CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

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4.1 INTRODUCTION
The mobile communications market is booming up in India. The BSNL is a major player in Indian Telecom Industry. The same effect is also reflected in the State of Kerala The BSNL is the first operator in India started mobiles services with incoming calls free. The BSNL is one of the major market share holder in mobile communications field in Kerala, started its mobile communication operations in the year 2002. Penetration pricing strategy aimed at all segments and public sector image of the company with highly transparent bills are acceptable to the majority of Keralites. The BSNL market share among college students is less as compared to other mobile operators in Kerala. The students segment is moving away from BSNL mobile services in spite of several marketing activities. From the first position BSNL moved to 4th position tailing behind Idea, Vodafone and Bharti airtel. Here the study is analyzing the hinderences for penetration of BSNL pre-paid into students segment, when compared to other major players.

4.2 PRODUCT ANALYSIS BSNL PLAN STUDENT SUVIDHA

Plan student power or Student suvidha is the exclusive pre-paid plan for students. The SMS rates are at the rate of 0.05 paise only to any operator mobile phones. The BSNL post paid customers are exempted from paying the security deposit if they are taking plan Student Power as their second connection for their son or daughter. The terms and conditions for taking Student Suvidha plan are:o A Xerox copy of Student ID card issued by competent authority is sufficient to to provide student connections o Students of Std VIII and above only are eligible for Student Suvidha Plan. If minor, Parents/guardians to sign on the application.
o o

o o

The Institution should be a regular recognised School /College/ University In case School/ College does not issue an ID Card, a certificate from the Head of the Institution that he/ she is a bonafide student of the institution is required to be submitted. Only One Connection per student is permissible. Migration of existing customers of any other plan is NOT allowed.

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The tariff related features are shown in the table 4.1.

Table 4.1 : Plan Student Suvidha tariff details

Initial Charges Initial Tariff Validity Pulse rate (Second) Intra Circle Calls per minute Reduced call charges to any two BSNL numbers STD calls to other networks STD Calls to BSNL
SMS Charges

149 180 days 60 Rs. 0.49 Rs 0. 30 Rs. 1.50 Rs.1.20 0 .05 Ps

The table 4.2 shows the market share growth of leading service providers from December 2009 to January 2010 in Kerala circle. It shows a growth of 4.40 % of BSNL for the month of January 2010 ,which is a positive trend. But despite its growth rates it is still in the fourth position when compared with other leading service providers. This market information is the latest as per COAI study.

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Table 4.2 : Total Growth Rate % Growth over previous month 0.21% 2.02% 0.50% 4.40% 20.02% 68.46%

Operators IDEA Vodafone Essar Bharti Airtel BSNL Aircel Limited Uninor

Dec '2009 740180 423196 481853 987322 660643 90210

Jan'2010 5082126 4045074 3076728 3438993 792936 151970

Figure 4.1 Growth in Market share Dec09-Jan10

6000000 5000000 4000000 IDEA Vodafone Essar 3000000 Bharti Airtel BSNL 2000000 Aircel Limited Uninor 1000000

0 Dec '2009 Jan'2010

Source- www.coai.co.in

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4.3 THE PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS

Survey method has been administered for collecting the primary data. A questionnaire has been designed based on specific information needed to meet the research objectives. The questionnaire takes account of the demographics, characteristics and requirements of students segment, and relevant features of the BSNL pre-paid services in comparison with competitors. The questionnaire is shown in the annexure no. 1.

In the statistical investigation, the college students of Kerala have been identified as the population. The population is not homogenous since it contains students of different streams like Arts and Science, Engineering, Medical, and other professional courses. Stratified random sampling technique has been adopted for administering the survey and 100 random samples were collected. On primary analysis it is seen that the mobile phone usage level is more among students of professional courses, hence the survey more concentrated on this category of students. The survey was conducted mainly to compare BSNL pre-paid connections and other leading pre-paid service providers, among student community in Kerala. For this out of 100 random samples 40 samples were taken from BSNL customers and 20 each from Idea, Vodafone and Airtel.

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4.3.1 Analysis of the Reason for selecting the particular brand The respondents were asked to select the choice among the following probable reasons for selecting their service provider. The whole responses were statistically analysed and arrived at the following result. Coverage is the most preferred reasons for taking their respective connection (Table ) Table 4 : Reason for selecting the particular brand Reasons Coverage Brand image Price & offers Speed Customer care Others BSNL 44% 22% 22% 7% 5% 0% Idea 54% 23% 15% 8% 0% 0% Docomo 31% 7% 23% 23% 8% 8% Airtel 35% 22% 22% 13% 8% 0% Others 46% 7% 23% 8% 8% 8%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Coverage Brand image Price & offers Speed Customer Others care BSNL Idea Docomo Airtel Others

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Inference:- On choosing the 3G service provider, customers took BSNL giving

weightage to coverage aspect. But price aspect has only few takers when compared to other three private players. Few of the respondents selected customer service as criteria for selecting BSNL. Regarding the aspect of Brand image, BSNL is in a competent postion .Evaluating these responses it can be seen that BSNL has to increase its hold on the speed and customer care services to penetrate into market. Analysis of Awareness about 3G service of the provider The awareness among customers about the 3g service offered by the provider is also a factor that affects the satisfaction level.

Table 4 : Are you aware about all 3G Services providing by your provider?

