A Project Report On

“Comparative study of MARKETING STRATEGIES OF

Vodafone & AIRTEL”

Submitted for the partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the award of degree of

“Master OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”

SUBMITTED TO :-

SUBMITTED BY:-

Amit gupta

Session – 2009-11

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I AMIT GUPTA am, sincerely thankful to all those people who have been giving me

any kind of assistance in the making of this project report.

I express my gratitude to Miss. Anshika Vasandani, who has through her vast

experience and knowledge has been able to guide me, both ably and successfully

towards the completion of the project. I express my gratitude to College of Science &

Engineering Jhansi.

I would hereby, make most of the opportunity by expressing my sincerest thanks to all

my faculties whose teachings gave me conceptual understanding and clarity of

comprehension, which ultimately made my job more easy. Credit also goes to all my

friends whose encouragement kept me in good stead. Their continuous support has

given me the strength and confidence to complete the project without any difficulty.

Last of all but not the least I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to the

respondents without whom this survey would have been incomplete.

I am also thankful to authority of Airtel & Vodafone for providing me the information.

Thank you

(AMITGUPTA)

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 Declaration

I, Amit Gupta being a student of MBA 2 nd yr. of College of Science & Engineering,

Jhansi. Hereby declares that the project report under title “Comparative Analysis of

Marketing Strategies of Vodafone & Airtel.” Is my own work it is the analysis of the big

scale sector of communication. This project involves the big scale services involved in

telecommunication sector provided by Airtel and Vodafone to its customers. The survey

was conducted so as to analyze the big scale sector prevailing in the current industry

and the improvement that can be made upon it. All care has been taken to keep this report

error free and I sincerely regret for any unintended discrepancies that might have crept into this

report. I shall be highly obliged if errors (if any) be brought to my attention.

Thank You

Amit gupta

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CONTENT

1. Contents

2. objectives of the study

3. introduction of the topic

 Telecom sector in India

 Airtel

 Vodafone

 Background

 Company profile of Airtel

 The magic

 Comparison between marketing strategy of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone

4. Research Methodology

 Type of research methodology

 Data collection method

 Method of collection

5. Data Analysis and Interpretation

6. Swot analysis

7. Suggestion & Conclusion

8. Recommendations

9. Bibliography

10. Questionnaire

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential for an

organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive products. This survey

research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for the product. The objective of the

study is as under:-

1. To identify the difference between market performance of Airtel industry and Vodafone.

2. To study the market of Airtel Industry and Vodafone on big scale telecommunication sector.

3. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing process,

technology adopted production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario,

future prospect for the two companies and government policies .

4. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase decision

process.

5. To know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive marketing

strategies of competitors.

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Telecom Sector In India

Than 125 million telephones network is one of the largest communication networks in

world, which continues to grow at a blistering pace.

The rapid growth in the telecom sector can be attributed to the various pro-active and

positive policy measures taken by the government as well as the dynamic and

entrepreneurial spirit of the various telecom service providers both in private and public

sector. The telecom sector has shown impressive growth during the past decade. Today,

more

Two striking features of this growth viz. increasing preference for mobile phones and

higher contribution of private sector in the incremental growth have predominated the

telecom sector. The share of mobile phones (including WLL mobile) has overtaken the

share of landlines with 62% in the total number of phones. The private sector's contribution

is also increasing rapidly. Currently more than 30 lakh phones are being added each month

and it is targeted that by the end of 2010 the total number of phones may reach a level of

350 million taking the tele-density to more than 30% which is currently at 24.63%.

Network Expansion: The total number of telephone subscribers has reached 281.62

million at the end of January 2010 as compared to 232.87 million in July 2009. The overall

Teledensity has increased to 23.63% in January 2010 as compared to 21.20% in August

2009.

Wireless Service: The wireless segment saw a surge of 78.77 million subscribers last

month compared to 78.17 million in Mar. 2010. This pushed the total wireless subscribers

base to 282.40 million by Apr. 31 2010.

Wire line Subscribers: The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 39.73 million with

a decrease of 0.16 million at the end of Apr. 2010.

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Teledensity: The gross subscriber base reached 206.83 million at the end of March 2009.

The Teledensity is 24.63%at the end of Apr. 2010 as compared to 18.31% at the end of

March 2009, registering an increase of 6%.

Increasing Role of Private Sector: The private sector has played a significant role in the

growth of telecom sector. The share of private sector has risen to 85 per cent in December

2009 from 64.14 per cent in November 2008.

Tariff Rebalancing Measures: There has been a dramatic fall in the tariffs due to

increased competition. The minimum effective charges for local calls have fallen

considerably in recent months especially for cellular service. The long distance domestic as

well as international charges have also fallen considerably.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): TRAI was established under the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 enacted on March 28,1997. The goals

and objectives of TRAI are focused towards providing a regulatory framework that

facilitates achievement of the objectives of New Technology Policy (NTP) 1999.

TRAI has endeavored to encourage greater corporation in the telecom sector together with

better quality and affordable prices.

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 AIRTEL
Airtel is a brand of telecommunication services in India operated by Bharti Airtel.

Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India in terms of number of subscribers.

Bharti Airtel owns the Airtel brand and provides the following services under the brand

name Airtel: Mobile Services (using GSM Technology), Broadband & Telephone Services

(Fixed line, Internet Connectivity(DSL) and Leased Line), Long Distance Services and

Enterprise Services (Telecommunications Consulting for corporates). It has presence in all

23 circles of the country and covers 71% of the current population (as of FY07).

Leading international telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and SingTel held

partial stakes in Bharti Airtel.

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 VODAFONE ESSAR

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16

telecom circles in India Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply

branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout

India and is especially strong in the major metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology,

offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that covers 16

telecom circles in India . Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply

branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout

India and is especially strong in the major metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology,

offering voice and data services in 16 of the country's 23 license areas.

