Internship Report Warid Telecom---taimoor Tk

1. Executive Summary The mandatory internship in BBA (Hons.) program is very beneficial to have practical exposure of how things really go in market. Being a student who wants to make a mark in marketing field, the best place to gain practical understanding of marketing was to do internship in the marketing department of telecom industry which can be regarded as one of the most dynamic industry currently in Pakistan. I took the internship with Warid Telecom which stands as a prominent name in Telecom industry. I am proud to work as an internee with Warid Telecom and this experience will surely help me in my future assignments as a marketing professional. The absolute guidance and concern of higher management, perfect working environment with immense cooperation of the staff of all departments especially the marketing department facilitated in making my internship a wonderful learning experience in all aspects. Internship duration offered to me was six weeks, later extended to eight weeks were based on projects with marketing collateral section, new city launches section, events section, BTL advertising section, prepaid segment section. Through these projects, I was able to get direct interaction with staff of finance, procurement and logistics, marketing finance, marketing communications, public relations, information technology, administration and human resources departments of Warid telecom. Through this internship; I was able to meet and interact with different vendors, people from media field including singers, reporters, advertising agencies, fashion industries, and event management companies. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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2 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND WARID Telecom

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2. Introduction and Background: Warid Telecom Warid Telecom is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Group & SingTel Group. Abu Dhabi Group entered into a strategic alliance with Singapore Telecom. Subsequent to this transaction in July 2007, telecom giant SingTel acquired 30% percent equity stake in Warid Telecom, Pakistan, for US$758 million. This partnership is part of a strategy to support Warid Telecom’s continued growth and to enhance its market position.

Abu Dhabi Group One of the largest business groups in the Middle East and the single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. It has diversified business interests, offering strong financial resources and extensive management expertise that result in commercial success for several institutions. Warid Telecom takes pride in being backed by the Abu Dhabi Group, one of the largest business groups in the Middle East and the single largest foreign investor in Pakistan. The Abu Dhabi group's major investments are in the following sectors:


Oil and gas exploration




Banking and financial services




Automotive




Hospitality services




Property development




Telecommunications

The group has successfully launched its services in Bangladesh in May 2007. Warid Telecom International has successfully launched operations in Congo-Brazzaville, Bangladesh and Uganda with plans underway for Georgia and Ivory Coast.

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Some Major Investments

Wholly owned properties and companies

Bank Alfalah Limited

Le Royal Meridian Hotel‚ Abu Dhabi

United Bank Limited

Dhabi Contracting

Alfalah Exchange Company

Dhabi Drilling Offshore Rig Operations

Iranian Sanden Industries

Al Ain Palace Hotel

J.C. Maclean and Co

Dhabi Enterprises Leasing

Neo Pharma LLC National Telesystems and Services Al Jazira Management Mall

The SingTel Group The SingTel Group serving both the corporate and consumer markets is committed to bringing the best of global communications to customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond. With significant operations in Singapore and Australia, the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services that include voice and data services over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms. Over the years, SingTel has grown to be a global player with a strong regional heritage. With one of the most extensive and advanced telecommunications infrastructure, the Group offers unparalleled reach in Asia and beyond. SingTel's highly developed international network provides direct connections from Singapore to more than 100 countries. It is a major investor in many of the world's most sophisticated submarine cable and satellite SingTel’s investment in mobile operations include Advanced Info Service (AIS) –Thailand, (21.4%), Bharti Telecom Group – India (30.5%), Optus Telecom – Australia (100%), Globe Telecom – Philippines (44.5%),

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Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (PBTL) - Bangladesh (45%), Telkomsel – Indonesia (35%) and Warid Telecom – Pakistan (30%).

2.1 Vision Warid Telecom’s vision is "to become the leader in national communications arena with a strong international presence”.

2.2 Core Values Warid Telecom's brand values include: •

Quality

•

Transparent

•

Innovative

•

Customer Friendly

•

Simple

2.3 Policies Warid Telecom believes in working with strategic partners and employees for long term relationships. As a consequence of the above Warid Telecom is looking for the following to deliver its vision: Strategic vendors and partners to assist in rolling out these services in a timely and efficient manner with a focus on turnkey solutions and premium propositions; Strong partners to assist in launching these services and creating effective sales & marketing / business development opportunities for all to operationally and financially gain; Consultants and experts to help deliver this vision; Well rounded employees who wish to become part of this adventure. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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2.4 The Warid New Look An evolution that strengthens the Warid identity while keeping the customers in focus. This time Warid used a more contemporary font & style to give a more approachable image. Warid’s new slogan is “Life ka Network”. This new logo encompasses the expanding reach of Warid not just in Pakistan but in an international footprint. With our strengthened GPRS/EDGE network we would empower our customers to create their own life style networks.

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3 BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND STRATEGY Warid Telecom

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3.1. WARID TELECOM TEAM

Board Executive Committee Warid Telecom Mr. Bashir Ahmed Tahir Vice Chairman and Member of Advisory Committee Mr. Bashir Ahmad Tahir is a Pakistani national. Key positions currently held by Mr. Bashir Tahir are CEO Abu Dhabi Group, Board Advisory Committee and Bank Alfalah Limited.

Mr. Pervaiz A. Shahid Board Director Mr. Parvez is a Pakistani national with a vast experience of more than 30 years in the banking sector. Currently Mr. Pervaiz is Executive in-charge of Strategic Planning Division, Bank Alfalah and Authorized Power of Attorney Holder of Warid Telecom.

Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh Board Director/ CEO Mr. Marwan’s association with Warid Telecom started in June 2004 as Group Chief Technical Officer and BEC Member. He currently is the CEO of Warid Telecom.

Mr. Lim Chuan Poh Board Director Mr. Lim, 52, joined Singtel in October 1998. He was appointed EVP (Strategic investments) in February 2006. In October 2006, Mr. Lim assumed the position of CEO (International). He is responsible for Singtel’s business groups through strategic investments in the region.

Mr. Quah Board Director Mr. Quah is currently Vice President (Business Management), International Group in Singtel, overseeing new investment opportunities as well as existing investment s in the region.

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Warid Telecom Key Management Warid Telecom’s main strength and focus is its employees. Warid Telecom believes this will be its key differentiating factor and a recipe for success. The key management team includes: Mr. Shahzad Rauf CSO

Prior to joining Warid Telecom in 2005, Mr. Rauf was founder and CEO of WebLight Productions Inc providing B-2-B e-commerce supply chain management solutions for the food industry. He has over 10 years of experience in Finance and IT departments of public sectors in USA.

Mr. Thomas Yeo CCO Mr. Thomas joined Warid Telecom as CCO in October 2007. He joined from Singtel and has been associated with singtel for more than 25 years.

Mr. Javed Mushtaq Chief Information Officer Mr. Javed Mushtaq is a seasoned IT professional backed up by 21 years of domestic and global experience. He has worked both in private and public sectors.

Mr. Zafar Iqbal GM Human Resources and Administration Mr. Zafar Iqbal brought with him 35 years of experience with MNCs in Human Resources, Corporate affairs, Procurement, and Administration in Pakistan and abroad.

Mr. Farrukh Hayat GM - Sales and Distribution Mr. Farrukh Hayat is responsible for sale/ distribution of scratch cards and other products of Warid telecom on national basis. He has over 20 years of well rounded experience in Marketing, Sales, Distribution and management.

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Mr. Omer Haider GM Government and Regulatory Affairs Mr. Omer A. Haider has 16 years of experience in telecom sector. He has worked with insta, paktel and Alcatel at diversified portfolios involving commercial, sales, marketing and business development.

Mr. Tariq Gulzar GM Audit, Risk and Corporate Governance Mr. Tariq Gulzar brings with him over 15 years of experience in assurance, internal audit, audit, accounting, risk management, and general consulting in Telecom and Media Industries.

Mr. Adeel Bajwa GM Legal Affairs & Contracts Management Mr. Adeel k. Bajwa is an experienced legal professional with corporate background in Finance and Commercial law. In addition to managing legal affairs at Warid Telecom, his portfolio extends internationally as well.

Mr. Ahmad Kamal GM Customer Services Mr. Ahmad Kamal has over 17 years of telecom experience in Pakistan. He has the exposure of working with the country’s most renowned telecom companies like Mobilink, Ufone, Digital Communications and DVCOM Ltd.

