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INTERNSHIP REPORT
Autumn 2013
An Internship Report Presented in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Business Administration
Assessment of customer loyalty for Banglalink
Submitted by
Minhaz Alam Chowdhury
ID: 1020313
Submitted to
Abul Khair Jyote
Lecturer, Marketing
Department of Business School
Independent University, Bangladesh
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Date: 5th December, 2013
Abul Khair Jyote
Lecturer, Marketing
Department of Business School
Independent University, Bangladesh
Subject: Submission of Internship Report.
Dear Sir,
It is a great pleasure and privilege to present the internship report titled Assessment of
customer loyalty for Banglalink, which was assigned to me as a partial requirement for the
competition of Bachelors of Business Administration degree.
It is my great pleasure to work for the second largest telecom company on Bangladesh and
gain an in-depth knowledge on how this industry runs. Throughout the study I have tried with
the best of my capacity to accommodate as much information and relevant issues as possible
and tried to follow the instructions as you have suggested. I tried my best to make this report
as much informative as possible.
I am grateful to you for your guidance and kind cooperation at every step of my endeavor on
this report. I shall remain deeply grateful if you kindly take some pen to go through the report
and evaluate my performance.
_______________________
Minhaz Alam Chowdhury
ID: 1020131
Independent University, Bangladesh
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LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT
The Internship Report entitled Assessment of customer loyalty for Banglalink, has been
submitted to the Office of Placement & Alumni, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Marketing, Faculty of Business
Administration on 5th December, 2013 by, Minhaz Alam Chowdhury ID: 1020313. The
report has been accepted and may be presented to the Internship Defense Committee for
evaluation.
______________________
Abul Khair Jyote
Internship Supervisor
Independent University, Bangladesh
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all I would like to thank my honorable supervisor Mr. Abul Khair Jyote, who helped
me to select a nice topic for my internship report according to my job.
I am highly grateful & like to express my sincere thanks to Riviera Ho Rathore , HR &
Administration Director, Banglalink who permitted me to Internship on such a prestigious
organization.
I am preparing the report Assessment of customer loyalty for Banglalink. I am very much
obliged for cordial cooperation from employees of marketing department of Banglalink. As I
was selected the marketing department. I want to express my whole hearted gratitude to
them for their precious cooperation without which, it would not been possible to bring the
report in present form.
I would like to thank Mr. Ahmed Minhazul Arefin, IR Senior Assistant Manager, Marketing,
my internship supervisor. I could not prepare this report without his help. And also Mr.
Shamnoon Muheb Chowdhury, Manager, High Value and International Roaming.
___________________
Minhaz Alam Chowdhury
BBA
Independent University, Bangladesh
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CONTENTS THE REPORT....................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2 ORIGIN OF THE REPORT.................................................................................................................. 5
1.3 WORK SCHEDULE ............................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................... 5
1.5 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................. 6
1.6 SCOPE OF THE REPORT ................................................................................................................... 6
1.7 LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 7
BANGLADESH TELECOM INDUSTRY .................................................................................................... 8
2.1 BACKGROUND OF THE INDUSTRIES ......................................................................................... 9
2.2 KEY HIGHLIGHTS.............................................................................................................................. 13
2.3 BANGLADESH - KEY TELECOM PARAMETERS 2012 - 2013 ................................... 14
2.4 THE PLAYERS ..................................................................................................................................... 15
2.5 THE MARKET SHARE ..................................................................................................................... 17
BANGLALINK ................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.1 BANGLALINK DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED. .................................................. 19
3.2 MISSION AND VISION OF BANGLALINK ............................................................................... 21
3.3 CORE VALUES.................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4 CONSUMER ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................... 22
3.5 BRAND INVENTORY ........................................................................................................................ 23
3.6 BRAND PORTFOLIO ........................................................................................................................ 24
3.7 SUMMARY OF COMPETITOR ANALYSIS................................................................................ 25
3.8 SWOT ANALYSIS OF BANGLALINK .......................................................................................... 26
BANGLALINK INTERNATIONAL ROAMING ................................................................................... 28
4.1 ROAMING .............................................................................................................................................. 29
4.2 ROLE OF MARKETING .................................................................................................................... 31
4.3 BASIC ROAMING SERVICES ......................................................................................................... 32
4.4 BASIC ROAMING PARTNERSHIP............................................................................................... 33
4.5 INTERNATIONAL ROAMING PROCESS FLOW CHART ................................................... 34
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MY ROLES & DUTIES AS AN INTERN ................................................................................................. 35
5.1 MY DUTIES ........................................................................................................................................... 36
5.2 SUMMARY OF DUTIES .................................................................................................................... 40
THE RESEARCH .............................................................................................................................................. 41
6.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 42
6.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................... 45
6.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................. 45
6.4 LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................... 46
6.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY........................................................................... 63
6.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK ..................................................................................................... 64
6.7 HYPOTHESIS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................ 65
6.8 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................ 66
6.9 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................ 71
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 73
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PART 1
THE REPORT
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
The number of mobile subscribers has been increased dramatically. Over the last few years,
the number of mobile subscribers in Bangladesh has been more than or close to more than
doubling on an annual basis. The subscriber base had reached 98.593 million by mid-2013
and is continuing to grow at a fast rate. And the strong growth seemed likely to continue with
the drive that has been developed on the back of the government's deregulation process. The
competitive environment has further intensified due to the entry of new operators into the
market. Individually, Bangladeshs leading mobile operator, Grameenphone, has 41.009
Million customers, Banglalink has 25.848 Million, Robi has 21.291Million and Airtel has 7.3
Million subscribers. On the other side, Citycell, Bangladesh oldest mobile operator, has
added 1.6 Million subscribers. The reasons behind this growth rate was largely due to
declining call rates, falling prices of handsets and rising competition among operators.
Consequently, the mobile phones become cheaper and affordable for people in the country
with the increase in disposable income that improves the quality of life in Bangladesh. People
are showing interest in new technologies like Internet service on mobile phone. Besides,
mobile companies are also adding new technologies in their services as a result more and
more customers are buying mobile phones.
Thus it becomes a high concern for the companies to stay alive and win the market share by
making the customer more loyal to their firms. As competition increases, customers
bargaining power gets stronger, and building trust and image becomes more important,
companies should put more focus on factors affecting loyalty among consumers. For this
reason, the objective of the study is set to establish a frame work which will identify the
impact of customer loyalty of mobile phone operators through communication, pricing, VAS,
Convenience, Sales Promotion and Customer care. Besides, in the context of Bangladesh, no
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research works has ever been conducted in these mentioned areas. Therefore, it is obviously a
commensurate step for the researcher to examine the impact of the independent variables, on
customer loyalty in the mobile phone operator industry in Bangladesh.
1.2 ORIGIN OF THE REPORT
This report is an internship report prepared as a requirement for the completion of the
BBA program. The primary goal of the internship was to provide an on the job exposure to
the student and an opportunity for translation of theoretical conceptions in real life situation.
The students are placed in enterprises, organizations, research institutions as well as
development projects. In this connection, after the completions of the BBA program, I was
assigned to the Marketing Department of Banglalink for practical orientation. I chose the
topic An assessment of customer loyalty for Banglalink for my internship report under the
supervision of Mr. Ahmed Minhazul Arefin. And also guided by Mr. Shamnoon Muheb
Chowdhury. Manager, High Value & International Roaming.
