INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF

INFORMATICS & MANAGEMENT

A
Project Report
On
“Comparative analysis of
consumer satisfaction for Airtel
& Vodafone services with
specific reference to Jaipur
market.”

SUBMITTED TO-
SUMITTED BY-
PROF. KAVALDEEP DIXIT
SADHANA SINGH

(PGDM-I)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 I Sadhana Singh, am sincerely thankful
to all those people who have been giving
me any kind of assistance in the making of
this project report. I express my gratitude
to Prof. Kavaldeep Dixit, who has through
her vast experience and knowledge has
been able to guide me, both ably and
successfully towards the completion of the
project. I express my gratitude to
International School of informatics &
management, Jaipur. I would hereby, make
most of the opportunity by expressing my
sincerest thanks to all my faculties whose
teachings gave me conceptual
understanding and clarity of
comprehension, which ultimately made my
job more easy. Credit also goes to all my
friends whose encouragement kept me in
good stead. Their continuous support has
given me the strength and confidence to
complete the project without any difficulty.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my
gratitude to the respondents without
whom this survey would have been
incomplete.
-SADHANA SINGH
(PGDM-I)

CONTENTS-

 Declaration
 Objectives of Research
 Introduction
- Telecom sector in India
- Airtel
- Vodafone
- Comparison between Airtel &
Vodafone

 Research Methodology
- Type of research methodology
- Data collection method
- Method of collection

 Analysis & Interpretation of report

 SWOT Analysis
 Recommendation/Suggestion
 Limitation
 Conclusion
  Bibliography
 Questionnaire.

DECLARATION

I, Sadhana Singh being a student of PGDM –I

of International school of Informatics &
Management , Jaipur (ISIM). Hereby declares
that the project report under title
“Comparative Analysis of consumer
satisfaction for Airtel & Vodafone services
with specific reference to Jaipur market .” Is
my own work it is the analysis of the big
scale sector of communication. This project
involves the big scale services involved in
telecommunication sector provided by Airtel
and Vodafone to its customers. The survey
was conducted so as to analyze the big scale
sector prevailing in the current industry and
the improvement that can be made upon it.
All care has been taken to keep this report
error free and I sincerely regret for any
unintended discrepancies that might have
crept into this report. I shall be highly
obliged if errors (if any) be brought to my
attention.

Thank You,
Sadhana Singh
(PGDM-I)

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH –

Every organization has to achieve its

organization goals. For this it is very
essential for an organization to know about
the view of consumers and their competitive
products. This survey research may be also
aimed as to estimate potential buyer for the
product. The objective of the study is as
under:-

1. To identify the difference between

market performance of Airtel and
Vodafone.

2. To study the market of Airtel and

Vodafone on big scale
telecommunication sector.
3. To study the level of customer
satisfaction in Airtel & Vodafone.

4. To study customer buying behavior and

factors which influence the purchase
decision process.

5. To study consumer preferences.

6. To study the consumer trend in

telecommunication sector.

7. To study competitive marketing

strategies adopted by Airtel and
Vodafone.
 INTRODUCTION -
Telecommunication Sector In India :-
Than 125 million telephones network is one
of the largest communication networks in
world, which continues to grow at a
blistering pace.
The rapid growth in the telecom sector can
be attributed to the various pro-active and
positive policy measures taken by the
government as well as the dynamic and
entrepreneurial spirit of the various telecom
service providers both in private and public
sector. The telecom sector has shown
impressive growth during the past decade.

Today, more Two striking features of this

growth viz. increasing preference for mobile
phones and higher contribution of private
sectors in the incremental growth have
predominated the telecom sector. The share
of mobile phones (including WLL mobile) has
overtaken the share of landlines with 62% in
the total number of phones. The private
sector's contribution is also increasing
rapidly. Currently more than 30 lakh
Phones are being added each month and it is
targeted that by the end of 2010 the total
number of phones may reach a level of 350
million taking the tale-density to more than
30% which is currently at 24.63%.

