VIDYASAGAR UNIVERSITY

THE INTERNSHIP REPORT FOR MBA

2018-2020

ON

“Increase the App Penetration of Retail Segment”

Name of the organization

Bharti Airtel Limited

Supervised by- Industry Guide-

Dr Sudin Bag Mr. Abhishake Garg
Assistant Professor- MBA Department Vertical Head, Airtel Postpaid
Vidyasagar University Kolkata Circle

Submitted By-
Avijit Hatui
Roll– VU/PG/MBA-IIS No.- 0014
Registration No. - 210052 of 2015- 2016
Vidyasagar University, Midnapore
 Acknowledgement

The satiation and euphoric that accompany the successful completion of the task would be
incomplete without the mention of the people who made it possible. After all, success is the
epitome of hard work, severance, undeterred missionary, zeal, steadfast, determination and most
of all encouraging guidance. So, immense gratitude, I acknowledge all those whose guidance and
encouragement served as a beacon light and crowned my effort with success.

I sincerely thank Mr. Abhishake Garg, Vertical Head of Postpaid, Kolkata, Bharti Airtel Limited for
giving an opportunity to associate myself to the India’s largest telecom company and to carry out
my project titled- “Increase the App Penetration of Retail Segment”

I would like to express my profound sense of gratitude to My Faculty guide Dr Sudin Bag for
guiding me as well as providing me support to conduct the project with a deep sense of gratitude
and indebtedness, I sincerely and whole heartedly thank my fellow colleagues and the staff team
at Bharti Airtel Limited, Kolkata, for giving me value suggestions and advice throughout the
execution of the project. This project would not have been concluded successfully within the
time without their proper support and help.

Avijit Hatui
Vidyasagar University
Midnapore

 
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 Self Declaration Certificate

I hereby declare that the project entitled- “Increase the App Penetration of Retail Segment.”
submitted for the MBA is my original work and the project has not formed the basis for the
award of any other degree.

Signature of the Student:

Place: Midnapore
Date:

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 PREFACE

The objective of any marketing activity is to sell a product. For this, one must have the
right product at the right price, available at the right time and place, through the right promotion
commonly understood as the 4 P’s of marketing mix. The fundamental point to be appreciated is
that all these variables must simultaneously fall in place for the success of a product. Take a
look around you at all the successful brands and ask the marketing managers the reason for
success. They will invariably tell you that it is because the company has been able to get this
“mix” right. If one were to examine these variables carefully one will realize that thee are indeed
ways of “communicating” with the consumer. A product talks to the consumer through its
features, packaging and the promise of fulfilling a need. Its pricing tells the consumer whether it
is affordable, value for money or premium. Its placement also communicates the values
associated with the product. A premium store versus a discount store communicates very
different messages to the consumer. The promotion of the product also obviously communicates
some message to consumer.

In effect therefore, marketing is all about communication, whether through the product and
its packaging, the pricing, the placement and the promotion. We would therefore like to use the
term communication mix and highlight the importance of sales promotion in that context.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction Page No.

Introduction about the topic 06

Objective of the study 12
Scope of the study 13
Method of data collection 13
 

Chapter 2: Company Profile

 
Telecom industry in India 13
Bharti Airtel ltd 13
Vision of Bharti Airtel 17
History of the company 17
 

Chapter 3: The Competitive Area

 
Competitor’s profile 19
Marketing strategy by Airtel 21
Target market segment 23

Chapter 4: Analysis
 
Data Analysis 25
Finding 39
Suggestion 40
Limitation of study 41
Conclusion 42
Bibliography 43

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 INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE TOPIC

The project is made on the project title- “Increase the App Penetration of Retail Segment.”

The purpose of the project is to know about the using rate of featured app e.g. My Airtel App, Wynk Music,
Amazon Prime and Netflix, which has given with the various Airtel Postpaid Plans. And also have to increase the
using of the apps in the retail segment. Now a day mobile service has become a necessary service. In
field of marketing many kind of survey are conducted by Airtel time to time for promotion
awareness.

What is Penetration?

Penetration defines how many users are there for a product. It is one of the measures of a
company or industry's success in getting consumers to use their products. The penetration
numbers for India are very low in most products, like telephones (tele density) or shampoos,
soaps, cosmetics and so on.

 A rising penetration of products in the country signifies a greater consumer class, willing to use
products. Rising penetration should translate into rising market share for the leader as well. Low
penetration numbers are usually quoted in India's context to show what potential exists in the
Indian market place.

Penetration of a product depends on several factors, like income, marketing activity, needs,
positioning, and logistics of making the product available in the first place, demographics as well
as an understanding of consumer needs.

