study of cellular services provided by vodafone jims

8/11/2019 Study of Cellular Services Provided by VODAFONE JIMS

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A MINOR PROJECT REPORTON

STUDY OF CELLULAR SERVICES PROVIDED BY

VODAFONE

Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirement of Bachelor ofBusiness Administration (B.B.A) General

[Emblem of GGSIPU]

BBA IIIrd Semester (Shift)(Section)Batch 2010-2013

Submitted to: Submitted by:Name of guide Name of studentDesignation Enrollment no.

JAGANNATH INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT SCHOOLKALKAJI


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A lot of effort has gone into this training report. My thanks are due to many people with

whom I have been closely associated.

I would like all those who have contributed in completing this project. First of all, I

would like to send my sincere thanks to _______________ for his helpful hand in the

completion of my project.

I would like to thank my entire beloved family & friends for providing me monetary as

well as nonmonetary support, as and when required, without which this project would

not have completed on time. Their trust and patience is now coming out in form of this

thesis

CONTENTS


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Description Page No.

Acknowledgement (i) (i)

Contents with page no.

List of tablesList of figures

List of symbols, Abbreviations or Nomenclature (optional)

Executive Summary

Certificate of completion

Introduction to topic 1

Objectives

Literature review

Company Profile

Research MethodologyAnalysis & Interpretation

Findings & Inferences

Limitations

Recommendations and Conclusion

Appendices

Bibliography

LIST OF TABLES


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LIST OF TABLES

S.no Table title Page No.

1 Industry overall growth

2 Company Details3 Research Report

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS OR NOMENCLATURE (OPTIONAL)


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Vodafone Essar is a leading provider of wireless telecommunications services in India.

The company serves about 35 million subscribers located in every major region of the

country. In addition to standard and prepaid wireless subscriptions, Vodafone Essaroffers such services as text messaging and the wireless distribution of such content, as

music and news. It also caters to corporate customers with wireless email and other

services. The company is controlled by UK-based wireless heavyweight Vodafone

Group, which owns more than two-thirds of the joint venture, while the remaining shares

are owned by Indian conglomerate Essar Group.

Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations

in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for

Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 74.08 million

customers. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the

Most Respected Telecom Company, the Best Mobile Service in the country and the

Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year. Vodafone Group is the

worlds leading international mobile communications corporation. It currently has equity

interests in 27 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 303

million proportionate customers worldwide. The Essar Group is Vodafones principal

partner in India. The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced

portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power,

Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects. Essar employs more than

50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world meeting up with

global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is currently slated to an estimated

contribution of nearly 1% to Indias GDP. The Indian Telecommunications network with

110.01 million connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among


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the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and

represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The

total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million

in 2010. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million

broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2010. The wireless

subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004-

2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless

subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone

subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is

expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2010. The wireless

technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA

operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering

2000 towns across the country.

1.1) Evolution of the Industry - Important Milestones:

Year Description

1851 First operational land lines were laid by the govt. near Calcutta(seat of

British Power)

1881 Telephone Service introduced in India

1883 Merger with the postal system

1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Communication

Company(IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the

Posts, Telephone and Telegraph(PTT), a monopoly run by the

governments Ministry of Communication

1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive

provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own

regulator (separate from the postal system)

1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international

telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)


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for service in metropolitan areas.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created

1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy is

adopted.

2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

(Source: The Indian Telecom Industry by consulting club, IIM Calcutta)

1.2) Major Players:

There are three types of players in telecom services:

State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)

Private Indian owned companies (Vodafone Infocomm, Tata Teleservices)

Foreign invested companies (Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea

Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications)

India's mobile telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Unlike in the 1990s

when the mobile phone was an elitist product, mobile operators now tap a mass market

with mass marketing techniques. "Unified licensing" rules allow basic and mobile

operators into each others territory, and have ushered in perhaps the final phase of

industry consolidation.

It seems that only companies with deep pockets can effectively compete as primary

operators mobile markets. Economies of scale, scope, and end-to-end presence in long-

distance as well as local telecom, are desirable. There are, besides, new challenges.

Operators have to find new growth drivers for the wire line business. There are problems

of getting broadband to take off, of technology choice, of when to introduce new

technologies, and of developing a viable business model in an era of convergence.

Growth of mobile technology:

India has the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile services were

commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the average

monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile

subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after the number of

proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly subscriber additions

increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05. Although

mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was tardy in the early


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years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff structure of mobile

telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry heralded several pro

consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking up. The number of

mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16 million, followed by 22

millions in 2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2009. The only countries with

more mobile phones than India with 156.31 million mobile phones are China 408

million and USA 170 million. India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global

system for mobile communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access)

technologies in the mobile sector.

The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile

connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone 32

million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of the

Indian mobile market.

Cellular Service Providers:

As on Apr 2010 India has 167 million mobile phone subscribers. Out of this 125 million

are GSM users and 41 million CDMA users. BSNL, Bharti Vodafone , Hutch, Idea,

Aircel, Spice and MTNL are the main GSM providers in India. Vodafone

Communications and Tata Indicom are the main CDMA providers in India.

Bharti Vodafone

Vodafone is providing cellular services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Andhra

Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala,

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP and

West Bengal. Vodafone is the No.1 cellular service provider in India using GSM

technology. Vodafone has 23% market share in India with a total subscriber base of 38

million.Vodafone Communications

Vodafone has both CDMA and GSM networks and total subscriber base of 29 million or

17% market share. It has GSM network in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata,

North East, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Vodafone has CDMA networks in

other states and cities.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)


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BSNL is a state owned telecom company which has GSM presence in almost every cities

and towns. BSNL has 27 million subscribers with a market share of 16%.

Vodafone

Vodafone is another emerging GSM provider in India with coverage in Kerala, Mumbai,

Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab with a total

subscriber base of 27 million.

Tata Indicom

Tata Indicom is a main CDMA provider in India with 16 million subscribers all over

India. Tata Indicom has presence in almost every state and cities in India.

