A Project Report On Data Sales of Airtel in Rural Market

A study on data sales of airtel in rural market at Bharti Airtel Ltd, TVM
A STUDY ON DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL MARKET AT BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, TRIVANDRUM
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRAN Submitted by DILEEP A M MGT 0905259 Under the guidance of Faculty Guide Mrs. VEENA P K Faculty, IMK Alleppey Project Guide Mr. DIXEN ELIAS Zonal Sales Manager, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Trivandrum.
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT IN KERALA UNIVERSITY OF KERALA EXTENSION CENTRE, ALAPPUZHA,2009-2011

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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the report entitled A STUDY ON DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL MARKET at Bharati Airtel Ltd, Thrivandrum submitted here is a bonafide record of the work done by MR. DILEEP A.M (MGT0905259) under my guidance in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of Master of Business Administration of the University of Kerala and this work has not been submitted by him for the award of any other degree of this University or any other University COORDINATOR IMK, ALAPPUZHA Mrs. VEENA P. K FACULTY GUIDE
DECLARATION
I declare that the project report entitled A STUDY ON DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL MARKET at BHARATI AIRTEL LTD, TRIVANDRUM, submitted by me for the award of Degree of Master of Business Administration of the University of Kerala is my own work. I have not submitted this report for the award of any other degree, diploma or title of recognition earlier.
PLACE: ALAPPUZHA DATE:
DILEEP A. M MGT 0905259
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Let me take this opportunity to thank Almighty for giving courage and opportunity to do this Summer Project well and to my parents who provided all their support for completing my work.
I sincerely thank to our Coordinator IMK Extension Centre, Alappuzha for providing me all the facilities for the successful completion of this project.
I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Dixen Elias, Zonal Sales Manager (Rural Territory Manager), Bharti Airtel Ltd, Thiruvananthapuram for granting me permission and guiding me to do the Summer Project. In addition, I express my thanks to Mr. Nibeesh, Area Sales Manager (Territory Sales Manager), Bharti Airtel Ltd, Ambalappuzha for guiding me all the way of my project.
I express my gratitude for the valuable help extended to me by Rural Super, Chanakya and all the staff there for providing the required information to this study.
I also express my sincere thanks to Mrs. Veena P K Faculty, IMK Extension Centre, Alappuzha for giving valuable guidance for framing this project.
I express my gratitude to all Rural Distributors and Retailers of BhartiAirtel Ltd, Rural Alleppey who helped me along the way to the completion of this study. I express my wholehearted thanks to all the teaching staffs and friends whose cooperation and support helped me a lot to reach a fruitful stage.
DILEEP A. M MGT 0905259

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CONTENTS
CHAPTER No: 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2 3 4 5
TITLE
PAGE No:
INTRODUCTION -INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY -PROBLEM STATEMENT -REVIEW OF LITERATURE -OBJECTIVE OF THE OF THE STUDY -SCOPE OF THE STUDY -RESEARCH DESIGN -METHODOLOGY -SCALING TECHNIQUES -LIMITATIONS OF STUDY -CHAPTERISATION INDUSTRY PROFILE COMPANY PROFILE ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATIONS FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS&CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX
1 2 3 3 11 11 12 12 13 16 17 18 27 51 76 82 83
LIST OF TABLES
SI NO:
TITLE
PAGE NO:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Extend by which retailers working for airtel Rate of growth of airtel gprs Customers opinion of airtel gprs Next competitor Rating of providers performance Reasons for decreased sales Deciding factors of customer purchase Data quality of airtel Influence of price Stock out Frequency of stock out Beneficial network provider Administrative support Satisfaction level of retailers Opinion for increment of sales Influence of promotional activities Network problem Increase of sales during seasons Ranking with respect to different features Sales trend in rural Aleppy
52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 75
LIST OF CHARTS
SI NO:
TITLE
PAGE NO:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Extend by which retailers working for airtel Rate of growth of airtel gprs Customers opinion of airtel gprs Next competitor Rating of providers performance Reasons for decreased sales Deciding factors of customer purchase Data quality of airtel Influence of price Stock out Frequency of stock out Beneficial network provider Administrative support Satisfaction level of retailers Opinion for increment of sales Influence of promotional activities Network problem Increase of sales during seasons Ranking with respect to different features Sales trend in rural Aleppy
52 53 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 75
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project is made on the title DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL MARKET The purpose of this project is to know about the use and sales of mobile internet and the need of sales promotional activities in Rural Kerala especially in Rural Aleppey, taking it as a sample and to know, what are the promotional activities airtel has to follow to increase the sale.
My study is conducted on data sales of airtel in rural market. The study was conducted using the data collected by a market survey in rural Alleppey. Questionnaire was prepared and administrated by taking a sample of 100 retailers of airtel in rural areas of Alleppey district. The research targets the retailers and distributors who deal into telecom service and the time period of the survey is from February to March 2011. Now a days large competition and reduced call charges resulted in the decrease of profit in that section, so companies are targeting the value added services like gprs to compensate with that. The study helps to understand the need for sales promotion of airtel gprs products and describe the competition in the telecom industry for airtel data cards.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
This project is made on the title DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL MARKET The purpose of this project is to know about the use and sales of mobile internet and the need of sales promotional activities in Rural Kerala especially in Rural Aleppey, taking it as a sample and to know, what are the promotional activities. Airtel has to follow to increase the sale. In field of marketing Airtel conducts many kind of survey time to time for promotion awareness. This project conducted to make an understanding of the market penetration of airtel gprs in rural areas, by a study on the trend of data sales. And also the position of airtels data sales is estimated by a comparative study with the movement of data cards in the market. The aim of the project is to know whether the sales is fair enough for the company, and if it is not so we have to make solutions for the problem areas. In modern era market customers are considered as kings. The only way for making profit in todays market is to make loyal customers. By advertising and all airtel has a good brand name, the rebranding campaign airtel made recently is also very impressive. However, competition is severe in a growing market like India and especially in Kerala. Rural market is growing rapidly and network providers are competing among themselves to achieve a good position in the market. airtel has a good subscriber base in Kerala, What the company has to do is to provide good services to customers, thereby making a market of their own. Sales promotion is the only way through which they can increase the data sales in rural market.
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1.2) RESEARCH PROBLEM

When any type of the research is being done, than research problem must be cleared. It is said if the problem is clear, it means half problem is solved. This study indicates the problem for the organization to know the public opinion about the data cards of airtel and their concepts and view points on the same.
1.3) LITERATURE REVIEW

AN OVERVIEW OF INTERNET AND WIRELES Definition of internet The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer, and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). Common uses of the Internet E-mail World Wide Web Remote Access Streaming Media File Sharing Voice Telephony
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Driving growth of internet data card Growing businesses in all segments, necessity to access emails and corporate applications during urgent business trips and the urge for some entertainment while on the move are some drivers increasing the demand for data card usage. Wireless broadband connections are penetrated the vast semi-urban and rural parts of the country where entrepreneurs, officials, students, etc have the need to surf the Internet for various purposes. Though the laptop penetration in these areas has not made a significant mark, desktop penetration is comparatively more. With data cards offering convenient access to the Internet, a number of companies have started to tie up with service providers to avail bulk network connections for their employees on the go and allow them to utilize their time during business travels. Since data cards can be used with desktop also, it cuts down the office infrastructure costs as well. With the data card segment witnessing steady growth, affordability will go up, which, in turn, will drive 46 growth. And growth of mobile telephony in India has created users with specific needs like m-commerce that require wireless Internet, driving the wireless data card growth. Once the concept of mobile wallet and its applications hit the market in India in the near future, the wireless data card segment is also expected to witness an exponential growth. Apart from this, Internet charges in costly hotels are very high. With the availability of data cards and USB modems, frequent business travelers who stay in costly star hotels can access the Internet and corporate applications on their laptops and avoid using the Internet facility at hotels, saving on high Internet charges.
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What is Sales Promotion?

Sales promotion describes promotional methods using special short-term techniques to persuade members of a target market to respond or undertake certain activity. As a reward, marketers offer something of value to those responding generally in the form of lower cost of ownership for a purchased product (e.g., lower purchase price, money back) or the inclusion of additional value-added material (e.g., something more for the same price). Sales promotions are often confused with advertising. For instance, a television advertisement mentioning a contest awarding winners with a free trip to a Caribbean island may give the contest the appearance of advertising. While the delivery of the marketers message through television media is certainly labeled as advertising, what is contained in the message, namely the contest, is considered a sales promotion. The factors that distinguish between the two promotional approaches are: 1. whether the promotion involves a short-term value proposition (e.g., the contest is
only offered for a limited period of time), and 2. The customer must perform some activity in order to be eligible to receive the value
proposition (e.g., customer must enter contest). The inclusion of a timing constraint and an activity requirement are hallmarks of sales promotion. Sales promotions are used by a wide range of organizations in both the consumer and business markets, though the frequency and spending levels are much greater for consumer products marketers. One estimate by the Promotion Marketing Association suggests that in the US alone spending on sales promotion exceeds that of advertising.
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SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES OF COMPANY

Good Advertising. Effective Incentive Policy. Good services. Wide & Deep Distribution System. Decorating Retailers shop by display board, dealers board etc. Posters. Banners. Conducting awareness programs.
Types of Sales Promotion

Sales promotion can be classified based on the primary target audience to whom the promotion is directed. These include:

Consumer Promotion Trade Promotion Sales force Promotion
Consumer Sales Promotion

