Vodafone - Idea

C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O R F I N A L P R O J E C T
SECTION A, GROUP 10
Objectives
Consumers Insights
 Who is the customer?
 Demographics: 15-35 years of age, both males & females; mother tongue is Hinglish
 Geographic: Reside in tier I, II and III towns
 Behavioral: Smartphone users, use technology for chatting, online shopping, social
media etc. 

 Main Purchase drivers: Need high speed internet, coverage, value for money, value
added services, good network quality 

Consumers Insights
 The recall for Vodafone is high & consumers associate it with the Vodafone
dog while Idea has no memorable marketing campaign or brand mascot
 While the launch of VI was highly publicized, there was a lack of sustained
marketing
 Lack of sense of association with VI, only with individual brands
 Only 13.33% people felt that the targeted vernacular advertising &
marketing campaigns would impact their purchase decisions (Primary Research)
 Product Insights
 The combination packs offered by VI are at par with other players in the market (unlimited call
& data packs, 1 day to 84-day packs etc.)
 VI is a pan India network operator, at par with other players
 One of the 3 dominant players in the telecom industry 
 Core Benefit Provided: Connecting people through calls and internet
 Expected benefits: Fast & reliable connection at an affordable price - currently not being
fulfilled due to Network issues, call drop and poor surfing speed (common pain points)
 Potential Benefit: Helps consumer stay abreast with the latest technologies & innovation that
are creating the new world
Occasion Insights
 Satisfaction level of customers with service provided by Vodafone-Idea ranged between low to
moderate
 When compared to Airtel & Jio, majority consumers (70%) don't perceive VI as 'value for
money'
 Psychological attachment of people relatively high with Jio & Airtel due to regular & re-
callable ad campaigns & marketing initiatives (IPL sponsorship by Jio) which are missing for Vi
 VI has lesser Additional value-added benefits (like subscription to Wynk Music or online
streaming platform like JioTV) as compared to Jio & Airtel which translates into a poorer value
proposition at the same price point
Theoritical Concepts and
Analysis
 3 levels of awareness
1. Company’s awareness of customers:
The VI company is aware of the potential customers that it wishes to target.
Idea : the vernacular market and the rural Indian population
Vodafone : the urban English speaking population in India
Vi : The merger was aimed at improving the reach of both companies by targeting a mix of both the
customer groups.

2. Company’s awareness of market:

The VI is very well aware of the market and the competition.
In the Indian telecom industry, market share distribution is:
[Source: Statista.in]
Company Market Share (Dec’19)
Reliance Jio 32.14%
Vodafone Idea 28.89%
Bharti Airtel 28.43%
BSNL 10.26%
MTNL 0.29%
 3 levels of awareness
3. Customer’s awareness of my company:
This is the segment that VI needs to focus on the most.
By the primary research we conducted, we concluded that
• most customers are unsure of the new brand proposition of VI. The brand is very new and thus, the
customers do not yet have a clear understanding of it and what is the POD of the new brand
• VI needs to do better advertising and marketing to have a better brand recall and clear positioning.
Even after advertising, Vi has not gained mind share.
• Vi needs to create a catchy and memorable personal connection with the audience
e.g. Airtel has ads with the girl who everyone remembers and Jio with its sponsorship strategies (IPL
etc.) and the catchy tune Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan
• Along with that the network quality and coverage needs to improve to be able to stand in the
competitive market, as that is one of the most important factors for network selection
 What is unique about Vi?
According to company:
 Vi brings the power of two networks, Vodafone and Idea into one
 It is a brand built to be strong, dependable and to understand the changing needs of our customers in
the current times
 With our range of new age products, services and meaningful partnerships and associations, Vi will
help customers and businesses to stay ahead and get ahead
 Vi stands together with customers and partners for a better today and brighter tomorrow
 Vernacular Market
• According to a Statista report, the total number of mobile phone internet users in India have crossed 450 million
by 2020
• Over the last few years since launch of competitors, internet connectivity became extremely cheaper and hence
there has been a spurt of Indian language content on the internet and OTT platforms
• Giants Google and Amazon have been making attempts to tap the ‘new internet users’ with content in local
languages and with a stronger focus on voice commands
• This is because approximately only 10 percent of India’s massive 1.3 billion population knows English
• According to a report by Google, 536 million internet users in local Indian languages are set to adopt internet by
2021
• The approximately 500 million Hindi speakers seem to be much bigger market than India's approximately 130
million English speakers
• According to a redseer report, internet has become most preferred medium for ecommerce specifically with
significant rise in vernacular users and hence digital ad spends on vernacular platforms are expected to rise
significantly
• As per the pan-India survey conducted by Redseer, there were 260 million monetizable internet users in 2018
which is expected to grow to 400 million in 2023 (1.5X growth). Out of which, 210 million were Vernacular
monetizable users in 2018 which is expected to grow to 360 million in 2023 (1.6X growth)
• Also, as per this survey conducted by Redseer, around $3 billion were digital ad spends in 2018 which is
expected to grow to $10 billion in 2023 (3.3X growth). Out of which, $0.3 billion were on Vernacular internet
platforms in 2018 which is expected to grow to $3 billion in 2023 (10X growth)
Key Learning
Recommendations
 Recommendations

1. Focused network investments for superior customer experience

 Investment focused in 16 circles to improve competitiveness in priority markets
 4G coverage and capacity expansion to enhance customer experience
 Deploying an array of 5G concepts and technologies (like Cloudification of Core, DSR, Massive MIMO,
Open RAN etc)

2. Market initiatives to drive ARPU improvement

 Build consumer preference and Trust with the launch of the new Brand and messaging architecture
 Drive Salience around the new integrated network
 Scale up the proportion of high ARPU subs through a focused 4G device agenda
 Build a superior consumer experience through a large-scale Digital focus
 Recommendations

3. Driving partnerships and digital revenue streams

 Deep integration to deliver differentiated Telco + experience & value for partners and customers
 Create Data monetization opportunities using platform capabilities
 Partner the digital India agenda via Access, Data & Affordability

4. Cost optimization to drive organizational efficiency

 Business transformation in line with evolving industry dynamics
 Improve cost competitiveness
 Create a ‘fit for future’ organization

5. Leveraging Vodafone-Idea combined brand value to reach non-English audience

 Launch customer service apps in multiple regional languages to support non-English customers
 Provide additional services like Music, OTT platforms in regional languages
 Offers and services relevant to specific geographies and languages should be launched