For example, shampoo's penetration in India is still low in rural areas as people there use soap
for hair washing and not so much shampoo.

FMCG marketers found that selling low unit cost, single use sachets to rural markets encouraged
price-sensitive rural people to try shampoo. The sachet has since then been one of the greatest
causes of increasing shampoo, soap and all other types of products into rural markets.

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Market Penetration Techniques:

Price Adjustments:

One of the common market penetration strategies is to lower the products' prices. Businesses aim
to generate more sales volume by increasing the number of products purchased by putting on
lower prices (price competition) for consumers comparing to the alternative goods. Companies
may alternatively pursue strategies of higher prices depending on the demand elasticity of the
product, in the hope that it will generate an increased sales volume and result in higher market
penetration.

Increased Promotion:

Businesses can also increase their market penetration by offering promotions to customers. A
promotion is a strategy often linked with pricing, used to raise awareness of the brand and
generate profit to maximize their market share.

More Distribution Channel:

A distribution channel is the connection between businesses and intermediaries before a good or
service is purchased by the consumers. Distribution can also contribute to sales volumes for
businesses. It can increase consumer awareness, change the strategies of competitors and alter
the consumer's perception of the product and the brand, and is another method to increase market
penetration.

Product Improvement:

Product management is crucial to a high market penetration in the targeted market and by
improving the quality of products, businesses are able to attract and out-quality the competitors'
products to match customers' requirements and eventually lead to more sales made. Product
improvements can be utilized to create new interests in a declining product, for example by
changing the design of the packaging or material/ingredients.

Market Development:

Market development aims at non-buying shoppers in targeted markets and new customers in
order to maximize the potential market. Before developing a new market, companies should
consider all the risks associated with the decision including its profitability. If a company is

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confident about their products, believes in their strengths, and is enticing to new consumers, then
market development is a suitable strategy for the business.

Penetration Pricing:

Penetration pricing is a marketing technique which is used to gain market share by selling a new
product for a price that is significantly lower than its competitors. The company begins to raise
the price of the product once it has achieved a large customer base and market share. Penetration
pricing is frequently used by network provider and cable or satellite services companies. Many
of the providers will initially offer an unbeatable price to attract customers into switching to their
service and after the discount period has ended, the price increases dramatically and some
customers will be forced to stay with the provider because of contract issues.

Penetration pricing benefits from the influence of word-of-mouth advertising, allowing

customers to spread the words of how affordable the products are prior to business increasing the
prices. It will also discourage and disadvantage competitors who are not willing to undersell and
losing sales to others. However, businesses have to ensure they have enough capital to stay in
surplus before the price is raised up again.

Types of Penetration Testing:

1. External Network Penetration Test:

An external network penetration test is typically what most people think of when talking about
pen testing.

An 'external' pen test involves an ethical hacker trying to break into an organization’s network
- across the Internet. This means it’s done off-site (remotely, as a hacker would be); using
controlled and agreed ethical hacking techniques to accurately simulate a targeted attack from
malicious parties on your network.

2. Internal Network Penetration Test:

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An internal penetration test, by contrast, simulates either the actions a hacker might take once
access has been gained to a network or those of a malicious actor, or disgruntled employee with
access that he or she is looking to escalate. The end target is ultimately the same as an external
penetration test (above), but the starting point assumes a degree of network access already.

3. Web Application Penetration Test:

The number of web apps and websites is growing rapidly, many providing easy access to
sensitive user or financial data, making them a highly prized target for cybercriminals.

A web application penetration test, looks for any security issues that might have arisen as a result
of insecure development, design or coding, to identify potential vulnerabilities in your websites
and web applications, including CRM, extranets and internally developed programs - which
could lead to exposure of personal data, credit card information etc.

4. Social Engineering:

Social engineering is commonly seen as the modern frontier in IT security - and certainly your
greatest risk.
A social engineering pen test will help you assess and understand the susceptibility within your
organization to human manipulation via email, phone, media drops, physical access, social media
mining etc.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Penetration:

Advantages:

1. Reveal vulnerabilities:

Penetration testing explores existing weaknesses in your system or application configurations

and network infrastructure. Even actions and habits of your staff that could lead to data breaches
and malicious infiltration are being researched during penetration tests. A report informs you on
your security vulnerabilities so you know what software and hardware improvements you have
to consider or what recommendations and policies would improve the overall security.

