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Submitted By:
Department of Management
State University.
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STUDENT DECLARATION
This is to certify that I have completed the Summer Project titled To study the rural
promotional And penetration activities of Vodafone under its MGMD (Mera Gaon Mera Desh)
project in Vodafone Essar Digilink Limited (A Vodafone Essar Company). This is an original
piece of work & I have not submitted it earlier elsewhere.
Date:
Signature
Place:
Name
University Enrollment No :
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To the best of my knowledge and belief the data & information presented by him in the project
has not been submitted earlier.
Signature
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am extremely thankful to Mr. Mehndiratta; Zonal prepaid Head of Zone-1 Haryana who
gave me this opportunity to undertake this project. Without his directions and permissions I
could not have undertaken this project.
I would like to thank the Relationship Managers Mr. Chibbar and Mr. Sharma, for their time
to time guidance and support; it was of great help in knowing the whole process and background
of this project.
I would also like to thank all the M.Ds, A.Ds, P.S.Rs, D.S.Es and other staff I have worked with,
for their cooperation and support.
In the end I would like to thank my Project guide Ms. Bharti for giving remarkable
contributions and help in making this Project report and also for throwing a good insight at
the
practical aspect.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project is based on telecom sector as the telecom sector is growing at a very good pace. The
telecom company where I did my summer internship project is VODAFONE. The reason behind
selecting Vodafone is its various schemes in product & service category & also its future
policies where the company is coming out with lots of new & affordable schemes for its
customers.
Vodafone is a UK based company & has presence all over the world. The company was
started in the mid 70s & since then it has never looked back. The products & services offered
by Vodafone are of a very high quality & also at affordable rates. They have various plans for
various customers depending on the status of the customers.
Vodafone has various product categories ranging from internet, mobile phones, headsets &
headphones & many more. In the service category it has telecom services and internet services
which include broadband internet & PC internet services. Vodafone also came out with cell
phones for the poor which were a part of their social responsibility toward the poor class people
of the society. The phones were available in the range of Rs. 750 - Rs.1500 which was one of the
successful strategies of Vodafone.
According to the June 2010 data VODAFONE Essars market share is 23.89% and is just after
Bharti with 29.92%.
This report is based on the collective work of two months on a project called MERA GAON
MERA DESH, where we did our research on the MFS (Mera Gaon Mera Desh focus sites) to
increase our subscription rate. During this period we visited these sites and villages which
come under these sites and got response from the retailers and shopkeepers there, regarding
their experience with Vodafone as a user and selling our products there and for promoting the
Vodafone.
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Among those whose response was taken includes Kiryana shops, medical stores, mobile repair
shops, std/pco , tailor/parlors , etc. Random stratified sampling method was considered to be best
suited to fulfill the project. A structured questionnaire was constructed in order to measure the
responses of respondents on suitable scale. The data of sites was given by Vodafone and the
primary data collection from retailers was done through personal visits.
Apart from this questionnaire our main task was to tell them the benefits of selling recharges
and solve their queries and to convert them in our UEOs (Unique E-top Outlets) and UAOs
(Unique Activation Outlets) by filling their ACT forms and providing them with Recharge
coupons and
E-top sim. Also to give them posters and banners for promotion and advertisement in the
form of new outlet kit.
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List of Tables:
Page No.
14
29
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
79
80
81
Page No.
List of Charts:
Chart-2.01 History of telecom in India
Chart-2.02 GSM players in India
Chart-2.03 CDMA players in India
Chart-2.04 World Economic Pyramid
Chart-4.01 Type of outlets
Chart-4.02 Vodafone Users
Chart-4.03 Experience with Vodafone
Chart-4.04 Reason for experience
Chart-4.05 Customer care service
Chart-4.06 Roaming facilities
Chart-4.07 Vodafone thank you card
Chart-4.08 Telecom business selling recharges
Chart-4.09 Idea about telecom business
Chart-4.10 Interested in selling Vodafone
Chart-4.11 Want to sell Vodafone coupons
Chart-4.12 Want to sell new sim
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15
16
17
34
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
57
58
60
61
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Page no.
Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
Chapter 2
Company Profile
2.1
2.2
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
Research Design
Type of Research
Population/Universe
Sample Size
Sampling Technique
37
38
38
41
41
3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
Data Collection
Primary and Secondary data
Instruments for Data Collection
Method for Data Collection
42
42
43
Chapter 4
Data Analysis
45
Chapter 5
62
Chapter 6
65
Chapter 7
Recommendations / Suggestions
67
Chapter 8
Conclusions
70
Bibliography
8
9
10
12
31
72
Annexure.
1. Questionnaire.
2. New outlet data.
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74
77
INTRODUCTION
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose of the project.
The basic purpose of the project MGMD is to focus on the areas where the subscription
base or the customer base is low. All the customers and retailers were tracked on the basis
of CSI (Cell Site Intelligence).
Through this project companys motive is to increase the customer base in these areas over
their competitors by opening new outlets in these areas who can sell Vodafone recharges
and new connections.
