Volume 7, Issue 3 (March, 2018) UGC APPROVED Online ISSN-2277-1166

Published by: Abhinav Publication

Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research in
Commerce & Management
A Study on Marketing Strategy of Reliance JIO
Vasundhara Jain
Researcher
Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics
Delhi University, India
Email: vasundhara.jain2010@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Envisioning a world without telecommunication technology today would without a doubt seem insipid
and dreary. Telecommunication has turned into a vital piece of societal framework. As the entrance
and use of web access to individuals over the globe is expanding from 390 million (in year 2000) to
3.3 billion (in year 2015), telecom specialist organizations are competing with each other to obtain a
bigger membership. In this research paper, an attempt is made to analyze the viability of client
acquisition strategies adopted by RIL (Reliance Industries Ltd) in securing and holding customer
reliability even with regards to withdrawal of free offers. An endeavor is likewise made to delineate
view of purchasers by virtue of free offer withdrawal. Descriptive type of research design has been
used for the study. Secondary data was gathered from various sources including journals, sites, daily
papers, e-information base stores and others.
Keywords: Industry analysis, pricing strategy, oligopolistic market, Loss Leader strategy

INTRODUCTION
‘’Jio implies ‘to live’ and to be alive to every possibility. World’s need for virtual oxygen, that is
data, is rising exponentially. Jio targets to fulfil this need of Indians. Access to information will now
understand no boundaries.”- Mukesh Ambani
The main objective of Reliance Jio is to create a digital world which will include all the digital
functions such as telephoning services, internet data (broadband), smart devices, music, TV shows,
sports programs, Jio apps- Jio money, Jio Cinema, Jio TV, Jio Play etc. Customer acquisition is the
primary focus of the company. It intends to get as many users as possible. Reliance Jio entered the
market with a whopping $25billion capital, and without making a rupee of profit provided everything
for free. Such an aggressive marketing strategy terrified the competitors and even investors (it seemed
too good to be true). It was the riskiest gamble the telecom sector has ever seen. However, as we can
see, Reliance Jio did succeed in achieving its “100 million subscribers in 100 days” promise.
The man behind this network – Mukesh Ambani feels that people should either pay for internet or
calls, but not both, and to cope up with the competition, he brought this strategy, providing his
customers the maximum benefit and eliminating the competition from the market.
If you buy any Reliance Jio SIM, irrespective of the package you’ve bought (expensive or cheap), you
will get the following services absolutely free:
1. Unlimited free voice calling to any other network, any other number (local and STD)
2. No roaming charges, same price is applicable all over India
3. Jio applications will provide Internet surfing, music, movies, programs free of cost.

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 Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research In
Commerce & Management
4. If you buy a monthly plan worth Rs. 500 or more, you will get the following additional
benefits:
5. Unlimited SMS (STD and local)
6. High speed 4G internet- unlimited at night
7. If you have a student registered SIM ID, you will receive 25% extra data usage.

However, there are certain limitations that a consumer should look out for-
The base pack of Rs. 150 seems good, but not essentially so. The main benefits start from Rs. 500 or
more
There are constant call drops and weak signals in Reliance Jio.
The validity of all the monthly packs is 28 days and not 31 days. So, eventually you end up buying 13
packs a year instead of 12 (This is an upcoming manipulation done by all the networks).
OBJECTIVES
Following are the objectives of the study-
1. To find out how Reliance Jio captured the massive market share.
2. To know the different applications of Jio and its features.
3. To study the business strategy of Reliance Jio.
4. To examine the future potential of the brand
5. To investigate the effectiveness of Jio Sim strategies before launch in obtaining customer
loyalty
6. To chart customers' perception about services of Reliance Jio.
7. To explore the customers' willingness to carry on with Reliance Jio post -withdrawal of free
offers.
MARKETING STRATEGY OF RELIANCE JIO
The marketing strategy of Reliance Jio can be summed up in five distinct stages:
ACQUISITION
As discussed above, Reliance Jio has acquired or rather captured the market by providing “everything
for free”. Free data, voice calling, video, music, content, roaming and a bouquet of applications and
even free SIMs. Each ID proof can buy 8 Jio SIMs absolutely free.
It has a wide coverage – extending to 18000 cities or towns and around 2 lakh villages. Apart from an
impressive sign up offer, Reliance Jio launched its scheme with a huge event which included many

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 Abhinav National Monthly Refereed Journal of Research In
Commerce & Management
eminent politicians, entrepreneurs, media and movie personalities, to ensure it has optimum visibility
and reach.
ACTIVATION
Reliance Jio is 100% VoLTE (Voice over LTE) network. It means we make voice calls on data
network. It implies voice service is transferred as data flows inside LTE data bearer. VoLTE enabled
Jio SIM is activated in a day. Providing e-KYC details (Adhaar card number) can activate your Jio
SIM in only 15 minutes.
Reliance Jio network runs entirely on 4G and not – ‘mostly on 2G, sometimes on 3G and only once on
4G’.
RETENTION
Once the customer has subscribed for the network and has started using the same, the next step is to
retain him or make him comfortable with Jio’s features and services. The goal is to engage him with
the product for a long run. Earlier the free data and calling was given till Dec 2016. However, it was
extended to March 2017 to build customer retention and make them habitual of the existing services.
Reliance Jio ended up becoming the first ever telecom company to provide 6 months of unlimited free
data and calling services.
REFERRAL
Before customers started buying Reliance Jio SIMs, one hardly saw any advertisement of the brand on
TV, radio, newspapers etc. There seemed to be no promotional activities for Reliance Jio, no brand
ambassador, no approaching celebrities to help sell their product.
Instead, Jio used the best form of promotion i.e referral. Customers themselves were the ‘promotional
tools’. When one subscriber used the SIM and referred it to his friends, family, acquaintances, the Jio
family started increasing. More and more non-Jio subscribers became avid Jio users.
REVENUE
This is the most important stage i.e. the customers are now familiar with product, are loyal users and
want to pay for the services as well. The free services ended by 31 March 2017. Then Reliance Jio
came up with Jio Prime wherein, the users could avail the existing services (free calss, SMS, data,
apps) for Rs. 309 for 3 months. They would get 30GB of 4G data. Besides, the users have to pay Rs.
99 per year to receive Jio Prime Membership.
After crossing 100 million subscriber mark, Reliance Jio is estimated to recover its costs incurred in
first 6 months in next 5 years and soon it will start earning profits.
CONCLUSION
A business is called successful when it brings success and profit to all the parties involved. Reliance
Jio has done a fair job at this – both customers and the marketers seem satisfied. It has transformed the
telecommunication sector, by providing unlimited free services.
The marketing strategy of Reliance Jio is proof enough that many of the existing customers of other
market players will switch to Jio and its nominal pricing will help it boost its profits for the company
and also save the customers’ money. It is expected to recover its massive capital investment in a few
years ahead.
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