. Price sensitive customer.

RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS High Exit Barriers. High Fixed Cost. 6-7 players in each region. Price wars.

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BARGAINING POWER OF THE SELLERS More number of suppliers. Shared tower infrastructure. Limited pool of skilled managers and engineers those well versed in the latest technologies. THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES VOIP (Skype, Messenger etc.) Online Chat. Satellite phones. Price-Performance trade-off very high.

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PEST ANALYSIS

POLITICAL
Presence of huge number of players in the market. DOT, TRAI, DTS who takes care of the rules and regulation.

ECONOMIC

Apart from them it keeps issuing policy and act which checks the events happening in the industry.

The areas served by the t providers. Increased economic activ liberalization. Opening of value added s

SOCIO- CULTURAL
The main aim is to sustain the customer base. Provide the customers with the highest level of satisfaction and delight. Diversification in other areas.

TECHNOLOGICAL

IT support is essential. A business has to co- ord supply chain process and information flow.

Convergence of technolo IT.

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DIFFERENT COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES: Cost Leadership Strategy A firm gains cost leadership in an industry when its cost of production is lower than that of its competitors. By : Managing its processes and resources efficiently and effectively and bringing down its operational costs. Offered products and services at lower prices. Because either the profit margins are greater or the sales volume has increased. Operational margin company Bharti Rcom IDEA MTNL NET MARGIN June 12 26.4% 23.90% 14.10% 7%

June 12 43% 37.90% 32.80% 23.70%

Jun 13 38% 31.60% 26.60% 22.90%

June 13 19.30% 13.20% 6.50% 6.80%

A cost leadership strategy works well for Airtel in the event of a price war in the industry. Since the firm is already working on a low price strategy, it has reap profits while the competitors are bound to make losses.

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Differentiation Strategy The differentiation strategy adopted by the firms needs to possess sufficient skills and abilities to differentiate the product from that of the competitors based on some attributes that allow the consumers to perceive the product as different from that of the competition. Firms adopt the differentiation strategy successfully have access to advanced scientific research, a highly skilled labor force, effective customer communication strategies, etc. Airtel is providing free digital EPABX with free leased lines (no connectivity charges).So the firm is providing latest EPABX to the customer which is costing approx Rs 50,000. 1. Best service provider, good call center service esp. in local languages, good service even in the remote areas, emphasis on barriers break when people speak, new initiatives like google search on airtel live, downloads etc. 2. Long term HR strategy, Gallup Great Workplace Award, Both internal developments as well as external hiring, development programs with IIMs.

Business Challenge: Bharti Airtel needed to maximize its future flexibility and growth potential by adopting a business-driven framework for integration, allowing it to implement and deliver new services rapidly. With competition intensifying in the Indian telecom services market, Bharti Airtel needed to find a way to focus on developing new services that could set it apart from the competition and strengthen its customer relationships. Solution Bharti Airtel entered into a comprehensive 10-year agree-ment with IBM to transform its processes and take on the management of its IT infrastructure. Its new platform provides a standardized framework for Bharti Airtel to integrate its channels and customer-facing processesenabling a more seamless customer experience, higher customer satisfaction and more profitable growth. Key Benefits: 1. Ability to process 1.5 million new customers per month 2. Outsourcing of technology enables Bharti Airtel to focus resources on growing the business

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Focus Strategy A firm pursuing a focus strategy tends to serve a specific segment instead of catering to the entire market. This segment may be a special group of customers, a specific geographic area, or a particular product or service line. The customers will also be loyal to the company and therefore, the entry of a new competitor into that area becomes difficult. Airtel is focusing on the customers who is having more than Rs10000 monthly landline billing. Airtel is offering landline services which consist of PRI (Primary Rated Interface).Focusing more on wireless services with fast introduction of 4G and provision of services through RF (radio frequency) in pune.

Market Share of Basic Services Segments in India (2011-12)

86%

Source: www.trai.gov.in Airtel is focused in fast response time towards its customer complaints and growing its relationship with customers day by day.

