CHAPTER-I

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Marketing is about communicating the value of a product, service or brand to customers or consu
mers for the purpose of promoting or selling that product, service, or brand. The oldest – and per
haps simplest and most natural form of marketing – is 'word of mouth' (WOM) marketing, in whi
ch consumers convey their experiences of a product, service or brand in their day-to-day commu
nications with others. These communications can of course be either positive or negative. In rece
nt times, the internet has provided a platform for mass, electronic WOM marketing (e-WOM), wi
th consumers actively engaged in rating and commenting on goods and services.

In for-profit enterprise the main purpose of marketing is to increase product sales and therefore t
he profits of the company. In the case of non-profit marketing, the aim is to increase the take-up
of the organization's services by its consumers or clients. Governments often employ social mark
eting to communicate messages with a social purpose, such as a public health or safety message,
to citizens. In for-profit enterprise marketing often acts as a support for the sales team by propag
ating the message and information to the desired target audience.

Marketing techniques include choosing target markets through market analysis and market segm
entation, as well as understanding consumer behavior and advertising a product's value to the cus
tomer.

From a societal point of view, marketing provides the link between a society's material requirem
ents and its economic patterns of response.

Marketing satisfies these needs and wants through the development of exchange processes and th
e building of long-term relationships.

Marketing can be considered a marriage of art and applied science (such as behavioral sciences)
and makes use of information technology.

Marketing is applied in enterprise and organizations via marketing management techniques.

Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between two entities (communicat
ion) includes the use of technology. Communication technology uses channels to transmit inform

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ation (as electrical signals), either over a physical medium (such as signal cables), or in the form
of electromagnetic waves. The word is often used in its plural form, telecommunications, becaus
e it involves many different technologies.

Early means of communicating over a distance included visual signals, such as beacons, smoke
signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs. Other examples of pre-
modern long-distance communication included audio messages such as coded drum beats, lung-
blown horns, and loud whistles. Modern technologies for long-distance communication usually
involve electrical and electromagnetic technologies, such as telegraph, telephone, and,
networks, radio, microwave transmission, fiber optics, and communications satellites.

A revolution in wireless communication began in the first decade of the 20th century with the pio
neering developments in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi, who won a Nobel Prize
in Physics 1909. Other highly notable pioneering inventors and developers in the field of electric
al and electronic telecommunications include Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse (telegraph)
, Alexander Graham Bell (telephone), Edwin Armstrong, and Lee de Forest (radio), as well as Jo
hn Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth (television).

1.2 NEED & IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY:

• It will help understand the pros and cons of market conditions and to understand markets
demand and supply
• For all firms, whether a modest start up or a multinational giant, an effective marketing
strategy can serve as a crucial road map for the entire business.
• Successful marketing campaigns are invariably focused on the needs of the target
customer, with an emphasis on continuously communicating the benefits of your services
or products over those available from the competitor.
• The need is to check out the customer preference towards Airtel and its services and what
are their requirements and what problems the customer faces.

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1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
• Help company to introduce new marketing strategy to improve its existing products.
• To know the customer preference towards Airtel.
• To understand the various Marketing Strategies which Airtel has adopted to survive in hi
ghly competitive telecom Industry.
• To provide suggestions on how to make it more viable.
• Know the consumers’ needs and expectations.

1.4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Data Collection: Both primary and secondary sources of data collection have been used
in this study.
Data used in research originally obtained through the direct efforts of the researcher through
surveys, interviews and direct observation. Primary data is more costly to obtain than second
ary data, which is obtained through published sources, but it is also more current and more re
levant to the research project.

Primary data:

• Structured questionnaire.
• Personal interview

Secondary data:
• Internet, Social media.
• Magazines, Newspapers.
• Website of the company.

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1.4.1RESEARCH DESIGN:
Descriptive research design and exploratory research design was used in this study for
analysis.

1.4.2 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Simple random sampling method is used in collecting information from the customers.

1.4.3 Sample size:

The sample size of the project study is 100 people.

1.4.4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The data has been analyzed by using graphs and numerically expressing the number of prefer
ences. The main reason for using graphs is that, the information can be clearly and very preci
sely presented which will not only be easy for understating but also will be easy for interpreta
tion of the data. It will mainly highlight the key points of the issue.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

• The study is limited to the area of Begumpet and hitechcity.

• The study is restricted to the retail and corporate customers only.
• The sample size consists of 100 respondents only.
• The time period of study is limited to 30 days.

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1.6 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY

• First chapter consists of Introduction to the study includes the need and importance of
the study, objectives, research methodology-sources of data, scope of the study.
• Second chapter consists of Review of Literature which reflects the theoretical data.
• Third chapter consists of the Company Profile which contains information about the
company where the project has been conducted and includes its history, services being
offered, number of employees working and various departments in the organization.
• Fourth chapter consists of Data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation based on the
collected data from various primary and secondary sources.
• Fifth chapter consists of Conclusions and Recommendations along with Limitations
and is followed by Bibliography.

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 CHAPTER-2

2.1 MEANING& DEFINITION

Marketing strategy has the fundamental goal of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable
competitive advantage. Marketing strategies includes all basic, short-term, and long-term
activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic situation of a
company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and
therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.