Another purpose of this project is to open outlets everywhere so that customer will not
face problems in finding Vodafone recharge and he can get his mobile recharged in 5 min.
anywhere.
By visiting the MGMD villages personally, importance was given to get the retailers
response as a user about Vodafone services and to make them start selling Vodafone
recharges there on commission basis, so that subscription rate will increase there and the
customers nearby will not face problems in getting recharges and new connections and
they will not be any need for them to go far places to get their phones recharged.
Also through this awareness about TYC( Thank you card) was done so that they will visit
Vodafone stores and mini stores and can get free gifts from there.
Pamphlet distribution at main locations in villages through van.
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1.2 Objective:
The objective of the project and research is to know about the view of retailers in
the villages as a user about the Vodafone and satisfy their queries and make them
understand the telecom business of selling the Recharge coupons, Values and New
connections for the Characteristics low income and rural consumers.
With the help of the questionnaire we were able to know their status and their
problems in selling our recharges. With the help of our understanding and companys
policies and information we solved their queries and convert many of them into our
outlets.
Position, promotion, price and placement of service product.
To increase our village wise DPL i.e., Dealer per lakh. This shows the presence of
Vodafone in the market and convenience for users.
Another objective of this project was to do activities to convert Competition
customer to Vodafone (BSNL/AIRTEL). For this purpose TYC promotion and
brand promotion, for its customer focused activities, was done.
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Though this report is totally devoted to the work done for the Vodafone, but it can work for
other companies as well if they want to penetrate the rural villages and want to increase
their subscriber base there.
To penetrate the market of rural villages companies will have to set up their outlets to
sell them and for that they will have to know the lifestyle and issues among retailers in
rural about their understanding of this field.
So the scope of this research is for all telecom players. The questionnaire is designed to
know about the people of villages and their problems and issues in starting telecom
business which can be of help for other telecom companies as well.
In order to cater to rural consumers, it is important to understand and respect their
livelihood and for promoting yourself activities like pamphlet distribution, Muniyadi, TYC
distribution, personal Visits, direct and easy interaction , etc all are part of rural marketing
which have scope in other companys promotion as well.
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COMPANY
PROFILE
CHAPTER-2
COMPANY PROFILE
2.1 About the
Company.
Indian Telecommunication
Industry
The Indian telecommunications has been zooming up the growth curve at a
feverish pace, emerging as one of the key sectors responsible for India's resurgent
economic growth.
India has surpassed US to become the second largest wireless network in the world
with a subscriber base of over 391.76 million, according to the Annual report of
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Table 2.01 History of Cellular
Telephony in India
YEAR
EVENT
1992
1993
1994
1995
License for providing cellular mobile services granted by the government of India
for the Metropolitan cites of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata & Chennai. Cellular mobile
service to be duopoly (i.e. not more than two cellular mobile operators could be
licensed in each telecom circle), under a fixed license fee regime for 10 years.
19 more telecom circles get mobile licenses
1995(aug)
1997
1998
1999
FDI inflow into telecom sector falls by almost 90% to Rs. 2126.7 million
1999
1999(Mar)
2000(Jan)
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The booming domestic telecom market has been attracting accelerating amount of investment.
The cumulative FDI inflows into the Indian telecommunications sector amounted to US$ 6.14
billion. In fact, the surge in mobile services market is likely to see huge amount of investment
implying a mobile in the hands of every second person in the country.
Among the recent nine bidders for 3g auctions, Vodafone accounts for the highest FDI at
70.9%, which includes Vodafones investments and some of Essars own foreign investments.
The second largest FDI is in Aircel with its foreign investor Global Communication Services
Holding (GCSH) owning 64.9%. Deccan Digital, which owes 34.9%, is, in turn, also held 25%
by GCSH.
Graph No.2.01
Government has taken many proactive initiatives which have provided a framework for the
rapid growth of the telecom industry
Chart No.2.01
100 per cent FDI is permitted in telecom equipment manufacturing through the
automatic route.
Introduction of a Unified access licensing regime for telecom services on a panIndia basis.
Introduction of Calling Party Pay (CPP) regime and lowering of access deficit
coupled with introduction of revenue share regime in ADC.
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ABOUT VODAFONE
Key people
Chairman
CEO
: Vittorio Colao
Deputy Chairman
: John Buchanan
CFO
: Andy Halford
DURING 1980s
st
Vodafone made the UK's first mobile call at a few minutes past midnight on 1 January 1985.
Within fifteen years, the network was the largest company in Europe and the largest of its kind
anywhere in the world. By the turn of the century, almost every second UK citizen had a
mobile
and a third of them were connected to Vodafone.
The Vodafone story is one of investment, innovation and award-winning customer service.
Above all, its one of growth and the ability to deliver the tremendous benefits of mobile
communications, not just in the UK but worldwide.
1982
The Racal electronics group wins its bid for the private sector UK cellular license. It sets up
the Racal telecoms division and names the new network Vodafone to reflect the provision of
voice and data services over mobile phones. Based in Newbury, the company has less than 50
employees, all in one building.
