Brand Preference Among the Mobile Service Providers
Content
Brand Preference Among The Mobile Service Providers in Kolkata
1. Introduction
1.1 Brand preference
Measure of brand loyalty in which a consumer will choose a particular brand in presence of competing brands but will accept substitutes if that brand is not available. The Indian telecommunications industry is the world's fastest growing telecommunications industry, with 742.12 Million telephone (landlines and mobile) subscribers a 706.69 nd Million mobile phone connections as of Oct 31st 2010. It is also the second largest telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections after China. The Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size by a factor of more than one hundred since 2001 when the number of subscribers in the country was approximately 5 million to 706.69 Million by Oct 2010. As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that India will have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013.Furthermore, projections by several leading global consultancies indicate that the total number of subscribers in India will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by 2013.The industry is expected to reach a size of 344,921 crore (US$76.23 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate of over 26 per cent, and generate employment opportunities for about 10 million people during the same period. According to analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million peopleand for 7 million indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom equipment revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore (US$30.24 billion) during the fiscal, as against 115,382 crore (US$25.5 billion) a year before.
1.2Indian telecom sector:
In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service. DoT was responsible for telecom
servi es i entire country until 1985 when M hanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of Liberali ation-Privati ation-Globali ation policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate the Government s policy wing from its operations wing. After 1995 the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. Recent policies: All the villages shall be covered by telecom facility by the end of 2002. National Long Distance Service (NLD) is opened for unrestricted entry. The International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been opened to competition. The basic services are open to competition. In addition to the existing three, fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros and
thirteen circles, has been permitted. The cellular operators have been permitted to provide all types of mobile services including voice and non-voice messages, data services and Publica Call Office PCOs utili ing any type of network equipment, including circuit and/or package switches that meet certain required standards. Policies allowing private participation have been announced as per the New Telecom
Policy (NTP), 1999 in several new services, which include Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service, digital Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service (PMRTS), Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Service. Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced for providing telephone
connections in urban, semi-urban and rural areas promptly. Introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Once a customer changes his/her
service provider & retaining the same mobile number they are expected to hold their number with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another service
provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP services provided by the service providers. Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), its funding and
administration. 1.3Emergence of major players: The Government of India corporati ed the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Aircel, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. A list of ten states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their respective states) with the largest subscriber base as of Oct 31st 2010 is given below State Subscriber base Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh West Bengal Bihar Karnataka Gujarat Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh India 92,867,835 84,543,727 63,671,528 54,000,379 51,901,967 46,311,291 43,802,688 40,158,662 38,649,784 38,295,896 706,691,164 Population (01/08/2010) 199,415,992 110,351,688 67,773,611 84,241,069 90,524,849 97,560,027 58,969,294 58,388,625 67,449,102 72,362,313 1,188,783,351 Mobile phones per 1000 population 427 707 881 600 520 430 709 618 535 489 580
1.4 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
TRAI announced the rules and regulations to be followed for the Mobile Number Portability in their draft releas e on 23 September 2009. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows us ers to retain their numbers, while shifting to a different s ervice provider provided they follow the guidelines s et by TRAI. Once a customer changes his/her s er vice provider & retaining t he same mobile number they are expected to hold t heile number with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another servi ce provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP s ervices provid ed by the service providers. As per news reports, Gover nment of India decided to implement MNP from December 31, 2009 in Metros & cat egory µA¶ service areas and by March 20, 2010 in rest of the country. It has been postponed to March 31, 2010 in Metros & category 'A' s er vice areas. However, time and time again, lobbying by the stat e -run fir ms, BSNL and MTNL has resulted in innumerable delays in the implementa tion of Mobile Number portability. The latest reports suggest BSNL and MTNL are finally ready t o implement the Mobile Number Port ability by October 31, 2010. A press release by the Depart ment of Telecommunications on 30 June 2010 said "Keeping the complexi ty and enor mity of the t esting involved befor e MNP is implement ed and keeping in view the present status of implementation by various operators, it has now been decided to ext end the time line for implementation of MNP to 31st October 2010 . The latest official report is that Mobile Number Portabilit y will be phased in slowly, starting with Haryana which will have MNP on or s oon after November 1 2010. A news r eport on 25 November 2010 said Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was finally launched in Haryana. The MNP s ervice inaugurate by the Union Minister of Communications & IT Mr.KapilSibal by making the inaugural call t o ShriBhupindrer Singh Hooda, the Chief Minist er of Haryana from a ported mobile number in function held at Rohtak city . Another news report said it will
be implement ed across India on January 20, 2011. Even as DoT has recommended a porting fee of Rs. 19, some operators such as Idea Cellular may consider waiving off the porting charges.
2 .Stateme t of the problem
Brand preference is going to be a burning issue of all the service providers since the mobile number portability (MNP) is already introduced in Haryana and coming soon in other states also.The states in Eastern India are having less cellular tele-density in comparison to overall Indian average and are considered as potential market by all leading mobile service provider.is a possibility of increasing the number of customers. That¶s why every leading GSM mobile service provider having business in this region. This study covers Kolkata only since it is expected that being the metro city, with population more than 10 millionthe analysis of the Kolkata customers may provide the brand preference of the entire Eastern India. The service providers in Kolkata are given below BhartiAirtel Reliance Communications Vodafone Essar Idea Cellular Aircel Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Tata Teleservices Uninor MTS India
For this study the 4 major players in Kolkata cellular telephone sector have been considered.
Those are as follows: (1) Vodafone Essar (2) BhartiAirtel (3) Tata Teleservices (4) Reliance Communications 2.2Profile 2.2.1
of service provi ers
Essar, usually referred to simply as Vodafone, is a cellular
Vodafone
operator in India that covers 23 telecom circles in India. It was formerly known as HutchisonEssar. It is based in Mumbai Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group67% and Essar Group33%. It is the second largest mobile phoneoperator in terms of revenue behind BhartiAirtel and third largestin terms of customers. The company now has operations across the country with over 113.77 million customers. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li KaShing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipingReliance CommunicationsHinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers bothprepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 licence areas. It is among the top three GSM mobile operators of India. Vodafone Essar will launch third-generation (3G) services in the country in the JanuaryMarch quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks.
Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest mobile carrier, will launch third-generation (3G) services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks. Vodafone Essar won 3G licences in nine of 22 telecom zones for Rs. 11617.86 million, and has spent the second highest amount in the May 2010 auction. The circles where Vodafone will provide 3G services are Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. The company named Nokia Siemens Networks andEricsson as its 3G equipment suppliers. Vodafone is supposed to have the best network among all networks. In Kolkata Vodafone Essar have 3,657,252customers.
2.2.2
BhartiAirtel
Limited,
usually that
referred operates
to in
simply 19
as
"airtel",
is
a
Indian telecommunications company
countries
across South
Asia,Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with over 200 million subscribers as of October 2010. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 143 million subscribers as of September 30, 2010. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. It has a 29.00% market share of the GSM mobile service in India. Airtel also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its telecom services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal.BhartiAirtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification, BhartiAirtel had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. The company also provides land-line telephone services and broadband Internet access (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource everything except marketing and sales and finance. Its network (base stations, microwave links, etc.) is maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei.,[5] business support
by IBM and
transmission
towers
by
another
company
(BhartiInfratel
Ltd.
in
India).[6] Ericsson agreed for the first time, to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front
2.2.3Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) (BSE: 532371) is a s ubsidiary of the Tata Group headquartered in Navi Mumbai, an Indian conglomerate. It operates under the brand name Tata Indicom in various telecom circles of India. In Nov 2008, Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo picked up a 26 per cent equity stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 13,070 crore ($2.7 billion) or an enterprise value of Rs 50,269 crore ($10.38 billion). In Feb 2008, TTSL announced that it would provide CDMA mobile services targeted towards the youth, in association with the Virgin Group on a Franchisee model basis. Tata Teleservices Provides mobile services under 3 Brand names: Tata Indicom (CDMA Mobile operator) Tata DoCoMo (GSM Mobile operator) Virgin Mobile (CDMA Mobile operator) Virgin Mobile (GSM Mobile operator)
Tata Teleservices is part of the Tata Group. Tata Teleservices spearheads the Group¶s presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle. The company acquired Hughes Telecom (India) Limited [now renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002. With a total Investment of Rs 19,924 Crore, Tata Teleservices has created a Pan India presence spread across 20 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, J & K, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, North East, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Having pioneered the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has established 3G ready telecom infrastructure. It partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent,Zte and ECI Telecom for the deployment of its telecom network.
The company is the market leader in the fixed wireless telephony market with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.
2.2.4Reliance Communications (NSE: RCOM, BSE: 532712), formerly known as Reliance Infocomm, along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). Reliance Communications Limited, founded by Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932±2002), is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil DhirubhaiAmbani Group. The Reliance Anil DhirubhaiAmbani Group currently has a net worth in excess of 64,000crore (US$13.6 billion), cash flows of 13,000 crore ($2.8 billion), and a net profit of 8,400 crore ($1.8 billion). The Equity Shares of RCOM are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and National Stock Exchange Limited. It ranks among the top 5 telecommunications companies [1] in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers. The company has established a pan-India, next-generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next-generation IP-enabled connectivity infrastructure,[2] comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.
3. Obje tive
The main objectives of the study are: 1. The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating fast developing area and so all the service providers were 2. To study the customer satisfaction towards mobile service providers. 3. To study and identify how the customers are benefited. 4. To evaluate the major service provider satisfied the customer. 5. To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to assess their current satisfaction levels. 6. To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers. 7. To understand the performance of different brands in the market on various parameters like product quality, performance of the customer relationship officer (CRO), service quality, range and selection of products available.
4.Research Methodology
Research Definition
The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a systematic and a replicable process, which identifies and defines problems, within specified boundaries. It employs well-designed method to collect the data and analyses the results. It disseminates the findings to contribute to generalize able knowledge. The main characteristics of research presented below are: them, Collecting, organizing and evaluating data. Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a larger Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests relationships between
population. Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it. Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts. Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would facilitate to
decision. For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were use. It helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data which will be collected from a sample of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest. Demographic factors like age, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.
4.1 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS
In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is graphical diagram.
4.2 METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA
The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective presentation and hence results are being obtained.
4.3 Sources of Data
The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various experts.
4.4Sampling Design
RESEARCH DESIGN
The design for this study is Exploratory and Random samplin
4.5 Collection Method
DATA COLLECTION
The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. Because it is a pilot study and due to time constraint the sample size is small. of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest. Demographic factors likeage, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.
5. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have? Table 1: No. of respondent by service provider Brand Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance NO. Of respondent 40 32 16 12
Graph 1: No. of respondent by service provider
NO. Of respondent
45
40
35
30
25 20 15 10
5
NO. Of respondent
0
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Kolkata,where the market leader is Vodafone. That¶s why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Vodafone. Above data analysis shows that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two market leaders Vodafone andAirtel. Minor is Tata.
Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider? Table 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider Brands Excellent Good 37.5 31.25 37.5 25 Avg 12.5 25 25 41.67 Poor 0 0 12.5 8.33 Total 100 100 100 100
Vodafone 50 Airtel Tata Reliance 43.75 25 25
Graph 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider
60
50
40 Vodafone
30
20
Airtel Tata
Reliance 10 0 Excellent Good Avg Poor
Interpretation: Most of the Vodafone users (50%) rated the service as excellent whereas 41.67% of Reliance customers ranked their service as average. The graph as well as the table indicates that in the opinion of the surveyed customers, Vodafone provides excellent service followed by Airtel, Tata and then Reliance.
Q3:-Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced? Table 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP Brands Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance Stay 40 30 10 9 Not to Stay 0 2 6 3
Graph 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
Stay Not to Stay
Interpretation: from the respondents it is clear that Vodafone would be the least affected service provider after introduction of MNP. Tata may be the worst affected.
