COMMERCE

PROJECT-2

Comparing Marketing
Strategies Of Two
Companies Of
Tele-Communication
Industry

Meaning Marketing Mix
The process of marketing or distribution of goods requires particular attention
of management because production has no relevance unless products are
sold. Marketing mix is the process of designing and integrating various
elements of marketing in such a way to ensure the achievement of enterprise
objectives.

The elements of marketing mix have been classified under four elements —
product, price, place and promotion. That is why marketing mix is said to be a
combination of four P’s. Decisions relating to the product includes product
designing, packaging and labelling, and varieties of the product. Decision on
price is very important because sales depend to a large extent on product
pricing.

Elements Of Marketing Mix (4 P’s of Marketing)

1. Product Mix:

Product mix consists of various decisions relating to product. Product is the

basic element of marketing mix because all other elements are required only
when there is product. It is the center of all the marketing activities.Here,
product includes both goods and services. Marketer can satisfy needs and
wants of consumers by product. Product is the vehicle, medium, or means by
which consumers can satisfy their needs. Important and long-term marketing
decisions on product may be termed as product strategies

2. Price Mix:

Price mix is another important element of marketing mix. It is considered as

very critical element. Price can be defined as the economic value of product
normally expressed in form of money.The price of product should be set in
such a way that buyers can pay and company can earn adequate profits. In
case of price-sensitive customers on one hand and the prestige-sensitive
customers on the other hand, the pricing decisions become vital in marketing.

3. Promotion Mix:

Promotion mix deals with those activities directed to increase sales volume. It
is also known as market communication. In today’s marketing practices,
market promotion has much vital role. Promotion mix involves all those efforts
directed to increases sales of products on a continuous basis.
It includes providing information to customers, inspiring them to buy, and
offering incentives. Note that market promotion is concerned not only with
raising sales volume, but it is also a tool for establishing long-term relations
with the parties involved and is a matter of image, reputation, and goodwill for
the company.

4. Place Mix:

Place mix is related to distribution of product. This element of marketing mix

basically concerns with physical distribution and channel of distribution. This
is the last element of marketing mix but very important as marketing goals
can be achieved only if the products reach the hand of consumers
conveniently.

This element concerns with making the products available to the customers
effectively. That means, the right products can be made available to the right
consumers, in the right way, at the right time and at the right place, and in the
right form.

Introduction To Tele-Communication Industry in India:

The telecommunications industry within the sector of information and
communication technology is made up of all Telecommunications/telephone
companies and internet service providers and plays the crucial role in the
evolution of mobile communications and the information society.
Traditional telephone calls continue to be the industry's biggest revenue
generator, but thanks to advances in network technology, Telecom today is
less about voice and increasingly about text (messaging, email) and images
(e.g. video streaming). High-speed internet access for computer-based data
applications such as broadband information services and interactive
entertainment, is pervasive. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is the main
broadband telecom technology. The fastest growth comes from (value-
added) services delivered over mobile networks.
The telecom sector continues to be at the epicentre for growth, innovation,
and disruption for virtually any industry. Mobile devices and
related broadband connectivity continue to be more and more embedded in
the fabric of society today and they are key in driving the momentum around
some key trends such as video streaming, Internet of Things (IoT),
and mobile payments.
PESTLE Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry

Political factors

Regulation issues come up frequently. The government has one idea how
telecoms should be handled. The people have another.

Wifi and internet are a daily part of life. Customers wish the government to
acknowledge the internet as a basic human right. It’s required for education
and many careers. Even applying to a job is an online experience; going to a
company website and uploading a resume on their servers is essential.

A battle for and against net neutrality is raging. Customers believe internet
and data should be treated the same by service providers and the
government. Net neutrality would prevent, for example, service providers from
throttling internet and data speeds.

This is a big political fight between government, service providers, and the
people.

Economical factors

Interest rates, inflation, and taxes affect the telecommunication industry.

