Acknowledgment
This project “Analysis of Service Provider” is assigned to me by my highly regarded
teacher of Services Marketing Mr. Aqeel Shahzad. I have made best
of effort and had not left even one stone unturned to complete this Report as proper and neat as I can. This informative outcome is the result of hardworking. I have utilized the skills up to my optimal level, which result in such outcome. Nevertheless it was a bit-challenging task demanding a lot of commitment, hardworking, and expertise and time constraint. I have faced so many obstacles while obtaining required information. I completed it to best of my expertise. There may be some flaws in this project but I have utilized my expertise to their optimal level to generate something valuable for me and to share with others.
In short all this is due to love, affection, care, and help of my parents and teachers who had make us from scrap, a something valuable and to whom I are going to dedicate my project.
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Growth Of Telecom Sector In Pakistan Although tremendous growth has taken place in the Pakistan telecom sector but most of it can be attributed to the cellular growth. Fixed line is still awaiting a take off. Similarly Value Added Services have grown but are still a drop in the bucket. Now that the competition has been introduced in the telecom sector some very positive impact have been observed on the growth of the sector in a short span of time which is expected to continue to grow for at least next five years if the daring investors influx continue as in the last 3 years. A brief account of the growth in telecom sector is given below.
Mobile Sector Driven by lowest tariffs, maximum coverage, and relatively better quality the Pakistan mobile market maintained rapid growth during 2007. The newly deregulated mobile market is now working on sustaining the mobile boom that hit Pakistan 2 years back and on the brink of adding Value Added Services to increased customer satisfactions. Steady growth saw addition of more than two million mobile subscribers every month throughout the last year. Network coverage of almost 90% of the total population of Pakistan has made mobile industry even more attractive for foreign investment. Pakistan has emerged as one of the fastest growing mobile markets among the developing nations. This year the sector grew by 80% whereas average growth rate in last 4 years has been more than 100%. Today total subscribers have reached 76.9 million (Dec 2007) whereas it was 34.5million in 2006 and 12.7million in 2005.
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Organization: Mobilink
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MOBILINK’S MISSION “To be a superior communication service company in Pakistan which provides the best value to its customers, employees, business partners and shareholders.”
MOBILINK’S VISION “To be the leading Telecommunication Services Provider in Pakistan by offering innovative Communication solutions for my Customers while exceeding Shareholder value & Employee Expectations “
Premier Cellular Company: Mobilink Pakistan Premier Cellular Company Claims be to have 10 Million Subscribers nation wide what you call such a company pioneers giants whatever but the fact is that Mobilink is the largest Cellular Company in Pakistan. Mobilink being the pioneers of introducing cellular networks in Pakistan established themselves as the major cellular company of Pakistan. Covering almost every city of Pakistan. Mobilink is giant is this the reason that they are still expensive as compare to other companies like Ufone and Warid Tel. As people relay on Mobilink services that’s why Mobilink still charging high rates people especially business class hesitate to switch to other cellular company. Company is large and has the largest subscriber base in Pakistan. Mobilink recently started GPRS services with RS. 500/month of unlimited usage this is the treat for GRPS users those who want to take their office with them Mobilink give them ease with reason able charges. Mobilink also started 3 friend and family number with a charge of 2.25/min still expensive as compared to Warid but giving incentive to subscriber there is an additional cost of RS 25 to add friends and family number which is not fair. Mobilink has the good infrastructure and network is established well. Mobilink Website is designed to perfection and give impressions that professional are
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sitting behind to manage it. Every thing is clear and described on the website navigation is clean and no one seems to be lost on the web. Mobilink is major cellular company and will stand in first place many years to come. With professional approach and highly skilled staff behind Mobilink is the premier choice for subscribers nationwide. The only problem I see with Mobilink is the call rates, which in my point of view are somewhat high. As the competition is growing I hope the rates will be cut down to attract more subscribers. Mobilink GSM (PMCL), a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, started its operations in 1994, and has become the market leader both in terms of growth as well as having the largest customer subscriber base in Pakistan - a base of over 30 million and growing. We pride ourselves on being the first cellular service provider to operate on a 100% digital GSM technology in Pakistan that also provides state-of-the-art communication solutions to its customers. Mobilink offers exclusively designed tariff plans that cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of people, from individuals to businessmen to corporate and multinationals. To achieve this objective, we offer both post-paid (Indigo) and prepaid (JAZZ) solutions to our customers. Compared to our competitors, both the post-paid (Indigo) and prepaid (JAZZ) brands are the largest brands of their kind in the Pakistan cellular industry. In addition to providing advanced voice communication services that makes the lives of millions that much easy, we also offer a host of value-added-services to our prized customers. At the same time, Mobilink places high importance to its coverage, which is why we cover you in 8000+ cities and towns nationwide as well as over 120 countries on international roaming service. In other words, we speak your language, everywhere.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research techniques that are adopted for the purpose of this study are as follows: PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION 1Formal Interviews 2Informal Interviews The formal interviews include people from management and the informal interviews included people from lower management.
SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION 1Internet search 2Newspapers 3Annual reports of the organization I have tried to attain the maximum authentic and complete information regarding company. LIMITATIONS One of the major limitations while carrying out this research was the lack of cooperation on the part of the management of the Mobilink in providing the data regarding the company and its policies.
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PRODUCTS
Mobilink offers both Pre-paid and Post-paid services. They offer tariff plans that are exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve this objective, they offer both postpaid (Indigo) and the prepaid (JAZZ) services to their customers. Jazz is an amazing prepaid service that allows freedom from monthly bills and gives complete control over the customer’s cellular expenditure. The user can decide in advance when and how much he wants to spend. He can load a scratch card whenever he wants to and start talking. Jazz is simple, easy and loads of fun. In addition to providing advanced voice communication services, they also offer a number of value added services to their valued subscribers. Indigo is positioned on family platform, offering a wide range of products catering to different needs. It comprises of a range of packages depending upon the usage levels such as indigo initial and indigo 400 supplementary packages combine postpaid life style with economical rates. Call and Control is a hybrid product that offers prepaid convenience and postpaid control and is suited for high-end prepaid users.
VALUE ADDED SERVICES GPRS Mobilink Mustt Services SMS Messaging Power Tools
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Chat Services Dedication Services Power Tools Mail Services Info Services IVR Ring tones/Logos On Call Services Missed Call Alerts
SALES STRATEGY Mobilink is the first cellular operator to introduce the “franchise “concept in the cellular industry in Pakistan and currently operates the largest franchise network in Pakistan with over 250 franchises/national distributors (dealers operated service centers). In order to extend its reach even further, Mobilink worked with its franchisees to develop a network of over 500 sub dealers, these operate as point of sales (POS) and are branded “Mobilink Connect”. Each franchisee is adequately equipped to process sales, collect bills and offer customer services. All franchises have trained sales and service staff fully capable of tackling sales challenges.
ACHIEVEMENTS ISO
9002
Quality
Management
System
Certification
for
Billing,
Engineering Departments and CS Contact Center Biggest Call Center in Pakistan, which is there to assist the customers 24 hours. Bilateral-roaming agreements signed with 100 countries around the world to have true roaming service operational in 151 operators of the world.
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Mobilink GSM Short Message Service Center allows Vehicle Tracking and Fleet Management services that are being provided by Tracker (Pvt.) Ltd., under the brand name of C-Track, a company licensed by Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA). Tracker currently operates from Karachi but can provide these facilities at all those locations where GSM coverage is available
CORE COMPETENCE People at Mobilink believe that their Research & development department is its core competence along with their workforce i.e. their employees. Mobilink is basically a customer-oriented company and it always comes up with new features and products. It surveys the markets and modifies its products according to the requirements and preferences of its customers. Mobilink has relatively rapid product development processes that allow for timely updating and release of new products. It was the first cellular company in Pakistan, which started working on 100% GSM technology. At the end of the year 2005, Mobilink crossed its target of reaching up to 10 million customers. At this achievement, all the employees at Mobilink got a month’s salary as bonus in December 2005.
