CHAPTER # 1 - INTRODUCTION TO UFONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION Ufone understand the value of words and the need to communicate effectively and efficiently at all levels of society, which is why ufone’s primary focus is on U, Ufone’s valued customers bring strength to the company. With a fresher look than is accepted and appreciated across the board by people of all ages, we aim to connect with you and provide you state of the art services. No matter who you are, where you are, what you want to say, how you want to say it or how you feel, you are our focus. Because at Ufone, it’s all about U! 1.2 COMPANY’s PROFILE Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL ) that started its operations in January 2001 under the brand name ‘Ufone’. As a result of PTCL’s privatization, Ufone became a part of the Emirates Telecommunication Corporation Group (Etisalat ) in 2006. Since its inception, Ufone has focused on the people of Pakistan, empowering them with the most relevant communication modes and services that enable them to do a lot more than just 1 | Page
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CHAPTER # 1 - INTRODUCTION TO UFONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Ufone understand the value of words and the need to communicate effectively and
efficiently at all levels of society, which is why ufone’s primary focus is on U, Ufone’s
valued customers bring strength to the company.
With a fresher look than is accepted and appreciated across the board by people of all ages,
we aim to connect with you and provide you state of the art services. No matter who you
are, where you are, what you want to say, how you want to say it or how you feel, you are
our focus. Because at Ufone, it’s all about U!
1.2 COMPANY’s PROFILE
Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited (PTML) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan
Telecommunication Corporation Limited (PTCL) that started its operations in January 2001
under the brand name ‘Ufone’. As a result of PTCL’s privatization, Ufone became a part of the
Emirates Telecommunication Corporation Group (Etisalat) in 2006.
Since its inception, Ufone has focused on the people of Pakistan, empowering them with the
most relevant communication modes and services that enable them to do a lot more than just
talk, at a price that suits them the most. Along with the claim of lowest call rates, clear sound
and best network, Ufone offers its customers simplified tariffs with no hidden charges. With a
strong and uniquely humorous communication direction that has now become Ufone’s
signature across all advertising media, Ufone gives its customers many reasons to smile.
This customer focus and best offering has allowed Ufone to build a subscriber base of over 20
million in less than a decade. Ufone has network coverage in 10,000 locations and across all
major highways of Pakistan. Ufone currently caters for International Roaming to more than
260 live operators in more than 150 countries. Ufone also offers Pakistan’s largest GPRS &
Blackberry Roaming coverage available with more than 150 Live Operators across 105
In Ufone the hierarchy is very lean, in general the whole setup is centralized, all the matters are to be reported to the main company and all the policies and targets are approved at the
higher level. But at the department level the structure is decentralized.
Current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) & President of UFONE is Mr.Walid Irshaid Ufone’s Head Offices is in Islamabad
1.4 PERFORMANCE
Ufone’s operational performance has been very encouraging. Despite the stiff competition in
Pakistan telecom market which has led to reduction of prices to bare minimum level, due to
its aggressive policies and exercising strict control over expenses the Company managed to
improve its revenue and after-tax profit by 87% and 54% respectively, as compared to last
year.
1.5 MARKETING STRATEGY
Keeping in view the growth potential of the cellular industry there is no option but to be
aggressive in order to remain a potent force in the cellular industry. In order to extend cellular
network to new cities, towns and highways and enhance its current installed capacities in
existing cities, Ufone has finalized a huge network expansion contract amounting to about
USD 550 million, which will enhance the subscribers’ capacity by 10 million.
A strong focus will be on maintaining high quality of service, which is always a benchmark
of Ufone, increasing usage and exploring new revenue streams on value added services,
market visibility through various market initiatives to fulfill subscribers’ satisfaction and
demand and above all to increase the value of investment for the shareholders.
1.6 MILESTONE
Ufone is the only GSM operator with 2.5G GPRS services, which is the “next generation”
technology and offers
High Speed Data Services Through Your Ufone
WAP Data Services
Multi-Media Messaging Services (MMS)
First Class Customized Data and Voice Solutions for our clients including
mobile office.
