SECTION C GROUP 5

HOW TO INCREASE THE MARKET SHARE OF TATA DOCOMO?

BRM GROUP PROJECT
Dipanwita Ghosh [B13145] Ganashree S [B13147] Roopan Roy [B13168] SaiyamSanghvi [B13169] SantanuMallick [B13170] SuhasKini [B13175]

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT XLRI JAMSHEDPUR 2/25/2014

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

India is the worlds second-largest telecommunications market. Some of the mentionable aspects of this sector are-

1. Compound Annual Growth Rate of 20%The telecom infrastructure in India is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent during the period 20082015 to reach 571,000 towers in 2015

2. GDP ContributionThe mobile phone industry in India is likely to contribute US$ 400 billion to the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) and has the potential to generate about 4.1 million additional jobs by 2020 - as per Ms Anne Bouverot, Director General, Group Special Mobile Association (GSMA). The mobile ecosystem generated approximately 5.3 per cent of the GDP for India, and directly supported 730,000 jobs in 2012 - according to the report titled Mobile Economy India 2013 released by GSMA in association with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

3. Foreign Direct InvestmentThe telecommunications industry attracted foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$ 12,889 million in the period April 2000September 2013 - according to data published by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) 4. Increase of Rural subscribersThe countrys GSM operators added 1.66 million rural subscribers in October, taking their overall user base to 274.32 million - according to data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The telecom companies are looking at rural India to add more users and increase revenues.

5. Low cost hubIndia could emerge as a low-cost hub for testing security-sensitive IT products used in telephone and other critical infrastructure networks, with the country being recently given the 'authorizing member nation' status in the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA). Laboratories in India could offer testing services at much lower costs compared to other CCRA labs in Western markets as highlighted by Mr Rajan Mathews, Director General, and COAI the Industry body representing GSM operators.

6. Mobile-only Internet UsersIndia has over 50 per cent mobile-only internet users, possibly the worlds highest compared to that of about 2025 per cent across developed countries, according to Avendus Capital. More so, gaining impetus from the increasing penetration of smartphones and a whole host of mobile-only content, the Indian mobile advertising market is estimated to reach Rs 2,800 crore (US$ 457.52 million) by 2016 from the current Rs 180 crore (US$ 29.41 million).

7. Availability of high speed networksIncreasing demand for smart phones and availability of high speed networks, such as 3G and 4G services, has resulted in the rapid growth of the Indian market, besides offering immense opportunities to players involved in the business. The RNCOS research study, Indian Mobile Gaming Market Forecast to 2017 estimated the market to reach Rs. 18.5 billion (US$ 302.28 million) in 2017 and grow at a CAGR of nearly 24 per cent during the period 20132017. All the above mentioned factors justify the highly competitive telecom operator market in India. The following figure shows the present market share of different telecommunication companies in India.

TATA DOCOMO
It falls under the telecom operator of Tata as mentioned in the figure in the last page. It is an Indian cellular service provider on the GSM and CDMA platform-arising out of the strategic joint venture between Tata Teleservices and NTT Docomo in November 2008.

Tata DOCOMO became the first private sector telecom company to launch 3G services in India. It is the country's sixth largest operator in terms of subscribers (including both GSM and CDMA). Leaving the other companies under the umbrella of Tata, Tata Docomo alone is having a market share of 6.4% in India.

Tata DOCOMO had introduced Ranbir Kapoor as its brand ambassador recently and also has various local Brand ambassadors in different states such as Vijay in Tamilnadu and Ram Charan Teja in Andhra Pradesh.

Subscriber Base of Tata Docomo and its Market Share Region-wise across India
Now let us look at the subscriber base of Tata Docomo.

Maharashtra with 5.01 million active mobile subscribers remains the largest market for Tata DoCoMo followed by Andhra Pradesh (4.91 million), Karnataka (4.59 million), Tamil Nadu (3.41 million) and Madhya Pradesh (2.75 million) During FY2013, Tamil Nadu posted highest growth for Tata in terms of active mobile subscriber addition at 31.30% followed by Kolkata (10.40%), Odisha (9.11%), Mumbai (6.24%) and U.P. (4.90%) The below figure depicts the details of subscribers and market share of Tata Docomo across India.

Some of the areas of improvement which we can make out from the above mentioned figure are:

Out of 19 circles where Tata is operating, 11 telecom circles witnessed negative growth for active mobile subscriber addition which is a cause of worry.

Tata exited 3 circles Assam, J&K and North East during FY 2013 Tata does not hold either of the top two positions in any of the telecom circles in India. The highest rank it holds is 4th ,and that too in just one circle - Kolkata

To succeed in the highly competitive market of telecom operators in India, Tata Docomo has to find out ways to widen its market share.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

It has been almost 20 years since the government decided to open up the doors of Telecom Industry to private players. Largely dominated by PSUs in the 80s, this move broke the monopoly of the department of telecommunications in domestic and foreign services. The private players have developed and flourished subsequently since then. Growing at exponential rate, it has attracted many more players; Indian as well as global to cover the market. Along with some of the huge players, the market is getting overcrowded with a large number of regional and local players. With so many players, Indian players like Tata DoCoMo, reliance, Airtel etc. are caught between the twin needs of protecting their existing turf while also keeping an eye on future revenue sources. Tata DoCoMo has been coming up with many exciting and cost effective plans to please the customers. But with the new mobile number portability facility, we observe a trend of declining subscriber base for Tata DoCoMo. TRAI, in its November 2013 report mentioned Tata DoCoMo as the biggest loser in subscriber base. In its December 2013 report released recently (February 17, 2014), Tata DoCoMo ranks second in the biggest losers list after BSNL.