Consumer sales promotions encompass a variety of short-term promotional techniques designed to induce customers to respond in some way. The most popular consumer sales promotions are directly associated with product purchasing. These promotions are intended to enhance the value of a product purchase by either reducing the overall cost of the product (i.e., get same product but for less money) or by adding more benefit to the regular purchase price (i.e., get more for the money). While tying a promotion to an immediate purchase is a major use of consumer sales promotion, it is not the only one. As we noted above, promotion techniques can be used to achieve other objectives such as building brand loyalty or creating product awareness. Consequently, a marketers promotional toolbox contains a large variety of consumer.
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Several possible tools can be used for consumer promotions. Some of the more important ones are: Sampling Price-off Quality deals Banded offers In-product gift Out- product gift Coupons Consumer contests
Trade Sales Promotions

As note in the Promotion Decisions Tutorial, certain promotions can help push a product through the channel by encouraging channel members to purchase and promote the product to their customers. For instance, a trade promotion aimed at retailers may encourage retailers to instruct their employees to promote a marketers brand over competitors offerings. With thousands of products competing for limited shelf space, spending on trade promotion is nearly equal that spent on consumer promotions. Many sales promotions aimed at building relationships with channel partners follow similar designs as those directed to consumers including promotional pricing, contests and free product. In addition to these, several other promotional approaches specifically designed to appeal to trade partners.
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Techniques used in trade promotion

On-consignment sales Dealer contests Dealer gifts Display contests Point of sale material Shop board painting Dealer discounts Trade fair participation Dealer meets Cooperative advertising
Sales force promotions

Sales promotion directed towards the sales people is referred to as sales force promotion. These schemes are intended to motivate sales people to put in more efforts to increase sales, increase distribution, promote new or seasonal products, sell more deals to resellers, book more orders, develop prospects lists and build up morale and enthusiasm.
Some of these activities are meant to prepare the sales people to do their jobs well and include sales meetings and manuals, training programs, sales presentations, film and slide shows etc. Prize distribution to winners is the more tangible aspect of any such programme. Objectives of sales force promotion schemes are:

Increase sales volume Introduce a new product Reducing selling costs Offset competitive promotions Improve working habits
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Develop new prospect lists etc.
Advantages and Disadvantages of sales Promotion

Sales Promotion techniques yield results that many other marketing communication elements cannot achieve .For example it can turn around a sales trend in the short run ,help introduce a new product by encouraging consumer and retail acceptance ,reinforce message driven by other communication mix element ,etc. Some of the benefits of sale promotion: Sales promotion produces result by stimulating people to act to try, to buy, to buy more, or to buy more often. It can lead to trial, generate excitement, encourage rein peat purchase, attract switchers, etc. It is especially helpful in situations where there is extreme pressure to increase sales e.g. at the end of the year when there are shortfalls in budgeted sales. It produces immediate results. While advertising or public relation act as an investment producing sales in the long run, sales promotion works during a definite span of time. Most of the sales come during the sale promotions period itself. Very often, if the promotion is successful, one can get results within hours, days or weeks. It can prevent competitor entry or offset competitor promotions and thus help maintain the brands current market share. Sales promotion techniques directed at channel members or sales force can gain channel support and involvement and help push the product. It helps in getting shelf space and merchandising benefits at the retail level, clearing off excess inventory, motivating sales people to find new contacts etc. Sales promotion is relatively easy to design and implement. It is possible to calculate costs effect on sales and sometimes even on competitor sales.
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DISADVANTAGES OF SALES PROMOTION Most sales promotion is used for short-term results. Any excessive use can shift the focus on short-term marketing planning that acts only at the behavioral level. Increasing sales promotion activities has led to clutter, leading companies to cut each other and thus eroding the bottom line. In mature markets sales promotion does not do much in attracting new customers but only switchers who are dear prone. The Internet has grown tremendously during the past years. It radically changes the way people live, work and consume. It represents a tremendous opportunity as well as threats. Internet usage in India continues to grow at a slow but steady pace, both in breadth and depth. Unlike the '70s and '80s when business-related travel was not seen much, the '90s, particularly the dawn of the twenty-first century, has witnessed intensive business travels, and this is gaining momentum with time. India too is on the move and wants to stay connected anytime, anywhere-whether on a train or bus, in a hotel or conference hall, within India or abroad. Meeting this need of business travelers are data cards and USB modems that have become the preferred solution, even before wireless mobile broadband introduced in the country. At present, there are data cards, USB modems, and Internet-enabled mobile phones in the Indian market.
With India on the move, the data card market is flourishing even as low, inconsistent speed remains an issue. In this already competitive market, it becomes essential for Internet data card players to understand the different factors that affect people using the Internet data card as a new wireless device for internet connection. There are many benefits that attract people to choose internet data card for access to the internet as convenience, time saving, wireless connectivity and possibly affordable, however, many people are often hold back as fear of low speed, high usage charges and using
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issues in relation to internet data card usage.
1.4) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Primary research objective:To study and interpret the sales and sales promotion schemes running by airtel, for data sales in rural Aleppey, and to know that how the consumers of airtel gprs can be retained or maximized. Secondary research objective: Creating an awareness about airtel data cards to retailers. To study about the sales trend of airtel data cards in rural market. Analyzing the problem (if any) faced by airtel in rural market about its data sales. Collecting feedback from retailers about the data cards of airtel. Comparing airtels product with others of the same category. Motivating the retailers to push data cards Analyzing which operator is more beneficial to customers and retailers. To find out the places and situations where promotion should be made. To study about the effectiveness of the distribution channels and administrative
set up. To collect valuable opinions from retailers and distributors, about how to increase
sales.
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1.5) SCOPE OF THE STUDY
In business it is said winning telecommunication companies are those that can meet customerss needs economically and conveniently and with effective communication. All marketing activities are coordinated to create a brand image for the company. The Scope of the Research study would include the geographic & Demographic region of Rural Aleppey. The research targets the retailers and distributors who deal into telecom service and the time period of the survey is from Feb mar 2011.
1.6) RESEARCH DESIGN

The Research Design followed to obtain the research objective is Descriptive Research Design. The above research design is selected to describe the competition in the telecom industry for airtel data cards.
1.7) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a description explanation and justification of various methods for conducting research SAMPLING The sampling plan for the study decides the work area that is the population, which has to be surveyed. A Brief idea about the sampling for this research consisting of its different parameters is given below:
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TYPE OF SAMPLING METHOD USED IN THE STUDY
Deliberate sampling:
Deliberate sampling is known as purposive or non-probability sampling. This sampling method involves purposive or deliberate selection of particular units of the universe for constituting a sample, which represents a universe. When population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample on the basis of access it can be called convenience sample. Here the sample is rural aleppey and it represents the situation of the whole Kerala. And also in this project the distributors are ranked according to their performances. To top five and bottom five distributors are taken as a sample for the convenience of data collection and analysis.
Simple random sampling: This type of sampling also known as chance sampling or probability sampling. Where each and every item in population has an equal chance of inclusion in this sample and each one of the possible sample, in case of finite universe, has the sample probability of being selected. The retailers from whom the datas should be collected are selected using this sampling technique.
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SAMPLING UNIVERSE As this work is done to study the sales and the need for sales promotion of airtel gprs products, the sample are the retailers of airtel in rural aleppey. ie, the retailers of the rural super Chanakya.
1.8) SCALING TECHNIQUES

There are 16 distributors and about 550 retailers in rural Alleppey. It is difficult to collect feedback from all these people. So the distributors are ranked with respect to their performances. The top five and bottom five are selected in order to analyze about both problem areas and high performing areas. Among these top five and bottom five ten retailers are selected in random.
Target / Achievement = Performance
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PERFORMANCE OF RURAL DISTRIBUTORS IN DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL ALLEPPEY