2. Show real risks:

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Penetration testers try to exploit identified vulnerabilities. That means you see what an attacker
could do in the ‘real world’. They might access sensitive data and execute operating system
commands. But they might also tell you that a vulnerability that is theoretically high risk isn’t
that risky at all because of the difficulty of exploitation. Only a specialist can perform that type
of analysis.

3. Test your cyber-defense capability:

You should be able to detect attacks and respond adequately and on time. Once you detect an
intrusion, you should start investigations, discover the intruders and block them. Whether they
are malicious or experts testing the effectiveness of your protection strategy. The feedback from
the test will tell you if – but more likely what – actions can be taken to improve your defense.

4. Ensure business continuity:

To make sure your business operations are up-and-running all the time, you need network
availability, 24/7 communications and access to resources. Each disruption will have a negative
impact on your business. Penetration tests reveal potential threats and help to ensure that your
operations don’t suffer from unexpected downtime or a loss of accessibility. In this respect, a
penetration test is quite like a business continuity audit.

5. Have a third party expert opinion:

When an issue is identified by someone within your organization, your management may not be
inclined to react or act. A report from a third-party expert often has a bigger impact on your
management, and it may lead to allocation of additional funds.

6. Follow regulations and certifications:

Your industry and legal compliance requirements may dictate a certain level of penetration
testing. Think about the ISO 27001 standards or PCI regulations, which require all managers and
system owners to conduct regular penetration tests and security reviews, with skilled testers.
That is because penetration testing focuses on real-life consequences.

7. Maintain trust:

A cyber assault or data breach negatively affects the confidence and loyalty of your customers,
suppliers and partners. However, if your company is known for its strict and systematic security
reviews and penetration tests, you will reassure all your stakeholders.

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Disadvantages:

Following steps are the problems in pen testing.

 Session State Management

 Script Parsing
 Logical Flow
 Custom URLs
 Privilege Escalation
 False Negatives/Positives

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Primary Research Objective:

 To study the present scenario of the apps given in Airtel postpaid segment

 To identify the major reasons behind the low usage of the apps given by Airtel postpaid
in Kolkata

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 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The Scope of the Research study would include the geographic & Demographic region of
Kolkata. The research targets the managers, retailers and distributors who deal into telecom
services and the time period of the survey is from 1st April to 15th May of 2019

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

PRIMARY METHOD: Data was collected from respondents through direct interaction and
through personal meetings.

SECONDARY METHOD: External study data has also been used through internet and through
newsletters & journals.

TELECOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Indian telecom sector, like any other industrial sector in the country, has gone through
many phases of growth and diversification. Starting from telegraphic and telephonic system in
the 19th century, the field of telephonic communication has now expanded to make use of
advanced technologies like Prepaid, Postpaid and WLL to great 4G technology in mobile
phones. Day by day, both the public players and the private players are putting in their resources
and efforts to improve the telecommunication technologies so as to give maximum to their
customers. The Telecom industry of India is on the edge of becoming the second biggest telecom
sector in the world with an overall compactness of telecommunications of up to 47.89%. In the
year 2009, the industry attracted subscribers of over 562.21 million which was3.5% greater than
its previous year, as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report. The Indian
telecom industry registered annual revenues of over US$8.57 billion in 2009 triggered by the
revival in incomes from landline and mobile services. By 2014, the industry is anticipated to
surface as the highest element in the nation's GDP by contributing up to 15.5%.Currently, the
telecom industry is on an expansion spree and is adding 9-11 million cellular phone subscribers
per month. With this pace the sector is estimated to cover more than half of the nation's
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population by2012. 2010 Budget Telecom Industry Expectations are re-introduction of tax
exemptions in context of system rollouts in rural districts and to telecom infrastructure service
providers, tax relief to businesses undergoing reformatting mentioned in provisions under
Section80IA (12A) by the Finance Act, 2007, special additional duty (SAD) compensation,
accessibility of Cenvat Credit in case of relocation of the business, tariffs of not up to 0.5-2%
and explanation on tax reduction of entire spectrum charge.

BHARTI AIRTEL LTD

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 and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed
line services, high speed home 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 403 million customers across
its operations at the end of March 2019.

Bharti Airtel Limited also known as Airtel is an Indian 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, 4G+ 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 except Jammu and
Kashmir and Andaman and is likely to launch in these circles soon. 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 was named India's second most valuable brand in the first ever
Brandz ranking by Millward Brown and WPP plc.

Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business
operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low
cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been adopted by several operators. Airtel's
equipment is provided and maintained by Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia Networks  whereas IT
support is provided by IBM. The transmission towers are maintained by subsidiaries and joint
venture companies of Bharti including Bharti Infratel and Indus Towersin India. Ericsson agreed
for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment
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rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates
of ₹1 (1.4¢ US)/minute.