In other words, we can say that Indian

telecommunication industry world’s fastest
growing industry with 723.28 million
telephones (landline & mobile) subscribers and
687.71 Million mobile phone connections as of Sep
30th 2010. It is also the second largest
telecommunication network in the world in terms of
number of wireless connections after China. The
Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size
by a factor of more than one hundred since 2001
when the number of subscribers in the country was
approximately 5 million to 687.71 Million in Sep 2010.
As the fastest growing telecommunication industry in
the world, it is projected that India will have 1.159
billion mobile subscribers by 2013. Furthermore,
projections by several leading global consultancies
indicate that the total number of subscribers in India
will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by
2013. The industry is expected to reach a size of
344,921 crore (US$ 78.3 billion) by 2012 at a growth
rate of over 26 per cent, and generate employment
opportunities for about 10 million people during the
same period. According to analysts, the sector would
create direct employment for 2.8 million people and
for 7 million indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom
equipments revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore
(US$ 31.06 billion) during the fiscal, as against
115,382 crore (US$ 26.19 billion) a year before.
AIRTEL :

Founded 7 July 1995

-

Founder Sunil Bharti Mittal

-

Headquar New Delhi, India

ter-
Products- Wireless
Telephone
Internet
Satellite television

Bharti Airtel Limited, usually referred to simply as

"airtel", is an Indian telecommunications company
that operates in 19 countries across South
Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates
a GSM network in all countries,
providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the
country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom
operator in the world with over 200 million
subscribers as of October 2010. It is the largest
cellular service provider in India, with over 143 million
subscribers as of September 30, 2010. Airtel is the 3rd
largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber
base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. It has a
29.00% market share of the GSM mobile service in
India.
Airtel also offers fixed line services and broadband
services. It offers its telecom services under
the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal.
Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service
provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To
earn Gold Certification, Bharti Airtel had to meet
rigorous standards for networking competency,
service, support and customer satisfaction set forth
by Cisco. The company also provides land-line
telephone services and broadband Internet access
(DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as a carrier
for national and international long distance
communication services. The company has a
submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which
connects the submarine cable
connecting Chennai and Singapore.
It is known for being the first mobile phone company
in the world to outsource everything except marketing
and sales and finance. Its network (base stations,
microwave links, etc.) is maintained
by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei
, business support by IBM and transmission towers
by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India).
Ericsson agreed for the first time, to be paid by the
minute for installation and maintenance of their
equipment rather than being paid up front. This
enabled the company to provide pan-India phone call
rates of Rs. 1/minute (U$0.02/minute). Call rates have
come down much further. During the last financial
year [2009-10] , Bharti has roped in a strategic
partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network
infrastructure for the Tele-media Business.
The company is structured into four strategic
business units - Mobile, Tele-media, Enterprise and
Digital TV. The Tele-media business provides
broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 89 Indian
cities. The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-
Home TV services across India. The Enterprise
business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to
corporate customers and national and international
long distance services to Telco’s.
In January 2010, company announced that Manoj
Kohli, Joint Managing Director and current Chief
Executive Officer of Indian and South Asian
operations, will become the Chief Executive Officer of
the International Business Group from 1 April 2010.
He will be overseeing Bharti's overseas business.
Current Dy. CEO, Sanjay Kapoor, will replace Manoj
Kohli and will be the CEO, effective from 1 April 2010.
REBRANDING-

On 18 November 2010, Airtel rebranded itself in India

in the first phase of a global rebranding strategy. The
company unveiled a new logo with 'airtel' written in
lower case. Designed by London-based brand agency,
Brand Union, the new logo is the letter 'a' in
lowercase, with 'airtel' written in lowercase under the
logo.
Explaining the new look in detail, Sanjay Kapoor,
CEO, Bharti Airtel states that the new identity
underlines Airtel's willingness to embrace everything
that is new. He adds, "The logo type is modern,
vibrant and friendly and signals our resolution to be
accessible to our customers and stakeholders. And
the lowercase is our recognition for humility. The red
colour, which is an integral part of the brand,
continues to represent heritage, energy and passion.
The new curved and the gentle highlight almost gives
the impression of a living object; at the same time, it
represents a dynamic force of unparalleled energy,
brings us closer to consumers and is a symbol which
will help ensure instant recognition across diverse
international markets."
On November 23, 2010, Airtel's Africa operations were
rebranded to 'airtel'. Sri Lanka followed on November
28, 2010 and before the end of December, Airtel is
expected to launch its new avatar in Bangladesh.
Airtel’s old logo Airtel’s new logo
VODAFONE-

Founded 1984
-

Headquarter Newbury, United

s - Kingdom

Area served Worldwide

-

Key people Sir John

- Bond (Chairman)
Vittorio Colao (CEO)
John Buchanan (Deputy
Chairman)
Andy Halford (CFO)
Vodafone Group plc , is a global telecommunications
company headquartered in Newbury, 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 332 million
proportionate subscribers as at 30 September 2010. It
operates networks in over 30 countries and has
partner networks in over 40 additional countries. It
owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the 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".
Its primary listing is on the London Stock
Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100
Index. It had a market capitalization of approximately
£92 billion as of November 2010, making it the third
largest company on the London Stock Exchange. It
has a secondary listing on NASDAQ.