Q4:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? Table 4:- Percentage distribution of respondent by satisfaction level of network service Brands Very Satisfied Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 60 55 40 38 35 25 30 22 5 15 12 8 0 5 12 20 Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very Dissatisfy 0 0 6 12 100 100 100 100 Total
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Q5:- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service: Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS Particular SMS Pack Airtel Vodafone Reliance Tata 15 32 30 40 12 48 14
Concession 28 Call Rates Internet Service Full Talk Time Total 100 17 40
10
40
32
28
8
6
100
100
100
60
50
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F ll Talk Time 10
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irtel
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relia ce
Tata
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Call Rates
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Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company? Table 6:Brands <1month 1-6month >6month<1year Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 2 1 6 5 8 6 6 4 12 10 2 2 >1year<3year 10 7 1 1 8 8 1 0 >3year
14 12
10 8
6 4 2 0
Airtel
Tata Relia ce
42 32 5
1
af
e
Q7:-Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice Table 7:- showing number of customer buy the connection of service provider Brands Price Network Service Brand Image VAS
Vodafone Airtel Reliance Tata
3 4 6 8
11 10 0 1
21 15 4 4
5 3 2 2
25
20
Netw rk Service
S
5
0
9
A
97 87
af
e
irtel
elia ce
Tata
C 89
10
Bra
7
@6
B @ 6
15
rice
I age
Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money? Table 8:Brands Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance Excellent 20 15 2 1 Good 12 8 6 1 Fair 8 8 3 5 1 3 4 2 1 Poor Not Sure
25
20
15
10
5
0
D
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Not S re
F
E
odafone
Airtel Tata eliance
Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service department of your service provider? Brands Tariff Related Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 5 5 5 4 Activation/ Deactivation 15 15 4 3 Information of VAS¶s 20 10 3 1 2 4 4 Network Problem
.
25
20
15
10
5
irtel
Tata e lia c e
0
P QP
IS
PQ
QP QP
R
H
Tariff elate
ctivati / e activati
I f rmati Ss
f
e t rk r blem
`X YX Q
G
a PV PU T I G
W
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e
Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service?
Brands
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfy
Very Dissatisfy
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
20 14 6 1
14 12 5 4
6 5 4 2 1 1 3 2
25
20
10
irtel
Tata 5
0 Reliance
f
f
e d
c
c
ery Satisfie
Satisfie
e tral
i ssatisfy
ery issatisfy
c
g b b
b
15
o afone
Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries
Brands
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfy
Very Dissatisfy
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
25 15 4 3
13 10 2 2
2 2 3 4 3 4 2 2 3 1
30
25
20 15
10
Airtel Tata elia ce
5
0
r
r
q p
i
i
ery Satisfie
Satisfie
e tral
i ssatisfy
ery issatisfy
vt ut x
w
s h h
af
e
Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous. Brands Strongly Disagree Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 1 3 4 6 Somewhat Disagree 3 5 2 1 1 2 2 1 Neutral Somewhat Agree 16 12 3 2 Strongly Agree 19 10 5 2
20
18 16
14 12
8
6 4
2 0
Str gly isagree S m e hat i sagree e tral S m e hat gree
Str g ly gree
y y y y
10
irtel
Tata
Relia ce
V daf
e
Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.
Brands
Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree 3 4 5 3
Neutral
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree 21 15 1
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
1 2 4 6
4 2 3 2
11 9 2 1
25
20
15
Vodafone
Airtel
10
Tata Reliance
5
0
Strongly isagree
So ew at i sagree
Ne tral
So ew at Agree
Strongly Agree
Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory. Brands Strongly Disagree Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 1 6 9 Somewhat Disagree 1 3 4 2 6 2 5 1 Neutral Somewhat Agree 15 12 1 Strongly Agree 18 14
20 18
16 14
12 10
8 6
Vodafone
Airtel Tata Reliance
4 2
0
Strongly isagree
So ew at i sagree
Ne tral
So ew at Agree
Strongly Agree
6 Limitation of Research
Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some
problems, which are listed here: The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and
every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time. Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in
responding rightly. Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about
themselves and their organization. Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services
provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information. Most of the respondents don¶t want to disclose the information about the various other
companies¶ which they have experienced before. Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they
were not able to properly differentiate among their product.
7. Review of Literature
1) Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile telephones. The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is usually known as ³3G´ for short. There are various issues about that new innovative. One is how to price 3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone operating companies to recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments for operating licenses. Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed international standards and companies do not yet know what new services the technology will prove capable of delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain dependent on largely unproven technology. Marketing 3G is going to be about services which are new and in many cases, yet to be designed. At the same time, it will involve services which can also be obtained by computer and other means. It follows that the marketing task will be high risk. First, 3G has no obviously unique selling proposition to build on except, perhaps, the combination of live video and easy portability. Second, the potential customers have not yet had adequate opportunity to signal their service likes and dislikes. Third, the cost and complexity of service provision leave doubt about the market¶s reaction to price.
2) Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the stateowned department of telecommunications. However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change.
3) Bhatt (2008), in his study titled ³A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students´analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies.
4. Jha (2008),in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.
5. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services promised and services offered. The overall customers¶ attitude towards cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more services to be provided.
6. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled ³Managing the Customer Perceived ServiceQuality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation´ analyzed that there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile services.
7. Fernandez (2007) in their study titled ³Understanding Dynamics in an EvolvingIndustry: Case of Mobile VAS in India´analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) is a rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is made at understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within which the Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our literature and industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is complicated yet one can observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators and content aggregators.
8. Bismut (2006)in his study titled ³Competition in European Telecom Markets´analyzed that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors have contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry, competition has played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new technologies, to innovate and to offer new services.
9. Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled ³Promotional Strategies of Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective´ analyzed that the increasing competition and changing taste and preferences of the customer¶s all over the world are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was found that advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most of the customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are more sale oriented rather than customer oriented.
