Project On “CUSTOMER PREFEREN “CUSTOMER PREFERENCE CE OF VODAFONE TELECOMMUNICATION TELECOM MUNICATION SERVICE IN NAGPUR CITY “ “
Submitted to: Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj, Nagpur University, in Rashtrasant partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration . (BBA)
Academic Session: [2008-2011] Submitted by: MS. KANCHAN B.KACHHWAH
Guide: MS. PRIYADARSHANI PALASPAGAR
AVATAR MEHERBABA MAHAVIDYALA MAHAVIDYALAYA. YA. 143-144, MANEWADA CHOWK, NAGPUR 2008-11
CERTIFICATE THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THIS PROJECT TITLED “CUSTOMER
PREFERENCE OF VODAFONE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE IN NAGPUR CITY“ is a bonafied work carried out & developed by MS. KANCHAN B.KACHHWAH In partial fulfillment for the award of degree of Bachelor of Business Administration during the academic session 2008-11, submitted to Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj, Nagpur University, Nagpur, under my guidance and supervision.
This is also to certify that project is the result of candidate’s own work and is of sufficiently high standard to warrant its submission to the University for the Award of the said Degree. To the best of my knowledge the matter presented in this project report has not been submitted earlier for any other degree/ diploma to any university. The assistance and help rendered to him during the course of his project work in the form of basic source material and information have been duly acknowledged.
Project Guide
Ms. Priyadarshani Palaspagar
Place: Nagpur Date: _____/_____/______ _____/_____/______
Principal
Mr.Y D.Chalkhor
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project titled “CUSTOMER PREFERENCE OF
VODAFONE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE IN NAGPUR CITY“
Is a bonafied and authentic record of work done by me under guidance of Ms. Priyadarshani Palaspagar
The work presented here is not duplicated from any other source & also not submitted earlier for any other degree/diploma to any university. I understand that any such duplication is liable to be punished in accordance with the university rules.
Place: Nagpur
MS.KANCHAN B.KACHHWAH Student
Date: _____/_____/______ _____/_____/______
ACKNO WLEDG EMEN T
With immense pride & sense of gratitude, I take this opportunity to express my sincere regards to Mr. Y. D. Chalkhor, Pricipal, AVATAR MEHERBABA MAHAVIDYALAYA, 143-144, MANEWADA CHOWK, NAGPUR
For his outstanding support, guidance and encouragement throughout which helped me complete this project. I would also thank our project guide Ms Priyadarshani Palaspagar for the help and cooperation extended.
I take this moment to thank our principal Mr. Y. D. Chalkhor , for providing the entire infrastructure which could make this project possible.
I thank all supporting staff members at my college for their assistance.
Place: Nagpur
MS.KANCHAN B.KACHHWAH Student
Date: ___/___/_____
INDEX Sr. No. Name of Topics
1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2.
COMPANY PROFILE
3.
TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
4.`
CUSTOMER PREFERENCE
5.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
6.
DATA COLLECTION
7.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
8.
CONCLUSION
9.
SUGGESTION
10.
BIBLIOGREPHY
11.
APPENDIX
Page No.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The development of the telecom sector has experienced a major process. Transformation in terms of its growth, technological content, and market structure in the last decade through policy reforms introduced by the Government. The impetus of these changes is expected to continue, and at a much faster pace. The study aims to analysis that with the increase in competition in telecom services, higher levels of consumer satisfaction with affordable prices and improved quality of services achieving or not. Wireless telephony and the Internet are expected to be the preferred means of communication as convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting, and information technology progresses. The study also shows the supportive policy framework needs to be in place during this period of rapid growth and transformation. The Government has undertaken the implementation telecom policy with utmost earnestness, in letter and spirit to usher in competition in almost all the service sectors. The migration package to revenue sharing in place of a fixed license fee has led to a virtual ‘take off” in growth of the cellular and basic service sectors. National and International data connectivity has been opened. Liberalization of telecom sector of the Indian economy aims at improving accessibility, availability, reliability and connectivity through private sector participation and to bring about much needed improvement in the Quality of Service. Through increased competition, the service providers are expected to become more sensitive and responsive to the customer’s needs and choices and endeavor to give him greater satisfaction. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has the mandate to safeguard the customer’s interests and to set the standards of quality of service. The rapid technological advances which have taken place in the telecom sector have brought about significant improvements in the quality of service provided to customers. With the digitization of exchanges, and up gradation of external network, the fault rate has come down.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
To know thoroughly about Reliance as a Global Enterprise.
