Project Report

“COMPARITIVE STUDY OF CUSTOMERSATISFACTION ON AIRTEL AND VODAFONE

IN CHANDIGARH”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of“Degree of Bachelor of Business

Administration 2012-2013”

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

DEPTT. OF COMMERCE AND BUSINESS kanika sharrnaADMINISTRATION

PGGC-11 CHANDIGARH. BBA III

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PU PIN-17611000912

PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH

DECLARATION

I, Hereby declare that the project reportentitled “COMPARITIVE STUDY OF CUSTOMERSATISFACTION ON AIRTEL AND VODAFONE IN

CHANDIGARH” submitted for the degree of Bachelorof Business Administration, is my original workand the project report has not formed the basisfor the award of any diploma, degree, associateship, fellowship or similar other titles. It hasnot been submitted to any other university orinstitution for the award of any degree or

diploma.

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Kanika sharma

BBA III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A work is never a work of an individual. I own asense of gratitude to the intelligence and co-operation of those people who had been so easyto let us understand what I needed from time totime for completion of this exclusive project.

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I want to express our gratitude towards Mr.Rajesh faculty member of Post Graduate

Government College, Sector – 11, Chandigarh forgiving me an opportunity to do this project.

Last but not the least, I would like to forwardmy gratitude to my friends & other faculty

members who always endured me and stood by meand without whom I could not have envisaged the

completion of my project.

Kanika sharmaBBA III

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PREFACE

This Research Project is undertaken for thepartial fulfillment Of BBA course from PostGraduate Government College, Chandigarh (Batch2011-2012). The project being “Comparitive StudyOf Customer Satisfaction On Airtel And VodafoneIn Chandigarh” required use of lot of primarydata which was collected through Questionnairesand personal interaction with the professionals.The concentration of efforts has been entirelyon aspects of customer’s perception as well asexpectations.

Customer satisfaction is an internal state ofbeing or an internal condition that activatesone’s behavior, giving it direction. It has alsobeen defined as a desire or need which directsand energizes behavior that is oriented towardsa goal.

The basic aim of this project is to do“Comparitive Study of Customer Satisfaction onAirtel and Vodafone in Chandigarh”

This project has given me a chance to experiencethe corporate culture. There is a feeling of

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victory in me after completing my projectsuccessfully. This project work is of greatimportance to me because of many reasons.Firstly, it gave me an opportunity to face thecorporate world and teach lot many things. Thisproject work has also developed a lot ofconfidence in me. The Research Report has beenorganized into five parts. First part deals withthe introduction about the project. Then secondpart deals with the review of literature. Thirdpart deals with the research methodology, whichincludes need and scope, objectives of thestudy, research design and limitation of thestudy. Then fourth part includes analysis andinterpretation. Fifth part deals with findings,suggestions and conclusion. At the end are theappendix which includes references,questionnaire and the research paper. Theproject has been presented in such a manner thatit is easy to read and understand. Severaldiagrams, flowcharts, tables, pictures are usedto explain the content more easily and to makethe project lively.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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S.No. Topic Page

no.

1. Introduction

7- 22

a. Intro about the project

7-9

b. Company profile

9-22

2. Review of literature

23 - 28

3. Research methodology

29 - 35

a. Need and scope

30

b. Objectives of the study

31

c. Research design

8

32-34

d. Limitations of study

35

4. Analysis and

Interpretation 36 - 48

5. Findings,

suggestions and Conclusion 49 - 55

BIBLIOGRAPHY

56-57

ANNEXURE

58-61

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1.

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE PROJECT

Exchange of information becomes the necessity of life to a commonman. In the modern world an individual tends to communicateanything to everything right from the place where he/she stands.Even while riding a vehicle he / she wants to communicate withina fraction of second at quick speed with clear voice, without anydisturbance like line crossing, out of order, etc ; most of whichlack in the connectivity given by the department oftelecommunication. Cellular service providers emerge as a boonquench such a thirst, thus by providing facilities, which acommon man cannot imagine. Though the telecom industry has itsorigin in the recent past and the growth has been excellent.

1. Day by day many new competitors enter the market with newattractive schemes, provide additional facilities, add newfeatures to existing ones, reduce the charges of incomingand outgoing calls, introduce varieties of handsets, modelsa healthy competition that benefits the subscribers. Hencein this context, it is important to study the variousattributes or factors which shape the consumers mind duringtaking or switching over to new mobile connections.

2. In terms of value- addition to the organization, this studywill definitely help the Company to grow in future. As, weall are aware of the fact that a fierce competition is goingon, in order to stay alive in the market place. In thissituation, one competitor tries to penetrate through theloop holes of the other competitor.

3. This project will visualize all sorts of loop holes whichthe airtel and vodafone possesses right now and will alsogive a complete insight to all types of problems such as,whether the products & services are competent enough tofight back their competitor’s products & services or not.