10. Fredric (2008) analyzed the importance of yield management and discrimination pricing in telecommunication sector. Yield management is the process of allocating the right type
of capacity or inventory unit to the right kind of customer at the right price so as to maximize revenue or yield. Yield management and dynamic pricing strategies could be usefully applied to preserve and increase profitability. Yield management techniques can help telecom operators and similar companies to optimize the benefits they can derive from a subtle management of information networks and partnerships. However, such an approach is more difficult to implement in the telecommunications industry than in the airlines sector because of the difficulty to control (and sometimes to refuse) network access to customers
11. Chris (2003) has analyzed µTelecom advertising in print media.¶ This research attempted to investigate why Telecom theme are used in advertisement, and the motives that lead companies and advertisers to use sport celebrities and sport concept in advertisements. From study it has been revealed that the appearance of sport celebrities in advertising endorsement occurred more often in Telecom magazines than in other magazines, because their target group is more acquainted with athletes. The sport celebrities that dominated each printed media are related with their target group characteristics.
8. Conclusion
CONCLUSION
y
As per my belief we have seen that the choice of mobile handset and services can not be separated came out true because when we tried to find out the customer decision .we successfully classified customers in to eight group each with some special requirement service wise and handset¶s attribute wise. Competition in telecom industry is heating up its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new dynamic business environment.
y
Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of other .They should also think for searching new space or we can say either creating a new blue space to sustain their growth in long run.
y
There is more room for data analysis but the rest of the part is beyond the scope of this project report According to the results, the most important determinant for consumers are price and sacrifice perception (monetary and non-monetary sacrifice), which in perception. These are periodical fixed cost, minute or traffic charge and opening cost when purchasing mobile phone. The results indicate that the minute charge is the most influential factor when a customer assesses to purchase. The second most important factor is the periodical fixed cost and another factor is the opening cost. These indicate, not surprisingly, that communication firms need to deeply consider. Also, this indicates that a lot of effort must be put in the pricing strategy.
y
Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or failure of next-generation communications service providers. In today¶s competitive environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations. The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another, demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and performance. To be successful, communications service providers must deliver
positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. To these effect-Mobile services has experienced the negative attributes of not being customer focused and realizes that quality is an attribute that creates customer satisfaction profitably. Therefore quality must be fused with all resources channeled towards their customers
Bibliography
REFERANCES
1. Jallet, Frederic, ³Yield management, Dynamic pricing and CRM in telecommunications´, (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkht ml&contentId =1747102&history=true>) [Viewed 13/3/09]
2. Debnath, Roma Mitra, ³Benchmarking telecommunication service in India´, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article& hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId =1742535&history=true>) [Viewed 2/3/09] 3. Robins, Fread, ³The marketing of 3G´, vol 21, no 6, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article& hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId =854647&history=true>) [Viewed 2/4/09]
4. Kalwani, Banumathy, ³Consumer¶s Attitude towards Cell phone Services´, 2006
5. Fernandez, Fronnie, ³Understanding Dynamics in an EvolvingIndustry: Case of
Mobile VAS in India´, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId= 881588&history=true>) [Viewed 4/4/09]
6. Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, ³Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing
Strategies in the Competitive Scenario´, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId= 881588&history=true>) [Viewed 4/4/09]
7. Seth et, Etal, ³Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation´, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Book&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1 758667&history=true>) [Viewed 6/4/09]
8. Tecor, Jha, ³Understanding Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among College-Goers´,
2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Book&hdAction=lnkhtml& contentId=1 760544&history=true>) [Viewed 7/4/09]
9. Bhatt, Andre, ³A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students´,
2008 10. Chris, Kambitsis, ³Telecom advertising in print media´, 2003
Journal
y y y y
The Indian Telecom Industry, IIM Calutta, VatsalGoyal, 2007 Investment Surge in the Indian Telecom Space, Times Global, Issue 2, 2008 A multiple-perspective model for technology assessment, vol 3, 2008 The marketing of 3G, Vol 21, no. 6, 2003
Books
Co pany L t.
i i
e hg
f
e d
y
Zeit a l, Valarie (2008), Service Marketing, 4t Ed. New el i: Tata
cGraw Hill P
lis ing
ANNEXURE Questionnaire NAME- ___________________ AGE- ________ MOBILE MODEL ________
OCCUPATION -_________________
Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have? A) Vodafone B) Airtel C) Tata D) Reliance
Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider? 1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Average 4) Poor
Q3:- Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced?
a) Stay b) Not to stay
Q4:-Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Very dissatisfied
Q5:-
Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service:
Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS 1) SMS Pack 2) Concession Call Rates3) Internet Service4) Full Talk Time
Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?
a) Less than one month d) 1 to 3 years
b) 1 to 6 months e) Over 3 years
c) 6 months to a year
Q7:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice 1) Price 2) Network 3) Service 4) Brand Image 5) VAS
Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money? 1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Fair 4) Poor 5) Not Sure
Q9:-:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service? a) b) c) d) Tariff related Activation/deactivation related Information about VAS¶s Network problem
Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service? a) b) c) d) e) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved? a) b) c) d) e) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, will you please describe the reasons for your dissatisfaction? -- Thank you for spending your precious time on filling in the questionnaire for us!
1. Introduction
1.1 Brand preference
Measure of brand loyalty in which a consumer will choose a particular brand in presence of competing brands but will accept substitutes if that brand is not available. The Indian telecommunications industry is the world's fastest growing telecommunications industry, with 742.12 Million telephone (landlines and mobile) subscribers a 706.69 nd Million mobile phone connections as of Oct 31st 2010. It is also the second largest telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections after China. The Indian Mobile subscriber base has increased in size by a factor of more than one hundred since 2001 when the number of subscribers in the country was approximately 5 million to 706.69 Million by Oct 2010. As the fastest growing telecommunications industry in the world, it is projected that India will have 1.159 billion mobile subscribers by 2013.Furthermore, projections by several leading global consultancies indicate that the total number of subscribers in India will exceed the total subscriber count in the China by 2013.The industry is expected to reach a size of 344,921 crore (US$76.23 billion) by 2012 at a growth rate of over 26 per cent, and generate employment opportunities for about 10 million people during the same period. According to analysts, the sector would create direct employment for 2.8 million peopleand for 7 million indirectly. In 2008-09 the overall telecom equipment revenue in India stood at 136,833 crore (US$30.24 billion) during the fiscal, as against 115,382 crore (US$25.5 billion) a year before.