Developing a marketing strategy, the process usually begins with a scan of the business
environment, both internal and external, which includes understanding strategic constraints. It is
generally necessary to try to grasp many aspects of the external environment, including
technological, economic, cultural, political and legal aspects. Goals are chosen. Then, a
marketing strategy or marketing plan is an explanation of what specific actions will be taken
over time to achieve the objectives. Plans can be extended to cover many years, with sub-plans
for each year, although as the speed of change in the merchandising environment quickens, time
horizons are becoming shorter. Ideally, strategies are both dynamic and interactive, partially
planned and partially unplanned, to enable a firm to react to unforeseen developments while
trying to keep focused on a specific pathway; generally, a longer time frame is preferred. There
are simulations such as customer lifetime value models which can help marketers conduct "what-
if" analyses to forecast what might happen based on possible actions, and gauge how specific
actions might affect such variables as the revenue-per-customer and the churn rate. Strategies
often specify how to adjust the marketing mix; firms can use tools such as Marketing Mix
Modeling to help them decide how to allocate scarce resources for different media, as well as
how to allocate funds across a portfolio of brands. In addition, firms can conduct analyses of
performance, customer analysis, competitor analysis, and target market analysis. A key aspect of
marketing strategy is often to keep marketing consistent with a company's overarching mission
statement.

Marketing strategy should not be confused with a marketing objective or mission.

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For example, a goal may be to become the market leader, perhaps in a specific niche; a mission
may be something along the lines of "to serve customers with honor and dignity"; in contrast, a
marketing strategy describes how a firm will achieve the stated goal in a way which is consistent
with the mission, perhaps by detailed plans for how it might build a referral network, for
example. Strategy varies by type of market. A well-established firm in a mature market will
likely have a different strategy than a start-up. Plans usually involve monitoring, to assess
progress, and prepare for contingencies if problems arise.

2.2 IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING STRATEGY

Because one aspect of a marketing plan affects all of the others, coordinating your activities is cri
tical to eliminating interference and maximizing your profits. A marketing strategy looks at all of
the areas of your selling activities and helps each one support the next, making sure all of your d
epartments are aware of what each is doing. Understanding how to create an integrated marketin
g strategy will help you make better individual decisions regarding specific marketing tactics.

2.3 MARKETING STRATEGY ADOPTED BY BHARTI AIRTEL:

Bharti has spent a considerable amount on advertising its mobile phone service, Airtel. Besides
print advertising, the company had put up large no of hoardings and kiosks in and around Delhi.

The objective behind designing a promotion campaign for the ‘Airtel’ services is to promote the
brand awareness and to build brand preferences.

It is trying to set up a thematic campaign to build the strongest brand equity for Airtel. Since the
cellular phone category itself is too restricted, also the fact that a Cellular phone is a high
involvement product, price doesn't qualify as an effective differentiator. The image of the
service provider counts a great deal. Given the Cell phone category, it is the network efficiency
and the quality of service that becomes important. What now the buyer is looking at is to get the
optimum price-performance package. This also serves as an effective differentiator

Brand awareness is spread through the' campaigns and brand preference through brand stature.
Airtel's campaign in the capital began with a series of 'teaser' hoardings across the city,' bearing
just the company's name and without explaining what Airtel was. In the next phase the
campaign associated Airtel with Cellular only thereafter was the Bharti Cellular connection

7
brought up. Vans with Airtel logos roamed the city, handing out brochures about the company
and its services to all consumers. About 50,000 direct callers were sent out. When the name was
well entrenched in the peoples mind, the Airtel campaign began to focus on the utility of Cell
phone. In the first four months Airtel alone spent more than Rs.4 crore on advertisement.

As of today the awareness level is 60% unaided. This implies that if potential or knowledgeable
consumers are asked to name a Cellular phone service provider that is on the top of his/her mind
60% of them would name Airtel. As per aided it is 100% (by giving clues and hints etc.).

Brand strength of a product or the health of a brand is measured by the percentage score of the
brand on the above aided and the unaided tests. The figures show that Airtel is a healthy and a
thriving brand.

Every company has a goal, which might comprise a sales target and a game plan with due regard
to its competitor. Airtel’s campaign strategy is designed keeping in mind its marketing strategy.
The tone, tenor and the stance of the visual ads are designed to convey the image of a market
leader in terms of its market share. It tries to portray the image of being a "first mover every
time" and that of a "market leader".

The status of the product in terms of its life cycle has just reached the maturity stage in India. It
is still on the rising part of the product life cycle curve in the maturity stage.

The diagram on the left hand side shows the percentage of the users classified into heavy,
medium and low categories. The right hand side shows the revenue share earned from the three
types of users.

Airtel, keeping in mind the importance of the customer retention, values its heavy users the most
and constantly indulges in service innovation. But, since heavy users comprise only 15 - 20% of
the population the other segment cannot be neglected.