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1.7 ACHIEVEMENTS
During 2006 Ufone successfully completed the network expansion of Phase 4 in existing as well as in new cities and towns which amounted to more than US Dollar 170 million. As a result the asset base of the Company has increased from Rs. 20 billion to Rs. 27 billion.
Ufone adopted the policy of simplified tariffs with no hidden charges, which resulted in positive impacts on total subscriber base, which has increased from 2,579k in June 2005 to 7,487k in June 2006.
Ufone currently caters for international roaming to more than 195 live operators across 119 countries and introduced International roaming facility for Prepaid subscribers in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Portugal and Kuwait with lowest rates, featuring no security deposit and activation charges. GPRS roaming facility is available with more than 75 Live Operators across 59 countries.
The Company has also been awarded a new License for providing cellular services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and the Northern Areas.
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CHAPTER – 2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
2.1 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS OF UFONE
2.1.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL
Five forces model or porter’s model is an analytical approach use to analyze a firm’s industry environment. Factors that are considered in five force analysis are as follows:
Threat of New Potential Entrants
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Threat of Substitute
Rivalry among Established Firms or Competitors
2.1.2 IMPLEMENTATION OF PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL
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Threats of new entrants
Competitive Rivalry Power of buyersPower of suppliers
Zong is the first International brand of China Mobile being launched in Pakistan. It is meant
to empower and liberate the people of Pakistan in every nook and corner of the country. It
will become a part of their hearts, their minds and bring about a change in their lives that
every one desired but few thought would be possible.
The core essence of ZONG is to allow people to communicate at will. Without worrying
about tariffs, network coverage, capacity issues or congestion. ZONG will be supported by
ground breaking communications, trend setting customer service and an unmatched product
offering which will redefine rules of the game and establish ZONG as a serious
contender for the number one spot. ZONG would offer its customers with entertaining &
innovative value added services and will empower them by giving a wide variety of products,
services & content to choose from.
We are privileged to be the pioneering country introducing this brand with others to follow.
And God willing, together we will also make ZONG a success story for others to try and
replicate.
China Mobile has already invested $500 million in Pakistan and has plans to invest more. The
company plans to increase coverage area by several thousand miles, including highways with
the capacity of 20m subscribers.
CHAPTER-3 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
3.1 Definition:
Collection and evaluation of data associated with customer needs and market trends, through customer focus groups, customer satisfaction measurement, field testing, etc
3.2 ANALYZING CUSTOMERS IN YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
The Customer Analysis section of the business plan assesses the customer segments that the company serves. In it, the company must
3. Show how its products and services satisfy these needs
The first step of the Customer Analysis is to define exactly which customers the company is serving. This requires specificity. It is not adequate to say the company is targeting small businesses, for example, because there are several million of these types of customers. Rather, an expert business plan writer must identify precisely the customers it is serving, such as small businesses with 10 to 50 employees based in large metropolitan cities on the West Coast.
Once the plan has clearly identified and defined the company's target customers, it is necessary to explain the demographics of these customers. Questions to be answered include:
1. How many potential customers fit the given definition and is this customer base growing or decreasing?
2. What is the average revenues/income of these customers?
3. Where are these customers geographically based?
After explaining customer demographics, the business plan must detail the needs of these customers. Conveying customer needs could take the form of past actions (X% have purchased a similar product in the past), future projections (when interviewed, X% said that they would purchase product/service Y) and/or implications (because X% use a product/service which our product/service enhances/replaces, then X% need our product/service).
The business plan must also detail the drivers of customer decision-making. Sample questions to answer include:
1. Do customers find price to be more important than the quality of the product or service?
2. Are customers looking for the highest level of reliability, or will they have their own support and just seek a basic level of service?