Opinion YES NO

BSNL 76% 24%

Others 64% 36%

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Analysis of Marketing Communications How customers come to know about various new offers of service providers The Customers initially came to know about their mobile service provider through Advertisements, Friends or Family members. The table 4.4 shows the percentage contribution of influence of above channels for different operators. Table 4.4 : Contribution of influence of marketing channels of BSNL in comparison with others

Marketing channels Advertisements SMS Friends Network Newspaper Internet

Others 38% 41% 10% 9% 2%

BSNL 25% 31% 28% 13% 3%

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Figure

4.2

Contribution

of

influence

of

marketing

channels

It can be seen that friends circle influence is crucial for taking mobile connection among students segment. Advertisements and friend network influence students most.An interesting fact is that from among BSNL connections the traditional family influence is more. 4.3.2.2 Source of mobile market information The respondents were asked to indicate their preference level on a five point scale about the following sources they depend to get information about mobile communications market. Statistically analyze the whole responses and arrived at the following preference table 4.5. Table 4.5 Source of mobile market information Source of Information about the Mobile Communications Market Friends Order of Preference 1

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SMS by operators TV advertisements by operators Retail outlets Outdoor advertisements Family members News papers Customer Care / Call centre Magazines Along with bill/ recharge card Internet Email Radio Advertisements

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Inference:- Students are most preferably looking for word of mouth information from among their buddies. Their next choices of information sources are SMS by operators and TV advertisements. The least preferred medium among students are radio advertisements. It is seen that BSNL has been advertising about Student Suvidha in radio, ironically it is the least preferred medium by the target segment. Also, BSNL is not intimating new offers and schemes through SMS as other private players do.

4.3.5 Analysis of Students Calling Pattern 4.3.5.1 Outgoing Calls

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Table 4.6 out going call pattern for different operators Operator Almost nil Less than 5 BSNL Airtel Idea Vodafone 23% 10% 40% 45% 50% 40% 30% 30% 30% 20% 5% 5% 10% 30% 2% 10% 10% 10% 5-10 10-20 More than 20

The students are making comparatively less number of outgoing calls. The results in table 4.7 shows that 60 % of students make less than % numbers of calls per day and 86 % of students didnt make more than 20 numbers of calls per day. By comparing the outgoing call pattern of BSNL customers with Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, we can see that students who make more than 20 calls is the lowest percentage in BSNL. 10 % of users make more than 20 out going calls for all the other three players. Fig 4.3 Operator wise out going call pattern
60% 50% 40% BSNL 30% 20% 10% 0% Zero calls Less than 5 5 to 10 10 to 20 More than 20 Airtel Idea Vodafone

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4.3.5.2 Outgoing SMS Table 4.7 : Out going SMS pattern for different operators Operator Less than 5 BSNL Airtel Idea Vodafone 5% 5% 20% 4% 25% 15% 30% 35% 30% 48 % 10% 20% 15% 17% 2% 10% 15% 13% 28% 14% 5 to 10 10 to 25 25 to 50 50 to 100 More than 100 10% 2% 10% 10%

The analysis shows that students are giving more importance for SMS than calls. Most of students, whatever connection they are using, have an inclination towards the 10-25 range of outgoing SMS per day. The students who are making less than 5 SMS per day is the lowest category. An accurate comparison can be provided by the following graph (fig:4.4) Fig: 4.4 Operator wise outgoing SMS pattern

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Outgoing SMS
60% 50% 40% #REF! 30% 20% 10% 0% Less than 5 5 to 10 10 to 25 25 to 50 50 to 100 More than 100 #REF! #REF! #REF!

When comparing different service providers, the 10-25 category has Airtel as the market leader. In the range of students making 50-100 SMS per day, Idea stands on the top. The most interesting fact is that those who are sending more than 100 sms prefer BSNL, Idea and Vodafone equally or it is the only segment where BSNL is offering tight competition to others. Ironically, BSNL has a comparatively lower SMS market share despite its focus on free sms in the students Suvidha plan. 4.3.5.3 Night calling service usage ( concessional rates)

Table 4.8 : Night calling pattern for different operators Operator No night calling service BSNL 100% 15 to 30 minutes 30 to 60 minutes More than 1 hour

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Airtel Idea Vodafone

40% 45% 50%

10% 33% 7%

38 % 22% 20%

12% 23%

The analysis shows that students are giving importance for night calls with concessional rates. BSNL offers no such concession rtes for night calls from 11pm to 6 am under students suvidha plan. The students who are using other service providers, especially Airtel and Idea, use night calling service for 30-60 minutes. An accurate comparison can be provided by the following graph (fig:4.4) Fig :4.5 Operator wise usage of night calls/ concessional rates
120% 100% 80% BSNl 60% 40% 20% 0% No night calls 15 to 30 min 30 to 60 min more than 1 hour Airtel Idea Vodafone

From this graph it can be analysed that more than 40 % of students are making night concession rate calls. BSNL provides no such offer for students.This itself is a hurdle for BSNLs penetration to students segment. Out of private players Airtel tops in the 30-60 minute segment , Idea in the 15-30 minute segment and Vodafone tops in the last category of students who make night calls more than 1 hour

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.This clearly indicates that BSNL has to look into the matter of introducing night call offers. 4.3.6 Analysis of Students Usage Preference From the previous data collected we can comparethe comparison of monthly outgoing calls, outgoing SMS and night calls pattern of students among all the four operators. Students are giving importance for SMS and calls, but the preference is for SMS. Idea the market leader effectively meets the specific requirements of the students segment. The Idea tariff is relatively low and they allow students to originate more calls and more SMS and hence tackle the perishable nature of marketing of services. The general trend is that students are more interested to receive than make. The table 4.9 shows the order of preference of students usage pattern. The majority of students expenditure is for making outgoing calls. The SMS takes second place in expenditure. The expenditure rank pattern is shown in table 4.10 Table 4.9 : Students Usage Preference Students Usage Preference Incoming SMS Incoming Calls Outgoing SMS Outgoing Calls Night calls Internet/GPRS Tones/Jokes/Content Services Order of Preference 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Table 4.10 : Students Mobile Phone Expenditure Students Mobile Phone Expenditure Outgoing Calls SMS GPRS and Content services Order wise 1 2 3

