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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Telecom Industry in India: The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world. Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China. Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%. China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%. Considering the fact that India and China has almost comparable populations, Indias low mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth. History of Indian Telecommunications: Started in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were
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introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and longdistance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international

telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas. In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of
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telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also launched in the same year. Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable,
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high- end services, such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing. Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

CHAPTER 2 COMPANY PROFILE Company Information As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate in 11 circles. With a customer base of over 10 million, IDEA Cellular has operations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UPWest, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 45% of India's population and over 50% of the potential telecom-market. As a leader in Value Added Services, Innovation is central to IDEA's VAS Factory. It is the first cellular company to launch music messaging with 'Cellular Jockey','Background Tones', 'Group Talk', a voice portal with 'Say IDEA' and a complete suite of Mobile EmailServices. A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in India, with'Super Power', 2 Minutes Outgoing Free, Lifelong offerand other segmented

offerings like Women'sCard. 'Lifetime Idea'is the first and only loyalty program, for pre paid customers, introduced by a Cellular brand. Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand known for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch GPRSand EDGE in the country. The latest feather in Idea's cap is GSM Association Award for CARE. It is the second GSM Association award that Idea has won, the first one being for Bill Flash. Idea Cellular is part of the Aditya Birla Group, which is India's first truly multinational corporation. Global in vision, rooted in Indian values, the group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on value creation for its multiple stakeholders. The combined holding of the Aditya Birla Group companies in Idea stands at around 57 per cent. With ambitious future plans, the company is poised for rapid growth.

MISSION The Indian telecommunications market for mobile services is divided into 23 Circles. There are four metropolitan Circles, covering the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, and 19 Circles classified by the Government as category A, category B or category C, which cover the rest of India. These classifications are based principally on a Circles revenue generating potential, with metropolitan and category A Circles having the highest revenue potential.

Established Circles IDEA operate in the metropolitan Circle of Delhi, the category A Circles of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and the category B Circles of Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West). Licenses for the Maharashtra and Gujarat Circles were awarded to us in December 1995, with network rollout and commercial launch achieved in 1997. Subsequently, in January 2000, we merged with Tata Cellular Limited, the mobile operator in the Andhra Pradesh Circle, and integrated its operations into ours by January 2001. In February 2001, we acquired RPG Cellcom Limited, the mobile operator in the Madhya Pradesh Circle,
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with full integration of this Circle with ours achieved by June 2001. We acquired the license for the Delhi Circle during the fourth mobile license auction in October 2001, with network rollout and commercial launch by November 2002. Escotel Mobile Communications Private Limited (Escotel), which we acquired in January 2004, was awarded the original licenses in the Circles of

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MANAGEMENT HIRERKEY Board of Directors Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman) Smt. Rajashree Birla Mr. M.R. Prasanna Mr. SaurabhMisra Mr. Sanjeev Aga (Managing Director) Mr. ArunThiagarajan Ms. TarjaniVakil Mr. Mohan Gyani Mr. Biswajit Anna Subramanian Mr. GianPrakash Gupta Management Team Corporate Leadership Team Mr. Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director Mr. Anil J. Jhala, Chief Financial Officer Mr. Anil K. Tandan, Chief Technology Officer Mr. Prakash K. Paranjape, Chief Information Officer

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Mr. PradeepShrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer Mr. Amar Babu R K, Chief Service Delivery Officer Mr. Vinay K. Razdan, Chief Human Resource Officer Mr. Rajat K. Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mr. Rajesh K. Srivastava, Chief Materials & Procurement Officer Mr. Ambrish Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Mr. HimanshuKapania, Chief Operating Officer, Corporate

Circle Heads Mr. IyerSubbaraman S., Chief Operating Officer, Andhra Pradesh Mr. RajendraChourasia, Chief Operating Officer, Delhi & NCR Mr. Gururaj D. Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer, Gujarat Mr. Cherian Peter, Vice President - Operations, Haryana & Himachal Pradesh Mr. T. G. B. Ramakrishna, Chief Operating Officer, Kerala Mr. S. Sashi Shankar, Chief Operating Officer, Madhya Pradesh &Chattisgarh Mr. P. Lakshminarayana, Chief Operating Officer, Maharashtra & Goa

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Mr. ViradKaul, Chief Operating Officer, Uttar Pradesh (West) Mr. Subodh K. Srivastav, Vice President - Operations, Uttar Pradesh (East) Mr. Puneet Krishnan, Vice President - Operations, Rajasthan

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Coverage Idea Cellular Ltd has seen phenomenal growth since its inception. Idea Cellular's footprint idea is to first achieve critical mass, then drill deep instead of spreading thin.