In other words, Vodafone Essar, previously

Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India
that covers 16
Telecom circles in India Despite the official
name being Vodafone Essar, its products are
simply branded Vodafone. It offers both
prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone
coverage throughout India and is especially
strong in the major metros. Vodafone Essar
provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and
1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering
voice and data services in 16 of the country's
23 license areas.
Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar
is a cellular operator in India that covers 16
telecom circles in India. Despite the official
name being Vodafone Essar, its products are
simply branded Vodafone. It offers both
prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone
Coverage throughout India and is especially
strong in the major metros.
Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based
on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
Technology, offering voice and data services
in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.

Product-
Products promoted by the Group include Vodafone
live!, Vodafone Mobile Connect USB
Modem, Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone
Passport, Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at
Home, Vodafone 710 and Amobee Media Systems.
Between June and August 2009, Vodafone suspended
roaming charges within 35 different countries,
allowing their customers to take their standard UK
price plan abroad.
In October 2009, it launched Vodafone 360 , a new
internet service for the mobile, PC and Mac. On
February 15, 2010 Vodafone launched world's
cheapest mobile phone known as Vodafone 150, will
sell for below $15 (£10) and is aimed at the developing
world. It will initially be launched in India, Turkey and
eight African countries including Lesotho, Kenya and
Ghana.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF
BHARTI AIRTEL-
Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and
exports telephone terminals and cordless
phones. Apart
from being the largest manufacturer of
telephone instruments, it is also the first
telecom company
to export its products to the USA. Bharti
Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is “to
capitalize on the growth opportunities that
the Company believes are available in the
Indian telecommunications market and
consolidate its position to be the leading
integrated telecommunications services
provider in key markets sin India, with a
focus on providing mobile services”.

The Company has developed the following

strategies to achieve its strategic objective:

• Focus on maximizing revenues and

margins;
• Capture maximum telecommunications
revenue potential with minimum
geographical coverage;
• Offer multiple telecommunications services
to provide customers with a "one-stop shop"
solution;
• Position itself to tap data transmission
opportunities and offer advanced mobile
data services;
• Focus on satisfying and retaining
customers by ensuring high level of
customer satisfaction;
• Leverage strengths of its strategic and
financial partners; and
• Emphasize on human resource
development to achieve operational
efficiencies.

Businesses-
 Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses
include -
• Mobile services
• Fixed-line
• National and international long distance
services
• VSAT, Internet services and network
solutions
• Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi
network

Competitive Strengths-

Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the

following elements will contribute to the
Company's success
as an integrated telecommunication services
provider in India and will provide the
Company with a solid foundation to execute
its business strategy:

• Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92%

of India's total mobile subscribers resided in
the Company's fifteen mobile circles. These
15 circles collectively accounted for
approximately 56% of India's land mass;
• Focus on telecommunications to enable the
Company to better anticipate industry trends
and capitalize on new telecommunications-
related business opportunities.

• The strong brand name recognition and a

reputation for offering high quality service to
its customers;

• Quality management team with vision and

proven execution skills; and

• The Company's strong relationships with

international strategic and financial
investors such as SingTel, Warburg Pincus,
International Finance Corporation, Asian
Infrastructure Fund Group and New York Life
Insurance.

Brand Architecture:

Bharti is working on a complex three-layered

branding architecture — to:

• Create specific brands for each service,

• Build sub-brands within each of these
services and
• Use Bharti as the mother brand providing
the group its corporate identity as well as
defining its goal to become national builder
of telecoms infrastructure.
Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular
operations all across the Indian country.

Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic

service operations.

India One - The brand for national long

distance (NLD) telephony.
Though the costs of creating new brands are
heavy but the group wants to create
“distinct independent brands to address
different customers and profiles”.

Brand Strategy:

To understand the brand strategy, let’s first

look at the brand building exercise
associated with Airtel — a brand that had to
be repositioned recently to address new
needs in the market.

When the brand was launched seven years

ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass market
by any
means. For the average consumer, owning a
cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates
(at Rs 8 a minute) as well as instrument
prices were steep — sometimes as much as
buying a second-hand car.

Bharti could have addressed the customer by

rationally explaining to him the economic
advantage
of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says
that such a strategy would not have worked
for the simple reason that the value from
using the phone at the time was not
commensurate with the cost.
“Instead of the value-proposition model, we
decided to address the sensory benefit it
gave to the customer as the main selling
tack. The idea was to become a badge value
brand,” he explains.
So the Airtel’s “leadership series” campaign
was launched showing successful men with
their
laptops and in their deluxe cars using the
mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant
Airtel was
positioned as an inspirational brand that was
meant for leaders, for customers who stood
out in a crowd.
Did it work? Repeated surveys following the
launch showed that there were three core
benefits that were clearly associated with
the brand — leadership, dynamism and
performance.