The students like the company of friends so much, 80% of their calls and 94 % of their SMS are towards friends circle (table 4.11). Thats why they require concession rate calling / SMS to a selected group-the inner circle (closed user group). Now all the major mobile service providers are giving CUG facility. Table 4.11: Students Call /Sms Preference Call most Friends Family members 80% 20% SMS most 94% 6%

4.3.7 Analysis of students spending habit on mobile phones 4.3.7.1 Recharge/ top-up pattern To analyse the spending pattern of students in recharging their pre-paid connections, it is important to know both the denomination they use for recharging and also the frequency of recharging. Table 4.12 Recharge/ top-up pattern

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How often do students recharge/ top-up the connection? Operator Recharge Pattern BSNL Daily Twice Weekly Weekly Monthly Once in 3 months Once in 6 months Annually 10% Airtel 20% Idea 5% Vodafone 5%

10%

23%

15%

10%

25% 45%

55% 2%

40% 40%

85% -

10%

2%

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Fig:4.6 Operator wise Recharge Frequency pattern

Operator wise Recharge Frequency
90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Rs.10 Rs.20 Rs.30 Rs.50 Above 50 BSNL Airtel Idea Vodafone

INFERENCE: It can be seen from the table 4.13 that majority of students recharge of the students would like to recharge /top up their account within a week time. It is seen that only 12 % of the sample population, that also only BSNL customers take more than one month time to recharge their mobile connection. Neither of the private operator customers take more than one month time to recharge among the student community. From figure 4.6 we can see the BSNL is the sole operator, whose student customers recharge once in 3 months and once in 6 months. For all the other service providers, students prefer either twice weekly or weekly recharge.The exact recharge trend can be analysed onlyafter knowing the denominations students prefer for recharge.

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4.3.7.2 Recharge denomination preference Table 4.13 - Denomination preferred for recharge by students Operator Recharge Denomination BSNL Rs.10 Rs.20 Rs.30 Rs.50 Above 50 10% 10% 45% 35% Airtel 15% 45% 10% 30% Idea 20% 35% 14% 26% 5% Vodafone 5% 85% 10% -

The table 4.13 shows the denominations of recharge preferred by students .It can be seen that majority of students prefer small denominations of 20 and 30. Only Bsnl customers go for above 50 recharge. It was seen from responses on open ended

questionnaire that many of the BSNL users among students are sceptic about availability of Rs.10/20 denomination top up cards and as a result many of them recharge once in a month. In order to increase revenue through recharge cards, BSNL must introduce more awareness programs about its availability of small denomination cards. This cab be clearly understood by the following graph.

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Fig:4.7 Operator wise recharge denomination preference.

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Rs.10 Rs.20 Rs.30 Rs.50 Above 50 BSNL Airtel Idea Vodafone

4.3.7.3 Preference for Internet associated services in the mobile connection. Now a days internet associated services by the service provider act as a major determinant among the student community while selecting a particular operator. Their preference level for internet services like e-mail, facebook and orkut can be understood from the following table. Table 4.14 - Preference for internet associated services

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Preference for internet services BSNL Airtel

Operator

Idea

Vodafone

Most preferable MorePreferable Preferable Less Preferable Not at all

15%

15%

10%

15% 35% 25%

25% 16% 40%

30% 58% -

15% 50% 35%

Preferable

10%

4%

2%

Inference :- General trend is that students prefer internet services 40 % of students prefer internet services in their mobile connection.23 % of students fall in the category who shows most preference to internet services. Only 4% shows no interest in internet associated services. This is a new segment whose potential is not yet tapped fully. Hence concentrating on the variety of internet services can give operators a hedge over others.

4.3.8 Students happiness with their Service provider

Table 4.15 shows the students level of happiness with each operator.

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Table 4.15 Students happiness with their Service provider Operator Airtel BSNL Vodafone Idea Happy 49% 30% 55% 59% Somewhat happy 45% 26% 30% 40% Unhappy 6% 44% 15% 1%

Inference:- In Idea 59 % of their customers are happy. In BSNL only 30 % their customers are happy, the least value as compared with all the operators. The general trend is that only 49% of students customers are happy with their operators. Idea is in the top position for giving satisfaction to customers. Only 1 % of Idea users are unhappy with their service provider. 44 % of customers are unhappy with BSNLs service, which is the highest range of dis satisfaction when compared to other operators. There is a scope for making them happy by improving the marketing-mix. 4.3.8.1 Students satisfaction level of customer care service Table 4.16 shows satisfaction level of students on their service providers customer care method.
Highly satisfied 15% 11% 23% 25% Not at all Excellent satisfied 15% 35% 6% 7% 25% 2% 1% 3%

Operator

Satisfied

Neutral

Airtel BSNL Vodafone Idea

60% 48% 70% 68%

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Inference:- In Idea 25 % of their customers are highly satisfied with the customer care service offered. In BSNL only 11 % of their customers are highly satisfied and only 48 % are satisfied, the least value as compared with all the operators. The general trend is that 63% of students customers are satisfied with their operators. Idea is in the top position for giving satisfaction to customers in terms of customer care service.. Only 1 % of Idea users are unhappy with the customer care service. If we look the dissatisfaction levels ,BSNL customers are the most unsatisfied category with 25 %. Customer care of Idea and Vodafone ranks the top positions followed by Airtel. Unfortunately, BSNL comes only at the last position. 4.3.8.2 Time taken by the company to attend the complaints. Table 4.17 shows the perception of students regarding the average time taken by different operators in attending their complaints. It also helps in comparing BSNL with other operators on the customer satisfaction perspective. Table 4.17 Perception regarding time taken to attend complaints More than 6 hours 5% 9% 1% -