In keeping with this, the company has been providing excellent service to its subscribers in various states. It controls a portfolio of India's most attractive and contiguous telecom geographies, including the circles of Andhra Pradesh&Delhi (inclusive of NCR), Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh &Chattisgarh,

Himachal Pradesh,

Maharashtra & Goa (excluding Mumbai), Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (W), Uttar Pradesh (E). With a footprint dominating the map of India, Idea Cellular accesses over 60% of India's total telephony potential. The company is now poised to launch its services in new circles - namely Mumbai and Bihar. Idea Cellular Ltd, however, does not believe only in increasing geographic footprint - it also drills deep and successfully attempts to provide excellent network coverage in all its circles of operations. Brand Information

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The brand Idea It is almost impossible to disintegrate brand Idea from the corporate Idea. Brand values are the company values and vise versa. Brand Vision: It goes without saying that the brand vision of idea mirrors the companys vision. The brand mission statement is...... To be the most customer-focused mobile service brand, continuously innovating to help liberate our customers from the shackles of time & space.

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IDEA - Brand Values Innovate. Stimulate. Liberate.... It is these brand values, which have made us a formidable player in the telecom industry. Innovations that stimulate the customer and liberate him from the shackles of time and space are the core of our brand. This is what we strive for. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. IDEA - Brand Mission The India footprint Idea Anywhere connectivity - bringing India closer. The Technology Advantage Idea Tomorrow's technology to enrich today. The Customer Focus Idea Make a single interaction a lasting relationship. The Employee Focus Idea Nurture the roots that nurture our ideas. Brand Initiatives Our aim, through media buying and planning, is to create year round impact. With the objective of strengthening our brand, we work with

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strategic communication partners on campaigns like sponsorship of the Idea International Indian Film Academy awards and the television programs Idea Rocks India, Idea Star Singer and Idea Andhra Idol. We seek engagement with subscribers on a variety of levels, from major celebrity fashion shows to small local events timed to coincide with new product offerings. Since August 2003, we have commissioned a Brand Track Index Study to evaluate the health of our brand. The Brand Track Index Study is a monthly study conducted by TNS, a marketing consultant engaged by us to evaluate our brand using face-to-face interviews on a random sample of mobile users a well as those intending to purchase mobiles within the next three months. According to the study our brand is perceived as reliable/trustworthy and one that offers cheaper and good promotional offers. We have improved our rating in the Brand Track Index calculated by the study in the past year reflecting, we believe, the growing strength of our brand. The main communication medium for the Idea brand is television, where we seek strategic Idea brand coverage in various formats. Billboards and hoardings are used as a secondary medium, customized for specific
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regional preferences to communicate effectively at the local level. We also use other mass communication media such as the press and radio to communicate price plans and other tactical and customer information. All our key initiatives are subjected to a rigorous testing and launch process to ensure accountability for all advertising spend and improve the chances of success of a new product. This process is followed up with extensive briefing of call center agents and sales personnel and real-time tracking of the impact of the communication and feedback from subscribers. Our Values Values We Value : Integrity - Honesty in every action At Aditya Birla Group, Integrity is defined as: Acting and taking decisions in a manner that is fair, honest, following the highest standards of professionalism and also perceived to be so. Integrity for us means not only financial and intellectual integrity, but in all other forms as are commonly understood.

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Key words that connote Integrity are: Ethical Truthful Principled Transparent Upright Respectful Commitment - deliver on the promise At Aditya Birla Group Commitment is defined as: On the foundation of integrity, doing whatever it takes to deliver value to all stakeholders. In the process, taking ownership of our actions and decisions, those of our team and that part of the organization that we are responsible for. Key words that connote commitment are: Accountability Discipline Responsibility Result orientation Self-confidence Reliability Passion - energized action At Aditya Birla Group Passion is defined as: A missionary zeal arising out of emotional engagement with the organization that makes work joyful and inspires each one to give his or her best. Relentless pursuit of

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goals and objectives with the highest level of energy and enthusiasm, that is voluntary and spontaneous. Key words that connote passion are: Intensity Innovation Transformational Fire-in-the-belly Inspirational Deep sense of purpose

Seamlessness - boundryless in letter and spirit At Aditya Birla Group, Seamlessness is defined as:

Thinking and working together across functional silos, hierarchies, business and geographies. Leveraging the available diversity to garner synergy benefits and promote openness through sharing and collaborative efforts. Key words that can note Seamlessness are: Teamwork Integration Involvement Openness Global Learning from the best Empowering.
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Speed-onestep ahead always At Aditya Birla Group, Speed is defined as: Responding to internal and external customers with a sense of urgency. Continuously seeking to crash timelines and choosing the right rhythm to optimize organization efficiencies. Key words that can note Speed are: Response time Agile Accelerated Timelines Nimble Prompt Proactive Decisive

Our Promoters The Aditya Birla Group is India's first truly multinational corporation. Global in vision, rooted in Indian values, the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on value creation for its multiple stakeholders. Its 66 state-of-the-art manufacturing units and sectoral services span India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, Australia and China.