Company Profile:

Date of Establishment: 1995

Revenue: ₹81,071 crore (US$12 billion) (2019)
Market Cap: 364.85 INR 
Corporate Address: Aravali Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road,Vasant Kunj Phase2 NewDelhi-
110070, Delhi
Chairperson: Sunil Bharti Mittal

Bharti Airtel, incorporated on July7, 1995 is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The
Bharti Group has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the
telecommunication sector. Bharti Airtel is Asia’s leading integrated telecom services
provider with operations in 18 countries India, Sri Lanka, Africa and more countries. Bharti
Airtel has been at the forefront of the telecom revolution and has transformed the sector.

Business Division:

The enterprise services group includes units for both long-distance carriers and for corporate
clients. Bharti Airtel has nearly 1183.77 million total customers. The company was founded as
Bharti Tele-Ventures in 1995 and changed its name in early 2006 to Bharti Airtel Limited. It is a
unit of Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman and Group
Managing Director).This highly innovative company created telecom history when it farmed out
its network management to experts Nokia and Ericsson, and set a trend in the global cellular
industry. This year, Bharti starts Airtel Thanks service which offers the subscriber various app
free with various prepaid and postpaid plans.

Mobile Services:
 
Bharti Airtel offers GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles of India along with prepaid
and postpaid services.

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Home Services:

Bharti Airtel offers fixed-line telephone and broadband services across 93 cities pan-India. Our
product offerings include voice connectivity over fixed-line and high-speed broadband on copper
& fiber with speeds up to 100 mbps for your homes.

Digital TV Services:
 
We offer both standard and high definition (HD) digital TV services with 3D capabilities and
Dolby surround sound. We currently offer a total of 635 channels including 80 HD channels, 5
international channels and 3 interactive services.

Airtel Business:
 
Bharti Airtel is a leading and most trusted provider of ICT services in India and offers a diverse
portfolio of services to enterprises, governments, carriers and small and medium business. Along
with voice, data and video, our services also include network integration, data centers, managed
services, enterprise mobility applications and digital media. We also offer global services in both
voice and data including VAS services like International Toll Free Services and SMS hubbing.

Telemedia:

Under the Telemedia segment, Airtel provides broadband internet access through DSL, internet
leased lines and MPLS (multiprotocol label switching) solutions, as well as IPTV and fixed line
telephone services. Until 18 September 2004, Bharti provided fixed line telephony and
broadband services under the Touchtel brand. Bharti now provides all telecom services including
fixed line services under the common brand airtel. As of September 2012, Airtel provides
Telemedia services to 3.3 million customers in 87 cities. As on 30 November 2012, Airtel had
1.39 million broadband subscribers.

Airtel Broadband provides broadband and IPTV services. Airtel provides both capped as well as
unlimited download plans. However, Airtel's unlimited plans are subject to free usage policy
(FUP), which reduces speed after the customer crosses a certain data usage limit. In most of the
plans, Airtel provides only 512kbit/s beyond FUP, which is lower than the TRAI specified limit

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of half the subscriber's original speed. The maximum speed available for home users under the
new V-Fiber program is 100MBit/s and with DSL is 16Mbit/s.

In May 2012, Airtel Broadband and some other Indian ISPs temporarily blocked file sharing
websites.

VISION OF BHARTI AIRTEL

The company’s vision is to enrich the lives of the customers. The obsession is to win customers
for life through an exceptional experience. Hunger to win customer for life.

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

In 1984, Sunil Mittal started assembling push-button phones in India, which he earlier used to

import from a Taiwan company, Kingtel, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones that
were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated and entered
into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for manufacture of electronic push button
phones. By the early 1990s, Bharti was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom
gear. He named his first push-button phones as 'Mitbrau'.

In 1992, he successfully bid for one of the four mobile phone network licenses auctioned
in India. One of the conditions for the Delhi cellular license was that the bidder has some
experience as a telecom operator. So, Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom
group Vivendi. He was one of the first Indian entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom
business as a major growth area. His plans were finally approved by the Government in 1994 and
he launched services in Delhi in 1995, when Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer
cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the first
telecom company to cross the 2 million mobile subscriber mark. Bharti also brought down the
STD/ISD cellular rates in India under brand name 'India one'.

In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell Communications, in
Chennai.

In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public
in 2002, and the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange
of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were re-branded under the single Airtel brand.

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In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its
network to Andaman and Nicobar. This expansion allowed it to offer voice services all across
India.