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1985
The Vodafone analogue network is the first cellular network to launch in the UK, and the first
call is made from St Katherines dock in London to Newbury on 1 January 1985.
1987
Vodafone is recognized as the largest mobile network in the world.
Vodata is created as the voice and data business to develop and market Vodafone recall, the
voicemail service.
Vodapage is launched, providing a paging network that covers 80% of the UK population.
1988
Racal telecomm plc floats on the London and New York stock exchanges.
1989
Paknet is formed as a joint venture between Racal telecom and cable & wireless
V O D A F O N E D U R I N G 1 9 9 0 S :
1991
Racal and Vodafone demerge. And the Vodafone group is listed as an independent company
on the London and New York stock exchanges.
Vodafone and telecom Finland make the worlds first international roaming call.
Vodafone launches its digital (GSM) mobile phone service the first in the UK.
1992
Vodafone and telecom Finland sign the world's first international GSM roaming agreement.
1993
Vodafone group international is formed to acquire licenses and supervise overseas interests.
Vodafone opens its first high street store.
1994
Vodata is the first network operator in the UK to launch data, fax and sms services over
the digital network.
Vodafone joins the global star consortium to develop and launch a low earth orbiting satellite
mobile phone service.
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1996
Vodafone is the first network operator in the UK to launch a pre-pay analogue package.
Per second billing on the digital network is introduced, as well as options to buy bundled
minutes and make off-peak local calls to landlines.
1997
Chris gent succeeds Sir Gerald Whent as chief executive officer of Vodafone group plc.
1999
Vodafone air touch plc is created as a result of a successful merger between Vodafone
group plc and air touch communications Inc.
On 5 January Vodafone connects the five million customers in the UK.
V O D A F O N E D U R I N G 2 0 0 0 S :
2000
The acquisition of Mannesmann Ag almost doubles the size of the Vodafone group making
it the largest mobile telecommunications company and one of the top ten companies, by
market capitalization, in the world.
Vizzavi is launched, a 50/50 joint venture between Vodafone air touch and vivendinet to
deliver a multi-access branded internet portal for Europe.
Vodafone acquires the largest available 3g license in the UK. In parallel with the
development of 3g, Vodafone announces its intention to offer GPRS (general packet radio
service) to UK corporate customers.
The global star satellite communications service is launched in the UK.
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2001
Vodafone introduces instant messaging to its networks.
Vodafone makes the worlds first 3g roaming call between Spain and Japan.
2002
Vodafone trials its global mobile payment system in the UK Italy and Germany.
Vodafone launches the first commercial European GPRS roaming service.
The Vodafone group foundation is launched. The group and its subsidiaries plan to contribute
20 million to community programs, guided by the group social investment policy.
Vodafone launches Vodafone live! & mobile office, two new consumer and business
propositions.
Arun Sarin was selected to succeed Sir Christopher Gent as Chief Executive of Vodafone
group plc.
2003
Vodafone live! attracts 1 million customers in its first six months.
Orange, telefonica moviles, t-mobile, and Vodafone form a new association to
drive interoperable mobile payments.
2004
Vodafone launches its first 3g service in Europe with the Vodafone mobile connect
3g/gprs data card.
Vodafone live! With 3g is launched in 13 markets.
2005
Vodafone simply is launched, giving customers new, easy-to-use voice and text services.
Vodafone introduces passport, a new voice roaming price plan.
2006
The number of Vodafone live! Customers with 3g reach 10 million
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VODAFONE ESSAR
MD and CEO Vodafone Essar
: Marten Pieters.
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Previous Brands
Initially around 1995 it was "MAX TOUCH"...then around 2000 it was ORANGE..... In
December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide, consolidating its
services under a single identity. The Company entered into agreement with NTT DoCoMo
to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India during 2007.
The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous owner,
Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the necessary government
approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the Vodafone Group, the company
was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing brand was officially changed to Vodafone on
20 September 2007.
Vodafone Essar spent somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on its high-profile transition.
Along with the transition, cheap cell phones have been launched in the Indian market under
the Vodafone brand.
Growth of Hutchison Essar
In 1992 Hutchison Whampoa and its Indian business partner established a company that in
1994 was awarded a licence to provide mobile telecommunications services in Mumbai
(formerly Bombay) and launched commercial service as Hutchison Max in November 1995.
Analjit Singh of Max still holds 12% in company.
By the time of Hutchison Telecom's Initial Public Offering in 2004, Hutchison Whampoa had
acquired interests in six mobile telecommunications operators providing service in 13 of
India's
23 license areas and following the completion of the acquisition of BPL that number increased to
16. In 2006, it announced the acquisition of a company that held license applications for the
seven remaining license areas.