1.3 WORK SCHEDULE
Company Department Joining Date Exit Date
Banglalink Digital
Communications LTD.
Marketing
International Roaming
15th September
2013
14th
December
2013
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study is to gather practical knowledge on telecom industry and
operation. This internship gives us a chance to co-ordinate with the theoretical knowledge
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and the practical experience. The following are of objective for internship in a telecom
company:
To apply theoretical knowledge in the practical field.
To know the international roaming operation.
To know the process of international roaming agreements and how it runs.
1.5 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
For smooth and accurate study everyone has to follow some rules & regulations. The study
inputs were collected from two sources:
Primary sources Secondary sources
Practical desk work
Face to face conversation with the
line manager and other employees.
Direct observations
Annual report of Banglalink.
Files & Folders
Guide Books
Websites
Different journals by various
employees from different departments
of Banglalink.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE REPORT
The report covers the aspects of international roaming, and a conclusive research with the
assessment of customer loyalty for Banglalink.
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1.7 LIMITATIONS
There were certain limitations while conducting the study. These are summarized below:
Work pressure in the office was another limitation restricting this report from
being more detailed or analytical.
Confidentiality of information was another barrier that hindered the study.
Every organization has its own secrecy that is not revealed to someone outside
the organization. While collecting data at Banglalink, personnel did not
disclose enough information for the sake of confidentiality rule of the
organization.
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PART 2
BANGLADESH TELECOM
INDUSTRY
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2.1 BACKGROUND OF THE INDUSTRIES
Bangladesh was the first South Asian country to adopt cellular technology back in 1993 by
introducing Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). In fact, the first mobile license was
issued back in 1989 but it took several years to launch the services. The network coverage
and number of subscribers had remained very limited due to exorbitantly high subscription
cost and call tariff.
In 1996, the then government led by Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina, considering the
monopolistic environment prevailing in the sector, awarded three GSM licenses aimed at
breaking the monopoly and making the cellular technology affordable to the general masses.
Since then, the country's cellular industry never looked back, now it has turned into the
largest infrastructure provider during the last decade as sub sector within telecom sector. This
sub-sector has created new opportunities by generating employment, facilitating education
and health services for common people.
The mobile communications sector in Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing industries and
has helped boost the economic and social development in the country in three main ways:
By providing value-added services and creating employment from direct/indirect
firms in the telecommunications sector
Increased productivity in businesses as a result of mobile phone usage
Increasing the involvement and engagement of its population with news and current
affairs
This is borne out by key economic indicators. "The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI)
grew by 26 per cent with telecommunication sector making highest growth in the 2008-09
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fiscal years over that of the previous fiscal. A total of around US $ 430 million was invested
in the country's telecommunication sector, particularly by fast-growing mobile phone
companies in FY 09," a recent study of Bangladesh Bank reveals. Investment from this
industry as of December 2008 stands around BDT 30,000 (Thirty Thousand) crore.
Contributions of mobile industry to the National Exchequer are worth more than BDT 20,000
(Twenty Thousand) crore, as of December '08. It has generated direct and indirect
employment of 6,75,000 (six lakh seventy five thousand) people till 2006-07 FY which has
increased further in recent years.
The mobile phone sector has also made possible the availability of data enabling services
across Bangladesh. Mobile internet has helped, and will likely continue, to bridge the digital
divide between people with access to information and services, and those without paving the
way for materializing the dream of "Digital Bangladesh". This is especially also given the
greater mobile coverage reaching 97% of the population which extends into areas beyond the
fixed-lines network.
The cellular industry has influenced everyday-life of the millions and made communication
easier which has great impact on the economy of the country. As of today, the industry, all by
itself contributes 8% of the National Revenue (2008) and invested highest amount of FDI
(59%) as per the Bangladesh Bank report (2008).
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Following are some highlights of the contributions of the telecom sector of Bangladesh:
Growth over a decade - from 1997 to July'09:
Access to telecom was only four lac people, tele-density less than 0.4% in 1997
At present about 47.97 Million (4.7 crore) people have access to affordable
telecommunication services and tele-density is more than 32%.
Telecom voice market in Bangladesh is dominated by Mobile phone sub-sector and its
percentage is 97% while PSTN (land phone) is 3 % only, of which BTCL represents 2% and
all private PSTN is 1%.
Telecom Market Scenario (EoQ1 '08):
Total Telecom Penetration is 26.73%
Total Mobile Penetration is 25.95%
Total internet Penetration is 0.3% (2006).
Improved life and business Support:
Lifestyle includes stock/agri info, telemedicine, news update, utility bill payment,
SMS & MMS etc.
Business includes access to internet, mobile e-mail, data access, SMS banking, mobile
fax, Edge/GPRS, International Roaming etc.
Providing services at affordable price:
Call charges - one of the lowest in the world
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Low income group can now afford mobile phone services across the country.
Internet : the step forward is dependent on mobile industry
Internet penetration in Bangladesh is the lowest in the region
Among the 6 million internet users, approx. 90% uses Mobile internet which means more
mobile penetration will create more internet access for the people of Bangladesh
Increased mobile penetration will help in upward access to Voice & Data, E-health service
for 24hours in remote areas. It opens the door for Medical advice, E-education - access to
educational information, E-Governance, E-payment, E-banking and Agri-service - access to
agriculture information.
Bangladesh was the first South Asian country to adopt cellular technology back in 1993 by
introducing Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). In fact, the first mobile license was
issued back in 1989 but it took several years to launch the services. The network coverage
and number of subscribers had remained very limited due to exorbitantly high subscription
cost and call tariff.
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2.2 KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Bangladeshs mobile market passed 100 million subscribers in early 2013 as
penetration reached 67%.
This had been preceded by a five-year period in which the country saw mobile
subscriber numbers grew almost 20 times.
Of the mobile operators, GrameenPhone was far and away the leader, claiming 41
million subscribers, or 41% of the total mobile subscriber base, by end-2012, despite
the best commercial efforts of its five competitors.
Airtel Bangladesh and Robi Axiata had both seen rapid growth in their respective
mobile subscriber bases during 2012.
Coming into 2013, internet user penetration remained relatively low and internet
subscription rates were even lower.
Although broadband internet remains almost non-existent in Bangladesh, following
the granting of a number of WiMAX licences, there were early signs that the market
was about to change as the new WiMAX services were rolled out and started to attract
customers.
At the same time, mobile internet was playing a major role in providing online access
to the nation, as mobile operators offered 2.5G-based services for connecting to the
internet.
The fixed-line market experienced a major setback in the first half of 2010 when the
regulator shut down five operators; the action had been taken as part of a major move
against illegal VoIP services.
The market had effectively recovered from the setback by 2012 and a number of
cancelled fixed-line licences had been revalidated.
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The first 3G licence in the country was awarded to the state-owned operator, Teletalk,
which duly launched its 3G offering in September 2012.
The 3G licensing for private operators was expected to see an auction take place in
early 2013.
