Final Project On Tata Indicom

CHAPTER I

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1.1 INTRODUCTION Communication has been one of the most important aspects of the growth of human society and culture. Telecommunications, the transmission of signals over a distance for a purpose of communication, is also very important. It provides business, money and market stability in the world. The telecom sector is one of the leading contributors to India's flourishing economy. Telecommunication Sector Opportunities in India assures a transparent, safe, and secured ambiance for the telecom market. It include introduction of Internet telephony services, privatization of VSNL, and introduction of a number of international long distance services sector. The opportunities in the Indian telecom sector is increasing at a massive pace with the introduction of newer and innovative schemes in various sectors and at present the telecom sector in India is claimed to be one of the major contributors in India's flourishing economy. TATA is a rapidly growing business group based in India with significant international operations. The TATA name is a unique asset representing leadership with trust. TATA Teleservices spearheads the Group’s presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, TATA Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle. TATA Teleservices has established a robust and reliable 3G ready telecom infrastructure that ensures quality in its services. Customer satisfaction in telecommunications will reflect the service delivery process as experienced by customers. The interaction between customers and the delivery system is effected via alternative contact points; each one of them will be investigated for its impact on the overall customer satisfaction. That is, the service delivery system can be decomposed into alternative customer contact points that shape customers' overall judgment about the

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organization. Each contact point may retain a relative independence concerning criteria of customer satisfaction such as personnel, speed, reliability, and pricing. The objectives of this study are to find the customer’s attitudes towards the TATA Indicom services and to know the reasons for cancellation of the services. This study helps to find out the factors affecting purchasing behavior of telecom products and to know customer’s opinion to the services offered by the TATA Indicom.

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1.2 Objectives of the study Primary objective: To study the customer evaluation of TATA Indicom services at Kerala market.

Secondary objectives:  To find out the telecommunication users in the Kottayam market.  To know the age and gender wise classification for usage of telecommunication facility.  To find out which all services have been tried by the respondents so far  To know the customer’s opinion about the competitors of TATA Indicom  To know the factors affecting the purchasing behavior of telecommunication customers.  To find out the attributes that affects the buying behavior of the TATA indicom service  To find the customer’s attitude towards TATA Indicom services  To find out the customer’s opinion about the hand set which provide by TATA Indicom.  To know the satisfaction level of recharge vouchers offered by the company.  To find the reasons for cancellation of TATA Indicom connection.

1.3 Problem statement Do the customer of TATA indicom services such as  Price  Coverage  Sales promotion  Offers  Customer service

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 Staff response  Advertisements have a significant role in customer decision.

1.4 Significance of the study Consumer feedback is providing the market reflections to the marketer. This enables them to gain awareness about their market performance and customer preference. The conducted study examined the customer satisfaction status on various service offerings by TATA Indicom and the major focus has given to draw the reasons behind cancellation of services. The results related to the said area are an eye opener to the marketer for identifying his gaps and fix it at the earliest. The ruling factors of today’s market is having a common axis named ‘consumer’, who is deciding the destiny of any firm in the market. Hence the study on related area is having significance to the selected telecom operator and since it is common to other operators in the same and related field, the problems that had drawn through the survey may be a reference for other marketers also. The researcher had gained familiarity and practical exposure to the real market world through the conducted study. This can also be a secondary source for other people who plan or are conducting studies in the similar area.

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CHAPTER II Profiles 6

2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE Introduction The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among 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 2007. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. 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 2007. 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.

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Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones Year 1851

First operational land lines were laid by the government 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 Cable Communication Company (IRCC)

1947

Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications

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) 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

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A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumers' income and spending owing to strong economic growth have helped make India the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. The first and largest operator is the state-owned incumbent BSNL, which is also the 7th largest telecom company in the world in terms of its number of subscribers. BSNL was created by corporatization of the erstwhile DTS (Department of Telecommunication Services), a government unit responsible for provision of telephony services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policies were revised to allow private operators, companies such as Bharti Telecom, TATA Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, Idea,Vodafone and BPL have entered the space. major operators in India. However, rural India still lacks strong infrastructure. In 2007, an article by Businessweek magazine reported that India's mobile phone market is the fastest growing in the world, with companies adding some 6 million new customers a month. The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 300 million mark on June 18 2008The overall tele-density has increased to 36.98% in March 2009 In the wireless segment, 15.87 million subscribers have been added in March 2009. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base is more than 391.76 million now. The wireline segment subscriber base stood at 38.22 million with a decline of 0.13 million in October 2008. Market shares of public and Private Players

Both fixed line and mobile segments serve the basic needs of local calls, long distance calls and the international calls, with the provision of broadband services in the fixed line segment and 9

GPRS in the mobile arena. Traditional telephones have been replaced by the codeless and the wireless instruments. Mobile phone providers have also come up with GPRS-enabled multimedia messaging, Internet surfing, and mobile-commerce. The much-awaited 3G mobile technology is soon going to enter the Indian telecom market. The GSM, CDMA, WLL service providers are all upgrading them to provide 3G mobile services.

Along with improvement in telecom services, there is also an improvement in manufacturing. In the beginning, there were only the Siemens handsets in India but now a whole series of new handsets, such as Nokia's latest N-series, Sony Ericsson's W-series, Motorola's PDA phones, etc. have come up. Touch screen and advanced technological handsets are gaining popularity. Radio services have also been incorporated in the mobile handsets, along with other applications like high storage memory, multimedia applications, multimedia games, MP3 Players, video generators, Camera's, etc. The value added services provided by the mobile service operators contribute more than 10% of the total revenue. Global telecom sector Earnings visibility Earnings growth is being driven by improving pricing conditions, stabilizing operating trends, aggressive cost cutting initiatives, a positive regulatory environment, strong wireless growth, and new market opportunities. This has translated into greater visibility of forward earnings as evidenced by recent increased analyst upgrades within the sector.