To study of Brand preference.
To study customer satisfaction.
Study on customer preference regarding various plan.
To study impact of advertisement on customer.
HYPHOTHESIS
Maximum people are using Reliance Telecommunication services.
Most of the Businessmen and Employees are using this service.
Reliance provides good service.
LIMITATION
Time constraint.
As sample size is very small the study can not give generalized view.
Services problem in ruler’s area.
Limited coverage area.
COMPANY PROFILE
Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries. The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones." As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets across 5 continents. On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in the world behind China Mobile. In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless.
Mission Vodafone is primarily a user of technology rather than a developer of it, and this fact is reflected in the emphasis of our work program on enabling new applications of mobile communications, using new technology for new services, research for improving operational efficiency and quality of our networks, and providing technology vision and leadership that can contribute directly to business decisions.
Vision Our Vision is to be the world’s mobile communication leader – enriching customers’ lives, helping individuals, businesses and Communities be more connected in a mobile world
HISTORY The history of this company is an interesting one. This wireless giant was created in 1984 as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc, In September of 1991 Vodafone Group Plc. emerged and became and independent company from Racal Electronics Plc. On 28 July 2000 in a merged with Air Touch Communications, Inc. Key milestones in the development of the company's progress have been the keys to its success. In 2001 they introduce instant messaging the networks. This became a faster and more efficient way to communicate. They launch their first 3G service in Europe with their mobile connect 3G/GPRS data card in 2004. And, in February of 2007 Vodafone, Microsoft and Yahoo! together to bring Instant messaging services to the mobile world which can be accessed from both the PC and mobile handsets. Today they have become a wireless giant. Offered is a variety of voice, messaging, data and fixed broadband services. The use of the data services continues to grow, driven by the continuous advances in their 3G networks and handset capabilities. Customers can benefit from the complete experience in and out of the homes and offices. Customer can enjoy email with We offer a suite of products that, starting with voice calls that can be the alternative to having a traditional home telephone line. Also there is the opportunity to sign up with an easy-to-use mobile service. You can combine it with low-cost fixed telephone line and DSL broadband. Your mobile service has a variety of billing options. Such as: month to month, prepaid and even contract. So this gives you the option to choose what fits your needs. With instant messaging, data plans, video calling, international rates, voice mail, PXT services, and even the ability to access Windows Live Hotmail along with Yahoo. Your experience will be unbelievable. They make if convenient for you. They now also offer Vodafone Mobile Broadband for connecting your laptop computer to the internet via 3G or HSDPA networks.
Which came first, the customer service or the customer? Customer service seems to be one of those things that everybody complains about, and it is also something that doesn't seems to get better. This Wireless Giant has had some good service reviews. Some of the customers that have had to either deal with agents over the phone or Face-to-Face say that the agents are friendly, caring, empathetic, and even act like they want to talk to you . People feel that the employees are willing to go above and beyond their job requirements to make sure that a problem gets solved. It seems that that the employees and a very good working knowledge of the products and service available, and that something that patron enjoy. Another review that has been mention was that of a customer calling to purchase and set up new service. This particular person was not familiar with the company or the mobile services that it offered. The customer said that the agent was very helpful. Even thought the young lady on the phone had a lot of questions the agent didn't seem to get upset or frustrated with the amount of questions that were being asked. By the end of the call the young lady decided that this mobile company would definitely service her mobile needs.