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Performance based on live calling for billing complaints

customer care service performance

Source: www.trai.gov.in Figure shows that out of every 90 complaints of customers the service response is as shown in graph above of different companies data given by TRAI .It has been increased from year 201213and Airtel is quite fast responsive towards customer complaint. Bharti Airtels innovation efforts have resulted in many external recognitions, a highlight of which was receiving the 2006 NASSCOM IT & Innovation Award from the Honble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

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Product planning strategy: 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. 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. Airtel is trying to optimize the price performance package by offering suitable "product bundling".

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PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS ( on the basis of sample) Characteristics of the Sampling frame: Data analysis is a body of methods that help to describe facts, detect patterns, develop explanations, and test hypotheses. It is used in all of the sciences. It is used in business, in administration, and in policy. The data obtained from a study may or may not be in numerical or quantitative form, that is, in the form of numbers. If they are not in numerical form, then we can still carry out qualitative analyses based on the experiences of the individual participants. If they are in numerical form, then we typically start by working out some descriptive statistics to summarize the pattern of findings. These descriptive statistics include measures of central tendency within a sample (e.g. mean) and measures of the spread of scores within a sample (e.g. range). Here in this research sample taken is on the basis on census method. It means data is collected from all the 50 companies. The basis of data collection was to understand consumer behavior and perception about Airtel. In questionnaire it is clearly mentioned about the preferences, some customers give preference to Technology, some give to Service, Some give preference to Brand and some to Price. It is mentioned whether they think airtel is a good brand/best brand/better brand/poor brand. On the basis of study of it we can conclude why customers prefer different companies than airtel.

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Market Share Analysis Table: Survey Information Total no. of companies visited No. of persons interviewed No. of persons refused No. of companies didnt existed/shifted 100 70 15 10

Share of each service provider: Service providers Airtel Tata Tulip BSNL You Sify Kothrud 5 4 3 2 5 2 Bavdhan 4 3 3 2 4 3 Deccan 3 5 2 1 4 2 JMroad 6 3 4 3 5 5 Swargate 2 5 3 2 2 3

Airtel Tata Tulip BSNL You Sify

Figure5.1: Pie Chart showing share of each Service Provider Interpretations: It clearly shows the biggest competitor for Airtel is Tata which is having a wide market presence and brand loyalty. Almost all the companies availing services of Tata are

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also fully satisfied while many of the Reliance customers are not satisfied with their services and so such customers should be chased. Bandwidth Distribution:

Airtel

2mbps

6 mbps

256 kbps

12 mbps

5 4 3 2 5 2

4 3 3 2 4 3

3 5 2 1 4 2

6 3 4 3 5 5

2 5 3 2 2 3

FigureF5.2: Pie Chart showing Bandwidth distribution

Interpretations: As we visited many companies of which most of them were SMEs and dont have much of internet/data usage and so are comfortable with 1-2 mbps line. It also shows that to save few of connectivity cost they are not moving towards high speed plans. But the future prospects are high as the rates may be decreased by most of the SPs and the data usage is also increasing.

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Share of Broadband and Lease Line customers:

Airtel

Lease line 74

Broadband 26

Lease line Broadband

Figure F1.3: Pie Chart showing the share of broadband and lease line customers Interpretations: As most of the companies have different branches/offices in other locations and for their connectivity they are using Lease Line but still many of them are adjusting with the broadband services to save on costs.

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Satisfaction level with current Service Provider Airtel Very satisfied 30 Satisfied 45 Unsatisfied 10 No opinion 15

very satisfied satisfied unsatisfied No opinion

FigureF5.4: Pie Chart showing satisfaction level with current SP (out of 10) Interpretations: Here, around 45 customers are quite satisfied with the services being offered to them but the non-Airtel customers of these also had a good perception for Airtel. So, once they get aware of the various features and benefits of Airtel Lease Line/MPLS they may change their services to Airtel when their current plan gets expired.

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Perception of Airtel in the minds of customers Airtel Very good Good Ok Bad 25 50 15 10

very good good ok bad

FigureF5.5: Pie Chart showing perception of Airtel in the minds of customers (out of 10) Interpretations: Here, almost 85% of customers have a good perception for Airtel who call is as a Good Brand in the range of 50 and 25 out of 100 and that shows Airtel can chase many of such customers with better features, tariffs and/or plans.

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IV.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION:

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