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Merger synergies Given the substantial amount of excess capital available in the sector and in private equity we expect to see additional merger and acquisition activity, albeit at a slower pace than recently witnessed. Global telecom M&A deals over the past two years have reflected market expansion but have also had a positive effect on the buyers’ balance sheets. Partnering companies have begun realizing their synergies through cost reductions and economies of scale. In the US, the largest three companies now account for over 70% of the sector market cap; this compares to 34% in 1990. Trends in bundled services are also paving the way for additional M&A activity. Sector consolidation will further increase the importance of stock selection. Growth While cost-cutting has been a major source of earnings growth, we have seen top-line pressures decreasing which will help revenues become a larger driver of earnings growth again. We see growth within the sector coming from a number of areas including: broadband, 3G (third generation) technology, expansion in emerging markets. Broadband penetration has been accelerating as internet customers are seeking faster downloads for audio and video files. 3G services, which facilitate the simultaneous transfer of both voice and non-voice (i.e. video, downloads, SMS, etc.) data are providing mobile users with a much more robust communication platform and should finally begin to realize their growth potential in 2007. Emerging market companies benefit from low penetration rates and also tend to have lower leverage, higher margins and higher growth than most developed markets telecom companies.

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Global opportunities It has become less difficult to find attractive telecom investment opportunities globally than it was a year ago. As the fog has lifted from the sector, there are increased opportunities within both the growth and value spaces. In the US, improved clarity in the regulatory environment has opened the door for a number of players. Within Europe the risk of negative news flow remains a potential detractor but there is valuation support from attractively priced stocks. There is little difference between the European and US integrated carriers making it more of a stock call than a regional call. Within Asia we see high revenue growth and return on assets. Overall, emerging markets continue to be the fastest growing region within the sector and offer the largest valuation discount. Additionally, the healthy macro environment in emerging markets coupled with increasing domestic wealth is creating a positive consumer environment in the local markets. Fortis Investments: Telecom sector strategy Our strategy is to create a more focused portfolio of diversified high conviction ideas. In the current environment we continue to be sensitive to relative valuations and positive earnings momentum. Our portfolio is largely levered to growth. We have positioned ourselves in companies that will provide synergies as well as margin expansion through wireless exposure. We recognize the sensitivity of the regulatory environment in some markets and have minimized our exposure to those markets. We also continue to overweight our exposure to

niche players within developed markets as well as to emerging markets which have low penetration rates and more growth opportunities. 12

2.2 COMPANY PROFILE TATA GROUP TATA is a rapidly growing business group based in India with significant international operations. Revenues in 2007-08 are estimated at $62.5 billion (around Rs251,543 crore) of which 61 per cent is from business outside India. The Group employs around 350,000 people worldwide. The TATA name has been respected in India for 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics. The business operations of the TATA Group currently encompass seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The Group’s 27 publicly listed enterprises have a combined market capitalisation of some $60 billion, among the highest among Indian business houses, and a shareholder base of 3.2 million. The major companies in the Group include TATA Steel, TATA Motors, TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), TATA Power, TATA Chemicals, TATA Tea, Indian Hotels and TATA Communications.

The Group’s major companies are beginning to be counted globally. TATA Steel became the sixth largest steel maker in the world after it acquired Corus. TATA Motors is among the top five commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world and has recently acquired Jaguar and Land Rover. TCS is a leading global software company, with delivery centres in the US, UK, Hungary, Brazil, Uruguay and China, besides India. TATA Tea is the second largest branded tea company in the world, through its UK-based subsidiary Tetley. TATA Chemicals is the world.s second largest manufacturer of soda ash. TATA Communications is one of the world.s largest wholesale voice carriers.

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In tandem with the increasing international footprint of its companies, the Group is also gaining international recognition. Brand Finance, a UK-based consultancy firm, recently valued the TATA brand at $11.4 billion and ranked it 57th amongst the Top 100 brands in 11 the world. Businessweek ranked the Group sixth amongst the .World.s Most Innovative Companies. and the Reputation Institute, USA, recently rated it as the .World.s Sixth Most Reputed Firm.

Founded by Jamsetji TATA in 1868, the TATA Group.s early years were inspired by the spirit of nationalism. The Group pioneered several industries of national importance in India: steel, power, hospitality and airlines. In more recent times, the TATA Group.s pioneering spirit has been showcased by companies like TATA Consultancy Services, India.s first software company, which pioneered the international delivery model, and TATA Motors, which made India.s first indigenously developed car, the Indica, in 1998 and recently unveiled the world.s lowest-cost car, the TATA Nano, for commercial launch by end of 2008.

The TATA Group has always believed in returning wealth to the society it serves. Two thirds of the equity of TATA Sons, the TATA Group’s promoter company, is held by philanthropic trusts which have created national institutions in science and technology, medical research, social studies and the performing arts. The trusts also provide aid and assistance to NGOs in the areas of education, healthcare and livelihoods. TATA companies also extend social welfare activities to communities around their industrial units. The combined developmentrelated expenditure of the Trusts and the companies amounts to around 4 per cent of the Group.s net profits.

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Going forward, the Group is focusing on new technologies and innovation to drive its business in India and internationally. The Nano car is one example, as is the Eka supercomputer (developed by another TATA company), which in 2008 is ranked the world.s fourth fastest. The Group aims to build a series of world class, world scale businesses in select sectors. Anchored in India and wedded to its traditional values and strong ethics, the Group is building a multinational business which will achieve growth through excellence and innovation, while balancing the interests of its shareholders, its employees and wider society.