Airtel launched "Hello Tunes", a caller ring back tone service (CRBT), in July 2004 becoming
the first operator in India to do so. The Airtel theme song, composed by A.R. Rahman, was the
most popular tune in that year.

In May 2008, it emerged that Airtel was exploring the possibility of buying the MTN Group, a
South Africa-based telecommunications company with coverage in 21 countries in Africa and
the Middle East. The Financial Times reported that Bharti was considering offering US$45
billion for a 100% stake in MTN, which would be the largest overseas acquisition ever by an
Indian firm. However, both sides emphasize the tentative nature of the talks, while The
Economist magazine noted, "If anything, Bharti would be marrying up," as MTN has
more subscribers, higher revenues and broader geographic coverage. However, the talks fell
apart as MTN Group tried to reverse the negotiations by making Bharti almost a subsidiary of the
new company. 

In May 2009, Bharti Airtel again confirmed that it was in talks with MTN and the companies
agreed to discuss the potential transaction exclusively by 31 July 2009. Talks eventually ended
without agreement, some sources stating that this was due to opposition from the South African
government.

In 2009, Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network
infrastructure for the fixed line business. Later, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract
to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access network across the country. This
would help consumer’s access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on
mobile handsets.

In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka.

 In June 2010, Bhartil acquired the African business of Zain Telecom for $10.7 billion making it
the largest ever acquisition by an Indian telecom firm.

 In 2012, Bharti tied up with Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, to start a number of retail stores
across India. 

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In 2014, Bharti planned to acquire Loop Mobile for 7 billion (US$100 million), but the deal was
called off later.

Bharti Airtel Limited ("Airtel"), the world's third largest mobile operator with operations in 20
countries across Asia and Africa, said that its Treasury division has been adjudged as a highly
commended winner of the Top Treasury Team (Asia) Awards at the Adam Smith Asia Awards
2015.

COMPETITOR’S PROFILE

Vodafone Idea Limited:

Vodafone Idea Limited is India's largest telecom operator with it’s 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, enterprise offerings and entertainment,
accessible via both digital channels as well as on-ground touch points, centers across the
country. As of March 2019, Vodafone Idea has 31% market share in India with 394.8 million
subscribers, making it the largest mobile telecommunications network in India and Third largest
mobile telecommunications network in the world. Vodafone Idea has a broadband network of
340,000 sites, distribution reach of 1.7 million retail outlets.

On 31 August 2018, Vodafone India merged with Idea Cellular, and was renamed as Vodafone
Idea Limited. However, the merged entity continues using both the Idea and Vodafone
brand. Currently, the Vodafone Group holds a 45.1% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya
Birla Group holds 26% and the remaining shares will be held by the public. Kumar Mangalam
Birla heads the merged company as the Chairman, with Balesh Sharma as the CEO. And the total
revenue of the company is ₹37,823 crore (US$5.5 billion) (2019)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited:

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, also known as Jio, is an Indian mobile network operator.
Owned by Reliance Industries and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, it operates a

19
national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles. Jio does not
offer 2G or 3Gservice, and instead uses voice over LTE to provide voice service on its network.

Jio soft launched on 27 December 2015 (the eve of what would have been the 83rd birthday of
Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani), with a beta for partners and employees, and
became publicly available on 5 September 2016. As of 30 April 2019, it is the second largest
mobile network operator in India and the sixth largest mobile network operator in the world with
over 314.80 million subscribers.

On 5 July 2018, fixed line broadband service named Gigafiber, was launched by the Reliance
Industries Limited's chairman Mukesh Ambani, during the company's Annual General Meeting.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL):

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (abbreviated BSNL) is an Indian state-

owned telecommunications company headquartered in New Delhi. It was incorporated on 15
September 2000 and assumed the business of providing telecom services and network
management from the erstwhile Central Government Departments of Telecom Services (DTS)
and Telecom Operations (DTO) as of 1 October 2000 on a going-concern basis.
It is the largest provider of fixed telephony and broadband services with more than 60% market
share, and is the fourth largest mobile telephony provider in India. BSNL is India's oldest
communication service provider and its history can be traced back to the British era. During the
British era, the first telegraph line was established between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. The
British East India Company started using the telegraph in 1851 and till 1854 telegraph lines were
laid across the country. In 1854, the telegraph service was opened to the public and the first
telegram was sent from Mumbai to Pune. In 1885, the Indian Telegraph Act was passed by the
British Imperial Legislative Counsel. After the bifurcation of post and Telegraph department in
1980s, the creation of Department of Telecom by 1990s eventually led to the emergence of the
State owned telegraph and telephone company BSNL. BSNL then continued the telegraph
services in India until it shut down telegraph services completely on July 15, 2013. And the total
revenue of the organization is ₹19,308 crore(US$2.8 billion) (2019)

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 MARKETING STRATEGY BY AIRTEL

The company consistently fine-tuning our strategies and strengthening our innovative core to
anticipate and lead change in the global digital landscape.