The telecommunications industry is growing at a very rapid pace in India. Also India is

one of the fastest growing telecom markets in Asia. India is the 4thlargest telecom market

in Asia. The telecom Market consists of mobile phones, cellular service providers, and

broadband network. The telecommunications industry has undergone a lot of change in

the last 2 decades. From deregulation to privatization to telecom services, to

liberalization of Indian telecom policies, increase in competition, introduction of new

technologies like black berry phones, and internet and convergence of technologies.

Since the telecom industry is growing at a rapid pace, Tata Indicom School of telecom

has been dedicated to the country. This telecom revolution has contributed enormously to

increased efficiency in the economy. It has reduced transaction costs. It has increased

connectivity across the length and breadth of our vast subcontinent. It has brought Indians

closer to each other. The telecom sector is driving today the growth of both incomes and

employment. Indeed, this growth is creating new business and new employment

opportunities. India has emerged as a major base for the telecom industry worldwide and

we intend to facilitate the further growth of this vital industry. Also new players like

Vodafone, one of the leading telecom companies in the world have entered the Indian

telecom market.

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly200 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. History of Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the first

operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power).

Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were

merged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in


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1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were

nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the

government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a strategic

service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control.


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OBJECTIVE

To study customer satisfaction level regarding the product and the product must

be known.

To study customer satisfaction level regarding the value added services. the usage

of the value added services is to be know by the organization in order to

implement new innovation in future services.

To study the customer satisfaction regarding the customer care services and after

sales service.

To study the benefits that the product was offering that the competitors were not

offering and to study if the customer were satisfied with the benefits


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CHAPTER-II

LITRATURE REVIEW


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1. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have

given favorable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve

the attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the

services promised and services offered. The overall customers attitude towards

cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they

want more services to be provided.

2. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled Managing the Customer Perceived Service

Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation analyzed that

there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed thatresponsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability,

customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and

tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the

areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and

valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular

mobile services.

3. Samuvel, customer satisfaction for cellular services, a study with a reference to

BPL and Aircel mobile phones and services, a published M.Phil. dissertation,

submitted to Bharathiar university, Coimbatore, December 2002

4. Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled Promotional Strategies of

Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective analyzed that the increasing

competition and changing taste and preferences of the customers all over the

world are forcing companies to change their targeting strategies. The study

revealed the customer attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services

in Coimbatore city.

5. Rick (2008): in his study found that companies with sound customer strategies

can use that ultimate loyalty program as a differentiator in an increasingly

muddled market. In an increasingly competitive market, customer loyalty efforts

can play a major part in the attraction of new customers and the retention of

current ones. As consumers' choices expand, the importance of a sound customer


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relationship strategy becomes more and more important for the success of the

company.

6. Shikha Ojha (2009) conducted a study on Consumer Awareness of VAS of

Telecom Sector of India. She analyzed the contribution of the mobile phone

services not only at the national or state level, but also its involvement in an

individual's life. She found out that the less number of users are aware of all the

VAS provided by the service providers and thus the companies should focus on

the awareness campaign.

7. Shirshendu Ganguli (2008) conducted a study on Drivers of Customer

Satisfaction in Indian Cellular services Market in which he discussed the impact

of service quality and features on customer satisfaction from the cellular users

viewpoint.

8. J D Power(2009) conducted a study on Customers increasingly want telecom

services and products to be bundled based on responses collected from 11,911

customers nationwide and examined the overall customer satisfaction on six

factors customer service, reliability, billing, image, cost of service, offers &

promotions.

9. Girish Taneja & Neeraj Kaushik (2007) conducted a study on Customers

perception towards Mobile service providers: An analytical study aims to deduce

the factors that customers perceive to be the most important while utilizing the

services of a mobile service provider.

10. Anita Seth (2007) in his study on Quality of service parameters in cellular

mobile communication developed a model of service quality and a set of

dimensions for comparative evaluation which could provide useful directions to

regulators and service providers.

1) Brand selection

The research study tiltled factors affecting the brand decision in the mobile phone

industry in Asia by Liu 2002.This study found that the choice of a cellular phone is

characterized by two attitudes to brands : attitude towards the mobile phone brand on


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one hand and attitude towards the network on the other. While price and regularity of

service were found to dominate choice between network providers, choices between

mobile phone brands were affected by new technology features such as memory capacity

and SMS options, more than size. The brand will actually be not towards smaller

phones but towards phones with better capability and larger screen.

2) Consumer satisfaction

This study is conducted by TRAI. It assesses the satisfaction level of consumers

encompassing quality of technical service, quality and operational aspects of gadgets and

social /psychological costs due to unsolicited promotional calls /SMS. The analysis in

this report shows that the consumption behavior of the mobile phone users in Delhi and

covers the aspects like usage pattern of the mobile phone services, assessment of the level

of satisfaction, preference for various attributes and functionalities of gadgets .

3) Consumer behavior

The titled named consumer buying behavior by Martin Tina; Sam Manaberi

[2005] discussed the industrial purchasing stands for more than half of the whole

economic activity in industrialized countries. Therefore it is important to understand how

industries perform buying activities. The telecommunication industry is a fast growing

industry and therefore interesting to investigate. The purpose of this study was to

investigate the characteristics of industrial buying behaviour in the telecommunication

industry. The purpose has been further developed in forms of research questions dealing

with the buying process, buying center and choice criteria. A case study was made with a

customer, to the telecom supplier Ericsson, from the company HI3G Access, also known

as 3. A highly topical company in the third generation telecom networks with Ericsson as

one of their primary suppliers. The conducted telephone interview indicates a swift

buying process, influenced by word of mouth. Additional findings involve a small buyingcenter, which is mainly controlled by the technical and procurement staff and the

importance of price as a selection criteria as the product is becoming a commodity.