CORE VALUES OF TATA Purpose At the TATA Group “ our purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities we serve. We do this through leadership in sectors of national economic significance, to which the Group brings a unique set of capabilities. This requires us to grow aggressively in focused areas of business. Our heritage of returning to society what we earn evokes trust among consumers, employees, shareholders and the community. This heritage is being continuously enriched by the formalization of the high standards of behaviour expected from employees and companies”. The TATA name is a unique asset representing leadership with trust. Leveraging this asset to enhance Group synergy and becoming globally competitive is the route to sustained growth and long-term success. FIVE CORE VALUES The TATA Group has always sought to be a value-driven organization. These values continue to direct the Group’s growth and businesses. The five core TATA values underpinning the way we do business are:

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Integrity: We must conduct our business fairly, with honesty and transparency. Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny. Understanding: We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for our colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the communities we serve. Excellence: We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in our dayto-day work and in the quality of the goods and services we provide. Unity: We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the Group and with our customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation. Responsibility: We must continue to be responsible, sensitive to the countries, communities and environments in which we work, always ensuring that what comes from the people goes back to the people many times over.

TATA INDICOM - PROFILE •

Brand Name: TATA Indicom

•

Network: CDMA 2000-1x

•

Network Coverage: 20 Telecom circles

•

Subscriber base: > 2 million

•

Market Share: 8 . 10%

•

Subscriptions: Post Paid, Pre Paid , internet facility TATA Teleservices is part of the INR Rs. 2,51,543 Crore (US$ 62.5 billion) TATA Group, that has over 80 companies, over 3,30,000 employees and more than 3.2 million 16

shareholders. With a committed investment of INR 36,000 Crore (US$ 7.5 billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a formidable presence across the telecom value chain.

TATA Teleservices spearheads the Group’s presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, TATA Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle.

Starting with the major acquisition of Hughes Tele.com (India) Limited [now renamed TATA Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited] in December 2002 the company swung into an expansion mode. With the total Investment of Rs 19,924 Crore, TATA Teleservices has created a Pan India presence spread across 19 circles that includes Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (E), Uttar Pradesh (W), Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and RoWB.

Having pioneered the CDMA 1X technology platform in India, TATA Teleservices has established a robust and reliable 3G ready telecom infrastructure that ensures quality in its services. It has partnered with Motorola, Ericsson, Lucent and ECI Telecom for the deployment of a reliable, technologically advanced network. The company, which heralded convergence technologies in the Indian telecom sector, is today the market leader in the fixed wireless telephony market with a total customer base of over 3.8 million.

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TATA Teleservices bouquet of telephony services includes Mobile services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wireline services. Other services include value added services like voice portal, roaming, post-paid Internet services, 3-way conferencing, group calling, Wi-Fi Internet, USB Modem, data cards, calling card services and enterprise services.

Some of the other products launched by the company include prepaid wireless desktop phones, public phone booths, new mobile handsets and new voice & data services such as BREW games, Voice Portal, picture messaging, polyphonic ring tones, interactive applications like news, cricket, astrology, etc.

TATA Indicom redefined the existing prepaid mobile market in India, by unveiling their offering . TATA Indicom .Non Stop Mobile. which allows customers to receive free incoming calls. TATA Teleservices today has India.s largest branded telecom retail chain and is the first service provider in the country to offer an online channel Http://www.ichoose.in to offer postpaid mobile connections in the country.

TATA Teleservices has a strong workforce of 6000. In addition, TTSL has created more than 20,000 jobs, which will include 10,000 indirect jobs through outsourcing of its manpower needs. Today, TATA Teleservices Limited along with TATA Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited serves over 27 million customers in more than 6000 towns. With an ambitious rollout plan both within existing circles and across new circles, TATA Teleservices offers worldclass technology and user-friendly services in 19 circles.

TATA Indicom Product Profile 18

TATA Indicom has three services Dial up internet, mobile connection, landline connection. Products / Services

Internet

Mobile service

Dial up internet Mobile internet Wireless internet

Prepaid mobile Post paid mobile Mobile mobile

Landline service

Wireless phones Landline phones

Dial-up Internet through landline from TATA Indicom, provides bundled dialup internet access along with Landline connection. This dialup internet service is activated by default for on customer’s phone, no separate subscription is required. Customers have to purchase an external modem or use PC/Laptop’s internal modem to connect to internet. After creating the dialer on computer,intenet facility will activate. Mobile internet:- TATA Indicom offers world-class internet service through the CDMA network.. Just connect TATA Indicom mobile phone, using a data cable to PC or Laptop & get started.TATA Indicom Internet through mobile service offers world-class standards for wireless Internet access. The benefits are: •

High speed Internet access.

•

No need to buy an external modem since your existing TATA Indicom mobile phone has one.

•

User can receive and make voice calls when no active data transfer takes place. 19

Wireless internet it is used with a USB modem, so we can use where ever we go. It provides high speed connection and free downloading. Prepaid mobile: In Prepaid service we make an advance payment for the usage i.e. to make calls and use data services. There are no deposits to be made for STD/ISD. These features are pre-activated. Also, need not wait for a bill to be generated to know the usage & then pay accordingly.

Features •

Free SMS

•

Roaming in over 2400 cities

•

STD & ISD Facility Postpaid mobile: In Postpaid service, the company itself generate the monthly bill to the customers. TATA Indicom postpaid mobile phone STD call charges are amongst the lowest in India for distances over 500 km with absolutely no additional-airtime charges Most importantly, TATA Indicom postpaid mobile phone offers superior voice clarity, congestionfree networks, high speed data access, and coverage in over 1000 cities. Mobile handset: TATA Indicom has the widest range of CDMA Handsets to choose from a range of the top CDMA mobile handsets from Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Huawei and Haier with low price. Currently available CDMA Mobile Phones: Samsung

 Samsung Duos Touch 20

 Samsung Mpower Muzik  Samsung Guru muzik  Samsung Hero B189  Samsung Super Hero mobile phones

 Mpower 309 mobile phones  Mpower 569 mobile phones Huawei  Huawei C2206 mobile phones  Huawei C2806 mobile phones  Huawei C2809 mobile phones  Huawei C5100 mobile phones Haier  Haier CG100  Haier C2030 mobile phones  Haier C200 mobile phones  Indicom Aurum  Radio Phone mobile phones  Sumukha mobile phones 21

