Marketing Strategies at Aircel and Its Impact on the Percep

7/31/2019 Marketing Strategies at Aircel and Its Impact on the Percep

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PROJECT REPORT

On

Marketing strategies at Aircel and its impact on the perception

of Aircel Cellular Services

Submitted By

Name: Zeeshan Khan

Batch & Section: WS/ISBE-B (2011-2013)

Student ID: D1113WSISBEPGP10115(DEL-4-$-3363)

Area of Research: Marketing

Internship start and finish dates: 12th Dec 2011 to 31st Jan 2012


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Undertaking any project in life proves to be a milestone in more ways than one.

Its successful completion relies on a myriad people and their priceless help. I

am deeply indebted to all who have inspired, guided and helped me in the

successful completion of the project. I owe debt of gratitude to them, who were

so generous with their valuable time and expertise.

Through this acknowledgement I express my sincere gratitude towards all thosepeople who helped me in this project, which has been a learning experience.

I am thankful to my guide and mentorProf. Dipti Sharma for guiding me

throughout this study without their help this thesis would have not be

completed.

I appreciate the co-ordination extended by my friends and also express my

sincere thankfulness to the entire faculty members of Indian Institute ofPlanning & Management, Delhi, giving me the opportunity to do this

project/study and also assisting me for the same.


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TABLE OF CONTENT

Topics Page No

Title page Completition certificate from the company Acknowledgements 1 Table of contents 2 Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Research objectives and methodology 12 Aircel - Company Overview 14 Primary findings and analysis 24 Conclusion & Recommendations 35 Bibliography 42 Annexure 43


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Aircel Group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of

Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India, with MaxisCommunications holding a majority stake of 74%. Aircel commenced

operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil

Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in

Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leadera position it has

held since. Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with

unprecedented success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market

leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of

operations .During this period, the company gained a foothold in 9 circles.

The Company has currently gained a momentum in the space of telecom in

India post the allocation of additional spectrum by the Department of

Telecom, Govt. of India for 13 new circles across India. These include Delhi

(Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,

Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP

(West) and UP (East).Aircel has won many awards and recognitions. Voice

and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction

and network quality in 2006. Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility

company in Businessworlds List of Best Mid-Size Companies in 2007.

Additionally, Tele.net recognised Aircel as the best regional operator in

2008.With over 15 million customers in the country, Aircel, the fastest

growing telecom company in India, has revved up plans to become a

full-fledged national operator


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INTRODUCTION OF THE TOPIC

India's telecommunications market is amongst the highest-potential markets

globally, marked by deregulation and rapid growth. Its cellular market alone is

growing at 60% annually. This demand will only accelerate as new

technologies emerge to make new services possible. Idea plans to grow its

telecom business both in terms of geographical reach and in terms of the

products and services we will offer.

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is

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

economies of Asia. Today it is the fastest growing market in the world and

represents unique opportunities for UK companies in the stagnant global

scenario. Accordingly, India requires incremental investments of USD 20-25

bln for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164%

p.a.) in India. With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and GSM),

wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom industry. Given

the current growth trends, cellular connections in India will surpass fixed line

by late 2004/early 2005. Intense competition between the four main private

groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector

incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop in tariffs.

There has been almost 74% in cell phone charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25%

drop in NLD charges, resulting in a boom time for the consumers.


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INDIAN CELLULAR MARKET

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

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

circles, has a subscriber base of 37 lakh subscribers. Thus BSNL stands second

largest cellular operator in terms of subscriber base at the end of the fiscal

ending March 31, 2007, displacing Vodafone from the second position.

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

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

MTNL, which operates in Mumbai and Delhi, BSNL has been a very

aggressive player in the market. "Cellular operators who expected BSNL to gothe MTNL way, were taken by surprise and did not take effective steps to

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

TELECOMMUNICATION MARKET IN INDIA

Technological changes in the telecom and computers have radically changed

the business scenario. In turn, the new demands of business have spurred many

telecom based technological innovations. In order to exploit these innovations

for competing in global markets, business community the world over has been

putting pressure on governments to revise the policy, regulation and structure

of the telecom sector. Several countries across the world have responded by

restructuring the state controlled telecom service provider, increasing private

participation, and deregulating service provision. The emergent organizationshave attempted to be more responsive to the business needs and have evolved

mechanisms to remain competitive even under tremendous pressures.

Over the past several years, developing countries have also recognized the

important role a responsive, business oriented and technologically advanced

telecom sector plays in the growth of the economy. Many developing countries

now accept the limitations of a monolith state monopoly in responding to the


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twin challenges of spurring internal growth and competing in an increasingly

global economy.