In a country growing as fast as India, a strategic and well managed business plan is critical
to success. Initially, the company grew its business in the largest wireless markets in India in
cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In these densely populated urban areas it was able to
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establish a robust network, well known brand and large distribution network -all vital to longterm success in India. Then it also targeted business users and high-end post-paid customers
which helped Hutchison Essar to consistently generate a higher Average Revenue per User
("ARPU") than its competitors. By adopting this focused growth plan, it was able to establish
leading positions in India's largest markets providing the resources to expand its footprint
nationwide.
In February 2007, Hutchison Telecom announced that it had entered into a binding agreement
with a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc to sell its 67% direct and indirect equity and loan
interests in Hutchison Essar Limited for a total cash consideration (before costs, expenses
and interests) of approximately US$11.1 billion or HK$87 billion.
Hutch was often praised for its award winning advertisements which all follow a clean,
minimalist look. A recurrent theme is that its message Hello stands out visibly though it uses
only white letters on red background. Another recent successful ad campaign in 2003 featured a
pug named Cheeka following a boy around in unlikely places, with the tagline, Wherever
you go, our network follows. The simple yet powerful advertisement campaigns won it many
admirers.
1992: Hutchison Whampoa and Max Group established Hutchison Max
2000: Acquisition of Delhi operations Entered Calcutta and Gujarat markets through
ESSAR acquisition
2001: Won auction for licenses to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Chennai.
2003: Acquired AirCel Digilink (ADIL - Essar Subsidiary) which operated in Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh East and Haryana telecom circles and renamed it under Hutch
brand.
2004: Launched in three additional telecom circles of India namely 'Punjab', 'Uttar
Pradesh West' and 'West Bengal.
2005: Acquired BPL, another mobile service provider in India.
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2008: Vodafone acquired the Licenses in remaining 7 circles and has started its pending
operations in Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh with its headquarters at Malviya
Nagar, Bhopal as well as in Orissa, Assam, North East and Bihar
2008: Vodafone launched the Apple i-Phone 3G to be used on its 17 circle 2.75G network.
2009: Vodafone Essar - 1st Indian Telecom operator to receive the Payment Card Industry
Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification for its Mumbai operations and launches
unlimited SMS offer in Mumbai
2010: Vodafone has crossed the landmark of 100 million subscribers in India. With this
achievement, Vodafone Essar becomes worlds 5th operator with 100 million customers in a
single country. Vodafone has also increased its market share to strengthen its position as
Indias second largest operator in terms of revenue.
This is a significant achievement for us and reflects the trust customers have bestowed on the
company, said Marten Pieters, Managing Director and CEO, Vodafone Essar, In the past three
years, we have invested over Rs. 20,000 crores to expand our operations to service customers in
India. We will utilize our global and Indian experience to deliver the best products and services
to our customers.
Starting with about 28 million subscribers across 16 circles in May 2007, Vodafone Essar today
has 100 million customers and its footprint has extended to all the 23 circles in the country. This
journey is a testimony of Vodafones success in a highly competitive and price sensitive market.
Around 60% of the Companys customer additions now come from upcountry areas. With a
distribution reach of about 1.2 million outlets, Vodafone is well-geared to serve customers in the
remotest corners of India.
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PRESENCE
Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents and around
44 partner networks worldwide.
LOGO
A new visual identityfrom the deep pink logo of Hutchison-Essar to Vodafones trademark
deep red speech mark introduced in 1998.
Advertisement:
The inaugural TV commercial showed the trademark pug (minus the boy) moving out of a pink
kennel into a red one. An energetic version of Hutchs signature You and I tune played
towards the end, as the super concluded, Change is good. Hutch is now Vodafone. There were
four
more commercials featuring Hutchs animated boy and girl, introducing the new brands logo to
consumers.
Vodafone put in close to Rs 150 crores into the first phase of the rebranding exercisewith Rs
60 crore in mass media and another Rs 90 crores in retail activities.
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In the second phase, Vodafone ushered in its global strap lineMake the most of now, which
replaced How are you? in 2001. By then it was apparent, the boy-and-pug chapter would
soon be over. In 2008, Vodafone used the platform of cricket when it unveiled the Happy to
Help series during the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
This season the Zoo zoos are all the rage. These characters have virtually hijacked the online
media as well as televisionto convey a value added service (VAS) offering in each of the
new commercials.
In Indian scenario when other major telecom service providers are using celebrities
( Airtel-Shahrukh Khan, BSNL-Deepika Padukone, Aircel-Mahendra Singh Dhoni,
Idea- Abhishek Bachchan)
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Distribution
Direct distribution-Number of directly owned stores 1150+
Vodafone directly owns and manages over 1,150 stores. These stores sell services to new
customers, renew or upgrade services for existing customers, and in many cases also
provide customer support.
A standard store format, which was tested in 2006, was rolled out in 11 markets during the 2008
financial year. All stores in India were rebranded as Vodafone and over 40 stores were
refurbished to the Groups standard format.
The Group also has over 6,500 Vodafone branded stores, which sell Vodafone products and
services exclusively, by way of franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.
The internet is a key channel to promote and sell Vodafones products and services and to
provide customers with an easy, user friendly and accessible way to manage their Vodafone
services and access support. Additionally, in most operating companies, sales forces are in
place to sell directly to business customers and some consumer segments.