Ms Asma Khan GM International Business Mr. Asma khan is responsible for International roaming and International Business (LDI operations) at Warid Telecom.

Mr. Moin Qadri GM Marketing Mr. Moin Qadri has 11 years experience in the field of advertising and branding. He has worked for various leading brands with experiences in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and UAE.

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Mr. Muhammad Ahmed GM Managerial Accounting and Revenue Assurance Mr. Muhammad Ahmed possesses 12 years of professional experience in the field of Accounting and finance. Mr. Muhammad Amir Shahid GM Financial Accounting Mr. Muhammad Amir Shahid has 13 years experience in Pakistan. In his current role, he is responsible for financial accounting at Warid Telecom.

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3.2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE (ORGANIZATIONAL CHART)

BEC

CEO

Advisor

CIO

CSO

CCO

GM

Divisional Managers Asst. Managers R.M.C

Z.S.M

B.C.M

Sr. Executive Jr. Executive

F.M

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3.3. ORGANIZATIONAL DEPARTMENTALIZATION Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. Head office is in EFU House on Jail road, Lahore. Warid has the maximum number of Sales and Customer Service Centers countrywide, backed by two state-of-the-art Contact Centers of international standards that are equipped with the right facilities to ensure real-time online services. Their highly trained and wellgroomed team of Customer Service Executives provides round-the-clock-support. Warid has setup Corporate Lounges, with a customer-friendly environment to provide personalized care to our corporate clients. Furthermore, an extensive network of franchises, kiosks and mobile units ensure easy and convenient accessibility. Different divisions, department and functionaries working in the head office are

1. Marketing 2. Human Resources 3. Financial Accounting & Revenue Assurance 4. Sales & Customer Services 5. Administration 6. Products & Services 7. Procurement & Logistics 8. Legal Affairs 9. Engineering & Information Technology 10. Audit & Risk Services 11. Quality Assurance 12. International Business 13. Public Relations 14. Operations and Project Management 15. Govt. Relations

In the head office there are also offices of top management including CEO office. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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4 DEPARTMENTS Warid Telecom

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4. 1. MARKETING DEPARTMENT Marketing is one of the core departments of any Telecom industry. Marketing consists of five divisions Marketing Segmentation and Strategy Marketing Finance Marketing Communications Marketing Operations Loyalty

Each of above divisions consists of sections Segmentation and

Marketing Operations

Marketing

Strategy Division

Division

Communications Division

Masses Segment

Retail Operations

Youth Segment

New City Launches

Female Segment

BTL

Postpaid Segment

Collaterals

Prepaid Segment

Events

Loyalty Division Sales Records

ATL Artworks designing

Marketing Finance Division Signing CEO notes Issues related to payments Preparing PRs Keeping financial records

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4. 1.1. Segmentation and Strategy Division Warid Telecom has divided its segmentation and strategy division into five segments on the basis of their characteristics. Markets consist of buyers and buyers differ in one or more ways. They may differ in their wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes and buying practices. The core concept behind companies using marketing segmentation concept is to divide large homogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be reached effectively and efficiently with products and services that satisfy needs, wants, desires and trends of certain segment.

Characteristics that govern segmentation and strategy development in Telecom industry specifically mobile services according to a certain segment w.r.t Pakistan are •

Age

•

Educational background

•

Gender

•

Income

•

National, regional or other geographical areas of origin

•

Social class

•

Religion

•

Culture

•

Behaviors

•

Population

•

Tele density in area to be segmented

Now, the roles and responsibilities of different segments are to consider above characteristics and then to

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 Process Flow in Marketing Department 1. Develop an idea that would satisfy the above considerations. The idea can be  Development of a product or service; that idea is then shaped in the form of the product or services with the help of Products and Services department, I.T and Engineering departments to develop a product or service.  Event to improve sales, public relations, brand awareness e.g. events such as Kabaddi Takkar Series between Pakistan and India in collaboration of Pakistan Kabaddi Federation, Tape Ball tournament and Concerts.

After getting the idea approved by the authorities by preparing a feasibility report. The next step is to get documentation done for idea conversion costs.

2. Idea Conversion Costs that note and getting it approved by the authorities. After getting the idea approved will be incurred in converting an idea into reality. This step includes developing a CEO note. CEO note is developed with the help of departments related to the project.

3. Artworks, TVCs elaborating the ideas are designed by the communications department and then it is forwarded to marketing operations for execution of ideas.  Sections of segmentation and strategy Division 1. Postpaid Segment Section

Postpaid Segment is the one which includes individuals with good income and usage more than that of prepaid customers. Postpaid customers •

Pay bill at the end of month depending on the service used. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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•

Pay specific amount in line rent every month, no matter they use service or not.

•

Enjoy better range of value added services than prepaid customers.

Postpaid Segmentation Section designs marketing activities to better satisfy the needs of postpaid consumers.

2. Masses Segment Section

Masses Segment is the biggest segments involving most no of people. Masses segmentation section develops marketing ideas and activities to perform, so that masses customers enjoy maximum benefits. Consumers from masses segments use relatively less. Masses customers •

Pay before using the service.

•

Enjoy basic and VAS services

•

Have less brand loyalty in most

•

Ready to switch to other mobile services in case of cheaper services.

cases.

3. Female Segment Section

Importance of role of females cannot be overlooked in this modern era. That’s why Warid Telecom has also developed females segment as a separate segment. The role of Female segmentation section is to develop ideas that would entertain female population in Pakistan. Currently ongoing “Zem Baton ke committee Campaign” promoted by Bushra Ansari is such an example.

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4. Youth Segment Section

Youth drives a nation; similarly, youth is taken by cellular companies as a segment which can drive other segments as well and affect trends of customers of other segments too. If the youth is targeted in better way, lot of customers can be gained. Warid Floodlight Tape Ball tournament for youth segment is one of such examples.

5. Corporate Segment Section

Corporate segment is niche segment which can be source of great revenue for organization. Corporate Segmentation section develops idea that can provide maximum support and facilities to their most profitable segment. Ongoing “Black Berry Campaign” is one of its examples. Corporate segments are provided with •

Best possible VAS

•

Security and Network Solutions

•

Better rates

•

Corporate

Series

for

employees

4. 1.2. Marketing Operations Division Marketing operations is the part of marketing that is responsible for executing the ideas, turning scraps into whole and giving best possible finishing to the idea. Marketing Operations slogan is “we are those, who execute ideas”. Warid Telecom has divided its marketing operations division into five parts and each part is responsible for carrying out its related tasks. Everything that is seen in market from retailer facias to wall chalking, event branding to billboards, pole signs to panels, road branding to posters, banners to flyers, everything is done by operations. Artworks for the marketing collaterals are provided by the marketing communications. Any execution mishandled by operations team can result in failure of great ideas. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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1. Retail Operations Section

Retail operations include branding done at retail shops; that includes facias, availability signs at shops e.g. Easy load Availability.

Retail operations is responsible for •

Spotting the retail shops

•

Finalizing the terms and conditions for contracting

•

Installing Facias / Retail branding

2. New City Launches Section

A new city launch refers to the branding or marketing promotions whenever Warid has launched its service in a new city. The responsibility of this section is to create prelaunch hype and attraction once a service is launched. Branding options that are used so often are •

City Branding

•

Retail Fascia’s

•

Wall Chalking

•

Events

•

Shutter Paints

3. BTL (Below the line) Advertising Section

Below the line advertising section of Warid typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail, e-mail, hoardings, gantries, billboards, pole signs, and traffic signs at prime locations to maximize response rates. Warid Telecom is a telecom company, so here direct mail and email can’t be used effectively. In case of Warid Telecom; the focus is on use of Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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•

Gantries

•

Sponsoring traffic signs

•

Billboards

•

Streamers

•

Pole signs

•

Hoardings

4. Marketing Collaterals Section Warid focuses a lot on effective use of collaterals to create hype for campaigns and events. Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales, is the collection of media used to support the sales of a product or service. These sales aids are intended to make the sales effort easier and more effective.