There is one last critical step in the Customer Analysis -- showing an understanding of the actual decision-making process. Examples of questions to be answered here include:
1. Will the customer consult others in their organization/family before making a decision?
2. Will the customer seek multiple bids?
3. Will the product/service require significant operational changes (e.g., will the customer have to invest time to learn new technologies and will the product/service cause other members within the organization to lose their jobs? etc.)
It is essential to truly understand customers to develop a successful business and marketing strategy. As such, sophisticated investors require comprehensive profiles of a company's
target customers. By spending the time to research and analyze your target customers, you will develop both enhance your business strategy and funding success.
3.3 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS & MARKETING
The customer analysis and marketing process allows your organization to identify and target the most profitable customers with marketing campaigns directed at various distribution channels. Integrating these channels allows for targeted sales force management and the tracking and monitoring of campaign results.
CHAPTER-4 SWOT ANALYSIS FOR UFONE
Ufone GSM is a Pakistani GSM cellular service provider. It is a subsidiary of Pakistan
Telecommunication Company Limited. It has a subscriber base of 20 million as of June 2009.
The company commenced its operation under the brand name of Ufone from Islamabad in
January 29 2001. During the years, Ufone continued on the path to success; the company has
network coverage in more than 5885 locations and across all major highways of the country.
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4.1 STRENGTHS
1. NETWORK COVERAGE Ufone has a network coverage in more that 5885 locations and
across all major highways of the country.
2. INTERNATIONAL ROAMING Ufone currently caters for International Roaming to more
than 230 live operators in more than 130 countries. Ufone has introduced International
Roaming facility for prepaid subscriber in various countries around the globe with the lowest
call rates, featuring no security charges and activation charges.
3. GPRS ROAMING GPRS roaming facility is available with more than 115 live operators
across 85 countries.
4. LICENSE FOR AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR AND NORTHERN AREAS The company
has also been awarded a new license for providing cellular services in Azad Jammu and
Kashmir and Northern Areas.
5. QUALITY COVERAGE
Ufone provides its subscriber with quality coverage and clear connectivity.
6. VALUE ADDED SERVICES Ufone is a host of value added services and data
connectivity with the best network in Pakistan.
7. LOWEST PRICES Ufone offers the most reasonable prices for its users.
8. REPRESENTATIVE OF PTCL Ufone acts as a representative of PTCL as it is its
subsidiary
9. PIONEERS OF MMS AND GPRS Ufone was the first to launch GPRS services and
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and prepaid roaming in Pakistan. The network also
allows Ufone subscriber to have high speed wireless data service.
10.SECOND LARGEST MARKET SHARE Ufone is the second largest cellular operator in
Pakistan with subscriber base of around 6.5 million and a market share of nearly 25%.
4.2 WEAKNESS ES
1. BEHIND ON EXCESSIVE DEMAND This is Ufone’s biggest weakness; company is
unable to meet the demands
2. POOR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Centralized structure failed to provide proper
guidance over instruction and policies.
3. STAGNANT PROFITABILITY As compared to financial assets, Ufone is not close to
expected profitability.
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4. OVERLY DEPENDENT ON PTCL Since, it is a subsidiary of PTCL IT is dependent on
PTCL.
5. LACK OF FRNACHISE It has many franchises in the whole country but as its customers
are increasing day by day so its present franchises are not enough to fulfill the needs of it
customers.
6. LACK OF INNOVATIVE SERVICES Ufone though has some unique and distinct
services but it has not yet given many innovative services as compared to other cellular
companies.
7. NETWORK COVERAGE Its coverage on Southern part of Pakistan is quite good but in
northern areas its coverage is a bit poor.
8. COMPETETION When Ufone came into the seen in Pakistan cellular market Mobilink
was already prevailing in the market and it was all Mobilink monopoly that time. Though
with the passage of time Ufone took many customers of Mobilink but still Mobilink has large
number of users because it was first to Pakistan’s cellular market and this is the competitive
disadvantage to Ufone.