Operator 0-2 hours

2-4 hours

4-6 hours

Airtel BSNL Vodafone Idea

55% 40% 54% 65%

15% 35% 30% 15%

25% 16% 15% 20%

Inference:-

As seen in the above inferences, here also Idea is in the first

position in solving the customer complaints. 65 % of their customers have their complaints solved within 0-2 hours. On analyzing the time taken for solving the complaints, we can see that BSNL has the lowest percentage 40 %of complaints solved within a short time of 0-2 hours. 9 % of BSNL customers have the opinion that attention

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to their complaints takes more than 6 hours, which is the highest when compared to its competitors. No user of idea has the opinion that it takes more than 6 hours to attend complaints, which makes Idea the market leader in student segment. 4.3.8.3 Preference of services according to satisfaction level Table 4.18 shows the satisfaction level on different services offered by the operator. The analysis gives an over all view regarding the aspects in which the company is in a strong position and those aspects in which the company has to improve. Table 4.18 Satisfaction level on services
Satisfaction level on each services BSN Services Network SMS Rates New Schemes and offers Recharge Outlets Call Rates Value Added Services 82% 85% 80% 35% 83% 85% 75% 86% 75% 68% 70% 79% Airtel 55% L 53% Vodafone Idea 45% 63%

45%

25%

48% 52%

35%

23%

52% 60%

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Fig:4.8 Satisfaction level on different services- Operator wise.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Network SMS Rates New Recharge Call Rates Value Schemes Outlets Added and offers Services Airtel BSNL Vodafone Idea

4.4 THE SERVICES MARKETING MIX

Services are the mechanical efforts to provide intangible benefits to the customers. Marketing is defined by AMA(American Marketing Association) as The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals In marketing of services, marketer has to consider the unique characteristics of services. They are Intangibility, perishability, inseparability, variability (heterogeneity), and ownership. Intangibility: In services customer is unable to experience the product prior to purchase. Services cannot be touched, seen, tasted or heard in the same manner as goods. Perishability: Services can not be stored, warehoused, or inventoried.
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Inseparability: In services production & consumption happen at the same place and cannot be separated. Variability (Heterogeneity): Services are less standardized and uniform than goods. Marketers are experiencing difficulty in establishing consistency in quality across providers or within providers, across time and across delivery centers. Ownership: Goods once sold are transferred to the customer, but for services ownership remains with service provider. In services marketing, marketing mix of 7 Ps are associated. They are Product, Pricing, Promotion, Place, People, Process and Physical Evidence. 4.4.1 Product Marketers have identified three levels in developing the product element of marketing mix as far as services are concerned. The core level aims to satisfy the important needs of the customer while the tangible level manages the appearance of the product. The augmented level involves the addition of supplementary services to the basic offering. These three levels can be condensed into two, the core level that caters to the basic benefits and a secondary level which includes the tangible as well as the augmented service levels. The core level basically deals with service offering while the secondary level deals mostly with the delivery of service. The product development of services involves offering innovative services and adding new secondary services at regular intervals. This helps marketer attract and retain customers in a competitive market. According to Robert Lauterborn product should be solution to customers problem. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to their product.  Use strong branding for clearly distinguish the product.  Add features like easy and flexible recharging for any multiples of Re1.  Provide best after sales support through customer care centres /Call centres.

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 Add innovations like amount transfer from/ to friends.  Introduce night calling offer in plan Students Suvidha  Introduce free BSNL to BSNL calls for particular amount of recharges  Introduce attractive new schemes and offer irrespective of seasons

4.4.2 Pricing The pricing of services is different from the pricing of goods for various reasons. The fixed cost is high and the variable costs are low for a service. A major part of the price paid by the customers goes towards the variable cost of producing that unit of product. Another important aspect of pricing of services is that the price of the same service can be changed depending on the demand for the service. This concept is generally called yield management. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to pricing.  Reduce the rate of SMS/ Outgoing calls in comparison with market leader.  Introduce low price SIM card and connection like other private players  23% students who use BSNL prefer not making any outgoing calls since they find it un economical.  Allow the students to call more and SMS more by reducing the tariff  Introduce recharge packs exclusively for night calling , since it is a major determinant among students in selecting the mobile operator.

4.4.3 Promotion Service consumers experience a high level of perceived risk when compared to consumers of products because of the intangible nature of services. Service providers should aim to promote their services in order to eliminate the elements of this perceived risk.This can be best achieved by encouraging and promoting positive word-of-mouth publicity, developing strong brands, offering a trail use of service for the consumers and finally, by managing advertising and public relations effectively to clearly communicate the massage to the customers.

