Study of Retailers perception of Aircel ltd and their satisfaction with the Company

AIRCEL | University of Kashmir

Project Report Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirement For The Award Of

Masters in Business Administration

Submitted By:Mohammad Iqbal (328) Submitted To:Sajad Ahmad Mir Assistant Manager Aircel, Srinagar

The Business School, University of Kashmir

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I have taken serious efforts in completing this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and the organization. I would like to extend our sincere thanks to all those people who supported and helped us to undertake this research study. I am highly indebted to Aircel Ltd. for their guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project and also for their support in completing the project. I would also like to express our special gratitude and thanks to the industry retailers for giving us such attention and time. My special thanks and appreciation also goes to Miss Sumaira Nissar, who has been my guide and mentor in developing this project.

Thanks and regards.

Yours sincerely, Mohammad Iqbal Majeed

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that research report entitled Study of retailers perception of Aircel limited and their satisfaction with the company is my original work done on behalf of The Business School, University of Kashmir under the guidance of Miss Sumaira Nissar. I have not submitted this research report to any other organization/institution for any type of materialistic goal/reward or incentive.

(Mohammad Iqbal Majeed)

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Contents

Introduction.................................................................................7 Research Objectives......9 Research GAP...9 1. Industry Profile 1.1 Competitors. ..12 2. Company Profile 2.1 Mission Statement16 2.2 Timeline and Early history...18 2.3 Aircel Business Solutions18 2.4 Other Business Initiatives18 2.5 Sponsorships and Brand Ambassador.18 2.6 CSR Policies19 2.7 Products and Services..20 1. Aircel Pocket Internet. ......20 2. Packs and Plans Offered by Aircel in J&K Circle21 3. Value Added Services...23 2.8 Marketing and Strategic Analysis of Aircel....25 3. Research Methodology......29 3.1 Sampling Size .30 3.2 Sampling Frame...30 3.3 Data..30 3.4 Research Approach..30 3.5 Limitations...30

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4. Interpretation.31 5. Findings.51 6. Conclusions...53 7. Suggestions...55 8. Questionnaire.56 Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION

The word telecommunication was adapted from the French word tl communication. It is a compound of the Greek prefix tele meaning "far off", and the Latin communicare, meaning "to share". Telecommunication is the transmission o f information, over significant distances, to communicate. Customer satisfaction is a part of customers experience that exposes a suppliers behavior on customers expectation . It also depends on how efficiently it is managed and how promptly services are provided. This satisfaction could be related to various business aspects like marketing, product manufacturing, engineering, quality of products and services, responses customers problems and queries, completion of project, post delivery services, complaint management etc. Customer satisfaction is the overall essence of the impression about the supplier by the customers. This impression which a customer makes regarding supplier is the sum total of all the process he goes through, right from communicating supplier bef ore doing any marketing to post delivery options and services and managing queries or complaints post delivery. During this process the customer comes across working environment of various departments and the type of strategies involved in the organization. This helps the customer to make strong opinion about the supplier which finally results in satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Customers perception on supplier helps the customer choose among the supplier on basis of money value and how well the delivered products suit all the requirements. The suppliers services never diminishes after the delivery as customer seeks high values post marketing services which could help them use and customize the delivered product more efficiently. If he is satisfied with the post marketing services then there are good chances for supplier to retain the customers to enhance repeated purchases and make good business profits.

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It is necessarily required for an organization to interact and communicate with customers on a regular basis to increase customer satisfaction. In these interactions and communications it is required to learn and determine all in dividual customer needs and respond accordingly. Even if the products are identical in competing markets, satisfaction provides high retention rates. For example, shoppers and retailers are engaged with frequent shopping and credit cards to gain customer satisfaction, many high end retailers also provide membership cards and discount benefits on those cards so that the customer remain loyal to them. Higher the satisfaction level, higher is the sentimental attachment of customers with the specific brand of product and also with the supplier. This helps in making a strong and healthy customer-supplier bonding. This bonding forces the customer to be tied up with that particular supplier and chances of defection very less. Hence customer satisfaction is very important panorama that every supplier should focus on to establish a renounced position in the global market and enhance business and profit.

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Research Objectives
To understand retailers perception of Aircel Services. To study Aircel service providers & their service quality and behavior towards Retailers. To study Aircel retailers satisfaction & understand the current scenario in telecom sector. To measure the effectiveness of Territory Sales Managers. What measures the company should take retailers satisfaction. To measure the companys major lacunae.

Research Gap
No academic research has been conducted to assess the retailer satisfaction and perception of AIRCEL in Kashmir and as per the data required by the Marketing Department of AIRCEL, there was a need for data based on survey in Budgam Distt. Of Kashmir division by which they could assess their performance and also understand problems and complaints faced by the retailers of that district.

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1. Industry Profile
Telecom industry in India has a big market potentiality and is a fast growing sector. Government of India is eager to reconstitute this telecom industry by enacting effective policies for more investments from foreign companies, which results in a very competitive and deregulated market in the world.