2.3 BANGLADESH - KEY TELECOM PARAMETERS 2012 - 2013
Category 2012 2013
Fixed-line services:
Total No. of subscribers 1.6 million 1.7 million
Internet:
Total No. of subscribers 400,000 500,000
Mobile services:
Total No. of subscribers 99 million 112 million
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2.4 THE PLAYERS
Company Brief Introduction
Grameenphone
Widely known as GP, is the leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh.
With more than 40.33 million subscribers (as of January 2013), Grameenphone is the
largest mobile phone operator in the country. It is a joint venture enterprise between
Telenor and Grameen Telecom Corporation, a non-profit sister concern of the
internationally acclaimed microfinance organization and community development bank
Grameen Bank. Telenor, the largest telecommunications company in Norway, owns
55.8% shares of Grameenphone; Grameen Telecom owns 34.2% and the remaining 10%
is publicly held. With the slogan Go Beyond, Grameenphone promises its customers to
bring the best of communication technologies so that they can Go Beyond.
Banglalink
The second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh after Grameenphone. As of
April 2012. Banglalink had 1.03 million connections until December, 2005. The number
of Banglalink users increased by 257% and stood at 3.64 million at the end of 2006,
making it the fastest growing operator in the world of that year. In August, 2006,
Banglalink became the first company to provide free incoming calls from BTTB for both
postpaid and prepaid connections. On August 20, 2008, Banglalink got past the landmark
of 10 million subscriber base.
Robi
Formerly Aktel, is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia (70%) and
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan (30%). Robi is one of the largest mobile phone operators in
Bangladesh with more than 20 million subscribers as of August 2012.
Robi boasts of the widest international roaming service in the market, connecting over
500 operators across 207 countries. It is the first operator in the country to introduce
GPRS. Robi uses GSM 900/1800 MHz standard and operates on allocated 12.8 MHz
frequency spectrum.
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Airtel
A GSM-based cellular operator in Bangladesh. Airtel is the sixth mobile phone carrier to
enter the Bangladesh market, and originally launched commercial operations under the
brand name "Warid Telecom" on May 10, 2007. Warid Telecom International LLC, an
Abu Dhabi based consortium, sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's
Bharti Airtel Limited for US$300 million. Bharti Airtel Limited took management
control of the company and its board, and rebranded the company's services under its
own airtel brand from December 20, 2010. The Bangladesh Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission approved the deal on Jan 4, 2010. Bharti Airtel made a fresh
investment of USD 300 million to rapidly expand the operations of Warid Telecom and
have management and board control of the company. This is the largest investment in
Bangladesh by an Indian company. Dhabi Group continues as a strategic partner
retaining 30% shareholding and has its nominees on the Board of the Company.
Tele Talk
A GSM based state-owned mobile phone company in Bangladesh. TeleTalk started
operating on 29 December 2004. It is a Public Limited Company of Bangladesh
Government, the state-owned telephone operator. TeleTalk provided GPRS and EDGE
internet connectivity and from 14 October 2012 HSDPA/3G which is the latest cellular
information service . Teletalk is the first operator in the country that gave BTTB (now
BTCL) incoming facility to its subscribers. Teletalk is the 6th mobile phone operator in
Bangladesh with more than 1.897 million subscribers as of May 2013.
City Cell
The first mobile communications company of Bangladesh. It is the only CDMA network
operator in the country. As of 1 March 2008, Citycell's total mobile subscriber base is
1.56 million, up 137 per cent or 680,000 from two years ago, giving it the best growth
rate of the company till date. Citycell is currently owned by Singtel with 45% stake and
the rest 55% owned by Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. By the end of 2007
Citycell had refurbished its old brand identity and introduced a new logo and corporate
identity; the new logo is very reminiscent of the old logo. However the slogan has
remained unchanged "because we care". As of April 2012, Citycell has 1.801 million
subscribers.
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2.5 THE MARKET SHARE
GP 42%
Banglalink 26%
Robi 22%
Airtel 7%
Citycell 1%
Teletalk 2%
bangladesh Telecom industry. (june 2013)
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PART 3
BANGLALINK
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3.1 BANGLALINK DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED.
Banglalink digital communications limited is fully owned by telecom ventures ltd.
(previously Orascom telecom ventures limited) of Malta, which is a fully owned subsidiary of
global telecom holding s.a.e. (formerly known as Orascom telecom holding s.a.e.)
(www.orascomtelecom.com). Following business combination in april 2011 between
Vimpelcom ltd and wind telecom s.p.a, Vimpelcom owns 51.92% shares of global telecom
holding s.a.e. (formerly known as Orascom telecom holding s.a.e.). Vimpelcom
(www.vimpelcom.com) is one of the worlds largest integrated telecommunications services
operators providing voice and data services through a range of traditional and broadband
mobile and fixed technologies in Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Algeria, Pakistan, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Central African
Republic, Canada and bangladesh. Vimpelcom is headquartered in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands and listed as an ad on the New York stock exchange under the symbol "VIP".
Since Banglalinks launch in February 2005, its impact was felt immediately: overnight
mobile telephony became an affordable option for customers across a wide range of market
segments.
Banglalinks success was based on a simple mission: "bringing mobile telephony to the
masses" which was the cornerstone of its strategy. Banglalink changed the mobile phone
status from luxury to a necessity and brought mobile telephone to the general people of
Bangladesh and made a place in their hearts. The mobile phone has become the symbol for
the positive change in Bangladesh.
This positive change that is quite correctly attributed to banglalink, has become the corporate
positioning of banglalink and is translated in their slogan "making a difference" or "din
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bodol"- "making a difference" not only in the telecom industry, but also through its products
and services, to the lives of its customers. This corporate stance of "making a difference" has
been reflected in everything banglalink does.
Banglalink attained 1 million subscribers by December 2005 and 3 million subscribers in
October 2006. In less than two years which is by December 2007, banglalink overtook Aktel
to become the second largest operator in Bangladesh with more than 7.1 million customers.
Banglalink currently has 27.07 million subscribers as of June 2013, representing a market
share of 25.7%.
Banglalinks growth over the preceding years have been fuelled with innovative products
and services targeting different market segments, aggressive improvement of network quality
and dedicated customer care, creating an extensive distribution network across the country,
and establishing a strong brand that emotionally connected customers with banglalink.
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3.2 MISSION AND VISION OF BANGLALINK
Mission
Banglalink understands customer needs best and will create and
deliver appropriate communication services to improve peoples lives
and make them easier.
Vision
To become one of the worlds leading telecom operators providing
the best quality services to our customers.
3.3 CORE VALUES
All employees of Banglalink demonstrate the following values in their day-to-day activities
to ensure making a difference in every area of operations:
Straightforward We say what we do & we do what we say
Reliable A promise made is a promise kept
Innovative Whatever we do will be useful and useable
Passionate We always deliver with honesty and passion
Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd.
Type Subsidiary
Parent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svgVimpelcom-Russia
Founded 1999
Headquarters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bangladesh.svgTiger House, House # SW(H)04, Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan Model Town, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Area served 62 districts and 447 thanas
Industry Telecommunication
Products Telephony
Slogan Start something new
Website http://www.Banglalinkgsm.com
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3.4 CONSUMER ANALYSIS
Target Marketing
Its important to remember that the focus of marketing is people. If accompany is
concentrating its efforts on its product or profit only, it will miss the mark. The term target
market is used because that market that group of people is the bulls eye at which you aim
all your marketing efforts.