1.2Indian telecom sector:
In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service. DoT was responsible for telecom
servi es i entire country until 1985 when M hanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of Liberali ation-Privati ation-Globali ation policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate the Government s policy wing from its operations wing. After 1995 the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. Recent policies: All the villages shall be covered by telecom facility by the end of 2002. National Long Distance Service (NLD) is opened for unrestricted entry. The International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been opened to competition. The basic services are open to competition. In addition to the existing three, fourth cellular operator, one each in four metros and
thirteen circles, has been permitted. The cellular operators have been permitted to provide all types of mobile services including voice and non-voice messages, data services and Publica Call Office PCOs utili ing any type of network equipment, including circuit and/or package switches that meet certain required standards. Policies allowing private participation have been announced as per the New Telecom
Policy (NTP), 1999 in several new services, which include Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service, digital Public Mobile Radio Trunked Service (PMRTS), Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Service. Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) has been introduced for providing telephone
connections in urban, semi-urban and rural areas promptly. Introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Once a customer changes his/her
service provider & retaining the same mobile number they are expected to hold their number with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another service
provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP services provided by the service providers. Steps are being taken to fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO), its funding and
administration. 1.3Emergence of major players: The Government of India corporati ed the operations wing of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Aircel, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market. A list of ten states (including the metros Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in their respective states) with the largest subscriber base as of Oct 31st 2010 is given below State Subscriber base Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh West Bengal Bihar Karnataka Gujarat Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh India 92,867,835 84,543,727 63,671,528 54,000,379 51,901,967 46,311,291 43,802,688 40,158,662 38,649,784 38,295,896 706,691,164 Population (01/08/2010) 199,415,992 110,351,688 67,773,611 84,241,069 90,524,849 97,560,027 58,969,294 58,388,625 67,449,102 72,362,313 1,188,783,351 Mobile phones per 1000 population 427 707 881 600 520 430 709 618 535 489 580
1.4 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
TRAI announced the rules and regulations to be followed for the Mobile Number Portability in their draft releas e on 23 September 2009. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows us ers to retain their numbers, while shifting to a different s ervice provider provided they follow the guidelines s et by TRAI. Once a customer changes his/her s er vice provider & retaining t he same mobile number they are expected to hold t heile number with a given provider for at least 90 days, before they decide to move to another servi ce provider. This restriction is set in place to keep a check on exploitation of MNP s ervices provid ed by the service providers. As per news reports, Gover nment of India decided to implement MNP from December 31, 2009 in Metros & cat egory µA¶ service areas and by March 20, 2010 in rest of the country. It has been postponed to March 31, 2010 in Metros & category 'A' s er vice areas. However, time and time again, lobbying by the stat e -run fir ms, BSNL and MTNL has resulted in innumerable delays in the implementa tion of Mobile Number portability. The latest reports suggest BSNL and MTNL are finally ready t o implement the Mobile Number Port ability by October 31, 2010. A press release by the Depart ment of Telecommunications on 30 June 2010 said "Keeping the complexi ty and enor mity of the t esting involved befor e MNP is implement ed and keeping in view the present status of implementation by various operators, it has now been decided to ext end the time line for implementation of MNP to 31st October 2010 . The latest official report is that Mobile Number Portabilit y will be phased in slowly, starting with Haryana which will have MNP on or s oon after November 1 2010. A news r eport on 25 November 2010 said Mobile Number Portability (MNP) was finally launched in Haryana. The MNP s ervice inaugurate by the Union Minister of Communications & IT Mr.KapilSibal by making the inaugural call t o ShriBhupindrer Singh Hooda, the Chief Minist er of Haryana from a ported mobile number in function held at Rohtak city . Another news report said it will
be implement ed across India on January 20, 2011. Even as DoT has recommended a porting fee of Rs. 19, some operators such as Idea Cellular may consider waiving off the porting charges.
2 .Stateme t of the problem
Brand preference is going to be a burning issue of all the service providers since the mobile number portability (MNP) is already introduced in Haryana and coming soon in other states also.The states in Eastern India are having less cellular tele-density in comparison to overall Indian average and are considered as potential market by all leading mobile service provider.is a possibility of increasing the number of customers. That¶s why every leading GSM mobile service provider having business in this region. This study covers Kolkata only since it is expected that being the metro city, with population more than 10 millionthe analysis of the Kolkata customers may provide the brand preference of the entire Eastern India. The service providers in Kolkata are given below BhartiAirtel Reliance Communications Vodafone Essar Idea Cellular Aircel Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Tata Teleservices Uninor MTS India
For this study the 4 major players in Kolkata cellular telephone sector have been considered.
Those are as follows: (1) Vodafone Essar (2) BhartiAirtel (3) Tata Teleservices (4) Reliance Communications 2.2Profile 2.2.1
of service provi ers
Essar, usually referred to simply as Vodafone, is a cellular
Vodafone
operator in India that covers 23 telecom circles in India. It was formerly known as HutchisonEssar. It is based in Mumbai Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group67% and Essar Group33%. It is the second largest mobile phoneoperator in terms of revenue behind BhartiAirtel and third largestin terms of customers. The company now has operations across the country with over 113.77 million customers. On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of 67% held by Li KaShing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipingReliance CommunicationsHinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD18.8 billion. The transaction closed on May 8, 2007. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers bothprepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India with good presence in the metros. Vodafone Essar provides 2.75G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM technology, offering voice and data services in 23 of the country's 23 licence areas. It is among the top three GSM mobile operators of India. Vodafone Essar will launch third-generation (3G) services in the country in the JanuaryMarch quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks.
Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest mobile carrier, will launch third-generation (3G) services in the country in the January-March quarter of 2011 and plans to spend up to $500 million within two years on its 3G networks. Vodafone Essar won 3G licences in nine of 22 telecom zones for Rs. 11617.86 million, and has spent the second highest amount in the May 2010 auction. The circles where Vodafone will provide 3G services are Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (East) and West Bengal. The company named Nokia Siemens Networks andEricsson as its 3G equipment suppliers. Vodafone is supposed to have the best network among all networks. In Kolkata Vodafone Essar have 3,657,252customers.
2.2.2
BhartiAirtel
Limited,
usually that
referred operates
to in
simply 19
as
"airtel",
is
a
Indian telecommunications company
countries
across South
Asia,Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with over 200 million subscribers as of October 2010. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 143 million subscribers as of September 30, 2010. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. It has a 29.00% market share of the GSM mobile service in India. Airtel also offers fixed line services and broadband services. It offers its telecom services under the Airtel brand and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal.BhartiAirtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification, BhartiAirtel had to meet rigorous standards for networking competency, service, support and customer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. The company also provides land-line telephone services and broadband Internet access (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource everything except marketing and sales and finance. Its network (base stations, microwave links, etc.) is maintained by Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Network and Huawei.,[5] business support
by IBM and
transmission
towers
by
another
company
(BhartiInfratel
Ltd.
in
India).[6] Ericsson agreed for the first time, to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front
2.2.3Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) (BSE: 532371) is a s ubsidiary of the Tata Group headquartered in Navi Mumbai, an Indian conglomerate. It operates under the brand name Tata Indicom in various telecom circles of India. In Nov 2008, Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo picked up a 26 per cent equity stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 13,070 crore ($2.7 billion) or an enterprise value of Rs 50,269 crore ($10.38 billion). In Feb 2008, TTSL announced that it would provide CDMA mobile services targeted towards the youth, in association with the Virgin Group on a Franchisee model basis. Tata Teleservices Provides mobile services under 3 Brand names: Tata Indicom (CDMA Mobile operator) Tata DoCoMo (GSM Mobile operator) Virgin Mobile (CDMA Mobile operator) Virgin Mobile (GSM Mobile operator)
Tata Teleservices is part of the Tata Group. Tata Teleservices spearheads the Group¶s presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle. The company acquired Hughes Telecom (India) Limited [now renamed Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002. With a total Investment of Rs 19,924 Crore, Tata Teleservices has created a Pan India presence spread across 20 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Gujarat, J & K, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, North East, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Having pioneered the CDMA 3G1x technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has established 3G ready telecom infrastructure. It partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent,Zte and ECI Telecom for the deployment of its telecom network.
The company is the market leader in the fixed wireless telephony market with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.
2.2.4Reliance Communications (NSE: RCOM, BSE: 532712), formerly known as Reliance Infocomm, along with Reliance Telecom and Flag Telecom, is part of Reliance Communications Ventures (RCoVL). Reliance Communications Limited, founded by Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932±2002), is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil DhirubhaiAmbani Group. The Reliance Anil DhirubhaiAmbani Group currently has a net worth in excess of 64,000crore (US$13.6 billion), cash flows of 13,000 crore ($2.8 billion), and a net profit of 8,400 crore ($1.8 billion). The Equity Shares of RCOM are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and National Stock Exchange Limited. It ranks among the top 5 telecommunications companies [1] in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers. The company has established a pan-India, next-generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next-generation IP-enabled connectivity infrastructure,[2] comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.
3. Obje tive
The main objectives of the study are: 1. The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating fast developing area and so all the service providers were 2. To study the customer satisfaction towards mobile service providers. 3. To study and identify how the customers are benefited. 4. To evaluate the major service provider satisfied the customer. 5. To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to assess their current satisfaction levels. 6. To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers. 7. To understand the performance of different brands in the market on various parameters like product quality, performance of the customer relationship officer (CRO), service quality, range and selection of products available.
4.Research Methodology
Research Definition
The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a systematic and a replicable process, which identifies and defines problems, within specified boundaries. It employs well-designed method to collect the data and analyses the results. It disseminates the findings to contribute to generalize able knowledge. The main characteristics of research presented below are: them, Collecting, organizing and evaluating data. Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a larger Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests relationships between
population. Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it. Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts. Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would facilitate to
decision. For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were use. It helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data which will be collected from a sample of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest. Demographic factors like age, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.
4.1 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS
In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is graphical diagram.
4.2 METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA
The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective presentation and hence results are being obtained.
4.3 Sources of Data
The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various experts.
4.4Sampling Design
RESEARCH DESIGN
The design for this study is Exploratory and Random samplin
4.5 Collection Method
DATA COLLECTION
The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. Because it is a pilot study and due to time constraint the sample size is small. of population was assumed to be representing the entire population of interest. Demographic factors likeage, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.
5. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have? Table 1: No. of respondent by service provider Brand Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance NO. Of respondent 40 32 16 12
Graph 1: No. of respondent by service provider
NO. Of respondent
45
40
35
30
25 20 15 10
5
NO. Of respondent
0
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Kolkata,where the market leader is Vodafone. That¶s why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Vodafone. Above data analysis shows that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two market leaders Vodafone andAirtel. Minor is Tata.
Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider? Table 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider Brands Excellent Good 37.5 31.25 37.5 25 Avg 12.5 25 25 41.67 Poor 0 0 12.5 8.33 Total 100 100 100 100
Vodafone 50 Airtel Tata Reliance 43.75 25 25
Graph 2: Percentage distribution of respondent by rating of service provider
60
50
40 Vodafone
30
20
Airtel Tata
Reliance 10 0 Excellent Good Avg Poor
Interpretation: Most of the Vodafone users (50%) rated the service as excellent whereas 41.67% of Reliance customers ranked their service as average. The graph as well as the table indicates that in the opinion of the surveyed customers, Vodafone provides excellent service followed by Airtel, Tata and then Reliance.