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SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Cost advantage Current leaders in quality service Largest distribution network Ability to constantly innovate Highly skilled workforce Entrepreneurial zeal Ideal increased equity and market cap.

WEAKNESSES To prove credibility Price pressures Need for Government support Awareness Sales and Marketing

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OPPORTUNITIES To sustain passion and commitment Idea market share increasing at other service provider expense. Thus opportunity to wipe it out. Attain higher value services Collaborative business needs to be explored Vertical repeatable solutions. Low penetration level in rural markets.

THREATS Foreign investment Global trends moving from GPS to WLL. Lack of global parity in telecom tariff Other competition

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Chapter 3 OBJECTIVES The objectives of the study are . To understand Marketing and Advertisement Strategy of Idea Cellular. To understand the customer purchase decision behavior about the telecom sector and his preferences. To understand the level of customer satisfaction in idea. To understand the needs of different consumer segments. To understand the retailer satisfaction in idea.

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The project under taken was to study Marketing strategy of Idea Cellular in Meerut . As per this study I analyzed : Brand Recall of Idea, Effect of Advertising on Consumer Attitude, Consumer Perception about Idea, and Present Advertising Strategy of Idea. Our study area was Meerut . My study is helpful for many players in Telecom to make following strategies related to advertising for any particular company: Advertising strategy according to the age of final users. To analyze the brand recall of other products in the same segment. To analyze the perception of consumers related to ads of durables.

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CHAPTER 4 LITERATURE REVIEW Marketing Research Process

1. Define the problem, the decision alternatives, and the research objectives. 6. Make the Decision 2. Develop the Research plan

Market Research Process

5. Present the Findings 3. Collect the Information

4. Analyze the Information

Step 1: Define the problem, the decision alternatives, and the research objectives There are many brands available in market like Airtel, Vodafone, Tata, Reliance and Virgin. So, if any of these mobile operators give new schemes in

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less price then customers easily get attract from the scheme and switch over from our brand. Step 2: Develop the research Plan The second stage of marketing research requires developing the most efficient plan for gathering the required information. This involves decision on the data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods. So the research we will select questioner method i.e. we will prepare questioner and do the research. Sampling plan: After deciding on the research approach and instruments, the marketing researcher must design sampling plan. These call for 3 decisions. 1. Sampling Unit: Who should we survey? In Idea Cellular the target consumer is the consumer of age between 15 to 60 years. 2. Sample Size: How many people should we survey? In this step marketer decides from which area and number of sample they take for research. For e.g. the researcher decides to take the sample of 200 respondents from the society.
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3. Sampling procedure: how should we choose the respondents? After the researcher has decided the sample unit and sample size they should decide how should be choose the respondents. There are two sampling procedure. Probability sample: it means he gives equal chance to all the respondents. Non probability sample: it means unequal chance to the respondent.

And for the researcher non probability sample is easy to reach to the respondents for his research process. Research will choose non probability sample and in this process he will choose convenient sample i.e. the researcher select the most assessable population members. Step 3: Collect the information The data collection phase of marketing research is the most expensive and the most prostrate to error. Today is the era of computer technology and so the researcher will use computer technologies i.e. new researcher software,
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internet etc. and face to face methods for fill up the questionnaire and gather the information. Step 4: Analyze the information The next step in the process is to extract findings by analyzing the information and developing frequency distribution. The researchers now compute averages and measures of dispersion for the major variables and apply statistical techniques and decision models in the hope of discovering additional findings. Step 5: Present the findings As the last step, the researcher presents findings relevant to the major marketing decisions facing management. Researchers increasingly are being asked to play a consulting role in translating data and information into recommendations. They are also considering ways to present research findings in as understandable and compelling a fashion as possible. Step 6: Make the decision The study conducted is a conclusive descriptive statistical study; the researcher comes to the decision which is precise and rational. The study is

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conclusive because after doing the study the researcher comes to a conclusion regarding the position of the brand in the minds of respondents of different firms groups. The study is statistical because throughout the study all the similar samples are selected and group together. All the similar responses are taken together as one and their percentages are calculated. Thus, this conclusive descriptive statistical study is the best study for this purpose as it provides the necessary information which is utilize to arrive at a concrete decision

