Service

Overview of the service sector and its contribution in the economy

India is among the fast growing economies in the world. Services sector has been a major contributor to India’s

GDP and growth. It is the second largest employer after agriculture. India’s trade in services have increased

overtime and services accounts for the largest share in India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and

outflows.

In India, growth in services sector has been linked to the liberalisation and reforms of the 1990s. In the first

three decades (1950s to 1970s) after India’s independence in 1947, GDP grew at an average decadal growth rate

of less than four percent. Services sector started to grow in the mid-1980s but growth accelerated in the 1990s

when India initiated a series of economic reforms after the country faced a severe balance of payment crisis.

Reforms in the services sector were a part of the overall reform process, which led to privatization, removal of

FDI restrictions and streamlining of the approval procedures, among others.

Services sector can be classified either by using the country’s own definition or by using the United Nations

Central Product Classification (UNCPC). The UNCPC is used as a basis for international negotiations like the

WTO. In India, the National Industrial Classification (NIC) provides classifications for services. Since the

services sector has evolved over the years and the modes of services delivery have undergone changes, the

UNCPC and the NIC have also undergone changes.

The services sector, with around 52 per cent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014-15, has

made rapid strides in the past decade and a half to emerge as the largest and one of the fastest-growing sectors

of the economy. The services sector is not only the dominant sector in India’s GDP, but has also attracted

significant foreign investment flows, contributed significantly to exports as well as provided large-scale

employment. India’s services sector covers a wide variety of activities such as trade, hotel and restaurants,

transport, storage and communication, financing, insurance, real estate, business services, community, social

and personal services, and services associated with construction.

The services sector contributed US$ 783 billion to the 2014-15 GDP (at constant prices) growing at Compound

Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9 per cent, faster than the overall GDP CAGR of 6.2 per cent in the past four

years.

Out of overall services sector, the sub-sector comprising financial services, real estate and professional services

contributed US$ 305.8 billion or 20.5 per cent to the GDP. The sub-sector of community, social and personal

services contributed US$ 188.2 billion or 12.6 per cent to the GDP. The third-largest sub-segment comprising

trade, repair services, hotels and restaurants contributed nearly equal or US$ 187.9 billion or 12.5 per cent to the

GDP, while growing the fastest at 11.7 per cent CAGR over the period 2011-12 to 2014-15.

Overview of the Telecom industry and its contribution in the service sector

The Indian telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. Government policies and

regulatory framework implemented by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have provided a

conducive environment for service providers. This has made the sector more competitive, while enhancing the

accessibility of telecommunication services at affordable tariffs to the customers. In the last two decades, the

Indian Telecom Sector and mobile telephony in particular has caught the imagination of India by

revolutionizing the way we communicate, share information and through its staggering growth helped million

way to stay connected. This growth, however has and continues to be the cost of climate, powered by an

unsustainable and inefficient model of energy generation and usage. Simultaneously, thus growth has also

come at significant and growing loss to the state exchequer, raising fundamental questions on the future

business and operation model of the telecom sector.

Telecommunication services are globally recognized as one of the driving forces for overall economic

development in a nation. They are also one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and

modernization of various sectors of the economy. The government of India recognizes this fact and hence, has

taken several major initiatives to provide a business friendly environment for companies in this sector.

Driven by 3G and 4G services, it is expected that there will by huge machine-to-machine (M2M) growth in

India in 2016-2017, according to UST Global. There is also a lot of scope for growth of M2M services in the

government’s ambitious US$ 1.1 billion smart city program. The rapid strides in the telecom sector have been

facilitated by liberal policies of the Government of India that provide easy market access for telecom

equipment and a fair regulatory frameworks for offering telecom services at affordable prices. According to

study by GSMA, it has been expected that Smartphone will account for two out of three mobile connections

globally by 2020 and India is all set to become the fourth largest Smartphone market.

Profile of the Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across

Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 4 mobile service

providers globally in terms of subscribers. It is established July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company.

In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed

line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international

long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G, 4G wireless services and

mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had nearly 351 million customers across its operations at the end of Dec

2015.