serial No: RD name Performance % November 1 2 3 4 SKYLINE RAJASREE SARWA PUNNATHAR A ORANGE PHONE DOCTOR SAAI LAND VOICE INDEX HAZEENA AURA NAVADURGA BRAHMA N2J CHINNU SEASHORE 2.258 2.35 1.21 Performance % December 2.46 2.47 1.076 .975 Performance % January 1.57 1.31 1.67 2.49 Average Rank
Performance% 2.015 2.013 1.699 1.56 1 2 3 4
5 6
.872 1.42
1.82 .189
1.236 2.122
1.309 1.244
5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1.324 1.08 2.66 .19 1.40 0 .559 0 .489 1.08
.666 1.709 0 .690 .154 1.358 1.61 1.142 .881 0
1.713 .758 0 1.218 .513 .56 0 .473 .411 0
1.234 1.182 .887 .699 .689 .639 .573 .538 .49 .36
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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The benchmark of airtel in data sales in rural market is 1.75% of the total sales. From the above table we are sure that only two of our rural distributors are achieving their optimum performance. Even though for analysis and data collection the five top performers and the five bottom performers are selected.
They are, 1. RD Skyline 2. RD Rajasree 3. RD Sarwa 4. RD Punnathara 5. RD Orange 6. RD Navadurga 7. RD Bhahma 8. RD N2J 9. RD Chinnu 10. RD Seashore
SAMPLE SIZE In this study sample size is of 100 people. Due to the shortage of time and un-availability of expert team, the research size is taken short. so that the research can be done easily.
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METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION This study is done using the following primary and secondary data: Primary Data: The primary data was collected by a market survey in Rural Aleppey. Questionnaire was prepared and administrated by taking a sample of 100 retailers of airtel in rural areas of Alappuzha district. Direct interview with Rural Super(distributer), Rural Distributors and retailers. Secondary Data: The secondary data comprises of various Books, published magazines and Wikipedia are included in the study. Data was also collected from the company's records and from the websites "www.Airtel.co.in"'.
1.9)LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The present study is subjected to following LIMITATIONS. Method of data collection was through personal interview and therefore bias becomes a major limitation. Due to the time constraints all the customers were not covered. The sample was restricted to 100 customers, which may restrict the scope and completion of study. The scope of study is restricted only in Aleppey and concluded as the situation in whole rural kerala. Owing to their pre occupation some customers were unable to answer the complete questionnaire.
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2)CHAPTERISATION
Chapter 1 Includes the introduction to the study, problem statement, review of literature, objectives of the study, scope of the study, research design, methodology and limitations of the study. Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Includes Industry Profile Includes Company profile of Bharati Airtel Ltd, Trivandrum Analysis and interpretation Findings, suggestions and conclusion
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CHAPTER 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE
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Industry profile
The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. The industry has witnessed consistent growth during the last year on the back of rollout of newer circles by operators, successful auction of third-generation (3G) and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, network rollout in semi-rural areas and increased focus on the value added services (VAS) market. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of telephone subscriber base in the country reached 742.12 million as on October 31, 2010, an increase of 2.61 per cent from 723.28 million in September 2010. With this the overall tele-density (telephones per 100 people) has touched 62.51. The wireless subscriber base has increased to 706.69 million at the end of October 2010 from 687.71 million in September 2010, registering a growth of 2.76 per cent. Meanwhile, Indian Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) telecom operators added 17.45 million new subscribers in November 2010, taking the all-India GSM cellular subscriber base to 526.18 million, according to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The GSM subscriber base stood at 508.72 million at the end of October 2010. Value-Added Services (VAS) Market Mobile value added services (VAS) include text or SMS, menu-based services, downloading of music or ring tones, mobile TV, videos and sophisticated m-commerce applications. As per a report, India Telecom 2010 released by KPMG in December 2010, currently, the VAS market is worth US$ 2.45 billion-US$ 2.67 billion, which is around 10 per cent of the total revenue of the wireless industry. The share of VAS in wireless revenue is likely to increase to 12-13 per cent by 2011, on the back of increased operator focus on VAS due to continuous fall in voice tariffs, increasing penetration of
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feature rich handsets, availability of vernacular content and increased user adoption of VAS applications. Major Investments The booming domestic telecom market has been attracting huge amounts of investment which is likely to accelerate with the entry of new players and launch of new services. According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the telecommunications sector which includes radio paging, mobile services and basic telephone services attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 1,062 million during April-October 2010-11. The cumulative flow of FDI in the sector during April 2000 and October 2010 is US$ 9,993 million. As per an industry report the telecom industry witnessed merger and acquisition (M&A) deals worth US$ 16.60 billion during April-December 2010, which represented 28.26 per cent of the total valuation of the deals across all the sectors during the period analysed. There were 10 inbound, outbound and domestic M&A deals in the telecom sector during the first nine months of the current fiscal. The biggest M&A deal in the sector was made by telecommunications service provider Bharti Airtel through the acquisition of Zains African mobile services operations in 15 countries. The deal involved a transaction of US$ 10.7 billion. In another deal, Bharti Airtel acquired 100 per cent stake of Telecom Seychelles Ltd for US$ 62 million. Other major M&A deals included the acquisition of 95 per cent stake in Infotel Broadband for US$ 1,032.26 million by Reliance Industries and 26 per cent stake of USbased mobile chipmaker Qualcomms Indian arm for US$ 57.72 million by India's Tulip Telecom and Global Holding. Further, India-based GTL Infrastructure Ltd has bought 17,500 telecom towers of Aircel Ltd. for US$ 1,702.95 million.
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Going Global In March 2010, Bharti Airtel bought the African operations of Kuwait-based Zain Telecom for US$ 10.7 billion, driving the Indian player into the league of top ten telecom players globally. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has liberalised the investment norms for Indian telecom companies by allowing them to invest in international submarine cable consortia through the automatic route. In April 2010, RBI issued a notification stating "As a measure of further liberalisation, it has now been decided... to allow Indian companies to participate in a consortium with other international operators to construct and maintain submarine cable systems on co-ownership basis under the automatic route." The notification further added, "Accordingly, banks may allow remittances by Indian companies for overseas direct investment." Tele-medicine With increase in cell phone users to around 700 million and introduction of 3G services soon in the country, remote treatment and diagnosis of patients through mobile phones would become a reality in the near future. In fact, a few telecom operators and valueadded service developers are planning to use mobile phones for diagnostic and treatment support, remote disease monitoring, health awareness and communication. The Gujarat health department plans to connect all villages through its telemedicine network. The state government has so far expanded the reach of telemedicine services from 53 villages in 2008 to 453, and hopes to cross 500 villages soon. Jay Narayan Vyas, state health minister, said "First thing we plan to do is to start the 104 service over the phone. People can call up and talk to paramedics in call centers who can suggest the primary action to be taken in case of any health emergency. Also, they would be able to suggest generic and over the counter drugs."
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3G Services The Department of Telecom has taken the pioneering decision of launching of 3G services by BSNL and MTNL and initiation of process for auction of spectrum for 3G services to private operators. Allocation of spectrum for 3G and BWA services was done through a controlled simultaneous, ascending e-auction process. All the 71 blocks that were put up for auction across the 22 service areas in the country were sold, leaving no unsold lots. Auction for 3G spectrum ended on May 19, 2010 after 183 rounds of intense bidding over a span of 34 days. The Government is expected to morph revenue worth US$ 14.6 billion. All the available slots across 22 circles have been sold to seven different operators. A pan-India bid for third generation spectrum stood at US$ 3.6 billion. The Anil Ambaniled Reliance Communication bagged the highest number of 13 circles at a cost of US$ 1.9 billion, followed by Bharti Airtel in 12, Idea in 11 and Vodafone and the Tatas in nine circles each, according to the Department of Telecommunications. MTNL and BSNL will have to pay US$ 1.42 billion and US$ 2.2 billion respectively. 3G spectra have already been allotted to successful bidders for commercial use on September 1, 2010 as per the timelines indicated in the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) and in the Letter of Intent issued after the bid amounts were deposited. The 3G spectrum has been allotted to AirTel, Aircel, Vodafone, S Tel, Reliance, Idea Cellular and Tata Cellular Services who won the bids through the electronic auction spread over a period of 34 days in respect of 3G and 16 days in respect of BWA. The BWA spectra have also been assigned to the successful bidders which are Aircel, Augere, Tikona, Qualcomm, Infotel and Bharti. 3G & BWA spectrum would enable users to have value added services like video streaming, mobile internet access, higher & faster data downloads.
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Manufacturing The Indian telecom industry manufactures a vast range of telecom equipment using stateof-the-art technology. As per a press release by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, the production of telecom equipments in value terms is expected to increase from US$ 10.87 billion during 2008-09 to US$ 11.87 billion in 2010-2011. Favourable factors such as policy moves taken by the Government, incentives offered, large talent pool in R&D and low labour cost can provide an impetus to the industry. Exports increased from US$ 89.24 million in 2002-03 to US$ 3 billion in 2009-10 accounting for 26 per cent of the total equipment produced in the country and it is expected to increase to US$ 3.33 billion in 2010-11. Meanwhile, telecom regulator TRAI has released a consultation paper on Encouraging Telecom Equipment Manufacturing in India seeking views of stakeholders for promoting research and development (R&D) and manufacturing of telecom equipment in the country. The consultation paper issued on December 28, 2010 aims at discussing, debating and finalising measures for promotion of R&D and creation of intellectual property as well as manufacture of telecom equipment and electronic components in India. Further, the Indian mobile handsets market continued to grow in the third quarter 2010 as well to record a quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.6 per cent to touch 40.08 million units in the quarter, according to market intelligence firm IDCs India Quarterly Mobile Handsets Tracker. The year 2010 is expected to end with total mobile handset sales of 155.9 million units.
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Rural Telephony The rural Telephone connections have gone up from 3.6 million in 1999 to 12.3 million in March 2004 and further to 200.77 million in March 2010. Their share in the total telephones has constantly increased from around 14 per cent in 2005 to 32.75 per cent at the end of October 2010. The rural subscribers have grown to 243.04 million at the end of October 2010. The wireless connections have contributed substantially to total rural telephone connections; it stands at 233.95 million in October 2010. During 2010-11, the growth rate of rural telephones was 21.05 per cent as against 18.69 per cent of urban telephones. The private sector has contributed to the growth of rural telephones as it provided about 84.27 per cent of rural telephones during October 2010. The government plans to connect all revenue villages in India either through landline, mobile or WLL by February 2011. We have already connected about 96 per cent of the revenue villages. The remaining 25,000 villages will have connectivity by February 2011, stated Mr Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and IT. Further, the Government, under Bharat Nirman II Programme, has envisaged providing broadband coverage to all 250,000 Gram Panchayats by 2012. Policy Initiatives The government plans to formulate a comprehensive National Telecom Policy 2011 including the recognition of Telecom as infrastructure and as an essential service, encouraging Green Telecom, steps to accelerate migration from IPv4 to IPv6 at the earliest, release of IPv6 standards by Telecom Engineering Centre for implementation in the country, etc., as per a press release by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology.
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Further, the government plans to take concrete steps towards finalisation of National Broadband Plan including strategy for implementation and initiation of steps for roll out of optical fibre. The government has taken many proactive initiatives to facilitate the rapid growth of the Indian telecom industry. In the area of telecom equipment manufacturing and provision of IT-enabled services, 100 per cent FDI is permitted No cap on the number of access providers in any service area. In 2008, 122 new Unified Access Service (UAS) licences were granted to 17 companies in 22 services areas of the country Revised subscriber based criteria for allocation of Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) spectra were issued in January 2008 To provide infrastructure support for mobile services a scheme has been launched to provide support for setting up and managing 7,436 infrastructure sites spread over 500 districts in 27 states. As on December 31, 2009, about 6,956 towers had been set up under the scheme The Road Ahead According to a report published by Gartner Inc in June 2009, the total mobile services revenue in India is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5 per cent from 2009-2013 to exceed US$ 30 billion. The India mobile subscriber base is set to exceed 771 million connections by 2013, growing at a CAGR of 14.3 per cent in the same period from 452 million in 2009. This growth is poised to continue through the forecast period, and India is expected to remain the world's second largest wireless market after China in terms of mobile connections. "The Indian mobile industry has now moved out of its hyper growth mode, but it will continue to grow at double-digit rates for next three years as operators focus on rural
35
parts of the country," said Madhusudan Gupta, senior research analyst at Gartner. "Growth will also be triggered by increased adoption of value-added services, which are relevant to both rural and urban markets." Mobile market penetration is projected to increase from 38.7 per cent in 2009 to 63.5 per cent in 2013, according to Gartner.The much-awaited mobile number portability was launched on November 25, 2010 in Haryana and is available to more than 700 million subscribers across the country. As continued efforts of the Government to increase competition in the market and to provide wider choice to customer, Mobile Number Portability will be an important step. Bharti to launch 3G services in 1,000 cities by March 2011 The Economic Times: March 04, 2011 New Delhi: More than 5 lakh customers have upgraded to
Bharti Aritel's high-speed data or 3G services, from voice-based 2G services , within a month after India's largest mobile operator launched this facility in Bangalore . After introducing 3G services in six cities, Airtel launched this platform in Delhi on Thursday that enables customer to enjoy services such as high-speed internet and mobile TV. In Delhi NCR, the fifth-largest telco in the world has spent 3,750 crore of the total 13,000 crore spent in acquiring 3G airwaves, which is the largest investment in any circle, president for mobile services Atul Bindal said. Bindal added that Airtel will cover 13 circles, where it has permits to offer 3G services, by the end of this month. By March 2011, it would have 3G services in more than 1,000 cities. The company is talking to other operators to offer 3G services in the rest of the 22 circles where Airtel did not have permits.Competitors like Reliance Communications , Vodafone Essar, Tata DoCoMo and Aircel have launched 3G in areas where they hold respective permits. No mobile operator has 3G permits in all 22 circles of the country. Airtel added that 3G users were consuming more than 1,000 GB data, a large percentage of the total 2G data consumption, within days. Reliance Communications' head for 3G Prashant Gokarn also expects phenomenally fast adoption of 3G as proportion of customers buying 3G handsets was increasing rapidly. Vodafone would target existing mobile data users and bring various 3G services to life, says Vice-President, brand communication and insights,
36
Anuradha Aggarwal. However, the telcos are battling with each other to grab the chunk of a small market because analysts predict very slow adoption of 3G services. A recent Frost and Sullivan report suggests 3G to become mainstream in more than five years.
CHAPTER 3 COMPANY PROFILE
37
COMPANY PROFILE Bharti Airtel Limited usually referred to simply as "airtel", is an
Indian telecommunications company that operates in 19 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 207.8 million subscribers across 19 countries at the end of 2010. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with over 152.5 million subscribers at the end of 2010. Airtel is the 3rd largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. 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. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. To earn Gold Certification, Bharti Airtel 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. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. 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 business support by IBM and transmission towers by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India). 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. This enabled the company to provide pan-India phone call rates of Rs. 1/minute (U$0.02/minute). Call rates have come down much further like second pulse plans. During the last financial year [2009-10], Bharti has roped in a strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the Telemedia Business.
38
The company is structured into four strategic business units - Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 89 Indian cities. The Digital TV business provides Direct-to-Home TV services across India. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to telcos. History Sunil Bharti Mittal founded the Bharti Group. In 1983, Sunil Mittal was into an agreement with Germany's Siemens to manufacture the company's push-button telephone models for the Indian market. In 1986, Sunil Bharti Mittal incorporated Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) and his company became the first in India to offer push-button telephones, establishing the basis of Bharti Enterprises. This first-mover advantage allowed Sunil Mittal to expand his manufacturing capacity elsewhere in the telecommunications market. By the early 1990s, Sunil Mittal had also launched the country's first fax machines and its first cordless telephones. In 1992, Sunil Mittal won a bid to build a cellular phone network in Delhi. In 1995, Sunil Mittal incorporated the cellular operations as Bharti Tele-Ventures and launched service in Delhi. In 1996, cellular service was extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, Bharti Enterprises acquired control of JT Holdings, and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2000, Bharti acquired control of Skycell Communications, in Chennai. In 2001, the company acquired control of Spice Cell in Calcutta. Bharti Enterprises went public in 2002, and the company was listed on Mumbai Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. In 2003, the cellular phone operations were rebranded under the single Airtel brand. In 2004, Bharti acquired control of Hexacom and entered Rajasthan. In 2005, Bharti extended its network to Andaman and Nicobar. In 2009, Airtel launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Airtel began operating in Bangladesh and 16 African countries. Today, Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India and fifth largest in the world.
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Signature tune The signature tune of Airtel is composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. The tune became hugely popular and is the world's most downloaded mobile music with over 150 million downloads. A new version of the song was released on 18 November 2010, as part of the rebranding of the company. This version too was composed by Rahman himself. Rebranding On 18 November 2010, Airtel rebranded itself in India in the first phase of a global rebranding strategy. The comspany unveiled a new logo with 'airtel' written in lower case. Designed by London-based brand agency, Brand Union, the new logo is the letter 'a' in lowercase, with 'airtel' written in lowercase under the logo.
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On November 23, 2010, Airtel's Africa operations were rebranded to 'airtel'. Sri Lanka followed on November 28, 2010 and on December 20, 2010, Warid Telecom rebranded to 'airtel' in Bangladesh
logo used by Airtel till 2010 November On 18 November, 2010, Bharti Airtel announced a re-branding campaign wherein, they would be referred as airtel, with a new logo.
MNP (Mobile Number portability) Mobile number portability service is also rendered by airtel. In this facility, a customer can change his network operator without changing the number.
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An overall description about airtel
business description
Provides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles in India, Srilanka, Bangladesh and now in 16 Countries of Africa.
Provides telemedia services (fixed line and broadband services through DSL) in 88 cities in India. We also offer suite of Enterprise solutions, DTH and IPTV Services Established proportionate revenue July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company Rs. 157,560 million (ended December 31, 2010Audited) Rs. 103,053 million ( ended December 31, 2009Audited) As per IFRS Accounts proportionate EBITDA Rs. 49,816 million ( ended December 31, 2010 Audited) Rs. 40,823 million ( ended December 31, 2009 Audited) As per IFRS Accounts shares in issue Listings 3,797,530,096 as at December 31, 2010 The Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE)
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