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Introduction

of

the topic

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BACKGROUND

The project is an extensive report on how the Airtel Company markets its strategies and

how the company has been able in tackling the present tough competition and how it is

scooping up by the allegations of the quality of its products. The report begins with the

history of the products and the introduction of the Airtel Company. This report also

contains the basic marketing strategies that are used by the Airtel Company of

manufacturing process, technology, production policy, advertising, collaboration, export

scenario, future prospect and government policies. The report includes some of the key

salient features of market trend issues.

In today’s world of cutthroat fierce competition, it is very essential to not only exist but

also to excel in the market. Today’s market is enormously more complex. Hence forth,

to survive in the market, the company not only needs to maximize its profit but also

needs to satisfy its customers and should try to build upon from there.

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COMPANY PROFILE

OF

AIRTEL

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Vision

"As we spread wings to expand our capabilities and explore new horizons, the fundamental focus

remains unchanged: seek out the best technology in the world and put it at the service of our

ultimate user: our customer."

These are the premise on which Bharti Enterprises has based its entire plan of action.

Bharti Enterprises has been at the forefront of technology and has revolutionized

telecommunications with its world-class products and services. 

Established in 1985, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom sector. With many firsts and

innovations to its credit, ranging from being the first mobile service in Jaipur, first private basic

telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecom

services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National

Long Distance Services in India. Bharti had approximately 3.21 million total customers – nearly

2.88 million mobile and 334,000 fixed line customers. 

Its services sector businesses include mobile operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Jaipur,

Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh circle,

Maharashtra circle, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (West) circle. In addition, it

also has fixed-line operations in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jaipur,

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and nationwide broadband and long distance networks.

Bharti has recently launched national long distance services by offering data transmission services

and voice transmission services for calls originating and terminating on most of India's mobile

networks.

The Company is also implementing a submarine cable project connecting Chennai-Singapore for

providing international bandwidth.

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Bharti Enterprises also manufactures and exports telephone terminals and cordless phones. Apart

from being the largest manufacturer of telephone instruments, it is also the first telecom company

to export its products to the USA.

Bharti Tele-Ventures' strategic objective is “to capitalize on the growth opportunities that the

Company believes are available in the Indian telecommunications market and consolidate its

position to be the leading integrated telecommunications services provider in key markets in India,

with a focus on providing mobile services”.

The Company has developed the following strategies to achieve its strategic objective:

 Focus on maximizing revenues and margins;

 Capture maximum telecommunications revenue potential with minimum geographical

coverage;

 Offer multiple telecommunications services to provide customers with a "one-stop shop"

solution;

 Position itself to tap data transmission opportunities and offer advanced mobile data

services;

 Focus on satisfying and retaining customers by ensuring high level of customer

satisfaction;

 Leverage strengths of its strategic and financial partners; and

 Emphasize on human resource development to achieve operational efficiencies.

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Businesses

Bharti Tele-Ventures current businesses include -

 Mobile services

 Fixed-line 

 National and international long distance services

 VSAT, Internet services and network solutions 

 Broadband services with DSL and Wi-Fi network

Competitive Strengths

Bharti Tele-Ventures believes that the following elements will contribute to the Company's success

as an integrated telecommunication services provider in India and will provide the Company with

a solid foundation to execute its business strategy:

 Nationwide Footprint - approximately 92% of India's total mobile subscribers resided in the

Company's fifteen mobile circles. These 15 circles collectively accounted for

approximately 56% of India's land mass; 

 Focus on telecommunications to enable the Company to better anticipate industry trends

and capitalize on new telecommunications-related business opportunities.

 The strong brand name recognition and a reputation for offering high quality service to its

customers;

 Quality management team with vision and proven execution skills; and 

 The Company's strong relationships with international strategic and financial investors such

as SingTel, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Fund

Group and New York Life Insurance.

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Brand Architecture:

Bharti is working on a complex three-layered branding architecture — to:

 Create specific brands for each service,

 Build sub-brands within each of these services and

 Use Bharti as the mother brand providing the group its corporate identity as well

as defining its goal to become a national builder of telecoms infrastructure.

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 BHARTI

AIRTEL TOUCHTEL INDIA ONE

(Cellular (Basic Service (National Long
Operations) Operations) Distance)

Airtel - The flagship brand for cellular operations all across the Indian

country.

Touchtel - The brand earmarked for basic service operations.

India One - The brand for national long distance (NLD) telephony

Though the costs of creating new brands are heavy but the group wants to

create “distinct independent brands to address different customers and

profiles”.

Brand Strategy:

To understand the brand strategy, let’s first look at the brand building exercise associated with

Airtel — a brand that had to be repositioned recently to address new needs in the market.

When the brand was launched seven years ago, cellular telephony wasn’t a mass market by any

means. For the average consumer, owning a cellular phone was expensive as tariff rates (at Rs 8 a

minute) as well as instrument prices were steep — sometimes as much as buying a second-hand

car.

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Bharti could have addressed the customer by rationally explaining to him the economic advantage

of using a mobile phone. But Sachdev says that such a strategy would not have worked for the

simple reason that the value from using the phone at the time was not commensurate with the cost.

“Instead of the value-proposition model, we decided to address the sensory benefit it gave to the

customer as the main selling tack. The idea was to become a badge value brand,” he explains.

So the Airtel “leadership series” campaign was launched showing successful men with their

laptops and in their deluxe cars using the mobile phone. In simple terms, it meant Airtel was

positioned as an inspirational brand that was meant for leaders, for customers who stood out in a

crowd.

Did it work? Repeated surveys following the launch showed that there were three core benefits that

were clearly associated with the brand — leadership, dynamism and performance.

These were valuable qualities, but they only took Airtel far enough to establish its presence in the

market. As tariffs started dropping, it became necessary for Airtel to appeal to a wider audience.

And the various brand-tracking exercises showed that despite all these good things, there was no

emotional dimension to the brand — it was perceived as cold, distant and efficient.