Forecasting and Estimating Demand One main reason for undertaking marketing research is to identify market opportunities for our product. Once the research is completed, company must forecast size, growth and profit for market opportunities. 1. Measure of Market Demand: Potential Market: Potential market is the set of consumers who acknowledge a sufficient level of interest in a market. So many people use mobile phones and have
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interest in purchase of new simcard for new mobile phones as well as old mobile phones for experience a new services and schemes. So the potential market of idea cellular is large. Available Market: Available market is the set of consumers who have interest, income, and access to particular offer. The price of idea simcard is reasonable with lower call rates and new schemes. So that customers attract from idea simcard and so the available marker of idea simcard is large. Qualified Available Market: Qualified available market is the set of consumer who have interest, income, access and qualification for the particular product. As the idea simcard does not require any such qualification so there is no need for the idea simcard for this market. Target Market: Target market is the set of qualified available market the company decides to pursue. The Idea Cellular Services might decide to concentrate its marketing and distribution effort on particular area or particular villages

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where the network of idea cellular is not available. So the Idea Cellular decides to put its effort for Idea Cellular Services in particular areas or villages. Now a day Idea Cellular has started to give a new network towers in small villages for choosing their target market. Penetrated Market: Penetrated market is set of consumers who are buying the companys product. As the Idea Cellular made its effort on small villages and some particular areas and in India most of the people especially young generation wants new schemes and less call rates and also new sms schemes and Idea Cellular provides all these facilities in lower cost as compare to other one. So the penetrated market of the Idea Cellular is also large.

2. Estimating Current Demand: Researcher is now ready to examine some of methods for estimating current market demand. Marketing executives want to estimate total market potential, area market potential and total industry sales and market share.

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 Total Market Potential: Total Market Potential is the maximum amount of sales that might be available to all the firms in an industry during a given period, under a given level of industry marketing effort and environment conditions. A common way to estimate total market potential is as follows:-

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Total Market Potential = Potential No. of Buyers X Average Quantity Purchased By a Buyer X Price

For e.g.: Total Market Potential = 20000 buyers X 1 simcard X Rs. 30 = Rs. 6,00,000 Total Market Potential

Area Market Potential: Companies face the problem of selecting the best territories and allocating their marketing budget optimally among these territories. Therefore, they need to estimate the market potential of different districts, towns, cities, states, and nations. Two major methods of assessing area market potential are available: the market builds up method, which is used primarily by business marketers, and the multiple-factor index method, which is used primarily by consumer marketers. The marketer has decided to use Market-Buildup Method as this method gives accurate result.
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Consumer Buying Behavior Factor Affecting To Product Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and organization select, buy, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and wants. A consumers buying behavior is affected by cultural and social factors. Cultural Factors: Culture: As in Idea Prepaid Simcards, the cultural factor is not affecting much. Social class: Social class includes lower class, middle class and upper class. This sometimes affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard, because these all categories people mostly prefer Idea Prepaid Simcard because of lower call rate in reasonable charges. So it affects to the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard. Social Factors: Social factors such as reference groups, family, and social roles and statuses affect consumer buying behavior.
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Reference group: The reference group is that who connected or daily communicate with each other like family, friends, neighborhood, relatives etc. So because of this reference group they provide the information of Idea Prepaid Simcard like services and other facilities, by knowing some of the good features and services by reference group of this product person can easily influenced by them and so that the demand of the product also increase. Family: The family is the most important consumer buying organization in society, and family members constitute the most influential primary reference group. In family if some one using the service of Idea Prepaid Simcard than the other members is influenced by the family members and also use the service of Idea Prepaid Simcard. Status: One of the advertisement campaign is Aaj Se Koi Bi Apne Nam Se Nahi Jana Jayega. From this campaign many high level people and also politicians using Idea Prepaid Simcard because of adding value in their status. So status also affect in increasing in demand. Personal Factors:

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Age and stage in the life cycle: This affects much when a students in their schooling they dont want much services and schemes in prepaid simcards, but after passing their schooling they entered in college and so that at that time they wants more services and schemes in reasonable price for connecting with friends and relatives or increase their contacts. So this factor is much affects on demand of Idea Prepaid Simcard. Occupation and economic circumstances: This also affects the demand because in any occupation company have a more contacts with customers, suppliers etc. so that they wants to connected with their suppliers and customers and so that they want less call rate in reasonable price. So occupation and economic circumstances are also affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard. Personality and self concept: This has also affect on the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcard because a person has its own view point of selecting the product and if does not like the Idea Prepaid Service he may switch over to the other prepaid simcard.

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Lifestyle and values: It also affects the demand of the Idea Prepaid Simcards because persons lifestyle and its value play a great role in choosing any product. Identify Market Segment of the Product We can segment any product into Geographic, Demographic,

Psychographic and Behavioral. So the market segment of Idea Prepaid Simcard is as below.

Geographic: Region: Idea GSM services are licensed in 13 circles of India, so that these services are used by people in different circles and also used by different region people. City: Idea Prepaid Simcard is used in metro city, mega city and also in small villages because of reasonable prices and also offered many schemes for people in less monthly rental.