Warid has a well maintained collateral section in marketing operations division that is responsible for following collaterals supporting Warid promotions and campaigns •

Tariffs

•

Catalogues

•

Flyers

•

Visual aids

•

Standees

•

Web content

•

Posters

•

Brochures

•

Coupons

•

Leaflets

5. Events

Warid not only participates in events but also organizes such events and activities that highlights its commitment to have good public relations, create brand awareness, taking social responsibilities programs. Instances of such events include Warid sponsoring OIC IT and Telecom expo and conference 2008, taking part in ITCN 2008.

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These events include sponsoring and organizing •

tournaments

•

conferences

•

parties

•

seminars

•

CSR activities

4. 1.3. Marketing Communications Division Marketing communications in Warid Telecom deals with artworks to be used in BTL & ATL advertising, then its execution and broadcasting in print and electronic media. Above the line is a type of advertising through media such as TV, cinema, radio, print, banners and search engines to promote brands. Major uses include television and radio advertising, web and Internet banner ads.

Marketing Communications division divided into two sub-divisions

1. ATL Section

The ATL section of marketing communication comprises of team responsible for  Preparing content for •

Artworks of compaigns

•

TVCs

•

MMR

•

Newsletters

•

Press releases for media

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 Contacting with •

Electronic media including Televisons, websites and webzines for issues related to broadcasting TVCs and sponsorship

•

Print media including news papers and magazines for placing advertisment of compaigns, giving press releases, sponsoring columns and special information such as sports events, special occasion such as namaz timings, Iftar and sehri timings

2. Artworks Designing to be used in ATL and BTL

The artwork designing section is responsible for providing artworks to be used in ATL and BTL advertising. The artwork designing section •

Design artworks itself

•

Outsource artworks to different artworks designing agencies

4. 1.4. Marketing Finance Division Warid has a division in marketing department that is responsible for financial activities incurred related to marketing promotions, campaigns, and events. It is not a big division; its main purpose is to act as interface b/w marketing and finance departments. Marketing Finance is responsible for •

Signing CEO notes from authorities

•

Preparing PRs

•

Keeping financial records of costs incurred

•

Issues related to payments of vendors as per invoices

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4. 1.5. Loyalty Division Loyalty division of Warid Marketing Department designs marketing programs to benefit the loyal customers that can be prepaid customers, but in most cases Post-paid and corporate clients. Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior which is potentially in benefit of Warid. Loyalty benefits can include loyalty card, rewards card, points card, advantage card, or club card. Examples of such programs are McDonalds Campaign. Loyalty division is responsible for •

Identifying loyal customers

•

Designing marketing programs to benefit the loyal customer

•

Keeping up-to-date profiles of loyal customers: their buying records and patterns

•

Carrying out regular campaigns for the post-paid and corporate clients

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4. 2. HR DEPARTMENT HR department is divided into two divisions responsible for 1. Recruitment Division 2. Training and Development Division 3. Compensation and Benefits Division

The above divisions are responsible for Ensuring smooth functioning and deliverables pertaining to: •

Recruitment Process

•

Interviews

•

Candidate Assessment

•

Training programs for employees

•

Career Development programs

•

Overall Management of HRMS and effective coordination with ERP for the deliverables pertaining to functionality of the system

•

Timely issuance and record keeping of all salary related employee letters

•

Timely management of related and scheduled confirmations

•

Posting of Status Change documents and maintenance of related records in HRMS and as a hardcopy.

•

Timely execution of Payroll and related reporting pertaining to payroll.

•

Handling and management of smooth Payroll Operations & effective related query handling

•

Management of operations related to existing Official Cell Phones (Write Offs, Roaming, etc)

•

Handling of Attendance Management System

•

Overall operations and management of provident Fund Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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•

Handling of Medical (OPD & Hospitalization)

•

Handling of EOBI

•

Handling of Life Insurance data and premium payments

•

Employee Payroll Taxation (Certificates, E-filling) & related queries

•

Overall effective and up-to-date Leave Management

•

Up to date supervisor Data in HRMS in correlation with existing org charts and reporting lines

•

Timely issuance and management of SSHR (self service HR logins to employees)

•

Timely payment of internship stipends and up-to-date record of internships

•

Posting of non-salary related information of employees in HRMS

•

Employee visiting card data verification through system & coordination

•

Handling of employee advance requests, in coordination with Finance

•

Execution and activation of new employee joining benefits

•

Status change related benefits handling and related execution

•

Issuance and record keeping of all non-salary related employee letters

•

Verification of Fuel Cards and entitlement based fuel limits in coordination with Admin

•

Timely conclusion of final settlement and clearance of resigned employees

•

Personnel Management and up-to-date record keeping of all personnel documents in personnel files

•

Overall management and handling of 3rd party account for NLI central employees

•

Overall execution and management of 3rd party payroll country-wide

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4. 3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Finance department of Warid Telecom is accountable for all the issues related to financial transactions no matter it is managerial accounting or financial accounting. Finance department of Warid Telecom deals with issues related to Financial Accounting, Fixed Assets, Accounts Payable, and General Ledger maintenance and treasury control. So, finance department is divided in two divisions according to matters dealt

4. 3.1. Financial Accounting Division Financial Accounting Division of Warid Telecom consists of four sections

Operations Section

Financial accounting related to operations. Operations include the financial issues related to franchises operations.

Fixed Assets Section

Fixed assets division of Warid Telecom looks after the fixed assets of Warid telecom. Fixed assets are very important for every organization because fixed assets tell the worth of the company.

Accounts Payable Section

Accounts payable division of Warid telecom looks after the liabilities to be paid. Accounts payable is very important for better credit rating of a company. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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General ledger Section

General Ledger division is responsible for developing T-accounts which specify detail of each account separately, so that

Treasury Control Section

Treasury Control Section looks after the finances, controls the budgets and investments made by country from treasure.

4. 3.2. Managerial Accounting The division deals with the accounts management and coordinates with the financial accounting division.

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4. 4. SALES & CUSTOMER SERVICES DEPARTMENT Sales and customer services department of Warid Telecom consists of divisions incharge of; •

Contact and Support Centers

•

Credit & Collection

•

Customer Service Operations

•

Direct Sales

•

Telesales

•

Personal Selling

4. 5. ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT This is a centralized department responsible for various administration and general supervision tasks which include: •

Local Government Relations

•

Office Maintenance and management

•

Office Building Locations / Civil Works

•

Coordination with Architects / Contractors

•

Transportation office

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4. 6. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DEPARTMENT: Products and services department of Warid Telecom consists of two divisions

1) Voice related products & services division 2) Data related products & services division

4. 7. PROCUREMENT AND LOGISTICS DEPARTMENT: This department is in charge of all Logistics and Procurement-related matters.

4. 7.1. Procurement Division Procurement division of Warid Telecom is responsible for all the matters related to vendors. Procurement division of Warid telecom comprises of following divisions •

Vendor Profiles management

•

Inbound logistics

•

Outbound Logistics

4. 7.2. Logistics Division Logistics Division of Warid Telecom consists of five sections that are responsible for getting the right product to the right customers in the right place at the right time. Warid considers Effective logistics as a key to winning and keeping customers. •

Cost Management Section

•

Order Processing Section

•

Warehousing Section

•

Transportation

•

Inventory Management Section Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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4. 8. LEGAL AFFAIRS AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Legal Affairs and Contract Management department of Warid Telecom looks after all corporate and legal affairs and the legal implication of all the transactions that are carried out by Warid Telecom nationally and internationally. Legal Affairs and Contract Management Department of Warid Telecom comprises of two divisions;

1. Legal Affairs Division 2. Contract Management Division

Above divisions are responsible for legal issues related to •

Financial institutions

•

Media contracts

•

Procurement

•

International agreements

•

Leasing

•

Litigation (court cases)

•

Property matters

•

Contract Management

•

prizes of marketing campaigns winners

Legal department also oversees all the regulatory and legal implications of PTA and other governmental authorities.

4. 9. AUDIT, RISK & CORP. GOVERNANCE DEPARTMENT Audits are carried out in every organization to ensure that there is check and balance and budgetary control on expanses of each department. Audit and Risk Services Department of Warid Telecom is responsible for

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•

Check and Balance

•

Expanses

•

Risk Services

•

Corporate Governance as per Government obligations

•

CSR activities

4. 10. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEPARTMENT International Business department of Warid Telecom deals with the issues regarding •

International Roaming

•

Globalization

•

Using methods and ways to meet global standards

•

Comparing already existing system with international systems

•

Liaison with foreign vendors according to the needs of different departments

•

Liaison with Warid telecom in other countries

4. 11. PUBLIC RELATIONS Public Relations Department of Warid Telecom is responsible for establishing and maintain positive understanding, good image, between a company and its publics. Such publics include customers, shareholders, employees etc.

