COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AIRTEL & VODAFONE

INDEX

CHAPTER 1: INDUSTRY PROFILE

CHAPTER 2: COMPANY PROFILE

AIRTEL

VODAFONE

CHAPTER 3: COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN VODAFONE & AIRTEL

CHAPTER4: LIMITATION

CHAPTER5: RECOMMENDATION & CONCLUSION

CHAPTER6: BIBLOGRAPHY

Executive Summary

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

1. To study how two different companies in same industry uses different pricing strategy.

2. To portray special characteristics of Telecom company and to know more about them.

CHAPTER 1

INDUSTRY PROFILE

The stupendous growth of the telecommunication companies in India over the last fifteen years can be attributed to the liberal government of India, economic policy. The economic renaissance effected in the early 1990s brought around a paradigm shift on the overall business scenario of India. The telecommunication companies in India went through a huge make-over during the implementation of the open-market policy of India.

The erstwhile closed market policy was replaced by a more liberal form of economic policy. A whole new form of Indian Telecommunication Policy was drafted to compliment the change effected in the economic policy of India. The amendment effected the new telecommunication policy of India made huge changes with

respect to investments and entry of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Foreign Institution Investors (FII) respectively, into the virgin Indian telecommunication market. This resulted entry of private, domestic and foreign telecommunication companies in India.

The economic contribution made by these newly formed telecommunication companies of India is really mentioned worthy and this industry witnessed highest growth after the Indian Information Technology industry. The robust growth of Indian economy after the economic liberalization in the 1990s induced massive change in the telecom policy and new draft was framed and implemented by the 'Telecom Regulatory Authority of India' (TRAI) and 'Department of Telecommunication' (DOT), under the Ministry of Telecommunication government of India. The main aim of these telecommunication companies in India is to provide basic telephony services to each and every Indian. 

With the advent of private telecommunication companies in India, the industry witnessed introduction of mobile telephones into the Indian market and it became popular amongst the Indian masses in no time. Today two types of mobile phone service providers operates in the Indian market, like the following -

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

The main binding objective for all the telecommunication companies operating in India are as follows -

To facilitate telecommunication for all Ensuring quick availability of telephone connectivity Achieve universal service access at affordable price covering all Indian

villages, as early as possible Providing world class telecommunication services Solving consumer complaints, resolve disputes, and special attention to be

given to public interface To provide widest possible range of services at reasonable prices To emerges as a major manufacturing base and major exporter of

telecommunication equipment To protect the defense and security interests of the country

Three types of service providers exist in the Indian telecommunication sector, like the following -

State owned companies like - Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd

Private Indian owned companies like - Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices.

Foreign invested companies like - Hutchison-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications etc.

A list of states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their

respective states and exluding National Capital Territory Delhi) with the largest

subscriber base as of Mar 03rd 2011 is given below

State Subscriber basePopulation

(01/03/2011)Mobile phones per 1000 population

Uttar Pradesh

106,192,054 199,581,477 532

Maharashtra 94,841,692 112,372,972 844

Tamil Nadu 68,168,580 72,138,958 945

Andhra Pradesh

59,364,339 84,665,533 701

West Bengal

60,928,561 91,347,736 667

Bihar 52,100,177 103,804,637 502

Karnataka 48,465,542 61,130,704 793

Gujarat 45,881,267 60,383,628 760

Rajasthan 42,380,958 68,621,012 618

Madhya Pradesh

44,256,394 72,597,565 610

Delhi 16,753,235 37,539,635 2,241

Kerala 30,954,858 33,387,677 927

Punjab 27,817,459 27,704,236 1,004

India 791,381,574 1,210,193,422 654

LIST OF MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS IN INDIA

(As on Jan 2011)

Operator Subscribers(in millions)

AIRTEL 155.75

VODAFONE 127.36

RELIANCE COMMUNICATION

128.87

IDEABSNLTATA DoCoMo , TATA INDICOMAircel

84.2883.59

86.0551.83

UninorVideoconMTNL

20.36.015.15

Loop MobileMTS

3.069.09

155.75

127.36

128.8784.28

83.59

86.05

51.83

20.3 6.01 5.15 3.06 9.09

subscribers (in millions)

AIRTELVODAFONERELIANCE COMMUNICATIONIDEABSNLTATA DoCoMo , TATA INDICOMAircelUninorVideoconMTNLLoop MobileMTS

MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY

TRAI announced the rules and regulations to be followed for the Mobile Number

Portability in their draft release on 23 September 2009. Mobile Number Portability

(MNP) allows users to retain their numbers, while shifting to a different service

provider provided they follow the guidelines set by TRAI. Once a customer changes

his/her service provider & retaining the same mobile number they are expected to

hold the mobile number with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they

decide to move to another service provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a

check on exploitation of MNP services provided by the service providers.