9. INTERNAL PROBLEMS Ufone is plagued with some internal problems like when it is
privatized to Etisalaat being the part of the PTCL many employees were not happy with the
pay scale that they were offering.
4.3 OPPURTUNIT IES
1. CONTINUING TO EXPAND GLOBALLY Ufone has the ability to expand globally. But
due to current economic condition all its operation on halt.
2. PUBLICITY AND MARKETING With the right marketing strategy they can acquire
much more.
3. DEVELOP NEW VALUE ADDED SERVICE This is an opportunity that will never be
satisfied, meaning that Ufone should always be attempting to keep improving new value
added services and as we know what is in today will be out tomorrow.
4. INTRODUCE KIOSK TECHNOLOGY Ufone can surprise its competitors by introducing
“Ufone kiosk”. These will be ATM like machines and that will give 24-hour service to Ufone
subscribers to load the balance just like they take money from ATM.
5. DEVELOP FRANCHISE IN REMOTE AREAS Ufone should develop some new
franchises in remote areas so that people will get more and more benefit from it and it will
help to increase their customers. Ufone should extend its network coverage area to Northern
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part of the country as well because in that part not too many companies are giving services
and if Ufone give its service there then it will definitely attract people and its number of
customers will shoot like a rocket.
4.4 THREAT S
1. GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE Government interference in terms of taxes will
always be treated as a threat.
2. PTCL CELLULAR LICENSE
Ufone is nothing just a cellular license to PTCL, PTCL should provide more financial support
to enhance profitability of its subsidiary company.
3. PENSION PAYOUTS Part of this threat is their own doing and other is simply
unavoidable. Ufone is responsible for providing generous pension benefits to its employees,
which at time seems like a great idea, however they are now experiencing problems as more
and more people begin to collect.
4. INCREASED HEALTH CARE COSTS Ufone, like many large companies with quality
employees’ health care benefits, is experiencing a large financial hit that only get worse as
time continues as compare to other cellular firms
CHAPTER 5 MA RKETING STRATEGIES
5.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION
Cellular service market is a diverse set of people. Ufone as well as other cellular service companies segment their market on four bases: - economy, age, gender & occupation.
I. ECONOMY : Upper class, Middle class, socio-economic class, lower class
II. AGE : Teenagers, youngsters, middle age, aged people
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III. GENDER : Male & Female
IV. OCCUPATION : corporate class, Business class, working class etc
5.2 TARGET MARKETS
Cellular phones are the technology of new era, the 21st century. These cellular phones are the main focus of our youngsters. All the cellular companies are targeting The Youth one way or other. Ufone is no longer a follower in this race. Its main focus is “THE YOUTH” of Pakistan which is its Target Market.
Target marketing strategy
Ufone has always been targeting Youth Market by using young brand endorsers or ambassadors. It always brings such packages and offers that precisely meet the needs of our young people. No doubt it has also launched packages, brands and offers for working people, business class, ladies and aged ones. Ufone seeks to target masses in the long run.
5.3 POSITIONING
Positioning is the process of creating an image of company’s brand in the mind of market. Companies position themselves emotionally, functionally or on the basis of brand quality. Ufone is still a market challenger in comparison to market leader MOBILINK. It is still to reach to the top most position of cellular companies. So Ufone positions itself on the basis of its services.
Ufone’s former Positioning Statement:
“Everybody Loves to Ufone Prepay “
Ufone’s new Positioning Statement:
“Ufone tum hi toh ho! “
Or
“It’s All About U”
Ufone positioning strategy:
Ufone changed the image of mobile phones from a luxury only affordable by the elite, to a necessity affordable by the common man. Since its inception, Ufone has positioned its brand for “MASSES” on the basis of services it is providing and its lowest call rates. It makes them believe that it satisfies the needs of everyone (viz all classes, age & genders). It tells them that Ufone is there when anybody needs it. The brand name UFONE itself is a positioning statement.