The population which has just realized the importance of cellular phones has to be roped in. It is
for this reason that the service provider offers a plethora of incentives and discounts. Concerts
like the "Freedom concert" are being organized by Airtel in order to promote sales. The media
channel is chosen with economy in mind. The target segment is not very concrete but, there is an
attempt to focus on those who can afford. The print advertisements and hoarding are placed in

8
those strategic areas which most likely to catch the attention of those who need a cellular phone.
The product promise (which might cost different 1 higher) is an important variable in
determining the target audience.

Besides this, other promotional strategies that Airtel has adopted are .

(i) People who have booked Airtel services have been treated to exclusive premiers of
blockbuster movies. Airtel has tied up with Lufthansa to offer customer bonus miles on
the German airline frequent flier's programs.

(ii) There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch advertisements,
launch advertisements, congratulatory advertisements, promotional advertise--ments,
attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements.

DISTRIBUTION

Company

Franchisee Distributor

Dealers
Dealer

Customer
Customer

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The company whose operations are concentrated in and around Delhi. It 27 Franchisees and 15
Distributors- They also have 8 'instant access cash card counters- Each franchises or distributor
can have any number of dealers under him as long as the person is approved by the Airtel
authority. Each franchise has to invest Rupees Ten Lakhs. To obtain a franchise and should
employ an officer recruited by Airtel. This person acts as a liaison between the company and the
franchises. The franchises can it any number of dealers as long as their territories do not overlap.
But unfortunately Airtel has not been very successful in controlling territorial overlaps of
dealers. The franchises can carry out its own promotional strategy. For this company
contributes 75% of the money and the franchises contributes 25% of the money. The dealers
under the franchisee receive the same commission. The franchises and the dealer obtain the
feedback from the customers and they are sent through the liaison officer on a day-to-day basis
to Airtel. The dealer has to invest Rupees One Lakh as an initial investment. The dealers of
Airtel are not allowed to provide any other operators' service.

Target set for distributors and the dealers is 100 -150 activations per month. Hence the dealers
can also go for their own promotions like banners and discounts on festivals etc. The dealer
provides service promptly. The consumer on providing the bill of purchase for the handset and
proof of residence has only to wait an hour before getting connected. The staff and the dealers
and the franchisees are provided training by the Airtel personnel.

The complaints encountered by the franchisees and dealers are either handset being non-
functional or the SIM Card not getting activated. Anything more complicated is referred to the
main Airtel office in Delhi.

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WHAT DOES AIRTEL OFFER?
With Airtel, the subscriber wouldn't just get a personal phone that lets him/her be in touch,
always, but also gets a host of benefits that let him/her manage his/her time like never before.

An Airtel subscriber is provided with a Subscriber Identity Module Card (SIM card) - that is the
key to operating his/her cellular phone. His card activates Airtel cellular services and contains a
complete micro-computer chip with memory to enable one to enjoy one's cellular phone
thoroughly. Each SIM card contains a PIN code (Personal Identity Number) which may be
entered by one. Just plug your SIM card into your cellular phone, enter the PIN code and it
becomes 'your' personal phone'.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The pattern of cellophane subscriber growth observed elsewhere in the world reveals that the
growth in the market is initially slow followed by a sharp acceleration, but so far that has not
happened in India. As far as the Product Life Cycle is concerned, Indians are at the beginning of
the maturity stage.

Introduction Growth Maturity

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MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Create product awareness Maximize market share Maximize profits whole

and trial defending market share

Strategies

Product Offer a basic Offer value added Increase in number

product/ service. services of value added
services.

Price Charge cost- plus Price to penetrate Price to match or

market best competitors

Distribution Build selective Build Intensive Build more

distribution distribution. intensive
distribution.

Advertising Build product Build awareness Stress brand

awareness among and interest in the differences and
early adopters and mass market benefits.
dealers.

Sales Promotion Use heavy sales Increase to build Increase to

promotion to entice and maintain encourage brand-
people to subscribe. relationships with switching.
customers.

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2.4 PROCESS OF MARKETING STRATEGY

2.5 LITERATURE SURVEY

2.5.1 LITERATURE SURVEY 1

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Airtel to “Touch Tomorrow” with a new brand vision

The Bharti Mobile promoted Airtel cellular service will go in for repositioning of its brand
image. The new brand ethos is portrayed in two distinct fashions - the tag line "Touch
Tomorrow", which underscores the leading theme for the new brand vision, followed by "The
Good Life", which underscores a more caring, more customer centric organization. Aimed at re-
engineering its image as just simply a cellular service provider to an all information
communications services provider, Touch Tomorrow is meant to embrace the new generation of
mobile communication services and the changing scope of customer needs and aspirations that
come along with it

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The new communication is about a new dimension in the cellular category that goes beyond the
Internet, SMS, roaming, IVRS, etc but which engulfs the whole gamut of wireless digital
broadband services that will constitute tomorrows cellular services. The new campaign is in two
phases - the first of which will communicate overall brand philosophy and the second products
and services. According to Mr. Jagdish Kini, Chief Operating Officer, Bharti Mobile Limited,
Karnataka "We are adopting a new brand- platform - Touch Tomorrow - not only to reflect our
corporate ethos but also business strategy".