The sector ranks second in the world, with over 509.03 million telephone subscriptions by Sep 2008 end. The fast track growth of the Indian telecom industry has made it a key contributor to India's progress. India adopted a phased approach for reforming the telecom sector right from the beginning. Privatization was gradually introduced, first in value-added services, followed by cellular and basic services. An independent regulatory body, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), was established to deal with competition in a balanced manner. This gradual and thoughtful reform process in India has favored industry growth. Today, there are more than 509 million telecom subscribers in India. Every month, 10-14 million new subscribers are added. Upcoming services such as 3G and WiMax will help to further augment the growth rate. Furthermore, the Indian economy is slated to sustain its 7-9 per cent growth rate in the near future. This is supported by the political stability that the country is experiencing currently. India's demographic outlook makes it one of the largest markets in the world. A conductive business environment is also created by a favorable regulatory regime. There exists enormous business potential for telecom companies on account of the country's low tele-density, which is close to 19 per cent presently. Indian Telecom sector, like any other sector in the country, has gone through many phases of growth and diversification. Whenever we talk of growth and development of a nation, hardly can there be anyone who can ignore the vital contribution of Telecommunication sector. Today it has become a lifeline for us, in the absence of which we feel we are separated from the world at large. The
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importance of telecommunication product and service has gone deep in the life of people that after three essentials. of human being i.e. food, shelter and clothing the fourth one that can be added comfortably is the communication. A gadget and a service which can be found in everyone's palm ranging from rickshaw-puller to big businessmen. Now talking of India, which is still a developing country, the importance of telecommunication as a sector can be very well understood. Indian telecom sector has been doing exceptionally well in the past decade. Its structural and institutional reforms have provided tremendous growth opportunity to his sector. India has nearly 250 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the world. And in this context whenever we talk of mobile telephony, Aircel as a brand must be taken in to account. Nowadays there is lot of competition between different telecom operators who in order to add more subscriber base to the existing figures comes out with attractive customer schemes and virtually there is a tug of war between operators to get more market share. But in this fierce competitive war to get more subscriber base, many a times the Retailers who play a vital role in the whole chain of sales and who influence customers for a service provider are sometimes ignored. So from this study an attempt has been made to understand the psychology, behavior, perception and satisfaction at the Retailer level. In this competitive market for a service provider to get an edge over other operator, in addition to other prevailing factors a operator must clearly understand the behavior, perception and satisfaction level of Retailers, which will help them to design effective strategies to get more sales and increase subscriber base. The study delves into how the Retailer perception and their expectation level from a particular service provider and how it can be effectively managed.

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1.1 Competitor Profile:

Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company headquartered at New Delhi, India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. Airtel has GSM network in all countries in which it operates, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company with over 261 million subscribers across 150 countries as of August 2012. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with 183.61 million subscribers as of November 2012. Airtel is the third largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television 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 Cisco Gold Certification. 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. Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators. Its

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networkbase stations, microwave links, etc.is maintained by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network whereas business support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained 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, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of 1/minute

(US$0.02/minute). During the last financial year (200910), Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the tele-media business. On 31 May 2012, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access network (mobile backhaul) across the country. This would help consumers access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets.

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London and with its registered office in Newbury, Berkshire. It is the world's secondlargest mobile telecommunications company measured by both subscribers and 2011 revenues (in each case behind China Mobile), and had 439 million subscribers as of December 2011. Vodafone owns and operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. Its Vodafone Global Enterprise division provides

telecommunications and IT services to corporate clients in over 65 countries. Vodafone also

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owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by subscribers. Vodafone has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalisation of approximately 89.1 billion as of 6 July 2012, the third-largest of any company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on NASDAQ.

Idea Cellular In 2000, Tata Cellular was a company providing mobile services in Andhra Pradesh. When Birla-AT&T brought Maharashtra and Gujarat to the table, the merger of these two entities was a reality. Thus Birla-Tata-AT&T, popularly known as Batata, was born and was later rebranded as IDEA. Then Idea set sights on RPGs operations in Madhya Pradesh which was successfully acquired, helping Batata have a million subscribers, and the licence to be the fourth operator in Delhi was clinched. In 2004, Idea (the company had by then been rechristened) bought over the Escorts groups Escotel gaining Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Kerala and licences for three more UP (East), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. By the end of that year, four million Indians were on the companys network. In 2005, AT&T sold its investment in Idea, and the year after Tatas also bid good bye to pursue an independent telecom business. And Idea was left only with one promoter, the AV Birla group. Rs 2,700 crore adding Punjab and Karnataka circles. Modis joint venture partner, Telekom Malaysia, invested Rs 7,000 crore for a

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14.99% stake in Idea. Just around then, Ideas subsidiary, Aditya Birla Telecom sold a 20% stake to US-based Providence Equity Partners for over Rs 2,0000 crore.

Reliance Communications
Reliance Communications Ltd. (commonly called RCOM) is an Indian broadband and telecommunications company headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. RCOM is India's second largest telecom operator, only after Bharti Airtel. It is world's 15th largest mobile phone operator with over 150 million subscribers. Established in 2004, it is a subsidiary of the Reliance Group. The company has five segments: Wireless segment includes wireless operations of the company; broadband segment includes broadband operations of the company; Global segment include national long distance and international long distance operations of the company and the wholesale operations of its subsidiaries; Investment segment includes investment activities of the Group companies, and Other segment consists of the customer care activities and direct-to-home (DTH) activities. It ranks among the top 5 telecommunications companies [citation needed] in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes 2,100 Indian and multinational corporations, and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers. The company has established a pan-India, next-generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the next-generation IP-enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 190,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. The above mentioned networks are the competitors of Aircel in J&K Airtel being at the top of the competitors list. Airtel being the first in the network providers in Kashmir division is giving tough competition to the Aircel company especially in Kashmir. Aircel is having 2092(approx) BTS in Kashmir whereas its main competitor i.e, Airtel is having more than 3000 BTS in Kashmir. Aircel is having more than 18,500 retailers, 166 Distributors in Kashmir & 18 Lack subscribers.

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2. COMPANY PROFILE

2.1 MISSION STATEMENT

"We are conditionally committed to exceeding our customer's expectations. We will provide network and services that are innovative and reliable, allowing our customers any time anywhere communications. We will attract, develop and retain an exceptional team of people. We are committed to enhancing the quality of real life in the community in which we operate. We will meet the financial expectation of our shareholders."

Aircel group is an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Chennai, that provides wireless voice, messaging and data services in India. It is a joint venture between Maxis

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Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities & Investments Private Limited, whose current shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority stake of 74%. Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and today is the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North-East India and Chennai. It is Indias fifth largest GSM mobile service provider and seventh largest mobile service provider (both GSM and CDMA) with a subscriber base of over 63.35 million, as of December 2012 with 62.24% of them being active. It has a market share of 7.33% among wireless operators (includes GSM, CDMA, and FWP operators) in the country. Aircel has also obtained permission from the 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. It's a marriage of two successful companies, each a leader in its own right and ranked a "super brand" in its home base. Maxis is Malaysia's premier mobile operator with an impressive track record of growth and market leadership. It has consistently won several international and national awards for its vision, corporate governance and market leadership. In 2006, it was voted Malaysia's Most Admired Company by Wall Street Journal Asia and the following year, the company was awarded Asian Mobile Operator of the Year at Asian Mobile News Awards held in Singapore in June 2007. Apollo is the largest health care provider in Asia. A pioneer in the industry, it now owns and manages a chain of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in India, Bangladesh, the Middle East and Africa Like Maxis, Apollo is a service provider committed to customer service excellence delivered through professional management and modern technology. The new ownership heralds a new chapter for Aircel group, which was formed in 1994 by entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran in the wake of the privatization of telecommunications in India. In its first decade of operations (1995-2005), Aircel concentrated on building its base in the south to emerge as the regional market leader. The Southern leader has now set its sight on becoming a pan India operator. It has embarked on a vigorous pan-India expansion, with current operation in 10 of 23 telecom circles In addition to its leadership position in Tamil Nadu. Aircel has now achieved regional leadership
in the North-Eastern region within 18 months of launch of services and is on the fast track to

realize its vision as a national player by 2010.