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5.4 DIFFERENTIATION
In these days of intense competition marketers find it hard to differentiate their services from those of competitors. Now customer care about only price. An unsatisfied customer will immediately go for brand switching. Thus leaving a customer unsatisfied and not meeting his/her demands is out of question for marketers.
Differentiation Strategy:
Ufone has always strategized in satisfying the demands of its customers. In doing so it has been successful in differentiating itself in terms of:-
Price Quality service Technology
5.5 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
With 28 million mobile users in Pakistan, Ufone is having a subscriber base of around 7 million. Ufone is showing a remarkable growth rate. It is maintaining a healthy customer relationship through its “customer service centers” and “call centers”. Its department of “Customer Operations” is specially designed for maintaining Customer Relationships.
Customer Relationship Strategy:
Ufone strategize to build and maintain strong customer relationships in order to build long-term customer loyalty and to capture customer lifetime value. In this context Ufone has been training its internees and permanent employees in the fine art of interacting with customers. It is also strategizing to offer gifts & rewards for its long-term customers in its PostPay to match the wonderful customer relationship strategy of INDIGO.
5.6 TOTAL MARKET ORIENTATION
Total Market Orientation is about understanding and meeting customer’s expressed and latent needs.
Strategy:
Ufone has always considered the ever growing needs of low call rates and quality service. It has provided its customers their needed packages and has introduced such brands & packages that meet customer’s latent needs as well. For example 5 ka 15 is result of a latent need of women of our society. They plan to make a short call but it becomes a long one unintentionally due to gossips and chit chats J
5.7 MARKETING MIX
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1 - PRODUCT/SERVICES
Ufone is a service providing company. Service is any intangible product that consists of activities, benefits or satisfactions offered for sale.
Strategy:
Ufone makes strategies to provide a better cellular telephonic service which excels its competitors at all levels. When Ufone launches a new package in a market, it actually makes it a complete package of core benefit, design, features, brand name, quality, and after sale service.
2 - PRICE
Cellular service providers are facing intense price competition in contemporary market. Customers perceive pricing as the heart of brand selection. Price has always been the core differentiation of Ufone. Ufone is the one who is offering least call rates off-network.
Strategy :
Ufone strategize to capture the existing pricing needs of its customers and use it well on occasional or timely basis. For example Ufone offered very good call rates on international calls in Eid days. It offered hourly call rates in Ramadan when people were least likely to avail the offer that much that it might prove unprofitable for Ufone. It was a fantastic strategy to beautify the brand image in term of pricing in customer’s minds as well as remain profitable in doing so. Ufone follows market penetration pricing strategy and dynamic pricing strategy to meet the customer needs and ever changing price competition.
3 – PLACE
Place plays a very important part in the distribution and promotion of services.
Competitors of Ufone are seeking to penetrate into places where others haven’t reached. Cellular service providers are drastically widening their network & coverage in every area of Pakistan. Mobilink has this edge in place excellence because it is the pioneer in cellular telephonic field.
Strategy :
Ufone strategize to widen its coverage to all places in Pakistan in order to meet the requirements of its increasing customer base. Now Ufone is heading from cities to remote
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northern areas in expanding its network. Ufone has intensive promotion in cities, but it is also considering improving its promotion in rural areas as well.
4 - PROMOTION
Ufone believes in Integrated Marketing Communication which is a carefully blended mix of promotion tools. Ufone employ different marketing activities and channels to communicate and deliver value to customer. These activities are coordinated to provide maximum communication output. These communication channels includes:-
Advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing & personal selling.
Ufone strategize to carry out promotion in order to increase its market share.
Strategy :
Advertising (discussed later) Sales Promotion (discussed later) Public Relations : Ufone is less conscious of developing its general
public relations. But recently it has launched its “Hajj Guide” service on Ufone. It avoids getting in news stories and controversies but sometimes it proves inevitable.