Sachdev and his team realized that in a business in which customer relationships were the core this

could be a major weakness. The reason with tariffs identical to competitor Vodafone telecomm and

roughly the same level of service and schemes, it had now become important for Bharti to

“humanize” Airtel and use that relationship as a major differentiation.

The brand had become something like Lufthansa — cold and efficient. What they needed was to

become Singapore Airlines, efficient but also human. A change in tack was important because this

was a time when the cellular market was changing.

The leadership series was okay when you were wooing the crème de la crème of society. Once you

reached them you had to expand the market so there was need to address to new customers.

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By that time, Bharti was already the leading cellular subscriber in Jaipur with a base of 3.77 lakh

(it now has 1.8 million customers). And with tariffs becoming more affordable — as cell

companies started cutting prices — it was time to expand the market.

How could Bharti leverage this leadership position down the value chain? Surveys showed that the

concept of leadership in the customer’s minds was also changing. Leadership did not mean

directing subordinates to execute orders but to work along with a team to achieve common

objectives — it was, again, a relationship game that needed to be reflected in the Airtel brand.

Also, a survey showed that 50 per cent of the new customers choose a mobile phone brand mostly

through word-of-mouth endorsements from friends, family or colleagues. Thus, existing customers

were an important tool for market expansion and Bharti now focused on building closer

relationships with them.

That is precisely what the brand tried to achieve through its new positioning under the Airtel

“Touch Tomorrow” brand campaign. This set of campaigns portrayed mobile users surrounded by

caring family members. Says Sachdev: “The new campaign and positioning was designed to

highlight the relationship angle and make the brand softer and more sensitive.”

As it looks to expand its cellular services nationwide —to eight new circles apart from the seven in

which it already operates — Bharti is now realizing that there are new compulsions to rework the

Airtel brand, and a new exercise is being launched to this effect. Right now, the company is

unwilling to discuss the new positioning in detail. But broadly, the focus is on positioning Airtel as

a power brand with numerous regional sub-brands reflecting customer needs in various parts of the

country.

If Airtel is becoming more humane and more sensitive as a brand, Bharti has also understood that

one common brand for all cellular operations might not always work in urban markets that are now

getting increasingly saturated.

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To bring in new customers, the company decided that it needed to segment the market. One such

experiment, launched last year, is Youtopia, a brand aimed at the youth in the 14 to 19 age bracket

and for those who are “young at heart”. With its earlier positioning, Airtel was perceived as a

brand for the well-heeled older customer; there was nothing for younger people. With Youtopia,

Airtel hoped to reverse that.

In order to deliver the concept, Airtel offered rock bottom tariff rates (25 paise for 30 seconds) at

night to Youtopia customers — a time when they make the maximum number of calls. It also set

up merchandising exercises around the scheme — like a special portal for young people to buy

things or bid for goods.

The company is now looking at offering other services at affordable prices to this segment which

include music downloads on the mobile and bundling SMS rates with normal calls to make it

cheaper for young people to use.

The other experiment that Bharti has worked on is to go in for product segmentation through the

Tango brand name. The brand was created to offer mobile users Internet-interface services or what

is known as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).

The idea was to bring Internet and mobile in perfect harmony. “The name was chosen from the

popular movie title It Takes Two to Tango: basically, you need the two services to tango to offer

customers a new choice”, says Sachdev.

This, however, had less to do with the branding exercise as with inefficiency of service (accusingly

slow download speeds) and the limited utility of WAP services.

Subsequently, the ads were withdrawn, but the company re-iterated that the branding exercise

could be revived because Tango will be the brand to offer GPRS services — or permanent Internet

connectivity on the mobile phone — which Airtel is expected to launch soon.

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 The Magic

Perhaps the more ambitious experiment has been with Magic — the pre-paid card. The idea

was to make the brand affordable, accessible and, most importantly, feasible as a means of

expanding the market even faster.

PHASE I –

Magic was aimed at bringing in infrequent users of a mobile phone into the market and assure him

that he would have to pay only if he made a call. Such a customer used the phone sparingly —

mostly for emergencies — and was not willing to pick up a normal mobile connection with its

relatively high rentals (pre-paid cards do not include rental charges).

To achieve its objectives Bharti did three things.

 One, the product was made available at prices ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000 with no strings

attached and was simple to operate.

 Two, the product was made accessible and distributed through small stores, telephone booths

and even kirana shops so that the offering was well within arms reach.

 Third, to make the product more “approachable” to the customer, the company came with

vernacular ad campaigns

Like “Magic Daalo Say Hello” which appealed to local sensibilities.

This apart, the company roped in Karisma Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan for a major ad campaign

all across Jaipur, a ruse that saw the number of subscribers go up from 5.47 lakh to 1.2 million

todasy, overtaking Essar’s branded pre-paid card Speed, which was launched much ahead of

Magic. The company is now re-working its Magic strategy even further.

Earlier, the branding strategy was aimed at roping in only interested customers — that is,

customers who were already inclined to opt for mobile services. But now, with basic service

21
providers having been allowed limited mobility at far cheaper rates, mobile service providers could

find themselves under threat again.

That is why the new exercise is aimed at co-opting non-adopters. While the exact strategy is under

wraps, insiders say the new branding strategy would be aimed at offering them value which they

had not perceived would be available from using a pre-paid card.

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 PHASE II -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion

through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

 First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand goes on TV

 A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect with the

masses of India

 Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel Magic -

‘Mumkin Hai’ come alive

 All elements - user imagery, context, tone & language created to connect the category to the

lives of the SEC B & SEC C segment – the middle class non-mobile user.

 Airtel Magic positions itself on the platform of being excellent for emergency situations -

increasing productivity as a part of everyday life.

 Sharukh Khan makes ‘everything in life possible’ while romancing pretty Kareena Kapoor

with Airtel Magic, India’s leading pre-paid mobile card.  

Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic

pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic hai to Mumkin hai’. The strategy is targeted at the non-

user

segment defined as young adults, 15-30 years of age; in the Sec B & C segment is aimed at

accelerating market expansion. The value proposition is centered around a person’s desire to make

all his / her dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel

Magic is all about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.

The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams,

hopes & desires come alive… instantly. (At just Rs.300/- per month Airtel Magic is so easy to

23
buy.) Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up new horizons. It

gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before. Indeed, anything that

you think is possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan ‘Magic hai to Mumkin

hai’ has been specially created to capture this effectively.

This strategy is designed to help us talk to this segment directly in the tone, manner & language of

the masses. The “Mumkin hai” value proposition will help us expand the market and gain a higher

percentage of market shares in the process.

The brand ambassadors Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor embody this ‘can do’ or “Mumkin

Hai” spirit (infact that is the reason they were selected as brand ambassadors). Sharukh rose from

a TV actor to become India’s top film star and national heartthrob. Kareena’s success is due to her

‘attitude’, talent, hard work and the sheer ability to make a mark in such a short time. Both these

stars have said ‘Mumkin hai’ and made it happen for themselves.

The genre of this new strategy & campaign is Hindi cinema led. This genre connects millions

across India. The spirit of romance, dancing… the Indian cinema, well known to most as

Bollywood, holds millions of Indians together as one.

The new TV campaign of Airtel Magic crafted in the Hindi film idiom, magnifies the empowering

optimism of “Mumkin Hai”, in the endearing situation of a boy-girl romance. Where Sharukh

Khan, sets his eyes on Kareena Kapoor and wins her love with the help of Airtel Magic.

(Poignantly conveying that special feeling we all get when a dream is made possible and a victory

of the heart is won).

The strategy & new brand campaign is targeted at the large untapped base of intending mobile

customers from Sec A, B & C. The estimated addressable market of such customers in the next

two years is around 25 million in Airtel’s 16 states. The new strategy aims at correcting the

perception that the mobile category is useful mainly for ‘business’ or ‘work’ related scenarios.

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The new strategy, brand positioning & brand slogan is an outcome of an extensive nationwide

research and is an integral part of Airtel Magic’s new multi-media campaign. The campaign has

been created by Percept Advertising.  

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 PHASE III -

Bharti used Airtel Magic to build a strong value proposition and accelerate market expansion

through India’s first national pre-paid card TV brand campaign

 First time ever in India - any pre-paid card brand gives such freedom to recharge any value

 A combination of the film genre exposed through the TV medium designed to connect with the

masses of India

 Youth based - romance driven strategy platform makes the value proposition of Airtel Magic -

‘Aisi azaadi aur kahan?” come alive

 Sharukh Khan Makes ‘everything in life possible’ Airtel today unveiled its strategy for market

expansion with the launch of its new Airtel Magic pre-paid card brand campaign – ‘Magic Hai to

Mumkin Hai’. . The value proposition is centered on a person’s desire to make all his / her

dreams, ambitions & aspirations instantly possible. The new campaign for Airtel Magic is all

about empowering millions of Indians to be on top of their lives.

The brand is positioned to be relevant to the mass-market who want to make all their dreams,

hopes & desires come alive… instantly .At a amount of your choice you can recharge your account

with available validity time .Improving productivity, letting you befriend the world and opening up

new horizons. It gives you the freedom to control your life in a way never possible before.

Indeed, anything that you think is possible is possible with Airtel Magic. The new brand slogan

‘Aisi azadi aur kahan’ has been specially created to capture this effectively.

26
 Other Brand Building Initiatives:-

The main idea is to stay ahead of competition for at least six months. Working on the above game

plan Bharti is constantly coming up with newer product offerings for the customers.

The focus, of course, is to offer better quality of service.

 To make the service simpler for customers using roaming facilities, Airtel has devised common

numbers for subscribers across the country for services like customer care, food services and

cinema amongst others.

 It will also launch a unified billing system across circles so, customers moving from one place

to another do not have to close and then again open new accounts at another place.

 To assist customer care personnel to deal with subscriber queries, a storehouse of 40,000

frequently asked questions and their answers have been stored on the computers.

 Bharti expects that most of its new customers (one estimate is that it would be 60 to 70 per cent

of the total new subscriber base) would come from the pre-paid card segment. So, they must be

given value-added products and services which competitors don’t provide.

 Bharti, for the first time for a cellular operator, has decided to offer roaming services even to its

pre-paid customers, but the facility would be limited to the region in which they buy the card. To

ensure that customers don’t migrate to other competing services (which is known as churn and

ranges from 10 to 15 per cent of the customer base every month), the company is also working on a

loyalty program. This will offer subscribers tangible cash benefits depending upon their usage of

the phone.

 The loyalty program will not be only for a ‘badge value’, it will provide real benefits to

customers. The idea is to create an Airtel community.

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 Another key area which Bharti is concentrating its attention upon is a new roaming service

launched in Jaipur under which calls of a roaming subscriber who is visiting the city will be routed

directly to his mobile instead of traveling via his home network.

 The company also offers multi-media messaging systems under which customers having a

specialized phone with a in-built camera can take pictures and e-mail it to friends or store it in the

phone. The cost per picture is between Rs 5 to Rs 7.

 Bharti is also aware that it has to make owning a ready-to-use cellular service much easier than

it is today. A key area is to increase the number of activation centers. Earlier Bharti had 250 Airtel

Connect stores which were exclusive outlets (for its services) and about 250 Airtel Points which

were kiosks in larger shops. Now activation can be done by all of them, and not only by Connect

outlets, all within 15 to 20 minutes. In comparison, the competition takes two to four hours.

 Pre- paid cards are really catching up with the mobile phone users and it is actually helping the

market to increase. First, they are easier to obtain and convenient to use. Unlike post-paid, one

need not pay security deposits for picking up a pre-paid card. It is often available even with

paanwalas. As befits a fast-moving consumer service, the game is now moving beyond price to

expanding distribution reach and servicing a well-spread-out clientele with technology and

strategic alliances. Bharti is focusing on two factors to make pre-paid cards more attractive.