As per news reports, Government of India decided to implement MNP from

December 31, 2009 in Metros & category ‘A’ service areas and by March 20, 2010

in rest of the country.

It has been postponed to March 31, 2010 in Metros & category 'A' service areas.

However, time and time again, lobbying by the state-run firms, BSNL and MTNL

has resulted in innumerable delays in the implementation of Mobile Number

portability. The latest reports suggest BSNL and MTNL are finally ready to

implement the Mobile Number Portability by October 31, 2010.

A press release by the Department of Telecommunications on 30 June 2010 said

"Keeping the complexity and enormity of the testing involved before MNP is

implemented and keeping in view the present status of implementation by various

operators, it has now been decided to extend the time line for implementation of

MNP to 31st October 2010."

A news report on 25 November 2010 said Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was

finally launched in Haryana. The MNP service inaugurate by the Union Minister of

Communications & IT Mr. Kapil Sibal by making the inaugural call to Shri

Bhupindrer Singh Hooda, the Chief Minister of Haryana from a ported mobile

number in function held at Rohtak city. Another news report said it will be

implemented across India on January 20, 2011. Even as DoT has recommended a

porting fee of Rs. 19, some operators such as Idea Cellular may consider waiving

off the porting charges.

Chapter 2:

Company profile

History

Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Sunil Mittal was into an

agreement with Germany's Siemens to manufacture the company's push-button

telephone models for the Indian market. In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated

Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and his company became the first in India to offer

push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. This first-

mover advantage allowed Sunil Mittal to expand his manufacturing capacity

elsewhere in the telecommunications market. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had

also launched the country's first fax machines and its first cordless telephones. In

1992, Sunil Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995,

Sunil Mittal incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and

launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal

Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended

cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired

control of Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired

control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the

company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of

India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel

brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In

2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar.

In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010,

Airtel began operating in Bangladesh and 16 African countries.

Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and fifth largest in the

world.

Bharti airtel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. bharti airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by business week. bharti airtel had 200 million customers across its operations.

Vision & Promise

By 2015 airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions.

" Enriching lives means putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will meet their needs based on our deep understanding of their ambitions, wherever they are. By having this focus we will enrich our own lives and those of our other key stakeholders. Only then will we be thought of as exciting, innovation, on their side and a truly world class company."

Brand

Airtel was born free, a force unleashed into the market with a relentless and unwavering determination to succeed. A spirit charged with energy, creativity and a team driven “to seize the day” with an ambition to become the most admired telecom service provider globally. airtel, in just ten years of operations, rose to the pinnacle of achievement and continues to lead.

As India's leading telecommunications company, airtel brand has played the role of a major catalyst in India's reforms, contributing to its economic resurgence.

Today we touch people's lives with our Mobile services, Telemedia services, to connecting India's leading 1000+ corporates. We also connect Indians living in USA, UK and Canada with our callhome service.

Services

Voice

Mobility Solutions

Fixed Line and Broadband

Enterprise VAS

Data and IP

Internet access

Data Transport Solutions

Satellite Services

MPLS Solutions

Online Desktop

Website Builder

Hosted Mail

Business Ready Branch

Security Solutions

Conferencing

Audio Conference   Service

Video Conference   Service

Data Center

Product Vision

Integrated Service   Offerings

Infrastructure and Footprint

Products

Network IT

Network Integration

Professional Services

Business ReadyBranch

Digital Media

Advertisement Ecosystem

Cinema Delivery

Digital Signage

News Gathering

Post Production

Teleport

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH:

• Largest Operator

• PAN India presence

• Having global presence

• First mover advantage

• Innovations

• Strategic alliance

WEEKNESS:

• Not having plan like Free local calls and Minutes as their competitors have

• Losing ground among teens and youth against their competitor like Reliance.

OPPORTUNITY:

• Only 41.8% Teledensity in India.

• Possible Expansion in nearest countries.

THREATS:

• Potential entry of global competitor.

• Competition from domestic Players.

Product & Price Mix

Product: Airtel Pre-paid

Airtel Post-paid

Blackberry Wireless Handheld

Value Added Services (VAS)

The different value added services provided by Airtel are-

Instant Balance Enquiry

24Hr recharge Facility

Caller line identification

Call divert, Call wait & Call Hold

Multimedia messaging service (MMS)

Airtel Live Portal

SMS based Information Service

Hello Tunes & Ring Tones

Voice Mail Service

Easy Post-paid bill collection

Gifting of Ring Tones & Hello Tunes

GPRS

Business Solutions

Price: Customer based pricing strategies.