The new identity will have the logo in Red color along with lower case typography to convey
warmth. Airtel will incorporate the latest branding in all of its communication and will soon be
going in for an enhanced promotional drive to establish the brand's presence.

MARKET SITUATION

At the time of launch

The first mover in the market was Airtel which launched its services in Delhi in Aug 1995
(Informal launch). Essar Cell phone followed by launching its services informally in Oct 95. At
this point of time, the market was at a nascent stage, awareness level was low and both operators
independently tried to spread awareness and educate the people

Once the networks were commercially launched, it became a number game with a multitude of
schemes being offered to woo customers Initially the cell phone was perceived as a status
symbol and utility took a back seat The target segment in Delhi were corporate and the high
income group. The average capacity installed was for 1.5 lakh subscribers. This coupled with
the steep license fee paid to DOT put pressure on the operators to break-even by rapidly
expanding their markets. In the first two years, this led to a number of schemes being offered
and prices crashing.

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 COMPETITIVE SITUATION

Airtel launched its services before Essar and skimmed the market picking up the bulk of the high
usage premium clients. This is a very competitive industry with the two companies
differentiating either on value-added services or price. Airtel is perceived as the high quality
provider and has a premium image. Essar, on the other hand, is perceived as the lower end
service provider. Airtel positions itself as the market leader on the basis of the number of
subscribers. Essar is trying to counter this by emphasizing on the reach of its network and the
quality of its service. However, Essar is somewhat not been very successful largely due to the
inconsistency in advertising

To promote themselves, both the players have been dependent on tactical advertising However,
they have restrained from using comparative advertising Hoardings have been a very popular
medium for carrying the advertisements Airtel has also been advertising on television using the
Bharti Telecom name.

2.5.2 LITERATURE SURVEY II

MARKET SEGMENTATION

Segmentation is beneficial because of better predictability of the target consumer group,

minimization of risk exposure, better ability to fine-tune a product / service to the requirement of
target buyer and the resultant ease in designing a proper designing marketing mix strategy In this
case segmentation is on the bade of income.

In evaluating different market segments the company looks at two factors The overall
attractiveness of the segments and the company's objectives & resources The present market for
Cellular phones, pagers and conventional phones is as follows

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 Premium Middle Economy

Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower

Cellular Phones X X X - - -

Pager X X X X - -

Conventional Phones X X X X X -

X Market Segment Targeted

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that only those
segments should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to
target the business tourists during their stay in the capital

About 60% of the clientele are top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are foreign
organisations and the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During the introduction
stage there was intense pressure to get consumers across to hook up with their brand, because
getting them to switch brand loyalty later would be hard

So far Airtel marketers have been concentrating totally on the business executive class but now
that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and prices have declined to a certain extent they
are planning to venture further ahead.

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 POSITIONING

The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency tool. a lifestyle revolution and a
status symbol The emphasis is to remove misconception that the cell phone is an expensive
means of communication and drive home the point that the cell phone is actually a day-to-day
utility

PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING

The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix. Without a product or a service
customers' needs cannot be satisfied.

The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility. Airtel's main marketing strategy is to be a first
mover all the time. It has recognized the significance of making the first move-- because in the
field of Communication & Information Technology changes occur at a tremendous pace.

Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously because basic services can be
and will be copied and in time become expected component of the product. Airtel seeks to carry
out this segmentation through provision of new information services and making new facilities
available. The product policy and planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle. At
present the cellular phone market has reached the maturity stage. Since, the premium segment is
nearing saturation the company targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to
do Airtel is trying to optimize the price performance package by offering suitable "product
bundling".

This involves the selection of the suitable hardware (handset) and its software (its services.) with
reasonable price in order to deliver maximum price performance to its customers. In addition, it
offers free Airtime services and other concessions to make the prices and thus the product more
attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours customer service.

Only price doesn't serve as an effective differentiator, value added services become the effective
differentiator.

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 AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION.

Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service provider has to fully take care of
the customers.

a) They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for any problem faced by the
customer

b) They anticipate customers' problems and take pro-active steps to prevent them

c) They give answers to the questions & requests, quickly & efficiently.

d) They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with customers.

e) They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note-making the last 30 seconds
count.

Airtel realizes that attracting people is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard,
hence emphasis is on maintaining a 'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain the
customer.

PRICE AND PRICING POLICY

AIRTEL has realized that the Indian market is price sensitive. Therefore it care of the has come
up with various innovative tariff schemes to take needs of different category of customers-
Generally, the cellular services are more expensive than the land line based telephone services

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 Article 1

Airtel is the world’s 3rd largest mobile telecommunication Indian MNC operating in 20
countries across Asia & Africa. Airtel has presence in 22 telecom circles across India & is
India’s largest integrated telecom service provider.

Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of Airtel

Airtel uses mix of segmentation strategies to segment its offerings like basic Call /SMS plans,
prepaid / Post-paid plans, VAS – Data, caller tunes etc. Apart from geographically segmenting
the market in East, West, North, South & central, the market is also segmented in each region on
the basis of demographic variables like age, Income, Social groups.