Past experience of reform across many countries suggests that the fundamental

underlying issue that must be addressed in telecom reform is introduction of

competition for efficiency. Competition is considered to be an important factor

than ownership in introducing efficiency.

India's 21.59 million-line telephone network is one of the largest in the world

and the 3rd largest among emerging economies (after China and Republic of

Korea). Given the low telephone penetration rate India offers vast scope for

growth. It is therefore not surprising that India has one of the fastest growing

telecommunication systems in the world with system size (total connections)

growing at an average of more than 20 percent over the last 4 years.

The industry is considered as having the highest potential for investment in

India. The growth in demand for telecom services in India is not limited to

basic telephone services. India has witnessed rapid growth in cellular, radio

paging, value-added services, internet and global mobile communication by

satellite (GMPCS) services. This is expected to soar in the next few years.

Recognizing that the telecom sector is one of the prime movers of the

economy, the Government's regulatory and policy initiatives have also been

directed towards establishing a world class telecommunications infrastructure

in India. The telecom sector in India therefore offers an Aircell environment for

investment.

The telecommunications initiative in the country is lead by Ministry of

Communications through the Department of Telecommunication &

Department Telecom Services and its undertakings for provision of basic

telephone services, national and international long distance communications,

manufacture of complete range of telecom equipment, research and

development, and consultancy services. The Telecom Commission performs


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the Executive and Policy making functions. The Telecom Regulatory Authority

of India performs the functions of an independent regulatory body.

Indian Telecom Sector To Be Most Vibrant In 2010

In 2010 we believe that Indian Telecom industry expects to continue with its

fast pace of subscriber additions, at least 11 million per month, launch of 3G

and WiMAX spectrum, while tariff would continue to slide during the year.

The industry having crossed the 500 million subscriber mark earlier in

September 2009 itself, the next milestone would be 750 million. (Global

research and analysis firm Gartner, in a recent study, estimates Indian mobile

users to touch 771 million by 2013).

However, this would be a long way off, even though subscriber addition is

expected to continue at fast pace in 2010 as companies expand networks to

rural areas and new firms commence operations.

3G

One of the main catalysts for growth would be the launch of 3G and WiMAX

spectrum, expected to take place by mid-January. 3G, or third generation

telecom services, would result in addition or more subscribers as they would

bring in a host of data-enabled services to the industry, and growth would come

in from both voice and data.

WiMAX

Additionally, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had announced the

simultaneous auction of WiMax spectrum that would result in adding of

additional data-enabled customers on telecom networks. A host of telecom

operators are expected to join the bandwagon for WiMax spectrum.


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Tariffs

Cheap call tariffs and mobile handsets were other factors that drove demand in

2009, and telecom companies are expected to continue price was both in call

rates and instruments in 2010. This, according to industry analysts, will result

in telecom sectors exponential growth.

The industry also expects launching of innovative and customer friendly

schemes like the one second billing in 2010. These schemes would continue to

help in improving tele-density and penetration of telecom services in rural and

semi-urban areas in the country.

Infrastructure operators

The year 2010 would be that of the infrastructure players. Apart from an

expected consolidation in the sector, the infrastructure majors will increase the

pace of tower rollout across all the 22 circles in the country.

Bandwidth

An expected increase in bandwidth landing in the country, with telecom

companies are laying more submarine cables, would also benefit the industry.

This would be beneficial to bandwidth-intensive sectors like BPO, IT and

banking.

The industry expects telecom companies to launch terrestrial cables with 50

GB capacities each, to be hiked depending on demand. This coupled with a

planned increase by operators this year and next year, would also result in an

increase in capacity landing at Indian shores.

Group Overview

Founded in 1976, by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti has grown from being a

manufacturer of bicycle parts to one of the largest and most respected business

groups in India. With its entrepreneurial spirit and passion to undertake


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business projects that are transformational in nature, Bharti has created world-

class businesses in telecom, financial services, retail, and foods.

Bharti started its telecom services business by launching mobile services in

Delhi (India) in 1995. Since then there has been no looking back and Bharti

Aircel, the group's' flagship company, has emerged as one of the top telecom

companies in the world and is amongst the top five wireless operators in the

world.

Through its global telecom operations Bharti group has presence in 21

countries across Asia, Africa and Europe - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,

Jersey, Guernsey, Seychelles, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville,

Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi,

Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Over the past few years, the group has diversified into emerging business areas

in the fast expanding Indian economy. With a vision to build India's finest

conglomerate by 2020 the group has forayed into the retail sector by opening

retail stores in multiple formats - small and medium - as well establishing large

scale cash & carry stores to serve institutional customers and other retailers.

The group offers a complete portfolio of financial services - life insurance,

general insurance and asset management - to customers across India. Bharti

also serves customers through its fresh and processed foods business. The

group has growing interests in other areas such as telecom software, real estate,

training and capacity building, and distribution of telecom/IT products.