Keeping the entry cost low for consumers and making recharging more convenience.

 Bharti is in the process of launching a new system in alliance with Mumbai-based Company

Venture InfoTech which will enable a pre-paid card user to renew his subscription by just swiping

a card. The system will not only save users the hassle of going out and buying a card every time it

expires but also enable mobile companies to reduce the cost of printing and distributing cards.

 Bharti Televentures has tied up with 'Waiter on wheels,' a company delivering food at home, to

reach its Magic pre-paid cards to subscribers' doorsteps. The company is also joining hands with

28
 local grocery shops which will enable users to recharge their cards by just making a phone call to

the shop. Apart from improving the convenience of recharging, mobile operators are beefing up

their distribution channels. The company is constantly innovating to enhance the value proposition

for its pre-paid service. They are leveraging technology to expand their distribution network and

deliver round-the-clock recharge options to its MOTS (Mobile on the Spot) subscribers.

 Bharti Cellular has also launched a special service, CareTouch, for high-value, corporate

customers, providing them with instant, single-point access for any assistance they require.

Customers can dial 777 and enjoy a slew of services, which includes easier payment of bills,

service on priority basis, and value-added services without any additional paper work. Bharti

Cellular is offering a range of services without going through an interactive voice recorder

ensuring that they save time. Dedicated ‘CareTouch’ executives are expected to assist customers

with any service on priority basis. Besides the regular proactive reminder calls for bill payment,

customers can also call CareTouch for bill payments at free of cost.

 Airtel presented MTV Inbox; the first ‘on-air’ SMS based interactive music dedication show

exclusively for Airtel and Airtel Magic customers. Highly interactive VJ based show with real-time

feedback mechanism. Both brands joined hands to target the high growth youth segment.

29
Bharti’s View on its Branding strategy:-

First, brand building efforts in today’s context have to be seen in a more holistic manner.

Delivering value on a sustained basis is perhaps the most potent key to build a brand that lasts.

Unflinching orientation to customer needs is the second key success factor. Customers (be it for

industrial products or consumer goods and services) across the world are more informed and, at the

same time, becoming more individualistic in their needs and far more demanding with the passage

of time.

Pro-active tracking of shifts in consumer behavior, anticipating redefined or emerging customer

needs, and then reacting in “real-time” are essential to attract and retain customer loyalty — a key

element of creating brand equity in the present situation.

Customizing the product (and communication of its benefit) to meet the specific needs of various

consumer/customer sub-segments is the third element in creating brand appreciation.

As far as allocation of time and financial resources are concerned, too many companies mistakenly

allocate a disproportionate amount on mere advertising and promotion. This is not to say that

advertising and promotion are less relevant. On the contrary, with more choices and higher media

clutter, businesses need to budget for an increasingly higher spend on their brand promotion but

this has to be undertaken in tandem with enterprise-wide “reengineering” of the business

philosophy and core design, production, and delivery operations for the product itself.

The positive spin to this argument is that by first addressing the fundamentals, the enterprise itself

becomes more competitive. This can be the beginning of a virtuous cycle wherein brand equity

continues to increase as the enterprise sustains delivery of an appropriate product or service at an

ever increasing value.

30
It is, however, crucial to note that in the years to come, not only will the cost of building a regional

or a national (or an international) brand will continue to rise but also the time taken to do so will be

longer and will need sustained and focused efforts.

31
Comparison of marketing strategies

between

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

32
 Purpose of comparison

 The sub main purpose of this report is to compare the marketing Strategies adopted by Bharti

Airtel and its rival Vodafone

 The comparison shows how both of the companies have been challenging each other to gain

market shares.

Why comparison with vodafone

 Bharti Airtel is the leader in telecommunication sector.

 Bharti Airtel holds the lion share of market of communication sector.

 However, Vodafone has been giving tough competition to Bharti Airtel.

 Vodafone is the second largest player and share holder in Communication sector.

 Since its launch Vodafone has been adopting aggressive marketing strategies.

 The comparison shows how Hutchison Essar Telecom. Captured 22% market share in one month

of its first launch of postpaid subscription in 2002.AD.

 With a different technology Vodafone creates its own market.

 Vodafone odafone. Today deals in every business of communication sector.

 Vodafone making and changing the strategies to capture the market shares

33
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and CEO Sanjay Kapoor unveil

The company's new logo in New Delhi.

34
Brand positioning by Bharti

Airtel

35
 Market segmentation

 Geographical segment (metropolitans & cities India)

 Demographic segment - middle income groups

 People age group of 20 to 28 year

Target marketing

 People who living in cities and towns

 Poor or middle income group people.

 Youngsters in big cities.

 Businessmen

Positioning

 Creating brands (Sharukh khan & Sachin Tendulker)

 Ads and promotions

36
 Promotion for study of poor childrens.

Marketing mix

 Price: low price strategy

 Place: maximum outlets and service centers

 Product: verities available for various groups

 Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

37
MARKETING STRATEGIES

OF

VODAFONE.

38
Vodafone ZooZoos – A Successful Marketing Strategy

ZooZoo, the new brand ambassador of Vodafone, has created a furore in the advertising industry.

Zoozoos have been successful in giving Vodafone a makeover and establishing maximum brand

presence. I consider it to be a perfect example of a well-laid out marketing strategy for the

following reasons:

Vodafone chose the Indian Premier League 2 (IPL-2) as a platform to launch their advertisement,

which proved to be a great marketing strategy. Cricket is considered to be a religion in India, and

Zoozooz captured attention of nearly two billion people during the IPL. People eagerly waited for

breaks between matches to see more stories about Zoozoo.