Market Segmentation Of Banglalink
The purpose for segmenting a market is to allow the marketing/sales program to focus on the
subset of prospects that are most likely to purchase it is offering. If done properly this will
help to insure the highest return for the marketing/sales expenditures.
Banglalink deals in an oligopoly market structure. Here the mobile companies have little or
no difference in commodities they sell. Therefore the packaging and marketing positioning
plays a vital role in business success.
Banglalink has segmented its market by using multiple bases. It has primarily done that
because of demographic aspect. The key factors here are:
Gender
Income
Occupation
Banglalink then went for Behavioral segmentation, based on:
User status
User rate
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3.5 BRAND INVENTORY
Identification of Brand Elements
Elements Details
Brand
names
Like any brand element, Banglalink brand
name is chosen with the six general criteria of
memorability, meaningfulness, likability,
transferability, adaptability, and protectability in
mind.
URLs
URLs (uniform resource locators) specify
locations of pages on the web and are also
commonly referred to as domain names.
www.banglalinkgsm.com
Logos and
symbols
Characters
Slogans
Start Something New
Jingles
Banglalink jingles are musical messages written around the brand ; typically composed
by professional songwriters, they often have enough catchy hooks and choruses to
become almost permanently registered in the minds of listenerssometimes whether
they want them to or not!
Packaging
From the perspective of both the firm and consumers, Banglalink packaging has
achieved a number of objectives:
Identify the brand
Convey descriptive and persuasive information
Facilitate product transportation and protection
Assist at-home storage
Aid product consumption
Color Banglalink has made a familiarity with the color
combination of its brand.
ORANGE, BLACK (tiger stripes) And
White
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3.6 BRAND PORTFOLIO
Banglalink Brand Name Details
Post Paid BANGLALINK INSPIRE Banglalink inspire brings special new features for
post-paid subscribers with remarkably low call rates,
along with the many fnf numbers and many other
services and facilities!
BANGLALINK SME Banglalink SME package offers attractive tariffs and a
complete package customized to suit the needs of
small and medium enterprises. It is a very simple
package that will help your business flourish by
minimizing the cost of your communication.
Pre-Paid BANGLALINK DESH 10 paisa/10 seconds in banglalink fnf numbers, 24
hours
Sub Brand BANGLALINK DESH EK RATE 18 paisa/10 second to all operators, 24 hours
BANGLALINK DESH EK RATE DARUN 12 paisa/10 second to any number, 24 hours
BANGLALINK DESH 7 FNF Lowest 10 paisa/10 second in 7 fnf numbers
1 SECOND PULSE Banglalink has introduced 1 second pulse for its
customers. The new banglalink desh 1 second
package provides customers 1 second pulse to any
operator any time of day. This means customers will
now only pay as much as they talk and the charge is
only 2 paisa/sec any time in any local number.
BANGLALINK DESH 10 FNF To accommodate your big list of friends, banglalink
presents 10 fnf package. Now you can enjoy 4.5
paisa/10 seconds to one special banglalink number
and as low as 9 paisa/10 seconds to 9 fnfs (any
operator)!
BANGLALINK
PRE- PAID BANGLALINK DESH
DESH RONG
BANGLALINK DESH EK RATE
BANGLALINK DESH EKRATE DARUN
BANGLALINK DESH 7 FNF
1 SECOND PULSE
BANGLALINK DESH 10 FNF
POST-PAID
BANGLALINK INSPIRE
BANGLALINK SME
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3.7 SUMMARY OF COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
It is a cutthroat market in the telecom industry; currently there are four key players in the
market, GP, Banglalink, Airtel, Robi. As Banglalink is 2nd
in the industry, the competition is
high. The company has to be both defensive and aggressive in the business.
The table below will show the basic differences between the key companies.
Company Name Market Share Logo
Grameen Phone 42
Banglalink 26
Airtel 7
Robi 22
City Cell 1
TeleTalk 2
The Companies and their respective market share:
GP 42%
Banglalink 26%
Robi 22%
Airtel 7%
Citycell 1%
Teletalk 2% Bangladesh Telecom
marketshare
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3.8 SWOT ANALYSIS OF BANGLALINK
Strengths:
Banglalink has some separate strength by which it is rapidly increasing its market share and
attracting customer.
Low call rate
Aggressiveness
Large network coverage
Large investment
Low SIM rate
Good number of media partner
Weakness:
It also has some weakness by which its performance is being greatly hampered.
Bad reputation Sheba
Network Coverage
Opportunities:
Banglalink is not in good position comparing with other telecom Organization yet. But still it
has various opportunities .Proper utilization of these opportunities can make them number
one telecom organization in Bangladesh.
Good amount of reinvestment
Good support from mother company
High technological networking system
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Large number of customer
Could develop new product
Profit margin will be good
Could seek best supplier deals
Threats:
There also some future threats for Banglalink, which can kick off Banglalink from
operations. So, Banglalink should tactfully overcome these threats
Existing competitor
Increase of SIM tax
Legislation could impact.
Existing core business distribution risk.
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PART 4
BANGLALINK
INTERNATIONAL
ROAMING
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4.1 ROAMING
Roaming is defined as the ability for wireless customers to automatically make and receive
voice calls, send and receive data, or access other services when travelling outside the
geographical coverage area of their own home network, by means of using a visited
network.
(International) Roaming enables the clients of one network operator to use the services of
another operator where both networks have a commercial agreement in place to permit this,
once all testing and technical implementation are completed.
The roaming process is split into two main phases where different activities are carried out. In
the pre-commercial phase the agreement is negotiated plus the network and IT elements are
implemented and tested. When these activities are successfully completed, then commercial
roaming can begin and customers can use each others networks.
While in most cases roaming involves bi-lateral, two-way roaming, in some cases, unilateral
or one way roaming takes place either for technical or commercial reasons.
Three frequent service classifications encountered in roaming namely GSM, International
GPRS Roaming and 3GSM Roaming. The following are the definitions of these service
classifications and further details about implementing these services are given in their
respective sections.
GSM shall mean the Global System for Mobile Communications and future evolutions
thereof (e.g. including but not limited to, GSM, DCS, PCS and UMTS or its equivalent), as
defined by the relevant technical specifications of the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute ("ETSI"), Third Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP") and/or other
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standards development organizations together with other relevant documents and the
Permanent Process Documents, as recognized by the GSM Association;
"International GPRS Roaming" shall mean international General Packet Radio Service
Roaming, providing packet mode transmission between PMNs and Interworking with
external networks. International GPRS Roaming allows the service subscriber to send and
receive data in an end-to-end packet transfer mode, without utilizing network resources in
circuit switched mode, outside of their HPMN. For the avoidance of doubt, and in
accordance with the relevant licensing requirements, International GPRS Roaming shall not
prevent the user's operation of other GSM Services.