What sets Bharti apart from the rest is its ability to forge strong partnerships.

Over the years some of biggest names in international business have partnered

Bharti. Currently, Singtel, IBM, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent

are key partners in telecom. Walmart is Bharti's partner for its cash & carry

venture. Axa Group is the partner for the financial services business and Del

Monte Pacific for the processed foods division.


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Bharti strongly believes in giving back to the society and through its

philanthropic arm the Bharti Foundation it is reaching out to over 30,000

underprivileged children and youth in India.

Mobile Strategy

Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential withminimum geographical coverage to maximise its revenues and margins.

Build high quality mobile networks by deploying state-of-the-art

technology to offer superior services.

Use the experience it has gained from operating its existing mobilenetworks to develop and operate other mobile networks in India and to

share the expertise across all of its existing and new circles.

Attract and retain high revenue generating customers by providingcompetitive tariffs, offering high quality customer support, proactive

retention programs and roaming packages across all of its mobile

circles.

Provide affordable tariff plans to suit each segment of the market with aview to expand the reach, thereby increasing the mobile customer base

rapidly.

The Indian telecommunications Network with 250m telephone connections is

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

economies of Asia. Today it is the fastest growing market in the world and

represents unique opportunities for UK companies in the stagnant global

scenario. Accordingly, India requires incremental investments of USD 20-25

bln for the next five years.

Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest growing (over 164%

p.a.) in India. With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and GSM),

wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom industry. Given


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the current growth trends, cellular connections in India will surpass fixed line

by late 2004/early 2005. Intense competition between the four main private

groups - Bharti, Vodafone, Tata and Reliance and with the State sector

incumbents-BSNL and MTNL has brought about a significant drop in tariffs.There has been almost 74% in cell phone charges, 70% in ILD calls and 25%

drop in NLD charges, resulting in a boom time for the consumers.

The Government has played a key enabling role by deregulating and

liberalizing the industry, ushering in competition and paving the way for

growth. While there were regulatory irregularities earlier, resulting in litigation,

these have all been addressed now. Customs duties on hardware and mobile

handsets have been reduced from 14 percent to 5 percent.

The Indian government has merged the IT and Telecom Ministries to speed up

reforms and decision on the Communication Convergence Bill to enable the

common regulation of the Internet, broadcasting and telecoms will be taken

after the new Government assumes responsibilities in may this year. An

independent regulatory body (TRAI) and dispute settlement body (TDSAT) is

fully functional.


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS:-

My project on Marketing strategies at Aircel and its impact on the perception

of Aircel Cellular Services has been a representation of the analysis done on

the data collected from different sources. The data collected by me is of two

types.

Primary Data:-

Under this head comes the data which was collected by designing separate

questionnaire for existing as well as prospective customers. The questionnaire

was finalized after much changes and modification and every care was taken to

make it more presentable. The medium of collecting the data was through in-

depth interview method which was followed both for existing and prospective

customers. The interview was based on a structured pattern of question

included in the questionnaire, to be asked by the respondent. It was to get a

detailed information form respondent about Reliance life Insurance.

Secondary Data:-

Under this head comes the data which was collected through

The database of existing customers which Bharti Aircel Limited. alreadyhad maintained.

The website of Bharti Aircel Limited. The just dial in services.

In the present telecommunication sector scenario, when Aircel is launching

new tariff plans every fortnight. It is quite difficult for other private players to

keep their customers happy My project sample was 100 respondents.


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Limitation

I have to work under time constraint due to my present job, so I have got a less

time to complete the project.

The respondents were mostly college going students; low understanding of

knowledge was there.

The respondents were discussing the questions prior to reply thus there could

be biasness.

Different promotional schemes offered by different companies were not known

by the respondents.

Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as

nothing in this world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance

for error on account of following limitations-

1. Respondents unavailability.2. Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.3. Courtesy bias.


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COMPANY OVERVIEW

The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of

Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose

shareholders are the Reddy family of Chennai, with Maxis Communications

holding a majority stake of 74%.

Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator

in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially

in Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader - a position it has

held since.

Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented

success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and

in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations. Now, the

company has completed rollout in all 23 telecom circles including Chennai,

Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, West Bengal, Kolkata, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi,

UP(West), UP(East), Maharashtra & Goa , Mumbai, Haryana , Madhya

Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Aircel has won many awards and recognitions. Voice and Data gave Aircel the

highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006.

Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Businessworld's 'List of

Best Mid-Size Companies' in 2007. Additionally, Tele.net recognised Aircel as

the best regional operator in 2008.