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Promotion of service offers cannot be carried out in isolation, without promoting the service provider, as consumers will not be able to rate the intangible services without knowing who the service provider is, therefore, promotion of the service provider becomes equally important in services. Media of promotion is also highly important. Catchy advertisements have to be aired at the right time in the right media.It was seen that BSNL is doing extensive promotional activities through radio, which ironically is the least preferred medium by the students. Another distinguishing factor for promotion of service is that the service personal and other customers also participate in the promotion process. For example, when a customer visits a BSNL customer care centre, he makes an assessment of the service based on the behavior of the service personal and the crowed there is at that point in time. So therefore attracting the right crowed and employing the right people is very important for a service provider. This provides plenty of opportunities for the service providers to promote their services. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to promotion.  BSNL may give importance for TV ads and ads through SMS .  Create a positive word of mouth communication among students (Friends Circle)  Design a promotion plan based on the following facts that 80% of the calls and 94% of SMS are towards friends circle. And more than 60 % of students prefer night calling facility with concessional rates .  Like other private players new offers have to be intimated mainly through service SMS rather than publicizing in newspapers and magazines, since latter media has few takers.  Students are willing to earn while learn. Try to identify direct selling agents from among the students.  Bring improvisation to ads making a space solely of its own (like ones of Vodafone and Idea).

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4.4.4 Place In services, place relates to the ease involved in accessing a service. Due to the inseparability of services, they are produced and consumed at the same place. This inseparability of services makes it impossible for service providers to produce the service at a place where the cost is low and sell it at a place where there is a high demand for it. Therefore, there is no distribution channel for service marketing, or if at all there is one, it is very small. Further, place decisions involve the physical location of the service providers outlet, the physical appearance and ambience of the place of service offering and the decision to use the particular types of intermediaries to offer easy accessibility to the customers and improve operational efficiency of the organization. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to place convenience to customers.  Introduce electronic credit balance transfer.  Think away from conventional techniques; provide service at the door steps.  Customer care centers at city areas may function round the clock or atleast from 8 AM to 8 PM.  Avail the service of Call Centres to offer 24 hours help line to customers.  Train the staff to be customer oriented in the dealings across counters, since students have a perception that BSNL counters are not customer friendly  Dont insist too many formalities in taking a new connection. 4.4.5 People Most services providers understand and, therefore, treat people management as an important aspect of the service delivery. Some service organizations perceive people as a means to gain a competitive advantage in the industry .Therefore they invest in attracting, training and retaining the best talent. The three points help us understand how people in a service organization can have an impact on the service offered.

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Many service organizations involve their personnel both at the point of frontline delivery and during the production process that does not involve the final consumer. Thus the service personnel have an important role in not only designing the service, but also delivering it. Many services involve consumers as co-producers in designing the service offering to suit their individual preferences. The perception of a service by a customer also depends on their customers receiving the same service. Basically the image of the service is largely affected by the views and characteristics of other users. Further the behavior or performance of other consumers largely affects the service production and delivery process. Fellow consumers have the power to either degrade the service quality or elevate it. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to people.  Make employees aware that customers even at the level of students are important.  Among the BSNL employees, those who are in touch points, try to develop a courteous behavior, knowledge and positive attitude. For the age group of students government employee attitude is not at all suitable.  Give the employees training for developing good customer relations.  Try to post comparatively younger staff at those roles where there needs to be a personal interaction with students.  Make all necessary steps to shed the image that BSNL is not friendly to student customers.

4.4.6 Process The production and delivery process in the manufacturing sector is easier than in the services sector. Customer service encounters have an impact on the quality of service delivered by the organization. A service encounter is the actual time period during which an interaction takes place between the service provider and the customer. Among all the service encounters, a few are very important for completing the service delivery process on a successful note. These particular interactions are named critical incidents and are

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directly responsible for customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. These feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction may result either from interaction with service personnel or from the interaction with equipment or production processes. Over the years, some service organizations have mechanized their services processes to reduce the element of human judgment and error in service delivery. This mechanization helps reduce labour costs which along with competition in the service industry have increased tremendously. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to process.  Make easy procedures and friendly process for taking the connection.  Analysis shows that students have a negative opinion about BSNL  The BSNL official thinks about his/her security rather than customer interest or the broad interest of organization.  The typical governmental vertical hierarchy delays decisions even if it directly affects customers.  Provide proper training and empowerment to the employees. 4.4.7 Physical evidence As discussed earlier, service customers experience a greater perceived risk as they cannot rate a particular service until it is consumed. Therefore, service providers should try to attach an element of tangibility to their service offering. The physical evidence can be in any form, for example, brochures or TV commercials showing the details of mobile communications product, the ambience of customer service centers etc. BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to physical evidence.  Be physically present in the market through TV Advertisements / News Paper Advertisements / Hoardings / Public relations / Media Relations.  BSNL can project the corporate social responsibility factor since it is a

government organization.

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 Invest more into the growing targent segment of students by sponsoring college festivals , exhibitions etc  Allow students to do projects and organize workshops in the technical sector, which will enhance the imange of BSNL among students.

4.5 Opinion of students about BSNL Mobile Pre-paid service A five point Likert scale was used to measure the students attitude towards BSNL mobile pre-paid service. Customers of other leading operators were requested to indicate their opinion about BSNL. It allows the respondent to agree, disagree or indicate the degree of agreement. Statistically analyze the whole responses and arrived at the following result.

4.5.1 Opinions of customers other than that of BSNL The students who are customers of Idea , Airtel and Vodafone agree with

following facts on BSNL. They are given in the order of preference. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Outgoing calls are costly Friends have negative opinion about BSNL pre-paid Taking BSNL connection requires so many formalities SMS is cheap Students are neglected at BSNL counters Best Geographical coverage Shop owners do not recommend to do e-recharge Best geographical coverage Usually people are unaware about BSNL offers Recharge outlets are available at convenient locations.

The students disagree with following fact.