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market capitalization customer base India: 157,485,000 GSM mobile and 3,257,000 Telemedia (status Africa: as on December GSM Customers. 31, 2010) mobile.
42,124,000
(status as on December 31, 2010) operational network Provides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles in India, Srilanka, Bangladesh and now in 16 Countries of Africa.
Provides telemedia services (fixed line) in 88 cities in India.Provides an integrated suite of Enterprise solutions, in addition to providing long distance connectivity both Nationally and Internationally. Also offer DTH and IPTV Services. . registered office Bharti Airtel Limited (A bharti Enterprise) bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj Phase II New Delhi 110 070
Tel.
No.:
+91
11
4666
6100
Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411
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Challenge/Opportunity Bharti Airtel was faced with the challenge of profitably serving the rural areas of India. It is an extremely daunting task due to a variety of factors: rural users' low incomes, a widely dispersed population, and a less than ideal public infrastructure (i.e., roads, electricity, etc.). Specifically, Bharti Airtel had to address the following conditions: The incomes of Indian rural residents are significantly lower than urban residents. The average revenue per user (ARPU) for rural residents was typically less than US$2 per month. Besides deploying a scalable network, Bharti Airtel also needed to establish a cost-effective marketing, sales, and distribution channel to provide service promotion and customer support. Counter to these challenges were the significant opportunity that the Indian rural market represented and Bharti Airtel's unique ability to address it. The future growth of the Indian mobile market is expected to be driven by rural customers, which account for about 70 percent of the country's total population (1.1 billion people) with a teledensity of only 18.5 percent as of September 2009. Indian urban mobile penetration is already over 100 percent. Rural dwellers place a high value on communications. Contacting urban/overseas relatives and friends often requires a long and sometimes treacherous trip to the nearest town to reach a payphone. Various studies (e.g., fishermen in the Indian state of Kerala and grain producers in Niger) have shown that increased mobile service penetration in rural areas could have tremendous socio-economic benefits for the rural population. With its strong presence in the relatively untapped rural market (over 27 percent market share as of September 2009), Bharti Airtel is well-placed to continue growth with its focus on under-penetrated Indian regions with new revenue streams such 3G-enabled data services and pay-TV
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Alliances/Partnerships To extend its reach in India's rural markets, Bharti Airtel is focusing on innovative initiatives, including efficient infrastructure deployments, expanding its distribution network via partnerships, and customized content and tariffs. Bharti Airtel has launched microfinancing agreements in collaboration with Nokia and SKS Micro-finance. Under these partnerships, Bharti provides subsidized tariffs and subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to rural users, Nokia provides subsidized handsets, and SKS offers microfinancing. To expand coverage into rural regions, Bharti Airtel is sharing passive infrastructure services with Vodafone (42 percent ownership) and Idea (16 percent ownership) through its joint venture, Indus Towers. Sharing the infrastructure cost and usage between multiple operators has helped Bharti Airtel to reduce its operating and capital expenses. Bharti Airtel also formed a joint venture with the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO). Its joint venture, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar, uses IFFCO's wide rural presence (present in 80 percent of Indian villages) and appeal among the rural agricultural community to market and distribute Bharti's products. IFFCO Kisan Sanchar provides subsidized handsets and connections at competitive rates in rural areas. It also helps Bharti Airtel to identify and acquire suitable locations for deploying its cell sites. In addition, it offers tailored services including voice-based updates on crop prices, farming techniques, rural health initiatives, and "help line" services.
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Strategy Bharti Airtel first studies the commercial viability of a rural community (and the surrounding villages) based on parameters such as source of livelihood, average income, and involvement in frequent commercial transactions or travels. The company has developed a prioritized deployment strategy based on the specified criteria. Qualifying villages are first to receive a base station, which also caters to nearby communities. To help ensure efficient usage and profitability for each of these base stations, Bharti Airtel tracks the revenue generated per base station (instead of ARPU, which is considered less relevant in a rural context). The following best practices have also been established: Bharti Airtel has adopted the strategy of direct communications to market its value proposition to rural customers. To make its services accessible, the company provides all of its marketing content in local languages. Vans are used to cover rural areas with staff who educate locals about mobile services and usage. The company has developed a shared phone service called Public Call Offices (PCOs) in rural regions to increase awareness about its brand and services. Bharti Airtel Service Centers have been set up in villages to address customer queries and complaints as well as act as sales and distribution points. These centers employ local people and offer sales and customer services using local dialects. Bharti Airtel has already established over 18,000 service centers in rural India, covering over 400 languages and local dialects. The company plans to expand this network.
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Success Factors/Metrics/Monetization Bharti Airtel does not provide separate rural key performance indicators, but the following results have been publicly announced: As of April 2010, Bharti Airtel's network covered 440,000 villages in India, which, together with its urban services, accounted for coverage of approximately 84 percent of India's total population. As of March 31, 2010, Bharti Airtel had added 9 million new customers to reach a total of 128 million connections. Ovum estimates that rural users accounted for 60 percent of the company's net subscriber adds in that quarter. Despite Bharti Airtel's overall ARPU of just under $5, its mobile division's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin was approximately 30 percent, and its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin was
Organization Structure
As an outcome of a restructuring exercise conducted within the company; a new integrated organizational structure has emerged; with realigned roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships of bhartis key team players. With effect from March 01, 2006, this unified management structure of 'One airtel' will enable continued improvement in the delivery of the Groups strategic vision. approximately 19 percent, which indicate a healthy return on overall (including significant rural) investments.
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CORPOATE GOVERNANCE Integrity and Ethics The partners will conduct all its dealings in a very ethical manner and with the highest business standards. All partners with a business relationship with Bharti Airtel shall comply with the highest level of integrity and ethical practices. The partners will provide all possible assistance to Bharti Airtel in order to investigate any possible instances of unethical behavior or business conduct violations by its employee. Partner will disclose forthwith any breach of these provisions that comes to their knowledge to allow for timely action in their prevention and detection. Partners will adopt appropriate processes to prevent offering any illegal gratification in the form of bribes or kickbacks either in cash or in kind in the course of all dealings with us. Any instances of such violations will be viewed in a serious manner and Bharti Airtel reserves the right to take all appropriate actions or remedies as may be required under the circumstances. All partners are required to confirm their compliance to ethical dealings on an annual basis by signing a certificate to this effect as per Bharti Airtel's standard annual certificate Any ethical or integrity issues observed or encountered while dealing with Bharti Airtel shall be bought to the notice of Bharti Airtels senior management or the Head of Internal Audit immediately. Environment, health and safety Suppliers dealing with Bharti Airtel shall comply and adhere to all laws, and guidelines on environment, health and safety. Suppliers will ensure that all new service offerings as well as new product designs are in compliance with the relevant environmental regulation and guidelines, at the time of implementation at Bharti Airtel. regulations
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Vision
By 2015 airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions. Enriching lives means putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will meet their needs based on our deep understanding of their ambitions, wherever they are. By having this focus we will enrich our own lives and those of our other key stakeholders. Only then will we be thought of as exciting, innovation, on their side and a truly world class company."
Mission
Refine your process, strive for dominance and build a brand
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RURAL KERALA
The state of Kerala is fascinating in many ways. This lush green coastal beauty is deservingly called God's Own Country. A drive through the state almost never shows any distinction between urban and rural regions. The houses generally reflect a good standard of living. In, globalized Kerala; households receive a lot of remittances from Malayalies working in the Gulf and in other regions. The Consumer Pyramid put together by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) amends our (mis)understanding of Kerala. According to the Consumer Pyramid Kerala ranks first, and not sixth, in terms of per capita household income Kerala's per capita income in 2009 at Rs 63,000. It was the highest among all states in the country. The official per capita NSDP understates the income of Kerala households by 22 per cent at Rs 49,000. Kerala does not generate much income, but its households receive lot of transfers in the form of remittances from its people working outside. These transfers raise the purchasing power of Kerala households substantially. Kerala is correspondingly a big spender. As a result, its household savings rate is close to the all-India average In Kerala, the people maintain a good standard of living. Above 90% of the people, own the land they live in. In Kerala all people are educated, they read newspapers, they watch television, they are socially, politically more self-aware. The condition of the people of Kerala is comparable to any western nation. In Any other state, all development is limited to few cities. Once you go out of cities it is like travelling to some stone age. In Kerala all places are equally developed. Kerala people are always keeping their tradition. One among is reading newspapers daily. Hence most preferred source for accessing daily information Among rural Kerala are newspapers (33%). Telecommunication and satellite technologies have made television as a household item even in villages. Television along with radio is the second most preferable media of getting daily information. This is followed by accessing information from the friends
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(15.5%). Libraries unfortunately play a small role (7%) for providing daily information needs. Since knowledge on computer and its applications has become an inevitable factor of this present digital era. By computer knowledge, the rural people under study have achieved to get better from the activities relating to their areas of working. Students are enjoying the easiness in academic activities (93.2%) at the same time large number (65.7%) of the housewives and (37.5%) of the labours are utilizing the new communication facilities available through computer as well as internet There is a small portion of the professionals (36.3 %) and students (18 %) having own computer at home. Using internet has become a necessity of the people in Kerala. Most of the results of Kerala Govt. are publishing through internet and online applications also very common among the Kerala Public Service Commission. The people in rural Kerala giving a least preference to the entertainment facilities of computer (15.7%) and they are using computer in an efficient and effective manner
A picture representing rural market
Most of the rural Kerala market is not fully utilized by the telecomm industry. Therefore, there is a great chance for development of a profitable market in the rural Kerala.
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RURAL ALLEPPEY
About Alleppey: Area1,414 Sq.Km. which constitutes 3.64% of the total state area. The population size 21,09,160 persons, ranks the 9th among the districts in population. Population density- 1492 persons per Sq.Km, against 1415 in 1991- retains the first position in the state. Sex-ratio (No. of females per 1000 males) - 1079 , earning 4th position (5th position in 1991 with 1051) Literacy Rate 93.4 % which earns it 3rd position in the state. Female Literacy rate 91.14 which again earns 3rd position in the state. (State Average87.86%) Work Participation rate 34.3 %, 6th position in the state Main Workers 75.6 % Marginal Workers 24.4 % Household industry Workers 7.2 % (2nd)
Alleppey is known as the Venice of east. The main income of people in Alleppey is tourism, coir industry and also agriculture and fishing. Alleppey market is growing and many players are introducing themselves. Almost every person in Alleppey has a mobile phone; many of them have smart phones. However, the companies are facing a problem in its data sales.
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Area of the study