Philosophy- OUR PEOPLE
Vodafone rely on its people their enthusiasm, their talent, their commitment to maintain
and build on the success of our business, even more so in todays competitive market. It
depends on people to deliver excellent service to its customers.
Vodafone believe that the better experience our people have at Vodafone, the better service
they will give our customers. Vodafone Group employs approximately 71,000 people around
the
world.
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Vodafone want to enhance its reputation as an employer that provides excellent development
opportunities, equipping employees with the skills and experience they need to help
Vodafone compete successfully.
It aim to ensure that all its working environments are inclusive, safe, promote wellbeing,
treat people with respect, and engage employees, and offer attractive incentives and
opportunities.
Vodafone People Strategy
The Vodafone People Strategy sets out a clear statement of its commitments to employees
and expectations of them in six key areas.
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Monthly price plans are available as well as prepay options. Phone users can top up
their phone on line.
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Vodafone UK gives NECTAR reward points for every 1 spent on calls, text
messages, picture messages and ring tones.
Promotion
Vodafone works with icons such as David Beckham to communicate its brand values.
Above the line
Advertising on TV, on billboards, in magazines and in other media outlets reaches
large audiences and spreads the brand image and the message very effectively. This is
known as above the line promotion.
Below the line
Stores have special offers, promotions and point of sale posters to attract those inside
the stores to buy.
Vodafone's stores, its products and its staff all project the brand image.
Vodafone actively develops good public relations by sending press releases to
national newspapers and magazines to explain new products and ideas.
For example, young people think hard about which mobile phone to buy. In their search for the
widest range of appropriate services and the best value for money, young people in particular
examine catalogues, surf the Internet and study what their friends have bought. Trying to sell
to them is tough.
In order to retain market leadership, Vodafone has established a set of marketing
objectives. These are to:
Obtain new customers
Keep the customers it already has
Introduce new technologies and services (eg text messaging,
WAP)
Vodafone is achieving these objectives by continually updating the range of phones and
services offered to keep ahead of its competitors. Vodafone also communicates regularly with
its customers to keep them well informed of the benefits of all Vodafone products.
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Present
New
Present
Prepaid/Post-paid services
Wi-max,3G
New
Rural Sector
M2M services,WiBro
In order to diversify its current market portfolio, Vodafone is launching a global Machine to
Machine (M2M) service platform for helping companies to deploy and manage large, wireless
M2M projects for applications in customer service enhancement and central control and
automation of projects. In the Indian context, M2M is an untapped sector with enormous
potential for growth. WiBRO (Wireless Broadband) has the capacity to overcome data rate of
limitation of mobile phones by providing a staggering 30 to 50 MB/s speed. As in the case of
M2M platforms, WiBRO is a very promising market in India. Providing these two services in
India would open new avenues of growth for Vodafone and would help it diversify into
different market verticals.
With this diversification and for more market penetration in the rural areas Vodafone has
started a new project Mera Gaon Mera Desh. Since more and more companies are entering in
the telecom market of India so its becoming difficult for the companies to just sit and eat the
fruits. It is very difficult already for the existing players as profit margins are reducing with
increase in number of players. The profits have reduced due to the slashing of call rates.
However, the profits realized are due to increasing usage rates .Stiff competition is giving rise
to fear among companies of losing the present customers so company has decided, with more
service to customers, to enter into the rural areas where the subscription rate is low and focus its
activities on servicing this sector and increasing subscriber rate.
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
India is still an agrarian economy and over 60 percent of its population still dwells in rural areas.
According to recently conducted surveys, statistics showed that 45% of the overall telecomm
sector growth is to come from the rural sector. A major chunk of Vodafones revenue is still
generated from tier 1 and tier 2 cities. This leads Vodafone to place further focus on rural
penetration so as to create economies of scale as well as the top line growth of revenues.
Development of infrastructure in rural areas is a bottleneck due to the cost factor associated with
it. Project MOST (Mobile Operators' Shared Towers) by COAI was initiated in order to reduce
these heavy costs by sharing infrastructure between the service providers, hence resulting in
better coverage and quality. Optimal rural penetration can be achieved by taking into account
the economic environment prevailing in the rural sector. This would encompass the socio
economic factors and would hence provide a more regional focus to the advertising and
promotional strategies in order to establish a good connect with the rural customers.
The Census of India defines rural explicitly. Areas with clear surveyed boundaries not having a
municipality, corporation or board, with density of population not more than 400 per km sq. and
with at least 75% of the male working population engaged in agriculture and allied activities
qualify as rural.
Keeping this in mind, looking at strategic first mover advantages, company has
started the project MGMD. The company has identified areas where subscriber base rate is
very low. So to increase that rate in these areas company has come up with some plans. These
sites are identified by the technical department by measuring the traffic on BTS (Trans receiver
stations), which gives figures about usage in the area. So the low user sites or MFS
(MGMD focus sites) were given to me where I had to go with the staff and do the promotion and
other activities.