With over 50 million happy customers in the country, Aircel is a full-fledged

national operator.


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Our world

The Aircel Group is a result of alliance between Maxis Communications

Berhad of Malaysia (74% equity) and Sindya Securities & Investments Private

Limited (26% equity).

The Aircel Group, formed in 1994, offers affordable and outstanding mobile

services to a vast subscriber base in India. Aircel has a vision of delighting its

customers by giving them the respect they deserve. Our goal is to provide our

customers with exemplary service and persistently look for new ways to

surpass their expectations.

Aircel commenced operations in 1999. In our first decade of operations, we

concentrated on building our foundations in the southern part of the country,

and soon emerged as the regional market leaders. We worked hard and

achieved that success by remaining focused on growth opportunities. Soon

after our company began with its expansion in 2005 and has now set its sight

on becoming a pan India operator. Our project pipeline is robust, allowing for

sustainable long-term growth.

In addition to our leadership position in Tamil Nadu, Aircel met with

extraordinary success in the Eastern frontier circles. We pride ourselves on

customer satisfaction and managed to emerge as the market leaders in Assam

and North Eastern states wit hin 18 months of operations. During this

period, our company gained a strong foothold in 10 circles, to provide better

access to our customers. Today, Aircel operates in 18 telecommunication

circles and the company is ready to embark on a dynamic expansion plan,

swiftly rolling out in new circles in the near future.

Aircel recognizes the tremendous growth in its customer base. We have also

got an authorization from the Department of Telecommunications for ILD and


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NLD telephony services and are now on track to realize our dream of becoming

a nationwide player by the year 2010.

Aircel offers its customers, services and products that are easy to understand

and use. All offerings are stimulating and at the same time extremely unique as

Aircel continues to re-invent itself constantly to deliver the best and most up-

to-date services. The brand instils a felling of pride, confidence and reliance

among all stakeholders by anticipating their desires and fulfilling the same

efficiently.

With our foundations deeply set on our brand vales of simplicity, creativity,

trust and excitement, we will continue to deliver superior services to our

customers and will do our best to live up to their high expectations.

About Maxis Communications Berhad

Maxis Communications Berhad is a leading mobile communications service

provider in Malaysia that started operations in the year 1995. Maxis' vision is to

bring superior communication services to enhance its customers' lives and

businesses, in a manner that is simple and personalized, by efficiently and

creatively harnessing leading edge technology, and delivering a brand of

service experience that is reliable and enchanting.

Since its inception, Aircel has strived to provide the best of features and

services to its customers. It is this passion and enthusiasm that has helped us

grow leaps and bounds from what started as operations in Tamil Nadu in 1999,

to a pan-India presence across 18 circles today.

Aircel has also been recognized for its consistent and reliable efforts, receiving

the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality by

Voice and Data in 2006, an accolade given to only a select few. We succeeded

in keeping our promises to our customers as we were recognized for the same

award by IDC in 2007.


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Aircel emerged as the top mid-size utility company in Businessworld's 'List of

Best Mid-Size Companies' in 2007. Additionally, we have also been recognised

as the best regional operator by the Tele.net Publication in 2007 and have been

honoured by CMAI INFOCOM for excellence in marketing of new telecom

service in 2009.

Thanks to our loyal customers, we have been rated as one of the most admired

mobile service brand in a pan-India survey conducted in Sep'09. Aircel today

has reached a subscriber base of 46 million plus and is still going strong. Rest

assured Aircel's commitment to providing you with the best of services and

features will be an ongoing endeavour.

Aircel has multiple and convenient store locations throughout the country. We

provide sales and support through one of the largest and most extensive

networks of stores.

Feel free to drop by and we'll be happy to assist you with anything you may

require. For more information on a particular city we serve, please choose from

the list of Aircel store locations below

CSR policies

At Aircel, we continually pursue healthy corporate citizenship. Our aim is not

to merely discharge social responsibility, but conduct business in a manner

which reinstates respect for people, communities and the environment.

We emphasize on an inclusive work culture to appreciate differences andbelieve engagement with our employees is quintessential for an effective CSR

plan. We share adequate information on the organizations vision and CSR

initiatives, because it promises healthy operations and subsequently adds to the

overall quality of life. This motivates the employees and their family members

to contribute to society.

Aircel maintains integrity and respect in its interactions with its stakeholders,

customers, retailers, investors, NGO partners and the government. We are


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careful in not partnering with any PR / communication that induces distrust in

the sincerity of our efforts. Our stringent belief in delighting customers with

good products and services helps build a strong relationship.

Aircel is always proactive in supporting NGOs and NPOs. We extend all

possible assistance to their projects for a minimum of 3 to 5 years and

thereafter support new projects. Besides, we aim at continual involvement with

our business partners and the government for economic and social development

of the underprivileged.