Area of the study is rural Alleppey. The main distributor (rural super) of airtel is RS Chanakya, located in Ambalappuzha. The main distributor have 16 sub distributors called rural distributors and below them are retailers, about 550 retailers are present under them. Structure of organization
Zonal manager (ZM) ( Mr. vasanth Bhatt) va
Rural Territory Manager (RTM) (Mr Dixen Elias)
Territory Sales Manager (TSM) va (Mr. Nibeesh)
RURAL SUPER (Chanakya)
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Rural Super
RS Chanakya is the main distributor in the area. They take stock directly from airtel and distributes .7% is the commission for rural super. They get extra benefits offers and other incentives on achieving target. They are a separate wing, not from the company. As company staff there are two FSEs and a TSM (territory sales manager) is always there to assist the sales.
Rural Distributors
Rural distributors of airtel in rural Alleppey is very efficient and hard working. The RDs in rural Alleppey is not performing up to the target level in gprs sales. Some of the RDs says that they are not getting enough support from the administration level. And some problems in settlement of claims are existing. For making good sales, must be motivated. the sales people
The staff from airtel distributes the products to the rural distributors and the distribution thereafter is carried by them. The commission given to RDs is listed below.
RDs commission
Retailers commission
Airtel idea Vodafone DoCoMo
1.25% 1% .66% 1.5%
4% 4% 4% 4%
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PRODUCT PROFILE airtel
Service Name RC-5
Type of Services On usage
Description
How to Access
1 day, Upto 50 MB
13-Net on Phone
On Usage
Recharge with Rs 13 and get Internet Usage through urMobile BR 1) MRP: Rs 13
NoP Usage for 3 Day3) Validity: 3 Days from the Date of Activation of Service)This service is only for Prepaid Customers
24 GPRS Pack
Optional
200MB Free. Valid for 7 days on paper recharge
98 GPRS Pack
Optional
recharge with Rs.98/- and browse upto 2 GB free, after 2GB: 30ps per 20 KB.
DIAL *567*11# to activate GPRS. Easy and coupon recharge. 30 days validity
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COMPETITORS PRODUCT PROFILE
Vodafone
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.
Recharge
Rs.95 Rs.14
Usage
2GB data usage for 30 days 200MB data usage for 3 days
Post free usage 10ps/10kb 10ps/10kb
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Idea
Idea Cellular known for its constant commitment, rational approach and innovative consistent plans, announced Unlimited GPRS Plans for mobile internet users. It is a step ahead in binding the customer relation firmly in the space of data services. It delights the users by introducing unlimited GPRS at just Rs 98 that let users to surf the internet and stay tuned with their pals and relatives. Due to its flexible and friendly innovations and customer service Idea Cellular has been awarded Most Customer Responsive Company at the prestigious Avaya
GlobalConnect Customer Responsiveness Awards 2010
Recharge 50 MB post free usage 5ps /10 kb RC-5 200 MB 5ps/10kb RC-15 69 MB/DAY 2 GB post free usage 5ps/10kb RC-97
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1-day
post free usage
30 days
DoCoMo
GPRS is the Mobile Data service that gives you the power to enjoy continuous wireless connection to Internet even when you are on the move. You can now get instant access to your favorite web sites, social media platforms, entertainment services and other web applications.. You can seamlessly download and enjoy all types of games.
PACK
Free Usage Details
Validity Days
Post Free Usage With Validity left
149 95/65 48/33/-
8 GB 6 GB 2.5 GB 1 GB* Night Pack with 1 GB between 11PM and 7AM
30 30 30 30 30
10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB
15/5/-
500 MB 50 MB
10p/10KB
Till midnight on day 10p/10KB of recharge
With effect from 00:00:01 hrs on 27th Nov '10 And with GPRS Service from Tata DOCOMO, the advantages are as wide as your imagination takes you. Once activated, the connectivity will provide you 24x7 online presence 365 days
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Aircel
Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India. Aircel is a joint venture between Maxis Communications of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd of India. As on date, Aircel is present in all 23 telecom circles as per the company plans to become a pan-India operator by 2010. Aircel has also obtained permission from Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide International Long Distance (ILD) and National Long Distance (NLD) telephony services. It also has the largest service in Tamil Nadu.
Product PI 5
Details
APN 20 MB of free Internet usage for 1 day (till 23:59:59 hrs
PI 14
3 days validity, Data cap: 250 MB
WAP: Free, GPRS: Charged at 10p/10 KB after 250 MB WAP: Free, GPRS: Charged at 10p/10 KB after 750 MB WAP: Free, GPRS: Charged at 10p/10 KB after 3 GB
PI 29
7 days validity, Data cap: 750 MB
PI 98
30 days validity, Data cap: 3GB
PI 251
Unlimited Internet access for
By recharging with Pocket
90 days. Addition Benefit: 150 Internet pack of Rs.251 local Aircel to Aircel minutes
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is also valid for 90 days.
CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTREPRETATION

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1. Extend by which retailers working for airtel
0-1 year
1-3 years
3-5years
More years
than
five
13
30
17
40
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 More 0-1 year 1-3 years 3-5years than five years
no;of retailers
INTERPRETATION
Majority of the retailers are working in airtel for more than five years. They have a sound knowledge about the market, consumer behavior, the uses of data cards and their benefits. The retailers who were working for one three years are also more; it shows that more people are interested in the telecommunication business. The other two categories are comparatively low.
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Rate of growth of airtels data cards
Slow
Steady
Rapid
19
27
54
60 50 40 30
data sales
20 10 0 Slow
INTERPRETATION
Most of the retailers have a very good opinion about the growth of airtels data sales. The above graph shows that the sales of data cars are rapid in the rural market and has a booming chance to explore the market. In the contrary, in areas like Ponga, Champakkulam, Vallikunnam and Thamarakkulam the movement of data cards are slow. And in areas like Choonad the growth is steady.
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Steady
Rapid
2.
Customers opinion about airtels gprs package
Very good
good
Neither/nor
Bad
Very bad
47
41
10
Very bad Bad Neither/nor good Very good 0 10 20 30 40 50

no: of retailers
INTERPRETATION
Most of the retailers have a very good opinion about airtel gprs. Some of them say it was quite ok. Only two retailers in the sample have an opinion that the gprs provided by airtel is bad. They have an opinion that the connections are slow compared to the network providers in their region.
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3. Next competitor of airtel
Idea
DoCoMo
Aircel
Vodafone
Others
23
17
41
18
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 idea
INTERPRETATION From the data collected we get an idea that the aircel the recently entered player in the kerala market is developed as a strong competitor of airtel in data sales. Aircel has a good product construct, having extended validity and better browsing speed. In the opinion of the retailers, young people are more likely to buy aircels product because of its features.
DoCoMo
Aircel
Vodafone
others
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The next competitor is idea, which has the largest customer base in Kerala. Because of its customer, base and high network in remote areas many people are likely to purchase idea products. The loyal customers in these areas of rural Aleppey are also a fair reason for its competitive advantage. Third is vodafone, it provides the fastest browsing speed. It has fair network in almost all places and retailers are saying that new customers now prefer vodafone more and some existing customers are switching to it. The main drawback of Vodafone is the post usage charges are not well informed. Next to vodafone is docomo. They are also giving a fair competition for airtel products in the market. They are also following the strategy of product versatility. The only name head in others is Uninor. They are also about to flourish. A retailer in Pulincunnu region opts it as the next competitor of airtel.
4. Rating of network providers with respect to their performance in data sales
airtel
Idea
docomo
Vodafone
aircel Others
192
325
317
394
334
538
Note: the network operators are ranked as 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6. As the one which is ranked as 1 have the highest performance and later respectively. The sum of the ranks of each providers are calculated and the network provider having the least sum is the top performer and likewise.
Airtel
Idea
DoCoMo 67
A study on data sales of airtel in rural market at Bharti Airtel Ltd, TVM Vodafone Aircel Others
INTERPRETATION Airtel acquires the top ranking in data sales in rural aleppey. DoCoMo is the one having second place. In addition, idea, Vodafone, and Aircel comes later to it. Other network operators like Reliance GSM and Uninor is also blooming. By providing good services to customers, airtel can hold on its competitive advantage in the market. In many places airtel is not first in data sales.
5.
Reasons, according to retailers about the decreased data sales