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2.2 Timeline and early history

Aircel started as a regional player in Tamil Nadu in 1999. Soon, it became the leading operator in Tamil Nadu. At one time, Aircel was the fastest growing operator in India.[8] Because of this, it attracted foreign investments and Malaysian operator Maxis Communications bought a 74 percent stake in the company in 2005 from its Indian owner Chinnakannan Sivasankaran. In 2010, the company bough 3G and wireless broadband (BWA) spectrum in 13 and 8 circles respectively in the 2010 spectrum auction. It paid US$ 1.44 billion ( 79.1 billion) for the 3G spectrum and US$ 0.76 billion ( 49.76 billion) for BWA. Of this, the company raised $0.88 billion ( 48.3 billion) from Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC and Barclays. It also took a $0.44 billion ( 24.2 billion) one-year bridge loan from HSBC, Punjab National Bank and Axis Bank. The company, as of November 2012, has around 1 million 3G customers. It is yet to launch its LTE network, although it is conducting trials at its center in Hyderabad. Aircel expects to launch it in the first quarter of 2013.

2.3 Aircel Business Solutions

Aircel Business Solutions (ABS), part of Aircel, sells enterprise solutions such as Multiprotocol Label Switching Virtual Private Networks (MPLS VPNs), Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and managed video services on wireless platforms including WiMAX.

2.4 Other business initiatives

Aircel on 27 May 2011 launched the Apple iPhone 4 apart from Bharti Airtel, which is one of the most popular smartphones in the contemporary world.

2.5 Sponsorships and brand ambassadors

Aircel is one of the sponsors of the Indian Premier League cricket team Chennai Super Kings and I-League side Shillong Lajong FC. It is also the major sponsors for the Chennai Open

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(the only ATP tennis tournament in India) and the Professional Golf Tour of India. Aircel also spearheads the Save the Tiger campaign for protecting India's tigers. The brand ambassadors of Aircel include the Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tamil actor Suriya. Aircel is also engaging with Mary Kom, the female boxer, Dhanush, another Tamil actor and Sameera Reddy, a Bollywood actress for their Celebrity Chat series.

2.6 CSR Policy at Aircel

Aircel continually pursues healthy corporate citizenship. Aircels aim is not to merely discharge social responsibility, but conduct business in a manner which reinstates respect for people, communities and the environment. It emphasize on an inclusive work culture to appreciate differences and believe engagement with its employees is quintessential for an effective CSR plan. It shares adequate information on the organizations vision and CSR initiatives, because it promises healthy operations and subsequently adds to the overall quality of life. This motivates the employees and their family members to contribute to society. Aircel maintains integrity and respect in its interactions with its stakeholders, customers, retailers, investors, NGO partners and the government. It is careful in not partnering with any PR / communication that induces distrust in the sincerity of its efforts. Its stringent belief in delighting customers with good products and services helps build a strong relationship. Aircel is always proactive in supporting NGOs and NPOs. It extends all possible assistance to their projects for a minimum of 3 to 5 years and thereafter support new projects. Besides, it aim at continual involvement with our business partners and the government for economic and social development of the underprivileged. Aircel engages external audit agencies to guarantee authenticity, and maintains and monitors an external profile of the CSR activities which are shared with the stakeholders in the annual reports and websites. Today, India has only 1411 of the magnificent tigers left in the wild. The main threats to the tigers survival include deforestation, poaching, habitat loss and population fragmentation. In recent times the demand of tiger bones from China for the manufacture of medicines and wines has resulted in mass poaching, thereby causing a great alarm regarding the tigers

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survival. The volumes are significant and there is little enforcement action against poachers and dealers who trade these items. To address the issue to ensure that our tiger population thrives, Aircel took upon the initiative Save Our Tigers. Aircel partnered with WWF to create a Support Initiative Fund to work in the protected areas of the areas of Brahmaputra Valley. The Support Initiative fund will be used to cater to the justified demands of the forest officials, government authorities and local communities in and around Tiger landscapes. These could range from capacity building for government and forest departments, infrastructure development, providing emergency relief to creating awareness on antipoaching amongst communities. The work in the protected areas of the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam is instrumental in studying the pressures on the Tiger, identifying priority areas for its dispersal, establishing a database for tiger conservation and training and motivating forest staff. To raise awareness about the cause and persuade public opinion towards tiger conservation, Aircel undertook a pan-India campaign TV, Outdoor and Digital. As the next logical step, Aircel partnered with NDTV to provide a platform to Tiger Conservationists to raise issues and enable key stakeholders and concerned citizens an opportunity to voice their opinion and contribute to the cause. The association included a series of special tiger programs including hard hitting new stories and documentaries. These were aimed at highlighting the on-ground situation and challenges facing the tigers across key reserves in India as part of the build up to the campaign.Taking Save Our Tigers a step further, it has partnered with Kids For Tigers, the Sanctuary Tiger program. It is an action-based environmental education program in schools across India urging children to protect the tiger and hence the environment.

2.7 Products and Services 1. Aircel Pocket Internet With Aircel PocketInternet card, the customer can browse the net at an

affordable cost. To download music, check mails, connect on Facebook and

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much more, the customers can choose their cards from Rs. 5, Rs.14, Rs.35,Rs. 54,Rs. 78 and Rs. 98 with validity from 1 day to 1 month.