Zoozoos are small pseudo-animated characters with big egg-shaped head, round belly but

extremely thin arms and legs. It was a fresh and innovative concept and Vodafone wonderfully

promoted their services by creating different stories featuring Zoozoos. The charm of the Zoozoo

was itself a great self-marketing strategy and they were instant success among masses. Within few

days, Zoozooz created a huge audience for them, giving a boost to the Vodafone brand.

People were already in awe of those cute and lovable characters, but the curiosity heightened when

Vodafone disclosed that Zoozooz were not animated, rather humans were playing those characters.

People were even more hungry to know about their favorite Zoozooz.

In the second phase, after the release of these ads, Vodafone promoted these characters on social

media sites, which was another wise decision. Zoozoo fan clubs are there on social networking

sites like Facebook, YouTube, Orkut, Twitter, and many more, where they have a huge followings.

Now Vodafone has announced to launch the Zoozoo goodies like zoozoo toys, zoozoo mugs,

zoozoo keychains, zoozoo t-shirts, etc. Zoozooz have themselves become a brand and it will be

interesting to see how Vodafone uses this concept in future to promote their services.

39
Sms zoozoo

40
Vodafone target the rural India

The main targeted customers of Vodafone are from rural India.

By offering cheap and light mobile sets Vodafone attracts most of the customers of small villages

and towns.

Offering cheap handsets

Vodafone offers cheap and free connections to all customers.

The cost for these sets was Rs-799-849-1099\set and onward.

Free support and services

In every district and big towns Vodafone opens its service centers to provide better support and

services.

Strong logistics and supply chain

Vodafone has a strong logistic and supply all over India.

In every small town the potential customers can easily purchase the Vodafone SIM & Sets.

Targeting youngsters in metropolitans

Vodafone attracts youngsters by offering colorful handset at very low prices.

41
BRAND POSITIONING

BY

VODAFONE

42
 Market segmentation

 Geographical segment (rural India)

 Demographic segment - middle income groups

Target marketing

 People living in small towns and villages.

 Poor and middle income groups.

 Youngsters in big cities.

 Businessmen

Positioning

 Creating brands

 Ads and promotions

Marketing mix

 Price : low price strategy

 Place : maximum outlets and service centers

 Product : verities available for various groups

 Promotion: various schemes for pre-paid and post-paid

43
 Services provided by Bharti Airtel

 Mobile services with GSM technology

 Fixed-line connections

 National and international long distance services

 VSAT, Internet services and network solutions 

 Broadband services

 3G servises

Services provided by Vodafone.

●mobile services with GSM technology

●fixed-line telephone services

●Universal Internetworking

●VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

●Interactive Television

●Visual Communication

●Broadband Portal

●Telecommuting

3G servises

44
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Achieving accuracy in any research requires a deep study regarding the subject. The prime

objective of the project is to compare Airtel with the existing competitor (Vodafone) in the market

and the impact of WLL on Airtel.

The research methodology adopted is basically based on primary data via which the most recent

and accurate piece of first hand information could be collected. Secondary data has been used to

support primary data wherever needed.

Primary data was collected using the following techniques

Questionnaire Method

Direct Interview Method and

Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-

to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the

questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he works in.

Type of Research Methodology

45
EXPLORATORY:

Type of research carried out was EXPLORATORY in nature; the objective of such research is to

determine the approximate area where the drawback of the company lies and also to identify the

course of action to solve it. For this purpose the information proved useful for giving right

suggestion to the company.

46
 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

There two type of method of data collection.

Primary data
Secondary data

Primary data was collected using the following techniques

Questionnaire Method

Direct Interview Method and

Observation Method

The main tool used was, the questionnaire method. Further direct interview method, where a face-

to-face formal interview was taken. Lastly observation method has been continuous with the

questionnaire method, as one continuously observes the surrounding environment he works in

Data used for the research work was primary in nature.

Primary data:

Primary data is that which is the collected for the fist time and thus happen to be

originated in character.

Questionnaire survey:

In the studies a questionnaire is prepared. The questionnaire consists of 15

questions.

47
Secondary data:

Secondary data refer to the data that has been already collected .the secondary data, which

has been used to carry out this study, are as follow:

Books, Journals, Magazines, Newspapers

Industry Reports

Company’s internet site

someOther relevant STUDY MATERIAL and websites..

Sample unit: - Jhansi & lalitpur

The research process was done by interacting with number of customers during the activities

performed, which included, markets, cold calling, canopies, etc. Sample Design consists of

Random Sampling.

Sample size: - 50 people

48
 Method of collection: -
Field procedure for gathering primary data included observation and interview schedule in which

the questionnaires were filed by the interviewer.

Personal interviews through self administered survey was done to collect the data, market research

was undertaken, that was accomplished by performing various activities designed.

Research Instrument: Questionnaire

The questionnaire was formulated by keep in mind the following Points: -

Giving the respondents. clear comprehension of the question.

Inducing the respondents to co-operate.

Giving instructions as to what is needed.

Identifying the needs to be known.

49
 Scope of the study

 To conduct this research the target population was the mobile users, Who are using GSM

technology.

 Targeted geographic area of Jaipur/ NCR. Sample size of 50 persons was taken.

 To these 50 people a questionnaire was given, the questionnaire was a combination of both

open ended and closed ended questions.

 The date during which questionnaires were filled.

 Some dealers were also interviewed to know their prospective. Interviews with the

managers of GSM service providers were also conducted.

 Finally the collected data and information was analyzed and compiled to arrive at the

conclusion and recommendations given.

Sources of secondary data

Used to obtain information on, Bharti’s history, current issues, policies, procedures etc, wherever

required.