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UEO (Unique E-top Outlet) Village wise DPL( Dealer Per Lakh) planning.
Dosti
Badli
BSNL/AIRTEL).
outlet.
Products:
Vodafone has launched a new SKU 50 which would have a retailer landing of Rs 24 and
MRP of Rs.40.
Vodafone have launched a special promotional offer for the entire customer base of the
FOCUS Sites wherein they would get Talk time or other benefits through 121best offer.
The Activities for this project include:
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Support Required:
Vodafone Garden Umbrella For promotion.
Special POP (Posters, Banners etc) for Villages.
STVs (Special tariff Vouchers) & NEW SKU (Stock Keeping Units) for Villages.
Special Talk Time Schemes for BSNL customers.
Page 37 of 79
METHODOLOGY
Page 38 of 79
CHARTER-3
METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology is a highly intellectual Human activity used in the investigation of
nature and matter and deals specifically with the manner in which the data is collected, analyzed
and interpreted.
Its basically the methods you intend to adopt to gather information in pursuit of answers to
the research questions.
3.1 Research Design.
Descriptive Research- Descriptive research can be used to identify and classify the elements
or characteristics of the subject, e.g. number of days lost because of industrial action. Quantitative
Techniques are often used to collect, analyze and summarize data.
Analytical Research- Analytical research often extends the Descriptive approach to suggest
or explain why or how something is happening, e.g. underlying causes of industrial action. An
important feature of this type of research is in locating and identifying the different factors (or
variables) involved.
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Page 40 of 79
Telecom
STD / ISD
Chemist
Petrol pumps
Photo Shops
General, Kirana
Gift shops
Cyber Cafs
Unconventional Outlets
Estate Agents
Opticians
Milk Booths
Cinema halls
Hospitals
Garages
Security Guards
Page 41 of 79
11. Kailana.
2. Rajlu Garhi.
12. Kasanda.
3. Begha.
4. Shamri Buran.
14. Sanpera.
5. Sardhana.
6. Dobheta.
16. Datauli.
7. Ghasoli.
17. Panchijatan.
8. Bhanwar.
18. Tajpur.
9. Kami.
19. Rajpur.
10. Khubru.
M.F.S of M D- Biswamil.
AD- Barota.
1. Jagdishpur.
2. Halalpur.
3. Nahri.
4. Jhundpur.
5. Abbaspur.
6. Malha Majra.
AD- Kharkhoda.
1. Rohat.
6. Kundal
2. Anandpur Jharot.
7. Khanda
3. Thanakalan.
8. Ladravan.
4. Rohna.
9. Pahaladpur.
5. Gopalpur.
Page 42 of 79
Page 43 of 79
Secondary Data: It is the data which is collected already in the past; it can be collected
with the help of secondary source like internet, books, journals, articles etc. The data regarding
MGMD focus sites, their population, already running ueo, etc was provided to me from
company. Also during drafting of report all information was gathered from articles about
company in magazines and from websites. As Vodafone is world renowned company so it was
not tough to gather information about this company.
Page 44 of 79
Page 45 of 79
DATA ANALYSIS
Page 46 of 79
CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
We prepared a questionnaire to get the response of the retailers is the rural area sites. Here I am
going to analyze this questionnaire with the help of Pie- charts. These pie-charts give the idea
for various areas we have chosen as responses and their weightage can be seen easily.
Here I am going to analyse each question one by one. And with the help of the understanding,
which I got through personal visits, I am able to analyze these and can give probable thoughts
of the villagers in statistical data form.
These pie charts are of very useful as we can draw information from them which can be proved
to be very valuable now or in future. Any company, who wants to enter in a rural area, wants
proper information available about that area in advance to form the strategies and this analysis
is of great help for them.
Page 47 of 79
Valid
a) Kiryana store.
b) Mobile / repair shop.
c) STD/PCO shop.
d) Chemist/Clinic.
e) Tailor / Barber.
f) Photo shop.
g) Pan- Bidi shop.
h) Other.
TOTAL
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
75
10
20
5
5
3
15
17
50
6.7
13.3
3.3
3.3
2
10
11.3
50
56.7
70
73.3
76.7
78.7
88.7
100
150
100
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
30
20
20
120
80
100
150
100
Valid
No
Yes
TOTAL
Valid
Very
Satisfied
Satisfied
No opinion
Unsatisfied
Total
Frequency
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
105
70.0
70.0
30
20.0
90.0
4.7
94.7
8
150
5.3
100.0
100.0
Valid yes
Frequency
135
Percent
90.0
Cumulative
Percent
90.0
No
15
10.0
100.0
150
100.0
Total
Yes
No
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency
105
45
150
Percent
70.0
30.0
100.0
Valid
Cumulative
Percent
Percent
70.0
70.0
30.0
100.0
100.0
Yes 70%
NO 30%
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency
120
30
150
Cumulative
Percent
Percent
80.0
80.0
20.0
100.0
100.0
Yes 80%
NO 20%
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency
114
Percent
76.0
Cumulative
Percent
76.0
36
24.0
100.0
150
100.0
Yes
NO
Q.6 (i) Are you into telecom business and selling Recharge coupons and E-top value?