2. Packs and Plans offered by Aircel in J&K Circle

Top up Rs. 44 TT 50 Rs. 69 TT 69 Rs. 75 TT 75 Rs. 80 TT 80 Rs. 84 TT 100 Rs. 119 TT 119 Rs. 220 TT 220 Data/2G 3G Local Rs.59(7Days) 250 local minnutes STd Rs.97(15Das) onnet 220local/STD min.

Rs129(30day) Rs 8(2Days) Unlimited 60MB; upto 3.6 Mbps Data(2G)+ 6000 SMS* Rs135(30day) Talk time* of Rs.150+150MB 2G Data Rs 11 (1 day) Talk time* of Rs 11+ 1MB Data Rs17(3 Days) 100MB; 3.6 Mbps

Rs.97(15Days) 220 local/STD min

Rs.122(15Days) 15000 local/STD min.

Rs37(10Days) 200 MB; 3.6 Mbps

Rs.122(15Days) 15000 local/STD min

Rs.179(15Days) 500 local/STD min

Rs125(15Day) Rs67(15Days) Rs.179(15Days) Talk time* of Rs 250MB 3G+500MB 500local/STD min 135+1MB Data 2G; 3.6 Mbps Rs 25(3 Days) Rs128(28Days) Talk time* of Rs 500MB; 3.6 Mbps 135+ 1MB data Rs 65 (7Days) Talk time* of Rs 70 in DA account & 1MB Data Rs 75 (90Days) Talk time of Rs 75+ 1 MB Data Rs198(30Days) 1GB; 3.6 Mbps Rs.352(30Days) 60000local/STD min

Rs.352(30Days) 60000 local/STD seconds Rs.501(28Days) 100000 Local/STD seconds.

Rs.501(28Days) Rs. 5 (1 Day) 100,000 local/STD All local STD and SMS days at 50 paisa/min. Rs.148(90Days) Rs.12 (28Days) Local A2A @10p/min, All STD calls A2L@1.65p/sed. All 45p/min. Std @ 2p/sec.

Rs399(30Days) 2GB; 3.6Mbps

Rs.25 Rs119(90Days) Rs697(30Days) 0 Talk time of 119+ 5GB; upto 7.2 Mbps TT 1 MB Data

Rs. 5(1Day) Rs. 38(28Days) All local, STD SMS at All STD calls at Re. 50p/min 1.20/3min and others

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250

@50p/min.

Rs. 500 TT 550 Rs.10 00 TT 1150 Rs. 10 TT 9 Rs. 20 TT 18 Rs. 25 TT 22 Rs. 30 TT 27

Rs997(30Days) 10GB;upto 7.2Mbps

Rs. 21 (2Days) Local 121 A2A min.

Rs.349(28Days) Free local A2A till 250000sec,thereafter @ 10p/min Rs. 33 (28Days) Rs.3 (2Days) Local offnet Local A2A calls @ 1.65p/2sec. 0.20p/min for 1 Day. Rs.39(30Days) Night calling on local Aircel@Re. 1 for 30 min. Rs.105(30Day) Free A2A calls 11p.m to 6a.m. Rs.3 (2Days) Local A2A calls @ 0.20p/min for 1 Day. Rs.159(30Day) Unlimited Data(3G+2G)+6000S MS.

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3. Value Added Services

Apollo Mobile Healthcare

Apollo Mobile Healthcare provides access to quality medical advice from the comfort of customers home/office. Gets customers instant advice on medical/ health and wellness queries from a panel of doctors specializing in various fields.

Details of charges: Apollo Mobile Healthcare service on 55106 - Rs. 2/min Dialer Tunes Cards
Dialer Tune Card gives the customer the freedom to change your Dialer Tune unlimited times till your validity expire at no extra cost for song change. All Aircel prepaid and postpaid customers can recharge with this coupon by dialing the special IVR number 5300003 and entering the 16 digit secret PIN number. They can also recharge by sending SMS DTC 16 digit PIN number to 5300003 (toll free).

Job Alerts

All messages sent on SMS short code 58010 are absolutely FREE! Charges for the subscription pack are Rs.30 for 30 days

Live Astrology

Aircel customers can call at Rs. 9/min and talk to formally trained & experienced Astrologers.

Voice Station
Aircel 55500 service offers customers a host of never before services - from music on mobile to tit-bits about celebrities. All you need to do is call 55500 from your Aircel mobile and follow the simple instructions to enter a world of information and entertainment. The service recognizes the voice of the customer and gives information based on the command given by the customer.

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 Missed Call Alerts

In case customer wants to know who called when the mobile was switched off or out of coverage area? After subscribing to the monthly service, you will receive alerts on your mobile for all the missed calls at no extra cost.

2.8 Territory Management & Planning

Planning is the process of determining what you want to accomplish (the end result or outcome) and how you wish to achieve it, using the most effective and efficient ways. The success of the outcome is largely determined by the planning. Planning involves the following steps: a. Setting objectives b. Identifying resources and c. Devising strategies Types of Planning a. Planning can be short term or long term. b. Planning can also be strategic or operational. The aim of strategic planning (3-5 years) is to establish the long-term results desired by our company. The strategic plan has to cascade through to the functional parts of the company where it is converted into operational plans by the various organizations. Operational planning is more short term, providing day-to-day details of how the strategic plan of our organization will be achieved.

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2.9 Marketing and Strategic Analysis of AIRCEL

a. ANSOFF MATRIX

b. AIRCEL LAUNCH
Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. Aircel began its outward expansion in 2005 and met with unprecedented success in the Eastern frontier circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations. During this period, the company gained a foothold in 9 circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. To gain grounds in telecom market it followed low pricing market penetration strategy. It was the first company of india to make incoming calls free. It kept the cost of sim cards low and waived of the monthly rental. These steps ensured that it became market leader in these

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markets in no time and achieve economies of scale. By keeping its airtime charges low it was able to tap the bottom of pyramid. Today it boasts of having 800minutes of usage per user and huge net profits year after year.

c. AIRCEL EXPANSION TO NEW MARKETS

The Company has gaining momentum in the telecom space in India post the allocation of additional spectrum by the Department of Telecom, Govt. of India for 13 new circles across India. These include Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP (West) and UP (East). Today it is present in 18 circles out of 23 circles of India and has licenses for the remaining 5 circle. By the end of 2010 aircel plans to become a pan India telecom player.

d. AIRCEL NEW PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT

Aircel has positioned itself on the future of telephony - data play. Its services are loaded with value-added applications, as would be apparent from its campaign. It wants to offer services that the youth craves for. It has moved beyond voice services and explores the VAS space.It is working a lot with content aggregators such as Yahoo and Makemytrip. It is looking to rope in more partners to help us position it better in the VAS space. Aircel wants to offer a platform for innovation. So are encouraging new and out-of-the-box ideas. New technology like 3G would further give an impetus to its brand positioning.

e. AIRCEL DIVERSIFICATION
AIRCEL sees a lot of potential remaining in India and is focusing on its Indian operation. It has no intention to start operation in overseas markets.