These were valuable qualities, but they only

took Airtel far enough to establish its
presence in the
market. As tariffs started dropping, it
became necessary for Airtel to appeal to a
wider audience.
And the various brand-tracking exercises
showed that despite all these good things,
there was no emotional dimension to the
brand — it was perceived as cold, distant and
efficient. Sachdev and his team realized that
in a business in which customer relationships
were the core this could be a major
weakness. The reason with tariffs identical
to competitor Vodafone telecomm and
roughly the same level of service and
schemes, it had now become important for
Bharti to
“humanize” Airtel and use that relationship
as a major differentiation.

The brand had become something like

Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they
needed was to become Singapore Airlines,
efficient but also human. A change in tack
was important because this was a time when
the cellular market was changing. The
leadership series was okay when you were
wooing the crème de la crème of society.
Once you reached them you had to expand
the market so there was need to address to
new customers.
By that time, Bharti was already the leading
cellular subscriber in Jaipur with a base of
3.77 lakh (it now has 1.8 million customers).
And with tariffs becoming more affordable —
as cell companies started cutting prices — it
was time to expand the market. How could
Bharti leverage this leadership position down
the value chain? Surveys showed that the
concept of leadership in the customer’s
minds was also changing. Leadership did not
mean directing subordinates to execute
orders but to work along with a team to
achieve common objectives — it was, again,
a relationship game that needed to be
reflected in the Airtel brand.

Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the

new customers choose a mobile phone brand
mostly
through word-of-mouth endorsements from
friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing
customers
were an important tool for market expansion
and Bharti now focused on building closer
relationships with them.
That is precisely what the brand tried to
achieve through its new positioning under
the Airtel “Touch Tomorrow” brand
campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed
mobile users surrounded by caring family
members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign
and positioning was designed to highlight
the relationship angle and make the brand
softer and more sensitive.”
As it looks to expand its cellular services
nationwide —to eight new circles apart from
the seven in
which it already operates — Bharti is now
realizing that there are new compulsions to
rework the Airtel brand, and a new exercise
is being launched to this effect. Right now,
the company is unwilling to discuss the new
positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus
is on positioning Airtel as a power brand with
numerous regional sub-brands reflecting
customer needs in various parts of the
country.

If Airtel is becoming more humane and more

sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also
understood that one common brand for all
cellular operations might not always work in
urban markets that are now
getting increasingly saturated. To bring in
new customers, the company decided that it
needed to segment the market. One such
experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia,
a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19
age bracket and for those who are “young at
heart”. With its earlier positioning, Airtel
was perceived as a brand for the well-heeled
older customer; there was nothing for
younger people. With Youtopia, Airtel hoped
to reverse that. In order to deliver the
concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff
rates (25 paise for 30 seconds) at night to
Youtopia customers — a time when they
make the maximum number of calls. It also
set up merchandising exercises around the
scheme — like a special portal for young
people to buy things or bid for goods.
The company is now looking at offering other
services at affordable prices to this segment
which include music downloads on the
mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal
calls to make it cheaper for young people to
use. The other experiment that Bharti has
worked on is to go in for product
segmentation through the Tango brand
name. The brand was created to offer mobile
users Internet-interface services or what is
known as WAP (Wireless Application
Protocol).

The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in

perfect harmony. “The name was chosen
from the popular movie title It Takes Two to
Tango: basically, you need the two services
to tango to offer customers a new choice”,
says Sachdev . This, however, had less to do
with the branding exercise as with
inefficiency of service (accusingly slow
download speeds) and the limited utility of
WAP services.
Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but
the company re-iterated that the branding
exercise
could be revived because Tango will be the
brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent
Internet connectivity on the mobile phone —
which Airtel is expected to launch soon.

Other Brand Building Initiatives:-

The main idea is to stay ahead of

competition for at least six months. Working
on the above game plan Bharti is constantly
coming up with newer product offerings for
the customers.
The focus, of course, is to offer better quality
of service.

• To make the service simpler for customers

using roaming facilities, Airtel has devised
common numbers for subscribers across the
country for services like customer care, food
services and cinema amongst others.
• It will also launch a unified billing system
across circles so, customers moving from one
place to another do not have to close and
then again open new accounts at another
place.