Q3:-Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced? Table 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP Brands Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance Stay 40 30 10 9 Not to Stay 0 2 6 3
Graph 3: Brand loyalty of respondent after MNP
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
Stay Not to Stay
Interpretation: from the respondents it is clear that Vodafone would be the least affected service provider after introduction of MNP. Tata may be the worst affected.
Q4:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? Table 4:- Percentage distribution of respondent by satisfaction level of network service Brands Very Satisfied Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 60 55 40 38 35 25 30 22 5 15 12 8 0 5 12 20 Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfy Very Dissatisfy 0 0 6 12 100 100 100 100 Total
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Q5:- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service: Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS Particular SMS Pack Airtel Vodafone Reliance Tata 15 32 30 40 12 48 14
Concession 28 Call Rates Internet Service Full Talk Time Total 100 17 40
10
40
32
28
8
6
100
100
100
60
50
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I ter et Service 20
F ll Talk Time 10
0
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irtel
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e
relia ce
Tata
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30
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Call Rates
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Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company? Table 6:Brands <1month 1-6month >6month<1year Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 2 1 6 5 8 6 6 4 12 10 2 2 >1year<3year 10 7 1 1 8 8 1 0 >3year
14 12
10 8
6 4 2 0
Airtel
Tata Relia ce
42 32 5
1
af
e
Q7:-Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice Table 7:- showing number of customer buy the connection of service provider Brands Price Network Service Brand Image VAS
Vodafone Airtel Reliance Tata
3 4 6 8
11 10 0 1
21 15 4 4
5 3 2 2
25
20
Netw rk Service
S
5
0
9
A
97 87
af
e
irtel
elia ce
Tata
C 89
10
Bra
7
@6
B @ 6
15
rice
I age
Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money? Table 8:Brands Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance Excellent 20 15 2 1 Good 12 8 6 1 Fair 8 8 3 5 1 3 4 2 1 Poor Not Sure
25
20
15
10
5
0
D
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Not S re
F
E
odafone
Airtel Tata eliance
Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service department of your service provider? Brands Tariff Related Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 5 5 5 4 Activation/ Deactivation 15 15 4 3 Information of VAS¶s 20 10 3 1 2 4 4 Network Problem
.
25
20
15
10
5
irtel
Tata e lia c e
0
P QP
IS
PQ
QP QP
R
H
Tariff elate
ctivati / e activati
I f rmati Ss
f
e t rk r blem
`X YX Q
G
a PV PU T I G
W
af
e
Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service?
Brands
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfy
Very Dissatisfy
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
20 14 6 1
14 12 5 4
6 5 4 2 1 1 3 2
25
20
10
irtel
Tata 5
0 Reliance
f
f
e d
c
c
ery Satisfie
Satisfie
e tral
i ssatisfy
ery issatisfy
c
g b b
b
15
o afone
Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries
Brands
Very Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfy
Very Dissatisfy
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
25 15 4 3
13 10 2 2
2 2 3 4 3 4 2 2 3 1
30
25
20 15
10
Airtel Tata elia ce
5
0
r
r
q p
i
i
ery Satisfie
Satisfie
e tral
i ssatisfy
ery issatisfy
vt ut x
w
s h h
af
e
Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous. Brands Strongly Disagree Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 1 3 4 6 Somewhat Disagree 3 5 2 1 1 2 2 1 Neutral Somewhat Agree 16 12 3 2 Strongly Agree 19 10 5 2
20
18 16
14 12
8
6 4
2 0
Str gly isagree S m e hat i sagree e tral S m e hat gree
Str g ly gree
y y y y
10
irtel
Tata
Relia ce
V daf
e
Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.
Brands
Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree 3 4 5 3
Neutral
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree 21 15 1
Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance
1 2 4 6
4 2 3 2
11 9 2 1
25
20
15
Vodafone
Airtel
10
Tata Reliance
5
0
Strongly isagree
So ew at i sagree
Ne tral
So ew at Agree
Strongly Agree
Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory. Brands Strongly Disagree Vodafone Airtel Tata Reliance 1 6 9 Somewhat Disagree 1 3 4 2 6 2 5 1 Neutral Somewhat Agree 15 12 1 Strongly Agree 18 14
20 18
16 14
12 10
8 6
Vodafone
Airtel Tata Reliance
4 2
0
Strongly isagree
So ew at i sagree
Ne tral
So ew at Agree
Strongly Agree
6 Limitation of Research
Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some
problems, which are listed here: The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and
every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time. Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in
responding rightly. Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about
themselves and their organization. Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services
provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information. Most of the respondents don¶t want to disclose the information about the various other
companies¶ which they have experienced before. Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they
were not able to properly differentiate among their product.
7. Review of Literature
1) Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile telephones. The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is usually known as ³3G´ for short. There are various issues about that new innovative. One is how to price 3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone operating companies to recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments for operating licenses. Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed international standards and companies do not yet know what new services the technology will prove capable of delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain dependent on largely unproven technology. Marketing 3G is going to be about services which are new and in many cases, yet to be designed. At the same time, it will involve services which can also be obtained by computer and other means. It follows that the marketing task will be high risk. First, 3G has no obviously unique selling proposition to build on except, perhaps, the combination of live video and easy portability. Second, the potential customers have not yet had adequate opportunity to signal their service likes and dislikes. Third, the cost and complexity of service provision leave doubt about the market¶s reaction to price.
2) Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the stateowned department of telecommunications. However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change.
3) Bhatt (2008), in his study titled ³A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students´analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies.
4. Jha (2008),in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.
5. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services promised and services offered. The overall customers¶ attitude towards cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more services to be provided.
6. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled ³Managing the Customer Perceived ServiceQuality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation´ analyzed that there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile services.