 Internet

 Magazines

 Newspapers

 Journals

 Bharti Circulars Store

 Bharti News Letters

 Vodafone Stores

50
Data analysis

And

Interpretation

51
 Subscriber numbers in (mn) held by Vodafone and Airtel

June-05 Sep-06 Dec-07 Mar-08 Dec-08 Mar-09

Airtel 3.19 4.62 5.50 6.54 10.98 14.07

Vodafone 1.82 4.19 6.24 7.26 10.45 12.99

Source TRAI:

MARKET PLAYERS IN TELE COMMUNICATION

52
 Opera Market Market

tor share share

Aug''05 June''10
Bharti 19.06 22.49

Airtel
Vodafo 21.81 16.96

ne
Relien 17.03 16.01

FINDINGS ce AND
IdeaCe 10.45 8.49
ANALYSIS
llular

Age Group Graph

53
 AGE GROUP

15-21
YEAR
28-35
YEAR

21-28
YEAR

As we can see from the above graph, the people who are in the age group of 21-28 years are the

ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. This segment is the one which gives

maximum business to the mobile operators. This segment constitutes the young executives and

other office going people. They are 65% of the total people who were interviewed. The next age

group are the

people who are 28-35 years old. They are 20% of the total. They are those who are at home or

have small business units etc. And the next age group is the youngest generation who are 15-21

years old. They are school and college going students and carry mobile phones to flaunt. They are

15% of the total interviewed people.

Occupation Graph

54
As the above graph shows that 55% of the total people interviewed are working. So, these people

are the ones who are the maximum users of mobile phones. They are the young executives,

managers, Tele - callers etc. who require mobile for their official purposes. The next category is

the households, who are either housewife, small units which operate from their homes etc. They

are 20% of the whole. The next segment is the students. They are 15% of the whole. And 10% of

the whole is categories who are the professionals.

Service Provider Graph

55
These are the total market share of mobile user or people captured by the mobile provider

company. There two major company in mobile phone service sector Vodafone and Airtel who

respectively hold the market share with other company as 17% and 20% of total market user

segment of mobile customer.

56
Customer Service at Airtel Graph

As the above graph clearly shows that customer services at Airtel seems poor. 60% of the people

are dissatisfied with the customer services provided by Airtel. They are the ones who have the

maximum share in the market but they are lagging behind in the customer services. 10% of the

people were fully dissatisfied with the customer services of Airtel. This could leave an impact on

the mind of the consumer. He can even switch over his brand. 20% of the people seemed partially

satisfied with the customer services and only 10% seem to be fully satisfied with Airtel’s customer

services, which is a very small amount.

57
Type of Card Graph

Cash cards seemed quite popular among the people interviewed. 85% of the total mobile users

were having cash card connections. This means that the cash cards should be easily and readily

available in the local markets. Airtel should make sure that Magic is available in each and every

nook and corner of the market. 15% of the people were having sim connections which is the

regular bill.

58
Monthly expense graph

People on an average spend RS 500 per month as their mobile phone expense. 64% people spend

this amount. 24% people spend RS 300 per month as their monthly mobile expense. And the

remaining 12% had an expense more than RS 1000, they could the ones having sim connections or

having cash cards and having a lot of business calls on their mobiles.

59
Awareness about WLL Graph

WLL seemed to be a new word for many of the people. 45% of the people were not at all aware of

such a technology. So, in order to get the answer for this question they were first explained the

concept. Only, 55% people knew what WLL is all about.

60
Awareness of WLL Players Graph

Vodafone was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed people. As Vodafone had

done so much advertising and has it banners and hoarding spread all over Jaipur. So, this could be

one the reasons of its popularity. Tata was hardly a known brand in this new field. Possibly,

because of less promotions done by them as compared to Vodafone.

On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that the maximum no. of people who

use mobile phones is in the age group of 20 to 28. Who are the young executives and other office

goers?

They spend a maximum of RS 500 as their mobile expense.

There is more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The mobile users want to spend money

side by side than to spend money at the end of the month on a big bill.

61
Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point of view of the consumer I found

that on the basis of Tariff plan, value added services and billing accuracy Airtel is at par or ahead

of its competitor but in the case of customer care and availability they lag behind there

competitors. As, Airtel has a hold in the market because it has the maximum no. of connections, so

it must improve upon it customer services. As far as WLL is concerned people are aware about it

but not many people are aware about Tata. They only know more about Vodafone. People at this

point of time are not interested to switch over from GSM to WLL

62
Customer Response towards

Questionnaire

63
 Which Brand you, prefer most?
 Airtel

 Vodafone

 Reliance

 TATA

 Idea

64
 How long you have been using this Product?
 0-2 Years

 2-5 Years

 5-10 Years

 More than 10 years

Consumers response shown in chart for usage

65
 Are you using other product with Airtel?
 Yes

 No

Here are the customer responses about the use of the Airtel product and other

product rather than Airtel.

in this segment of survey 67 % of customer are aspire with Airtel and 33 % shown

interest in other telecom products in urban areas.

66
Do you collect any information search before making

purchase?

67
 SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

 Being one of the largest companies in India the company has achieved a degree of

focus in its core business of its products.

 It has a strong brand name, superior quality products and an enviable distribution

network.

 It has a clear and well-defined organization structure and limits of financial

authority.

 Increase in advertisement spends affect the company’s margins.

 The company‘s bottom line falls victim to the bloated and highly paid workforce,

which affects its margins.

Weakness:

 Little efforts over the Advertising of products.

 Distribution channel is not accurately categorized.

 Premium priced products, hence can’t compete in low price segment.

 No separate strategy for rural market.

Opportunities:

 The company's financial performance can receive a major boost from its cost

reduction efforts.

 There is a lot of scope of product and market diversification.

68
 Exports of products will also have huge chances in the coming years.

 Airtel’s business has ample scope for gaining market share from the unorganized

sector. Rural penetration too holds vast potential to bring about growth.

Threats

 The slowdown in the economy has restricted topline growth of most FMCG majors

and for Airtel also it will be difficult to maintain historical growth rates in such a

depressed scenario.

 Company’s major raw materials are influenced by government policies / controls as well

as vagaries of the monsoons. Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials would have

significant impact on costs and margins of the company.