Flexible pricing mechanism

Controlled by TRAI.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

M a r k e t

Airtel has targeted th bottom of the pyramid- VK Prahalad Concept

M arket s eg m en t a ti on:

Geographical segmentation – metropolitan & cities

India Demographic segmentation - low & middle

income group People age group of 20 to 28

Target market:

People living in cities and

towns Poor and middle

income groups Youngsters in

big cities Businessmen

Po s iti on i ng

Creating brands

Ads and promotion

M arke ti ng mi x

Price-low price strategy

Place-maximum outlets and service centers

Product -varieties available for various group

Promotion -various schemes for prepaid and

postpaid

Marke t ing S t ra t egy

Airtel strategy is to be leader in:-

Innovations

Network

Offers and Services

Strategy of making customers educated about the services like: -

1. “ What is roaming?”

2. “ What is coverage area?”

3. “ How to make international calls?”

Airtel adopted the product driven communication to make their

products successful in the market and also emotional communication to

target younger people.

Strateg i es Introduction Growth Maturity

Market i ng object i ves

Create product awareness and trial

Maximise market share

Maximise profits whole defending market share

Product Offer a basic product/ service.

Offer value added services

Increase in number of value added services.

Price Charge cost- plus Price to penetrate market

Price to match or best competitors

Distribution Build selective distribution

Build Intensive distribution.

Build more intensive distribution.

Advertising Build product awareness among early adopters and dealers.

Build awareness and interest in the mass market

Stress brand differences and benefits.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales promotion to entice people to subscribe.

Increase to build and maintain relationships with customers.

Increase to encourage brand-switching.

Brand Ambassadors:

Famous celebrities: Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar , A R

Rehman, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali khan .

Previous Brands

Initially, around 1995, the company services were branded Max Touch¸ renamed to

Orange in 2000. In December 2006, Hutchison Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand

nationwide, consolidating its services under a single identity.

The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous

owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the

necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by

the Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing

brand was officially changed toVodafone on 20 September 2007.

On September 20, 2007 Hutch became Vodafone. Vodafone Essar spent somewhere

in the region of Rs. 250 crores on this high-profile brand transition. Cheap cell phones

were also launched simultaneously in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand.

The company planned to launch co-branded handsets sourced from global vendors.

A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective is to

leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets from

across-the-world into India."

Incidentally, China's ZTE, which is looking to set-up a manufacturing unit in the

country, is expected to provide several Vodafone handsets in India. Earlier this year

,Vodafone penned a global low-cost handset procurement deal with ZTE.

History

Hutchison Essar (1992-2007)

In 1992, Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner – Max Group,

established a company that in 1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile

telecommunications services in Bombay (now Mumbai) and launched commercial

services as Hutchison Max in November 1995. In Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (East),

Rajasthan and Haryana, Essar Group was the major partner. But later Hutch took the

majority stake.

By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa

had acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service in

13 of India's 23 licence areas and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL

Mobile that number increased to 16. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a

company (Essar Spacetel — A subsidiary of Essar Group) that held licence

applications for the seven remaining licence areas.

Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India — in

cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was

able to establish a robust network, well known brand and large distribution network –

all vital to long-term success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-

end post-paid customers which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a

higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) than its competitors. By adopting this

focused growth plan, it was able to establish leading positions in India's largest markets

providing the resources to expand its footprint nationwide.

In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding

agreement with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect

equity and loan interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration

(before costs, expenses and interests) of approximately $11.1 billion.

Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean,

minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out visibly though it

uses only white letters on red background. Another successful ad campaign in 2003

featured a pug named Cheeka following a boy around in unlikely places, with the

tagline, Wherever you go, our network follows. The simple yet powerful advertisement

campaigns won it many admirers. Ads featuring the pug were continued by Vodafone

even after rebranding.

Vodafone Group plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered

in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications

company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by

subscribers (behind China Mobile), with around 341 million proportionate subscribers

as of November 2010. It operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner

networks in over 40 additional countries. It owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the second

largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by

subscribers.

The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect

the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones".

Vodafone is the world’s largest mobile telecommunications community, employing over 65,000 staff and with over 130 million customers. The business operates in 26 countries worldwide.Vodafone is a public limited company with listings on the London and New York stock exchanges. Global recognition of the Vodafone brand is growing as the company rolls out its identity into new markets. However, it retains local names and imagery in markets where this is essential to maintaining the trust of customers. To help promote its image worldwide, Vodafone uses leading sports stars from high profile global sports, including David Beckham and Michael Schumacher. This Case Study concentrates on how such promotion can help to keep a leading brand at the forefront of public awareness.