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COMPANY’S PROFILE

BHARTI AIRTEL LTD

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Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indiantelecommunications company that operates in 20 countries acrossSouth Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSMnetwork in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services dependingupon the country of operation. Airtel is the fifth largesttelecom operator in the world with over 230.8 million customersacross 19 countries as of June 2011. It is the largest cellularservice provider in India, with over 175.65 million subscribersat the end of December 2011. Airtel is the third largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind ChinaMobile and China Unicom.Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and secondlargest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also aprovider of broadband and subscription television services. Itoffers its telecom services under the Airtel brand and is headedby Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecomservice provider to achieve this Cisco Gold Certification. Toearn Gold Certification, Bharti Airtel had to meet rigorousstandards for networking competency, service, support andcustomer satisfaction set forth by Cisco. The company alsoprovides land-line telephone services and broadband Internetaccess (DSL) in over 96 cities in India. It also acts as acarrier for national and international long distancecommunication services. The company has a submarine cable landingstation at Chennai, which connects the submarine cableconnecting Chennai and Singapore.It is known for being the first mobile phone company in the worldto outsource all of its business operations except marketing,sales and finance. Its network (base stations, microwave links,etc.) are maintained by Ericsson, Nokia SiemensNetwork and Huawei, business support is provided by IBM, andtransmission towers are maintained by another company (Bharti

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Infratel Ltd. in India).Ericsson agreed for the first time to bepaid by the minute for installation and maintenance of theirequipment rather than being paid up front. This enabled thecompany to provide pan-India phone call rates of Rs. 1/minute(US$0.02/minute). Call rates have come down much further

Bharti AirtelLimited

Type Public company

Industry Telecommunications

Founded 7 July 1995

Founder(s) Sunil Bharti Mittal

Headquarters

New Delhi, India

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Areaserved

South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands

Key people Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chairman) and (MD)

Products Fixed-line and telephony, broadband and fixed-line internet services, digitaltelevision, IPTV and network services

Parent Bharti Enterprises

Business Description

Provides mobile, broadband & telephone (fixed line) andenterprise services (carriers & services to corporate)

Vision

In 2010 Airtel will be the most admired brand in India:1. Loved by more customers2. Targeted by top talent3. Benchmarked by more business4. First private telecommunications company to launch long

distance services.

The company is a part of Bharti Enterprises, and is India'sleading provider of telecommunications services. The businesses

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at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individualstrategic business units (SBU’s)

1. Mobile services,2. Broadband & telephone services (B&T) &3. Enterprise services.

The mobile services group provides GSM mobile services acrossIndia in 23 telecom circles, while the B&T business groupprovides broadband & telephone services in 90 cities. TheEnterprise services group has two subunits- carriers (longdistance services) and services to corporate. All these servicesare provided under the Airtel brand.

Fact Sheet

Service Areas :

Delhi (Metro)

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Mumbai (Metro) Kolkata (Metro) Chennai (Metro) Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Kerala Karnataka Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra North East Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh (E) Uttar Pradesh (W) West Bengal

NameBharti Airtel Limited.

Business DescriptionProvides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles inIndia, and was the first private operator to have an all Indiapresence.Provides telemedia services (fixed line and broadband servicesThrough DSL) in 95 cities in India.

EstablishedJuly 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company

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Proportionate RevenueRs. 369,615 million (year ended March 31, 2009-Audited)Rs. 270,250 million (year ended March 31, 2008 - Audited)As per US GAAP AccountsProportionate EBITDARs. 151,678 million (year ended March 31, 2009 - Audited)Rs. 113,715 million (year ended March 31, 2008 - Audited)As per US GAAP Accounts

Shares in Issue3,796,951,980 as at Dec 31, 2009

ListingsThe Stock Exchange, Mumbai (BSE)The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)

Market CapitalizationStock Quote: BSE: INR 298.25

Customer Base118,864,031 GSM mobile and 2,988,545 Telemedia Customers (statusas on Dec 31, 2009)

Operational NetworkProvides GSM mobile services in all the 22 telecom circles inIndia, and was the first private operator to have an all Indiapresence.

Provides telemedia services (fixed line) in 95 cities in India.

Registered OfficeBharti Airtel Limited(A Bharti Enterprise)Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj Phase IINew Delhi - 110 070Tel. No.: +91 11 4666 6100

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MAN BEHIND BHARTI ENTERPRISES

Sunil Bharti MittalChairman & Managing Director since October 2001Board director since: July 1995Age: 49 years

Sunil Bharti Mittal is the Chairman and Managing Director ofBharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti”), India’s largest privateintegrated telecom player. The company has nearly 20 millioncustomers on its well-respected brand “AIRTEL”. Sunil was one ofthe first entrepreneurs to identify the mobile telecom business

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as a major growth area and launched services in the city of Delhiand the National Capital Region in the year 1995. Under hisinspiring leadership the company grew organically andinorganically, covering the entire country by providingintegrated telecom services.