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f. AIRCEL LIFECYCLE

1. INTRODUCTION STAGE

Aircel met with unprecedented success in the Southern and Eastern circles. It emerged a market leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations. During this period, the company gained a foothold in 9 circles including Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Assam, North East, Orissa, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.
2. GROWTH STAGE

The Company has currently gained a momentum in the space of telecom in India post the allocation of additional spectrum by the Department of Telecom, Govt. of India for 13 new circles across India. These include Delhi (Metro), Mumbai (Metro), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab, UP (West) and UP (East). Aircel has won many awards and recognitions. Voice and Data gave Aircel the highest rating for overall customer satisfaction and network quality in 2006. Aircel emerged as the top mid-

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size utility company in Businessworlds List of Best Mid-Size Companies in 2007. Additionally,Tele.net recognised Aircel as the best regional operator in 2008.

3. MATURITY STAGE

Telecom market in urban India is reaching maturity stage. Teledensityin cities is close to 100 percentage. Tough competition is putting a dent on the balance sheet of various telecom companies. Call rates in cities have already crashed. Pay per second plan intiated by Docomo was soon adopted by everyone and revenues of telecom companies further reduced.
4. DECLINE / ALTERNATIVE GROWTH STATEGY

Telecom Industry is reaching out for new options to maintain its growth trajectory. Some of the many option with telecom industry are :-Rural Markets -Telecom companies are reaching to rural India to maintain their growth rate. Teledensity in Indian villages is close to 50% and has high growth potential. With call rates dropping cell phone will soon will be a part of every Indian household.3G and BWA spectrum - Aircel has won 3G spectrum across 13 circles and BWA spectrum in 8 circles in recently spectrum auction .Aircel holds one of the highest amount of next generation spectrum amongst all telecom operators in India. It wants to ramp up operations in india in a big way. Broadband will be the new driver for growth of Indian Telecom Industry.Operations Restructuring Aircel has sold its towers to GTL infrastructure. It plans to focus on its telecom services while using towers from GTL . Its IT infrastructure is outsourced to Wipro. They are also helping us transform our IT backhaul to the new generation technology. Our network is of the latest technology and we have installed state-of-the-art EDGE technology. We are ready for the 3G as our networks can easily be upgraded as per the requirements of new generation technology.

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3. Research Methodology
Methodology is an essential aspect of any project or research. It enable the researches look at the problem in a systematically, meaningful and orderly way. Methodology comprises the source of data, selection of data, various design and techniques used for analyzing the data. The primary data was collected through survey method and was undertaken to find the retailers satisfaction and opinion. A survey was conducted among the retailers of Budgam District and the areas of Hyderpora & Peerbagh by the aid of a structured close ended questionnaire. The population of the study consists of retailers who are providing or selling Aircel product services. The sampling unit for the study is 85, which includes almost all the retailers found in the areas we surveyed. The number of question was 19. It included question regarding the retailer's opinion towards company services. Secondary data was collected from the company website and other websites on the internet. Secondary data from Journals and from magazines were also useful. For analyzing the data, Microsoft Excel was used. The results are based on satisfaction with the company in the entire district and also upon satisfaction of retailers with the territory sales managers assigned to specific areas of the district.

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3.1 Sampling size

The sample size taken was 85

3.2 Sampling frame

District Budgam which includes the area of Hyderpora, Peerbagh, Beerwah, Magam, Ompura, Airport Road and Humhama, Kashmir.

3.3 Data
Data collected through Personal meetings, Internet & Journals.

3.4 Research Approach

Survey method

Survey Type of Questions

Questionnaire Close Ended

3.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The sample size of data was limited and collected up to sample size of 85 retailers. The analysis is based upon the retailer's answers which are subject to biasness. There were also a few non-respondents. The time period was a restriction. Another limiting factor in this project work is some retailers don't give their full cooperation and find surveys like these rather irritating. Some Retailers did not want like to provide the data regarding their annual income. Some Retailers found the Questionnaires very lengthy and might not have fully comprehended the entire meaning of every question in their mind.

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4. INTERPRETATION
Q1 Network coverage of Aircel is reliable as compared to other networks.

This Question was asked to understand the perception of Retailers regarding the network coverage of Aircel in Budgam, most of which lies within Rural Kashmir. The Retailers Perception here can also be used to direcly determine the perception of the customers as well. This is because of the relationship between their sales for Aircel and how satisfactory its network is viewed as compared to other networks in the area. It was found that in some areas the network coverage was extremely poor with retailers complaining of there being no network coverage at night because of problems with the aircel towers generator in the area. Other problems found were that the network coverage starts to lose efficieny fast while moving from towns to rural areas. Amongst the 85 respondents this Question, around 2.35% strongly disagreed to Aircels network being better than others, 3.53% moderately disagreed, 10.59% neither agreed nor disagreed to the proposed Question, 34.12% Agreed and 49.41% were amongst those who strongly agreed. The following is the summary of the results achieved.

Strongly Disagree 2% Disagree 4%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 11%

Strongly Agree 49% Agree 34%

Q1
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Q1
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Valid Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

2 3 9 29 42 85

2.4 3.5 10.6 34.1 49.4 100.0

2.4 3.5 10.6 34.1 49.4 100.0

2.4 5.9 16.5 50.6 100.0

Q2 Aircel shows sincere interests in solving problems of retailers.