Demographic:
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Age: Idea Prepaid Simcard is used by age group of 15 to 55 years. Now-adays this prepaid service is also used by below this age group. Family size: We can also segment our product based on family size because if the family size is large and if they are using more mobile phones in family for connected with each other then they also using prepaid services. Income: Income is not much affects in segmenting the market because price of Idea Prepaid is reasonable and the lower class people also afford it. Occupation: Occupation also affect in segmenting the market because Idea Prepaid simcard is only not used by lower class and middle class people but also used by higher class people who have their own business. Education: Education does not affect the segment of the Idea Prepaid Simcard because Idea Prepaid Simcard has been used by educated people as well as uneducated people.

Psychographic:-

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Lifestyle: Lifestyle also affects in segmenting the market. So the marketer while segmenting the market of Idea Prepaid should keep this in his mind, because high class people also using this service. Personality: Personality does not affect the Idea Prepaid Service in segmenting his market.

Behaviour: Behviour does not affect in segmenting the market.

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Select Brand Element for Product There are six main criteria for choosing brand elements. The first threeMemorable, Meaningful, and likeable are brand building. The latter three are Transferable, Adaptable, and Protectable are defensive. Memorable: How easily is the brand element recalled and recognized? Idea Cellular is having a reputed telecommunication service, and having a good logo. Idea Cellular Service has a good punch line An Idea Can Change Your Life and For the People, By the People which is very easy in recall it. Meaningful: Is the brand element credible and suggestive of the corresponding category? Idea Cellular Service is having a punch line An Idea Can Change Your Life means new ideas gives you new life for enjoyment and success. Likable: Idea Prepared simcard liked by most of the people and most of the people wants to use it because of good service provide by them in affordable price.

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Adaptable: Idea Cellular Service is providing two services i.e. prepaid and postpaid. So when people can here these two services of Idea Cellular then they easily recall the name of Idea Cellular Service.

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Develop Product Life Cycle

Introduction: In the initial stage Idea Cellular was introduced in all the major cities of India. There were many competitors in the telecommunication business, which provided the line-based connection and wireless connection whereas Idea Cellular provided the wireless connections to the customers. So profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses on giving schemes of service introduction. In the case of Idea Prepaid Service as it was introduced in the year 1995 so it was the introduction stage.

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Growth: In the growth stage, the Idea Cellular sales started growing. And the profits also started rising. Idea Prepaid Service growth stage was year 2002 because by the 2002s, Idea Prepaid got the 1 million subscribers, and in 2005 it crossed 5 million subscribers. Maturity: Idea Cellular is right now in the maturity stage, because they have got most of the market share. There has also been an increase in competition; new companies like Reliance GSM, Aircel etc. also enter into the market. The Idea Cellular had made not only the service modification, but also extend their market. So, we can say that Idea Cellular is today on its maturity stage of its product life cycle.

Differentiate your Product from Competitors in the market Differentiation is actually differentiating the market offering to create superior customer value, once a company has chosen a desired position it must take strong strips to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company entire marketing program should support the

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chosen positioning strategy. Idea Cellular has differentiation its products by doing different activities as follows: Price affordability Hire famous personalities Only company offers package for ladies Roaming facilities in affordable charges Idea Cellular PCO Now we can differentiate Idea Cellular from competitors in the market as below. Brand Name: As compared with its competitors Idea Cellular is having good brand name in the market and they can easily attract their target customers by their name and which is most important for differentiate brand from competitors. Preferences: As prepaid simcard users uses the simcards as per their convenient. Most of the people want more schemes and less call rates in reasonable prices. So that customer can choose services as per their choice and preference.
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Promotion: Idea cellular Ltd. is using promotion strategy for increase the sales and demand of the product. They are giving schemes like free sms services, GPRS service, less call rates etc. in reasonable monthly rental so that customer can easily attract from this promotional schemes. Classify the Product Marketers have traditionally classified products on the basis of durability, tangibility and use (consumer or industrial). Each product type has appropriate marketing-mix strategy. Durable and tangibility: Durability: Idea Prepaid Simcard is durable goods because it is not purchased by the buyers on regular basis. Services: Services are intangible, inspirable, variable and perishable products. As a result they normally required more quality control, supplier credibility and adaptability. As in Idea Prepaid Service they provides VAS (Value Added Service), Roaming facilities etc. Consumer Goods Classification:

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We classify the vast array of goods consumers buy on the basis of shopping habits. We distinguish among convenience, shopping, specialty and unsought goods. Convenience goods: In convenience goods the Idea Prepaid Simcard is impulse goods because it is purchased without any planning and such efforts.