Different geographic regions are handled independently and different campaigns are run
according to the preferences of people in each region. Airtel has targeted the generation Z of 15-
25 ages, generation X & baby Boomers by using different campaigns over the period of time i.e.
campaign like “Har Ek friend Jaruri hota hai”/ “Jo tera hai wo mera hai ” to target Gen Z and
recently launched campaign of “one touch internet” targeting Gen X & baby boomers.

Airtel has been successful in top-of-the-mind recall amongst cellular phone users and is enjoying
a leadership position in most markets. After changing its logo it has repositioned itself as Young,
Energetic & International brand. It has evolved itself as a torch bearer of the telecom industry in
India.

Marketing mix – Click here for Marketing mix of Airtel

SWOT analysis – Click here for SWOT analysis of Airtel

Mission –“Hunger to win customers for life.”

Vision- “Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win customers for
life through an exceptional experience.”

Tagline – “The smartphone Network”.

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Competitive advantage in the Marketing strategy of Airtel – With the formation of Indus tower
& partnering with Idea & Vodafone for Indian Operations, Airtel has extended its infrastructure
in the extreme parts of the country for nationwide penetration, creating competitive edge over
other players in terms of low operational cost, better network connectivity, coverage, low call
drops & better customer service.

Airtel developed a sustainable advantage through its excellent network of telecom towers. In
many locations, newer entrants found it cheaper to rent Airtel’s existing infrastructure rather than
setup new towers. Also spending extensively on advertising & promotions helped it to become a
market leader. Word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of promotions & Airtel has
completely leveraged that. Airtel is always known for its innovation and some of its products
were the lifetime prepaid, Airtel live, Hello tunes, My Plans, M-check are pioneer strategies &
the list is never ending.

BCG Matrix in the Marketing strategy of Airtel- Airtel have 4 SBU’s (Strategic business unit)
which occupies different places in BCG matrix namely Mobile services are stars, as it is
operating in 22-telecom circles of India and is the largest mobile service provider in the country,
based on the number of customers & (22.7 %) market share.

Tele-media services – fixed-line services are dogs since there is a phenomenal decrease in the
services in the industry as a whole.

High-speed broadband which is question mark since it has best in class network with
126,357Rkm of fiber laid down but still they have presence in only 87 metros & tier-1 city
further investment can increase their market share & will help it to move to stars.

Airtel business to large enterprise is question mark, although it provides a broad portfolio of
services to large Enterprise, Government, Small & Medium businesses and carrier customers but
the services offered by Airtel are expensive as compared to other players.

Digital TV services are stars, Airtel have 18% market share in the DTH services second to only
Dish TV & have head on competition with TATA sky.

Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Airtel – It has wide spread simple and effective
channel structure. Company uses 2-Tier & 3-tier distribution network system.

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Under 2-tier distribution network, company appoints UD (urban distributors) & RS (Rural
Suppliers). UD distribute the items to retailers according to the demand & transfer easy balance
to retailer through FOS (Field officer Sales) SIM who work under UD’s.

Under 3-tier distribution RS (rural supers) distributes the items to RD (Rural Distributors) &
transfer easy balance into RD’s SIM, who then distribute it to Retailers.

Apart from all these company also uses Airtel Relationship centres under franchised model &
company officials for corporate sales.

Article 2

Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti Airtel) is one of India’s most popular providers of integrated
telecommunication services and is based in India and headquartered in New Delhi. Basically, the
company is tasked with the work of operating telecommunication services in the larger Indian
subcontinent. The company’s business services include mobile services, enterprise services and
Tele media services. The mobile services comprise of fixed wireless services and mobile services
which use GSM network technology across major telecommunication circles in the country.

Marketing mix of Airtel

With a Pan-India presence, Airtel an established player in providing 3G services is now planning
aggressively to roll out its 4G services in a phased manner. These services are now available in
metros and big cities like Bangalore and Mumbai. The company also provides world class
landline telephone and broadband services and the enterprise unit across 95 cities in India. Some
of Bharti Airtel competitors include the following:

Idea

Tata Docomo.

Reliance Communications Limited

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

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Vodafone (strongest competitor)

Products in the marketing mix of Airtel

The company provides a wide array of products and services. In order to retain the maximum
number of customers, Airtel has tried to provide as many products and services as possible in
order to keep the customers. The following is a list of its products:

Airtel Pre-paid services

Blackberry Wireless Handheld

Airtel Post-paid services

Value added services like instant balance inquiry, caller line identification, 24 hour recharge
facility, multimedia messaging service, call wait & call Hold, Caller divert, Airtel Live portal

SMS based information services

Voice mail services

Hello tunes, Ring tones,

Ringtones and hello tunes offers

Easy post-pay bill payment solutions

Enterprise Solutions

Place in the marketing mix of Airtel

Airtel’s penetration in India is quite impressive because the services and networks can be found
even in India’s remotest regions. Currently, gross subscriber base has pass the 200 million mark
while the total wireless subscriber base for CDMA, GSM and WLL is about 162 million.
Clearly, the customer base of Airtel is strong in India. It is also worth mentioning that millions of
the network’s lines are added per year, .Airtel enjoys a well distributed network of distributors
including even businesses like groceries and chemist outlets. One of the things that have made
Bharti Airtel a force to reckon in telecommunication industry in India and Africa is that it has the

22
strategy of making the first moves and emerging as a winner. It has managed to buy Kuwait’s
Zain and Tata steel in the past, making it a top 5 wireless carrier in the world by subscription.