"3GSM Roaming " shall mean temporary granting of GSM services (see under GSM above)
by a PMN other than the HPMN. International 3GSM roaming allows the serviced
subscriber to send and receive data in an end-to-end packet transfer mode outside their
HPMN and also make outgoing and incoming circuit switched connections, such as voice
calls.
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4.2 ROLE OF MARKETING
The role of the Marketing team within Roaming is to design effective promotional initiatives
that incentive the increase of usage among the roamers, both Inbound (visiting roamers) and
Outbound (own customers). It is also responsible for maintaining all the company updated
with the latest roaming information.
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4.3 BASIC ROAMING SERVICES
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4.4 BASIC ROAMING PARTNERSHIP
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4.5 INTERNATIONAL ROAMING PROCESS FLOW CHART
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PART 5
MY ROLES & DUTIES AS
AN INTERN
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5.1 MY DUTIES
Internship Details
Company Department Joining Date Exit Date
Banglalink Digital
Communications LTD.
Marketing,
International Roaming
15th September
2013
14th
December
2013
I was the intern in the marketing department, Roaming team. My roles and responsibilities
were the following:
1. Documentation
2. Maintaining the daily revenue tracking
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My role of Documentation is explained in the below table.
Document Name Document Purpose My Role
AA12
In conjunction with AA.13 and AA.14
comprise the GSMAs standard international
roaming agreement for operators who would
like to establish BILATERAL international
roaming services. AA.12 contains the general
terms and conditions that binds the 2 parties.
I would go through the
documents and get the
document signed by both
parties. And update the
DATA BASE for future
reference.
AA13
Begins with the description on agreement
management principles on how to update
roaming agreement; i.e. Info on Billing Data,
Settlement Procedure, Testing, and Fraud.
AA.13 is the common annexes that binds the
2 operators in a Bilateral roaming
arrangement
I would go through the
documents and get the
document signed by both
parties. And update the
DATA BASE for future
reference.
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Document Name Document Purpose My Role
AA14
Contains operator specific information, some
of the information is classified as Operator
Confidential, such as the Inter-Operator
Tariff.
I would go through the
documents and get the
document signed by both
parties. And update the
DATA BASE for future
reference.
IR21
Contains operator specific technical details;
i.e. GSMA roaming database for each
operator
I would go through the
documents and get the
document signed by both
parties. And update the
DATA BASE for future
reference.
CLL
CLL Commercial Launch Letter
NRTRDE
Fraud prevention document Get the documents signed
and update DATA BASE
3G
High speed internet roaming agreement
between parties.
Get the documents signed
and update DATA BASE
General
Roaming
The regular roaming agreement, which is
services such as VOICE CALL, SMS,
GPRS.
Get the documents signed
and update DATA BASE
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My role of Maintaining Daily Revenue Tracking is explained below:
I would get raw data from a Banglalink source, and divide the total revenue among VOICE
CALL IN and OUT, SMS IN and OUT, and GPRS data unit used.
Then input the data and compile daily revenue in MS EXCEL. The table below shows the
calculation.
SERVICE VOICE CALL SMS GPRS
IN OUT IN OUT DATA
USAGE 100 min 60 min 40 Unit 60 Unit 5 GB
REVENUE 1000 1200 200 480 100 2980
REVENUE/UNIT $10 $20 $5 $7 $20
*All values are not real.
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5.2 SUMMARY OF DUTIES
The diagram below will summarize my internship duties in Banglalink.
INTERN
DOCUMENTATION REVENUE
TRACKING
AA12 DAILY
REVENUE
AA13
AA14
IR21
CLL
MONTHLY
REVENUE
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PART 6
THE RESEARCH
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6.1 INTRODUCTION
Economic growth in Bangladesh has contributed significantly to improvements in the quality
of life and spending power of an increasing share of the population (Hossain, 2010a). Today,
telecommunication is an inseparable part of our everyday life. Besides telephone, now-a-days
mobile phones are playing a great role to communicate from one place to another place. The
phone is not only used for making calls, among many other functions it is used for
communicating through text-messages, multi-media messages, as well as to connect us to the
internet. The opportunities that lie in the telecom market seem endless and the growing
demand for mobile telephony systems is creating a world-wide market. Actors in this industry
are seeking the most profitable markets throughout the world.
In Bangladesh, mobile phone services are the fast growing services in telecommunication
industry. This sector has been showing an inspiring growth for the last few years. The
number of mobile phone subscribers has steadily increased and many have begun to think
that having a mobile phone is a necessary, not a luxury (Hossain, 2010b). It is projected that
Bangladesh will be the third biggest telecom market in Asia after China and India (Uddin and
Akhter, 2012; Hasan, 2008). The total number of Mobile Phone subscribers has reached
98.593 million at the end of February 2013 (BTRC, 2013). More than half of the people of
Bangladesh have been engaged in using mobile phone services. This enormous market
coverage by Wireless Telecom Industry has proved that, though the Peoples Republic of
Bangladesh is a country of a growing economy with a very low per-capita income, buying
power of customer could not impose any hinder on peoples consumption of cellular data
transmission technologys services provided by the service providing operators in this
industry. Actually the market of Bangladesh, up to now, has enjoyed the wireless
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infrastructure of remote voice communication in two main methods known as Code-Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM).
However, there are only six service providing operators namely, Grameen Phone Limited
(GP),
Banglalink Digital Communications Limited (Banglalink), Robi Axiata Limited (Robi),
Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel), Teletalk Bangladesh Limited (Teletalk) and Pacific
Bangladesh Telecom Limited (Citycell) in this industry. The mobile phone subscribers of
different company are shown in Table 1.Citycell is the sole service provider in CDMA
method and other five operators provide services to their customers in GSM method. Mobile
phone operators provide voice service and Value Added Services (VAS) including Short
Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), ringtone, games, electronic
transaction and web browsing. Different foreign companies: Telenor of Norway, Axiata
Group Berhad of Malaysia, NTT DOCOMO INC from Japan and Abu Dhabi Group and
SingTel Group were attracted to this growing market.
It is well accepted that customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool for customer-
centered companies, (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Oliver (1997) defines customer satisfaction as
the consumers fulfillment response. He also considers customer satisfaction as a judgment
that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides a pleasurable level
of consumption related fulfillment. In other words, customer satisfaction is the customers
evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether that product or service has met their
needs and expectation (Zeithaml et al., 2008). It is believed that increasing levels of
customer satisfaction can be associated with customer loyalty. Loyalty is a deeply held
commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service in the future despite
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situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior
(Kotler and Keller, 2012).
The situation makes mobile telecommunication companies not only to promote their service
quality, but also change their marketing core strategy to holding their existing customers by
enhancing and optimizing the customer loyalty (Hao et al., 2009). On the one hand, the
companies have to invest quite much time and money to attract new customers and this
process always go through a longer time period associated with uncertainty and risks. On the
other hand, the cost of attracting a new customer is estimated to be five times the cost of
keeping a current customer happy (Kotler and Keller, 2012). So it becomes significant for
telecom companies to identify factors of services that affect on customer loyalty and in turn
creates loyal customers by satisfying them in the context of Bangladesh.