Aircel engages external audit agencies to guarantee authenticity, and maintains

and monitors an external profile of the CSR activities which are shared with the

stakeholders in the annual reports and websites.

We incorporate the CSR policies in our core business to ensure ethical business

practices in all the functions to harness a healthy society.

Sponsorships

In India sports are not just about recreation, they are about skill, passion andrecognition. Aircel has adopted a progressive policy of encouraging sports by

sponsoring teams and tournaments to provide opportunities and facilities to

upcoming young talent and to help create champions of the future.

Businesses and society are interdependent, thus sponsoring sporting activities

gives Aircel the opportunity and platform to interact with our stakeholders and

helps us maintain a warm relationship with our customers.

Cricket

Indian Premier League

Cricket fever is a welcome epidemic for any Indian. The Indian Premier

League and Aircel have become synonymous with the sports loving public of

Chennai and Tamil Nadu, as Aircel is currently the proud team sponsor of the

Chennai Super Kings.


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One of the favorites at the tournament, the team Chennai Super Kings, is

captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and includes many other renowned

players like Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina and Albie Morkel

Being allied with the team via this exciting and unique sponsorship

opportunity, Aircel is proud to be associated with one of the most prestigious

and successful cricketing events of the decade. more...

World Cup

Every four years, a billion people have only one thing on their minds; cricket.

The country buzzes with cricket talk; the pros and cons of each team, the

conditions of the stadiums, the weather, the fairness of the umpires; if its not

cricket, its not news.

We at Aircel are as passionate about cricket as you are. Which is why this

World Cup, we bring to you a range of entertaining activities to keep you

occupied when there are no matches to watch. more...

Aircel Chennai Open

The game of tennis enjoys a considerable following in India, thanks to the

achievements of some of the leading Indian players. Aircel has associated itself

with this game with a spirit of patriotism, love of the motherland and home-

grown roots. The company aims at contributing greatly towards strengthening

Indias position and enhancing the prestige of this sport internationally.

The 2011 Aircel Chennai Open is the only ATP tennis tournament in India, the

tournament played on outdoor hard courts. The current season is the 16th

edition of the Chennai Open, and part of the 250 series of the 2011 ATP World

Tour. more...


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Professional Golf Tour of India

India bags the honor of being the first country outside Britain to adopt the game

of Golf. Today Indian players are playing at international levels and winning

many accolades.

The Indian professionals created the entity, 'Professional Golf Tour of India

(PGTI)' with the key objective of nurturing and maintaining high standards of

professionalism in the game by supporting the national and international tours.

By sponsoring this tournament Aircel aims at being involved in nurturing and

maintaining a high standard of professional golf in India.

National Tenpin Bowling Team Championship

Aircel is proud to be sponsoring the NTBTC in 2011. This is the second year of

our successful partnership with the Tenpin Bowling Federation of India. We

are very excited about the tournament this year and are sure there will be some

very interesting games.

Bowling is a popular sport the world over however it has only recently come

into the limelight in India. It is getting more exposure thanks to the rising

number of bowling lanes now present in most cities. The top priority of the

Tenpin Bowling Federation is spreading tenpin bowling among the youth and

strengthening its structure. Being allied with the Federation via this exciting

sponsorship opportunity, Aircel is proud to assist in taking that goal to fruition

more...

Lakme Fashion Week

Lakme Fashion Week is India's most prestigious fashion and trade event. Now,

entering its second decade, LFW continues to redefine the future of Indian

fashion and provide a platform to integrate India into the global fashion world.

This year, the Summer/Resort 2011 showcase will be held from March 11 -


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March 15, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt, Santacruz East, Mumbai.Aircel will be part

of LFW for the second consecutive year as the Associate sponsor. A key

highlight this year will be the Aircels association with leading designer

Sabyasachi for a collection based on the Save Our Tigers theme, a CSR

initiative from Aircel

Aircel Business Solutions

Technology related business solutions are an indispensable part of trade and

commerce in todays marketplace. These business solutions aim at generating

value for consumers by effectively utilizing technology to advance their day to

day processes.

Today every company needs unique technology related solutions specific to

their individual environment. Keeping the same in mind, Aircel offers a

comprehensive range of business related applications to empower every aspect

of your business. Our business enhancement solutions are aimed at generating

profitable results for your enterprise. Our products ranging from premium

internet services, E-Conferencing, MPLS VPN and Smart Stream provide a

gamut of services that will support your needs.

Let us assist you in implementing innovative business solutions customized to

your needs and make your day to day business processes more efficient by

simplifying your busy world.