Wider distribution network as compared to competitors

Network is widespread bringing many customers daily to Airtel

Fourth largest mobile operator in the world with presence in 20 countries

Promotion in the Marketing mix of Airtel

Airtel engages in aggressive marketing strategy ranging from traditional print media to social
network marketing. However, the company’s recent rebranding efforts bombed in the market and
were not received positively. The company also engages in large scale TV and print advertising.
The company frequently uses big celebrities who endorse the services. The company also
managed to create its signature tune from Oscar winning musician A.R.Rahman which has
become one of the most downloaded tunes in India.

It is also interesting to note that even such seemingly redundant activities like providing
wallpapers and screensavers to computer users has proved a very effective marketing strategy.
The company also offers special discounts and offers to its subscribers.

Apart from that Airtel has been hiring several figures from Bollywood right from the legendary
Amitabh Bachhan to Vidya Balan as their brand ambassadors. The God of cricket, Sachin
Tendulkar too has been a part of their advertisement campaigns too. The advantage of Airtel is
that I goes regional with its advertisement efforts.

Some salient points about the promotions of Airtel are

Uses ATL and BTL activities

Makes an effort to go regional

Recent rebranding effort has failed in the market

Has good word of mouth and a good brand image second only to Vodafone.

Price in the marketing mix of Airtel

23
The company uses competitive pricing strategy just like any other network providers because of
the competition which is present in this sector. However, Airtel also provides flexible pricing
mechanism depending on the prevailing market conditions. For instance, when the company
relaxes taxation, it also reduces its prices across all affected products. The make my plan
introduced by Airtel was a smart strategy as customers could now modify their plan as they see
fit

24
 CHAPTER III
3.1 HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20

countries across Asia and Africa. Headquarter in New Delhi, India, the company ranks among
the top 4 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's
product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line
services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national &
international long distance services to carriers.

Name Bharti Airtel Limited.

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with

operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi,
India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in
terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G
Business
and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL
description
broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long
distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G
wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 363 million
customers across its operations at the end of September 2016.

Established July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company

ISIN INE397D01024

Rs. 246,515 million (ended September 30, 2016-Audited)

Proportionate
Rs. 238,357 million (ended September 30, 2015-Audited)
revenue
As per Ind-AS Accounts

25
 Rs. 94,662 million (ended September 30, 2016-Audited)
Proportionate
Rs. 82,653 million (ended September 30, 2015-Audited)
EBITDA
As per Ind-AS Accounts

Shares in issue 3997.4 Mn shares as at September 30, 2016

Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE)

Listings
National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

Stock exchange NSE – BHARTIARTL

symbol BSE – 532454

India: 259,941,000 GSM mobile; 2,083,000 –Homes customers and 12,405,000-

Market Digital TV Services
capitalisation (status as on September 30, 2016)
customer base Africa: 78,145,000 GSM mobile customers, SA: 8,800,000 mobile customers
(status as on September 30, 2016)

Bharti Airtel Limited

(A Bharti Enterprise)
Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road,
Registered office Vasant Kunj, Phase II,
New Delhi - 110 070.
Tel. No.: +91 11 4666 6100
Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411

3.2 VISION AND MISSION OF THE COMPANY

Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win customers for life
through exceptional experience.

26
3.3 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OF THE COMPANY

Airtel Live! WAP Services: Download the latest ringtones, games, wallpapers, videos and
much more. You can also get news clips, watch live TV and download full songs on your phone!
To get Airtel Live! Settings on your phone SMS 'Live' to 56465 and save the settings that you
receive as your preferred connection. Airtel Live! Portal can be accessed from you GPRS
enabled phone, by sending a SMS 'FUN' to 56465.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Services)Log on to the internet, with GPRS that allows data
transmission at a higher speed. Access e-mails and internet across Airtel's pan-India presence
using 'Mobile Office' with your phone or a phone and laptop both.

Get the EDGE

Browse the internet on your mobile phone with Airtel's EDGE services. Enjoy live TV, enhanced
WAP experience and Airtel Data Cards on our high speed network.

Hello Tunes

Tired of that boring old ‘tring tring’ on your phone? Well now when a friend calls, you can make
them groove to the hottest new tracks burning up the music charts with Hello Tunes from Airtel!
You get a wide choice of songs in the Popular & New Arrivals categories that are updated
regularly. What's more, you can directly call the number for your kind of music, e.g. call 678005
for ‘English New’ and 678001 for ‘Hindi New’. This would directly take you to your favorite
artist's Hello Tunes listing.

Mobile Services

3G

4G

Wifi

Airtel Money

Smart Drive

Network Experience Centre

Strong Network Coverage

27
Prepaid Roaming

Other Services

Call management Services

Voice Mail

SMS (Short Messaging Service)

Subscription Alerts

MMS (Multi-media Messaging Service):

Hello Tunes .