BlackBerry  BlackBerry 8830 Smartphone  ZTE

 ZTE- CS130 Wireless phones: TATA introduced Walky Talky, are highly economical and easy to use. Features of Walky Fixed Wireless Phones •

Get Missed Call details

•

Send and receive SMS

•

Store family and friends numbers in the in-built phone book

•

Get Receiver Off-hook Alarm

•

Receive calls when receiver off-hook (after the alarm period)

•

Avail Hotline with timer facility

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Select from 10 in-built ring tones

•

Get alerts for unread messages

•

Talk more with 2 hours talk time & 24 hours standby time

•

Set Alarm and Reminder Alerts

•

Speed dial from Phone Book

•

Track calls with the Call Log Register

•

Dial frequently called numbers from memory and save time

22

•

Make an emergency call, even if your phone is disconnected

•

Install the phone without disfiguring your walls

•

Control cost with per minute alerts

•

Speaker Phone

Walky Wireless Service •

Savings on monthly bills by paying just landline rates

•

Roam at home

•

Retain your number even when you change home or office

•

Get a quick connection

•

Save using Group Call across wireline, mobile and wireless phones

•

Enjoy voice based Infotainment services*

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Avoid suffering dead phones or irritating linesmen

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Book a connection from the comfort of your home

Security Features •

Bar all calls except to select numbers

•

Prevent misuse with the Key Pad Lock

•

Enjoy enhanced privacy with CDMA technology

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•

Dial up through an in-built modem

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Surf the Internet at high speeds

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Receive calls when on the Internet

Landline phones: TATA Indicom offers instant phone connections. TATA Indicom Landline Phone services based on the state of the art Optical Fibre Cable-based backbone. TATA Indicom Phone Connections Advantage  Superior voice clarity  Instant and hassle - free connections  Accurate billing  Secure and tamper - proof lines  Responsive and friendly service

TATA indicom have more than 10000 retail outlets in a district. TATA have their own retail business unit located at all cities. These are: -

 HNI  BRBU  EBS  CMBU

HNI ( High network individuals) 24

HNI network is used for selling only postpaid products of TATA Indicom like data cards, walky talky, mobile phones. It provides after sales service also.

EBS (Enterprise Business Service)

The Enterprise Business Service function drives business growth & customer centricity by providing telecom related solutions to Corporate Entities. The EBS function also undertakes customer relationship management and retention along with revenue enhancement and channel management.

BRBU(Branded Retail Business Unit) The Branded Retail Business Unit looks after the retail chain of the TATA Indicom Exclusive stores. Branded retail has a national presence with over 3100 outlets comprising of 600 TTSL (Company) owned stores and more than 2500 stores in the Franchisee format Branded Retail outlets have become the touch points for its customers in more than top 1000 towns in India. CMBU(Consumer Market Business Unit) The Consumer Market Business Unit (CMBU) deals with the large and dynamic pre-paid segment of the telecom sector. CMBU has always offered to its customers with innovative

offers like Non Stop Mobile (Lifetime Validity) attractive bundled packages (handsets + connections), cheapest tariff plans, etc. 25

TATA Indicom has many promotional programs like  Television advertisement  Calls free with special recharge offer  Free downloading for internet facility  Handset Upgrade program for all the individual post paid customers.  Seasonal discount with purchase of handset etc… TATA Indicom products have different pricing strategies. There are two types of pricing strategies. They are market skimming and market penetration. Skimming means fixing at high price and selling to those customers who are less price sensitive. Penetration means fixing at low price initially. TATA Indicom follows their product by fixing the price at high.ie; market skimming. The price include the hand set and connection charge Competitors Competitor

Puls

s

e

Price

Incomin

Local

ST

g calls

rates

D

rate

ISD rates

rate s

Reliance

60

Rs

Free for

.99

Rs.

Rs.6

sec

.195

life long

price/mi

2.75

USA,Canada,Europe,Australia

n

, Singapore, Hongkong, Malaysia

BSNL

60

Rs.49

Free for

sec

5

like long

Rs . 1

Rs.

7.20

2.75

USA,Canada,Europe ,Australia, Singapore, Hongkong,

TATA

60

Rs

Free for

1.50 26

2.75

17.20

Indicom

sec

.489

life long

USA,Canada,Europe ,Australia, Singapore, Hongkong,New Zealand

CHAPTER III

27

Literature review And Theoretical Framework 3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 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 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 . 28

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 buying center, 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

The article named “consumer buying behavior in mobile phone market in Finland” by EMAC conference, Track : New Technologies and E – Marketing. The survey conducted

29

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 self – knowledge 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.

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6) Consumer perception The article titled “consumer perception and its choice mobile telecom service provider in Malaysia,Journal of International Business and Economics, May, 2007 by Ahasanul Haque, Ali Khatibi, Abdur Raquib, Shameem Al Mahmud. The study aims to find out what 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 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.

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3.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Consumer An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements

Customer A person, company, or other entity which buys goods and services produced 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 customer’s perception of the product or service and can be created by previous experience, advertising , hearsay, awareness of 32

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.

The main objectives of customer services are : -

•

Learn to identify and analyze customer needs and problems

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Recognize the most common reasons for customer complaints

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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 person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance in relation to his or her expectation.

•

Encourage face to face dealing

•

Be friendly and approachable

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Respond to messages promptly and keep your client informed

33

•

Have a clear defined customer service policy

•

Attention to detail

•

Anticipate your client’s 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 performanceoverall 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 34

•

As senior managers, only know about the tip of the iceberg, a small fraction of all the problems your customers encounter.

•

Service can be a major marketing 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

35

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 customer’s 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.