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S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATION

STRENGTHS:

Aircel has its brand image and its ranking is 2nd in world. so here one thing is

conform that Aircel has good network and outstanding services thats why its

users are most after china mobiles. At gave some special packages to the to

attract customers. it can offer international roaming facility more than any

network in India. Financially Aircel is strong and is able to invest heavy

amount in India.

WEAKNESS:

It has to take license from TRAI and act according to rules of India due to

which it may not give its special services like 3G video calling and call to

someone by hiding your phone number.

OPPURTUNITIES:

Aircel can capture Asian market if it can grow more in India ,62% of

population of India is young and mobile phones are most commonly used by

young ones. Demo graphs of India tell us that in this company India can earn

heavy amount of revenue.

So there is space for market penetration. if Aircel offers some special packages

for limited time then customer of other networks may switch. Aircel have

better technology so it can capture the customers of the other networks as well.

With India Aircel can capture Asia as well because of population or

demography of India.


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THREATS:

The current recession in market is not good for any kind of business includingtelecommunication. Five cellular companies are already working in India. The

situation in is not good especially political and peace. There are a lot of

uncertainties in the country.


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DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1.) WHAT IS USE OF MOBILE PHONE IS AGE GROUP?

From the above pie chart we can see that most of the respondents falls within

the age group of 25- 30 yrs , closely followed by the 21- 25 yrs segment. There

were no respondents in the age group of above 36 years.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 above 36yrs

A 16-20 b 21-25 c 26-30 d 31-35 e above

36yrs

15 33 49 7 0


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2.) SEX WISE

MALE FEMALE

M F

60 40

The above diagram depicts that there were 60 male respondents and 40 female

respondents for my sample questionnaire. Out of the 62 male respondents onlyone respondent of the age group16- 20 yrs said that he does not possesses a

mobile phone.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Male Female

60

40


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26

3.) DO YOU HAVE A MOBILE PHONE?

Yes No

97 3

Of all the respondents only one person did not had a mobile phone , where as

all other respondents had a mobile phone. The person not having a mobile

phone was a male respondents and was within the 16-20 yrs of age group

97

3


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4.) WHICH MOBILE CONNECTION DO YOU HAVE?

A Aircel VD Vodafone ID IDEA REL RELIANC

E

O

T

OTHERS

53 30 17 1 2

Out of the total 100 respondents who possessed a mobile phone, 50

respondents had Aircel connection, followed by Aircel with 30 respondents.

Only 2 of the respondents had a Dolphin connection which is owned by

MTNL.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Airtel Vodafone Idea Reliance Others


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28

5.) DO YOU HAVE A POST PAID OR A PRE PAID CONNECTION?

From the sample respondents it was found that all that of 98 respondents out of

total 100 respondents had a prepaid connection. While only 2 people said to

have a post paid connection, out of which 1 said that the post paid connection

was provided by their office.

95

5

PRE PRE-PAID POST POST- PAID

95 5


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6.) WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN AIRCEL AS YOUR CONECTION

PROVIDER?

A Better

Service

B Good

Connectivit

y

C Easy

Availability

D Low

Tariffs

E Others

28 59 30 21 11

From the above line graph we see that the respondents has rated ``good

connectivity ``as the most important factor which has urged them to take them

Aircel connection, followed by low tariffs, and better service. Also quite a

number of persons have said that they took Aircel connection because of no

hidden cost and they get connectivity anywhere and also great coverage on

roaming.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Better Sarvice GoodConnectivity

EasyAvailability

Low Tariffs Others


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30

7)ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH YOUR CONNECTION?

SATISFIED DISSATISFIED

75 25

Out of total 100 Aircel customers 75 of the respondents said that they are

totally satisfied with their present Aircel connection. While only 25

respondents said they are not satisfied because of the talk time value they get.Some said they want to try out Aircel `` Aise Azadi Aur Kahan ``.

75

25


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8) DOES AIRCEL OFFER BETTER SERVICE THAN OTHERS?

Yes No

93 7

Though 93 respondents were unhappy with the Aircel connection, but

surprisingly they too cannot come across the fact that Aircel provides better

service than other service providers.

93

7


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9)RATING OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS

CONNECTIVITY TARIFF ROAMING SERVICES OTHERS

17 11 5 7 11

The respondents have rated Aircel most number of times, i.e. 59 times as the

number 1 service provider, while Reliance comes last with 2 respondents

saying it to be good with such low tariff charges.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

CONNECTIVITY TARIFF ROAMING SERVICES OTHERS


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33

10) WILL YOU RECOMMEND OTHERS TO SWITCH TO AIRCEL

CONNECTION?

Yes No

85 15

Over and all 47 respondents said they will recommend others to switch to

Aircel, while quite a few respondents did not respond to this question.