A brief fact sheet:-

Proportionate revenue

Rs. 240,659 million (ended Dec 31, 2015-Audited)

Rs. 232,171 million (ended Dec 31, 2014-Audited)

As per IFRS Accounts

Proportionate EBITDA

Rs. 84,748 million (ended Dec  31, 2015 - Audited)

Rs. 78,276 million (ended Dec 31, 2014- Audited)

As per IFRS Accounts

Shares in issue 3997.4 Mn shares as at Dec 31, 2015

ListingsBombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE)

National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

Stock exchange symbolNSE-BHARTIARTL

BSE – 532454

Market capitalisation customer base

India: 243,289,000

GSM mobile; 3,597,000 –

Tele media customers and 11,106,000- Digital TV Services 

(status as on Dec 31, 2015)

Africa: 82,070,000 GSM mobile customers,

SA: 10,792,000 mobile customers

(status as on Dec 31, 2015)

Products and services offered by the company:

Mobile Prepaid

Postpaid

Broadband & Internet

Speed on demand

Airtel PC secure

Airtel Net PC

IPTV

Digital TV Data and IP Solutions

Wireless Internet

Data Card

USB Modem

Calling Cards  

International Calling Cards

Airtel Call Home

Airtel World Calling Cards

Voice Solutions Conferencing

Milestones:2014    Airtel crosses 200 million mobile customer mark in India

2013    Airtel signs definitive agreement to fully acquire Warid Uganda 

2012    Bharti Airtel move one notch in the world wide ranking to be the fourth largest mobile

operator in the world in terms of subscribers. 

2011     Bharti Airtel and other global telcos launch EIG for Commercial use

2011     Bharti Airtel partners with Savvis for enhancing Managed Service offerings 

2010     Bharti Airtel launches high capacity direct terrestrial link between India and China

2010     Bharti Airtel rated as India’s Best Enterprise Connectivity Provider

2010     Bharti Airtel launches Global Data Services in Thailand & Malaysia 

Achievements/ recognition

Bharti Airtel ranked fourth in Transparency 2013

Airtel wins top honours at the 7th Frost & Sullivan ICT Awards 2008

Bharti Airtel hs been awarded the 'Best Cellular Service Provider' and 'Best Broadband Service Provider' at

the 2008 V&D 100 Awards.

Bharti Airtel has been voted as India 's most innovative company , in a survey conducted by The Wall Street

Journal.

Airtel has been voted the 2nd Most Trusted Service Brand in the Annual Economic Times–Brand Equity,

Most Trusted Brands survey.

Airtel has won the Platinum Trusted Brand Award in the Mobile Service provider category in the Reader's

Digest Asia Trusted Brands Survey .

Airtel  bagged 'Wireless Service Provider of the Year' award at the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT

Awards.

Voted India’s most innovative company – in a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal in 2008 

Winner of the “Gallup Great Workplace Award”– Gallup Consulting, 2008 

“2nd Most Trusted Service Brand” – Annual Economic Times–Brand Equity, Most Trusted Brands survey

2008 

‘Best Content Service’ Award for its Farmer Information Dissemination Platform for Bharti Airtel’s joint

venture with IFFCO, IKSL (IFFCO Kisan Samachar) – World Communications Awards 2008 

Best Project Management’ Award for its Gujarat e–GRAM project – World Communications Awards 2008 

“Best Telecom Company” at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 

Best Carrier India for innovative products & services and efficient cost models and the Ovum Telco–

Transformation award recognizing philosophy and execution of a successful outsourcing strategy at the

Telecom Asia Awards 2008 

Sunil Bharti Mittal was awarded the GSM Association Chairman’s Award 2008. The highest honour in global

telecom sector, recognized his tremendous contribution to the development of India’s telecom sector

Sunil Bharti Mittal adjudged the “Business Leader Transforming India, 2008 at the NDTV Profit Business

Leadership Awards 

Bharti Airtel has won the ‘Most Preferred Cellular Service Provider Brand’ award at the CNBC Awaaz

Consumer Awards in Mumbai.

Bharti Airtel has received the prestigious Businessworld–FICCI–SEDF Corporate Social Responsibility

Award 2009–2010.

History of the AIRTEL

Bharti Airtel, incorporated on July 7, 1995 is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group,

has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the telecommunication sector. Bharti Airtel, is

Asia’s leading integrated telecom services provider with operations in India and Sri Lanka. Bharti Airtel has

been at the forefront of the telecom revolution and has transformed the sector with its world–class services built

on leading edge technologies.

Bharti Enterprises is one of India’s leading business groups with interests in telecom, retail, manufacturing, agri

business and financial services. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a

MoU with Wal–Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture with

EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection

and wealth management.

Bharti Airtel  is India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all

the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered

the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services.