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

36

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 customerfocused 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. 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

37

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

38

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 customer’s mind is not a very important purchase in terms of need, money or other reason.  Minor re- purchase – 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 consumer’s 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 39

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-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. 40

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

41

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

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

42

•

Awareness

•

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 loyalty The term customer loyalty 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. Employee Loyalty: - 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. 43

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. 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

44

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.  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. 45

 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 retention 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 a relationship. A company’s ability to attract and retain new customers, is not only related to its product or services, but strongly related to the way it services its existing customers and the reputation it creates within and across the marketplace.

46

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 versus existing customers over a quarterly or annual period, without tallying new customer acquisitions Customer life time value Customer lifetime value enable an organization to calculate the net present value of the profit an organization will realize on a customer over 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. 47

Factors influencing perception

Factors

Factors in the perceiver

Attitudes Motives Interest

Factors in the target

Factors in the situation

Novelty Motions Sounds Size

Time Work setting Social setting

48

CHAPTER IV Research methodology

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY According to Clifford Woody Research comprises defining and redefining problems formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting organizing and evaluating data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fir the formulating hypothesis.

4.1 Research approaches

 Descriptive research :The research study is conducted through descriptive research. Descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way or to identify the cause of something that is happening. For instance, this research could be used in order to find out what age group is buying a 49

particular Brand of the product, where a company’s market share differs between geographical region or to discover how many competitors a company has in their conducting the research must comply with strict research requirement in order to obtain the most accurate figures / results possible.

4.2 Research design A research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or strategy adopted for the particular project.

 Sample size The number of sample is 110 from kottayam city, which fulfills the requirement. Each respondent is treated as a case of detailed analysis

 Sampling design Convenience sampling is used for this study. Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This non probability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random sample.

4.3 Data collection method For the accumulation of data the sources were primary and secondary data. 50

 Primary Data: These data are raw material. They are the measurement observed and recorded as a part of original study. They are original in character. The investigator or researcher directly collects this data. The basic form of obtaining this data is by observing and questioning. The Primary data was a detailed interview schedule with the help of a detailed questionnaire. The samples were drawn purposively from various areas for the relevance of the study. Discussions were held with the general, branch manager and executives of the company to design and execute the research

 Secondary Data: They are not originally drawn by the researcher as fresh data. These are collected by some other person for this purpose and published. These types of data can be collected through various sources. For this study the secondary data were collected from magazines ,journals , references and websites and manuals of the TATA Indicom.

4.4 Tools and techniques of analysis Percentage analysis and statistical tools were used in the study. The statistical tools used for data analysis are Rank correlation and hypothesis testing. ANOVA and t – test had applied for hypothesis testing. Rank Correlation = If Rank Correlation is negative we can say that there is no correlation between the variable, if rank correlation is positive we can say that there is a relation between the variable, if the Rank correlation is less than.06 we can say that there is a low degree of relation between the 51

variable, if rank correlation greater than .06 we can say that there is high degree of relation between the variables and if Rank Correlation is very nearer to 1 such as .99 we can say that there is very high degree of relation between the variable.

4.5 Location and Duration of the study The study was conducted among the consumers of Kottayam District. The duration of the project study was two months( May 25th - July25th 2009) 4.6 Scope of the study •

The study gives the information about the telecom market

•

This will helps to identify the customer’s preferences and their complaints towards the company.

•

The study will helps to the company for identifying the customer’s needs and wants.

4.7 Limitations of the study

•

Lack of Universal application: - since the study had been conducted only in a selected region and only in telecom consumers, the applicability of the study in different region and consumer products are restricted.

•

Probability based study: - Study is being done with the aid of Convenience sampling. Hence the entire customers had not been considered for their feedback and the inference drawn on the basis of selected sampling.

•

Business of the respondents: - Walk in respondents were busy with their schedule and hesitate to cooperate with the researcher and because of their rushing to home or office, they had completed the questionnaire quickly which may yield some inherent errors.

52

53

CHAPTER V Data Analysis And Interpretation

Table 5.1 Personal details

Age

male Married unmarried

female Married

unmarried

Total

Percentage

group Below

9

0

9

0

18

19.8

25 25 – 35

8

10

8

12

48

52.8

Above

2

23

4

25

54

59.4

35 Total

19

33

21

37

Interpretation

54

110

Majority of the respondents who participated in the survey are unmarried and above 35 age category. The conducted study had ensured equal participation of males and females.

Chart 5.1

Gender

55

Chart 5.1.

Age group

56

Chart 5.1 Marital status

57

Table 5.2 Employment status male

female

Age group Employed self empl

un emp

Employed self empl

Total

Percentage

unemp

Below 25

2

6

1

0

6

3

18

19.8%

25 – 35

7

9

2

4

13

3

38

41.8%

Above 35

8

12

5

8

17

4

54

59.4%

58

Total

17

27

8

12

36

10

110

Interpretation Majority of the respondents are self employed and above 35 age category. An equal proportion of male female respondents of different age groups had participated in the survey.

Chart 5.2 Employment status

59

Table 5.3 Availability of telecommunication facility

Responses

No of respondents

60

Percentage

110

100%

0

0

Yes No

Interpretation From the above data exhibits that the entire participants drawn randomly for survey is having telecommunication facility and hence the study is giving evidence for 100% telecommunication facility subscription by the Kottayam residential area.

Chart 5.3

61

Table 5.4 Mobile services tried out by the respondents

Services

No : of respondents

Percentage

Airtel

31

34%

Aircel

10

11%

TATA 62

indicom

110

100%

Bsnl

55

60.5%

Idea

21

23%

Vodafone

18

19.8%

Reliance

11

12.1%

Interpretation Since the survey had been conducted at the TATA Indicom outlet, all the respondents are TATA customers. Among the selected 110 customers, majority ie; 55(60.5%) had tried BSNL service, 31(34%) had tried Airtel, 21(23%) had tried Idea, 18(19.8%) had tried Vodafone , 11(12.1%) had tried Reliance and 10 had tried Aircel.