Win the primary SIM slot and wrest back share.

Win every market and channel through brilliant micro marketing and a re-energized GTM. Drive
upgrades through device partnerships and offers.

Lock-in customers through postpaid, loyalty program and more products.

Fix network quality through discipline, ownership, right measurement and digitization.

Future proof the network across access, transport and core layers by investing smartly.

Rapidly grow homes through broadband and DTH expansion.

Accelerate SME through GTM re-invention and going deeper in large accounts.

Leverage Customer 360, training and touch points to drive the right recommendation at the right
time.

Build the largest music and TV service of India.

Launch homes, office and payments platforms to drive new revenues.

Build the largest payments bank through dramatic increase in users and financial services use
cases.

Drive new revenue streams in the areas of IoT, Cyber security and DCs.

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Drive down cost through end to end process re-engineering and digitization.

Drive passion and teamwork while building an Airtel of the Future.

Bharti decided to design different marketing strategies for different circles depending on the
strategies, employed by the competitors. While the company was focusing on its pricing
strategies, its competitors in various sectors were concentrated on new service offerings and
value additions since the players almost immediately matched price reduction moves, companies
had begun focusing on developing value-added offerings and schemes to expand their market
and gain customer loyalty.

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 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 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:

 Airtel has prepaid and postpaid, and there is various plans available with the two. Such
as, they are giving the freedom to use some costly apps e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime,
Wynk Music, Hoichoi, Airtel TV App, My Airtel App. That is one of the greatest
strategies by Airtel.
 Airtel comes to banking service with the name as Airel Payment Bank. Through this they
are giving various offers, UPI service, and cash back through recharges. By this they got
more attraction from customers.
 There have been educational campaigns, image campaigns, pre launch advertisements,
launch advertisements, congratulatory advertisements, promotional advertisements,
attacking advertisements and tactical advertisements.

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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'. As well they are giving prepaid and postpaid services and
various data plans available with the offers.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:

The pattern of cell phone 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.

TARGET MARKET SEGMENT

Airtel has targeted the premium, upper middle class and now a day also the lower class. The
rationale behind it is that only those segments should be targeted for postpaid 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. 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
23
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 a field.

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 services the hearts 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 as well lower class family too. In order to do so 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 voice call and sms services with various data packages and other concessions to make
the prices and thus the product more attractive. Only price doesn't serve as an effective
differentiator, value added services become the effective differentiator.

24
 DATA ANALYSIS

Question- 1

What is your gender?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Male 75 75
Female 25 25
Total 100 100

GENDER

25%

Male
Female

75%

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that 25% of the respondents
are female and 75% of the respondents are male. In this way
I can say that the number of male users much higher than
the female customers.

25
Question- 2

How old are you?

Respondents Percentage (%)

18-25 12 12
26-35 36 36
36-45 29 29
46-60 23 23
Total 100 100

AGE

12%

23%

18-25
26-35
36-45
46-60

36%

29%

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, there is 36% customers are using postpaid of 26-35 age category,
as well 29% customers are of 36-45 age group, 23% customers are from 46-60 age group.
Lastly, the number of young customer is lower than the others as shown in the chart that 12% of
the customers are using the postpaid.
26
Question- 3

What is your occupation/ profession?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Student 11 11
Service 73 73
Business 16 16
Total 100 100

OCCUPATION
Student Service Business

11%
16%

73%

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that the maximum customers occupation is service that is 73%,
others such as 16% customers are belongs to business as well 11% customers are belongs to
study that’s mean they are student.

27
Question- 4

What is your qualification?

Respondents Percentage
Higher Secondary 8 8
Graduation 66 66
Post-Graduation 26 26
Total 100 100

QUALIFICATION
QUALIFICATION

Post-Graduation 26

Graduation 66

Higher Secondary 8

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, I got that 66% of the customers are graduate. As well 26%
customers are post-graduate and 8% customers are higher secondary passed.

28
Question- 5

How much you earn in a year?