Expenses affect the pricing per plan offered to customers too. It’s expensive
to build towers and resources in rural areas. Customers who don’t live in big
cities are affected.

As more houses are built, the need for telecommunication resources

increase. This can drive prices (plus revenue) up depending on location,
amount of customers in an area, and the need for telecommunication
services.

Growth is dependent on the market (customers) and technological

advancements. Businesses are using the internet and mobile phones for
marketing. They create social media pages, advertisements on sites, and
digital marketing campaigns to reach customers around the world.
For this reasoning, jobs are opening up and increasing in the
telecommunication industry.

Customer service representatives are hired to solve problems via website live
chat. Marketers, writers, and media managers handle online marketing and
campaigns. Graphic designers and programmers are necessary to create
websites for computers and mobile users.

The need for everything to be available and accessible 24/7 is growing

rapidly.

Social factors

Telecommunications horizontal growth is limited. Specifically, it’s difficult (and

expensive) to expand in rural regions. Customers are left with less than a
handful of options when it comes to buying internet, mobile, and television
packages.

Because telecommunication corporations are monopolies, they’re in charge

of both internet and mobile carriers. Customers need these packages to
communicate with friends, partake in social media challenges, buy products
online, find stable careers and more.

Telecommunication has become a vastly important aspect of the daily life of

the average person.

Technological factors

Both needs and requirements for telecom services are advancing. For
example, telephone companies install fiber wire in their builds over copper
now. Phones are becoming more compact, moving the telecom business into
a primarily wireless business.

Basic needs in smartphones, like voicemail, caller ID, and messaging are
covered. Now people want internet access on the go. So, data is added to
mobile plans. Wifi has been built into buses and cars too.
This ‘need’ leads to more investments in companies who hold a strong
influence over telecom developments in computers, smartphones, and
laptops.

Legal factors

The telecommunication industry is often impacted by legislation issues.

Particularly issues with the government, monopolies, and customers. But the
industry has allowed importing and exporting of telecom products
(international smartphones, for example). Allowing more development in
telecom tech devices.

Environment factors

Climate changes and global warming can affect how telecommunication

products reach customers. In terms of employment, with technology
advancing, employees need to adapt to changes.

Products come and go, often replaced by something ‘better’ (depending on

who is asked, customer or company). The previous version becomes
redundant or unnecessary. Which means people who worked on a previous
version may now be unemployed.

Customers demand and telecom companies are expected to deliver. But with
needs in the telecom industry changing often, it’s not guaranteed which
technology will stay, be advanced, or discarded.

Bharati Airtel

Introduction:

B h a r t i A i r t e l L i m i t e d  a l s o k n o w n a s  A i r t e l  i s a n I n d i a n
global  telecommunications  services company based in  Delhi,  India. It
operates in 18 countries across  South Asia  and  Africa, and also in
the Channel Islands. Airtel provides GSM, 3G, 4G LTE mobile services,
fixed line broadband and voice services depending upon the country of
operation. Airtel had also rolled out its  VoLTE  technology across all
Indian telecom circles. It is the Third largest mobile network operator in
India and the Second largest mobile network operator in the world with
over 293.79 million subscribers.

Airtel Marketing Mix:

Marketing Mix of Airtel analyses the brand/company which covers 4Ps
(Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and explains the Airtel marketing strategy.
The the pricing, advertising & distribution strategies used by the company are
elaborated.