7. Fernandez (2007) in their study titled ³Understanding Dynamics in an EvolvingIndustry: Case of Mobile VAS in India´analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) is a rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is made at understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within which the Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our literature and industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is complicated yet one can observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators and content aggregators.
8. Bismut (2006)in his study titled ³Competition in European Telecom Markets´analyzed that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors have contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry, competition has played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new technologies, to innovate and to offer new services.
9. Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled ³Promotional Strategies of Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective´ analyzed that the increasing competition and changing taste and preferences of the customer¶s all over the world are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was found that advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most of the customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are more sale oriented rather than customer oriented.
10. Fredric (2008) analyzed the importance of yield management and discrimination pricing in telecommunication sector. Yield management is the process of allocating the right type
of capacity or inventory unit to the right kind of customer at the right price so as to maximize revenue or yield. Yield management and dynamic pricing strategies could be usefully applied to preserve and increase profitability. Yield management techniques can help telecom operators and similar companies to optimize the benefits they can derive from a subtle management of information networks and partnerships. However, such an approach is more difficult to implement in the telecommunications industry than in the airlines sector because of the difficulty to control (and sometimes to refuse) network access to customers
11. Chris (2003) has analyzed µTelecom advertising in print media.¶ This research attempted to investigate why Telecom theme are used in advertisement, and the motives that lead companies and advertisers to use sport celebrities and sport concept in advertisements. From study it has been revealed that the appearance of sport celebrities in advertising endorsement occurred more often in Telecom magazines than in other magazines, because their target group is more acquainted with athletes. The sport celebrities that dominated each printed media are related with their target group characteristics.
8. Conclusion
CONCLUSION
y
As per my belief we have seen that the choice of mobile handset and services can not be separated came out true because when we tried to find out the customer decision .we successfully classified customers in to eight group each with some special requirement service wise and handset¶s attribute wise. Competition in telecom industry is heating up its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new dynamic business environment.
y
Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of other .They should also think for searching new space or we can say either creating a new blue space to sustain their growth in long run.
y
There is more room for data analysis but the rest of the part is beyond the scope of this project report According to the results, the most important determinant for consumers are price and sacrifice perception (monetary and non-monetary sacrifice), which in perception. These are periodical fixed cost, minute or traffic charge and opening cost when purchasing mobile phone. The results indicate that the minute charge is the most influential factor when a customer assesses to purchase. The second most important factor is the periodical fixed cost and another factor is the opening cost. These indicate, not surprisingly, that communication firms need to deeply consider. Also, this indicates that a lot of effort must be put in the pricing strategy.
y
Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or failure of next-generation communications service providers. In today¶s competitive environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations. The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another, demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and performance. To be successful, communications service providers must deliver
positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. To these effect-Mobile services has experienced the negative attributes of not being customer focused and realizes that quality is an attribute that creates customer satisfaction profitably. Therefore quality must be fused with all resources channeled towards their customers
Bibliography
REFERANCES
1. Jallet, Frederic, ³Yield management, Dynamic pricing and CRM in telecommunications´, (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkht ml&contentId =1747102&history=true>) [Viewed 13/3/09]
2. Debnath, Roma Mitra, ³Benchmarking telecommunication service in India´, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article& hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId =1742535&history=true>) [Viewed 2/3/09] 3. Robins, Fread, ³The marketing of 3G´, vol 21, no 6, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?contentType=Article& hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId =854647&history=true>) [Viewed 2/4/09]
4. Kalwani, Banumathy, ³Consumer¶s Attitude towards Cell phone Services´, 2006
5. Fernandez, Fronnie, ³Understanding Dynamics in an EvolvingIndustry: Case of
Mobile VAS in India´, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId= 881588&history=true>) [Viewed 4/4/09]
6. Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, ³Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing
Strategies in the Competitive Scenario´, 2007 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId= 881588&history=true>) [Viewed 4/4/09]
7. Seth et, Etal, ³Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation´, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Book&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1 758667&history=true>) [Viewed 6/4/09]
8. Tecor, Jha, ³Understanding Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among College-Goers´,
2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=2086527F07 57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?contentType=Book&hdAction=lnkhtml& contentId=1 760544&history=true>) [Viewed 7/4/09]
9. Bhatt, Andre, ³A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students´,
2008 10. Chris, Kambitsis, ³Telecom advertising in print media´, 2003
Journal
y y y y
The Indian Telecom Industry, IIM Calutta, VatsalGoyal, 2007 Investment Surge in the Indian Telecom Space, Times Global, Issue 2, 2008 A multiple-perspective model for technology assessment, vol 3, 2008 The marketing of 3G, Vol 21, no. 6, 2003
Books
Co pany L t.
i i
e hg
f
e d
y
Zeit a l, Valarie (2008), Service Marketing, 4t Ed. New el i: Tata
cGraw Hill P
lis ing
ANNEXURE Questionnaire NAME- ___________________ AGE- ________ MOBILE MODEL ________
OCCUPATION -_________________
Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have? A) Vodafone B) Airtel C) Tata D) Reliance
Q2:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider? 1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Average 4) Poor
Q3:- Would you like to stay with your service provider even after MNP is introduced?
a) Stay b) Not to stay
Q4:-Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Very dissatisfied
Q5:-
Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service:
Table 5:- percentage of distribution of respondent by liking different VAS 1) SMS Pack 2) Concession Call Rates3) Internet Service4) Full Talk Time
Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?
a) Less than one month d) 1 to 3 years
b) 1 to 6 months e) Over 3 years
c) 6 months to a year
Q7:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice 1) Price 2) Network 3) Service 4) Brand Image 5) VAS
Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money? 1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Fair 4) Poor 5) Not Sure
Q9:-:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service? a) b) c) d) Tariff related Activation/deactivation related Information about VAS¶s Network problem
Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service? a) b) c) d) e) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved? a) b) c) d) e) Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory. a) b) c) d) e) Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Neutral Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree
If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, will you please describe the reasons for your dissatisfaction? -- Thank you for spending your precious time on filling in the questionnaire for us!