In his personal capacity, Sunil has received several awards suchas Sunil Bharti Mittal was awarded the GSM Association Chairman’sAward 2008. The highest honour in global telecom sector,recognized his tremendous contribution to the development ofIndia’s telecom sector.

Sunil Bharti Mittal adjudged the “Business Leader TransformingIndia, 2008 at the NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards.

Best Carrier India for innovative products & services andefficient cost models and the Ovum Telco-Transformation awardrecognizing philosophy and execution of a successful outsourcingstrategy at the Telecom Asia Awards 2008

Best Telecom Company” at the NDTV Profit Business LeadershipAwards.

SUBSCRIBER BASE AND MOBILE PENETRATION

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The graph indicates low mobile penetration in India (5%) ascompared to developed countries like Australia (88%) andSingapore (92%) and low subscriber base. So there is a greatpotential in the market to be explored in India.

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GSM AND TOTAL MOBILE MARKET

This graph indicates the growth in the GSM and expected growth in2007 showing a great potential of the customer to be exploited.

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CONSUMER AWARENESS OF DATA SERVICE IN INDIA

The graph indicates the awareness of data services in India thatgives indication of very less knowledge about the M-banking andother activities and usage of these services as compared to SMSwhich is very low shown below.

INCREASING SMS VOLUMES

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The graph indicates the SMS volume growth and the expectedgrowth.

Vodafone

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Vodafone, the world’s leading international mobilecommunications company, has fully arrived in India brand will belunched in India from 21st September onwards. The popular andendearing brand, Hutch, will be transitioned to Vodafone acrossIndia. This marks a significant chapter in the evolutes brandchange over the next few weeks will be unveiled nationallythrough a high profile campaign covering all important media.

Vodafone, the world’s leading mobile telecommunication company,completed the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in May 2007. AsimGhosh, managing director, Vodafone Essar, said “We have had agreat innings as Hutch in India and today marks a new begin thatcreated Hutch, but an acceleration into the future withVodafone’s global expertise..” the Vodafone mission is to be thecommunications leader in an increasingly connected world –enriching customers lives, helping increased by delivering theirtotal communication needs.

About Vodafone Essar Limited

Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group plc andcommenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison teleVodafone Essar now has operations in 16 circles covering 86% ofIndia’s mobile customer base, with over 34.1 million customers.Over the year, Vodafone Essar, under the hutch brand, has beennamed the Most Respected Telecom Company, the Best Mobile sendereffective advertiser of the year. Vodafone is the world’s leadinginternational mobile communications company. It now has operationnetwork with over 200 million customers worldwide. Vodafone haspartnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venturepartner. The Essar Group is a diversified business corporationwith interests spanning the manufacturing and service sectorslike steel, energy, construction. The group has an asset base ofover Rs.400 billion and employer over 20,000 people.

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VODAFONE INDIA

Type Private(subsidiary of Vodafone International HoldingsBV(VIH) )

Industry Telecommunications

Predecessor(s)

Hutchison Essar

Founded 1994

Headquarters

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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Products Mobile telephony Wireless broadband services

Parent Vodafone Group

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SHARE OF VARIOUS GSM OPERATORS IN INDIAN MARKET

Airtel is the market leader with 27.91% and others BSNL 24.44%,Vodafone 19.51%This gives a clear scenario of Bharti is the market leader.

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2.

REVIEW OFLITERATURE

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

INTRODUCTIONCustomer Satisfaction

According to Philip Kotler, “satisfaction is a person’s feelings

of pressure or disappointment resulting from product’s perceived

performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations.

Customer satisfaction is the level of a person’s felt state

resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance

(outcome) in relation to the person’s expectations”.

This satisfaction level is a function of difference between

perceived performance and expectations. If the product’s

performance, exceed expectation the customer highly

satisfied or delighted. If the performance matches the

expectations the customer is satisfied. If the products

performance fall shorts of expectations the customer is

dissatisfied.

1 Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because

customers who are just satisfied still find it easy to switch

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when a better offer comes along. High satisfaction or delight

creates an emotional affinity with brand.

2 Variety of factors that affect customer satisfaction includes

product quality, product availability and after sales support

such as warranties and services. Customer satisfaction is seen

as a proof of delivering a quality product or service. It is

believed that customer satisfaction brings sales growth, and

market share. A company can always increase customer

satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services

but this may result in lower profits. Thus the purpose of

marketing is to generate customer value profitability.

3 India is on the threshold of a new millennium. India chose for

global economy, exposing her to winds of change in the market

place, which has expanded vastly and become fiercely

competitive. In the changed environment, decision makers view

the marketing concept as the key to success. Marketing in

practice has to manage products, pricing, promotion and

distribution.