• To assist customer care personnel to deal

with subscriber queries, a storehouse of
40,000 frequently asked questions and their
answers have been stored on the computers.

• Bharti expects that most of its new

customers (one estimate is that it would be
60 to 70 percent of the total new subscriber
base) would come from the pre-paid card
segment. So, they must be given value
added products and services which
competitors don’t provide.
• Bharti, for the first time for a cellular
operator, has decided to offer roaming
services even to its pre-paid customers, but
the facility would be limited to the region in
which they buy the card. To ensure that
customers don’t migrate to other competing
services (which is known as churn and
ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the
customer base every month), the company is
also working on a loyalty program. This will
offer subscribers tangible cash benefits
depending upon their usage of the phone.

• The loyalty program will not be only for a

‘badge value’, it will provide real benefits to
customers. The idea is to create an Airtel
community.

• Another key area which Bharti is

concentrating its attention upon is a new
roaming service launched in Delhi under
which calls of a roaming subscriber who is
visiting the city will be routed directly to his
mobile instead of traveling via his home
network.

• The company also offers multi-media

messaging systems under which customers
having a specialized phone with a in-built
camera can take pictures and e-mail it to
friends or store it in the phone. The cost per
picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7.

• Bharti is also aware that it has to make

owning a ready-to-use cellular service much
easier than it is today. A key area is to
increase the number of activation centers.
Earlier Bharti had 250 Airtel Connect stores
which were exclusive outlets (for its
services) and about 250 Airtel Points which
were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation
can be done by all of them, and not only by
Connect outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes.
In comparison, the competition takes two to
four hours.

• Pre-paid cards are really catching up with

the mobile phone users and it is actually
helping the market to increase. First, they
are easier to obtain and convenient to use.
Unlike post-paid, one need not pay security
deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is
often available even with paanwalas. As
befits a fast-moving consumer service, the
game is now moving beyond price to
expanding distribution reach and servicing a
well-spread-out clientele with technology
and strategic alliances. Bharti is focusing on
two factors to make pre-paid cards more
attractive. Keeping the entry cost low for
consumers and making recharging more
convenience.

• Bharti is in the process of launching a new

system in alliance with Mumbai-based
Company Venture InfoTech which will enable
a pre-paid card user to renew his
subscription by just swiping a card. The
system will not only save users the hassle of
going out and buying a card every time it
expires but also enable mobile companies to
reduce the cost of printing and distributing
cards.

• Bharti Televentures has tied up with

'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering
food at home, to reach its Magic pre-paid
cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The
company is also joining hands with local
grocery shops which will enable users to
recharge their cards by just making a phone
call to the shop. Apart from improving the
convenience of recharging, mobile operators
are beefing up their distribution channels.
The company is constantly innovating to
enhance the value proposition for its pre-
paid service. They are leveraging technology
to expand their distribution
network and deliver round-the-clock
recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile on the
Spot)\ subscribers.

• Bharti Cellular has also launched a special

service, Care Touch , for high-value,
corporate customers, providing them with
instant, single-point access for any
assistance they require. Customers can dial
777 and enjoy a slew of services, which
includes easier payment of bills, service on
priority basis, and value-added services
without any additional paper work. Bharti
Cellular is offering a range of services
without going through an interactive voice
recorder ensuring that they save time.
Dedicated ‘CareTouch’ executives are
expected to assist customers with any
service on priority basis. Besides the regular
proactive reminder calls for bill payment,
customers can also call CareTouch for bill
payments at free of cost.

• Airtel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-

air’ SMS based interactive music dedication
show exclusively for Airtel and Airtel Magic
customers. Highly interactive VJ based show
with real-time feedback mechanism. Both
brands joined hands to target the high
growth youth segment.

Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-

First, brand building efforts in today’s

context have to be seen in a more holistic
manner. Delivering value on a sustained
basis is perhaps the most potent key to build
a brand that lasts. Unflinching orientation to
customer needs is the second key success
factor. Customers (be it for industrial
products or consumer goods and services)
across the world are more informed and, at
the same time, becoming more individualistic
in their needs and far more demanding with
the passage of time.

Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer

behavior, anticipating redefined or emerging
customer needs, and then reacting in “real-
time” are essential to attract and retain
customer loyalty — a key element of creating
brand equity in the present situation.
Customizing the product (and communication
of its benefit) to meet the specific needs of
various consumer/customer sub-segments is
the third element in creating brand
appreciation. As far as allocation of time and
financial resources are concerned, too many
companies mistakenly allocate a
disproportionate amount on mere
advertising and promotion. This is not to say
that advertising and promotion are less
relevant. On the contrary, with more choices
and higher media clutter, businesses need to
budget for an increasingly higher spend on
their brand promotion but this has to be
undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide
“reengineering” of the business Philosophy
and core design, production, and delivery
operations for the product itself. The
positive spin to this argument is that by first
addressing the fundamentals, the enterprise
itself
becomes more competitive. This can be the
beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand
equity continues to increase as the
enterprise sustains delivery of an
appropriate product or service at an ever
increasing value. It is, however, crucial to
note that in the years to come, not only will
the cost of building a regional
or a national (or an international) brand will
continue to rise but also the time taken to do
so will be longer and will need sustained and
focused efforts.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF
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\set and onward.

Free support and services

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.
COMPARISON BETWEEN AIRTEL
& VODAFONE-

Purpose of comparison

• The sub main purpose of this report is to

compare the marketing Strategies adopted
by
Bharti Airtel and its rival Vodafone
• The comparison shows how both of the
companies have been challenging each other
to
gain market shares.

Why comparison with Vodafone

 Bharti Airtel is the leader in

telecommunication sector.

 Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of

market of communication sector.

 However, Vodafone has been giving tough

competition to Bharti Airtel.

 Vodafone is the second largest player and

share holder in Communication sector.
 Since its launch Vodafone has been
adopting aggressive marketing strategies
.
 The comparison shows how Hutchison
Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market share
in one month of its first launch of postpaid
subscription in 2002.AD.

 With a different technology Vodafone

creates its own market.

 Vodafone deals in every business of

communication sector.

 Vodafone making and changing the

strategies to capture the market shares

BRAND POSITIONING BY BHARTI

AIRTEL-

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

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

Positioning
 Creating brands (Shahrukh khan & Sachin
Tendulker)
 Ads and promotions
 Promotion for poor children.

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

BRAND POSITIONING BY VODAFONE-

Market segmentation-
 Geographical segment (rural India)
 Demographic segment - middle income
groups
Target marketing-
 People living in small towns and villages.
 Poor and middle income groups.
 Youngsters in big cities.
 Businessmen

Positioning-
 Creating brands
 Ads and promotions

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

Services provided by Bharti Airtel-

• Mobile services with GSM technology

• Fixed-line connections
• National and international long distance
services
• VSAT, Internet services and network
solutions
• Broadband services

Services provided by Vodafone –

●mobile services with GSM technology

●fixed-line telephone services
●Universal Internetworking
●VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
●Interactive Television
●Visual Communication
●Broadband Portal
RESEARCH METHODOLOY-
Achieving accuracy in any research requires
a deep study regarding the subject. The
prime objective of the project is to compare
Airtel with the existing competitor
(Vodafone) in the market and the impact of
WLL on Airtel.

The research methodology adopted is

basically based on primary data via which
the most recent and accurate piece of first
hand information could be collected.
Secondary data has been used to support
primary data wherever needed.
Primary data was collected using the
following techniques-
-Questionnaire Method
-Direct Interview Method and
-Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire

method. Further direct interview method,
where a face-to-face formal interview was
taken. Lastly observation method has been
continuous with the Questionnaire method,
as one continuously observes the
surrounding environment he works in.

TYPE OF RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY-
EXPLORATORY:

Type of research carried out was exploratory

in nature; the Objective of such research is
to determine the approximate area where
the drawback of the company lies and also to
identify the Course of action to solve it. For
this purpose the information proved Useful
for giving right suggestion to the company.
DATA COLLECTION METHOD-
There two type of method of data collection-

• PRIMARY DATA
• SECONDARY DATA

Primary data was collected using the

following techniques
-Questionnaire Method
-Direct Interview Method and
-Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire

method. Further direct interview method,
where a face-to-face formal interview was
taken. Lastly observation method has been
continuous with the
Questionnaire method, as one continuously
observes the surrounding environment he
works in.

DATA USED FOR THE RESEARCH WORK WAS

PRIMARY IN NATURE.

PRIMARY DATA:
Primary data is that which is the collected
for the fist time and thus happen to be
originated in character.

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY :
In the studies a questionnaire is prepared.
The questionnaire Consists of 21 questions.

SECONDARY DATA:

Secondary data refer to the data that has

been already
Collected .the secondary data, which has
been used to carry out this
Study, are as follow:
• books, journals, magazines, newspapers
• industry reports
• company’s internet site
• some other relevant study material and
websites.