4) Consumer behavior
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The article named consumer buying behavior in mobile phone market in Finland by

EMAC conference, Track : New Technologies and EMarketing. The survey conducted

with 397 consumers and looked at their motives to purchase new mobile phones on one

hand and factors

affecting operator choice on the other. The results indicate that while price and properties

were the most influencial factors affecting the purchase of a new mobile phone, price,

audibility and friends operator were regarded as the most important in the choice of the

mobile phone operator. This paper concludes with a discussion of contributions and

purposes ideas for future studies in this under researched area.

5) Customer buying behavior

The project study titled customer buying behavior of mobile phone brands by

Riquelme (2001. She conducted an experiment with 94 consumers to identify the amount

of selfknowledge consumers have when choosing between mobile phone brands. The

study was build upon six key attributes like telephone features, connection fee , access

cost , mobile to mobile phone rates call rates and free calls related to mobile phone

purchasing respondents had to importance rate. The research shows that consumers with

prior experience about a product can predict their choices relatively well but customers

tended to overestimate the importance of features, call rates, and free call and

underestimates the importance of a monthly access fee, mobile to mobile phones rates

and the connection fee.

6)Consumer perception

The article titled consumer perception and its choice mobile telecom service provider in

Malaysia,Journal of International Business and Economics, May, 2007by Ahasanul

Haque,Ali Khatibi,Abdur Raquib,Shameem Al Mahmud.The study aims to find outwhat are critical

factors those are playing an important role to select the telecommunication service

provider. Result provides a comprehensive analysis of the important factors for playing

an important role for the customer to select the telecommunication service provider. The

analysis confirms the significant positive relationship of price, service quality, product

quality and availability, and promotional offer for consumer perception. These factors are
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expected to have a great role during the time to choose telecommunication service

provider. In conclusion, practitioners can be deriving a better understanding of the

activities that are being played a vital role for the consumer perception.

Consumer

Anindividualwhobuysproductsorservicesfor personal use and not formanufactureor

resale.A consumer is someone who can make thedecisionwhether or not topurchasean

item at thestore,and someone who can be influenced bymarketingand advertisements

Customer

Aperson,company,or otherentitywhichbuysgoodsandservicesproduced by another

person, company, or other entity.

Customer service

According to Turban et al customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance

the level of customer satisfaction that is, the feeling that aproduct or service has met the

customer expectation.

The needs, wants and preconceived ideas of a customer about a product or service.

Customer expectation will be influenced by a customers perception of the product or

service and can be created by previous experience, advertising , hearsay, awareness of

competitors and brand image. The level of customer service is also a factor and a

customer might expect to encounter efficiency, helpfulness, reliability, confidence in the

staff and a personal interest in his / her patronage.

Learn to identify and analyze customer needs and problems

Recognize the most common reasons for customer complaints

Discover techniques to cultivate and maintain special customer relationships

Assess your communication style and use two way communication skills to

level with people, to accept feedback from them, and to discuss problems

Identify specific problems in your customer service program and apply treatment.

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services supplied by the

company meet or surpass customer expectation. Satisfaction is a persons feelings of

pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived performance

in relation to his or her expectation.
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Encourage face to face dealing

Be friendly and approachable

Respond to messages promptly and keep your client informed

Have a clear defined customer service policy

Attention to detail

Anticipate your clients needs and go out of your way to help them out

Honour your promises

Kano's model of customer satisfaction distinguishes six categories of quality attributes,

from which the first three actually influence customer satisfaction:

1. Basic Factors. (Dissatisfiers. Must have.) - The minimum requirements which

will cause dissatisfaction if they are not fulfilled, but do not cause customer

satisfaction if they are fulfilled (or are exceeded). The customer regards these as

prerequisites and takes these for granted. Basic factors establish a market entry

'threshold'.

2. Excitement Factors. (Satisfiers. Attractive.) - The factors that increase customer

satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if they are not delivered.

These factors surprise the customer and generate 'delight'. Using these factors, a

company can really distinguish itself from its competitors in a positive way.

3. Performance Factors. The factors that cause satisfaction if the performance is

high, and they cause dissatisfaction if the performance is low. Here, the attribute

performance-overall satisfaction is linear and symmetric. Typically these factors

are directly connected to customers' explicit needs and desires and a company

should try to be competitive here.

4. Indifferent attributes.The customer does not care about this feature.

5. Questionable attributes. It is unclear whether this attribute is expected by the

customer.

6. Reverse attributes. The reverse of this product feature was expected by the

customer.

Five facts for improving productivity

As senior managers, only know about the tip of the iceberg, a small fraction of all

the problems your customers encounter.


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Service can be a majormarketing tool

Customer problems can cost not only an immediate lost sale, but also future

purchases by that customer and by other customers as a result of negative word-

of-mouth behavior.

We can and must quantify the expected payback from service and/or quality

improvements.

The market transaction (sale) often is not the key point of customer pain and lost

revenue.

DOING THE JOB RIGHT THE FIRST TIME + EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE =

MAXIMUM CUSTOMER SATISFACTION/LOYALTY

Customer oriented organization chart

In this pyramid shows customers will be the top most priority and next in importance are

front line people who meet, serve and satisfy customers ; under them are the middle

managers, whose job is to support the front line people so they can serve customers

well and at the base is top management, whose job is to hire and support good middle

managers.

Customer behavior

Customer behavior is to know about the customers way to obtain, use and dispose

products. It's important for marketing to know the customer behavior by using different

strategies. There are so many different ways to influence customers like new products,

promotions, advertisement, good quality and price etc.
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Customer behavior analysis is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer

playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an

influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-

discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance

of the customer or buyer. Customer behaviour analysis aims to ultimately improve

business performance through an understanding of past and present customers so as to

determine and identify future customers and their behaviour.

Customer-Focused Marketing

All marketing is done with the customer in mind. Marketing can in fact be referred to as

an on-going conversation occuring between business and customer. It is therefore

necessary for businesses to gain in-depth knowledge of their relative customers so that

the best marketing strategies can be employed in order to attract these potential buyers.