4 A successful product can be developed by exploding these

opportunities. While delivering the value of the consumer we

make use of marketing support. This support is based on the

knowledge of consumers and distribution. Marketing support

both at the introduction of products and maturing is

considered

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5 Marketing, as suggested by the American Marketing Association

is "an organizational function and a set of processes for

creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and

for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the

organization and its stakeholders".

6 The two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new

customers (acquisition) and the retention and expansion of

relationships with existing customers (base management).

Marketing methods are informed by many of the social,

particularly psychology, sociology, and economics.

Anthropology is also a small, but growing, influence. Market

research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it

is also related to many of the creative arts.

7 For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four

"Ps"1 i.e. product, price, place, promotion must reflect the

wants and desires of the consumers in the target market.

Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they

don't want is extremely expensive and seldom successful.

Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and

informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are

willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give

them a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing management

1

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is the practical application of this process. The offer is

also an important addition to the 4P's theory.

Skills of MarketersMarketers have 4 main skill sets that they bring to an

enterprise:

1) Opportunity Identification: Marketing begins before there

is a product to sell. Many people think marketing is just

selling whatever comes out of the manufacturing plant. It's

the job of marketing to decide WHAT comes out of the

manufacturing plant in the first place. Before a business

can make money there must be opportunities for money to be

made and it's marketing's job to define what those

opportunities are. Marketers analyze markets, market gaps,

trends, products, competition, and distribution channels to

come up with opportunities to make money.

2) Competitive strategy/positioning:

Markets consist of groups of competitors competing for a

customer's business. The job of marketing is to decide how to

create a defensible sustainable competitive advantage against

competitors. Marketers conceive strategies, tactics, and

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business models to make it hard if not impossible for

competition to take away customers from their business.

3) Demand generation/management

It's the job of marketing to create and sustain demand for a

company's products. Marketers manage demand for a company's

products by influencing the probability and frequency of their

customer's purchase behavior.

4) Sales:

The ultimate goal of marketing is to make money for a

business. In most company’s sales is a different discipline

and department from marketing. But in order for salespeople to

have any long term success in a company they must be led by

marketing. The better job a company does of identifying

opportunities, creating a differential sustainable competitive

advantage, and generating demand for their products the easier

it will be for salespeople to make sales.

Method to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Companies use the following methods to measure customer

satisfaction.

1) Complaints and suggestion system: companies obtaining

complaints through their customer service

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centres, and further suggestions were given by customers to

satisfy their desires.

2) Customer satisfaction surveys

Responsive companies obtain a direct measure of customer

satisfaction by periodic surveys. They send questionnaires to

random sample of their customers to find out how they feel

about various aspects of the company’s performance and also

solicit views on their competitor’s performance. It is useful

to measure the customer’s willingness to recommend the company

and brand to other persons.

3) Lost Customer Analysis.

Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or

who have switched to another supplier to learn why this

happened.

4) Consumer Behavior Vs Consumption Behavior

Consumer behavior refers to the manner in which an individual

reaches decision related to the selection, purchases and use

of goods and services. Walters and Paul says that, consumer

behavior is the process where by the individuals decides what,

when, how and from whom to purchase goods & services.

Consumer behavior relates to an individual person (Micro

behavior) where as consumption behavior relates to and to the

mass or aggregate of individuals (Macro behavior) consumers

behavior as a study focuses on the decision process of the

individual consumer or consuming unit such as the family.37

In contrast the consumption behavior as a study is to do with

the explanation of the behavior of the aggregate of consumers

or the consuming unit. Consumer is a pivot, around which the

entire system of marketing revolves. The study of buyer

behavior is one of the most important keys to successful mark

Introduction to Telecom IndustryThe Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 millionconnections is the fifth largest in the world and the secondlargest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is thefastest growing market in the world and represents uniqueopportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario.The total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, isexpected to reach 250 million in 2007. According to BroadbandPolicy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadbandconnections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. Thewireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to62.57 million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two out ofevery three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers.Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the totaltelephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003.Wireless subscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million newsubscribers per month by 2007. The wireless technologiescurrently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There areprimarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns acrossthe country.

Classification of Telecommunication services

1. Basic services2. Cellular services3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)

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3.

RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY

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Research methodologyThis section of the project emphasizes on the procedures used toaccomplish the project. To accomplish the project some data havebeen collected and then the research has been carried out on thatdata. The details of the research methodology used are describedbelow:-

NEED AND SCOPE

Exchange of information becomes the necessity of life to a commonman. In the modern world an individual tends to communicateanything to everything right from the place where he/she stands.Even while riding a vehicle he / she wants to communicate withina fraction of second at quick speed with clear voice, without anydisturbance like line crossing, out of order, etc ; most of whichlack in the connectivity given by the department oftelecommunication. Cellular service providers emerge as a boonquench such a thirst, thus by providing facilities, which acommon man cannot imagine. Though the telecom industry has itsorigin in the recent past and the growth has been excellent.