85

15


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11)WILL YOU SWITCH TO AIRCEL?

Yes No

90 10

Total 90 respondents said that they will switch to Aircel for the kind of service

provided by them, while merely 10 respondents said that they are satisfied with

their present service connection.

90

10


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35

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

RECOMMENDATIONS

Being a market leader Aircel still striking in the telecom industry. Trump is coming up with such a rapid growth rate. But the point to be noted over here i.e. Trump has the maximum

subscriber base in terms of students.

Where as Aircel has subscriber base of multi functional area. Aircel is good service provider but because of some issues in billing

and some others consumer dont take interest in it.

Business class mostly prefer hutch; recently hutch has extended itsrecharge voucher limit from Rs 10 up to as your need.

Top of Mind: This is clear that Aircel enjoys the clear preference ofthe consumers

Overall Image: Aircel has been more successful, not through productfeatures but an overall image.

Aircel should look into the short comings of its customer careservice.

Aircel should make sure, that their prepared card should always bereadily available with the retailers.

Aircel should keep on coming with attractive tariff plans. As maximum no. of users are between 20 to 28 they should specially

come out with some plans which are attractive for this segment. Main advantage of WLL is its tariff plan. So GSM service providers

should try to reduce their tariff plans if possible, at least initially.

Many of the respondents perceived Air Tels tariffs to be high. Thecompany should focus its advertising message on this issue and

compare it with the rival operators tariffs (which are almost similar).

Air Tel should focus on those customers whose satisfaction is highbut low loyalty. Loyalty based programs should be introduced, which


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the company has introduced now in terms of Rewards programmes.

Also an alarming proportion of its customers are those with low

satisfaction and low loyalty. This category poses a threat and their

loyalty should be established. In their advertising messages, Air Tel uses more than one caption

Touch Tomorrow and The Good Life. This creates a confusion in

the customers mind. They should focus on their main line Touch

Tomorrow used in the Air Tel brand architecture.

The first come advantage

Value added services are the norm of the day. The service providers can

gain a long term advantage by consistently introducing new incentives in

value added services or

tariff structures. Every time a new scheme is launched it provides temporary

edge to the service provider over its counterpart. This temporary advantage

is in terms of the new clients it acquires who have been attracted by the

offer. However after some time this advantage is neutralized by the other

player offering something similar. Thus it important to innovate before the

competition time and again so that one can make the short term advantage

cumulatively long term and help increase mind share as well as market

share.

Corporate clientele

Since this a target market by itself its marketing methodology itself would

be different. Most organizations prefer to take services for their employees

in groups. Hence, this order becomes very big for the service provider.

Personalised selling would be the order of the day for these users. The

presence in the various business and corporate circles would also enhance


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37

Aircels brand image. Special incentives can be given to these employees for

maintaining their loyalty to the Aircel brand.

The Aircel - Aircel advantage

Aircel could lure more customers by introducing schemes in which calls

from one Aircel user to another would be possible at a reduced tariff. This

would encourage a group of users who need to communicate frequently to

opt for this service only. Also it would help in promoting bondage between

the users and thus further promote loyalty.

New innovative packages

Aircel has to come up with new innovative packages like the CALL HOME

scheme offered by Vodafone. Such schemes launched at regular intervals

will help in maintaining customer loyalty and also attract new customers.

Collaborative schemes with other companies

Aircel can collaborate with companies like Nokia or any other hardware

provider and launch schemes like providing free airtime with every

hardware instrument bought. Exposing the customer to the brand increases

the chances of the customer being hooked on to the brand. The companies

can ensure this by offering the option of renewal of the account at the expiry

of the free airtime.

Discounted products

The company has to offer more discount schemes like reducing the

activation charges or reducing the security fees. This will provide the

company a competitive edge. However this may lead to a price war. Hence

the trade offs of indulging in this exercise must be considered.


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Regular freebees

Aircel can offer at regular intervals and specially at festivals schemes like

free airtime to its users, free coupons for shopping, free entry to shows etc.

this would keep the customers interested in the brand and ensure that they

remain loyal to the brand. The other competitor will also be indulging in the

same hence the effectiveness of these would depend on the timing of these

offers.

Special offers

Aircel may offer special incentives and rewards to the frequent and regular

users by offering them free maintenance checks.

Free or minimal cost upgradation to a category of users who use the service

over a specified limit of airtime

More of the e-factor

The future belongs to the net. The players who will be able to integrate the

net in their operations will lead the market. This would mean advertising

over the net, allowing an interface of the net with the cellular service. Aircel

is already on the right track as far as this is concerned. They have introduced

the concept of being able to send messages to the user like a pager message.

This can be done from the Aircel site.