Table No. 4.08
Valid
Frequency
Percent
17
11.3
Cumulative
percent
11.3
3.3
14.6
*Both
5.4
20
*None
120
80
100
Total
150
100
* Only coupons
None 80%
Only coupons 11.3%
Both 5.3%
Only E-top value 3.3%
Vodafone
Airtel
Idea
Tata
15
15
10
10
Other
15
15
10
Freq
OTHERS
TATA
IDEA
AIRTEL
VODAFONE
Q.7 If you are not selling any, then do you have any idea about telecom business?
Table No. 4.10
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency
114
Percent
76.0
Cumulative
Percent
76.0
36
24.0
100.0
150
100.0
YES
No
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency
25
125
150
Cumulative
Percent
Percent
16.7
16.7
83.3
100.0
100.0
No
Valid
Illiterate
Age Factor
Less Commission
Several shops nearby
Financial issue
Credit issue in village
Frequency
20
25
40
30
25
35
25
Other
40
30
20
Frequenc
10
others
Q.9 If Yes, then do you want to sell Vodafone Recharge coupons and E-top value?
Table No. 4.13
Frequency
Valid
Only
coupons
Only E-top
Both
Total
Percent
Cumulative
Percent
12
23.0
23.0
8
32
52
15.4
61.6
100.0
38.4.0
100.0
Q.10 (i) Do you want to sell new SIM (New Vodafone connections)?
Table No. 4.14
Valid yes
No
Total
Frequency Percent
14
35
26
65
40
100.0
Cumulative
Percent
35
100.0
YES
No
16
15
10
7
20
15
10
Frequenc
I.D. issues
Financial issue
Others
New Connection
less Sale
FINDINGS
AND
THEIR IMPLICATIONS
CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS
FINDINGS:
Vodafone has a good customer base in rural areas as well. As among the rural
villagers we have visited, almost 80% were using Vodafone and were aware about its
various
schemes like TYC, and other benefits.
The users were found to be very satisfied with the services they are getting and network
is very good in rural areas as well.
Among the shops we have visited almost 80% were not selling any recharge of any
company. Among others most were selling the paper coupons only.
Although most of the villager shopkeepers were not into this business of telecom were
almost 75% were having some knowledge about this business. They know about various
products of Vodafone and recharges available, E-top recharge, paper recharge, and the
commission they will get for selling (though not exactly the percentage) etc.
Most of the shopkeepers were not interested in selling Vodafone in their shops. They
gave several reasons for this and most frequently given reasons include Illiteracy, Age
factor, Less commission, Financial issues, Credit issues as villagers take things on
credit
and not pay several times.
Those interested most of them took both recharges paper and E-top. Some took only
paper recharge as they wanted to first test this business and wanted to see if they will
get
customers initially.
For selling SIMs (New connections) most of the shopkeepers said No. They were not
ready to sell new connections as they find it very complex and face certain problems.
Page 64 of 79
Most of the problems they are facing include New connection sale is less in villages and
I.D issues also made them to not to sell this.
Overall people were not very advanced and they were ready to cooperate and listen
about the company and things we were saying. Most who understood about this were
ready to
start this business.
IMPLICATIONS:
As Vodafone has good customer base there in rural areas as well so it can focus on it.
Vodafone can get idea about the problems of villagers from this project and can find
new ideas to get rid of them.
Vodafone can use the findings to get more penetration into the other rural areas and can
design its strategies according to the findings and issues pertaining in villages.
This project work is for Vodafone but other companies also can get benefit from it.
They can also implicate this survey for getting the understanding of the rural market
they want
to concentrate on.
Companies who are interested in entering rural areas can use this project work to know
the problems of villagers, which can help them guide in initial steps of entry.
Page 65 of 79
LIMITATIONS
OF
THE STUDY
Page 66 of 79
CHAPTER 6
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The limitations of our projects include:
This project work is of two months and only few villages were visited, Sample size is
also small i.e. of 150 only so errors may crop in while generalizing the results.
The respondents may be in a hurry and to get rid-off quickly they might not have
responded truly to all the questions.
Most visits were done in the afternoon time, when most of the villagers are in resting
mood and we found some of the shops closed. These may be potential shopkeepers who
may have responded well.
Though most attention is given to analysis but there may be some human error in
analyzing which can create error in generalizing.
Page 67 of 79
RECOMMENDATIONS/
SUGGESTIONS
Page 68 of 79
CHAPTER 7
RECOMMENDATIONS / SUGGESTIONS
This research throws light on various Issues and conditions of Vodafones Rural Market and
can also help Vodafone to improve on different fronts in order to have an edge over its
competitors. Based on the analysis and findings of my research I would like to give
following recommendations:
Most of the shops present in the villages are either Kiryana or paan-bidi type, so
company should come up with new plans to lure these retailers who are least ready for
this
business. Also for visiting the shops morning or evening time should be chosen as in
the afternoon we found most of the shops were closed in village.