Operators Active Scribers (million)
Grameen Phone Ltd. (GP) 41.009
Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd (BANGLALINK) 25.848
Robi Axiata Ltd. (ROBI) 21.291
Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. (AIRTEL) 7.3
Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. (TELETALK) 1.692
Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd. (CITYCELL) 1.459
Total 98.593
Table1: Active Subscribers (BTRC 2013)
This present study aims to explore the influence of customer satisfaction (towards services
offered by the mobile telecom operators) on customer loyalty. Specifically, this study tries: to
find out customers satisfaction with a variety of services provided by operators; to find out
the interrelationship between satisfaction of services (communication, price, value added
service, convenience, sales-promotion and customer service) and customer loyalty.
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6.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In this competitive telecom industry, customer retention is one of the most important factors
for the telecom companies in order to sustain in this market. It has been found that many
subscribers switch their mobile operator frequently. And this causes damages to the current
mobile operator.
So in order for telecom companies to have a smooth run, it must obtain loyal customers. And
the statement of the problem for this study is; making an ordinary customer to a loyal
customer.
6.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to find what factor can make an ordinary customer in to a loyal
customer. In doing so this paper can help the telecom companies to put emphasis on the
variables, preferred by the customers and increase the customer loyalty.
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6.4 LITERATURE REVIEW
Like every research this research paper variables and there are two major types of variables;
dependent variables and Independent variables. Firstly let us understand what a variable is; a
variable is an object, event, idea, feeling, time, or any other type of category you are trying to
measure. There are two types of variables-independent and dependent variables. An
independent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is a variable that stands alone and is not
changed by the other variables you are trying to measure. For example, someone's age might
be an independent variable. (What are Independent and Dependent Variables?, 2011) Other
factors (such as what they eat, how much they go to school, how much television they watch)
are not going to change a person's age. In fact, when you are looking for some kind of
relationship between variables you are trying to see if the independent variable causes some
kind of change in the other variables, or dependent variables. Just like an independent
variable, a dependent variable is exactly what it sounds like. It is something that depends on
other factors. For example, a test score could be a dependent variable because it could change
depending on several factors such as how much you studied, how much sleep you got the
night before you took the test, or even how hungry you were when you took it. Usually when
you are looking for a relationship between two things you are trying to find out what makes
the dependent variable change the way it does (What Is Services Marketing?, 2012).In this
paper the independent variables are Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, and
Responsiveness. Moreover, the dependent variables are customer satisfaction. Moreover, the
title of this paper is An assessment of Customer Loyalty for Banglalink. so lets break
down the title for a more transparent understanding. The main theme of this paper is to find
out how to make customer satisfaction possible and attain CUSTOMER LOYALTY.
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The Concept of Customer Loyalty
The need for customer loyalty in business has been recognized by many scholars. Customer
loyalty is one of the most frequently discussed subjects in the marketing and service literature
(Eshghi et al., 2007; Heskett and Sasser, 2010). There is a plethora of definitions of loyalty
and/or customer loyalty in the extant literature. Customer loyalty is customer repeating
purchase intention to some specific products or services in the future (Jones et al., 1995). It is
making customers feel committed: When the benefits are meaningful to them, they will stay
on (Grossman, 1998). Loyalty is used to describe the willingness of a customer to continue
patronizing a firms goods and services over a long period of time and on a repeated and
preferably exclusive basis, and voluntarily recommending the firms products to friends and
associates (Lovelock, 1996). Customer loyalty is the result of an organizations creating a
benefit for customers so that they will maintain and increasingly repeat business with the
organization (Anderson and Jacobsen, 2000). From the forgoing, loyalty in GSM market is
concerned with the length of time and the frequency with which customers stay and remain
on a network. The longer the time a customer remains on and the more frequently a customer
patronizes a GSM network, the more that customer becomes loyal. It is therefore the desire of
all GSM firms in Bangladesh to retain large number of their customers on their networks.
Customer loyalty provides the foundation for a companys sustained competitive edge.
Different researchers have given credence to the reason why developing customer loyalty is
beneficial to firms, including GSM providers. Developing and increasing loyalty is a crucial
factor in companies growth and performance (Reichheld, 1996 and Lee and Cunningham,
2001). Customer loyalty is one of the key factors and can help a company achieve long-term
success (Andres, 2007). The significance of customer loyalty is that it is closely related to the
companys continued survival and to strong future growth (Fornell, 1992). Hence, for a
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company to maintain a stable profit level when subscription level has reached saturation
point, the market is mature and competition is fierce, a defensive strategy which strives to
retain existing customers is more important than an aggressive one (Fornell, 1992 and Ahmad
and Buttle, 2002). Ndubisi (2005) and Pfeifer (2005) point out that the cost of serving a loyal
customer is five or six times less than a new customer. Walsh et al. (2005) state that it is
better to look after the existing customer before acquiring new customers. From the above, it
is evident that a telecom firm that promotes customer loyalty has a lot to benefit from. The
current saturated level of GSM growth and intense competition in Bangladesh has left the
operators with no option other than seeking to maintain the existing customers and lock them
into loyalty. Bulk of the current marketing efforts by these firms is aimed at retaining and
making customers loyal.
Determinants of Customer Loyalty
Since customer loyalty has become paramount for organizations, a major concern is to find
out the determinants or drivers of customer loyalty (Kumar et al., 2011). This section
discusses the determinants of customer loyalty.
Service Quality
Defining the concept of service quality the most important criteria in the economic
development of international companies, whereas under different circumstances it has been
prevented the emergence of a universal definition ( Reeves and Bednar, 1994). In addition, it
is difficult to define the service quality as opposed to the quality of good. The general
definition of Quality is Satisfying customers requirements. (Ghobadian et al., 1994) The
definition of service quality from the customers viewpoint is as follows (Parasuraman et al.,
1998). Service quality is an inference regarding the superiority of a product or service based
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on a rational assessment of characteristics or attributes, or an affective judgment or emotional
response similar to an attitude
It is a critical element of customer perceptions. In the case of pure service (e.g. health care,
etc) service quality will be dominant element in the customers evaluation. (Valarie A.
Zeithaml, Mary Jo Bitner, 2011)
RELATION BETWEEN COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
'Improving customer loyalty' has been the traditional mantra of the call center since inception.
As economic and regulatory pressures continue to squeeze the enterprise, however, the need
to ensure customer satisfaction has reached a tipping point and has made the art of customer
communications a tenuous proposition. Too often, customer service professionals are
consumed with efforts to put out the fires of dissatisfaction, spending the majority of their
time resolving customer complaints and problems. Few call centers have embraced the idea
of proactive customer care ' the ability to reach out to customers before they have a chance to
become a frustrated and dissatisfied incoming caller.
As call centers become more ingrained in strategic initiatives, they require innovative
thinking and models that leverage proactive customer outreach programs that are cost-
effective and efficient at mitigating customer service issues before they arise. Customer
notification services can be an ideal solution for companies looking to deliver customer
welcome calls, payment reminders, new service/upgrade information and various other
personalized and value-added touches.
By proactively making contact at each step in the customer relationship lifecycle, businesses
can engender heightened customer loyalty while diffusing potentially frustrating situations
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and more effectively allocating agent time and resources.
When a customer purchases goods or services, he or she begins an interaction and ongoing
business relationship with the enterprise. Good businesses recognize the potential for
profitably lies in how it maintains and strengthens the customer relationship over time.