The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU’s) –

Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile &

fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services

business offers broadband & telephone services in 95 cities and has recently launched India's best Direct–to–

Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV. The Enterprise services provide end–to–end telecom solutions to

corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are

provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel's high–speed optic fibre network currently spans over 90,205 kms

covering all the major cities in the country.

The company has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems – i2i

to Singapore and SEA–ME–WE–4 to Europe.

Bharti Airtel (Singapore) Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary was incorporated on 2nd April, 2007 and

will obtain a license to enable interconnecting the i2i cable with other submarine cable systems landing in

Singapore to provide increased onward connectivity to US West Coast and also to cater to connectivity

requirements in Asia Pacific and for carrying the business of International Calling Card Services.

Vision and mission statement of the AIRTEL

At airtel, they always put you at the heart of what they can do. they strive to enhance your experience with us

and build a lasting relationship with you by delivering better results every time. And this, reflects in our mission

too.

OUR MISSION

Hunger to win customers for life.

OUR VISION

Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win customers for life through an

exceptional experience.

OUR VALUES

We aim to work towards our vision, driven by our values of AIR - Alive, Inclusive & Respectful.

ALIVE

We are alive to the needs of our customers. We act with passion, energy and a can-do attitude to help our

customers realise their dreams. Innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit drive us - if it can’t be done, we’ll find a

way.

INCLUSIVE

Airtel is for everyone - we champion diversity, recognising the breadth and depth of the communities we serve.

We work with them, anticipating, adapting and delivering solutions that enrich their lives. We do this by having

an open mind and embracing change.

RESPECTFUL

We live the same lives as our customers, sharing the same joys and the same pains. We never forget that they

are why we exist. We act with due humility, always open and honest, to achieve mutual respect.

Key competitors of the Airtel

1)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (known as BSNL, India Communications Corporation Limited) is state-owned

telecommunication company in India. BSNL is the 6th largest cellular service provider, with over 57.22 million

customers as of December 2009 and the largest landline telephone in India. Its headquarter is in DELHI.

2)

Vodafone Essar formally known as Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in india that covers 23 telecom circles

in india based in mumbai. Vodafone Essar is owned by vodafone 67% and Essar group 33% . It is the second

largest mobile phone operator in terms of revenue behind bharti airtel & third largest in terms of customers.

3)

Reliance Communication, formerly known as Reliance Infocom, along with Reliance Telecom and flag

Telecom, is a part of Reliance Communications Venture (RCoVL). Reliance Communications limited founded

by late Shri Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932-2002) is the flagship company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani

Group. The equity shares of RCOM are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and National stock

Exchange Limited. The Global Depository Receipts and Foreign currency Convertible bonds are listed on

Luxembourg Stock Exchange and Singapore stock exchange respectively.

4)

Idea cellular is wireless telephony service company operating in all the 22 telecom circles in India based in

Mumbai. It is the 3rd largest GSM company in India behind in AIRTEL and Vodafone & ahead of state run

player BSNL. The company has retail outlets under the 'IDEA n' U" banner. The company has also been the

first to offer flexible tariff plans for prepaid customers. It also offers GPRS services in urban area. Idea cellular

also won the GSM associates Award for the "best billing & customer care solution" for 2 consecutive year.

5)

Tata Docomo is Tata Teleservices Limited's telecom service on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata

Group's strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices

has received a license to operate GSM telecom services in 19 of India's 22 telecom Circles-and has also been

allotted spectrum in 18 telecom circles. Of these, it has already rolled out services in all the 18 Circles that it

received spectrum in from the Government of India-Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Haryana-Punjab, Kolkata, Rest of West Bengal,

Jharkhand, Bihar, UP (East), UP (West), Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Organizational structure

Introduction about the marketing strategies

Marketing strategy has the fundamental goal of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive

advantage.[1] Marketing strategy includes all basic, short-term, and long-term activities in the field of marketing

that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and

selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing

objectives.

Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the individual business. However, there

are a number of ways of categorizing some generic strategies. A brief description of the most common

categorizing schemes is presented below:

Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are classified based on their market share or

dominance of an industry. Typically there are four types of market dominance strategies:

Leader

Challenger

Follower

Nicher

Market introduction strategies

"At introduction, the marketing strategist has two principle strategies to choose from: penetration or niche" (47).

Market growth strategies

"In the early growth stage, the marketing manager may choose from two additional strategic alternatives:

segment expansion (Smith, Ansoff) or brand expansion (Borden, Ansoff, Kerin and Peterson, 1978)" (48).