Most of our respondents were using the Vodafone, so it shows Vodafones services are
good there. Company should use it as the base for increasing its customer base.
Though most of the respondents knew about Vodafones TYC, but a sufficient number
was unaware. So company should promote about TYC in the rural through Muniyadi, or
pamphlets and banners.
Though most our respondents were not selling recharges but they had a fair idea about
this business so this is of great use for Vodafone. The process becomes easy if they know
about it. So company should focus more on satisfying the shopkeepers about their other
issues and hurdles they are facing in opening recharge outlet.
Company should focus more on learning the shopkeepers so that they will be able to do
this business well. The company should make them understand the E-top recharge
process severally as its not easy for some to understand in one go, also their benefits in
Best Deal, etc.
Most of the responses said the commission is less and Credit issue is there in village,
for this Vodafone should come up with strategies to solve these frequent problems and
should make villagers understand this.
Page 69 of 79
As for selling new connections people were not ready, as they feel there is problem
regarding the I.D issue and finance for sim, whose sale is less so people feel their
money will be blocked if they buy sim. For this company can make new plan and can
provide new sim to them on credit basis whose payment can be made after sale, more
awareness and activities can be organized in village to sell more sim. If more
connections will sell
then only it can enhance its revenues rapidly.
As far as commission is concerned on sale, people less understood the Vodafone
currency system. They found it complex to understand and were more on selling the
paper
recharge as its easy. So company should consider this issue and should come up with
new alternative to give benefits to rural village retailers.
Page 70 of 79
CONCLUSION
Page 71 of 79
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSIONS
Vodafone 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, Excellent Network and other benefits. Vodafone has a solid reputation in
India, exemplified by a multitude of awards such as: three accolades Two Gold and One Silver,
at the Asia Marketing Effectiveness (AME) awards ceremony, the GSMA Global Mobile Awards
to its strong value proposition as Best mobile enterprise 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.
Through consistent presence and support for rural ecology company can strengthen its hold
on rural market. Lowering the initial costs of entry is expected to keep company in profit
since reduced profit margins stand to be compensated by a larger consumer base.
If the company will carry on the good work of penetration into the rural
areas and enhance it by considering the suggestions made above in the report than it can pace up
the success of Mera Gaon Mera Desh project. Through its efforts of Promotion and penetration
activities it can surely become the first preference of every Indian may it be in any corner of
India and can become No.1 Telecom Company of India in near future.
This penetration will help in better connectivity and reduce the distances.
Page 72 of 79
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Page 73 of 79
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Cooper Donald R. & Schindler Pamela S., 9
th
ARTICLE
A Research article by CSK consulting Pvt. Ltd., Rural Marketing practices for Telecom
Services, 2008, Nokia Siemens networks.
WEBSITES
Cellular Operators Association of India, History of Cellular telephony
http://www.coai.com/history.php, 20 July 2010.
Instablogs, 10 Aug. 2010, Varinder Kaur
http://varinderkaur.instablogs.com/entry/vodafone -zoozoo-a-successful -marketingstrategy/, Vodafone Zoo Zoos A Successful Marketing Strategy.
Prahalad C. K., Bottom of the pyramid article
http://www.12manage.com/methods_prahalad_bottom_of_the_pyramid.html
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India,
http://www.trai.gov.in/annualreport/TRAIAR2008_09E_Add.pdf, 25 JULY 2010.
Vodafone History, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafone_Essar. 2Aug 2010.
http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/group_press_releases/2010/prelim_
2010.html
Page 74 of 79
ANNEXURE
Page 75 of 79
ANNEXURE
1. QUESTIONNAIRE:
QUESTIONNAIRE
Vodafone Essar Company
Dear Respondent,
I am a student of Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology, I am doing this Project for
Vodafone, for the purpose of promotion and opening new outlets in Sites called MERA GAON
MERA DESH FOCUS SITES, and so for that purpose I have designed following
questionnaire. Needless to say, that your information will be kept confidential and wont be
disclosed to anyone.
Q.1 The type of outlet visited:
a) Kiryana store.
e) Tailor / Barber.
f) Photo shop.
c) STD/PCO shop.
g) Pan-Bidi shop.
d) Chemist/Clinic.
h) Other.
b) No.
Page 76 of 79
Good
Bad
a) Network
b) Customer care service
c) Roaming facilities
d) Vodafone customer plans
e) Any other
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q.5 Do you know about Vodafones Thank you card?
a) Yes
b) No
Q.6 (i) Are you into telecom business and selling Recharge coupons and E-top value?
a) Only coupons
b) Only E-top Value.
c) Both.
d) None.
(ii) If selling then of which companies?
Yes
No
a)Vodafone.
b) Airtel.
c) Idea.
d) Tata.
e) Others.
Q.7 if you are not selling any, then do you have any idea about telecom business?
a) Yes
b) No
Page 77 of 79
b) No
b) No
Page 78 of 79