ET-May 1, 2013

Vodafone overtakes Airtel to become Indias

leading mobile phone company in rural India
By Kalyan Parbat, ET Bureau

PPT by
HARSIMRAT SINGH
Roll Number- N17

 Airtel

has been the

leading mobile
phone operator PAN
India with 188.20
million subscribers

Of these 82.16 million

are rural subscribers.

Vodafone

has been
trailing with 152.35
million subscribers
PAN india

Of these 82.24 million

are rural subscribers a
shade above Airtel

 Vodafone

India added 4.9 million rural

customers during February and March 2013,
stealing a march over its closest rival Bharti
Airtel (2.57 million)
Now, More than 50% of the company's 152
million customers live in rural areas.
Vodafone India maximized rural customer
acquisitions in Tamil Nadu, UP-East, UP-West,
Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan in March.

Clearly segmenting
the Indian mobile
communication
market based on their
common
characteristics
Target marketingTargeting rural
customer through a
mix of customized
product launchesGappagoshti scheme
in Goa and
Maharashtra,

 Increasing

the
customer perceived
value, Increasing
post sale customer
satisfactionDeveloping trust in
day-to day things such
as top ups, fixing
faulty SIMs and
recharges
Launching programs
like Behtar Zindagi for
rural India

Customer relationship
management(CRM) practicesDistribution through people
representing local
panchayats with good
contact by appointing them
associate distributors

Vodafone abandoned the

traditional marketing channels
Son of soil, familiarity with local
environment
Low cost, viable and scalable
Customer service closer to the
rural customer

Relying on persuasive skills of

women to boost sales by
deploying droves of female
retailers.