This can effectively be done by performing activities such as customer behaviors analysis

to ensure customer retention. Listed below are a number of tips to aid businesses striving

towards customer retention through marketing efforts:

1. Marketing as a Conversation:

Direct interaction with customers is necessary to essentially find out what it is that they

are wanting. This marketing conversation involves a process running from action -

reaction - feedback - repeat. Businesses need to be willing to take the time to listen to

their customers as this can ensure a business of putting something up for offer which is of

great worth amongst their targeted consumers, and is relative to their particular needs and

desires. It is required for businesses to constantly perform marketing promotion so that

these customers will come back for more. Giving satisfaction to first-time buyers can

prove effective for a business in the long-run for the reason that by giving customers

what they desire the first time round, customer retention is encouraged through this form

of customer loyalty.

2. Active Customers:

Making customers feel as though they are in control is an effective strategy in customer-

focused marketing. This is done by transforming consumers into active customers who

are given the ability to make choices for themselves by actively engaging in promotions

and, hereby, deciding on the best possible products and services their money can buy.


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Customer retention is encouraged through this interaction with customers which aids in

customer loyalty. Businesses need to make each and every one of their customers feel

good about themselves by giving them something to do. Therefore, retaining customers

means keeping them happy by keeping them active.

3. Determining Future Customer Behaviour:

This is most effectively done through an analysis of the actual behaviour of past and

present customers. Actual behaviour needs to be differentiated from demographic

behaviours (which are implied consumer characteristics). Actual behaviour is, as such,

better at predicting the future which is done by keeping a watch over the actions

customers perform with regard to online purchases and the products they purchase over

the Internet.

4. Allocating Resources for Marketing:

Businesses need to take their budget into consideration when allocating resources

for promotions. It is well-known amongst businesses that some marketing

activities will generate higher profits than others and data therefore needs to be

created by interacting with customers in order to consequentially identify the most

profitable promotions, which will be delivered to the right customer at the right

time, without wasting time or money. Hereby, effective marketing means

avoiding unprofitable promotion which will as such mean not reaching the right

customers and wasting money.

Customer buying behaviour

Process by which individual search for select, purchase, use and dispose of goods and

services, in satisfaction of their needs and wants.

Types

Minor new purchase these purchases represent something new to a consumer

but in the customers mind is not a very important purchase in terms of need,

money or other reason.


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Minor repurchase these are the most routine of all purchase and often the

consumer returns to purchase the same product without giving much thought to

other product options.

Major new purchase these purchases are the most difficult of all purchase

because the product being purchased is important to the consumer but the

consumer has little or no previous experience making new decisions. The

consumers lack of confidence in making this type of decision often requires the

consumer to engage in an extensive decision making process

Major repurchase the purchase decision are also important to the consumer

feels confident in making these decisions since they have previous experience

purchasing the product

Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process .

1. Problem Recognition(awareness of need)--difference between the desired state

and the actual condition were deficient? I.E., see a commercial for a new pair of

shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes.

2. Information search--

Problem

recognition

Information

search

Evaluation

of

alternetives

Purchase

decisionPurchase

Post

purchase

evaluation


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o Internal search, memory.

o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word

of mouth). Marketer dominated sources; comparison shopping; public

sources etc.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation, features the

buyer wants or does not want.

4. Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package, store,

method of purchase etc.

5. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product

availability.

6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive

Dissonance, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties,

after sales communication etc.

Buying behavior model

Maslows hierarchy of needs

Gaining a better understanding of customers buying behaviour is based on knowing the

following;

Awareness

Self Actualisation

(selfdevelopment,fruitio

n of one'scapabilities

Esteem Needs(recognition, status)

Social Needs

(sense of belonging, love)

Safety needs

(security, protection)

Physiological Needs

(like hunger and thirst)


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Reasons for buying

How often do they buy

Current usage

Reasons for usage

What do they buy?

Where do they like to buy?

Where do they gather their buying information

Are they an exclusive customer?

Customer loyal ty

The term customerloyalty is used to describe the behavior of repeat customers, as well as

those that offer good ratings, reviews, or testimonials. Some customers do a particular

company a great service by offering favorable word of mouth publicity regarding a

product, telling friends and family, thus adding them to the number of loyal customers.

Ten ways to build customer loyalty:

1. Communicate:- Whether it is an email newsletter, monthly flier, a reminder card

for a tune up, or a holiday greeting card, reach out to the customers.

2. Customer Service: - Go the extra distance and meet customer needs. Train the

staff to do the same. Customers remember being treated well.

3. EmployeeLoyalty: -Loyalty works from the top down. If managers are loyal to

the employees, they will feel positively about their jobs and pass that loyalty

along to customers.

4. Employee Training:- Train the employees and interact with customers. Empower

employees to make decisions that benefit the customer.

5. Customer Incentives: - Give customers a reason to return to business.

6. Product Awareness: - Know what y steady patrons purchase and keep those items

in stock.

7. Reliability:- If a purchase will arrive on Wednesday, deliver it on Wednesday. Be

reliable. If something goes wrong, let customers know immediately and

compensate them for their inconvenience.

8. Be Flexible:-Try to solve customer problems or complaints to the best of ability.

9. People over Technology: - The harder it is for a customer to speak to a human

being when he or she has a problem, the less likely it is that you will see that

customer again.


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10.Know Their Names:- Remember the theme song to the television show Cheers?

Get to know the names of regular customers or at least recognize their faces.

Customer loyalty model

This model is developed by Schelsinger and Heskett (1991). In this model explains that

effort spent in selecting and training employees and creating a corporate culture in which

they are empowered can lead to increased employee satisfaction and employee

competence. This will likely result in superior service delivery and customer satisfaction.

This in turn will create customer loyalty, improved sales levels and higher profit margins.

Essentials of customer care

1) Encourage employees to deliver high-quality customer care.

Make sure employees have good basic communication skills.

Train employees in job-specific skills.

Train all relevant personnel how to answer and deal with telephone calls.

Make sure employees can handle complaints effectively.

They should apologise, be sympathetic, listen, establish the facts, agree what to

do and then do it

2) Think of ways to make life easier for customers.

Try to save the customer inconvenience.