Product:
Airtel provides a wide variety of services in the field of telecom. The summary
of the products in the marketing mix of Airtel are described as below:
• Mobile Services: Airtel provides both voice and data service to its
customers. Currently Airtel has got the largest customer base in India
crossing over 358 million. Airtel was the first one to provide 4G services in
India. Also Airtel provides a variety of low cost plans for its voice and data
services. Airtel mobile service can be classified into:
• Prepaid service eg. Recharge offers , roaming packs, blackberry packs,
Family share pack, Handset pack etc.
• Postpaid service eg. Bill payment, My Plan, Roaming plans, other special
offers etc.
• Other value added service eg. SMS, MMS, Hello tunes, Airtel Money, Airtel
Live, 2G 3G 4G internet, voice mail, DND services etc.
• Telemedia Services: Airtel provides broadband services across 87 cities in
India. Some of the products offered are 4G homes internet service,
broadband internet connection, Dongels and routers for 4G and 3G
services.
• Digital TV services: Airtel TV provides over 540 HD channels with superior
picture quality. Airtel Digital TV+ setup box also allows user to record TV
programs that can be watched later.
• Airtel business: Airtel provides variety of Information and communication
Technology services like data centre, network integration, tower
infrastructure service to other business, government and carrier customers.


Price:
Airtel follows a competitive pricing strategy because of the huge competition
in telecom segment in India from competitors like Reliance Jio, Vodafone etc.
The pricing strategies of all telecom companies are monitored by Telecom
Regulation Authority of India to ensure fair prices are being charged to all
customers. Hence, despite regulation, the most important aspect in the
pricing strategy in the marketing mix of Airtel is based on competitive pricing
strategy. Airtel provides flexibility to its customer to choose and customize
their plan according to their preference and pay tariff according to chosen
pack (eg. MyPlan service to customer to choose their plan and pay price
accordingly). The aim of Airtel’s pricing strategy is customer retention by
providing them with combo offers to boost revenue. Airtel pricing strategies in
broadband segment is also of very low cost and attracts huge customer base
to avail affordable plans. Airtel faces tough competition in terms of price war
with other telecom companies like Reliance Jio and the customer loyalty for
any telecom company is nearly zero and entirely dependent on price of
services, so Airtel offers its basic product like call, data, SMS and other value
added services at a cheap rate


Place:
Airtel sells its service through distributers and retailers, which form the basis
of place strategy in the marketing mix of Airtel. Airtel has got a wide
distribution network which spans across 20 countries. Airtel’s intensive
distribution network enables it to cover the remotest area. Airtel uses retail
stores, convenient stores, roadside stalls etc to make its service available to
customers. Airtel makes its service available through businesses like paan
shops, chemist’s shops, groceries shops etc. Airtel has also launched ‘Project
leap’ in the year 2015 to expand its coverage to over 5 lakh villages. Under
this project, Airtel will spend 60 thousand crores over a period of next three
years to expand its network and make its services available across India.
Airtel also offers a dedicated 24 customer support service team which can be
reached online or through telephone to report any issue or solve customer
queries.
Promotion:
Airtel is an established and well known brand in telecom sector. Airtel
organises a strong promotional campaigns for its services utilising all media
channels from TV, print, events, social media etc. Hence the promotion
strategy in the marketing mix of Airtel is extremely comprehensive i.e. they do
a 360 branding. Airtel has used all the big celebrities to endorse their services
like Shahrukh Khan, AR Rehman, Sachin Tendulkar, Vidya Balan etc. Airtel
has also organised some famous marketing campaigns to target youth
audience and build its brand like ‘Har Ek friend Zaroori hota he’ and ‘Jo Tera
Hain Wo Mera Hain’. Airtel also sponsors various events like Cricket matches,
Grand Prix etc and organised events like Airtel Delhi Half Marathon etc under
their community development programme and brand promotion. Airtel has
also got a good presence on social media like Facebook, Twitter etc. Which it
uses for its service promotion and solve queries of customers. Airtel also
engages in public relations like Education campaigns, girls child awareness
campaigns etc.

Idea Cellular

Introduction:
Idea Limited is India's largest telecom operator with its headquarter based in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. Vodafone Idea is a pan-India integrated GSM operator
offering 2G, 3G and 4G(LTE) mobile services under two brands
named  Vodafone  and  Idea. Vodafone Idea also provides services including
Mobile payments, IoT, advanced enterprise offerings and entertainment,
accessible via both digital channels as well as on-ground touch points,
centers across the country. The company's vision is 'to create world class
digital experiences to connect and inspire every Indian to build a better
tomorrow'. As of December 2018, Idea has 35.61% market share in India with
418.745 million subscribers,making it the  largest mobile telecommunications
network in India and Third largest mobile telecommunications network in the
world.