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4.12 OPERATIONS AND PROJECT MANGEMENT DEPARTMENT This department is responsible for ensuring business and site acquisition as well as site building, fraud management, revenue assurance and such other issues related with the successful completion of a quality project within required time.

4. 13. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DEPARTMENT This division is responsible for maintaining an effective liaison of Warid’s corporate policy objectives and activities with the Government Agencies, Telecom Operators, Regulatory Bodies, Electronic and Print Media.

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5 THEORIES IMPLEMENTATION WARID TELECOM

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5. 1. IN DEPTH SWOT ANALYSIS In order to find what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by Warid Telecom, Paksitan. How can they increase their market share in Pakistan Cellular industry? Following is the SWOT Analysis of Warid Telecom Pakistan..

Strengths of Warid •

Superior product quality for customers

•

Better customer relationship than competitors

•

Extra features and services

•

Commited and efficient staff

•

Strong financial base

•

Products innovations ongoing

•

Good reputation among customers

•

Good packages according to the target market

•

Management is rational and understanding thesituation

•

Low price as compared to quality provided

Weaknesses of Warid •

Less time in market as compared to major competitors

•

Less coverage as compared to majer competitors

•

Less experienced employees than competitors

•

“Seth organiation”

•

Not able to capitalize on start

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Opprortunities for Warid •

A developing market

•

Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances

•

Could develop new products

•

Extension to overseas

•

Decline of major competitors

•

Technologically better environment

•

New launches

•

More customers after relaunch

Threats for Warid •

Emerging companies in market

•

Unstable political conditions

•

New companies in market

•

High public expectations

•

Low prices of competing brands

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5. 2. COMPETITIVE STRATEGY AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

 Comparative Industry Analysis (BCG Matrix)

BCG Matrix of cellular companies in Pakistan

BCG Growth-Share Matrix High Market Growth

Low Market Growth

Mobilink

Warid Tel/ Telenor

Ufone

Zong

High Relative Market Share

Low Relative Market Share

9

Cellular Market Share by BCG matrix  Mobilink is the company which is associated with “Stars” in BCG matrix with high market growth and high relative market share.  Warid Tel and Telenor are the GSM cellular companies which are associated with “Question marks” in BCG matrix as it exhibits high market growth and relatively low relative market share.  Ufone is the GSM cellular company with low market growth and high relative market share that’s why it is associated with “Cash Cows” in BCG matrix.  Zong is the GSM cellular company with low market growth and low relative market share that’s why it is associated with “Dogs” in BCG matrix.

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5. 3. PEST ANALYSIS

Political Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has been striving hard and trying its level best to create level playing field in the Cellular Mobile industry. Politically, Pakistan is an unstable country where Government decisions and regulatory initiatives matter a lot

Social During the formation of marketing strategies, Warid looks after a lot of factors. Deep study of local culture and social setups is also one of the major factors which account much in successful strategy formation of Warid. Varying types of consumer behaviors are found in different societies. The study of society helps to understand the consumer behavior and in turn assists Warid to improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues like:

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•

The way how consumers think, feel and select a cellular connection

•

The psychology of how consumer is influenced by culture, family and social setups.

•

As Pakistan is an Islamic country and people are very strict in case of Islam any thing against the philosophy of Islam on either print or electronic media are treated as against Pakistan.

•

Most of the people dislike anything extra-ordinary or something which sabotage their culture or subculture.

•

Companies who are targeting upper-end of market mostly published and aired their advertisement in English language.

•

In metropolitan cities women are doing work along with their other responsibilities but other than metropolitan cities it is difficult for women to convince their parents and spouses for work.

Understanding of these issues helps to adopt better strategies by taking the consumer into consideration. By understanding the consumer, Warid makes a more Informed decision as to which strategy to employ.

Economic Factors •

In Pakistan, Marketers should consider long term and short term state of a trading market.

•

Inflation is controlling by state bank and under strict eyes but unemployment rate is going up and up with the increase of level of poverty.

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Technological Factors •

Companies have technology with which they can compete in the Pakistan and now companies are investing in their infrastructure to not only expand but also to upgrade their existing structure.

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6 PRODUCT OFFERINGS WARID TELECOM

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6. WARID OFFERINGS Warid puts a great focus on development of its product according to the customer demand and satisfaction. Warid Telecom in Pakistan offers two main products that are

1. Zem Prepaid 2. Warid Postpaid

6.1. Zem prepaid Zem Prepaid is the service for which customer has to pay in advance for services which he/she is going to use. Zem Prepaid is offering two kinds of services.

A. Voice related services B. Text related services

6.1. A Voice related Zem Prepaid Services

Voice related services include communication services which are associated with the transfer of voice. When Warid started its services there were two leading GSM cellular companies, one was Mobilink and the other was Ufone. Mobilink was the main market leader and Ufone was the successor in the Pakistan. Then the main challenge for Warid was to attract customers towards it with the help of such services that will be exciting and attracting enough to move customers from Mobilink and Ufone. At that time, Warid used the offers and services such as Friends n Family Numbers, low calling rates ‘n’ good voice quality as compared to Mobilink.

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As the time passed, Warid got a great feedback from public due to its exceptional services. At the end of 2005, Warid shifted its focus on every segment of the market from the rich market to middle and low level customers. In this regard, they introduced five Calling Plans that were

Above five calling plans were used for about one and half year, and then checking completely the response of people towards it, Warid has continued to use three calling plans Zem 1 second, Zem 30 second (now replaced by Zem LCR,30 seconds) of above five and removed two plans that were Zem 321 and Zem 12 to 9).

Calling plans Zem 1 second plan offers customers billing to in seconds. Means that u have to pay for exactly what you have talked. It focuses on the small scale users who want to have tight control over their finance and balance. Zem 1 second plan generally targets students, shopkeepers and very small scale businessman. 1 second billing rates is higher as compared to other calling plans of Warid. Zem 1 Second Tariff Airtime

Charges

Messaging

Charges

Friends & Family (On-Net)

0.02

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.50

Friends & Family (Off-Net)

-

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

1.00

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.03

International

5.00

Off-Net (Landline)

0.04

MMS

3.00

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

0.05

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Zem Lowest call rate 30 second plan offers 30 second billing to customers means that you have to pay for 30 seconds (if you have called b/w 1 to 30 seconds) , then for the next 30 seconds (b/w 30 and 60 seconds) and so on. It focuses on the General public which shows moderate focus on their finance. Although 1 second is pity useful but 30 seconds is better when it comes to billing as calling rates in 30 second plan are relatively cheaper as compared to 1 second plan. Zem LCR is modification of Zem 30 second plan and it is very economical as compared to 30 seconds.

Zem Lowest call rates 30 Second Tariff Airtime

Charges

Messaging

Charges

Friends & Family (On-Net)

0.45

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.50

Friends & Family (Off-Net)

0.75

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

1.00

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.75

International

5.00

Off-Net (Landline)

0.85

MMS

3.00

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

0.85

Zem 60 second plan offers 60 second billing to the customers means that you are charged by Warid every time for 60 seconds whether you have talked for only 1 second or even 60 second. It generally focuses on the relatively large scale users. 60 seconds calling plan is cheaper than the 1 second and 30 second plan.

Zem call rates 60 Seconds Tariff Airtime

Charges

Messaging

Charges

Friends & Family (On-Net)

0.45

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.50

Friends & Family (Off-Net)

0.75

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

1.00

On-Net (Warid to Warid)

0.75

International

5.00

Off-Net (Landline)

0.85

MMS

3.00

Off-Net (Other Mobile)

0.85

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 Call related Zem features •

CLI (Caller Line Identification)

•

Call Waiting & Call Hold

•

Conference Calling

•

Call Divert

6.1. B Text related Zem Services

Warid at the time of its launch provided text related services but these services were very much same in rates and quality as that of its competitors. e.g. in order to activate GPRS and MMS you have to get it activated at high rates, SMS rates were also higher at that time. Bust as the time passed they have lowered their SMS, MMS and GPRS rates to extremely cheap rates. Warid has introduced following SMS, GPRS and MMS related packages for those who love to text and use web.