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Long Term Pricing Strategy a) At what stage in the life cycle is the product? Idea Cellular is right now in the maturity stage, because there has also been an increase in competition; new companies like Reliance GSM, Aircel etc. also enter into the market. b) What is its current price? The current price of Idea Prepaid Simcard is Rs. 30. In this price they gave Rs. 10 talk time and life time validity because of more competition in market. c) What price do its competitors charge? The competitors of Idea Prepaid are also giving this all facilities in same price of Rs. 30. Competitor like Vodafone is giving free prepaid simcards with Rs. 10 talk time and lifetime validity for increasing in users of their services. d) What prices will you charge in the remaining stages of the product life cycle?

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Right now Idea Cellular is in the stage of maturity, but if this fall into decline stage than I have also reduce the price as per the competitors price and give more schemes. Because of this price I will increase my sales and users of our product. e) What objectives will be accomplished this way? How? To increase the market share To achieve high return on capital To increase awareness of the product in market To fight with competitors

Marketing Channel The marketing channel of Idea Cellular is as below.

In this channel first manufacture produce the simcards and then they sent to the wholesaler as per the order. Wholesalers send to the retailers and shopkeepers and then lastly retailer sales to customer.

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PULL Strategy is develop by the Idea Cellular. As Idea Cellular is very known brand and is punch line is For the People, By the People and An Idea Can Change Your Life which is very good thats why Penetrated Market consumer know about that and they ask about Idea Prepaid Simcards. Distribution Strategy There are three types of distribution strategies.

1. Exclusive distribution 2. Selective distribution 3. Intensive distribution

Exclusive Distribution: Exclusive distribution means severely limiting the number of intermediaries. It is appropriate when the producer wants to maintain control over the service level & outputs offered by the resellers & it often includes exclusive dealings arrangement by granting exclusive distribution, the producer hope to obtain more dedicated & knowledgeable.

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Selective Distribution: Selective distribution relies on more than a few but less than all of the intermediaries willing to carry a particular product. It makes sense for established companies seeking distributors.

Intensive Distribution: In intensive distribution the manufacturer places the goods or services in as many outlets as possible. This strategy is used for items such as snack foods, soft drinks, newspapers, candies etc.

manufacturer

Wholesaler

Retailer

Consumer

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Distribution Strategy for Idea Cellular: We will use selective distribution. It involves the use of less intermediaries who are willing to carry the particular product. It can gain adequate market coverage with more control and less cost.

Advertisement of Idea Cellular Ltd.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1. According to Clifford Woody Research comprises defining and redefining problems formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fir the formulating hypothesis. 2. Research approaches 3. Descriptive research. The research study is conducted through descriptive research. Descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way or to identify the cause of something that is happening. For instance, this research could be used in order to find out what age group is buying a particular Brand of the product, where a companys market share differs between geographical region or to discover how many competitors a company has in their conducting the research must comply with

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strict research requirement in order to obtain the most accurate figures / results possible. 4. Research Design A research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy adopted for the particular project. 5. Sample size- The number of sample is 110 from Gajrola and adjoining market, which fulfills the requirement. Each respondent is treated as a case of detailed analysis 6. Sampling design Convenience sampling is used for this study. Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This non probability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random sample. 7. Data collection method For the accumulation of data the sources were primary and secondary data.
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Primary Data: These data are raw material. They are the measurement observed and recorded as a part of original study. They are original in character. The investigator or researcher directly collects this data. The basic form of obtaining this data is by observing and questioning. The Primary data was a detailed interview schedule with the help of a detailed questionnaire. The samples were drawn purposively from various areas for the relevance of the study. Discussions were held with the general, branch manager and executives of the company to design and execute the research Secondary Data: They are not originally drawn by the researcher as fresh data. These are collected by some other person for this purpose and published. These types of data can be collected through various sources. For this study the secondary data were collected from magazines ,journals , references and websites and manuals of the IDEA. Tools and techniques of analysis 8. Percentage analysis and statistical tools were used in the study. The statistical tools used for data analysis are Rank correlation and

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hypothesis testing. ANOVA and t test had applied for hypothesis testing. 9. Rank Correlation = If Rank Correlation is negative we can say that there is no correlation between the variable,if rank correlation is positive we can say that there is a relation between the variable, if the Rank correlation is less than.06 we can say that there is a low degree of relation between the variables.

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Process of research methodology Objective of Study

Research Design

Sample Design

Data Collection

Data analysis

Reporting of Findings
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RESEARCH DESIGN Research Design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular study. A Research Design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of the data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. Research Design is broadly classified into three types as Exploratory Research Design Descriptive Research Design Hypothesis testing Research Design On the basis of the objective of study, the studies which are concerned with describing the character tics of a particular individual, or of a group of individual under study comes under Descriptive Research Design. Descriptive Research Design: In this research design the objective of study is clearly defined and has accurate method of measurement with a clear cut definition of population which is to be studied.