1. Day by day many new competitors enter the market with newattractive schemes, provide additional facilities, add newfeatures to existing ones, reduce the charges of incomingand outgoing calls, introduce varieties of handsets, modelsa healthy competition that benefits the subscribers. Hencein this context, it is important to study the variousattributes or factors which shape the consumers mind duringtaking or switching over to new mobile connections.

2. In terms of value- addition to the organization, this studywill definitely help the Company to grow in future. As, weall are aware of the fact that a fierce competition is goingon, in order to stay alive in the market place. In this

40

situation, one competitor tries to penetrate through theloop holes of the other competitor.

3. This project will visualize all sorts of loop holes whichthe Tata Indicom possesses right now and will also give acomplete insight to all types of problems such as, whetherthe products & services are competent enough to fight backtheir competitor’s products & services or not.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study the preferences of the customers of the two mobile service providers regarding mobile services.

To study the level of satisfaction of thecustomers of the two companies

. To compare the level of satisfaction of customers

of the two companies.

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To give valuable suggestion to improve customers satisfaction.

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RESEARCH DESIGN

A. Data Source: - The data collected is basically of twotypes:-

Primary data Secondary data

Primary data: - Primary data means those raw data or datastructures that are collected “first hand” and have not had anyprevious meaningful interpretation. It is the data originated bythe researcher for the specific purpose of addressing the problemat hand.

For my Research Project report, I have collected the primary datathrough survey method. The survey method was used to elicitinformation from respondents.

The structured data collection method is used in which a formalquestionnaire is prepared and then the questions were asked in apredefined manner. In the questionnaire most questions are Fixed-alternative questions that require the respondent to select froma set a predetermined set of response.

There are also a few subjective questions so as to get a deeperunderstanding about the respondent’s views and thoughts.

Secondary Data: - The data that has already been collected forpurpose other than the problem at hand is secondary data.

The various secondary data sources which I have used for mySummer Internship Project are as follows:-

External Sources: Among the external sources various publishedsources such as the guides and directories on telecom industry is

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used extensively. Internet was also of great importance to me inproviding a deeper understanding of the topic and also providedvaluable information for the successful completion of theproject.

B. Research Approach

A research approach lays the foundation for conducting theproject. For my topic, EXPLORATORY RESEARCH approach would havebeen the best suitable option. Hence I have used exploratoryresearch design. Exploratory research design is used to provisionof insights into and comprehension of the problem situationconfronting the researcher.Exploratory research is used for the following purpose:

Formulate a problem or define a problem more precisely. Identify alternative courses of action. Develop hypothesis. Isolate key variables and relationships for further

examination. Gain insights for developing an approach to the problem. Establish priorities for further research.

Exploratory research has been used for the following reasons: The problem needed to be defining more precisely. Identify relevant courses of action. Or gain additional insights before an approach can be

developed. The sample size is small. Qualitative research has been conducted.

C. Sampling Plan

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The objective of most marketing research project is to obtaininformation about the characteristics or parameters of apopulation, same holds true for my project in which I have toobtain information from the user of different cellular services.Thus, a sampling plan has been made.

A sample is a subgroup of the population selected forparticipation in the study.

The sampling design process involved the following steps whichare shown below:-

Target Population: -

The target population is the collection of elements or elementsor objects that possess the information sought by the researcherand about which inferences are to be made. The target populationfor my project is defined as follows:

Sampling Units User of different cellular services Extent Chandigarh. Time 2011.

Sampling Frame: - A sampling frame is a representation of the elements of thetarget population. It consists of a list or set of directions foridentifying the target population.

The sampling frame used is the user of different cellularservices in Chandigarh.

Sampling Technique: - The sampling technique used is no probability sampling. In noprobability sampling “Judgmental” sampling has been used.

Sample size:-

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Small sample size has been used because of time constraint.Sample size used is 100.

D. CONTACT METHOD

Survey method is used for obtaining information based on thequestioning of respondents. The respondents were contacted mainlythrough following methods:-

I. Personal Interviewing:-The respondents were personally interviewed at their offices.Prior appointments were taken and then the visits were made totheir offices.

II. Mail Methods:-E-mail surveys were also conducted in order to contact distantclients.

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LIMITATIONS

Every research work suffers from some limitations; similarly thisresearch also has some limitations. The limitations of theresearch project are as follows:-

Time constraint: - The biggest constraint was time. Because oflimited time the research could not be carried out thoroughly.The research could have been better carried out with the help ofa larger sample size, covering more geographical areas, and witha detailed questionnaire.

The research carried out is only exploratory in nature furtherthis research can be carried out through a descriptive or causalresearch.

Many other factors are responsible for the business developmentof a company apart from the customer satisfaction or the internalmanagement of the company, these other factors is not taken intoconsideration.

The research has been limited to Chandigarh only. It would givebetter results if it would be carried out on all factories ofUflex cylinders.

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4.