Idea Cellular Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix of Idea Cellular analyses the brand/company which covers 4Ps
(Product, Price, Place, Promotion) and explains the Idea Cellular marketing
strategy. The pricing, advertising & distribution strategies used by the
company are elaborated.
Product:
Idea Cellular is one of the leading telecom service provider in India. Idea
Cellular product mix primarily consists of Voice service, Mobile Internet and
Value added services in its marketing mix. Voice service is further segmented
across prepaid and post-paid services. Post-paid plans start from very
economical price. Idea Cellular is augmented with various value packs which
helps in attracting customers. Ultimate plans, per minute plan, per second
plan and combo plans are integrated along with post-paid plans. In the
prepaid segment, plans such as start-up kit are very attractive, which helps in
bringing new customers. Other plans include ultimate packs, full talk time
vouchers, top up vouchers, Idea to Idea special voucher, and combo
vouchers. In Value Added services Idea provides dialler tones, Apps, Sports
service, Bollywood news etc. Mobile Internet segment is where Idea gets
differentiated from its competitors, it provides 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE internet
service for its customers across India at very economical packages.

Price:
Idea Cellular mostly focuses on competitor strategy in the aggressive telecom
sector in India. In the fierce competition of the telecommunications sector in
India, price is the key weapon that carriers use to survive and live in the long
run. An insight in the pricing strategy in the telecom brand’s marketing mix is
as follows. In the voice services, post-paid plans from as low as ₹199; which
is very less compared to the basic plans of other players in the market. Idea
provides its customers attractive ISD packages for post-paid services, these
rates are similar when compared to other service providers. In the prepaid
services the price of full talk time vouchers starts from as low as ₹100; which
is not provided by any other carrier. Combo vouchers are prices at differential
rates; thus, they are able to exploit the paying capability of its customers. In
this way, Idea Cellular are able to maximize their profits. Special packages
like Idea to Idea, STD package, ISD packages are featured so that customers
can customize their plans depending upon their paying capability and
requirement. In the Value added services the prices are exorbitant, so that
people willing to avail luxury services will pay high amount to avail it.


Place:
Idea Cellular has got an excellent reach and its present in almost every
corner of India. Catering to both online and offline format, Idea’s presence
can be felt easily. In today’s digital era, it is important to have lightning fast
customer serviceability. Idea is able to accomplish this by being able to
present always with the customers via customer support anytime and all time.
The online portal of idea cellular provides a platform for customers to raise
their issues faced, and also this helps them to look for various packages
which they look to avail or change. It also provides a portal for them to pay bill
and have easy recharge. Idea stores are available in all major metros in and
across India present in all states; this helps them to cater to the customers
who are not comfortable with the online mechanism.



Promotion:
Idea Cellular focuses on an aggressive promotion in its marketing mix. Idea
Cellular spends a substantial amount of their revenues for advertisements
and promotional activities. This is considered adequate when taken in
account the plethora of services they need to promote. Idea Cellular promote
their brand by using the tagline “No ullu banaoing”; which means that they do
not cheat their customers unlike other service providers, as this has been the
main complaint from across all customers since the advent of privatized
wireless telecommunications. Idea Cellular’s major promotional projects
typically involve television advertisements. They have embarked on Abhishek
Bachchan, who is a famous Bollywood personality as their brand
ambassador; thus, providing them a boost to reach out to potential
customers. Also, over the years Idea Cellular have sponsored various sports
initiatives like cricket and football matches, which helped them to promote
their brand over the years. Idea Cellular uses all media like TV, online, print,
bllboards etc for its marketing activities.