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For TV Sating the research problem Two steps are involved in for SPECIFIC CERAMIC the research problem: Understanding the problem Rephrasing the problem into meaningful terms from an analytical point of view. The training sessions are conducted in the beginning of training in order to make us clear about the task provided and how to handle the different situations.

SAMPLING DESIGN A Sample Design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the technique and the procedure adopted in selecting items for the sample. The main constitution of the sampling design is as below1. Sampling Unit 2. Sample Size 3. Sampling Procedure

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SAMPLING UNIT A sampling framework i.e. developed for the target population that will be sampled i.e. who is to be surveyed. Customers SAMPLE SIZE It is the substantial portion of the target population that are sampled to achieve reliable results. Sample size = 110 respondents (Customer) at Meerut and Bulandshahar. SAMPLING PROCEDURE The procedure to choose the respondents to obtain a representative sample, a non-probability sampling technique is applied for the target market. Non-Probability Sampling It is a purposive sampling which deliberately chooses the particular units of the universe for constituting a sample on the basis that the small mass that they so select out of a huge one will be typical or representative of the whole. Judgment sampling:

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To select population members who are good prospects for accurate information?

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LIMITATIONS

While working on this project I have to face some difficulties while conducting the survey. People were not interested in giving there actual information about their family income and airtime, as they were extremely scared about income tax some people have difficult to take them in confidence so that they can give correct information. Some of the limitation are : Time is too short for effective research. Refusal to co-operate. The reluctance on the part of the respondent to give information was yet another limitation faced during the course of the study. In some places some other persons were assigned to answer the queries, this affected the research.

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DATA ANALYSIS& INTERPRETATION

Data is collected from both the Primary sources i.e. questionnaire and also from Secondary sources. Primary sources: The primary source of data collection is through questionnaire. The questionnaires are distributed among 35 peoples and their view is recorded and used in analyzing the data

Secondary sources : The secondary sources includes online sites, newspapers and templates from IDEA distributions centers and IDEA Customer Care.

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1. How people know about IDEA cellular service? People know about IDEA cellular service through 30 % Friends 60% Advertisements 10% Other Sources

Friends Advertisement Other Sources Total

30 60 10 100

30% 60% 10% 100%

70 60 50 40 30
friends
advertisements

other sources

20
10 0

INTERPRETATION: Hence maximum respondent know about IDEA through advertisement. About 60% ADVERTISEMENT helps in providing IDEA product awareness among the people.
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2. What are the Features of IDEA forced people to use IDEA ? 35% Advertisements 35%Goodwill Advertisements Connectivity Schemes Goodwill 35 20 10 35 35% 20% 10% 35% 20% Connectivity 10%Schemes

advertisement connectivity schemes goodwill

INTERPRETETION- Here maximum 35% advertisement and goodwill forced people for use of IDEA.
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3. What is Peoples first choice of cellular service when they want to use mobile phone IDEA 45%VODAFONE 30%AIRTEL8% RELIANCE 10%TATA INDICOM 5%OTHERS 2%

AIRTEL HUTCH TATA INDICOM RELIANCE IDEA OTHERS

INTERPRETETION- About 45 % people prefer IDEA services for the use.

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4. What are the Feature of IDEA is better than the peoples previous cellular service?

Advertisements 25%

Network Connectivity 60%

Schemes 15%

ADVERTISEMENTS CONNECTIVITY SCHEMES

INTERPRETETION- About 60% people used IDEA because of theregood network connectivity.

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5. How many IDEA users in peoples phone book?

Less than 30% 30% - 70% More than 70%

: : :

15% 25% 60%

0-30 30-70 70-100

Type of advertisement mostly like by people in IDEA is

INTERPRETETION- About 30-70% people prefer IDEA in peoples phone book.

6. How many peoples prefer to see the audio visual?

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Audio Visual Print Audio

: : :

85% 2% 13%

Audio Visual Print Audio

INTERPRETETION- People like most in IDEA AUDIO visual around 85%.

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7. Which combination of services people prefer most? NOKIA + IDEA IDEA MAGIC Postpaid services IDEA Broadband : : : : 65% 5% 20% 10%

NOKIA + AIRTEL AIRTEL MAGIC Postpaid services AIRTEL Broadband

INTERPRETETION- The combination of services people prefer NOKIA+IDEA that have contain approx 65%.

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8.Which IDEA service people prefer most? IDEA missed you service Ring tones Hello tunes : : : 63% 15% 12%

AIRTEL missed you service RINGTONES

Type of recharge cards liked by people HELLOTUNES More talk time More validity : : 23% 15%

INTERPRETETION- About 63% people prefer IDEA missed you services.