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Exceed your customers expectations.

Keep customers informed about any problems, and make it easy for them to

contact

Use your website to give customers the services and information they want.

3) Use appropriate technology.

A good database system can help you record, organise and plan your contact

with customers.

Make sure information from your website can be transferred to your main

database.

Contact management software may be a useful tool if you have a lot of high-

value customer accounts.

Company will need to explain the advantages of the system to employees, and

provide training and incentives for use.

4) Give customers a personalised service.

A common way to achieve this is by giving each customer an account manager.

Personalise all communication.

Personalise the email addresses of customer-facing employees

If use computerised telephone systems, give customers the option of talking to an

operator at any time.

Customer retenti on

Customer Retention is the activity that a selling organization undertakes in order to

reduce customer defections. Successful customer retention starts with the first contact an

organization has with a customer and continues throughout the entire lifetime of arelationship. A companys ability to attract and retain new customers, is not only related

to itsproductor services, but strongly related to the way it services its existing customers

and the reputation it creates within and across themarketplace.

Customer retention rate:-- The customer retention rate refers to the number of customers

lost over a period of time. It is normally calculated by the percentage of lost customers
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versus existing customers over a quarterly or annual period, without tallying new

customer acquisitions

Customer life time value

Customer lifetime value enable anorganizationto calculate the net presentvalueof the

profitan organization will realize on a customerover a given period of time. Retention

Rate is the percentage of the total number of customers retained in context to the

customers that approached for cancellation.

Customer perception

Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information inputs to

produce meaning. IE we chose what info we pay attention to, organize it and interpret it.

Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and

touch.

Selective Exposure-select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if it

is linked to an event, satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes (sharp

price drop).

Selective Distortion-Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent

with beliefs.

Selective Retention-Remember inputs that support beliefs, forgets those that don't.

Factors influencing perception
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer


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CHAPTER III

COMPANY PROFILE


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Vodafone Group Plc is the world's leading mobile telecommunications company, with a

significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States

through the Company's subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures, associated undertakings and

investments. The Group's mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name 'Vodafone'. In

the United States the Group's associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless. During

the last two financial years, the Group has also entered into arrangements with network

operators in countries where the Group does not hold an equity stake. Under the terms of

these Partner Network Agreements, the Group and its partner networks co-operate in the

development and marketing of global services under dual brand logos.

At 31 March 2009, based on the registered customers of mobile telecommunications

ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the Group had 303 million

customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a proportionate basis in accordance

with the Company's percentage interest in these ventures.

The Company's ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the

Company's American Depositary Shares ('ADSs') are listed on the New York Stock

Exchange. The Company had a total market capitalisation of approximately 66.9 billion at

18 May 2009.

Vodafone Group Plc is a public limited company incorporated in England under registered

number 1833679. Its registered office is Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury,

Berkshire, RG14 2FN, England.

2.2 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

VODAFONE has been divided into 4 different Strategic Business Units (SBUs) which

comprise and confer major chunk of revenues for the organisation.


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These SBUs are as follows:

- EBG - CMBU

- EHNI - ABU

EBGEnterprise Business Group offers services and solutions to various corporate such as

VoIP, Post Paid (IOIP, COCP) etc.

EHNI and SMEEnterprise High Network Individuals and Small and Medium Enterprises

offers post paid connections to high network individuals and small enterprises. Having a

high demand, Post paid forms a major chunk of revenues for VODAFONE throughout

India.

CMBU Consumer Market Business Unit offers prepaid connections to the individuals.

CMBU along with EHNI gives huge edge to VODAFONE in its category.

ABU Access Business Unit is one of the most important Strategic Business Units of

VODAFONE. ABU along with the cities and towns caters rural India. ABU played an

essential in setting an organized PTB industry within India.

2.3. LIST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL


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2.4 CURRENT SALES, PRODUCT MIX

The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets

in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications,

Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects. Essar has a presence in more than 15 countries

worldwide.

With a firm foothold in India, the Essar Group has been focusing on global expansion

with projects and investments in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the

Middle East and South East Asia. Privately owned and professionally managed, the

Group is judiciously invested in the commodity, annuity and services businesses.

Forward and backward integration, as well as the use of state-of-the-art technology and

in-house research and innovation have made Essar a leading player in each of its

businesses. Essars abiding philosophy is to be a low cost, high quality, technology


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driven group with innovative customer offerings. The Essar Group was founded in 1969

by brothers Shri Shashi Ruia and Shri Ravi Ruia. The Ruia familys origins are in

Rajasthan. Sometime in the 19th century, it moved to Mumbai and set up its own

business. In 1956, Shri Nandkishore Ruia, father to Shri Shashi and Ravi Ruia, moved to

Chennai, capital of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, to begin independent business

activities. He mentored his two sons in the intricacies of business. When Shri

Nandkishore Ruia passed away in 1969, the brothers laid the foundation of the Group.

The Essar Group began its operations with the construction of an outer breakwater in

Chennai port. It quickly moved to capitalize on every emerging business opportunity,

becoming Indias first private company to buy a tanker in 1976. The Group also invested

in a diverse shipping fleet and oil rigs, when the Government of India opened up the

shipping and drilling businesses to private players in the 1980s. Then, in the 1990s, Essar

began its steelmaking business by setting up Indias first sponge iron plant in Hazira, a

coastal town in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The Group went on to build a pellet

plant in Visakhapatnam and eventually a fully integrated steel plant in Hazira.

Through the 1990s, with the gradual liberalization of the Indian economy, Essar seized

every opportunity that came its way. It diversified its shipping fleet, started oil & gas

exploration and production, laid the foundation of its oil refinery at Vadinar, Gujarat, and

set up a power plant near the steel complex in Hazira. The Construction business helped

the Group build most of its business assets. Essar also entered the GSM telephony

business, establishing Indias first mobile phone service in Delhi (branded Essar

Cellphone) with Swiss PTT as the joint venture partner. The 21st century for the Essar

Group has been all about consolidating and growing the businesses, with M&As, new

revenue streams and strategic geographical expansion.