Market maturity strategies

"In maturity, sales growth slows, stabilizes and starts to decline. In early maturity, it is common to employ a

maintenance strategy (BCG), where the firm maintains or holds a stable marketing mix" (48).

Market decline strategies

At some point the decline in sales approaches and then begins to exceed costs. And not just accounting costs,

there are hidden costs as well; as Kotler (1965, p. 109) observed: 'No financial accounting can adequately

convey all the hidden costs.' At some point, with declining sales and rising costs, a harvesting strategy becomes

unprofitable and a divesting strategy necessary" 

Seven P’s of the Marketing

Products in the marketing mix of AirtelThe company provides a wide array of products and services. In order to retain the maximum number of

customers, Airtel has tried to provide as many products and services as possible in order to keep the customers.

The following is a list of its products:

Airtel Pre-paid services

Blackberry Wireless Handheld

Airtel Post-paid services

Value added services like instant balance inquiry, caller line identification, 24 hour recharge facility,

multimedia messaging service, call wait & call Hold, Caller divert, Airtel Live portal

SMS based information services

Voice mail services

Hello tunes, Ring tones,

Ringtones and hello tunes offers

Easy post-pay bill payment solutions

Enterprise Solutions

Price   in the marketing mix of Airtel The company uses competitive pricing strategy just like any other network providers because of the competition

which is present in this sector. However, Airtel also provides flexible pricing mechanism depending on the

prevailing market conditions. For instance, when the company relaxes taxation, it also reduces its prices across

all affected products. The make my plan introduced by Airtel was a smart strategy as customers could now

modify their plan as they see fit.

Place   in the marketing mix of Airtel Airtel’s penetration in India is quite impressive because the services and networks can be found even in India’s

remotest regions. Currently, gross subscriber base has pass the 200 million mark while the total wireless

subscriber base for CDMA, GSM and WLL is about 162 million. Clearly, the customer base of Airtel is strong

in India. It is also worth mentioning that millions of the network’s lines are added per year.

Airtel enjoys a well distributed network of distributors including even businesses like groceries and chemist

outlets. One of the things that have made Bharti Airtel a force to reckon in telecommunication industry in India

and Africa is that it has the strategy of making the first moves and emerging as a winner. It has managed to buy

Kuwait’s Zain and Tata steel in the past, making it a top 5 wireless carrier in the world by subscription.

Wider distribution network as compared to competitors

Network is widespread bringing many customers daily to Airtel

Fourth largest mobile operator in the world with presence in 20 countries

Promotion in the Marketing mix of AirtelAirtel engages in aggressive marketing strategy ranging from traditional print media to social network

marketing. However, the company’s recent rebranding efforts bombed in the market and were not received

positively. The company also engages in large scale TV and print advertising. The company frequently uses big

celebrities who endorse the services. The company also managed to create its signature tune from Oscar

winning musician A.R.Rahman which has become one of the most downloaded tunes in India.

It is also interesting to note that even such seemingly redundant activities like providing wallpapers and

screensavers to computer users has proved a very effective marketing strategy. The company also offers special

discounts and offers to its subscribers.

Apart from that Airtel has been hiring several figures from Bollywood right from the legendary Amitabh

Bachhan to Vidya Balan as their brand ambassadors. The God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar too has been a part

of their advertisement campaigns too. The advantage of Airtel is that I goes regional with its advertisement

efforts.

Some salient points about the promotions of Airtel are

Uses ATL and BTL activities

Makes an effort to go regional

Recent rebranding effort has failed in the market

Has good word of mouth and a good brand image second only to Vodafone.

Process in Marketing Mix of Airtel

Process innovations and continuous improvement through people involvement.

Problem investigation by Fact based – Root Cause Analysis.

Based on customer specifications, Airtel has many business processes on the following concepts:

1) Delivery time

2) Lead – time

3) Time to market

Result Oriented Approach- Each process has been designed by first planning the desired result. The targeted

results are then arrived at through identification of the following:

1) The next-customer and end-customer expectations.

2) Past experience of ―what went wrong and can go wrong

People in marketing mix of airtel

  The Target Customers- Airtel has poitioned itself as an aspirational and lifestyle brand, in a way that trivialises

the price in the mind of the consumer. It pitches not merely as a mobile service provider, but as something that

would give a customer certain badge value.

The Employees

The Board of Directors

Recruitment process

Physical Evidence in Marketing Mix of Airtel

The physical environment play an important role in shaping the services experience and delivering the customer

satisfaction.. like

1) Sim cards

2) Recharge vouchers

3) Call centres

4) Services centres