Chart 5.4

63

Table 5.5 Factors affecting buying behavior of the telecommunication

Factors affecting strongly Agree buying behavior of agree the telecommunication Offers

34

39 64

Neutral

disagree strongly disagree

14

19

4

brand image Coverage

12 109

35 1

24

22

17

9

20

25

28

28

advice by friends

11

13

18

42

26

customer service

14

28

28

29

11

Ads

Interpretation The major criteria for deciding the purchase of mobile service for most of the customers who had surveyed through the questionnaire is maximum network coverage. 67% of the respondents are looking for offers given by the service provider. Nearly 38% select the service provider upon the customer service given by them.42% of the respondents select the service provider upon the company’s brand image. 26% of them choose their service provider by the advertisement.

Chart 5.5

65

Table 5.6 Factors affecting buying behavior of the TATA indicom service

Factors

no of

Percentage

respondents offers brand image Coverage Advertisement advice by friends and family influence of sales promotion customer service

32 18 110 15 19

35.2% 19.8% 100% 16.5% 21%

22

24.2%

16

17.6%

66

Interpretation 100% of the respondents are considering coverage as the main factor for buying TATA Indicom service. 32 (35.2%) of them are considering offers for the selection of the service provider. 22 (24.2%) of them are interested in sales promotion tools like lucky draw contest, coupons etc by the company. 19(21%) depends on friend’s suggestions.18 (19.8%) of them are considering brand image of the company. 17% of them are choose the service of TATA Indicom by seeing their advertisement Chart 5.6

67

.

Table 5.7 User status of TATA Indicom services

Services

No of respondents

Percentage

Mobile connection

36

39.6%

Landline connection

49

54%

Internet facility

25

27.5%

Interpretation Majority (54%) of the respondents had tried TATA Indicom landline connection because of the less call rates offered by them. 39.6% of them had tried TATA Indicom Mobile connection. It includes both prepaid and postpaid services. There are not much users for internet facility. Only 27.5% of the respondents had tried internet facility.

68

Chart 5.7

69

Table 5.8 Satisfaction level of recharge coupons of TATA Indicom

Opinion

Highly

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Not at all

satisfied

satisfied

no of respondents Percentage

17 15%

32

19

23

19

29%

17%

21%

17%

Interpretation 49 (45%) respondents are satisfied with the recharge coupons offered by the TATA Indicom. (38%) of the respondents are not at all satisfied with the recharge coupons offered by TATA Indicom. So we can say that most of the customers had preferred more offers and other value added services like SMS offers, less call rates etc.

Chart 5.8 70

Table 5.9 Opinion about the services offered by the TATA Indicom

71

Services

highly

Satisfied

neutral

Dissatisfied

satisfied after sales

not at all satisfied

21

24

17

42

6

22

33

25

24

6

Offers

5

20

17

35

33

staff response

8

23

24

30

25

18

21

18

22

31

Availability

15

27

28

29

11

Price

11

15

19

39

26

service Coverage

customer support

Interpretation From the study we found that, 48 (44% ) of them are dissatisfied with the after sales services of the company. 45 (41 %) of the respondents are satisfied with the after sales services of TATA Indicom. 17 (15 %) of them are neutral in their decision and 55 (50%) are satisfied with the network coverage of the company and 30 (27%) of them are dissatisfied with the coverage. Majority of them 68(62%) are not at all satisfied with the offers Only 23 (28%) of them are satisfied with the offers given by the company. Since the TATA Indicom customers are not getting the information regarding recharge offers and other value added services, most of them 55(50%) are not satisfied with the staff response of the company employees.31(28%) are satisfied with staff response and majority of the respondents. 53(48%) of them are dissatisfied with the customer support. 40(36%) of them are dissatisfied with the availability of the TATA Indicom services.65(60%) of them are dissatisfied with the price of the product. The suggestions given by the respondents for solving their problems are: provide adequate information about offers and other related services, provide tower to all centers, give adequate training to the employees and provide recharge vouchers to all retail stores.

72

Chart 5.9

73

Table 5.10 Cancellation of the TATA Indicom services

74

Responses

No of respondents

Percentage

Yes

110

100%

No

0

0%

Interpretation Since the survey had been conducted among the customers who are cancelled the TATA Indicom services, all of the respondents had cancelled the service. Because of the various problems like hand set complaint, billing problem, less offers etc.

Chart 5.10 75

Table 5.11 Cancelled services

76

Products

No of respondents

Percentage

Mobile phone

41

37%

Landline

45

41%

Internet facilty

24

22%

Interpretation The survey found that majority ie; 45 (41%) of the customers had cancelled their landline connection because of various problems like phone set complaints, excess bill amount, after sales service. And out of 110 customers 41 (37%) of them had cancelled or migrate their connection from postpaid to prepaid service. 24 (22 %) of them had cancelled internet facility because of less coverage, low speed of the server, high price for downloading. Hence we can say that most of the services provided by the TATA is having customer complaints, which have to be addressed properly for customer retainment.

77

Chart 5.11

Table 5.12

78

Reasons for canceling

Reasons Customer service Not getting the bill on time

No of respondents 16 41

Percentage 15% 37%

due to address change Coverage Other

37 16

34% 15%

Interpretation The above table shows that 41 (37% ) of the respondents are having the problem of not getting the bill on time. This is because of either the address change or technical problem.37 (34% ) of them are not having enough coverage in their residential area.16 (15%) of them are not satisfied with customer service. This is because of the customers are not satisfied with the employees behavior when they approach for asking any doubts regarding the offers or other complaints.