 Text Related Zem Packages •

ZOOM

“Zoom” is one of the product offered by WARID with which you can send 25 sms/ mms per day with subscription fee of Rs 3/day. Zoom focuses on the sms lovers with low income such as students and general public in Pakistan. •

ZOOMU

“ZOOMU” offers services with which you can send unlimited short SMS/MMS at deduction of Rs. 7 /day from your balance. Zoomu targets the customers with large social circle who want to be connected with their friends and relatives. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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•

SMS CRAZE

Whether texting, sharing pictures or browsing the internet, you simply can’t get a better deal. Zem brings the only messaging and internet package in the market. With SMS Craze, subscribers can get up to 2,000 SMS/MMS to any number across Pakistan & 10MB of Mobile Internet for a monthly subscription of Rs.150 inclusive of all taxes. •

INFINITE CRAZE

If you have the craze to talk long hours at night, Zem brings you INFINITE CRAZE, the best night-time package in Pakistan. By subscribing to Infinite Craze you can now make unlimited free calls, from 12:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., to any one Warid number and you can also send unlimited free SMS & MMS to any number across Pakistan. There is no monthly restriction of selecting your special unlimited “infinite” number. You can change your number daily or hourly and talk to a different friend for hours every night. •

SUNDAY CRAZE

If you are busy all week and want to catch up with friends & family on Sundays, Zem brings you Sunday Craze, the best friends & family offer. By subscribing to this offer you can now make unlimited FREE on-net calls on Sundays, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. •

ZEM NITES

Zem Nites is a package tailored for late night callers. Under this package the subscribers get unlimited calls to any on-net number from 11pm to 7am for a daily charge of Rs. 24+tax Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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 Text Related Zem features •

SMS

•

MMS

•

GPRS

•

Instant messaging

 Latest Marketing Campaigns of Zem Prepaid

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6.2 Warid postpaid Warid post paid connection is associated with Royalty. Post paid subscription is also called a billing connection. In this type of a connection, you can avail the services of a cellular connection first and pay for the usage at the end of the month. On consistent and regular payment and high usage pattern you could win yourself the opportunity to enjoy exclusive loyalty and frequent user facility provided by Warid Telecom. Keeping in mind our brand philosophy, Warid Postpaid is a name that depicts class and sophistication. Warid Postpaid that defines commitment and satisfaction to the customers. Warid Postpaid is offering two kinds of services.

A. Voice related services B. Text related services

6.2. A Voice related Warid Postpaid Services

Warid postpaid when started at launch was called “Zahi postpaid”. Zahi means “royalty”. Before relaunch as “Warid Postpaid”, Zahi was the warid postpaid and it offered five calling plans to the mobile users. These plans were

After Relaunch, Zahi Postpaid was replaced by its generic name that was Warid Postpaid. After relaunch as generic name Warid postpaid, Warid also revised tariffs for the postpaid calling plans. Now the Warid Postpaid calling plans are

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Warid postpaid 150 calling plan is postpaid package with monthly line rent of 150. It is targeting the relatively low income customers.

Warid postpaid 500 calling plan is postpaid package with monthly line rent of 500. It is targeting the middle class income and family customers.

Warid postpaid 1500 calling plan is postpaid package with monthly line rent of 1500. It is targeting the professional businessmen.

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Warid postpaid 2500 calling plan is postpaid package with monthly line rent of 2500. It is targeting the rich class and businessmen doing business at relatively large scale.

Warid postpaid 4000 calling plan is postpaid package with monthly line rent of 4000. It is targeting the high class business executives and rich families.

 Voice related Warid Postpaid Features •

Conference Call

•

Call Waiting & Call Hold

•

Call Divert

•

Voice Mail

6.2. B Text related Services

Warid Postpaid offer text related services which are less modified over time and mostly standard text service charges are applicable on warid postpaid text services.

 Text related package •

ZOOMU SMS for a subscription of Rs.210 + tax for 7500 SMS/MMS

 Text Related Warid Postpaid Features •

Short Messaging Service (SMS)

•

Missed Call Alerts

•

Picture Messaging & Multi-media Messaging Service

•

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 Latest Marketing Campaigns of Warid Postpaid

Bill Payment via Scratch card Bill payment is as easy as 321

Connectivity with Convenience Be a part of the largest Postpaid cellular base in Pakistan

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Bill by Email Now you can receive your bills through email!

Warid Postpaid Corporate Briefcase We understand your business lifestyle

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7 MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES WARID TELECOM

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7. MARKETING: STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES 7.1. Marketing Environment Competition

Pakistan is a highly competitive market. There are four GSM cellular companies in Pakistan right now that are Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Warid. •

The major brand in Pakistan is Orascom’s Mobilink, which as of April 2008 had a market share of 37 percent. Mobilink initiated operations in 1994, and for the longest time reaped the reward of being a first-mover in the country using GSM technology. , and continues to be a pioneer in branding with its packages: the Jazz Prepaid and the Indigo Postpaid connection. The company was the first to experiment with a female model as a brand ambassador on its ATL campaign. Pakistan Leading super Models such as ZQ, Sunita Marshal, and Iman Ali all remained part of their campaigns.

•

Mobilink’s greatest competition came in the form of Ufone, a cellular service brand introduced by the then state owned PTCL in 2001. The brand immediately began by focusing on the customers, launching a campaign that culminated in consumers designing the brand’s initial logo. Ufone further refined its strategy by 2005 when, under the new ownership of Etisalat, it was re-launched with a new logo, which was a reflection of the increasing competition from the likes of the Norwegian-based Telenor, and the UAE-based Warid Telecom. Ufone has market share of 21% according to April 2008 statistics.

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•

Telenor began operations in Pakistan in 2005, and started with a pre-launch nationwide teaser campaign that revolved around "something exciting" making its way to Pakistan. In only three years, Telenor had claimed 20 percent of the market share, almost on par with Ufone’s 21 percent.

•

Warid Telecom, with a current market share of 17 percent, also got launched in the same year with a beautifully shot "slice-of-life" TV ad. Unfortunately, Warid wasn’t able to capitalize on its great start, and hasn’t been able to position itself as a premium brand in the industry; rather, its attempt to characterize itself as a service provider that offers the best rates has led Warid to be associated with cheap affordability.

•

Zong, formerly known as Paktel but re-launched this year under China Mobile, took a different approach. Zong stepped into the fray with an expansive launch TV ad and followed it up with a campaign that took on the other telecom brands' marketing strategies.

Uf one 21%

Zong 5%

Warid 17%

`

Telenor 20%

Mobilink 37%

 Technology & Marketing Financials Massive budgets that the brands can call upon have led to •

Use of modern technologies to bring better quality network, voice clarity and service for the customers

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•

Immense advertising, as brands launch campaigns with elaborate song and dance TV ads that have nothing to do with the brand's personality, or emotional and functional attributes

•

Develop Telco industry as one of the major contributing industries, directly contributing about 2% in Pakistan’s GDP

 Legal •

Minimum legal restrictions for about a decade had made Pakistan a highly competitive market, because consumers are not bound by long-term contracts to cellular service companies. Rather, the consumer simply needs an ID card photocopy to set up a connection, or switch to another provider. The consumer has the option of a post-paid monthly billing connection, which is preferred in the professional segment, or the popular-among-the-masses pre-paid connection. To add to the consumer’s benefit, mobile phone portability is also available, which allows one to retain the same phone number regardless of changes in cellular service.

•

Current situation in Pakistan has made Govt. to think on legal control on issuance of connections because most of the terrorism activities were done with the help of connections that were either on fake or un-registered i.d cards. So new Govt. policy will encompass policies that will ensure that connections per i.d cards are controlled, NADRA verification will be compulsory before a connection is delivered to the customer. Recently Govt. has ordered to make about 8.8 million connections that were not in use for a good period of time, either unregistered or registered on fake i.d cards.

 Demographic Trends With so much potential still in the Pakistan telecom industry, it will be difficult for telecom brands to refrain from taking the easy way and simply screaming their way into Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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consumers’ consciousness rather than building timeless and unforgettable brands. At this point of time, Telco companies are tempted to go for short term gains rather than long term benefits. The fact remains that until the consumer can take home something from the personality or the lifestyle of the service, he/she will not remain a loyal user and defender of the brand.