ANALYSIS ANDINTERPRETATION

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Analysis and interpretationQuestion – 1

COMPARISON POSTPAID Vs PREPAID

Our analysis of companies shows more postpaid than prepaidreverse of the actual figure. This was because of the sample wehave chosen was different. Table.1CONNECTION %agePostpaid 32%Prepaid 68%

Fig.1

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InterpretationThe above chart shows that the people are using more prepaidconnection as compare to postpaid connections. May be this isbecause people can use different plans as per the budget andneed.

Question – 2

For what reasons you opted for the above plan

a) Awareness of the Service providerb) Friends Recommendedc) Retailer Influencedd) Advertisements Influencede) Market share of the service provider

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f) Other reasons

The Third question intends to find out the reason for theselection of the service provider - in other words, the consumerbehavior.

Table.2 AirtelVodafone

Awareness of the Service Provider 40.61% 42%Friends Recommended 21.88% 20%Retailer Influenced 6.25% 7%Advertisements Influenced 12.50% 15%Market share of the Service Provider 35% 40%Other reasons 15.63% 12%

Fig.2

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INTREPRETATION

Almost 41 % of the Vodafone customers and 42% of Airtel customerswere aware of the service and so chose it. Other reasons given bythe respondents varied from gifts by Relatives Company providedphone. These accounted for 15.63 % of subscribers.

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Question – 3

How satisfied are you with the cellular service brand you own.Please tick the appropriate option s given below.

Very satisfied Satisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Dissatisfied Strongly dissatisfied

TABLE.3Option Airtel VodafoneVery satisfied 9.37% 8.55%Satisfied 62.50% 60.71%Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 28.13% 27.43%Dissatisfied - 3.31%Strongly dissatisfied - -

Fig.3

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INTREPRETATION

In terms of satisfaction level, we have 9.37% of Airtel customerswho are very satisfied compared to 8.55% of Vodafone. Themajority of the subscribers are a satisfied lot with 62.5% ofAirtel and 60.71% of Vodafone. In terms of dissatisfaction,Airtel fared better with no subscriber’s dissatisfied while 3.31%of Vodafone subscribers showed dissatisfaction which should beconsidered very seriously by Vodafone.

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Question – 4

While purchasing your preferred brand of cellular connection whatsort of features you look forward in your cellular service brand?Rate the factors on a scale of 1-4.

Clarity Ease of connectivity Network Customer service Value added services

TABLE.4  Airtel VodafoneClarity 3.3 3.5Ease of connectivity 3.5 3.1Network 3.3 3.1Customer service 3.3 3.4Value added services 3.6 3.4

Fig.4

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PERCEIVED QUALITY

Low Clarity Sound 1 2 3 4 5 High ClaritySound

Poor Connectivity GoodConnectivity

Poor Network GoodNetwork

Unfriendly Customer FriendlyService Customer Service

Poor Value Added Good ServiceValue Added Service

AIRTEL/VODAFONE The semantic differential scale shows the differences inperceived quality between the service providers. Airtel edges outVodafone in terms of connectivity, network and value added

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services. There is not much of difference in the ratings becausethe respondents mostly gave average ratings.

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Question – 5

Did you experience any problem with your preferred cellularservice brand?

a) Yesb) No

If yes please specify________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table.5Options Airtel VodafoneYes 22% 26%No 78% 74%

Fig.5

INTREPRETATION58

The above result shows that the Airtel users have some fewerproblems as compare to Vodafone but it’s a minor difference. Theresult shows that the ratio of satisfied customer is of 3 timesthen dissatisfied customers which is a good indication ofcustomer satisfaction.

The users have told that their problems have been solvedeffectively in the proper manner and in short span of time. Thusthe users are satisfied with the customer services. They aregetting the timely information about various plans and schemesboth in the case of Airtel and Vodafone. But in case ofactivation complaints Airtel ranked 4 due to the more activationcomplaints in this area. In claim disbursement Airtel is alsolacking behind as compared to Idea and Vodafone and Vodafone isconsidered to be no. 1 in claim disbursement followed by Idea.

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Question – 6

Do you think that you are getting attractive and cheaperplans/Tariffs and cost from your current cellular services?

a) Yesb) No

If No then name the another one which according to you is thebest________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table.6Options Airtel VodafoneYes 58% 65%No 42% 35%

Fig.6

INTREPRETATION

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The graph indicates that people are getting satisfied plan butthey think Airtel as somehow expensive as others in terms ofdifferent plans and tariffs that’s why the satisfaction level isless as compare to Vodafone. They think Idea as best alternativebecause of cheaper plans.

Question – 7

Are you satisfied with the network coverage or signal strength ofyour existing cellular services?

a) Yesb) No

Table.7Options Airtel VodafoneYes 72% 63%No 28% 37%

Fig.7

INTERPRETATION

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The result indicates that Airtel is market leader in telecomsector. One of the reason behind it the network coverage andbetter connectivity than Vodafone and other telecom giants whichis the strength of Airtel and justifies its position.