SAMPLE UNIT: - JAIPUR MARKET

The research process was done by

interacting with number of Customers during
the activities performed, which included,
markets, Cold calling, canopies, etc.
Sample design consists of random sampling.
SAMPLE SIZE: - 50 PEOPLE

METHOD OF COLLECTION-
Field procedure for gathering primary data
included observation and interview schedule
in which the questionnaires were filed by the
Interviewer.
Personal interviews through self
administered survey was done to Collect the
data, market research was undertaken, that
was accomplished by performing various
activities designed.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT:
Questionnaire

The questionnaire was formulated by keep in

mind the following Points: -

• Giving the respondents clear

comprehension of the question.
• Inducing the respondents to co-operate.
• giving instructions as to what is needed.
• Identifying the needs that to be known.
DATA ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION-

• Subscriber numbers in (mn) held by

Vodafone and Airtel-

June- Sep- Dec- Mar- Dec- Mar-

05 06 07 08 09 10
Airtel 3.19 4.62 5.50 6.54 10.98 14.07
Vodafo 1.82 4.19 6.24 7.26 10.45 12.99
ne
FINDINGS & ANALYSIS –
Age Group Graph-

As we can see from the above graph, the people

who are in the age group of 21-28 years are the
ones who are the maximum users of mobile
phones. This segment is the one which gives
maximum business to the mobile operators. This
segment constitutes the young executives and
other office going people. They are 65% of the
total people who were interviewed. The next age
group are the people who are 28-35 years old.
They are 20% of the total. They are those who are
at home or have small business units etc. And the
next age group is the youngest generation who are
15-21 years old. They are school and college going
students and carry mobile phones to flaunt. They
are 15% of the total interviewed people.

Occupation Graph-

As the above graph shows that 55% of the total

people interviewed are working. So, these people
are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile
phones. They are the young executives, managers,
Tele - callers etc. who require mobile for their
official purposes. The next category is the
households, who are either housewife, small units
which operate from their homes etc. They are 20%
of the whole. The next segment is the students.
They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of the whole
is categories who are the professionals.
Service Provider Graph-

These are the total market share of mobile

user or people captured by the mobile
provider company. There two major company
in mobile phone service sector Vodafone and
Airtel who respectively hold the market
share with other company as 17% and 20% of
total market user segment of mobile
customer.

Customer Service At Airtel Graph-

As the above graph clearly shows that

customer services at Airtel seems poor. 60% of the
people are dissatisfied with the customer services
provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the
maximum share in the market but they are lagging
behind in the customer services. 10% of the people
were fully dissatisfied with the customer services
of Airtel. This could leave an impact on the mind of
the consumer. He can even switch over his brand.
20% of the people seemed partially satisfied with
the customer services and only 10% seem to be
fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer services,
which is a very small amount.

Type Of Card Graph-

 Cash cards seemed quite popular among
the people interviewed. 85% of the total
mobile users were having cash card
connections. This means that the cash cards
should be easily and readily available in the
local markets. Airtel should make sure that
Magic is available in each and every nook
and corner of the market. 15% of the people
were having sim connections which is the
regular bill.

Awareness About WLL Graph-

 WLL seemed to be a new word for many
of the people. 45% of the people were not at
all aware of such a technology. So, in order
to get the answer for this question they were
first explained the concept. Only, 55% people
knew what WLL is all about.

CUSTOMER RESPONSE
TOWARDS
QUESTIONNAIRE-
Q.1. Which brand of telecommunication you
prefer more?

 Airtel
 Vodafone
Q.2. How long have you been using this
brand ?

 0-2 years
 2-5 years
 5-10 years
 More than 10 years
Q.3. Are you using another brand with
airtel / Vodafone ?

 Yes
 No
Here are the customer responses about the
use of the Airtel product and other product
rather than Airtel. In this segment of survey
62 % of customer are aspire with Airtel and
38 % shown interest in other telecom
products in urban areas.

Q.4. What are the benefits/likings you are looking

for ?
 Call rates

 Proper network
  GPRS

 All the above

Q.5. Which brand do you prefer for internet

connection ?
 Airtel

 Vodafone
Q.6. Have you ever experienced the CUG (Closed
User Group) with your network ?
 Yes

 No
Q.7. Are you satisfied with the services of the
brand which you are using ?
 Yes

 No

Here are the customer responses about whether

customers are satisfied with the brand which they
are using . In this segment of survey, 70% of
customer are satisfied with the services of their
brand and 30% are not.
Q.8. Roaming charges facilities of which brand is
more lucrative ?
 Airtel

 Vodafone

According to the response given by people in this

survey, they feel that roaming charges facility of
Vodafone is slightly good than Airtel.
Q.9. How often do you call customer care ?
 Once in a week

 Twice a week

 Daily

 No, I don’t call

Q.10. Schemes/offers of which brand is more
lucrative ?
 Airtel

 Vodafone
 Here, in this segment of survey 58% of
customers are like the schemes and offers of Airtel
& 42% like Vodafone.