7. 2. Target Market 7.2. A. Consumer or industrial

In Telecom Industry, it is not possible to say that types of products offered by Warid are consumer or industrial. The target market is almost all the country. Target market always consists of different segments for those Warid has designed its products, packages, plans and services.

The main thing that differentiates different telecom

companies is how they divide their target market into different segments and design their products, packages, plans and services to cater voice of customers from each segment. Warid develops its products and services according to segments that are •

Masses (Prepaid)

•

Youth

•

Post-paid

•

Corporate

•

Female

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7.2. B. Buying Characteristics

Buying characteristics of above segments will be discussed one by one  Masses Segment Masses Segment is the biggest segments involving most no of people. Consumers from masses segments use relatively less. Masses customers •

Pay before using the service.

•

Enjoy basic features and value-added services.

•

Have less brand loyalty in most cases.

•

Ready to switch to other mobile services in case of cheaper services.

Youth Segment

Youth drives a nation; similarly, youth is taken by cellular companies as a segment which can affect trends of customers of other segments a great deal. •

There is craze among youth in Pakistan to talk with their friends, spot new friends, as well as keeping in contact with their families.

•

If the youth is targeted in better way, lot of customers can be gained.

•

Youth is mostly the prepaid user.

Postpaid Segment

Postpaid Segment is the one which includes individuals with good income and usage more than that of prepaid customers. Postpaid customers •

Pay bill at the end of month depending on the service used

•

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•

Enjoy better range of value added services than prepaid customers

Corporate Segment

Corporate segment is niche segment which can be source of great revenue for organization. Corporate segments are those •

who use services in bulk

•

Affect trends of their primary groups and social circles.

•

Post-paid users

•

Mostly white collar customers

•

provided with Best possible VAS, Better rates, Corporate Series for organization employees, Security and Network Solutions

Female Segment

Importance of role of females cannot be overlooked in this modern era. •

Love to talk

•

Mostly don’t compare Telco services to their cost

7.2. C. Market Potential

Currently we have a population or over 17 million and if we exclude approximately 20% relatively extreme poor population and 20% children (population below the age of 8 years), we get a potential target market of about 97 million people. It is however, widely argued that poor are more inclined to avail telecom facility which in turn increases their income while reduces their business input costs, and in that case potential target market increases to more than 110 million people. So far cellular mobile companies have grabbed only 63 million of their potential target market, which is only 61% of their Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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potential target market. If we exclude 15% users who have multiple mobile connections and those connections that are recently switched off with order of Govt, the cellular mobile operators access comes to about 48% of potential market. So it can be said that there exists a promising scenario for the existing and new telecom entrants.

7. 3. Product Positioning •

Mobilink as a first mover in Telco industry in Pakistan has always remained innovative. It has always tried to communicate an image of modernity and newness over the years.

•

Ufone immediately began by focusing on the customers. Ufone further refined its strategy by 2005 when, under the new ownership of Etisalat, it was re-launched with a new logo, and a colorful campaign that was a reflection of the increasing competition. Ufone targeted teenagers and the youth with its pre-pay package.

•

Upon launch, Telenor targeted consumers’ dissatisfaction with existing cellular service brands, and claimed that Telenor was the "Smart Call" for consumers.

•

Warid positioned itself around simplicity and subtlety, and attracted subscribers more through word of mouth about its service quality than with advertising.

•

Zong positioned itself as a company that encourages consumers to be bold to express themselves in whatever way they choose. Its slogan “Sab Keh Do” is truly built on this positioning.

7. 4. Product 7.4. A. PLC Stage

Warid Telecom can be currently considered at growth stage in PLC. It has 18% market share in Telecom market. Friends and family culture of Warid is increasing and it is Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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surely the choice of new generation. Marketing has been separated as an independent department this year. So there has been certainly a difference in marketing strategies and campaigns. Surely, much more can be expected of Warid in years to come.

7.4. B. Classifications

Warid Telecom offers Mobile Connections. Broadly classified the connections are either pre-paid or post-paid. In a country like Pakistan, where there are far less legal requirements to fulfill. This product can be classified as shopping product because its purchase is less frequent, there is much planning and shopping effort, brands are compared on price, quality, rates, basic and value added services. There is selective distribution in fewer outlets. Options like personal selling, advertising, sales promotion is used by Warid itself, its franchisees, and retailers.

7.4. C. Core/ Augmented products

The core product in case of Warid Telecom is prepaid and post-paid connections that must offer core benefits that are calling and sms features. The augmented product or services in this case are value-added services including LBS (Location based service), Song dedication, Ring tone download, GPRS, bundle services plans and much more.

7.4. D. Packaging and Labeling

In case of mobile connections, which are more considered as services than a product; there is no certain packaging or labeling. There are two logos that are used •

Zem prepaid- logo for prepaid campaigns

•

Warid Generic- Logo for post-paid campaigns.

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Life ka network

Zem prepaid

Above are three basic logos that are used according to the requirements.

7.4. E. Warranties and Services

In case of mobile connections, there are no such warranties given in written. But it is actually the product which is purchased by customer if he/she has trust on that company, product and services provided. If the company is not able to meet the customer expectations, then it results in huge losses to company as it is not only the specific customer that is leaving but there are lot of chances that customer will spread bad word of mouth about the company and its products which will result in heavy losses.

7. 5. Distribution When Warid was launched, its target customers were middle class and rich class. At that time, Warid used both “demand-push and demand-pull” strategies. Means, they placed most of their prepaid and postpaid connections mostly at their Franchises and Sales Centers, and placed very less amount of connections in ordinary outlets. In this way, they were able to control the supply of Warid connections in the Market. By controlling the supply in the market, they strategically increased demand for their product.

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For most of the last quarter of year 2005 and beginning of year 2006, they used the same strategy. They at the middle of 1st quarter of year 2006,

shifted their strategy to

demand pull strategy, then onwards the demand for their product is increasing. Warid has now adopted strategy of focusing every segment of the population so now they have placed their products at places that will facilitate the mobile users. These places include PCO’s, Bookshops, Mobile shops etc.

Their customer care centers are also in easy reach of customers. Warid's Customer Service division functions on the premise of pleasing and satisfying their valuable customers, resolving their problems and addressing their queries. Their Contact Centre is equipped with the latest technology and its staff is trained to inform, educate and help customers in the best possible way.

7.5. A. Market coverage

Warid covers major parts of country, but it still has lot to do in this aspect and market coverage can be regarded as the area where Warid should work on.

7.5. B. Distribution Channel Structure

In telecom industry, the marketing channel used for distribution by all the cellular companies is indirect marketing channel. The distribution of Warid products to the final customer follows the following indirect marketing channel

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Warid

Consumers

Company Warehouse

Business Centres

Wholesalers/ Retailers

Franchises

Stands for “Dispatches to” Stands for “Channel used”

7.5. C. Logistics/physical distribution •

Production/Retailer/ Vendor to Company ---- Inbound Logistics

•

Company to final consumer ---- Outbound Logistics

Production Suppliers Vendors

Consumers

Warid

Company Warehouse

Retailers

Wholesalers/ Retailers

Business Centres

Franchises

7. 6. Pricing Warid used its pricing strategies as a tool to gain competitive edge over their rivals. Their pricing strategy was such that helped them to differentiate their products from their

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competitors. Pricing is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue: all other elements represent costs. Price is also one of the most flexible elements of the marketing mix. Unlike product features and channel commitments price can be changed quickly. Warid, considering the importance of pricing factor in marketing mix gives very much importance to pricing. Warid pricing strategies over time span is briefed as under  Pricing strategy •

Pricing Strategy of Warid at the time of Launch to Mid 2007

When Warid started its services in Pakistan, Warid was offering more value and quality to customer so rather than quickly reducing their prices in order to compete with their competitors, they convince their buyers that their products are worth a higher price. Warid took care that their pricing policies should be customer value oriented rather than too cost oriented. At start, Warid used both “demand push and demand-pull” strategies in order to penetrate in the market. They introduced their services at relatively cheaper rates than the market giant but not too less as the quality they were offering was far better. Their innovative pricing strategies such as 30 second billing, 1second billing helped them to capture a huge market in beginning. •

Pricing Strategy of Warid from Mid 2007 to End 2008

Currently, Warid pricing strategies focus on better value and cheap affordability for their segments according to their needs. Warid calling plans such as lowest call rates for the masses (prepaid segments), better designed cheaper postpaid plans for the post-paid segment, best quality for the corporate segment, and best possible plans for the youth segments as per their requirement. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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 Discounts/Allowances Usually there are no such discounts and allowances in this type of Industry especially for prepaid segment. Yet being specific, there can be discounts and allowances for •

Corporate Clients

•

Special events pricings such as expo, matches, shows etc.