Question – 8

How likely you are to recommend your preferred cellular servicebrand to your friends and relatives.

Very Likely ------------ Somewhat Likely ------------ Somewhat Unlikely ------------ Very Unlikely ------------

Table.8Options Airtel VodafoneVery Likely 73.5% 71.75%Somewhat Likely 23.37% 20.55%Somewhat Unlikely 2.13% 5.4%Very Unlikely 1% 2.3%

Fig.8

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INTREPRETATIONThe result indicates that the users of Airtel and Vodafone aresatisfied and can recommend their cellular services to theirfriends, relatives and family members but this percentage is highin the case of Airtel.

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5.

FINDINGS,SUGGESTIONS AND

CONCLUSION

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FINDINGS

Vodafone was the brand which was popular amongst the interviewed

people. As over Chandigarh. So, this could be one the reasons of

its popularity.

On the basis of analysis of the questionnaire I have found that

the maximum no. of people who use mobile phones is in the age

group of 20 to 28. Who are the young executives and other office

going.

They spend a maximum of RS 500 as their mobile expense.

There is more no. of prepared cards than post paid cards. The

mobile users want to spend money side by side than to spend money

at the end of the month on a big bill.

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Now when I compared Airtel with its competitor from the point

of view of the consumer I found that on the basis of Tariff plan,

value added services and billing accuracy Airtel is at par or

ahead of its competitor but in the case of customer care and

availability they lag behind there competitors. As, Airtel has a

hold in the market because it has the maximum no. of connections,

so it must improve upon it customer services. Vodafone had done

so much advertising and has it banners and hoarding spread all

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To conclude, the Brand Equity of Airtel is higher than Vodafone,though marginally.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Airtel should focus more on promotion and advertising partas areas which are surveyed have very less awarenessabout the schemes and all. Working of sales departmentshould be more flexible as complaints regardingincentives and claims are being observed.

2. Major threat from Vodafone and Airtel are seen as Vodafoneis providing with quick sales facilities, excellentcommunication network and high promotion whereas Airtelis giving very economical schemes and connectivity. So,to decrease customer diversification and to maintainthe brand name of the company better communicationnetwork should be established between sales managementand the retailers by attending their complaintsproperly, giving timely and verified incentives,increase in manpower, taking regular feedback.

3. By mismanagement on behalf of the distributor side also manyretailers grievances are increasing, complete check onworkings on distributors should be done.

4. Majority of STD/PCO shops showed interest in having Airteland Vodafone connection. So priority should be given tothem, all their needs and demands should be thoroughlytaken into consideration.

5. Better schemes for dealers/ retailers so that they can beable to develop self interest and they could try theirlevel best to make more and more sale which would leadbenefit to dealers and company as well.

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6. Brochures and catalogues should be made available. Websitesmust be promoted among the customer for their regularuse.

7. More claim margins: the dealers have this issue that workingin small margins is not acceptable to them i.e. just2.47% margin is not much it should be increased so thatthe dealers also be able to make some more profits.

8. Companies should make up the bill distribution networkstrong enough to match up the customer requirement.

a) Company may use courier services for distributionof bills.

b) Company may also use the newspaper distributor.

c) Scheme and plans provided by the company should beattractive enough to have the kind attention ofthe customers and strong enough to meet thecompetitive environment.

9. Customer must be given chance to plan product for thecompany.

10. There must be uniformity in the information provided tothe customer by customer care executive at franchiseand customer care executive online to avoidcommunication gap.

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CONCLUSIONS

AirtelA majority of the respondents said that the advertisements ofAirtel came to their mind when they thought of Airtel. The printand media advertisements - “Touch Tomorrow” and “God Life”, wererecalled. Interestingly, some respondents could quote the exactword used in the TV advertisements - “sawaal life ka ho, yalifeline ka” and “It’s a girl! - Bharti /Airtel.” Another commonresponse was that Airtel is a good service provider, if not thebest. Some just thought of it as their mobile phone company. Theother respondents were service provider that helps connectpeople, technically advanced company, good coverage, power toconnect people, making communication easy, user friendly, etc.One respondent even said Mr. Sunil Mittal (Chief of BhartiEnterprises) comes to his mind. Overall, Air Tel comes across asa competent and exciting brand.

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VodafoneVodafone is a big competitor of Bharti Airtel and a big giant oftelecom sector in India. Vodafone has occupied a different placein the mind of consumer due to their great advertisements ofZOOZOOS. These zoozoos are communicating the messages in a verydecent manner and promoting the brand in a much specified manner.The innovative plans, better network coverage, good value addedservices, high customer centric approach like ready to helpjustify its position.

Comparing Vodafone and Airtel on the Brand Equity Ten canconclude this study.

Price Premium Vodafone cell-phone service providers in terms of satisfied andloyal customers are willing to pay a price premium, while Airtelleads with loyal but dissatisfied customers.