Results are generated when the enterprise makes it easy for a customer to do business with it.
Because customers generally place significant value on the quality and speed of interactions,
the quicker and easier the enterprise can make it for the customer, the more likely he or she
will remain a loyal consumer.
Inbound calls consume the majority of the bandwidth that most call centers have, impacting
staffing and costs. The inability to preempt inbound inquiries can also have a negative impact
on customer satisfaction as well. The more times a customer has to call to resolve a problem
or obtain information, the more likely he or she is to become frustrated or dissatisfied with
the business, jeopardizing the relationship. As many wireless, credit card and ISP companies
have learned over the past few years, increased customer frustration leads to churn. Given the
enormous economic and competitive pressures most businesses face, combined with the
mounting choices consumers have, preventing customer churn has become a mantra readily
embraced across all industries.
To combat frustration and customer churn, more companies are seeking ways that will enable
them to effectively communicate with the customer while significantly reducing the number
of inbound calls a contact center receives. Companies can no longer wait for the customer to
initiate the dialog regarding products and services. To effectively communicate with the
customer and diffuse the potential for negative interactions, companies need to alter
traditional businesses practices and become more proactive in the customer communication
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arena.
For companies in any industry, a good proactive, outbound customer communications
program can be a tremendous competitive advantage. It increases customer loyalty and
retention while lowering the costs affiliated with manual or agent-based outreach. Proactive
customer care is a practice that is designed to preempt inbound calls and lessen call volume
by delivering valuable information to the customer before the need to call into a call center
arises. As with any worthwhile customer care endeavor, the first step in proactive
communication is to develop an understanding and knowledge base about the target audience.
Customer preferences should be the driver behind all proactive communications campaigns.
As demonstrated by the tremendous support and advocacy of the do-not-call list, consumers
don't want to be bothered by outbound calls of limited value. Customers need to feel as if
they are in control of how they receive communications, and deciding when, where, how and
how often they are contacted. Proactive customer care means providing customers with
options that let them control the means of communications and can be achieved by letting the
customers opt-in to such services.
Providing multiple avenues for the receipt of information provides new opportunities for
proactive customer care. Customers need to be able to tailor the means of communications by
having a device preference opt-in. Enabling a customer to tailor the means and time of
message delivery puts him or her in control of proactively receiving the information, making
repetitive calls to the call center unnecessary.
Proactively pushing the information to the customer on his or her terms lessens inbound call
volume and deflects the opportunity for frustration to set in, an important step in increasing
customer loyalty.
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Generating customer loyalty usually means giving customers what they want. Proactive
customer communications follow this mantra by giving customers control options, varying
from how they want to be contacted to when they want it; it also means they have an
opportunity to complete transactions rather than merely receiving information.
Providing customers with the relevant information they need deflects the potential for
inbound calls. Organizations across all industries have the opportunity to provide proactive
customer care. Following are some examples.
Proactively pushing information to customers, such as account balances and expected ship
dates, alleviates the flood of routine calls that can oftentimes cripple productivity. As a result,
call centers will be able to dedicate more time to the critical problem calls and inbound
inquiries that need to be attended to due to threat of client loss.
The call center units of the enterprise are undergoing a transformation. While federal
regulations such as the do-not-call list have hampered the marketing practices of the call
center, increased competitive pressures have forced the customer care business units to
reexamine their business practices to reduce customer churn. Enterprises increasingly need to
recognize that the path to profitability often lies in maintaining and strengthening the
business relationships with customers. Customers place significant value on the quality and
speed of interactions. When these standards of measure are not met, customer frustration
results, a step in the direction of losing that customer's business.
As businesses in industries such as the credit card and wireless markets continue to see their
products and services become commoditized, the mitigating factor in achieving profitably is
increasingly becoming customer service. A happy customer is a loyal customer, and a loyal
customer tends to be a profitable customer
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RELATION BETWEEN PRICING AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Price is the amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that
customers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service (Kotler and
Armstrong, 2010). In a competitive market, service providers are expected to compete on
both price and quality of services and also it is necessary for the service providers to meet the
consumers requirements and expectations in price and service quality (Melody, 2001).
Nowadays, due to breathtaking competition, the telecommunication service providers tend to
offer innovative services as well as competitive prices just to attract handful magnitude of
customers (Haquea et al., 2011). Price plays a vital role in telecommunication market
especially for the mobile telecommunication service providers (Kollmann, 2000). The price
here is not limited to price of a SIM card, but also covers the price of recharge voucher, call
rate, SMS charge, the Internet charge, price of phones, and so on. A network with lower
prices has a high tendency to attract a large subscriber base leading to an impressive market
and financial performance. Kollmann (2000) states that income from the number of call
minutes determines the basic commercial success for the network providers. He also adds that
the success of the telecommunication sector in a market place largely depends on continuing
usage and pricing policies, which need to be considered on several levels. The implication of
this is that offering a high service quality is not sufficient to attract and retain customers in
the telecom market; offering the service at an attractive and affordable price is equally
necessary to achieve a competitive advantage in the market. Specifically, price has been used
by all the firms in the GSM market of Bangladesh, as a strategic tool both to attract new
subscribers and more importantly to retain current ones. In the market, where it is difficult to
perceive any significant difference in the service quality of most of the GSM firms, price
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competition has become widespread and an important competitive tool. However, the reality
of the price competition in the market is existence of price war with subscribers traversing
from one network to another to take advantage of the latest price cut, thereby giving no room
for any loyalty to be developed. The poser is can price be used to achieve customer loyalty in
the telecommunication market? In the study concerning the behavior of mobile
telecommunication consumers, it was found that the loyalty of individual customers is
affected by price considerations (Bolton and Drew, 1991). This finding was also corroborated
by Athanassopoulos (2000) and Varki and Colgate (2001), whereby customer satisfaction
from pricing was found to positively affect overall customer satisfaction. GSM firms in
Bangladesh should charge tariff that is fair and acceptable to their subscribers, taking into
cognizance their price sensitivity. This is because there is a relationship between the level of
customer loyalty and price sensitivity. According to Xia et al. (2007) price fairness refers to
consumers assessments of whether a sellers price is reasonable, acceptable or justifiable.
Customers are satisfied and become loyal when they feel that the price they pay corresponds
to the quality of service they receive. Choi et al. (2006) found that disloyal customers were
more price sensitive, in the sense that changes in price motivated them to move to other
organizations, whereas loyal customers were not affected by price. Martn-Consuegra et al.
(2007) also found that perceived price fairness influences customer satisfaction and leads to
loyalty.
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Theoretic model of relationship between service price and customer loyalty
After performing theoretical studies of relationship between price and customer loyalty, it can
be stated that service price is one of the customer satisfaction factors though it is not analyzed
enough. Following Consuegra, Molina and Esteban (2007), earlier performed research did not
show price factor impact to customers satisfaction and loyalty. Based on Consuegra, Molina
and Esteban (2007), Darian et.al. (2001), Henning-Thurnau et.al. (2002), Wong and Zhou
(2006) and works of other scientists, a conclusion could be made that service price has impact
to customers satisfaction and loyalty. On the other hand, it is stated that striving to determine
relationships between service price and customers loyalty the most acceptable is Consuegra,
Molina and Esteban (2007) prepared integrated model of price, satisfaction and loyalty.