•

Post-paid clients

7.7. Promotion Today promotion is considered as a very important tool in marketing activities. The key feature of the Warid’s promotion strategy is that they have designed all of their promotional activities keeping in mind the culture and traditions of the country. Even before they started operations, they started promotional activities. They developed a curiosity among the people even when they had not launched their products and services through the use of both electronic and print media.

The promotion activities they do are  consumer promotions  Trade promotions  Business promotions  Sales force promotions Their slogan “Be heard” and “we care” became most popular among general public. Now it is the new slogan after Re launch “Life ka Network” that has gained lot of popularity just in 3 months of its birth. Now lets have a look at different ways, Warid is promoting its brand and its products.

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 ATL Advertisements on electronic media such as Internet, Television, and Radio.  ATL Advertisements in print media such as newspapers, journals, brochures, and magazines.  BTL Advertising  Sponsoring different sports activities such as they have sponsored Pak-India Hockey Challenge 2005 and Pakistan Open Squash Tournament this year.  By arranging cultural events such as Basant Festival 2006  By sponsoring different musical programs  They have a contributed a great deal in relief activities after the October 8th earthquake  Warid is contributing in educational activities in Pakistan such as they are awarding scholarships t the needy and deserving students in GIK Institute.  By opening franchises in different cities at different locations to facilitate the customers. Main Events Sponsored by

Main Promotion events Warid did after Launch •

17thMay, 05- Warid Telecom main sponsor on World Telecom Day, Lahore.

•

4thJune, 05- Warid Telecom main sponsor of Fashion Show in collaboration with Faisalabad School of Fashion Design (FSFD).

•

9th – 12th June, 05 – Warid Telecom participated in Dawn Lifestyle Exhibition, Karachi.

•

22nd – 29th July, 05 – Warid Telecom co-sponsor of All Pakistan Open Squash Championship, Karachi.

•

9th – 11th August, 05 – Warid Telecom participation in ITCN Conference, Karachi.

•

13th – 19th August, 05 – Warid Telecom main sponsor of HSY “Essentially Pakistan” Fashion Show on Independence Day in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

•

2006- Warid cup hockey tournament, Pakistan v/s India Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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•

2006- Warid Pakistan Open Golf Championship

•

2006- Warid Basant Festival

•

2007- Mega Musical Concert

•

2007- Dawn Life Styles Expo

•

2006, 2007, 2008- ITCN Asia Conference and Exhibition

•

2007- “Boondh” Album of Jal, The band

•

August, 2008- Zem Kabaddi Takkar Series b/w Pakistan and India

•

July 21-23,2008- OIC IT & Telecom expo and Conference

•

2007, 2008- Warid Floodlight Tape ball Cricket tournament

•

2007,2008- Warid Gymkhana Golf League

•

2008-SLUMS (Sports at Lums)

Beside these activities there are many promotional activities that Warid is undertaking. But the key feature of all their promotional activities is that they are trying to relate or associate themselves to the people of the country. All their promotional campaigns include the element of sharing and caring of their customers. Another key feature of their promotional strategy is that they believe in transparency and they don’t hide anything from their customers such as announcing the rates clearly in their promotional activities.

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8 HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES WARID TELECOM

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8. WARID HUMAN RESOURCES: STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES

8. 1. Recruiting This is a process of seeking job candidates. Warid gives advertisements in the newspaper and on the companies’ website. Interested applicants submit their CVs to the Human Resource Division via mail or email. Once they receive the CV, they will assess it according to their internal policy and requirement of the job. Selection criteria may involve different steps with respect to the position they are applying for. There can be one to one interview with concerned Division head, Recruitment Manager and/ or a panel interview, or there can be series of interviews. Special process of a preliminary test might be carried out, depending upon nature of the job. .

8. 2. Orientation When a new employee joins Warid, orientation is given to him/her. He is introduced to the office and to the other employees. The department head gives out the orientation. In orientation he gives a detail introduction that how operations are being performed in Warid, and how things work in a department. When 5 new employees are hired, they are given in-house orientation where information about the concerned department is delivered to them. The employees are also sent to the Head Office, and they are asked to spend a whole day there, so that they get to know how things work there.

8. 3. Employee Training During the orientation of the employees they are told about their career planning. Employees are told about the steps taken to develop them, they are told about the Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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training process they have to go through. And they are also told where they will see themselves in the next five years. Warid has got a training contract with Etisalat. In which they send their employees to UAE for training. Warid employees go to England, Australia, Europe and New Zealand too for training. Recently an IT conference was held in USA, and 5 employees of Warid were part of it. Warid has got conferences and training session for their employees in Royal Palm, where they spend the whole day. Warid has a policy for its employees to sign the bond before they are sent for training. In this bond, they ask the employee that they can not leave Warid for a year or two (depending on the training cost) after the training is complete. And if they do so, then they have to pay the training cost that Warid has incurred.

8. 4. Performance management system Warid Telecom gives immense importance to performance management system. Employees are given annual appraisals and increments. Depending on how good or bad an employee is performing keeping that in mind these increments are awarded. The supervisors discuss the appraisal form with the subordinates. And tell them where they need to work hard. This process takes place once in a year.

8. 5. Rewards and Pay Plans Rewards are generally paid in the form of increments. Bonuses are given after every one million customers. All the employees are given this bonus. Currently Warid has seven million customers. Warid is known to be one of the best pay masters in the industry. Warid believes in pay for performance and is an ideal place for people with “can do” attitude. Warid is continually working towards making its processes performance and cost effective and is working in line with Best Practices. Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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8. 6. Employee Benefits Warid has a very sound and a systematic plan for the benefits for its employees. The strategy ensures that the employees are not only satisfied but also motivated continuously in order to achieve maximum productivity. Warid has an unmatchable employee benefit plan. Some of the major benefits are as follows. •

LFA (leave Fair Assistance)

•

Provident Fund

•

Leave Encashment

•

Medical Benefits

•

Insurance

•

Leaves Allotment

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9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECO RECOM COMMENDATIONS WARID TELECOM

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9. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS With some changes at higher level including advisor to CEO, G.M Marketing much has improved this year in Warid Telecom market rating. Warid Telecom certainly has potential to capture good market and to give tough time to the competitors, but for this at least following steps should be taken  Warid telecom is offering cheap rates for its prepaid and postpaid customers as compared to its competitors but the main area they are lacking is the way to communicate it to customers.  Seth Culture should be avoided.  Network should be enhanced to much more cities.  There should be consistency of brand ambassadors, jingles, colors and graphics in their print and electronic media ads to create strong brand recognition.  More regional departmentalization should be there, so as to create strong presence and market analysis at regional levels.  More staff to should be hired in some departments to meet the requirements.  There should be more decentralization and employees should be encouraged for their ideas.  Compensation and benefits plans should be revised, as it can be used as a very important tool to create motivation in employees.