Chart 5.12

79

Table 5.13 Customer preferred mobile network service for roaming facility

Services BSNL Airtel Vodafone Idea TATA indicom

No of respondents 29 30 25 15 7 80

Percentage 26% 28% 23% 14% 7%

Reliance

4

4%

Interpretation The above table reveals that 30 (28%) of the respondents prefer Airtel service when they are going outside kerala because they are attracting to the Airtel offers, coverage etc. 29(26% ) of them are prefer BSNL service. This is because of the wide coverage, customer service and offers.25 (23%) of them are prefer Vodafone services.15 (14%) of them are prefer Idea service. Least preferred services for roaming are TATA Indicom (7%) and Reliance 4 (4%).

Chart 5.13

81

Table 5.14 Hand set complaints

Complaint to hand set

No of respondents 82

Percentage

Yes

63

57%

No

47

43%

Interpretation More than half i.e.,57% of the TATA Indicom customers registered hand set complaint. Because of the battery complaint, key pad complaint, charger complaint. Only 47 (43% ) of them are not having the problem in hand set.

Chart 5.14

83

Table 5.15 Responses of customers for a dissatisfied TATA Indicom service

Responses

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree Strongly

agree Cancellation of the

disagree 30

31

service 84

24

17

8

Put the complaint and

28

28

25

23

6

Put complaint and cancel

17

17

9

36

31

Discourage others to buy

20

13

6

36

35

continue

Interpretation This survey found that more than half of the respondents 61 (55%) reacted in such a way that they will cancel the services without giving any complaint to the company. 25 (23%) of them disagreed to the decision of cancelling the services.56 (51%) plan to continue the TATA Indicom’s service after registering their complaints to the company and 29 (26%) of them are registered that they will cancel the service after giving the complaint to the company and 67 (61%) of them disagree to that decision. 33 (30% ) of them responded that they will discourage others from buying the TATA Indicom’s service. Chart 5.15

85

5.16 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND HYPOTHESIS TESTING

5.16.1 Opinion of customers of different age groups against the satisfaction of cost of recharge coupons offered by TATA Indicom.

HYPOTHESIS 86

H0= There is no significant difference between customers of different age group regarding their opinion about the satisfaction of cost of recharge coupons. H1= There is a significant difference between customers of different age group regarding their opinion about the satisfaction of cost of recharge coupons.

Age Group Below 25 25 – 35 Above 35

N 18 38 54

F .733

Sig .571

Table Value 2.45 Since the calculated F – value ( .733 ) is less than table value 2.45 and p – value .571 is greater sthan .05, the analysis of result is accepting the null hypothesis. I.e.:There is no significant difference among different age groups regarding their satisfaction of cost of recharge coupons offered by TATA Indicom.

5.16.2 Opinion of different gender category regarding cancellation of phone connection on dissatisfaction of service.

HYPOTHESIS H0= There is no significant difference between different gender category of customers regarding cancellation of TATA Indicom connection on dissatisfaction service. H1= There is significant difference between different gender category of customers regarding cancellation of TATA Indicom connection dissatisfaction service.

87

t – test for equality of Means

T

P values Sig. (2-tailed)

Equal variances assumed

.854

.395

Equal variances not assumed

.856

.394

Male (N) = 52 Female (N) = 58 t (.854 & .856) < 1.6 p (.395 & .394) > .05 Since the ‘t’ values are less than 1.6 (standard table value at 5% significance ) and p values are greater than .05 ( level of significance ) we accept null hypothesis. Ie: There is no significant difference between different gender category of customers regarding cancellation of TATA Indicom connection on dissatisfaction service.

RANK CORRELATION

5.16.3 Relationship between Coverage and image Brands Airtel Aircel Vodafone TATA

Coverage 40 29 38 30

Rank 2 5 3 4

Image 73 37 64 48

Rank 1 6 3 5

Indicom BSNL Reliance

75 28

1 6

68 59

2 4

Calculated Rank Correlation is 0.99 Since the calculated value is greater than 0.6 and very near to 1, there is high degree of 88

correlation between coverage and image of the company.

5.16.4 Relationship between Connection charge and image of the company. Brands

Connection Rank

Image

Rank

Airtel Aircel Vodafone TATA

charge 58 35 38 69

3 6 5 1

73 37 64 48

1 6 3 5

Indicom BSNL Reliance

62 46

2 4

68 59

2 4

Calculated Rank Correlation is 0.9998 Since the calculated value is greater than 0.6 and it is very near to 1, there is High Degree of correlation between connection charge and image of the company.

89

5.16.5 Relationship between quality and image of the company. Brands Airtel Aircel Vodafone TATA

Quality 77 30 60 29

Rank 1 5 2 6

Image 73 37 64 48

Rank 1 6 3 5

Indicom BSNL Reliance

58 49

3 4

68 59

2 4

Calculated Rank Correlation is 0.9999 Since the calculated value is greater than 0.6 and it is very near to 1, there is High Degree of correlation between quality and image of the company.

5.16.6 Relationship between Customer support and image of the company.

90

Brands

Customer

Rank

Image

Rank

Airtel Aircel Vodafone TATA

support 77 29 56 49

1 5 3 4

73 37 64 48

1 6 3 5

Indicom BSNL Reliance

68 38

2 5

68 59

2 4

Calculated Rank Correlation is 0.98 Since the calculated value is greater than 0.6 and it is very near to 1, there is High Degree of correlation between customer support and image of the company.

5.16.7 Relationship between Availability and image of the company.

Brands Airtel Aircel Vodafone TATA

Availability 74 33 61 39

Rank 1 5 2 4

Image 73 37 64 48

Rank 1 6 3 5

Indicom BSNL

45

3

68

2 91

Reliance

29

6

59

4

Calculated Rank Correlation is 0.9996 Since the calculated value is greater than 0.6 and it is very near to 1, there is High Degree of correlation between customer support and image of the company.