INDUSTRY
The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world meeting up with global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is currently slated to an estimated contribution of nearly 1% to India’s GDP. The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. The wireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. The wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns across the country.
Major Players There are three types of players in telecom services:
State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)
Private Indian owned companies (Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices)
Foreign invested companies (Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel, Idea
Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications
India's mobile telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Unlike in the 1990s when the mobile phone was an elitist product, mobile operators now tap a mass market with mass marketing techniques. "Unified licensing" rules allow basic and mobile operators into each other’s territory, and have ushered in perhaps the final phase of industry consolidation. It seems that only companies with deep pockets can effectively compete as primary operators mobile markets. Economies of scale, scope, and end-to-end presence in longdistance as well as local telecom, are desirable. There are, besides, new challenges. Operators have to find new growth drivers for the wire line business. There are problems of getting broadband to take off, of technology choice, of when to introduce new technologies, and of developing a viable business model in an era of convergence.
COMPITITOR OF VODAFONE TELECOMMUNICATION
It was found in the survey that 55% of the respondents intended to purchase either AirTel or Rim services in the future. Out of this 55% more than ½ (that is 30% of the whole sample size) intended to purchase AirTel and 25% intended to purchase RIM Scaling About RCOMM Service Indian economy is an emerging one and is growing very fast at the average GDP rate 8-9% so in this emerging market competition level among telecommunication services provides new players are coming who will necessarily intensify the competition. New products and new schemes are being offered by the telecom service providers. The need for large information capacity has grown tremendously due to the demand of real time information. Telecommunication has now become a major information transmission system and telecom has undoubtedly emerged as the most important industry in India. Indian telecom companies are putting in their best offer to rope in major telecom operators of the world e.g. Vodafone, Aircel and MTN etc. are playing their role in synergy with the operation of the Indian companies. Process of acquisition and merger are in process and future will be only for those companies who have an edge over others in the field. Service provided and the better quality of network etc. is provided at affordable cost. In this process of competition it is assumed that only those companies will survive who adopt suitable market
strategy and technology innovation and up gradation to suit the aspiration and demand of the consumer. RCOM cellular ltd. an Anil Ambani Group of cos. is very fast catching up with the market by providing cheaper calling rates. The market strategies adopted by its executives are bearing fruits and the company although being the Second one to enter the market of Bihar & Jharkhand has found a suitable niche and recognition in the consumer. But this is not a thing for self contentment as the survey reveals that in network, service and distributor, its place is very far behind to other competitors viz. Airtel, BSNL, and Tata indicom etc. so to withstand the competition resources mobilization and technological innovation on the part of cos. To upgrade its quality of network and services is urgently called for. Market access and growth is alright but the improvement of quality on the above counts is necessity of the time. Retailers Finding Services provided by Retailers: All the retailers are dealing in all services i.e. providing Recharge Voucher, SIM, and Tariff Voucher of all the cellular service companies present in Bangalore zone. Also most of them provide only pre-paid connection. Satisfaction: -
Most of the retailers i.e. around 74% of respondents are satisfied with RCOMM brand, 10% of them push RCOMM brand to the customer and rest 16% retailers are not satisfied with RCOMM brand due to claim pending and the distributor. The retailers don’t get schemes communicated in time by distributor and distributor does not provide RCV & eTop properly. Problems:Around 15% of the respondents that there is network problem with RCOMM, on the other hand they found its competitors viz. Airtel, BSNL, TATA indicom network connectivity of very good to good level. Around 16% retailers which are under puja enterprises distributor projected problem with distributors. They don’t get schemes communicated in time by distributor and distributor does not provide RCV & e-Top. Support from company: Most of the retailers ensnared that they are supported by the companies’ personnel &
companies’ helpline. All companies provide POP (Point of presence) at right time and in adequate number. Claim process:In case of RCOMM process is be claimed very belatedly i.e. almost 77% of the cases take 60-90 days, where as in case of Airtel most of the i.e. 88% is being finalized in time limit 0-30 days. The claim process services of other competitors viz. AirCel, Smart, & TataIndicom are almost at par with the IDEA cellular ltd.