OPERATIVE GOALS
To increase and stabilize market share: According to research firm Pyramid Research, Mobilink has captured 63% share of the Pakistani mobile market today and is the leading cellular company of Pakistan. Mobilink is continously striving to not only stabilize this market share but
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also to increase its market standing. Mobilink does this by their marketing and sales department; through good advertising To have the largest subscriber base in Pakistan: Despite the arrival of two new players--Al Warid and Telenor--into an already competitive Pakistani mobile market in 2005, Mobilink continues to add subscribers at breakneck speeds and defy analyst expectations. Mobilink, owned by Egyptian giant Orascom Telecom, added over 3 million subscribers last year, or 65 percent of the country's net additions and just a month ago, they completed 1 crore cutomers. Employee development:
In order to maintain a motivated and
committed work force, Mobilink takes into account the promotion, safety, training and growth of the employees. The HR department conducts daily clinics to keep a check on the employee performance and to help them perform their jobs in a better way. Training programs are regularly conducted. Promotions and bonuses are given to employees who perform well. Mobilink believes that "Our people are our greatest asset. We take great pride in acknowledging the contribution each one of us makes
STRATEGIES AT MOBILINK The findings mentioned reflect three types of major strategies employed by the organization at various levels. Namely they are: 1)Corporate level strategy 2)Business level strategy 3)Functional level strategy
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Corporate Level Strategy As their corporate level strategy, they have entered into partnerships with different organizations. On the basis of findings, it appears that for the past few years (1999-2003), Mobilink had a focus on internal growth. All this is evident from the fact that since the deregulation of the mobile service industry of Pakistan, Mobilink has undertaken various efforts to ensure that it changes its stance from concentrating on its existing market to growing its market presence. The main reason for this change is mainly to keep up with the competition and to retain and increase its market share. This transition is obvious in Mobilink’s repositioning itself and hitting the market with a new face with the catchphrase
“Reshaping
communication” With the threat of new entrants into the industry after the deregulation, Mobilink’s strategy took a new turn. To keep abreast with the company, Mobilink took the following steps during the last 2 years: •
Expanded its international roaming Service scope in 14 more countries including Vietnam, Germany, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Bahrain, Caribbean Islands. Bilateral roaming agreements signed with 100 countries around the world to have true roaming service operational in 151 operators of the world.
•
PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS LAUNCHED
JAZZ BUNDLE OFFERS: These bundles include a handset, a JAZZ connection and airtime worth Rs. 200
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER PROMOTION: Discounted international tour packages to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Maldives
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“JAZZ-AUR-SUNAO”, “LIFE MEIN JAZZ LAO” (a change in the marketing strategy)
Indigo packages deliver nation wide cellular freedom at local Call rates
Exclusive deals to 6 northern area destination including Chitral, Galliat, Hunza, Kaghan , Skardu and Swat.
Roam the World: year long promotion including travel to the Holy Land in Ramadan, avail amazing offers at the Dubai Shopping Festival, be a part if the FIFA World Cup in Germany or visit Paris, Milan, London and NY.
Joint Promotional Agreements With Various Organizations •
JAZZ-HYUNDAI BUNDLE OFFER: Jazz connection and a latest Hyundai L120 phone set for only Rs. 2750
•
Jazz member Get Member: Opportunity for customers to become the brand’s ambassador and at the same time earn Rs. 400 in airtime. The new Jazz customer will also get Rs.100 free airtime.
•
Mobilink’s Nokia 9500 offer
•
MOBILINK-AVIS partnership: Mobilink joined hands with AVIS, a global brand and the world’s leading car rental company to offer discounted car rental rates (locally as well as internationally) to all Mobilink post-paid customers. Foreigners visiting Pakistan using the Mobilink network for cellular services were able to receive a 20% discount on Avis-Car rental Service.
•
Mobilink and UBL launch online bill payment facility for Indigo subscribers
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MOB- Motorola V3 launch
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Mobilink –CITIBANK Joint Promotion (free INDIGO and Call n Control connections to all Citibank Credit Card members)
•
Handset Kiosk inside Mobilink Service Center: a ‘hand-set Kiosk’ set up at Mobilink service center at Awami Markaz, Karachi. The kiosk was set up in collaboration with Mobile Zone. It gave customers the added convenience of purchasing quality hand sets of leading manufacturers such as Nokia,
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Samsung or Sony Ericson right from Mobilink Service Center. On every purchase the customers would get some free gifts to add more value to their purchase.
Business Level Strategy As their business level strategy it has focused on Differentiation strategy ever since it started. Mobilink has always made successful attempts to distinguish their products or services from other in the industry. They make their product unique through:
Advertising Highly creative people in the marketing dept Billboards, TV commercials, bringing in famous personalities from media to endorse their packages
Distinctive Product Features Value added services Online billing GPRS enabled Mobilink also started 3 friend and family number with a charge of 2.25/min still expensive as compared to Warid but giving incentive to subscriber there is an additional cost of RS 25 to add friends and family number. International roaming: Bilateral roaming agreements signed with 100 countries around the world to have true roaming service operational in 151 operators of the world.