The Purpose of this Question was to understand the relationship of Aircel with its Retailers. While Many of the retailers were extremely delighted with the servces Aircel provided them and said the FOS(feet on service) and TSM(territory sales manager) regularly visited them and gave them regular attention, there were many who complained of of employees from Aircel not having visited them for months together. One of the chronic cases we found here was a retailer by the name of Police General store in the area of Sheikhpora, Budgam. Other complaints that we received were that while most other telecom operators provide Credit, Aircel seemed to have a problem with this thus affecting its image amongst retailers negatively.

Q2
Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree 12% 11%

Disagree 22% Agree 46% Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 9%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Valid Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

9 19 8 39 10 85

10.6 22.4 9.4 45.9 11.8 100.0

10.6 22.4 9.4 45.9 11.8 100.0

10.6 32.9 42.4 88.2 100.0

Q3 Aircel provides services to you at the time they promises to do so.

There are occasions when the retailers need to get very fast and efficient service from Aircel in order to keep their customers satisfied. These are occasions like activating sims of customers, returning back rejected forms to customers or problems related to putting back balance into customers accounts in case it was cut off without reason. This question was asked regarding all those issues and whether Aircels service is fast and timely. Huge dissatisfaction was seen amongst retailers in regards to these issues. The following are the results received.

Q3
Strongly Agree 7% Strongly Disagree 15%

Agree 39%

Disagree 33%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 6%

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Frequency Strongly disagree Disagree Valid 13 28

Percent 15.3 32.9 5.9 38.8 7.1 100.0

Valid Percent 15.3 32.9 5.9 38.8 7.1 100.0

Cumulative Percent 15.3 48.2 54.1 92.9 100.0

Neither agree nor Disagree 5 Agree Strongly Agree. Total 33 6 85

Q4 Delivery of services such as latest offers and other services are timely.
Whether or not the latest offers specifically meant for retailers were being introduced to them in a timely fashion or not. Following were the results achieved

Q4
Agree 33%

Strongly Agree 7%

Strongly Disagree 14%

Disagree 37%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 9%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Valid Agree Strongly Agree. Total

12 31 8 28 6 85

14.1 36.5 9.4 32.9 7.1 100.0

14.1 36.5 9.4 32.9 7.1 100.0

14.1 50.6 60.0 92.9 100.0

Q5 Service providers are always willing to help you

The purpose of this question was to see whether or not the various middle and lower level employees of Aircel who deal with retailers whether it be the TSM or the runners are willing to help retailers when they need their assistance. Matters which concern retailers are issues such as activation of sims of customers, getting their forms back if rejected, issues related to providing credit or basic services.

Q5

Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree 11% 3%

Agree 38%

Disagree 22%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 26%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Valid Agree Strongly Agree. Total

9 19 22 32 3 85

10.6 22.4 25.9 37.6 3.5 100.0

10.6 22.4 25.9 37.6 3.5 100.0

10.6 32.9 58.8 96.5 100.0

Q6 Service providers are never too busy to respond to your requests.

Service providers not giving enough attention to retailers can be a major impediment in a telecom company progressing in any given place. This question was also put forward with the same intention to check the behavior of employees towards retailers. On many occasions it was found that the service providers were always in a hurry while delivery recharge to retailers in the morning and as such they didnt give any heed to the problems being faced by the retailers or their requests. The following are the results received to this question.

Q6

Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 6% 5% Disagree 27%

Agree 41%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 21%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Valid Agree Strongly Agree. Total

5 23 18 35 4 85

5.9 27.1 21.2 41.2 4.7 100.0

5.9 27.1 21.2 41.2 4.7 100.0

5.9 32.9 54.1 95.3 100.0

Q7 Service providers are willing to take and are getting your feedback.
How fast any organization progresses direcly depends on how knowledgible it is of the conditions in the market and how satisfied their customers are. Taking feedback is also a detrimental factor in the development of new ideas. A lot of retailers were seen to be very dissatisfied with Aircel when this question was asked and this can be a very serious issue for the organization, if not realized the importance of, in the long run. The following were the results achieved.

Q7
Strongly Agree 4% Agree 36% Disagree 25% Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 14% Strongly Disagree 21%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

18 21 12 31 3 85

21.2 24.7 14.1 36.5 3.5 100.0

21.2 24.7 14.1 36.5 3.5 100.0

21.2 45.9 60.0 96.5 100.0

Q8 Distributor network is large enough and easily accessible.

In a telecom based organization the distributor is the link between retailers,runners & the organization. There were many occasions when the retailers direcly blamed the distributors for not being provided credit on occasions when they most needed it. There were may who believed the FOS or Runners are often willing to provide them with credit but do not the required support from distributors. As such a need for a broader base of distributors was realized. Following are results achieved.

Q8
Strongly Disagree Disagree 5% 12% Strongly Agree 28%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 13%

Agree 42%

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Q8
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

4 10 11 36 24 85

4.7 11.8 12.9 42.4 28.2 100.0

4.7 11.8 12.9 42.4 28.2 100.0

4.7 16.5 29.4 71.8 100.0

Q9 Service providers have required knowledge and skill to answer your queries.
This question was put forward to get an idea of whether or not employees of Aircel have enough knowledge to understand the various queries put forward to them by retailers and solve them. This also emphasizes the amount of training that is needed to be imparted upon lower level employees dealing with retailers. Following are the results achieved.

Q9
Strongly Agree 11%

Strongly Disagree 3% Disagree 28%

Agree 26%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 32%

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Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

3 24 27 22 9 85

3.5 28.2 31.8 25.9 10.6 100.0

3.5 28.2 31.8 25.9 10.6 100.0

3.5 31.8 63.5 89.4 100.0

Q10 You feel safe in your transactions with service providers of Aircel.
Retailers transactions with service providers include the usual transactions related to providing of recharge on time and more importantly accurately. Results were by and large good. Following are the results achieved.

Q10
Strongly Disagree Disagree 7% 6% Strongly Agree 40%

Agree 12%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 35%

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Q10
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

6 5 30 10 34 85

7.1 5.9 35.3 11.8 40.0 100.0

7.1 5.9 35.3 11.8 40.0 100.0

7.1 12.9 48.2 60.0 100.0

Q11 Aircel service providers are consistently courteous to you.