Respondents Percentages
0(Nil) 10 10
≤4 Lakhs 12 12
≥4 Lakhs 54 54
>5 Lakhs 1 1
≤6 Lakhs 16 16
≥6 Lakhs 7 7
Total 100 100

EARNING
EARNING

≥6 Lakhs 7

≤6 Lakhs 16

>5 Lakhs 1

≥4 Lakhs 54

≤4 Lakhs 12

0 (Nil) 10

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that 54% customer’s earning/year is ≥4 Lakhs, 16% customer’s
income is ≤6 Lakhs and 12% customer’s earning is ≤4 Lakhs. Whereas in the other hand, 7%
customer’s income lies between ≥6 Lakhs, only 1% customer’s income is >5 Lakhs and most
importantly 10% customer has no earning.

Question-6

Is that price is effective behind not using the apps?

29
 Respondents Percentage (%)
Strongly Agree 2 2
Agree 8 8
Average 29 29
Disagree 54 54
Strongly Disagree 7 7
Total 100 100

Price
2%
7% 8%

Strongly Agree
Agree
Average
Disagree
29%
Strongly Disagree

54%

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, I got that 7% of the customers are strongly disagree with the
price problem, 54% of the customers are disagree with the problem, which is little higher than
the others. In other hand, where 2% customers are strongly agreed with the price problem, 8% of
the customers are agreeing with the problem. 29% of the customers said that there problem is
average.

Question- 7

Do you know about the free subscription of the apps?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 54 54

30
 No 46 46
Total 100 100

Knows about the Apps

Yes No

46%

54%

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that 54% customers know about the free subscription of the
apps, whereas 46% customers did not know about the apps.

Question- 8

Have you got any information regarding the apps before from company?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 69 69
No 31 31
Total 100 100

31
 Lack of Information
Yes No

31%

69%

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, I got that 69% of the customers got information from the
company before regarding the free subscription of the app. But, 31% of the customers have not
got any information about it.

Question- 9

What do you think about the quality?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Poor 22 22
Average 48 48
Good 24 24
Very Good 6 6
Total 100 100
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 QUALITY
QUALITY

Very Good 6

Good 24

Average 48

Poor 22

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that, 48% of the customers rated the quality average, 24%
customers said that the quality is good. Whereas, 6% of the customers rated the quality is very
good and the last 22% customers said that the quality is poor.

Question- 10

Are those apps are time consuming?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 72 72
No 28 28
Total 100 100

33
 Time Consuming
Yes No

28%

72%

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart I can easily say that, 72% of the customers have said the apps are
time consuming. In other hand the other 28% customers have said the using of the apps are not
wastage of time.

Question- 11

Are you using other apps?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 43 43
No 57 57
Total 100 100

34
 Using of Other Apps
Yes No

43%

57%

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that the 43% of the customers are using other apps, whereas
57% of the customers are not using other apps too.

Question- 12

Do you have interest upon those apps?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 42 42
Average 49 49
No 9 9
Total 100 100

35
 Interest upon the Apps
Interest upon the Apps

No 9

Average 49

Yes 42

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, I have found that there is 49% of the customers, who have
average interest upon using the apps, 42% of the customers said that they have interest upon the
apps. Lastly, 9% respondents have no interest upon the apps.

Question- 13

Is those free subscription of the apps are chargeable after one or few months?

Respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 6 6
No 23 23
Don’t know 71 71
Total 100 100

36
 Apps are Taking Charge After 1 month
Apps are Taking Charge After 1 month

Don't Knon 71

No 23

Yes 6

INTERPRETATION

The above table and chart shows that, 71% of the respondents said that they don’t know that the
free subscription of the apps are chargeable or not after one month, 6% of the respondents said
that, yes after one month it is chargeable and the remaining 23% have said that it is not
chargeable.

Question- 14

Is the apps are boring?

Respondents Percentages (%)

Strongly Agree 9 9
Agree 15 15
Average 24 24
Disagree 38 38
Strongly Disagree 14 14
Total 100 100

37
 Apps are Boring?
Apps are Boring?

Strongly Disgree 14

Disagree 38

Average 24

Agree 15

Strongly Agree 9

INTERPRETATION

From the above table and chart, I found that 14% of the respondents strongly disagreed that the
apps are boring, when 38% disagreed that the apps are boring. 9% strongly agreed and 15%
agreed that the apps are boring. Whereas the remaining 24% said that those are average in case
of boredom.

FINDING

After analyzing the data of the project, I have found what are the main reasons behind the low
number of users of the apps, and what their needs are.

 Maximum number of customers doesn’t know about the scheme, that Airtel
Postpaid is giving free subscription of various apps, e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime
etc.

 Lack of information is another big point. Many customers know about the scheme
but they don’t know how they can use it. Company doesn’t providing the proper
way to use the apps.
38
  Many customers are saying that they are using another app, which has much more
interesting entertainment objects.