2.5 MARKET POSITION

Some interesting facts about zoozoos:

On first look, these zoo zoos in vodafone tv ads may resemble animated cartoon

characters with an alien look or simply a stupid egg-head character with disproportional

white bodies and black dots for eyes and mouth.

But the interesting part is that zoo zoos are not animated characters but are actually slim

women actors from local mumbai theatres, dressed in white costumes that are stuffed

with foam to portray the characters.


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These characters are named zoo zoos, and are created by o&m. These ads were directed

by prakash varma and were launched during the ongoing ipl 2 series.

They are human beings who were made to wear body suits. the design of the characters

is such that one gets fooled into thinking it is animation, shrugs rao, which was indeed

the very illusion that had to be created. in a sense, it is live animation! He quips,

referring to the fact that it was all shot live.

To create large heads they used a material called perspex, which was again stuffed with

foam. Also, they casted only women and children to play the zoo zoos so that the thin

hands and legs made the heads look even bigger.

ADVERTISING PLAN OF THE VODAFONE

Vodafones partnership with mclaren mercedes series:

As title sponsor and official mobile partner of the vodafone mclaren mercedes team,

vodafone is raising its association with formula 1 to the ultimate level. We

have committed to a long-term agreement, starting in 2010. The sponsorship

demonstrates vodafones ongoing commitment to the formula 1 world championship, a

sport which continues to deliver massive global television coverage and which has

significant appeal for vodafones consumer and business customers around the world.

The title sponsorship including the team name vodafone mclaren mercedes and official

mobile partnerof the team gives vodafone; dominant title sponsorship branding on the

cars, drivers' and pit crews' overalls and helmets.

As we enter into this exciting new partnership the associative rights acquired provide

unique opportunities that will continue to raise brand awareness through the team name

and branding. The team partnership delivers a powerful integrated marketing platform

through advertising, hospitality, mobile content, handset offers and promotions and

through innovative activation will encouragepreference and loyalty amongst vodafones

customers.

Vodafone with uefa champions league:

Vodafone is in its second season as official partner and official mobile network of the

uefa champions league, the world's largest annual football competition.

Vodafone is delighted to be at the forefront of europes premier club competition. After

the successes of last season's uefa champions league sponsorship and the agreements


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announced in april to sponsor the uefa cup final and uefa super cup, vodafone is looking

forward to strengthening its position as a brand passionate about the beautiful game. The

uefa champions league is the world's greatest club football competition. During nine

months of every year, europes top 32 clubs battle it out for the trophy that proves they're

the best of the best. It's a sponsorship that delivers considerable value to vodafone and is

highly relevant to most of the vodafone operating companies. Football is the most

popular sport in the world. Huge numbers of vodafone customers are passionate about

football - and sponsorships help to convert this passion into a business relationship.

The partnership enables vodafone to deliver content including video highlights packages

and goal alerts from all uefa champions league matches to football fans on the vodafone

live! With 3g consumer service.

Vodafone tie-up with radio channel fever 104:

Vodafone tied up with radio channel fever 104 wherein the channel provides with cash

prizes of upto 1 lakh or more which is another promotion strategy adopted by vodafone

which was a success.

Vodafone sponsor of england cricket team:

As our sponsorship of the england cricket team comes to a close, weve got an impressive

line up to celebrate the 12th and final year of the partnership. This summer england will

once again embark on the quest for victory in the ultimate test of any england cricketer as

they take on australia in the npower ashes series; and as a vodafone customer, you can be

with us the whole way.

Vodafone soundbites

Vodafone sound bites explore every aspect of the global music scene. Featuring

international artists interviews at gigs and festivals, bands fantasy group line-ups, pre-

show rituals and performers describing their first time on stage, the programme brings an

authentic behind the scenes insight into the world of music.Vodafone sound bites is available on tv, via a website (www.mtv-

vodafonesoundbites.com)and on mobile (wap.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com) as a series

of twenty one, three minute shows. The website and mobile service carry additional

footage, as well as editorial and news elements.
http://www.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com/http://www.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com/http://www.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com/http://www.mtv-vodafonesoundbites.com/


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per second made the zoo zoos movements hurried and comical. Of the 29different zoo

zoo ads created for the ipl, there will be a new one everyday.

2.6 DIRECT COMPETITORS

Vodafone

TATA

2.7 FUTURE PLANS

4PS OF MARKETING MIX :

Product

Price

Place

Promotion.

PRODUCT :Vodafone having good range of services. Vodafone provides both postpaid and prepaid

services. Vodafone having good quality network which provides clarity in voice.

PRICE :

It having attractive tariff plan: Vodafone having 1paisa /sec it is applicable for

both prepaid and postpaid.

PLACE

It having good range of channels of distribution: As Tata already exist in this field of

telecommunications as Tata Indicom. It has wide range of channels of distribution to sell

Vodafone services.


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PROMOTION :

Advertising: Vodafone following different style of advertising pattern in TVs

and newspapers. Due to that reason it was reaching public very fast.

ADVERTISING MEDIA CHANNELS :

India - Vodafone, the youngest among telecom players in India to offer GSM, is

Presently banking on its services to garner visibility and a share in the telecom pie.

The launch of Vodafone also announced the intention of the brand to associate with the

thought 'do'. Vodafone, for the first time in the country, offered pay-per-second billing;

though other telecom providers have followed suit since.

The company has carried out a few adverts that highlight the brand's unique features and

some other topical advertising during Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali.

The latest from the GSM provider is the 'Friendship Express' TVC. The ad opens inside

train, where everyone is doing their own thing. A couple of the travelers don't like the

solemn mood and start humming the Docomo tune. Slowly and steadily, others pitch in

and soon most of the train is singing along. The ad ends with the super, 'Why walk alone

when we can dance together'.


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SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

STRENGTHS:-

First to introduce seconds tariff plan (seconds pulse)

Good brand image of Tata services

Having large variety of plans

Plans are affordable by any common person.