This question was put forward not only to understand the behavior of FOS towards retailers but also that of TSMs and customer care. Following are the results achieved.

Q11
Strongly Agree 20% Strongly Disagree 4% Disagree 12% Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 8%

Agree 56%

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Q11
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

3 10 7 48 17 85

3.5 11.8 8.2 56.5 20.0 100.0

3.5 11.8 8.2 56.5 20.0 100.0

3.5 15.3 23.5 80.0 100.0

Q12 Service providers are sincere and patient in resolving your problems.
This question was put forward with the aim of understanding the level of sincerity that retailers feel Aircel shows in resolving their problems. Retailers were mostly seen divided on this matter. Following are the results achived.

Q12

Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 7% 6% Disagree 22%

Agree 38%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 27%

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Q12
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

6 19 23 32 5 85

7.1 22.4 27.1 37.6 5.9 100.0

7.1 22.4 27.1 37.6 5.9 100.0

7.1 29.4 56.5 94.1 100.0

Q13 Information/Messages in top up cards is written clearly and is useful

Although top up cards are not a preferred for recharge amongst customers this question still was important in understanding tangible factors of the organization. Following are the results that were achieved.

Q13
Strongly Agree 34%

Strongly Disagree 5% Disagree 26%

Agree 29%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 6%

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Q13
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

4 22 5 25 29 85

4.7 25.9 5.9 29.4 34.1 100.0

4.7 25.9 5.9 29.4 34.1 100.0

4.7 30.6 36.5 65.9 100.0

Q14 Promotional offers are communicated properly through bill boards and other media.
Apart from keeping people updated about latest offers through SMS it is also important for telecom operators to keep the people updated through regular advertisements and billboards and charts. The advertisement should be so simple as can be easily understood and comprehended by the customer. It should not mislead the customer or the retailer since most customers like to hear from the retailer himself before going for any latest offers. This question was directed to find out Aircels strength in this matter. Following were the results achieved.

Q14
Strongly Agree 32%

Strongly Disagree 9%

Disagree 31%

Agree 21% Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 7%

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Q14
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

8 26 6 18 27 85

9.4 30.6 7.1 21.2 31.8 100.0

9.4 30.6 7.1 21.2 31.8 100.0

9.4 40.0 47.1 68.2 100.0

Q15 Aircel company provides you support in making your outlets visually appealing.

This question was asked to know whether or not the charts, billboards, stickers and other such requirements were being regularly provided to the retailers by the organization or not. They not only help in making a retailers outlet visually appealing but also promote the company and remind the customer of its presence. Following were the results obtained.

Q15
Strongly Agree 26%

Strongly Disagree 12%

Disagree 29% Agree 26%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 7%

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Q15
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

10 24 6 23 22 85

11.8 28.2 7.1 27.1 25.9 100.0

11.8 28.2 7.1 27.1 25.9 100.0

11.8 40.0 47.1 74.1 100.0

Q16 Retail outlets are available in enough numbers and are easily accessible.

The relevance of this question being asked to retailers is to know the stronghold and presence of Aircel in the market and whether the level of genuine and fair competition it creates within the retailers too. Following were the results.

Q16

Strongly Disagree 5% Disagree 5% Strongly Agree 36%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 8%

Agree 46%

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Q16
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

4 4 7 39 31 85

4.7 4.7 8.2 45.9 36.5 100.0

4.7 4.7 8.2 45.9 36.5 100.0

4.7 9.4 17.6 63.5 100.0

Q17 Aircel has your best interest at heart.

The response to this Question is pretty much detrimental in understanding the total perception in the minds of the retailers regarding Aircel at this time in the Market. There was a lot of negative response and it only told us that revolutionary steps need to be taken on ground by Aircel in order not to lose out its position to emerging competition specially Vodafone. The following was the response.

Q17
Strongly Agree 6% Strongly Disagree 15%

Agree 36%

Disagree 24%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 19%

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Q17
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

13 20 16 31 4 85

15.3 23.5 18.8 36.5 4.7 100.0

15.3 23.5 18.8 36.5 4.7 100.0

15.3 38.8 57.6 94.1 98.8

Q18 The company understands your specific needs.

The response to this Question also gives an overall idea of whether or not retailers feel that their specific needs which range from better compensation, more schemes, credit to basic needs like being able to easily get in touch with related officials regarding their problems are being met or not. Following were the results.

Q18

Strongly Agree 6% Agree 29%

Strongly Disagree 25%

Disagree 24%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 16%

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Q18
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

21 20 14 25 5 85

24.7 23.5 16.5 29.4 5.9 100.0

24.7 23.5 16.5 29.4 5.9 100.0

24.7 48.2 64.7 94.1 100.0

Q19 They never hesitate in apologizing the inconvenience caused to you.

The question was asked to get an idea of how retailer friendly employees of Aircel are. It was interpreted that Aircel company doesnt show in apologizing or compensating for their mistakes. More than 60% disagreed with the statement. The results were.

Q19

Strongly Agree 6% Agree 18%

Strongly Disagree 30%

Neither Disagree or Neither Agree 10%

Disagree 36%

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Q19
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor Disagree Agree Strongly Agree. Total

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

26 30 9 16 3 85

30.6 35.3 10.6 18.8 3.5 100

31.0 35.7 10.7 19.0 3.6 100.0

31.0 66.7 77.4 96.4 100.0

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5. Findings
Network coverage was found to be extremely poor in some areas with retailers complaining of there being no network coverage at night because of problems with the Aircel towers generator in one of such areas. It is pertinent to mention here that these areas were mostly rural, away from towns and cities. There is a lot of inconsistency in the quality of service provided to different areas by their respective territory sales managers and runners. While retailers in some areas were extremely happy with Aircel employees, there were others from whom we recieved a lot of complaints. One of the factors that seems to be going against Aircel in the market is not providing credit to retailers. This is damaging the image of Aircel in the market when compared to its rivals. Fast and efficient service from Aircel is not provided on occasions such activating SIMs of customers, returning back rejected forms to customers or problems related to putting back balance into customers accounts in case it was cut off without reason. Many instances were related to us where SIMs hadnt been activated for as long as a month and forms werent even being returned if the customers patience gave in and he asked for his form to be returned. On many occasions it was found that the service providers were always in a hurry while delivery recharge to retailers in the morning and as such they didnt give any heed to the problems being faced by the retailers or their requests. One of the most important factors in the development of new ideas is taking and study of feedback . A lot of retailers were seen to be very dissatisfied with Aircel when they were asked if the company took their feedback regularly and this can be a very serious issue for the organization, if not realized the importance of, in the long run. In a telecom based organization the distributor is the link between retailers, runners & the organization. There were many retailers who instead of dealing directly with runners were dealing with distributors. This because of the inconsistency of runners. Here it is important to mention that the area to be covered by runners everyday was seen to be very large leading to such inconsistencies on their part.