Q.11. How is the recent logo positioning of Airtel ?

 Bad
 Average

 Good

 Excellent
According to this , people are not very happy
with the recent logo of the Airtel but still some
people are liking it.

Q.12. Which network would you prefer for

your friends?
 Airtel

 Vodafone
SWOT ANALYSIS-

Strengths:

• Being one of the largest companies in India

the company has achieved a degree of focus
in its core business of its products.
• It has a strong brand name, superior
quality products and an enviable distribution
network.
• It has a clear and well-defined organization
structure and limits of financial authority.
• Increase in advertisement spends affect
the company’s margins.
• The company‘s bottom line falls victim to
the bloated and highly paid workforce, which
affects its margins.

Weakness:

• Little efforts over the Advertising of

products.
• Distribution channel is not accurately
categorized.
• Premium priced products, hence can’t
compete in low price segment.
• No separate strategy for rural market.
Opportunities:

• The company's financial performance can

receive a major boost from its cost reduction
efforts.
• There is a lot of scope of product and
market diversification.
• Exports of products will also have huge
chances in the coming years.
• Airtel’s business has ample scope for
gaining market share from the unorganized
sector. Rural penetration too holds vast
potential to bring about growth.

Threats:

• The slowdown in the economy has

restricted topline growth of most FMCG
majors and for Airtel also it will be difficult to
maintain historical growth rates in such a
depressed scenario.
• Company’s major raw materials are
influenced by government policies / controls
as well as vagaries of the monsoons.
Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials
would have significant impact on costs and
margins of the company.
Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band
Internet products would also increases
company’s production and distribution cost.

SUGGESTIONS-

Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL

for improving the market share and image of
the
Products concerned:

1. PRODUCT-

*Modification must be brought about in

AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand
should be increased.

2. PLACE-

* The brands must be made available easily

in, PCO & general stores.

3.PROMOTION-
*Company must undertake extensive
promotional activities like advertisements
must be released in different Medias to
create brand awareness.

*Free samples should be distributed among

the prospects. 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.

4.PRICE-

* Price should be as competitive as other

company maintains

* Distribution of new connection should be in

reach of customer pocket.
LIMITATIONS:

No project is without limitations and it

becomes essential to figure out the various
constraints that
we underwent during the study. The
following points in this direction would add
to our total deliberations:-
1.During the study, on many occasions the
respondent groups gave us a cold
shoulder.

2.The respondents from whom primary

data was gathered any times displayed
complete Ignorance about the complete
branded range, which was being studied.

3.Lack of time is the basic limitation in the

project.

4.Some retailers/whole sellers refuse to

cooperate with the queries.

5.Some retailers/wholesalers gave biased

or incomplete information regarding the
study.

6.Money played a vital factor in the whole

project duration.

7.Lack of proper information and

experience due to short period of time.
8.Some retailers did not answer all the
questions or do not have time to
answer.
 After analyzing the findings of the research,
I can conclude that Airtel lagged behind its
competitors as far as customer service and
availability is concerned. The maximum no.
of people who use the mobile is in the age
group of 21 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.

As Airtel 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.

So we can say that in spite of so many

competitors in the market Airtel is having a
good position just because every time, it
tries its best to understand the
need of its important customers. From the
comparison and deep analysis of every
aspect of
business of both the companies we can
Conclude that bharti Airtel has to more work
in every field of communication business. It
is the time not only to survive but to sustain
in the market for a long time. For this Airtel
has to work on its all marketing strategies,
marketing, promotion, brand image.etc.
Airtel has to take Vodafone. Very seriously
and update its own strategies from time to
time and when the need arises. With
aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to
target rural India as 70% of population of
India lives in these areas. The other segment
may be costumers of all age groups.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:

In this project report, while finalizing and for

analyzing quality problem in details the
following Books, Magazines/Journals and
Web Sites have been referred. All the
material detailed below provides effective
help and a guiding layout while designing
this text report.

BOOK- Kotler Philip, Marketing Management,

Pearson Education, Eleventh Edition

WEBSITE- www.vodafone.in
www.airtelworld.com
www.fonearena.com/blog/.../do-
you-like-the-new-airtel-logo.html
www.news.indiamicrofinance.c
om/airtel-new-logo-2010-2983y4/