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 Customer Care is best  Message delivery is prompt  Friend circle influenced me to take the connection  Technical support is best  BSNL provides congestion free network Inference: This shows the attitude of majority of student population and clearly gives reasons as why they are not choosing BSNL pre-paid. Most of the students have opinion that taking. BSNL connection requires so many formalities and the common attitude about BSNL is negative. A positive fact is that almost all students have the opinion that BSNL has good geographical coverage and cheap SMS. Majority of students have opinion that message delivery is not prompt and takes too much time. BSNL has to take necessary steps to rebuild its brand image and must se into the negative aspects.

4.6 REASONS TO SELECT CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDER

 4.6.1 The Reasons to Select BSNL. The students agree with following facts to select BSNL. They are given in the order of preference. 1. Best geographical coverage 2. SMS are cheap 3. Recharge card/ retail outlet is available at my convenient locations 4. Family members influenced me to take the connection 5. Procedures and process for taking connection is very easy 6. I take this connection after a comparative study and critical analysis 7. Customer Care is best 8. Technical support is best

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The students disagree with following facts to select BSNL. They are given in the order of disagreement. 1. Message delivery prompt, reliable and timely 2. My phone connection is less expensive 3. Outgoing calls are cheap 4. My mobile operator provides congestion free network 5. My mobile operator is like a friend and a solution provider 6. I was attracted by advertisements 7. Friend circle influenced me to take the connection 8. Company representative influenced me to take the connection 9. Night concessional calling is there

 4.6.2 The Reasons to Select Idea The students agree with following facts to select Idea. They are given in the order of preference. 1. Phone connection is less expensive 2. SMS are cheap 3. Recharge card/ retail outlet is available at my convenient locations

4. Out going calls are cheap 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Customer care is best The procedures and process for taking the connection is very easy Best geographical coverage Message delivery prompt, reliable and timely Friend circle influenced me to take the connection

10. Night call offers are there 11. I take this connection after a comparative study and critical analysis 12. 13. 14. Technical support is best My mobile operator provides congestion free network I was attracted by advertisements

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The students disagree with following facts to select Idea. They are given in the order of disagreement. 1. 2. 3. Family members influenced in taking the connection My mobile operator is like a friend and a solution provider Company representative influenced me to take the connection

4.5.3 The Reasons to Select Vodafone The students agree with following facts to select Vodafone. They are given in the order of preference. 1. Recharge card/ retail outlet is available at my convenient locations 2. Best geographical coverage 3. My phone connection is less expensive 4. Message delivery prompt, reliable and timely 5. SMS is cheap 6. Outgoing calls are cheap 7. Technical support is best 8. The procedures and process for taking the connection is very easy 9. I take this connection after a comparative study and critical analysis 10. My phone connection is less expensive 11. Friend circle influenced me to take the connection 12. I was attracted by advertisements 13. Night calling offers are there 14. My mobile operator provides congestion free network

The students disagree with following facts to select Vodafone. They are given in the order of disagreement.

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1. 2. 3.
4.

Family members influenced me to take the connection Customer care is best My mobile operator is like a friend and a solution provider Company representative influenced me to take the connection

4.5.3 The Reasons to Select Airtel The students agree with following facts to select Airtel. They are given in the order of preference. 1. Phone connection is less expensive 2. SMS are cheap 3. Recharge card/ retail outlet is available at my convenient locations 4. The procedures and process for taking the connection is very easy 5. Message delivery prompt, reliable and timely 6. Friend circle influenced me to take the connection 7. Night call offers are there 8. I take this connection after a comparative study and critical analysis 9. Technical support is best 10. Customer care is best 11. My mobile operator provides congestion free network 12. I was attracted by advertisements

The students disagree with following facts to select Airtel. They are given in the order of disagreement. 1. Out going calls are cheap 2. Best geographical coverage 3. Family members influenced in taking the connection 4. My mobile operator is like a friend and a solution provider 5. Company representative influenced me to take the connection

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CHAPTER 5

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

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5.1 FINDINGS
The following findings were observed while the study was conducted.      The BSNL market share among college students is less as compared to other mobile operators in Kerala. None of the students prefer post paid services since they dont want their phone usage to be known by family members. The number one mobile operator among students segment is Idea The primary reason for using the mobile phone among students is to contact the friends circle. It can be seen that friends circle influence is crucial for taking mobile connection among students segment. An interesting fact is that from among BSNL connections the traditional family influence is more.  Students are most preferably looking for word of mouth information from among their buddies. Their next choices of information sources are TV advertisements by operators and SMS by operator about new schemes and offers.    Analysis shows that students are willing to spend Rs.20-30 , weekly once or twice for recharging. It is found that students using BSNL go for Rs.50 and above top ups that also once in a month or two months. It was seen from responses on open ended questionnaire that many of the BSNL users among students are sceptic about availability of Rs.10/20 denomination top up cards and as a result many of them recharge once in a month.      The students also requires concession rate calling during night hours, which is offered by all other service providers except BSNL . 43 % of students are making less than 10 calls per day 48% of students are making 10-25 outgoing SMS per day Those who make more than 50 SMS per day constitute about 20% The students like the company of friends so much, 80% of their calls and 94 % of their SMS are towards friends circle

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The studenst make 75% of calls and 86% of SMS during late night hours from 9 pm onwards Now Idea and Vodafone are playing shoulder to shoulder in giving more sms offers and calling offers. Both of them are there by successful in tapping effectively the perishable nature of marketing of services.

Airtel is the market leader in providing concessional call rates during night hours from 11-6. It meets the specific requirements of the students segment by allowing them to call at concessional rates with a low value recharge.(say Rs.31, Rs.5)

 

Coverage and Price are the two determining factors in selecting a service provider. 40 % of students prefer internet services in their mobile connection.23 % of students fall in the category who shows most preference to internet services. This is a new segment whose potential is not yet tapped fully. Hence concentrating on the variety of internet services can give operators a hedge over others.