TYPE :

Pulse rate 1 sec

Price pack Rs.49

Validity life long

CALL RATES:

Local rates paisa/sec

Vodafone 1

Tata CDMA 1

Other GSM 1

Landline/CDMA 1

STD rates

Vodafone 2

Tata CDMA 2

Other GSM 2

WEAKNESS:-

Signal strength.Postpaid connections are not available as of now.

Customer services are not satisfactory.

Concentrating only on rural areas.

OPPORTUNITIES:-

Have a great opportunity to expand its services.

To introduce any new plans for internet users.


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Introduce 3G compatible services.

To introduce new combined plans like, SMS, Internet, Calling integrated offers.

THREATES:-

If signal strength is not increased it may lead to change in the network service by the

customers.

Tata has to clarify whether this 1ps/sec will continue till its lifecycle.

Heavy competition from all other network providers.

The Company is a part of Vodafone , and is India's leading provider of

telecommunications services. The businesses at Bharti Vodafone have been structured

into three individual strategic business units (SBUs) - mobile services, broadband &

telephone services (B&T) & enterprise services. The mobile services group provides

GSM mobile services across India in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business group

provides broadband & telephone services in 90 cities. The Enterprise services group has

two sub-units - carriers (long distance services) and services to corporate. All these

services are provided under the Vodafone brand. Its include

Voice Services

Mobile Services

Satellite Services

Managed Data & Internet Services

Managed e-Business Services

Voice Services

Bharti Vodafone became the first private fixed-line service provider in India. It is now

promoted under the Vodafone brand. Recently, the Government opened the fixed-line

industry to unlimited competition. Vodafone has subsequently started providing fixed-

line services in the four circles of Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu & UP (West).

Vodafone Services believes that these circles have high telecommunications potential,


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especially for carrying Voice & Data traffic. These circles were strategically selected so

as to provide synergies with Vodafone long distance network and Vodafone extensive

mobile network.

Vodafone Services, India's premium telecommunication service, brings to you a whole

new experience in telephony. From integrated telephone services for Enterprises and

small business enterprises to user-friendly plans for Broadband Internet Services (DSL),

we bring innovative, cost-effective, comprehensive and multi-product solutions to cater

to all your telecom and data needs.

Voice - Product Portfolio

Vodafone Services telephone services go beyond basic telephony to offer our users a

whole host of Value Added Services as well as premium add-ons. Each telephone

connection from Vodafone Services is backed by a superior fibre-optic backbone for

enhanced reliability and quality telephony. Few of the Value Added Services offered are

Calling Line Identification, Three Party Conferencing, Dynamic Lock, Hunting Numbers,

and Parallel Ringing etc.

Vodafone Services Voice Services provide Free Dial-up Internet access that is bundled

along with your Telephone connection from Vodafone . Its fast, reliable and gives you

unlimited Internet access.

Mobile Services

Vodafone mobile footprint extends across the country in 21 telecom circles. Its service

standards compare with the very best in the world. In fact, thats how Bharti has managed

to win the trust of millions of customers and makes it one of the top 5 operators in theworld, in terms of service and subscriber base.

The company has several Firsts to its credit:

The First to launch full roaming service on pre-paid in the country.

The First to launch 32K SIM cards.

The First in Asia to deploy the multi band feature in a wireless network for efficient


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usage of spectrum.

The First to deploy Voice Quality Enhancers to improve voice quality and acoustics.

The First telecom company in the world to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification

from British Standards Institute

Satellite Services

Vodafone Services provides you connectivity where ever you take your business Our

Satellite Services bring you the benefits of access in remote locations. Vodafone Services

is a leading provider of broadband IP satellite services and DAMA/PAMA services in

India. Our solutions support audio, video and voice applications on demand.

Satellite Services include :

PAMA/DAMA

BIT - Internet

VPN

Satellite based IPLCs for redundancy reasons

Managed Data & Internet Services


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Vodafone Services brings you a comprehensive suite of data technologies. So we are able

to support all types of networks and ensure our customers can migrate their network to

the future seamlessly. Our Managed Data & Internet services make our customers future

proof.

Managed Data & Internet Services include :

MPLS

ATM

FR

Internet

IPLC

Leased Lines

Customised Solutions

International Managed Services

Metro Ethernet

Managed e-Business Services

Vodafone Enterpirse Services, offers an internationally benchmaked, carrier class

hosting, storage and business continuity services.

A range of services that help to keep your business running the way you want- 24x7.

Thanks to our world-class high tech Data Centres.

Managed e-Business Services include :

Co-lo: Dedicated and Shared

BCRS Services

Web hosting
http://www.airtelenterprise.com/colocation.htmlhttp://www.airtelenterprise.com/colocation.htmlhttp://www.airtelenterprise.com/hosting.htmlhttp://www.airtelenterprise.com/hosting.htmlhttp://www.airtelenterprise.com/hosting.htmlhttp://www.airtelenterprise.com/colocation.html


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY


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Scope of the thesis work

Research methodology can be defined as, it is used to give a clear cut idea on what the

researcher is carrying out his or her research. In order to plan in a right point of time and

to advance the researchwork methodologymakes the right platform to the researcher to

mapping out the research work in relevance to make solid plans.

More over methodology guides the researcher to involve and to be active in his or her

particular field of enquiry. Most of the situations the aim of the research and the research

topic wont be same at all time it varies from its objectives and flow of the research but

by adopting a suitable methodology this can be achieved.

Research Design:

According to Claire Seltiz, a research design is the arrangement of condition and

analysis of data in manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with

economy in procedure.

Determining sources of Data:

There are two main sources of data

1. Primary data

2. Secondary data

Primary Data: It consists of original informations collected for specific

Purpose. Primary data for this research, data are collected through a direct source like

survey to obtain the first hand information is others resources are written below.


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Survey.

Face to face interaction.

Secondary Data: It consists of information that already exists somewhere and has been

collected for some specific purpose in the study. The secondary data for this study is

collected from various sources like,

Books.

Website.

Newspaper.