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Exceptional Service There are certain areas of Pakistan where PTCL connections are not available; the PTCL cables have not reached yet, but Mobilink has its service in those areas. Providing services in 413 cities Best customer service in the cellular market: Biggest Call Center in Pakistan, which is there to assist the customers 24 hours. Only cellular service in Pakistan to provide coverage on the M2 motorway. New Technology Introduced GSM tech- bye to AMPS? GPRS system – fast and inexpensive MOBILINK GSM Short Message Service Center allows Vehicle Tracking and Fleet Management services that are being provided by Tracker (Pvt.) Ltd., under the brand name of C-Track, a company licensed by Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA). Tracker currently operates from Karachi but can provide these facilities at all those locations where GSM coverage is available. Their differentiation strategy is usually targeted at people who are not particularly concerned with price, so it can be quite profitable e.g. indigo and blackberry are relatively expansive packages; blackberry is mainly targeted for the business class who can afford it. In this way, the revenue generation remains high. Mobilink offers tariff plans that are exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve this objective, mob offers both postpaid (Indigo, relatively expensive) and the prepaid (JAZZ, relatively inexpensive) solutions to their customers.
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Low Cost Strategy
Mobilink does not follow a low cost strategy. Mobilink is a giant in Pakistani mobile industry Tel. Since it first started its operations, it has been focusing its products on the upper strata of the society. That is why its rates are higher than its competitors, Ufone, Warid, Telenor, etc.
Functional Level Strategy Sales and Marketing •
Differentiation Advantage:
•
Because they target the customer groups they offer tariff plans that are exclusively designed to cater to the communication needs of a diverse group of people, taking into account occasional users to businessmen. To achieve this objective, they offer both postpaid (Indigo) and the prepaid (JAZZ) solutions to their customers
•
The marketing department immediately identifies and responds to the customer needs
•
Comes up with interesting marketing strategies which include advertising,
Values @ Mobilink: Commitment to Total Customer Satisfaction: Customers are at the heart of my success. They have placed their trust and confidence in us. In return, I strive to anticipate their needs and deliver service, quality and value beyond their expectations. Passion for Business Excellence: I strive for excellence in all that I do. I aspire to the highest standards and raise
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the bar for myself everyday. This commitment to delivering world-class quality translates into unmatched service and value for my customers and all stakeholders. Trust & Integrity: At Mobilink, I take pride in practicing the highest ethical standards in an open and honest environment, and by honeying my commitments. I take personal responsibility for my actions, and treat everyone fairly, and with trust and respect. Respect for People: My relationships drive my business. I respect and esteem my employees and all stakeholders. I believe in teamwork, empowerment and harmony. Responsible Corporate Citizen: As the market leader, I recognize and fulfil my responsibility towards my country and the environment I operate in.
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Graphs
Currently, the mobile sector is undergoing intense competition among the six mobile operators. In this scenario and in the best interest of their long-term sustainability, mobile operators are now forming strategies driven towards being at lowest cost, extensive network coverage and Connectivity, innovative products and segmentation. Value Added Services have become Important over last two years. In Pakistan’s competitive and heated mobile market operator’s survival lies in getting into new areas exploring new Value Added products, and providing better quality of services. This is only Possible by rolling out networks and be the first to reach untapped Population of the country. Out of 376 tehsils across Pakistan, almost 77 % are covered with mobile networks, bringing the figure to 290.
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In 2004 there were less than 2000 cell sites erected by all mobile operators all together for provision of mobile services. Today total Cell sites of all mobile operators are more than 17,500. Figure-3 Depicts the number of cell sites of Cellular Mobile Operators.
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In 2007 the share of each company in mobile market exhibited a Change, except for Ufone whose subscriber share remained more or Less the same. Mobilink kept on loosing its share for another year in Favor of Telenor and Warid despite its secure subscriber base, Whereas Paktel and Instaphone share in the market also dropped as Both companies are struggling with transitional phase. Figure-4 Depicts the Cellular mobile operators share in the telecommunication Market.
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Conclusion Telecom sector is growing at an outstanding pace where all Stakeholders are getting due benefit out of it. PTA is fully abreast of The rapidly developing technological advancements at the global Telecom scene. The aim of the Pakistani regulator is to foresee and be proactive in providing conductive environment for the operators in Order to facilitate them and introduce state of the art telecom facilities In the country. Telecom sector is contributing about 2% in GDP directly and if we include its indirect contribution in other sectors This share comes to about 5%. It is expected that fixed as well as Wireless sectors will grow considerably in next future years. Value added products and content development are rather barely explored markets and offer a great deal to an aggressive investor. 3G services in major cities would take a slow start but will catch on fairly well and will be a major contributor in satisfying consumer’s needs provided these are offered at affordable cost with easy access, availability, reliability and with abundant content.
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