In Idea 59 % of their customers are happy. In BSNL only 30 % their customers are happy, the least value as compared with all the operators. The general trend is that only 43% of students customers are happy with their operators. There is a scope for making them happy by improving the marketing-mix.

The prominent reasons for selecting BSNL by the students are Best geographical coverage, Family members influenced to take the connection, Cheap SMS rates , Easy procedures for taking connection etc. The students overall impression is that BSNL connection is expensive, SMS delivery is not prompt, easy recharge facility has few takers the friends circle does not favour BSNL.

The prominent reasons for selecting IDEA by the students are Prompt, reliable and timely message delivery, Recharge Card /Retail outlet available at convenient locations, Cheap rate SMS, and Very easy procedures and process for taking the connection. The students overall impression is that Idea connection is less expensive and customer care of Idea is the Best.

The prominent reasons for selecting Vodafone by the students are

Best

Geographical coverage,SMS is cheap, Outgoing calls are cheap, Prompt and timely delivery of messages, Phone connection is less expensive and Very easy procedures

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and process for taking the connection. The students do not have positive opinion about customer care of Vodafone.  The prominent reasons for selecting Airtel by the students are Cheap SMS, Friend circle influence, Less expensive mobile connection, Prompt, reliable and timely message delivery and Very easy procedures and process for taking the connection. The students do have negative opinion about Geographical coverage and Out going call rates     Recharge card/outlets are available for all the service providers in convenient locations. Almost all students have good awareness about students Suvidha Plan of BSNL and have positive opinion about SMS rates under this plan. 43 % of students have compared BSNL Student scheme of connection with other operators scheme before taking the connection, 69% of students are un aware that 24 hrs call centre is working for BSNL.

5.2 CONCLUSION
The following conclusions were arrived from the evaluative study on hindrances of penetration of BSNL GSM mobile pre-paid connections among student community in Kerala, in respect of BSNLs Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT). The study was done in comparison with leading private sector GSM operators mainly the 3 key players- Idea, Vodafone and Airtel. 5.2.1 SWOT Analysis in a comparative aspect 5.2.1.1 Strength of BSNL when compared to other private players in student pre-paid segment.  Best geographical coverage  BSNL recharge card / retail outlet is available at convenient locations  Family members have positive opinion about BSNL mobile  For Students plan Suvidha SMS is cheap

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 Procedures and process for taking connection is very easy  BSNL - Technical support is good The other aspects strength of BSNL is its huge fixed assets, technologically competent infrastructure, well-experienced and trained workforce and a strong loyal general customer base. Best geographical coverage The students disagree with following facts to select BSNL. They are given in the order of disagreement. 10. Message delivery prompt, reliable and timely 11. My phone connection is less expensive 12. Outgoing calls are cheap 13. My mobile operator provides congestion free network 14. My mobile operator is like a friend and a solution provider 15. I was attracted by advertisements 16. Friend circle influenced me to take the connection 17. Company representative influenced me to take the connection 18. Night concessional calling is there

5.2.1.2 Weakness of BSNL when compared to other private players in student pre-paid segment.  Outgoing calls are costly  BSNL mobile connection is expensive  Message delivery is not timely and prompt  Friends circle have negative opinion about BSNL mobile  Students are sceptic about the viability of E- recharge in the case of BSNL  BSNL is slow to detect students preference for tunes and tones and other value added service  Students are neglected at BSNL Counters  Network congestion is experienced at times

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 Usually people are unaware about new offers of BSNL  Advertisements are comparatively less attractive The other aspects weakness of BSNL is as follows. The organizational structure is seemed to be week. BSNL follows the vertical hierarchical structure with all the legacies and laziness of Govt. Sector. The Government setup hangs over is omnipresent in BSNL. The customers care mechanism is weak as compared to the standards in the industry. The Waiting before BSNL attitude is seen from maintaining new connection waiting list to extending services to the customers. Even the employees are not willing to show working mentality suitable to a private organization or zest since it is a public player. They have the mentality common to government enterprises that their performance doesnt matter in the remuneration they receive. The management is weak to coordinate different functionalities to achieving the goals. BSNL is weak in implementing innovative marketing strategies to attract maximum customers and retain existing customers , especially among students. All the other major players target the youth as their main customer. But BSNL gives less preference to students and it is well understood by analyzing the advertisements of BSNL. All these points to an eroding market share.

5.2.1.3 Opportunities of BSNL when compared to other private players in student pre-paid segment. In Kerala there are total of 8.6 lakhs students studying for various degree / professional courses. The percentage of mobile users in each category is statistically estimated by using the survey inputs. The total mobile users population is assessed as 7.5lakhs. In every year on an average of 35 % new customers, that is 142600 in numbers, are added to the students segment. This is a great opportunity for all operators. In Kerala the educational developments are taking place in a greater momentum and the mobile phone users are increasing in a higher rate, the scope for addition of new mobile connections among students are even more than that of the projected figure.

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In Kerala Plan Student Suvidha has fairly large customer base. BSNL thereby have an upper hand in the students segment. 43% of non-BSNL users also have good opinion about the SMS rates of Student Suvidha. It gives BSNL the opportunity to retain existing the student customer base and attract the new users by making student specific modifications to the plan . In Kerala, family members have positive opinion about BSNL mobile; they are influencing their children to take BSNL mobile connection. Through pleasing the existing land phone customers, this opportunity can be effectively utilized. The Opportunity of BSNL is really high since the Indian telecom market is fascinatingly growing. The Indian telecom market has a great untapped potential, which attracts world telecom giants to open market in India.. BSNL owns the credit of a traditional player with a vast loyal customer base , which cannot be claimed by any other private player.They can brand on their public sector image , as a socially responsible organization which stands for the common man.