Satisfaction / Loyalty In terms of satisfaction, Airtel leads with both very satisfiedas well as satisfied customers. Dissatisfaction level is low.

Perceived Quality Here again, Airtel edges out Vodafone in terms of connectivity,network and value added services. Vodafone leads in terms ofclarity of sound and customer service.

Leadership and Popularity The results showed that majority of respondents choose Airtel asthe company with larger subscriber base compared to VodafoneCell-phone. This reflected the “number one” syndrome where theleader must have merit.

Perceived Value The consistent responses by Vodafone Cell phone users perceive itas a value-for-money service. Airtel is perceived to be expensiveby its customers.

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Brand Personality: The brand personality of Airtel comes across as an exciting andcompetent brand. Its vibrancy appeals to the customers who relateto the advertising messages.

Organizational Association Airtel’s corporate brand is more visible than Vodafone. Morerespondents recognized the caption of Airtel - Touch Tomorrow.

Brand Awareness Brand awareness of the respondents was high with most being awareof both Airtel and Vodafone. So the spoils are even for both theoperators here.

Market Prices and Distribution Coverage The market prices of the cellular service given by Airtel andVodafone are very similar. The difference if any is very marginaland is not considered. Also the distribution coverage is properlyestablished.

Therefore, there is not much to choose between the two operatorsand the spoils are even. Comparing the overall findings we seethat Airtel leads in five brand equity measures

a) Satisfaction/loyaltyb) Perceived qualityc) Leadership & popularityd) Organizational associationse) Market share

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The other three measures

I Brand personality

II Brand awareness

III Market price and distribution coverage have been sharedby both Airtel and Vodafone.

a. Network of Airtel is better than any other telecomservices.

b. New schemes are not properly being conveyed to theretailers, so they are facing problem of no responsesto customer queries

c. Customer diversification from Airtel is increasing inregular basis due to increase in delay of retailerincentive.

d. Board and advertisements are required in many shops. Itis been observed that many shops don’t even have normalbanner of Airtel in their shop in spite of demanding oflong.

e. Schemes in Airtel and tariff plans are expensive thanother telecom services.

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f. Lot of technical problems is complained here due tothose retailers.

g. Dissatisfaction is increasing, also immediateservices are not provided by the department of Airtel

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Marketing Management (10th edition) – By Philip Kotler

Publication Prentice Hall India (PHI)

Marketing Research (5th edition) – By Naresh K. Malhotra

Publication Prentice Hall India (PHI)

Business Statistics – By Ken Black

WEBSITES

1. www.google/trai/l ifetimevalue/in.com

2. www.trai.com

3. www.brandannalysis.com

4. www.domain-b.com/industry/telecom/index.html

5. www.marketresearch.com

6. www.economywatch.com/telecom-sector/india.html

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ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,I am conducting a survey on my research project “ComparitiveStudy Of Customer Satisfaction On Airtel And Vodafone InChandigarh”. Kindly spare some of your valuable time to gothrough the questionnaire & give your view on this topic.

1) Please name the cellular service/connection you arecurrently using.

a. Airtelb. Tata Indicomc. Vodafoned. B.S.N.Le. Reliance Communicationf. Aircelg. Idea

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2) What is your preference?

a. Post-paidb. Pre-paid

3) For what reasons you opted for the above plan

a. Awareness of the Service providerb. Friends Recommendedc. Retailer Influencedd. Advertisements Influencede. Market share of the service providerf. Other reasons

4) How satisfied are you with the cellular service brand youown. Please tick the appropriate option s given below.

a. Very satisfiedb. Satisfiedc. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfiedd. Dissatisfiede. Very dissatisfied

5) While purchasing your preferred brand of cellular connectionwhat sort of features you look forward in your cellularservice brand? rate the factors on a scale of 1-4.

a. Clarityb. Ease of connectivityc. Networkd. Customer servicee. Value added services

6) Did you experience any problem with your preferred cellularservice brand?

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a. Yesb. No

If yes please specify________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) If yes was the problem effectively taken care offimmediately?

a. Yesb. No

8) Do you think that you are getting attractive and cheaperplans/Tariffs and cost from your current cellularservices?

a. Yesb. No

If No then name the another one which according to you is thebest_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9) Are you satisfied with the network coverage or signalstrength of your existing cellular services?

a. Yesb. Noc.

10) Did you switched over to any other network .if pleasespecify the number of times.

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a. 1b. 2c. 3d. 4e. More than 4

Please specify the name ____________________________________

11) How likely you are to recommend your preferred cellularservice brand to your friends and relatives.

a. Very Likely ------------b. Somewhat Likely ------------c. Somewhat Unlikely ------------d. Very Unlikely ------------

12) What according to you has the most attractivepromotional tools (advertising, public relations etc)?Please specify the name.

13) As per your opinion how can you improve the existingbrand you are using? Any recommendation for yourcurrent cellular service.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THANKS

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