Source: TRAI December 2013 report (Released on 17 February 2014) We can observe that its market share is taken up by other big house Indian companies such as Bharti, Reliance and Idea. We also observe that Vodafone; a foreign player has been gaining a larger chunk of this over the months. Here, we need to analyze and understand the reasons for this decline in market share of Tata DoCoMo. Hence we propose our MDP, How to increase the market share of Tata DoCoMo?

SWOT ANALYSIS OF TATA DOCOMO

STRENGTHS 1.First to introduce seconds tariff plan (seconds pulse) 2.Good brand image of Tata services 3.Having large variety of plans 4.Plans are affordable by any common person. WEAKNESSES 1.Signal strength. 2.Customer services are not satisfactory. 3. Late entry into the market in comparison to its competitors

OPPORTUNITIES 1.Expansion of its services. 2.To introduce new plans for internet users. 3.Advent of 4G in India 4.To introduce new combined plans like, SMS, Internet. 5. Cash Transfer mechanism similar to Airtel Money THREATS 1.Tata has to clarify whether 1ps/sec will continue till its lifecycle. 2.Heavy competition from all other network providers.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
We have identified 14 different Research problems which needs to be answered so as to provide a clear picture about the perception of TATA DOCOMO as a cellular services brand. We can then understand what drives customer satisfaction and increases visibility so that we can increase the Market share of TATA DOCOMO by coming up with a suitable strategy.

1. What is the influence of sales promotion and situational factors on buying behavior?
2. What is the matching congruity of DOCOMOs image with self- image?

3. What is the Demographic and Psychographic characteristic of a DOCOMO user and nonDOCOMO user? 4. What is the attitude of consumer towards different service providers? 5. What is the perception of customer about the support extended by TATA DOCOMO customer service? 6. What is the most frequently sold top up pack amongst TATA DOCOMO consumers? 7. What would be the most ideal combination of Data, Duration and cost for a 3G pack? 8. What is the perception of DOCOMO consumers about the network connectivity? 9. What are the choice criteria for a consumer in prepaid and postpaid purchase? 10. How strongly do customers associate DOCOMO with the TATA brand? 11. What is the chief mode of recharge for the average DOCOMO consumer? 12. How strong is the brand image of TATA DOCOMO in the rural markets? 13. What percentage of DOCOMO users are in the age of 20-35? 14. What percentage of DOCOMO customers are smart phone users?

Hypothesis
1. Sales promotion drives the consumer to subscribe to a service more than any another marketing communication 2. 3. 4. 5. Low tariff rate is the most effective sales promotion for TATA DOCOMO. The youth prefer TATA DOCOMO more than old people. People from metros prefer TATA DOCOMO more than people from rural areas. People using CUG facilities tend to us TATA DOCOMO more than any other service

provider. 6. 7. 8. TV Ads are most informational to create awareness about Tata DoCoMo Customers who use Internet Service and 3G on their phone use DoCoMo services Low tariff rate is the most important sales promotional factors for subscribing to DoCoMo

9.

DoCoMo users are more (a) Business oriented (b) Community minded (c) youthful (d)

Opinion leaders than non-DoCoMo user 10. DoCoMos brand attitude affects DoCoMos preference among the service users

Questionnaire
Personal Details Sex: Age between: Male below 25years 35-55 years Occupation: Student Govt. Service Education Matriculation Graduate Marital Status Single Female 25-35years 55 and above Self-Employed Retired Diploma Post Graduate Married Home Maker

State of Current Residence: ____________

1. Which cellular service provider are you presently subscribed to? Airtel Reliance Docomo Vodafone Idea Others

2. Type of Connection Post- Paid PrePaid

3. How do you rate your present service provider? Excellent Good Average Below Expectations

4. What is the most important reason for your choice of the service provider? Network Coverage Recharge Plans Lower Tariff Rates VAS

5. How much does your monthly telephone expense run into? < Rs.100 Rs. 100- 200 Rs.200-500 >Rs.500

6. Which brand of mobile phone do you use? (Nokia, Samsung) ____________________ 7. Is your mobile phone 3G supported? Yes No Yes Dont know No

8. Do you use Internet Services on your phone? 9. How do you recharge your phone? Recharge Card MobileShop

Online

10. List the 3 most highly used social networking apps on your phone. a) _____________ b) _____________ c) _____________

11. How are you get information about new plans/offerings by your cellular provider? Newspaper & Magazines Pamphlets and Flyers TV ads Friends & Relatives Internet

12. How important are the following factors in your choice for a Cellular Service Provider? (Please Tick ) Very Important Network Important Neutral Not Important

Value Added Services Tariff Rate Cellular Provider of Friends/Acquaintances 13. Rank the cellular providers based on your perception, for the following attributes: Rank providers from 1{Highest} to 5{Lowest}. Airtel Network Coverage Tariff Rate Internet Services Customer Service Advertisements and Promos Vodafone Docomo Idea Reliance

14. Rank the following factors which influencer your choice for a cellular provider Highly Inflential Friends Acquaintances Brand Ambassadors Customer Service Very Influential Moderate Infleunce Not Influential Dissuasive factor

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