Copy a Hello Tune.

Gift a Hello Tune

Reach us Anytime Anywhere

Airtel Postpaid

Easy Billing

Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere

28
3.4 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
Bharti airtel limited - Organization structure (India and South Asia)

MD & CEO

(India and South Asia)

Gopal Vittal
DIRECTOR-

MARKET OPERATIONS

Ajai Puri

DIRECTOR-

CONSUMER BUSINESS

VACANT

DIRECTOR-

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Sarang Kanade

DIRECTOR & CEO-

AIRTEL BUSINESS

Ashok Ganapathy

DIRECTOR & CEO - GLOBAL

VOICE & DATA BUSINESS

Ajai Chitkara

CEO-

DIRECT-TO-HOME

VACANT

CEO-

29
 AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK

Shashi Arora

CEO-

NXTRA

Neil Pollock

CTO

Abhay Savargaonkar

GLOBAL CHRO

B Srikanth

GLOBAL CFO

Nilanjan Roy

GLOBAL CIO

Harmeen Mehta

DIRECTOR-

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

Moti Gyamlani

DIRECTOR - LEGAL

Sameer Chugh

CHIEF REGULATORY OFFICER

Ravi Gandhi

30
3.5 AWARDS&ACHIEVEMTS
• Bharti Airtel ranked first in a listing of 100 emerging market multinational companies
by Transparency International on corporate transparency and reporting. According to the
study, the Company topped the list with a cumulative score of 7.3 out of 10.
• Bharti Airtel was positioned among the top eight companies in the listing of top BSE
100 listed companies in FTI Consulting’s ‘India Disclosure Index 2016’ Report with a
composite score of 10 out of 10.
• Bharti Airtel was recognised as the ‘Firm of the Year – Telecom’ at the 3rd edition of
ICICI Lombard & CNBC-TV18 India Risk Management Awards.
• Bharti Airtel secured the second position in Interbrand’s ‘Best Indian Brands Report
2016’.
• Bharti Airtel has been declared winner of ‘Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in
Corporate Governance’ for the year 2016.

31
• 3.6 BALANCE SHEET

32
1. Do you believe that India has potential mobile service providers in the
world?

YES NO
80% 20%

NO

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

INTERPRETATION

As according to the above table (80%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the above
four specified Indian mobile service providers are of belief that India is potentially one of the
most exciting mobile service providers in the world, whereas some (20%) of them do not agree
to this view.

33
2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical
impact on the development of mobile service providers?

YES NO
77% 23%

NO

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

INTERPRETATION

As according to the above table (77%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the above
four specified Indian mobile service providers find that the government’s telecom policy has had
the most radical impact on the development of mobile service providers, whereas some (23%) of
them deny this.

34
3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is
the diversity of the coverage regions?

YES NO
63% 37%

NO

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

INTERPRETATION

As according to the above table (63%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in the mobile
service providers are of belief that one of the challenges facing mobile operations in India is the
diversify of the coverage regions, whereas interestingly another (37%) of them deny this.

35
4. To what extent, do you find that mobile service providers are in a very
complex standard?

TO SOME EXTENT TO GREATER EXTENT

59% 41%

TO
GR
EA
TE
R
EX
T…

TO
SO
M
E
EX
TE
NT

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

INTERPRETATION

As according to the above table (59%) out of the total 100 interviewed people in all the major the
mobile service providers in Indian Cellular industry find only to some extent that GSM is a very
complex standard, whereas the another (41%) respondents find to great extent that mobile
service providers is a very complex standard.

36
 5. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while purchasing
any connection?

Good Network 47%

Discount Scheme 30%
Service Provider 20%
Any Other 3%

preference

Any other

Service provider

preference
Discount Scheme

Good Network

0 10 20 30 40 50

INTERPRETATION

As the above figure shows the consumer preference towards Good network is 47% more when
compared to service provider which is 20%, discount scheme which is 30% and any other
services are 3%

37
6. Among them, which Brand you prefer most?

BRANDS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

Airtel 33%
Vodafone 30%
Idea 27%
Docomo 10%

Docomo

Idea

Vodafone

Airtel

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

INTERPRETATION

Among all the above service provides 33% of users choose Airtel as their preference, 30% of
choose Vodafone as their preference, 27% choose Idea as their preference and 10% choose Tata
Docomo as their preference.

38
7. How would you rate the experience with Airtel?

Excellent Good Average Below Average

50% 31% 19% Nil

Below Average

Average

Good

Excellent

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

INTERPRETATION

50% of the customers rated their experience with Airtel as Excellent, 31% of the customers rated
it as Good, 19% of customers rated it as Average and 0% of the customers rated it as Below
Average.

39
8. Are you using other service providers other than Airtel?

YES 43%
NO 57%

No

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

INTERPRETATION

43% of the interviewed respondents said that they also use other brands other that Airtel whereas
57% of them said that they only stick to Airtel and feel that it’s the best service provider.

40
9. Which was your first choice of cellular service when you purchased a
mobile phone?