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Distribution network was also seen to be insufficient and not easily accessible to retailers in many cases.

The level of knowledge needed in employees dealing with retailers seems to be good in Aircel. However there is a scope of training for further development.

Behavior of FOS, TSMs and customer care towards retailers and the courtesy they show towards them received a positive response in most cases.

Retailers were mostly seen divided on the matter of how sincere they felt employees from Aircel were in resolving their problems.

On the question of whether charts, billboards, stickers and other such requirements were being regularly provided to them, 50% of the retailers gave a positive responce. They not only help in making a retailers outlet visually appealing but also promote the company and remind the customer of its presence.

Retail outlets providing Aircel services are available in enough numbers and are easily accessible

On being asked the question of whether or not Aircel has your best interest at heart, there was a lot of negative response from the retailers and it only told us that huge steps need to be taken on ground by Aircel in order not to lose out its position to emerging competition specially Vodafone.

Many retailers also feel that compensation provided by Aircel is not enough and needs to be increased.

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6. Conclusions
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Second largest customer base in Kashmir. A strong network in towns and cities of Budgam district. Flexible call rates. Variety in 2G and 3G plans being offered. Presence of retailers in almost all areas of Kashmir. The level of knowledge needed in employees dealing with retailers seems to be good in Aircel. Weakness Huge dissatisfaction amongst retailers and customers due to VAS being activated without any act on the part of the customer and balance being often cutoff without reason. Weak network in rural Budgam. Network coverage was found to be extremely poor in some areas with retailers complaining of there being no network coverage at night because of problems with the Aircel towers generator in one of such areas. Inconsistency in the quality of service provided to different areas by their respective territory sales managers and runners. Fast and efficient service from Aircel is not provided on occasions such activating SIMs of customers, returning back rejected forms to customers or problems related to putting back balance into customers accounts in case it was cut off without reason. Very little feedback is taken from retailers. Distribution network was also seen to be insufficient and not easily accessible to retailers in many cases.

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Many retailers feel that compensation provided by Aircel is not enough and needs to be increased.

3G is only available in some select districts. No efficient grievance redressal system is in place to deal with the problems faced very often by retailers.

Opportunities

Aircel can introduce a one click accessibility system to get more support from its retailers and to gain their confidence. Apart from this it can be an easy way to get their valuable feedback.

Introduction of a one click accessibility system designed for retailers can also be an easy way to monitor the performance of Runners and Distributors.

An effective grievance redress mechanism system if introduced for retailers, apart from being the first of its kind in Kashmir, can work wonders in surging the popularity of the company amongst retailers.

3G can be introduced in districts which are still to be explored by the competitors as well.

Scheme based compensation can be introduced amongst retailers to make Aircel more attractive to them.

Threats

Growing competition from Airtel and relatively new entrants like Vodafone. Dissatisfaction within Retailers and Customers is leading many to drop the company and this may be used by the competitors to their advantage.

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7. SUGGESTIONS
Improve network coverage towards Rural areas. Reduce the area to be covered by runners to half of what it currently is as the current setup is leading to inconsistencies on their part in serving the retailers. Introduce a policy of providing limited credit to retailers. Keep a time limit on accepting or rejecting SIM application forms of customers and returning rejected ones. A policy of taking regular feedback from retailers should be introduced. Distributors network needs enhancement and improvement. Scheme based compensation as with Idea can be introduced to regain the confidence of retailers in the company. Margin should be increased from 2.8 to 4%. Regular survey should be conducted by TSM and ZSM. Tapping and billboards should be provided regularly so that the customers are continually reminded of the companys presence. Charts containing latest offers should be regularly provided. The charts should be designed in such a way as is simple and easy to comprehend. Retailers should have one click accessibility to service providers. The company should try and activate 3G in more districts. A performance appraisal of the FOS working with the company must be conducted every 6 months. While the knowledge of employees dealing with retailers seems to be good, but there is still some scope for training. A grievance redress mechanism for retailers is a huge necessity that must be given top priority and must to be introduced.

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Questionnaire
Name ---------------------------------------------Retailer of which company-------------------Address ----------------------------------------------Phone Number----------------------------------------

We the students of The Business School, University Of Kashmir are doing our project on the topic Study of Retailers perception of Aircel Ltd. and their satisfaction with the company. We will be obliged for your candid participation. We assure you that the information collected will be used for academic purpose only. You are supposed to tick the box which best reflects your level of agreement with each statement below on a scale where 1= Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor Disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree. 1 Network coverage of Aircel is reliable as compare to other networks.

Aircel shows sincere interests in solving problems of retailers.

Aircel provides services to you at the time they promises to do so.

Delivery of services such as latest offers and other services are timely.

5 6

Service providers are always willing to help you Service providers are never too busy to respond to your requests.

Service providers are willing to take and are getting your feedback.

Distributor network is large enough and easily accessible.

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Service providers have required knowledge and skill to answer your queries.

10 You feel safe in your transactions with service providers of Aircel.

11 Aircel service providers are consistently courteous to you.

12 Service providers are sincere and patient in resolving your problems.

13 Information/Messages in top up cards is written clearly and is useful 14 Promotional offers are communicated properly through bill boards and other media.

15 Aircel company provides you support in making your outlets visually appealing.

16 Retail outlets are available in enough numbers and are easily accessible.

17 Aircel has your best interest at your heart.

18 The company understands your specific needs.

19 They never hesitate in apologizing the inconvenience caused to you.

Who else do you deal with. Suggestions

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The Business School, University of Kashmir

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The Business School, University of Kashmir

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