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10 LEARNING AS A STUDENT INTERN IN WARID TELECOM

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10. LEARNING AS A STUDENT INTERN

10. 1. Duties

During two months of internship, I had to work directly with eight employees. With each of eight persons, I have to perform different duties. Duties with each employee I worked with were as follows:

Mr. Haider Khan (Asst. Manager Marketing Operations)

I was given duties by Haider khan to •

Prepare report on branding

•

Looking after branding at Shah Faisal Ground, Lahore for Tape Ball Tournament

Mr. Zeeshan Awan (Asst. Manager Marketing Operations)

Mr. Zeeshan Awan is responsible for Marketing Collaterals. Marketing Collaterals include standees, posters, flyers, tariffs, passes, log books, Usage Guidelines, branding on takeaways etc. With Mr. Zeeshan Awan, I was given duties to assist Zeeshan in whole process •

Taking quotations from different Vendors for collateral production

•

Preparing and signing CEO Notes from authorities

•

Directing communications to design artworks for marketing campaigns

•

Taking Artworks from Marketing Communications and giving it to Procurement to give orders to vendor for production

•

Directing marketing finance to issue PR to Procurement

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•

Directing Procurement issues PO to vendor for delivering Marketing collateral to warehouse

•

Directing Warehouse to delivers collaterals to business centers /desired location

Mr. Shaham Saeed (Marketing operations Executive)

Mr. Shaham is responsible for marketing event management for Warid Telecom Marketing Department. Assisted Mr. Shaham in making arrangements and managing •

Marketing Events

•

Press Conferences

•

Expo

Mr. Shaham was on leave from August 1st to August 20th. So I was given charge in his absence to perform his duties

Mr. Hassan Jaafar (Segment Manager Masses)

Mr. Hassan Jaafar is responsible for the prepaid (masses) segment. I was given duty by him to go to all six cities on behalf of marketing operations to look after and execute marketing operations for ZEM Kabaddi Takkar Series and reporting to segment manager about each match.

Mr. Adnan Farooqi (Asst. Manager Marketing Operations)

Mr. Adnan Farooqi is responsible for New city launches. I assisted him in •

Preparing reports regarding new city launches

•

Branding at new city launches

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Mr. Farrukh Ahmad (Asst. Manager Marketing Operations)

Mr. Farrukh Ahmad is responsible for BTL advertising. I assisted him in doing surveys to check out BTL branding in Lahore and then preparing reports. Branding included •

Billboards

•

Hoardings

•

Pole Signs

•

Directional signs

•

Vertical Panels

•

Bus stand

Mr. Farhan Abass (Manager Marketing Operations) Mr. Farhan Abass as marketing operations manager gave me responsibilities of •

ZEM Kabaddi Tournament.

•

Survey of Hafeez Centre

•

Some documents preparation

10. 2. Accomplishments I accomplished and learned a lot in these two months of internship. The main accomplishments were participating and taking part in organizing activities such as •

2nd Warid Floodlight Tape Ball Cricket tournament 2008 Matches

•

Abrar-ul-Haq TVC ad for Tape Ball Tournament

•

Lahore Gymkhana Golf League 2008-09

•

ZEM Kabaddi Takkar Series b/w Pakistan and India

•

OIC IT and Telecom Expo and Conference 2008, LCCI, Lahore

•

SACK International Fashion Show

•

ARY Digital Azadi Show

•

5 Press Conferences: Abrar-ul-Haq signed as brand ambassador, Jawad Ahmad signed as brand ambassador, Zem Kabaddi Takkar Series featuring singers: Waris Baig, Jawad Ahmad at post match concerts, Black Berry Launch Press conference

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Through these activities, I came to meet artists, people from event management companies, media persons, corporate clients, people from remote areas, our regional teams, business centre teams and franchise teams as well.

10. 3. New Knowledge Acquired Due to practical applications and exposure, I came to have very good understanding about •

Event Management

•

Media role in marketing

•

Marketing Collaterals

•

Press Conference arrangements

•

Market segmentation

•

People from different areas

•

Marketing communications

•

Problems

•

Public Relations

faced

while

executing

marketing activities

10. 4. How Experience Impacts your Career Marketing in telecom industry is best place to learn marketing basics and practices due to its dynamic nature. No doubt experience as an internee in marketing department of multinational cellular company like Warid Telecom would serve as step stone to better career in marketing and media field. Experiences such as event management assignments, process flow of marketing campaigns from scrap to a meaningful image, participating in International events would be very helpful in my future assignments as student as well as a marketing professional.

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11 GLOSSARY

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11. GLOSSARY ATL (Above-the-line advertising)

Tariff

Term refers to main media expenditure, TV, print, radio, outdoor, cinema and its traditional accounting treatment. Now used for all traditional media expenses incurred through an agency; mainly used to create, maintain brand awareness/interest.

Noun. Price, rate; protective tax Flyers A mass circulation advertising leaflet or pamphlet dropped through the letter box or put loosely inside magazines or newspapers.

BTL (Below-the-line advertising) Hoarding Expenditure on promotional activities which are used to be managed within the company (now many specialized agencies take on these task); promotional activities other than 'above the line' e.g. sales promotion, POP, direct response are examples of BTL.

Noun. Billboard (British usage); temporary tall fence made of boards enclosing a construction site; fence made of hurdles; temporary balcony made of wood that is hung from the upper walls from which missiles could be dropped

Marketing Communications Operations The formal and informal messages that sellers transmit to buyers; that can be systematic (planned) as well as the unsystematic (unplanned) promotion by a firm of its products to its markets.

Act Noun. performance, undertaking;

of

operating; handling;

working, venture,

Marketing Procurement Noun. Purchase, sale, acquisition Logistics Activities involved with the orderly and timely acquisition and transportation of materials required for production, and with the storage, handling and dispatch of finished goods to customers.

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Act or process of buying or selling at a market; development of a strategy for the sales of a certain product; promotion and selling services; distribution of goods Human resources Noun. Manpower, human work force, human labor; field of business that deals and handles personnel matters (such as hiring, training, firing, etc.)

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Financial Accounting

Quality Assurance

Collection of basic (raw) data, as in management accounting, but treated in a prescribed and statute enforced format which emphasizes the historic, custodial and stewardship aspects of the business.

The name given to the procedures used to ascertain that measurement data are good enough for their intended purpose. It involves 1. Quality control: those procedures and activities utilized to verify that the quality control system is operating within acceptable limits and to evaluate the quality of the data; and 2. Quality assessment: those procedures and activities utilized to verify that the quality control system is operating within acceptable limits and to evaluate the quality of the data.

Sales Total revenue amount collected for goods and services provided; see also gross sales, net sales, return on sales. Sales charge same as commission Customer Service The process of meeting every customer need, before, during and after the sale; the dept. responsible for looking after the customer. Administration Noun. Management (of an office, project, etc.); execution of managerial duties; people in charge of directing or managing, supervisors, leadership Audit An examination into the current business situation; it can be both internal and internal.

Public Relations A deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain positive understanding, good image, between a company and its publics. Such publics include customers, shareholders, employees etc. Project Management Tracking and supervision of the tasks which must be done in order to complete a project (especially the production of a system) Artwork

Risk Services

Noun. Work intended to have artistic value

Providing services of analyzing exposure to risk and determining how to best handle such exposure.

Facia

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Noun. Sign board (of a shop); dashboard, instrument panel of a car (British)

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Streamer

Corporate Governance

A long, narrow sign with a message in bold type hung across open area, window, or doorway.

Noun. Salesman; supplier, equipment salesman (for example in the field of computers, etc.); automatic machine for selling goods

1. The control structure of a corporation. 2. The term used, following recent Government sponsored reports, to describe the policies and procedures that the company’s directors’ employ in their conduct of the company’s affairs, and their relationships with shareholders to whom they are responsible as managers of the shareholders interests in the company, and of its assets.

Loyalty

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The extent to which customers repurchase a particular product or brand.

The total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year; equals total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports minus the value of imports.

Vendor

Leasing Noun. Act of renting out property for a specified period of time; possessing or occupying under the terms of a lease.

Demand-Pull Approach

General Ledger

Developing new products on the basis of market demand rather than on that of company-generated ideas.

The master file in which a record is maintained for each and every account in the organization’s accounting system. Treasury control Control of finances, dealing with money, work of a treasurer Franchise Verb. Grant a franchise to an individual or group; grant the right to vote

Abbreviations RSM: Regional Sales Manager ZSM: Zonal Sales Manager GM: General Manager CIO: Chief Information Officer FM: Franchise Manager BCM: Business Centre Manager BEC: Board Executive Committee CEO: Chief Executive Officer

Warehouse Storage for goods and services prior to customer purchase . Internship Report: Warid Telecom

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12 REFERENCES

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12. MAJOR REFERENCES http://www.waridtel.com/ http://www.brandchannel.com/ http://www.pta.gov.pk http://marketingteacher.com/index.htm http://tutor2u.net/default.asp http://www.brandsaward.com/2008/index.html http://www.dictionary.com/

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12 ANNEXURES

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