Financial Magazine. ( weekly , business world etc)

SOURCES OF DATA

The main source of obtaining necessary data for the study was Secondary Data.

This study is empirical in nature and hence secondary data is used to conduct the

research. The data was collected from the Internet by exploring the Secondarysources available on websites.

TYPES OF RESEARCH :-

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary Data: The secondary data constitutes of daily flows data which was

collected from websites respectively.

I will collect the Secondary data from following sources:-

NewspaperHindustan Times, Times of India, Economic Times

Magazine - The Times. Harvard Business Review, 4Ps

Website/Internet from different website


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BookCourse book/ Philip Kotler

Notes- Professors Notes

PRIMARY DATA-

It include direct contact with the General Manager, Questionnaire, interview with

project Manager and general manager with subordinates.

TOOL USED-

Excel sheet, pie chart, and histogram

SAMPLING METHOD

Non-probability convenience sampling


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CHAPTER-IV

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Key Findings, Results and Discussion:

In order to understand the various factors affecting the choice of service

providers factor analysis was conducted. After Studying analysis we came up with six

major components namely relative advantage, facility seekers, brand conscious, rational

buyer, influencersand opinion seekers.

On seeing through screen plot graph of the output, it is found that screen plot

starts from the 6th point onwards. So true numbers of factors are Component 1,

Component 2, Component 3.... Component 6.


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Factors affecting the choice of service providers

The choice of opting for service providers between public and private is majorly

affected by the relative advantage. Value-added services (VAS), number of free

calls/messages, low rental, low call charges, variety of tariff plans and attractive schemes

would affect the consumers choice in opting between public and private cellular service

provider. The public service provider has to concentrate much on this relative advantage

attributes which are emphasized by consumers.

Facility seeking has been regarded as the second most important component,

where consumer opine that quality of overall service and easy availability of cellular

connection provided by the private cellular services is far better compared to that of


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public cellular service provider, both in the case of rural and urban sector. The

respondents feel proud in adopting private service providers having good brand image

reveals about the brand consciousness. Rational buyer was the fourth significant

component. They are the consumers who dont goby peers/peoples opinion about the

service providers quality of services offered and they feel advertisement/media influences

them the most to go for opting private service providers. They are rational in purchases

made.

The next component has been named as influencers, as this set/group of

consumers buying habits can be easily influenced based on the opinion of their family

and friends recommendations to make choice in opting public or private cellular service

connections. An opinion seeker has been regarded as the least important component

affecting the choice of service providers. Proper guidance and information provided by

retail outlets affects or not affect the buying decision between private and public service

provider

This can be further analyzed as follows:

From value-added service, free calls/messages, low rental and call charges,

variety plans and attractive schemeswe can ascertain that component 1 represents

relative advantage.

From quality of service and easy availabilitywe can ascertain that component 2

representsfacility seekers.

From good brand image we can ascertain that component 3 represents brand

conscious buyers.

From dont go by peoples opinions and advertisement/media influence we can

ascertain that component 4 represents rational buyers.


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From friends/family recommends we can ascertain that component 5 represents

influencers.

From proper guidance and information we can ascertain that component 6

represents opinion seekers.

FINDINGS AND INFERENCES

It is found that Vodafone is the first company to launch prepaid 1 pec. p/sec.

services in the country.

The call rates are found to be at par with the other competitors.

The availability of the recharge voucher was found good. But some time it is not

available.

Most of the respondents found the customer care service is not satisfactory.

Nearly all the respondents told that Quick Problem Solving is desirable quality in

the customer care Executives.

The queries and problem of the customer were solved but not immediately, there

is a scope for improvement.

More stress was given on customer acquisition then satisfying the Existing

customers.

While conducting a survey it was found that still many people are not aware of

the term GSM and CDMA even they basic difference between them.

The voise clarity of GSM is batter than CDMA. When CDMA phones are near

any digital or magnetic instrument the poor crack due to interference and also

cross connection problems are faced by some of the users.


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GSM users are satisfied with good coverage strength anywhere.

Many people who are interested in internet connectivity and data transfer services

get attracted to GSM . As internet connectivity and data transfer is cheaper with

GSM.

It is found that international roaming facility is not so good as is should be.

Supplementary facilities like call wait call forward, call hold, call divert, call

conference is satisfied the users.

It is found that overall performance of GSM technology is good.

RECOMMENDATION

The availability of recharge voucher should be made available when required by

the customers. As this give the good impression about the company.

The network coverage is another asset for the companys image, which needs to

be preserved in future.

THE overall image of the customer care services was found to be good but with

some loopholes related to delays in problem solving.

The company should be more prompt in handling the queries and problem of the

customer, which is vary essential for the prepaid card so as to retain the customers

with the company in future.

The customer care executives should be more efficient in handling the customer

and also more friendly and polite their conversation ,while dealing with the

customer.

After sales service is required to be maintained properly, which is not up to the

mark.


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Call rates is affordable so it should be maintained at this level.

Many people are using mobile, but majority of them are not aware of the

technology they are using . many tine it happens that a person doesnt know

which technology satisfied his need. Hence awareness should be created among

them regarding advantages and differences in the technology.

Supplementary facilities like call wait, call forward, call hold, call divert, call

conference should be made more effective to attract customers.


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CONCLUSION

After analyzing and interpretation of the various graphs and findings I have arrived at the

conclusion that the overall satisfaction level of GSM prepaid customer is good. In some

reference and in other they are not satisfied. As Vodafone is a brand name in itself so

customer feel good for that and also expects a lot from that. And when their expectations

dont match with company service, whatever they provide, they become dissatisfied.

For long run process brand image and price plays a vary important role in success and

elements of brand equity are:

The awareness it enjoy, the advertising viewer ship it has the image or perceived quality

in the mind of customer, advertising association and symbol. Successful development of

brand equity that drives the mark position, persisting over long period of time and is

capable of resisting competitors.

The new competition is not between what companies produce in their factories, but

between what value they add to their products in the form of maximum customer

satisfaction, after sales service etc.


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APPENDICES

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study of cellular services provided by vodafone jims

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