Direct Marketing : Ufone employ on-road umbrella franchises where the directly market and sell their connections and Sims.
Personal Selling : Ufone administer personal selling facility to sell their PostPay connections targeting well to do people and businessmen
› It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Ufone has placed itself where it is now through brilliant promotions.
CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS
I observed a trend of aggressive marketing and advertisement by the
mobile operators in Pakistan. They proudly announce 50 paisa, 3 paisa, 1 paisa call rates. Trying to one-up other competitors, the advertisements emphasize the lowest possible rate to grab the consumer attention.
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In reality the low rates being advertised come up with many
conditions. To figure it out one has to read the fine print carefully that usually marked with * (asterisk). I think this is unfair to the consumers and we need to criticize this trend which some may characterize as deceptive marketing.
Pakistan has remarkable growth in telecommunication industry. It is
found that 75% population of Pakistan has mobile phones and the counting is increasing day by day. PTA recorded customers are about 98 million. This is huge craze in mobile industry.
Since I am working on this project, I found some irregularities:
Network Connectivity ProblemPeople are worried about cellular service they often complaint that cellular operators are not willing to enhance their services. Caller feels disturbance, busy network, and unauthorized call ending.
Dirty SMSCellular operators provide bundle SMS / MMS offers which results huge load on networks. Bundle offers also cause dirty and unethical jokes and SMS.
Rough/Unreal Ideas in AdvertisingMany cellular service companies are using rough ideas for TV advertisement. Specially prepaid products are not belonging to realities. The imagination is not attractive and not belongs to human.
Too Much AdvertisementCellular companies are having bombardment of advertisement on TV channels. People are fading up with this type of unnecessary advertisements.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Installation of equipment with professional engineers
Cellular companies must understand the worth of their presence in the market. If there is a growth, there is immense competition. Cellular companies should pay attention on the service which is providing to customers. They just spend on their network growth but don’t realize the value of service. Advanced Technological equipment should be
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installed with professional engineers this will benefit the consumers.
Call Rates & SMS Bundle offer
Companies should minimize the call rates instead of SMS rates. Low SMS rates causing dirty and non-sense jokes which is building unsecured society. Adults are wasting their time in sending and receiving unnecessary messages on mobile phone.
Attractive Advertising
After having comments on advertising campaigns with different living standards, I observed that companies are not efficient in advertising. Mostly cellular advertisers are using rough and unreal ideas which are not changing consumer’s perception towards any cellular service. Marketers should convince in polite way instead of Bhangra style. Companies should implement the effective advertising strategies which affect the consumer and easily deliver message.
Control on Advertising and Budget
Too much advertising lost its importance; companies should control the spots of advertising. They should avoid too much repetition of ad. People faded up and don’t want to watch ads. They should educate the people and give proper complete message against call rates and other value added services.
Companies spend much money on advertising campaigns; they should
control it and pay attention on service.
CONCLUSION
Telecom industry is most growing industry of Pakistan still huge investment required for coverage. The market also has strong competition after the entrance of China Mobile Company as player. Competitors are hiring professionals to entertain the consumer which is resulting technological implementation and value added services.
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Ufone is a place where one can live his dreams and pursue a career
that reflects his skills and passions. People in Ufone give flexibility for change, the opportunity to learn, and providing career options with endless possibilities The managers at Ufone believes that all employees have a right to offer input and be involved in helping their organization grow.
All departments are working together and they wants to create a work
environment in which employees can improve their minds, continuously learn, gain professional growth and feel inspired by similarly motivated individuals. The Ufone takes pride in providing the best possible working environment. They take a constant interest in ones progress by conducting evaluations and offering the support and resources one needs.
I reveal some complications in “Findings”. It has been analyzed that
people are concerned about call rates they do not prefer any particular company. Consumer searches good service with lowest call rates, although companies are minimizing call rates this will result more growth in the market and to meet the customer needs by satisfying them.