BRAND RESULT
Airtel 34%
Vodafone 29%
Idea 28%
Docomo 9%

Docomo

Idea

Vodafone

Airtel

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

INTERPRETATION

34% of respondents choose Airtel as their mobile service provider whenever they bought a
mobile phone, 29% of them choose Vodafone, 28% of them choose Idea and 9% of them choose
Tata Docomo.

41
10. Do you believe that Airtel come close to fulfilling the requirements for a
personal communication system?

Company Yes No

Airtel 77 3

100%
No

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

INTERPRETATION

As the above shows (77%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that mobile service
providers comes close to fulfilling the requirements for a personal communication system,
whereas (23%) of them are in no way to this belief.

42
11. Do you find Airtel as the most exciting and satisfying service provider?

YES NO

83% 17%

NO

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

INTERPRETATION

As the above shows (83%) out of total 100 respondents find that mobile service providers as the
most exciting and satisfying mobile standard, whereas the remaining (17%) respondents deny
this.

43
12. Do you believe that Airtel has a genuine commitment in creating a modern
and efficient communications?

YES NO
81% 19%

NO

YES

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

INTERPRETATION

As the above shows (81%) out of total 100 respondents are of the belief that their service
providers have a genuine commitment to creating a modern and efficient communications
whereas the remaining (19%) respondents deny this.

5.1 FINDINGS
44
• From above the details I conclude that 80% Airtel users preferred to remain with Airtel.

• Also good no. of users who were willing to switch from their respective subscribers
showed interest in Airtel. Hence, these statistics imply a bright future for the company.

• The company is now providing more services like the door to door services which is you
dial the Airtel customer care and would like to send someone flowers the Airtel Company
delivers those flowers to the person concerned.

• Airtel is providing free text messaging service and free voice mail service. Call
conferencing is also another feature Airtel provides.

45
5.2 CONCLUSION

• AIRTEL is one of the leading and most preferred service providers across the city.

• AIRTEL’s Open Network strategy was one of the amazing marketing strategies in
history.

• In spite of various telecom service providers, AIRTEL is leading today because of its
excellent marketing strategies in the global market.

• AIRTEL is not only a leading service provider in INDIA, but in the whole ASIAN
Continent.

• AIRTEL is the world’s 3rd largest mobile telecommunication company with 365 million
active users across the world.

5.3 SUGESSTIONS

46
The main objective of every analysis is to find whether the customers are satisfied with the
services provided. Following are some of the suggestions given for the improvement of the
product and services

• Most the people are satisfied with the offers provided but still some of them
suggested the following for betterment

- Local and STD rates should be slashed down further

- 1 paisa per min offer should be introduced

- Customers feel that compared to other network services offers provided are less

- More slash in ISD rates

• Regarding the internet connection customers feel that the wireless modem
provided should be of more speed i.e., they want it to be as speed as the landline
modem

• Even though many people are satisfied with the Network range but people from
remote areas want improvement in the network connection

• Customers suggested to improve the customer care services and the response
given by the customer care employees should be improved

• Some suggested that the dialer tune services should be increased

5.4 LIMITATION

47
Every attempt will be taken to obtain the error free and meaningful result but as nothing in this
world is 100% perfect I believe that there will still the chance for error on account of following
limitations-

(1) Respondent’s unavailability.

(2) Time pressure and fatigue on the part of respondents and interviewer.

(3) Courtesy bias.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

48
• Moe Rahnema. Overview of the GSM System and Protocol Architecture. IEEE
Communications Magazine. April 1993.

• C. Watson. Radio Equipment for GSM. In D.M. Balston and R.C.V Macario, editors,
Cellular Radio Systems, Artech House, Boston, 1993.

• Bernard J. T. Mallinder. Specification Methodology Applied to the GSM System. In

EUROCON 88, June 2005.

• www.airtel.in

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Airtel

ANEXURE (QUESTIONNAIRE)

49
NAME: ____________________________________

ADDRESS: ____________________________________

OCCUPATION: ____________________________________

1. Do you believe that India has potential mobile service providers in the world?

YES NO

2. Do you find that the government’s telecom policy has had the most radical impact on the
development of mobile service providers?

YES NO

3. Do you believe that one of the challenges facing mobile operators in India is the diversity
of the coverage regions?

YES NO

4. To what extent, do you find that mobile service provider is a very complex standard?

TO SOME EXTENT TO GREATER EXTENT

5. Which of these marketing / sales schemes attracts you while purchasing any connection?

50
 Good Network

Discount Scheme

Service Provider

Any Other

6. Among them, which Brand you prefer most?

BRANDS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

Airtel

Vodafone

Idea

Docomo

7. How would you rate the experience with Airtel?

Excellent Good Average Below Average

8. Are you using other service providers other than Airtel?

YES

NO

9. Which was your first choice of cellular service when you purchased a mobile phone?

51
BRAND RESULT

Airtel

Vodafone

Idea

Docomo

10. Do you believe that Airtel comes close in fulfilling the requirements for a personal
communication system?

Company Yes No

Airtel

11. Do you find Airtel as the most exciting and satisfying service provider?

YES NO

12. Do you believe that Airtel has a genuine commitment in creating a modern and efficient
communications?

YES NO

52