Timeline

1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group establish Hutchison Max

2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations and entry into Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Gujarat

markets through Essar acquisition

2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh and Chennai

2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL — ESSAR Subsidiary) which operated in

Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and rebranded it 'Hutch'.

2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely Punjab, Uttar

Pradesh (West) and West Bengal.

2005: Acquired BPL Mobile operations in 3 circles. This left BPL with operations only in

Mumbai, where it still operates under the brand 'Loop Mobile'.

2007: Vodafone acquires a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar for $10.7 billion. The

company is renamed Vodafone Essar. 'Hutch' is rebranded to 'Vodafone'.

2008: Vodafone acquires the licences in remaining 7 circles and has starts its pending

operations in Madhya Pradesh circle, as well as in Orissa, Assam, North East and

Bihar.

VISION

Our Vision is to be the world’s mobile communication leader – enriching customers’

lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities be more connected in a mobile

world.

MISSION

Driving in a wireless worldVodafone is primarily a user of technology rather than a developer of it, and this

fact is reflected in the emphasis of our work programme on enabling new applications of mobile communications, using new technology for new services, research for improving operational efficiency and quality of our networks, and providing technology vision and leadership that can contribute directly to business decisions.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths: The kind of subscriber bas it has in the indian market.  It has the 2nd higest market share in India . It has a 2nd higest subscriber base in India 1st being airtel  Its strong advertising startiges and impact on people  Its Indias 3rd biggest mobile carrier The brand name it has in the Indian market 

Weaknesses: Low R&D  Ubiquitiouegory, products, services  High customer churn (33.33%)  Rural India unable to relate to the brand  Poor network coverage

Opportunities: Emerging markets and expansion abroad  Innovation  Product and services expansion  Growing data business and 3G auctioning  VAS as a means to increase ARPU (big boss, Zoo Zoo)  Growing Enterprise solution market Large capital can be raised by listing Vodafone on Indian Stock

Exchange(IPO) Tower sharing business with Indus Towers 

Threats: Highly competitive Still lags behind

Extremely high

Product Mix

Post paid Prepaid Phones

Blackberry Services iPhones Magic Box

VAS Entertainment & Lifestyle Games, Downloads & Applications Social Networking Mail & Messaging Devotional News & Finance Travel & Transportation Caller Management Services

Online Anywhere 3Gworld

Price Mix

Vodafone wants to make its services accessible to as many people as possible: from the young, through apprentices and high powered business executives, to the more mature users.

It offers various pricing structures to suit different customer groups. Monthly price plans are available as well as prepay options. Phone users can top

up their phone on line. Vodafone UK gives NECTAR reward points for every £1 spent on calls, text

messages, picture messages and ring tones.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

M a r k e t

Vodafone has targeted th bottom of the pyramid- VK Prahalad Concept

M arket s eg m en t a ti on: Vodafone is adopting a multi-segment approach.

G eograph i cal s eg m en t a ti on – metropolitan & cities India

Vodafone wants to expand into the Asian markets.

India has 2nd largest market for mobile. It is growing at the rate of 6

million subscribers per month.

D e m ograph i c s eg m en t a t i on: low & middle income group

T arget m arke t :

Market from urban areas from middle and upper middle class families

Youngsters in big cities

Businessmen

Po s iti on i ng: -

“Where you go the network follows you” by Hutch, now Vodafone

Ads and promotion

M arke ti ng mi x:

Price-low price strategy

Place-maximum outlets and service centers

Product -varieties available for various group

Promotion -various schemes for prepaid and

postpaid

Market i ng O bject i ves

Vodafone says that they want to be the top mobile service provider of

India by the end of the year 2010

Market ing St rat egy

Our strategic objective is Innovate and delivers on our

customers’ total communications needs.

Vodafone, too, needed to educate consumers about cellular

telephony: - Can I call STD?

Can I use my phone in

a lift? What is airtime?

Vodafone also communicates regularly with its customers to keep them well

informed of the benefits of all Vodafone products.