 Maximum number of respondents have no interest on the schemes that of the free
subscription of the apps.

 Too much number of respondents has said that the apps are consuming too much
time, because there is a shortage of short entertainment objects.

SUGGESTION

Suggestion is one of the important parts of a report. In this portion we have to suggest some
points for the organization, what they have to do for developing the organization.

 First of all, Airtel has to make some awareness about the scheme, that they are
giving the free subscription of Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.

 The organization has to provide the proper information about the scheme, how to
use and how to active the scheme etc.

39
  Those apps Airtel has added in their scheme have to improve their quality, first of
all they have to contain some interesting entertainment objects. They have to give
some good films, as well as also have to give some good web series.

 The organization has to put some interesting advertisement regarding the scheme
to make the customers curious about the scheme. Also the organization has to
send some interesting EDM (Electronic Direct Mail) all the postpaid customers
about the scheme.

 Lastly, the app developer company has to give some short entertaining objects,
such as, short films and more web series and then the customers shall enjoy the
scheme without wasting any time.

 Continuous monitoring of the market.

 Customer service to be given prior importance.

Limitations of the Study

Every study has limitations, study limitations can exist due to constraints on research design or
methodology, and these factors may impact the findings of the study. However, many
researchers are reluctant to discuss the limitations of their study in their papers, feeling that
bringing up limitations may undermine its research value in the eyes of readers and reviewers. In
this way I have also write the limitations to convince the reviewers.

 I had limited respondents to research the project.

40
  The impact of the marketing program on an organization is a continuous process. It
is impossible to study the whole procedure within such a short span.

 Apart from these there were lots of other problems encountered during the research
work. The officials were very hesitant and reluctant to give interviews and answers
to questions of investigators.

CONCLUSION

The main topic given by the organization is to increase the subscription of the given free apps.
The scheme is offers only the Airtel Postpaid segment and valid only for some limited plans.
Basically, if anyone wants to use those apps (Netflix, Amazon Prime) have to pay for this, but if
the person takes the Airtel Postpaid plan then the person will get the access to use those apps
free.

But, there are number of users who are using the Airtel Postpaid, but not using the apps. That is
an extra offer given to only postpaid users to make the postpaid sector stronger. In this telecom
market there is much more competitors who are doing something also same, but for reigning the
market the organization has to give the best.
41
During the time of research, I have found that the reason behind the lower number of subscriber
of the scheme, because maximum number of customer don’t know about the offer. Whereas
many of customers don’t know how to use or how open the apps. So, the organization has to
create a good marketing strategy, have to concentrate upon the advertisement to inform the
customers about the scheme and to use the apps properly.

Some of customers have said that, they are not getting the offer as they are using the lower
budget plan. So, if the company gives such scheme to the lower budget plans also then the
company will be benefited.

Quality improvement is a never ending process. So, if the quality of the scheme improvise then it
will go near to the customer’s mind easily.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites:

www.wikipedia.com
www.google.co.in
www.airtel.in
www.scribd.com

42
Books:

Marketing Management Philip Kotler

Marketing Management William Stanton

Other Sources:

Report given by the companies

Research Paper
Magazines

APPENDEX

Dear respondent,
I am a student from Vidyasagar University of Medinipur doing a project on “Increase the App
Penetration of Retai Segment”. I seek your kind support in spacing your valuable time to fill up
this questionnaire.

1) What is your gender?

A) Male B) Female

43
2) How old are you?

A) 18-25 B) 26- 35 C) 36-45 D) 46-60

3) What is your occupation/ profession?

A) Student B) Service C) Business

4) What is your qualification?

A) Higher Secondary B) Graduate C) Post Graduate

5) How much you earn in a year?

A) 0 (Nil) B) ≤4 Lakhs C) ≥4 Lakhs

D) >5 Lakhs E) ≤6 Lakhs F) ≥6 Lakhs

6) Is that price is effective behind not using the apps?

A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) Average

D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree

7) Do you know about the free subscription of the apps?

A) Yes B) No

8) Have you got any information regarding the apps before from company?

A) Yes B) No

9) What do you think about the quality?

44
A) Poor B) Average C) Good D) Very Good

10) Are those apps are time consuming?

A) Yes B) No

11) Are you using other apps?

A) Yes B) No

12) Do you have interest upon those apps?

A) Yes B) Average C) No

13) Is those free subscription of the apps are chargeable after one or few months?

A) Yes B) No C) Don’t know

14) Is the apps are boring?

A) Strongly Agree B) Agree C) Average

D) Disagree E) Strongly Disagree

45