5.2.1.4 Threat of BSNL when compared to other private players in student pre-paid segment. The threat faced by BSNL is due to the heavy competition from the private telecom operators. In marketing the competitors of BSNL are proactive. The students friends circles have negative opinion about BSNL mobile. BSNL is competent enough to progress but certain Governmental procedures drag it back. The typical governmental vertical hierarchy delays decisions even if it directly affects customers. Private operators do not require such hectic procedures. Due to Government intervention and red tapism, BSNL is slow to introduce trendy offers to students as other major players like Idea, Vodafone and Airtel do. Once BSNL commences steps to introduce a new offer, the other players will already have

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implemented it. This lag in decision making and implementation is the main threat that BSNL faces. All the other players intimate their customers about new offers every now and then through SMS and TV ads. They dont stick on to one type of advertisement and as a result the youth segment are more attracted to their ads. It can be seen that BSNL , on the other hand stick on to a stereo typed ad through out a financial year. These are some of the causes which acts as hinderances for BSNL to penetrate into the student segment.

5.3 SUGGESTIONS
The following suggestions were submitted for penetration of BSNL Mobile Services among College Students in Kerala and exploring the market opportunities. i. Product Related Suggestions

 Use strong branding for clearly distinguish the product.  Add features like easy and flexible recharging for any multiples of Re1.  Revamp the customer care service by making the customer care executives well versed in all aspects of the product .  Add innovations like amount transfer from/ to friends.  Introduce night calling offer in plan Students Suvidha  Introduce free BSNL to BSNL calls for particular amount of recharges  Introduce attractive new schemes and offer irrespective of seasons ii. Pricing Related Suggestions BSNL may take following initiatives with respect to pricing.  Reduce the rate of SMS/ Outgoing calls in comparison with market leader.  Introduce low price SIM card and connection like other private players

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 23% students who use BSNL prefer not making any outgoing calls since they find it un economical.  Allow the students to call more and SMS more by reducing the tariff  Introduce recharge packs exclusively for night calling , since it is a major determinant among students in selecting the mobile operator. iii. Promotion Related Suggestions

 BSNL may give importance for TV ads and ads through SMS .  Create a positive word of mouth communication among students (Friends Circle)  Design a promotion plan based on the following facts that 80% of the calls and 94% of SMS are towards friends circle. And more than 60 % of students prefer night calling facility with concessional rates .  Like other private players new offers have to be intimated mainly through service SMS rather than publicizing in newspapers and magazines, since latter media has few takers.  Bring improvisation to ads making a space solely of its own (like ones of Vodafone and Idea).  Never stick on to one type of advertisement, tap the oppurtunities of current events and trends, making catchy and up to date ads.

iv.

Place Related Suggestions

 Introduce electronic credit balance transfer.  Think away from conventional techniques; provide service at the door steps.  Customer care centers at city areas may function round the clock or atleast from 8 AM to 8 PM.  Avail the service of Call Centres to offer 24 hours help line to customers.  Train the staff to be customer oriented in the dealings across counters, since students have a perception that BSNL counters are not customer friendly  Dont insist too many formalities in taking a new connection. .

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v.

People Related Suggestions

 Make employees aware that customers even at the level of students are important.  Among the BSNL employees, those who are in touch points, try to develop a courteous behavior, knowledge and positive attitude. For the age group of students government employee attitude is not at all suitable.  Give the employees training for developing good customer relations.  Try to post comparatively younger staff at those roles where there needs to be a personal interaction with students.  Make all necessary steps to shed the image that BSNL is not friendly to student customers. vi. Process Related Suggestions

 Make easy procedures and friendly process for taking the connection.  Analysis shows that students have a negative opinion about BSNL  The BSNL official thinks about his/her security rather than customer interest or the broad interest of organization.  The typical governmental vertical hierarchy delays decisions even if it directly affects customers.  Provide proper training and empowerment to the employees. vii. Physical Evidence Related Suggestions

 Be physically present in the market through TV Advertisements / News Paper Advertisements / Hoardings / Public relations / Media Relations.  BSNL can project the corporate social responsibility factor since it is a government organization.  Invest more into the growing target segment of students by sponsoring college festivals , exhibitions etc  Allow students to do projects and organize workshops in the technical sector, which will enhance the image of BSNL among students.  Allow students for Industrial visits to BSNL establishments and generate a wordof-mouth publicity among students.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1 Web sites:-

 BSNL Head Quarters website http://www.bsnl.co.in  BSNL Kerala Circle website http://www.keralatelecom.com  www.my mba.com  www.scribd.com  www.management paradise.com  www.ggogle.com  Cellular Operators Association of India website http://www.coai.in  Airtel website http:// www.airtel.in  Vodafone website http:// www.vodafone.com  Idea website http:// www.ideacellular.com  http://www.collegiateedu.kerala.gov.in,  http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_technicaleducation,  http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_medical_education

Books: Bimer, Paul.P & Lars.E.Libergh, Introduction to Survey Management, Pearson Education, 2003 Edition  Karen Adams& Ian Brac, An Introduction to Market &Social Research,, Pearson Education,2004 June Edition  Subrado Sen Gupta, Brand positioning, Tata Mc Graw Hill  S.N.Pillai,Bhagavathy,Marketing, S Chand & Co, Ist Edition  Philip Kotler, Marketing Management pearson Education, 2002 Edition

Secondary Sources  BSNL Kerala Circle Internal Publications  BSNL Financial Statements  BSNL files

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