Focus on free cash flow generation and execution

Progress

Drive operational performance

– Value enhancement

– Cost reduction

– Launched new products in a number of markets, which offer customers more value in return for increased commitment– Accelerated £1 billion cost reduction programme;expect to achieve 65% in Pursue growth

opportunities in total communications

– Mobile data– Enterprise

– Broadband

– Expanded range of data devices with the BlackBerry Storm, iPhone and netbooks with built- in broadband– Revenue growth of 9% in Vodafone GlobalEnterprise– 1 million new fixed broadband customers; Execute in emerging

markets– Delivery in existing markets

– Selective expansion/ cautious

– Nationwide footprint in India– Commenced operations in Qatar since year end– Acquired Gateway in Africa to strengthen total communications portfolio

Strengthen capital discipline

– Shareholder returns

– Clear priorities for surplus capital

– Returned over 87% of free cash flow before license and spectrum payments to shareholders in the 2009 financial year– In-market consolidation through merger ofVodafone Australia with Hutchison 3G Australia

Brand am bassadors:

H u t c h , as a brand, always tried to connect with consumers in a simple,

honest and real manner,

The “The Hutch pug.” and the actor Irfan Khan were retained for

the brand promotions.

While V odafone - a younger and fun brand. Z oozoo en t ers m arket

ZooZoo, small pseudo-animated character with big egg-shaped head,

round belly but extremely thin arms and legs, the new brand ambassador of

Vodafone, has created a furor in the advertising industry. Zoozoos have been

successful in giving Vodafone a makeover and establishing maximum brand

presence.

CHAPTER 3:

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AIRTEL

VODAFONE

BHARTI AIRTEL VS VODAFONE ESSAR

Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is a leading emerging markets telcom with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The company has over 185 million customers across its operations. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by Business Week.

Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 100 million customers. Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile communications group with approximately 333 million proportionate customers as on 31 December 2009. Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and around 40 partner networks worldwide.

Bharti Airtel -

1. Market segmentation - Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India) Demographic segment - middle income groups People age group of 20 to 28 year

2. Target marketing - People who living in cities and towns. Poor or middle income group people. Youngsters in big cities. Businessmen

3. Positioning - Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker) Ads and promotions Promotion for study of poor childrens

4. Marketing mix - Price: low price strategy Place: maximum outlets and service centers Product: verities available for various groups Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid.

Vodafone

Vodafone target the rural India. The main targeted customers of Vodafone are from rural India. By offering cheap and light mobile sets Vodafone attracts most of the customers of small villages and towns. Offering cheap handsets Vodafone offers cheap and free connections to all customers. The cost for these sets was Rs-799-849-1099 per set and onward. In every district and big towns Vodafone opens its service centers to provide better support and services

Strong logistics and supply chain Vodafone has a strong logistic and supply all over India. In every small town the potential customers can easily purchase the Vodafone SIM & Sets. Targeting youngsters in metropolitans Vodafone attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset at very low prices.

BRAND POSITIONING BY VODAFONE

1. Market segmentation Geographical segment (rural India) Demographic segment - middle income groups

2. Target marketing People living in small towns and villages. Poor and middle income groups. Youngsters in big cities. Businessmen

3. Positioning Creating brands Ads and promotions

4. Marketing mix Price : low price strategy Place : maximum outlets and service centers Product : verities available for various groups Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

CHAPTER 4:LIMITATION

The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and every service provider.

CHAPTER

SUGGESTION

Following are the few suggestions to Airtel and Vodafone for improving the market share and image of the products concerned.

The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores. Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements

must be released in different Medias to create brand awareness. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contests and coupons must be given to

retailers as well as customers and prospects. Catalogues should be distributed among customers. Price should be as competitive as other company maintains . Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket.

CHAPTER

CONCLUSION

After doing that all study we can conclude that yes the Gap

exist there in telecommunication industry. Consumers have a lot of

expectations from their service provider that are not performed or

deliver by their companies. As we know that consumer expect from

Vodafone to improve its customer care service that can be found

busy most of the times.

Now users of Airtel have rated it as a best company for value of

money but still they are not satisfied with some of company’s

strategies. So this is the Gap between Airtel users and company

performance.

Then we have example of Vodafone. Users of Vodafone are

not satisfied with company customer care service as it is a difficult

process because one has to wait a lot or call again and again to talk

with a customer care representative.

Airtel performance is good but Gap exists not just with Airtel, but

with all the companies in the industry. Various VAS (Value

Added Services) provided by company does not seems to be

satisfying their users. Customers are not satisfied with SMS pack that

is perceived costlier as compare to others companies SMS packs

by Airtel users.

Airtel is to be found the best service provider of network service and

customer care service as well. This is one company in the industry

that can be found delivering as per their customer expectations.

That’s why customers have rated it not as satisfactory but excellent.

But one has to pay more for superior service and Airtel is one

example of such service. Users of Airtel paying more for value

added services. And they expect from company to offer some of the

VAS at some of the competitive prices.

Price is the only Gap exists in Airtel between company and users.

CHAPTER

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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