A retailer in Mancombu says that the connections of airtel are slow there. A retailer in Thekkekara has an opinion that only students are aware of the gprs and the other customers are not even knowing the possibilities of gprs. In another ones opinion, the product features of oter network providers are a great threat to airtels data sales. He says that companies like DoCoMo provide high speed and extended validity, which attracts the customers. From the former table we can see that the growth and rating of DoCoMo comes next to airtel and is a good competitor of airtel. Low network and the problems when connecting to customer care is also noted as a reason. Activation of gprs when making easy recharge is time consuming.
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6. Deciding factors of customer purchases
Brand name
Price
Quality
Availabilty
Product features
30
18
50
Brand name 0% Price 2%
Quality 30%
Product features 50%
Availabilty 18%
INTERPRETATION The study shows that brand name have little to do with data sales. None of the retailers have an opinion that brand name increases the sale in telecomm industry. A few of the retailers have an opinion that lowering price than competitors will give an advantage over competitors. They pointed the example of DoCoMo; they have a monthly plan of gprs for only 48 rupees.
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One retailer suggested reducing the price of the gprs card of now 13 rupees to 10 rupees by reducing the download capacity. In his area, school students are more and they are used to buy data cards of five rupees. Therefore, if the price is lowered the movement will increase. Airtel provides good quality data. Many of the retailers suggest that quality of data provided is the deciding factor of customer purchase. Availability is also considered as a factor of customer purchase. Airtels products have a good availability as airtel has a strong supplier chain. 50% of the retailers has an opinion that product features is the main influencing factor of purchase, I am also thinking so. A customer in our era is very keen and is aware of his purchasing power and utilizes them in a very fine way. A customer buying gprs card is likely to be served well. If he is not satisfied with the provider he will switch on to other. So, high speed, more downloading, extended validity like product features is the main actors which influence customer purchase.
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7. Quality of data provided by airtel
Excellent
Good
Saisfactory
Bad
Very bad
45
34
18
Excellent 45%
Very bad 0% Bad 3%
Saisfactory 18%
Good 34%
INTERPRETATION
Most of the retailers about 45% have a very good opinion about the quality of data provided by airtel. About 34% says that it is good and 18% is quite satisfied. Only 3% has a bad opinion about airtels data quality. In those areas, they have a network problem of airtel.
71
8. Is there any influence of price, on sales of data cardss
Yes
No
18
82
100 50 0 Yes No
INTERPRETATION Majority of retailers have an opinion that the price of the data cards does not affect the data sales. According to them the factors by which a customer makes a decision to buy is the features of the product. For example, the gprs card of Rupees 15 0f DoCoMo in the same range of airtels 13 rupee gprs package. The former has better chance in the market. In addition, the retailers have an opinion that the price of the cards must be rounded. i.e., the price of data card of airtel having three days validity is 13 Rupees. Retailers say that its very inconvenient having a price like that, because they have to pay the customer 7 rupee change to a customer giving 20 rupees almost every time. In addition, some retailers have an opinion that if the price is lowered. The sales will have an increment.
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9. Do the retailers miss customers because of stockout
Yes
No
16
84
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes
INTERPRETATION
No
About 84% of the retailers under the research do not face a situation of missing customers because of stock out. The rural distributors of airtel under the rural super of rural Aleppey are very efficient. 16% of the population said that they lose customers because of stock out. A reason for this situation arises because some retailers will not spend enough money to buy a reserve stock.
73
10.
How often does a retailer miss customers if stockout occurs?
Once month
in
Twice in a month
Thrice in a month
More than three times
10
More than three times Thrice in a month
Twice in a month
Once in a month
10
12
INTERPRETATION
Retailers in Poopally, Mancombu, Choonad, Ponga, Pulikkathara, and Vallikunnam have a problem of stock out. Most of them miss customers twice in a month.
74
11.Network provider most beneficial to the retailers
airtel
idea
Vodafone
DoCoMo
Aircel
others
62
18
11
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
INTERPRETATION All the network providers are providing the retailers 4% of the total amount as commission. However, they provide additional benefits offers and such things for promotion. Here such things are considered as benefits. Airtel is the most beneficial provider according to the retailers; about 62% of the sample has this opinion. Vodafone and DoCoMo are the next; they are also beneficial to retailers. Aircel, idea, and others are the least ones. Maybe that is because of the low rate of sales.
airtel idea Vodafone DoCoMo Aircel others
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12.Support from administrative system of airtel
Yes
No
55
45
No 45% Yes 55%
INTERPRETATION It has a great contrary with this topic. Majority of the retailers has an opinion that airtel has giving them good support from its administrative level. These retailers are quite well satisfied by airtels management team and company staff. On the other hand, 45% of the population has a poor opinion about the management. They have many reasons for that. They say that for many months no one from airtel staff visited the retailer outlets and enquired about the situation there The next reason is airtel is taking a long time to settle claims of activation and all. They say that the next competitor of airtel, vodafone settles all their claims before 10 every month.The next problem they are pointing to is the problems with customer care. The customer care executives are not settling the problems well. If all the transactions are transparent and up to date, these problems can be avoided.
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13.
Satisfaction level with airtel as a retailer
Highly satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Neither/nor
Dissatisfied
Highly dissatisfied
43%
25%
14%
7%
11%
Neither/nor 14%
Dissatisfied 7%
Highly dissatisfied, 11%
Moderately satisfied, 25% Highly satisfied 43%
INTERPRETATION
Most of the retailers are either satisfied or highly satisfied with the administrative system of the company. 14% of retailers are having no opinion about this. However, the other two people who are dissatisfied constitute of about 18%.
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The problem due to claims, irresponsible behavior of customer care is all reasons for their dissatisfaction.
14. Opinion of retailers about increasing data sales of airtel in rural market
Providing network
high Product versatility
Promotional activities
Administrative efficiency
80
11
Administrative efficiency 0% Promotional activities 11% Providing high network 9%
Product versatility 80%
INTERPRETATION The above chart shows that the retailers of rural Aleppey consider product versatility as the main factor for increasing sales. Other network operators provide product versatility like extended validity and high browsing and downloading speed. Retailers need airtel to make their product more versatile and useful for customers.
78
Promotion is also a great deal to be debated. Now airtel according to its rebranding had made a lot of publicity and promotional activities. Likewise, retailers want airtel to stress on sales promotional activities like advertisements of gprs package and uses. There are many places, even the print ads of airtel gprs has not reached. The retailers there have an opinion that if posters or stickers are pasted inside or near the store the customers can know about the package and have an intention to buy. In many areas airtel has very poor network coverage in these areas providing high network may increase data sales. According to them administrative efficiency ahs nothing to do with sales.
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15. Is there any difference may occur in sales due to promotional
activities
Yes
No
96
100 80 60 40 20 0 Yes No
INTERPRETATION Airtel makes promotional activities very well. The retailers have the opinion that more promotional activities like making advertisements especially for gprs sales, posters and print ads will make a possible difference in data sales. Sales promotion describes promotional methods using special short-term techniques to persuade members of a target market to respond or undertake certain activity. Promotion includes Consumer Promotion, trade Promotion, Sales force Promotion etc. in the opinion of retailers the rural customers can be motivated by sales promotional activities. Only a few retailers has the opinion that there is no chance of increased sales due to sales promotion.
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16. Is there any network problem, which affects data sales in rural Aleppey?
Yes
No
37
63
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes No
INTERPRETATION Most of the retailers say that there is no network problem. And it is not a factor for data sales. Airtel has network towers all over Kerala and is providing good service. Even a feeble signal of airtel gives a fair service. However, 37% of the retailers is not fully satisfied with the network coverage. They say that in the interior places of Aleppey, the network of airtel is almost nil. They consider it as a problem of decreased data sales in their area. They reminds us that if their is no network there is no use of internet cards. They also points that Vodafone is heading in those areas where airtel fails to provide good network. According to them due to network problem customers of airtel is shifting to Vodafone using mnp (mobile number portability).
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The areas where network problem is severe are Mankkad, Kuttitheruvu, Ponga, Vallikunnam, Pallickal, Pulinkunnu, Olakettiyambalam, Padanilam, Choonad, Nooranad, Mancombu, Charummoodu etc. thes retailers uggested to provide good network to entire rural aleppey to increase data sales. 18. Any increase on data sales during seasons and events
Yes
No
47
53
53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 Yes No
INTERPRETATION Most of the retailers say that here is no influence of seasons and events on data sales. They had not experienced any more movement of data cards on seasons However about 47% of retailers notice more sales on events like games, cricket, seasons like onam and Christmas and in vacation period.
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19)RANKING OF NETWORK PROVIDERS RESPECT TO FOLLOWING FACTORS
WITH
airtel Product availability
Vodafone
Idea
Aircel
DoCoMo
Others
192
231
253
365
413
646
Product awareness
157
361
250
356
385
591
Incentives
189
344
367
360
260
580
promotion
192
343
251
383
345
586
Retailer support
195
262
229
438
407
569
Note: the network operators are ranked as 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6. As the one which is ranked as 1 have the highest performance and later respectively. The sum of the ranks of each providers are calculated and the network provider having the least sum is the top performer and likewise. INTERPRETATION From the above table we can have an idea that aietel is the best in every respect of the rural sales. Individual demonstration is given below:
83
a) Product availability Airtel Vodafone Idea Aircel DoCoMo Others
The above table shows that airtel has the highest product availability and the others come next. It shows that the suppliers of airtel very efficient. From the words from the retailers it is clear that they are very much satisfied by the distributors of airtel product and also the service of the rural super. Vodafone nd idea are competing with airtel and thy are also doing a fair job in the market. b) Product awareness Airtel Vodafone Idea Aircel DoCoMo Others
Retailers say that the gprs products of all the operators are known by the customers. Here also airtel comes the first then idea and aircel. Aircel has introduced itself after many time than airtel although it has a good product availability. and this shows that aircel will become the next competitor of airtel soon.and Vodafone is also heading. Making awareness programmes for gprs may stop this situation.
84
c) Incentives
Airtel Vodafone Idea Aircel DoCoMo Others
INTERPRETATION Although all the providers give the same amount of commission to the retailers, they had an opinion that airtel gives more incentives. DoCoMo is the next and Vodafone and Aircel comes thereafter. There is a problem that many of the retailers are not satisfied with the incentive supply system. Retailers says that due to that problem they lost money. Better airtel take actions to eliminate this problem. c) Promotion
85
INTERPRTATION Almost all the operators provide the same promotion in rural areas. As the part of rebranding airtel has done a lot of promotion because of that airtel has become the first in promotion also. But in some areas in rural aleppey even the old logo of airtel is not removed and nor the ads of gprs plans are there. A strong campaign of airtel gprs should be done there. In all these areas the ads of idea are abundant but the speed and quality of gprs provided by idea is not good. If airtel takes over the advantage of this and make a good promotion. The situation will be favourable to airtel. d) Retailer support
INTERPRETATION Retailer support from airtel is very good according to retailers. They have a very good opinion about the rural distributors of airtel. These distributors are highly motivate and helpful. Motivated sales people are an asset of a company. They helped me a lot to complete this project also. The retail support team of idea and Vodafone are efficient as airtes in the rural area. Aircel and docomo is poor in their retail support.
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SALES TREND IN RURAL ALEPPEY

MONTH NOVEMBER 2010 DECEMBER 2010 JANUARY 2011 TOTAL SALES 5216417 4835151 4999267 DATA SALES 57584 47228 56392 PERFORMANCE % 1.103 .976 1.128
87
CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION

88
FINDINGS
1. In the rural market, all the network providers are facing problem in sale. Among them airtel is the one which is an exception, having more sales than all others do. However, airtel does not manage to reach its target for gprs, i.e. 1.25% of total sales of the rural market. 2. The studies show that airtel has a good customer base in rural alleppey. So many retailers are working with airtel for long years and new retailers are coming forward to take distribution of airtel. 3. The data sales of airtel are growing rapidly. 4. Youngsters and students are the main customers of airtel gprs. 5. Aircel is making a strong competition to airtel and is growing rapidly in the rural market. idea and DoCoMo comes the next. And retailers have an opinion that
DoCoMo will fore come idea and will become a threat to airtel gprs. 6. In many places, the connections of airtel are slow. 7. Retailers have an opinion that easy recharge of gprs take a long time for activation.
8. Many a customers of rural market are not aware of gprs and its uses. 9. Product features and quality is the main deciding factor of customer purchase. 10. Customers are very much satisfied with the quality of data provided by airtel. 11. Price has no influence in sales. 12. 90% of retailers do not have a problem of stock out. 13. Airtel is the most beneficial provider for retailers.
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14. Although 55% have a good opinion, many retailers are not satisfied with the administrative system. 15. Most of the retailers have an opinion that product versatility is the way to increase the data sales. 16. In many places, the gprs products are not promoted. Many retailers do not know about this product even. 17. In many places, airtel has a severe network problem. 18. Seasonal increase of data sales is not noted commonly. 19. Customers are aware of the gprs products of most of the operators. 20. Retailers are satisfied with the distributors of airtel. 21. Retailers and customers are not satisfied with the customer care services of the company. 22. In places like vallikunnam network gets jammed in peak hours due to over usage.
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SUGESSIONS
1. Provide good network coverage in places where a problem exists. 2. Change the product constructs i.e. increase browsing and downloading speed. 3. When over usage occurs, and in peak hours network gets jammed in many places avoid these problems. 4. Settle the claims of the retailers and give them good support. Retailers are depressed about airtels claim settlement system. They say that operators like Vodafone settle the claim of a month within the date of ten of the next month. Motivated sales force is an asset for a firm. 5. Make an advertising campaign especially for airtel gprs. 6. Paste posters and tariff details in retail outlets, these are absent in many outlets. 7. Promote sales in potentially important places. E.g. Pulincunnu is a potentially important place in rural Alleppey. About 1800 north Indian students are studying there most of them from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chatheesgat etc. In all that places airtel is playing well. In Pulincunnu network is very bad. Company must concentrate in this area; there exists a great room for gprs sales and activation. 8. Introduce 3G in Kerala. 9. Make instant activation of gprs in easy. 10. Increase validity of gprs cards. (DoCoMo 15Rs- 7 days)
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11. Company should conduct retailer support programs. Many retailers do not know about gprs of any operators. In the budding stage of mobile in Kerala, retailers constitute a great part in familiarizing it to customers. Therefore, company should make an awareness camp for retailers or conduct a retailer meet to familiarize the product, its uses and how to demonstrate it to customers. 12. Company staff must meet retailers frequently and make functions transparent. 13. Customer care support should be improved. 14. Customer orientation gives good results. 15. A gprs product of Rs 10 is there in airtel. Introduce that, even though downloading is low, it will be more penetrating. And also introduce a product for making a competition for DoCoMos 48 Rs gprs card. 16. Give all the customers of airtel some free usage of gprs, and advertise it efficiently. There is a good chance for a customer to buy gprs if he tested it once.
92
CONCLUSION
Everything in this world is made to utilize properly but it should be reach at the proper person or to the proper utilized areas. Otherwise, the value added to those things became in vain. Thus, promotion plays a very important role in achieving the objectives of a company. Un doubtly, value utility is created by the manufacture of product or service but time and place utilities are created by marketing role. The various findings and befitting recommendations have been made to increase the market share of each gprs product of airtel thereby increasing the market share of airtel as a whole. Various facts and data have been enclosed for better perusal and various graphs have been provided for better comprehension. Sales Promotion techniques yield results that many other marketing communication elements cannot achieve. Rural market of India has high potential, especially rural markets of Kerala. The literacy rate and living conditions of people in Kerala is better than any other states in India. The rural markets of Kerala is not fully exploited and in this era internet and such facilities are being common and cell phone providers are competing to be the market leader. However, airtel is now the market leader of gprs sale in rural Alleppey and that is considered as the situation in whole Kerala. Bharti has a firm commitment to growth and aims to differentiate itself in India's highly Competitive communications environment by ensuring customer delight through personalized Customer service. The Company is taking every bit of effort to penetrate into the rural area and above analysis shows how it is trying its level best to achieve this. All the efforts are directed towards this.
93
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES www.airtel.com www.scribd.com www.slideshare.net www.tatadocomo.com www.aircel.com Wikipedia
BOOKS C.R Kothari , Research Methodology , Vishwa Publication , New Delhi , II Edition William G. Zikmund , Business Research Methods , 2003 Edition
MAGAZINES Business today India today Forbes India
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APPENDIX
95
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear sir/ madam, I DIL EEP A M a student of Institute Of Management In Kerala (IMK) is doing a project on DATA SALES IN RURAL MARKET with special reference to airtel. For the successful completion of this project, I need your coOperation and assistance. As a valuable retailer of airtel I believe that the information you give will be true and genuine up to the maximum extent. And also I assure you that no private information will be revealed. Retailer name: Address: Phone number: 1) For how long have you been a retailer of airtel? 0-1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years more than 5 years
2) How do you rate the growth of airtel data sales throughout these years? Slow steady rapid
3) What according to you is customers opinion about airtel gprs package? Very good good neither\nor bad very bad
4) Who do you think the next competitor of airtel in this field? idea DoCoMo Aircel Vodafone Others
5) Please rate this service providers performance in terms of sales of data cards with a scale ranging from 1-6 AIRTEL IDEA DOCOMO VODAFONE AIRCEL OTHERS
6) If airtel is not the first, what do you think the reason?

96
7) Among the following attributes which do you consider is a deciding factor of customer purchase? Brand name features Price Quality Availability Product
8) According to you the quality of data provided by airtel isExcellent Good Satisfactory Bad Very bad
9) Do you think the price of data cards of airtel has any influence on sales? Yes No
10) If yes please specify the influence? 11) Have you ever missed a customer because of stock out? Yes No
12) If yes how often on an average basis? Once in a month twice in a month Thrice in a month more than 3 times
13) From a retailers point of view which one is beneficial to you? airtel idea Vodafone Docomo Aircel Others
14) Are you getting enough support from the administrative system of the company for data sales? Yes No
15) What is your satisfaction level with airtel as a retailer? Highly Moderately neither /nor Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied
16) In your opinion how airtel can increase its data sales? Providing high network promotional activities product versatility Administrative efficiency
17) Do you think the promotional activities of airtel makes a difference in its data sales?
97
Yes
No
18) Is there any network problem which affects the data sales? Yes No
19) Do you think external factors (seasons, events) have any effect on data sales? Yes No
20) Please comment on those factors 21) Please rank the table appropriately airtel Product availability Product awareness Incentives Promotion Retailer support Vodafone idea Aircel Docomo others
Suggestions if any: Thanking you

98

A Project Report On Data Sales of Airtel in Rural Market

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A study on data sales of airtel in rural market at Bharti Airtel Ltd, TVM

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT IN KERALA UNIVERSITY OF KERALA EXTENSION CENTRE, ALAPPUZHA,2009-2011

PLACE: ALAPPUZHA DATE:

DILEEP A. M MGT 0905259

DILEEP A. M MGT 0905259

1.2) RESEARCH PROBLEM

1.3) LITERATURE REVIEW

What is Sales Promotion?

SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES OF COMPANY

Types of Sales Promotion

Consumer Promotion Trade Promotion Sales force Promotion

Consumer Sales Promotion

Trade Sales Promotions

Techniques used in trade promotion

Sales force promotions

Develop new prospect lists etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of sales Promotion

issues in relation to internet data card usage.

1.4) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.5) SCOPE OF THE STUDY

1.6) RESEARCH DESIGN

1.7) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

TYPE OF SAMPLING METHOD USED IN THE STUDY

1.8) SCALING TECHNIQUES

Target / Achievement = Performance

PERFORMANCE OF RURAL DISTRIBUTORS IN DATA SALES OF AIRTEL IN RURAL ALLEPPEY

Performance% 2.015 2.013 1.699 1.56 1 2 3 4

1.324 1.08 2.66 .19 1.40 0 .559 0 .489 1.08

.666 1.709 0 .690 .154 1.358 1.61 1.142 .881 0

1.713 .758 0 1.218 .513 .56 0 .473 .411 0

1.9)LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

CHAPTER 2 INDUSTRY PROFILE

CHAPTER 3 COMPANY PROFILE

COMPANY PROFILE Bharti Airtel Limited usually referred to simply as "airtel", is an

An overall description about airtel

The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411

A picture representing rural market

Area of the study

Zonal manager (ZM) ( Mr. vasanth Bhatt) va

Rural Territory Manager (RTM) (Mr Dixen Elias)

Territory Sales Manager (TSM) va (Mr. Nibeesh)

RURAL SUPER (Chanakya)

Airtel idea Vodafone DoCoMo

1.25% 1% .66% 1.5%

PRODUCT PROFILE airtel

Service Name RC-5

Type of Services On usage

Recharge with Rs 13 and get Internet Usage through urMobile BR 1) MRP: Rs 13

200MB Free. Valid for 7 days on paper recharge

COMPETITORS PRODUCT PROFILE

Post free usage 10ps/10kb 10ps/10kb

GlobalConnect Customer Responsiveness Awards 2010

post free usage

Free Usage Details

Post Free Usage With Validity left

149 95/65 48/33/-

8 GB 6 GB 2.5 GB 1 GB* Night Pack with 1 GB between 11PM and 7AM

10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB 10p/10KB

Till midnight on day 10p/10KB of recharge

APN 20 MB of free Internet usage for 1 day (till 23:59:59 hrs

3 days validity, Data cap: 250 MB