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9.How many customers are satisfied with IDEA services?

More talktime More validity Both

INTERPRETATION- About 60 % people satisfied with the IDEA services while others are not satisfied and some of them are confused.

Yes No BOTH

: : :

60% 10% 20%

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Findings 1. Strategic alliance The company has a strategic alliance with SingTel.Theinvestment made by SingTel is one of the largest investments made in the world outside Singapore in the company. The company also has a strategic alliance with Vodafone. The investment made by Vodafone in Bharti is one of the largest single foreign investments made in the Indian telecom sector.The companys mobile network equipment partners include Ericsson and Nokia. In the case of the broadband and telephone services and enterprise services (carriers), equipment suppliers include Siemens, Nortel, Corning, among others. The Company also has an information technology alliance with IBM for its group-wide information technology requirements and with Nortel for call center technology requirements. 2. Overseas Market-IDEA is looking for overseas market and already attractoperation in Nigeria and Seychelles. 3. Competition-IDEA is facing strong competition from MTNL and BSNL inspite of the fact they are far away from IDEA technologically but but these two have a inside rach in rural and urban area and have low tariff rates. 4. Brand AmbassadorIDEA have strong brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, AbhishekBachhan, A.R Rehman product and services. to promote there

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5. Leader in Telecom market IDEA is holding a position of Market Leader by having 21 percent of the total market share.

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CONCLUSION India has a mere 1.2 telephones for every 100 of its people. This is way below international standards and is not becoming of a country aspiring to be major player in the global economy of the 21st century. This means that opportunities for investment in this sector are immense. Basic voice service is the biggest market. Installation of around 25 million direct lines by the year 2001 will require an investment of us $ 22 billion. Due to the growing need for mobile phones, its no wonder that service providers are going all out to capture, as much market space as they can. As the number of mobile phone users are estimated to rise to about 120 million by 2008,its not surprising that most of the leading service providers in india have started branding and marketing their services more aggressively. The conducted study try to examine the market mindset towards one of the major player in the telecom sector. The selected company for the study is IDEA which is having a reputation in the market. This study had examined customer evaluation about the IDEA provided by the company. It also

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investigates the major reasons behind cancellation of services by the customers. The major findings are .

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SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After the complete analysis of entire STUDY we put forward a set of recommendations which are a follows:

1. PRICINGDepending on the market conditions / competition from cellular or wll-mobile service providers and also to suit local conditions, there should be flexible pricing mechanism (either at central or local level).

2. IMPROVEMENT IN TECHNOLOGYIDEA should immediately shift to third generation switches by replacing its c-dot switches. This will improve the quality of service to desired level and provide simultaneous integration with the nationwide network. The special .distribution of the transmission towers should be increased to avoid no signal pockets

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3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELSIDEA should establish widespread and conspicuous distribution to match that of the competitors. The distribution network shall make the product visible and available at convenient locations.

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Questionnaires 1) Are you fond of mobile phones? Yes No 2) Do you use any mobile phones? Yes No 3) Which companys simcard do you prefer to use? Idea IDEA Vodafone BSNL Reliance 4) From which sources did you get information about these simcards? Newspapers Television Friends Others 5) Are you aware of Idea simcard? Yes No 6) Have you seen any advertisement of Idea cellular limited? Yes No 7) Do you use Idea simcards? Yes
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 No 8) Do you want to buy Idea sim card? Yes No Cant say now 9) Which factor do you considered while buying Idea Cellular Limited Products? Network Schemes Brand image Call Charges If other than please specify. 10) From how long do you use Idea simcard? less than a year 1 to 3 year More than 3 years 11) Have you seen any advertisement of Idea Cellular Limited? Yes No 12) Do you face network problem any time? Sometime Never Often 13) In which area of service in idea simcard do you want to improve? Network Quality
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 Schemes Call Charges. 14) Do you satisfied with the service of Idea Cellular Limited? Yes No. 15) If not than give the suggestions for improvement. Name: . Sex: . Age: .. Qualification: . Contact No.:

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BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS 1. Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, Pren Tice-hall of indiapvt. Ltd., new delhi, twelth edition. 2. Bhandari, research Mehodology, print 2006, third edition 3. Berig.c., marketing research, tatamcgraw hill publishing co. ltd.,newdelhi, third edition.

WEBSITES & SEARCH ENGINE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. www.ideacellular.com www.researchandmarket.com www.info-shop.com www.smartmobes.com www.yahoosearch.com www.google.com www.trai.com

NEWSPAPER 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Hindustan Times Times of India The Hindu Financial Express Economics Times
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 Survey of indian industries September 2005-2006. Annual report of idea cellular ltd.

MAGAZINES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Business India Business Today Business World Advertisement Marketing Express Investment Week

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