Moreover, inordinate hike in Broad Band Internet products would also increases

company’s production and distribution cost.

69
 LIMITATIONS
No project is without limitations and it becomes essential to figure out the various constraints that

we underwent during the study. The following points in this direction would add to our total

deliberations:-

1. During the study, on many occasions the respondent groups gave us a cold shoulder.

2. The respondents from whom primary data was gathered any times displayed complete

ignorance about the complete branded range, which was being studied.

3. Lack of time is the basic limitation in the project.

4. Some retailers/whole sellers refuse to cooperate with the queries.

5. Some retailers/wholesalers gave biased or incomplete information regarding the study.

6. Money played a vital factor in the whole project duration.

7. Lack of proper information and experience due to short period of time.

8. Some retailers did not answer all the questions or do not have time to answer.

70
 RECOMMENDATIONS
I have made following recommendation to the company after doing the summer training there:

 The company should modify its credit policy as they only target the cash paying customers

who are not easy to trace.

 The company should emphasis more on the quality of Pharmaceuticals Products it was

mostly claimed by the exporters that their receipts from company doesn’t matches with the

sample’s quality shown before giving orders.

 The company should make its marketing strategy flexible enough in order to face

competition.

 The company should keep an eye on the proper delivery of the goods to exporter on time,

as it has been recommended by exporters to make the delivery on time.

 The company rate policy must be flexible enough to catch new customers because if

company offers lower price to a new customer then he may continue buy the goods and can

be a permanent customer for the company.

 The company should offers such rate in the market so that it may able to catch a bigger

market share and it should be able to compete with the local traders and commission agents

while having a brand name.

The company should take the opinion of exporters from time to time to know what problems they

are facing from the company’s side. And if any change they require in present supplying

condition?

71
 SUGGESTIONS
Following are the few suggestions to AIRTEL for improving the market share and image of the

products concerned.

1. PRODUCT

*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of qualityof various servises. Its

demand should be increased.

2. PLACE

* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores.

3. PROMOTION

*Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must be released in

different Medias to create brand awareness.

*Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contests

and coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and prospects.

* Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

4. PRICE

* Price should be as competitive as other company maintains

* Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket

72
 CONCLUSION

After analyzing the findings of the research, I can conclude that Airtel lagged behind its

competitors as far as customer service and availability is concerned. The maximum no. of people

who use the mobile is in the age group of 20 to 28. Cash cards are the most popular type of mobile

connections, as they are consumer friendly and recharging the connection is not a problem.

Maximum no. of people spends RS 500 on their connections. As Airtel is the only company having

the maximum no of mobile connections so it must seriously look into the loop holes of the existing

customer service department.

As we know that now Airtel has already launched its product with logo “’ Aisi azaadi aur kahan”’

has already became popular in market. So we can say that in spite of so many competitors in the

market Airtel is having a good position just because every time, it tries its best to understand the

need of its important customers.

From the comparison and deep analysis of every aspect of business of both the companies we can

conclude that bharti Airtel has to more work in every field of communication business.

It is the time not only to survive but to sustain in the market for a long time.

For this Airtel has to work on its all marketing strategies, marketing, promotion, brand image.etc.

Airtel has to take Vodafone. Very seriously and update its own strategies from time to time and

when the need arises.

With aggressive marketing strategies Airtel has to target rural India as 70% of population of India

lives in these areas.

73
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

In this project report, while finalizing and for analyzing quality problem in details the following

Books, Magazines/Journals and Web Sites have been referred. All the material detailed below

provides effective help and a guiding layout while designing this text report.

Books :

Principles of Marketing –Philip Kotler & Kevin keller edi. 12

Market Research – D.D. Sharma

Research Methodology – C.R. Kothari

Websites:

www.Airtelworld.com

www.google.com

www.india.com

www.Vodafone.in

http://www.blonnet.com/2004/06/26/stories/2004062602180700.htm, Mumbai, June 25, 2004.

com/companies/companies_r/Vodafone_infocom/20031104_stop-roaming.htm, 4 November 2003

Domain, Missed Call, at http://www.domainb

Magazine

Airtel (2 July to 10 July 2004)

Airtel India page of HT paper (Thursday 1December 2004)

Cowards India (26 December to 4 Jan. 2004)

74
 QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,

I amit Gupta student of MBA of College of Science & Engineering Jaipur. I am

doing my project on “Comparative study of marketing strategy of Vodafone and Airtel”.

Please give your precious time for filling these details.

Q.1 Name those companies which provide telecom services now a days?

 Airtel

 Vodafone

 Reliance

 TATA

 Idea

Q.2 which mobile company services you are using now a days?

 Airtel

 Vodafone

 Reliance

 TATA

 Idea

Q. 3 Among them, which Brand you, prefer most?

 Airtel

 Vodafone

 Reliance

 TATA

 Idea

75
 Q.2 How long you have been using this Product?

 0-2 Years

 2-5 Years

 5-10 Years

 More than 10 years

Q.3 Are you using other product instead of Airtel?

 Yes

 No

Q.5 Do you collect any information search before making purchase?

 Yes

 No

Q.8 What are the features you look for in a product before making purchase decision? Give

preferences (1-Highest, 6- least)

 Brand credibility

 Price and Discount

 After sales services and parts, network

 Value for money

 Vehicle performance

 Add on features or ergonomics of design

Q.10 If you have to purchase a new connection or product in near future, which Brand will you

go for and why?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

76
 Q.11 Are you aware of various promotional activities being run by Airtel, if yes then how? Are

you satisfied with these promotional activities?

Very Satisfied Somewhat Not

Satisfied Satisfied satisfied

 Customer Care

 By Ad Films

 By Camp

 24 hrs call center services

Q.12 How would you rate Airtel performance as your expectation on 5 points scale (5

Highest?)

1 2 3 4 5

 After Sale service

 Maintenance

 Product as per expectation

Q.13 What are you suggestions for improving the product quality, service availability and parts

availability?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________

77