Henning-Thurnau et.al. (2002) and other scientists state that satisfaction is the most important
factor having influence on customers loyalty. It could be noted that analyzing satisfaction in
the context of relationship marketing scientists state that in long term relationships a
customer expects not only high quality from the main service but also additional rewards
from continuing relations. Maintaining Henning - Thurnau et.al. (2002) opinion, confidence,
social and exclusive viewpoint rewards have influence on customers satisfaction. Based on
these attitudes, satisfaction will be measured through rewards of relationship. Confirming the
opinion of Henning-Thurnau et.al. (2002), Wong and Zhou (2006), it is stated that obligation
is one of the main dimensions of relationship marketing having influence on customers
satisfaction and hence customer loyalty.
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RELATION BETWEEN VALUE ADDED SERVICE(VAS) AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Customer satisfaction level can also be influenced by VAS, for example, GPRS, Media file
sharing, news updates and so on. Finally, technology innovation refers to the feature where in
the service provider rolls out new technology on a regular basis.
Quality is conformance to requirements (Crosby, 1996). Quality is the comparison of
perceived performance and expected performance (Kang, 2006). Service quality is the
customers overall impression of the relative inferiority/superiority of an organization and its
service offerings (Bitner et al., 1990). The firm's ability to create and sustain competitive
advantage depends upon the high level of service quality provided by the service provider
(Yoo and Park, 2007). Therefore, providing a consistently high quality service quality can
differentiate one GSM provider from others. Theoretically, positive relationships between
service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty are well documented in the extant
literature. Services Quality is considered as a major determinant in customer retention and
building value relationship (Venetis and Ghauri, 2004). Service quality results in repeated
sales and increased market share, which leads to customer loyalty (Buzzell and Gale, 1987).
Providing a high service quality can lead an organization to charge premium price (Brown et
al., 1992). High service quality enhances customers favorable behavioral intentions while
simultaneously reduces their unfavorable intentions (Zeithaml et al., 1996). The implication
of the above discussion is that with high service quality, GSM customers are attracted, and
when happy and satisfied, and have an increased propensity to stay longer with their GSM
service provider. Empirical findings have shown positive relationships existing between
service quality and customer satisfaction, on one hand and between service quality and
customer loyalty, on the other hand in a number of industries. For example, Elnan and
Andersen (1999) found a positive relationship between service quality and customer
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satisfaction in the bus industry in Norway. Coner and Gungor (2002) found that service
quality would lead towards more loyal customers in the Turkish Metropolitan retail market.
Turel and Serenko (2006) found that perceived service quality and perceived value are the
key constructs affecting the customer's satisfaction with mobile services. Satisfaction in turn
leads to customer loyalty. Zeithaml et al. (2008) develop a conceptual model that correlates
service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The model shows that service
quality results from reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy and tangibles. Service
quality is determined by reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles
(Parasuraman et al., 1985). These can be considered as the determinants of the broad service
quality, but what are the specific determinants of telecommunication service quality?
Jahanzeb and Tasneem (2011) discuss these under the following broad headings:
communication guarantee, settlement service, value added service (VAS) and technology
innovation. Communication guarantee results when the quality of network of the service
provider is satisfactory and there are negligible rates of call failure. The settlement service
refers to the prompt and accurate billing service that also enhances customer satisfaction.
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RELATION BETWEEN CUSTOMER CARE AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Customer service is a process that takes place between a buyer, a seller, and third party and
can influence demand in the market (Innis and La Londe, 1994). The third party may include
companies that have been licensed by a marketing company to provide customer service.
Customer care is used in a wider sense and goes far beyond the traditional role of customer
service and support; it encompasses all the functions along the entire service delivery value
chain (Katz et al., 1998). Customer service is a system of activities that comprises customer
support systems, complaint processing, speed of complaint processing, ease of reporting
complaint and friendliness when reporting complaint (Kim et al., 2004). Customer service is
one of the most important considerations in the evaluation of a supplier (Jackson et al., 1985).
A supplier's reputation for good service attracts potential customers and keeps existing
customers loyal. Good service additionally provides protection from price competition
(Hartley, 1989). Customer service can produce customer behaviors that can indicate whether
a customer will remain with or defect from an organization (Zeithaml et al., 1996).
Specifically, the high levels of competition among service providers in Bangladesh
necessitate adoption of different customer service techniques to satisfy and retain the
customer. The effectiveness of the level of customer service will enhance customer retention
and reduce switching between and among service providers (Oyeniyi and Joachim, 2008).
Therefore, customer service includes all help and assistance GSM providers offer to
customers directly or indirectly prior to, during, and/or after purchase to provide exciting
customer experience with their products. If well leveraged, it has a potential to offer a
competitive advantage to GSM service providers and make them to attract and retain
customers. GSM providers in Bangladesh provide customer through toll free customer care
line, help desk and websites. Because of its convenience, cost free and availability, majority
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of subscribers in Bangladesh are most likely to be served by their network providers through
toll free customer care line. McDougall and Levesque (2000) found that all
telecommunication service providers in Malaysia differentiate themselves a high level of
customer service and this has become the most important and significant driver in customer
satisfaction. Lucas (2005) is of the opinion that by providing excellent customer service and
dealing with dissatisfaction as soon as it is identified, companies can ensure that customers
remain loyal and keep coming back. From the foregoing discussion, GSM providers, in
addition to the provision of a high service quality and offering of an attractive and fair price,
should also pay more than a passing attention to the delivery of high and effective customer
service/care. They should invest substantial resources on infrastructure, information
technology (IT) and human resources that would provide leverage for effective and quality
customer care. They should remember that the entire idea of customer care in the telecom-
sector is about delivery exciting customer experience.
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RELATION BETWEEN SALES PROMOTION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Sales Promotions
It has been established in literature that only consumers with repeat purchases are profitable
(Nagar, 2009). It is not every repeat purchase that is connected to consumers commitment of
a brand. However, consumers commitment is important for a repeat purchase. Therefore,
business operators need to develop marketing programmes that will not only reinforce
customers commitment but also encourage repeat purchases. A part of the functions of sales
promotion is not only to reinforce commitment of consumers but to encourage repeat
purchases. Effects of sales promotion on consumer behavior have been widely studied in
literature (Nagar, 2009). Sales promotion has effects on various aspects of consumers
purchase decisions such as brand choice, purchase time, quantity and brand switching (Nijs,
Dekimpe, Steenkamps and Hanssens, 2001); consumers sensitivity to price (Bridges,
Briesch and Yim, 2006).
However, whether the effect of consumer loyalty and purchasing behavior could be
moderated by sales promotions has not yet been examined extensively. Regardless of a
widespread interest in the relationship between sales promotion and purchasing behavior,
most studies of this kind focus on the effect of sales promotions on choice at the time they are
offered (DelVecchio, Henard, Freling, 2006). Only a few have investigated the lag effect of
sales promotions on brand preference and the resultant buying behavior once the promotion
campaign is rescinded.
Sales promotions could be in form of