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CHAPTER VI Findings And Recommendations

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6.1 FINDINGS 1. 100% of the respondents are having telecommunication facility 2. Majority of the customers had tried BSNL 55(60.5%) service and Airtel 31(34%). 3. According to the survey, the main elements of buying behavior of TATA Indicom telecommunication service are :  100% of the respondents are considering coverage  39(43%) respondents are looking for offers  35 (38.5%) of them looking for the company brand image  28 (31%) looking for customer service of the company  20 (22%) respondents are noticing sales promotion like advertisement. 4. Majority (54%) of the respondents had tried TATA Indicom landline connection 39.6% of them had tried Mobile connection, only 27.5% of the respondents were tried internet facility. 5. 46.2% of the respondents are not at all satisfied with the recharge coupons offered by TATA Indicom. 49 (53.9%) respondents are satisfied with the recharge coupons offered by the TATA Indicom. 6. Since the customer service is low,most of them are 48 (52.8% )dissatisfied with the after sales services of the company. 7. 55 (61%) are satisfied with the network coverage of the company,30 (33%) of them are dissatisfied with the coverage, 8. 68(74%) are not at all satisfied with the offers. 9. Most of the customers are not getting the vouchers nearby stores 94

10. 45 or 50% of the customers are cancelled their landline connection ,41 (45.1%) of them are cancelled or migrate their connection from postpaid to prepaid service, 24 (26.4 %) of them are cancelled internet facility 11. Reasons for cancellation  41 (45.1% ) of the respondents are having the problem of not getting the bill on time.  37 (40.7% ) of them are not having enough coverage in their residential area.  16 (17.6%) of them are not satisfied with customer service  62(69%) of the respondents are having hand set complaint. 12. Responses towards the company  61 (67.1%) of the respondents are cancelled the services without giving any complaint to the company.  56 (61.6%) are continue the TATA Indicom’s service after they are complained to the company  34(35.3%) of them feels like to cancel the service after giving the complaint to the company  33 (36.3% ) of them are discourage others to buy the TATA Indicom’s service.

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6.2 SUGGESTIONS

1. Company can decrease call rates to other subscribers for attracting youngsters 2. Voucher card can provide all the retail shops on time for customer convenience. 3. Better quality batteries may be provided with the set. 4. Sales promotion can be more intense, like television ad showing the price, quality, and other product related details. 5. Even though the company has some offers or other value added services, it can be well known by the sales people. So it is better to provide adequate training to the sales people. 6. Provide the tower to all centers for avoiding the network problem. 7. To ensure better customer satisfaction & maintain higher level of Customer relationship management, the billing department has to be more effective & efficient. 8. User manuals and the plan’s pamphlets should be given to the staff for clearing the doubts of the customers.

9. The cancellation mainly occurs in landline connection. So the company can take care of the following services

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 Billing activities  After sales service  On time delivery of the product after complaint has to be recovered.

10. Company can appoint more technicians to all TATA retail True Value hubs to recover on time land line service compliant.

11. The employees can call back to customers atleast once in a month for getting the feedback of the services offered.

12. Customers are demanding for affordable price for product and gifts with purchasing.

13. Majority of the customers are not satisfied with the recharge coupons offering by the company. So the company can increase the talk time to all recharge coupons.

14. Customer relationship managers can keep the records of update details regarding the customer’s address change for sending the postpaid billing charges to avoid delay of payment.

15. All the TATA Indicom retail hubs can have the complaint grievance box for customers.

16. Employees can inform customer complaint on time to the head of the department.

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CONCLUSION

India has a mere 1.2 telephones for every 100 of its people. This is way below international standards and is not becoming of a country aspiring to be major player in the global economy of the 21st century. This means that opportunities for investment in this sector are immense. Basic voice service is the biggest market. Installation of around 25 million direct lines by the year 2001 will require an investment of US$ 22 billion.

Due to the growing need for mobile phones, it’s no wonder that service providers are going all out to capture, as much market space as they can. As the number of mobile phone users are estimated to rise to about 120 million by 2008,it’s not surprising that most of the leading service providers in India have started branding and marketing their services more aggressively. 98

The conducted study try to examine the market mindset towards one of the major player in the telecom sector. The selected company for the study is TATA indicom which is having a reputation in the market. This study had examined customer evaluation about the tele services provided by the company. It also investigates the major reasons behind cancellation of services by the customers. The major findings are  The customers are not satisfied with services because of the low quality; high price, poor after sales services, less network coverage etc.  The main reasons for cancellation of the services were: - coverage problem, customer service, billing complaint shows the negative impressions to the company.

The researcher got an exposure to the real situations of telecom market world and reactions to the customers and enable to understand the customer reactions while they are undergoing dissatisfaction of services. To the marketer, the present study is a market reflection about the services offered. This will give him an insight into the customer problems, he has to settle at the earliest, which will help him to expand his market and improve his image.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

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1. Dr Kothari C R (2008) Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques Wishwa Prakashan Publishers ,Delhi 2. Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller (2005), Marketing Management Twelfth Edition, Prentice Hall, Delhi. 3. Liu, Vol 4, (2002) Factors affecting the brand decision in the mobile phone industry in Asia, Journals of Marketing 4. Martin Tina; Sam Manaberi, Vol 2 [2005] consumer buying behavior, Indian Journals 5. Jim Blythe (1999) The Essence of Consumer Behaviour , Prentice Hall PTR 6. The ICFAI Journals of Service Marketing (March 2008) Vol. 6,No.1, pp. 40 – 50, India. 7. Bolton, R.N, Kannan, P.K.Bramlett , M.D(2002) , Implications of loyalty program membership and service experiences for customer retention and value, Journals of the Academy of Marketing Science. 8. Singh J,(2002), Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty judgement, Journals of Academy od Marketing Management, pp.18-35 9. Payne Adrian (1998) Marketing Plans For Service Business 10. Sharma N, Sharp A,(1999), the impact of communication effectivenss and service quality on relationship commitment in consumer, professional services, The Journal of Marketing Management.

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