Consolidate WAP

Aircel has the advantage of having introduced the WAP before its

competitor Vodafone has. They can use this as platform for taking a lead

when this technology becomes widespread. Till then it will act as bait for

status conscious users who want the latest innovations irrespective of its

present application.


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CONCLUSIONS

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Aircel lagged

behind its competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned.

The maximum no. of people who use the mobile are in the age group of 20 to

28. Cash cards are the most popular type of mobile connections, as they are

consumer friendly and recharging the connection is not a problem.

Maximum no. of people spend RS 500 on their connections. As Aircel is the

only company having the maximum no of mobile connections so it must

seriously look into the loop holes of the existing customer service department.

Although people are aware about the tariff plans offered by WLL service

providers, but right now they are not in hurry to adopt it. The public wants to

wait and watch their respective performances.

So far findings from this research are concerned these are the major findings as

follows.

Being a market leader Aircel has got the maximum no of subscribers base.From this research I found that Aircel has got 48% customer base in Delhi.

Trump has got 28% customer base followed by Hutch with 14% and finally

only 10% of Aircel.

Second thing what I found from this research is that out of 150 respondents 100

i.e. 66.6% of the consumers have switch over from their service provider. Out

of 100 consumers 46 is the figure from Aircel, 29 from Trump, 14 from Aircel,

& 11 from Hutch.

The major reason I found for switch over price value i.e. an expensive in case

of Aircel. In case of trump network coverage & non availability of recharge

voucher while consumers go for roaming is the major reason come out,

Aircels customers are having the major problem of billing related in case of

postpaid connection.


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This seems to be the new age of communication all most 90% of the customers

are aware about the market.

In the area of satisfaction level Aircel gives the maximum satisfaction in terms

of network coverage Ease of availability of recharge voucher specially in

roaming. Trump gives maximum satisfaction in terms of call rates and free all

India roaming in prepaid.


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Future to retain its market share

i) Aircel should look into the short comings of its customer careservice.

ii) Aircel should make sure, that their prepared card should always bereadily available with the retailers.

iii) Aircel should keep on coming with attractive tariff plans.iv) As maximum no. of users are between 20 to 28 they should specially

come out with some plans which are attractive for this segment.

v) Main advantage of WLL is its tariff plan. So GSM service providersshould try to reduce their tariff plans if possible, at least initially.

From above the details I conclude that 70% Aircel users preferred to remain

with Aircel. Also good number of users who were willing to switch from their

respective subscribers showed interest in Aircel. Hence, these statistics imply a

bright future for the company. Also the company is now providing more

services like the door to door services which is you dial the Aircel customer

care and would like to send someone flowers the Aircel company delivers those

flowers to the person concerned. Also Aircel is providing voice mail service

and free text messaging service. Call conferencing is also another feature

Aircel provides.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BOOKS:

1. PHILIP KOTLER: MARKETING MANAGEMENT

2. DENNIS ADCOCK: MARKETING PRINCIPLES &

PRACTICE

3. S.R, BAJPAI: METHODS OF SOCIAL SURVEY

AND RESEARCH

4. GODDE & HATT: METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

5. W.S.JAWADEKAR: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

SYSTEM

B. MAGAZINES:

Business World

C. JOURNALS:

1. THE TIMES OF INDIA

2. BUSINESS STANDARD

D.WEBSITE:

www.aircel.com www.google.com en.wikipedia.org
http://www.aircel.com/http://www.google.com/http://www.google.com/http://www.aircel.com/


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ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

1) Name:2) Address:________________________________________

3) Occupation:______________________________________

4) Age:a)1620 years b) 21- 25 yr

c) 2630 yrs d) 31- 35 yrs

e) Above 36 yrs

5.) Sex:

a) Male b) Female

6) Do you have a mobile phone?

a) Yes b) No

7) If, Yes which connection service do you have?

a) Vodafone b) Aircel

c) Idea d) Reliance

e) Others


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8) Why have you chosen Aircel as your service provider?

a) Better service

b) Good connectivity

c) Easy availability

d) Low tariffs

e) Others

9) Are you satisfied with your Aircel connection?

a) Yes b) No

10) If, Yes rate the following parameters on a five point scale?

a) Excellent connectivity

b) Low tariff charges

c) Roaming facility

d) Personalized services

e) Easy availability of recharge coupons

11) Rate the following service providers on a five point scale according to he

service provided by them?

a) Vodafone b) Aircel


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c) Idea d) Reliance

e) Others

12) Will you switch to other service providers?

a) Yes b) No

13) What are the areas you think Aircel should improve, to be more reliable

and customer oriented?

THANK YOU

Date post:	04-Apr-2018
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Marketing Strategies at Aircel and Its Impact on the Percep

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