CUSTOMER PREFERENCE
The ability of telecommunication operators to focus successfully on the customer has proven to be one of the most competitive issues toward the end of the 20th century. The services management literature is short of theoretical and empirical studies on customer satisfaction measurement in the telecommunications industry. This, however, is contrary to the industry practice since almost all major telecommunications companies around the world gather information about customer satisfaction and other related information about the quality of their services. Our research focuses on the customer satisfaction function of residential customers of a major European telecommunications company. Customer satisfaction is seen as the overall performance of the telecommunications company stemming from adequate service provision, value for money, loyalty, and relationship management. The antecedents of the performance of the organization are obtained from the contact points between the customers and the service points of the telecommunications company.
In this research we explore the antecedents of customer satisfaction in the telecommunications industry with reference to fixed line services provided to residential customers. To achieve such objective, this paper draws upon the concept of customer contact (CC) introduced by Chase (1981) and Soteriou and Chase (1998), whereby customer contacts are distinguished based on three major dimensions including communication time, intimacy, and information richness. The empirical evidence from such service categorization has shown that the customer contact dimensions can be used as predictors of customer behavior with regard to their perceived service quality levels across the popular five dimensions of the ServQual model (reliability, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness, and assurance.
The telecommunications industry has invested heavily on customer satisfaction by both designing
large-scale
measurement
systems
and initiating customer
satisfaction
improvement projects, Lawton (1988). This was driven partly by the deregulation wave that took place in this industry in the late 1980's and partly by the increased competition those emerged in markets that were former state monopolies. Free communication costs and call centers that were developed by the telecom providers also played a vital role in such development. Large-scale operators such as AT&T (2001), British Telecom (2001), and France Telecom are well known for their rigor and systematic approach in setting
up their customer satisfaction systems. British Telecom, for instance, was interviewing about 25,000 residential customers per month in 1999, measuring their levels of satisfaction. In the ESOMAR (1996) meeting, special emphasis was placed on the state-of-the-art methods for assessing customer satisfaction in Telecommunications. The case of customer satisfaction in telecommunications has gained increased industrial popularity-even beyond the individual firm level-with the emergence of strong national regulatory bodies, which have shown vast interest in customer satisfaction measurements. Notable, for instance, is the case of OFTEL (2001) in the UK that has installed a system of qualitative performance indicators about all telecom operators in the country generating comparative results freely accessible to the public.
Our research proposes a customized customer satisfaction framework in telecommunications
to
reflect
the
service
delivery
process
as
experienced by customers. The interaction between customers and the delivery system is effected via alternative contact points; each one of them will be investigated for its impact on the overall customer satisfaction. That is, the service delivery system can be decomposed into alternative customer contact points that shape customers' overall judgment about the organization. Each contact point may retain a relative independence concerning criteria of customer satisfaction such as personnel, speed, reliability, and pricing. The contact point driven satisfaction increases the measurement accuracy, as customers express their views on the basis of specific interactions with the telecom provider to which they can better relate. In an organization where customer interactions can be categorized into more than six generic groups, it is very difficult for a customer to express a generic satisfaction indicator with the employees of the organization when they interact with different employees at different contact points.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Search of knowledge. A careful investigation or enquiry. A systematic effort to gain new knowledge. Those are called an “Research” Research is a movement of knowledge from known to unknown from the available place to the required place. According to Clifford wode, “Defining and re-defining problems formulating the hypothesis or gusseted solutions. Collecting, organizing and evaluating data. Making detections and reaching conclusions to determine whether fit the formulating the hypothesis” The Purpose of research to find out solutions to the problem, which has not been discovered by anybody.
Marketing Research Process MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS:
1) DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The first and foremost thing is to define the problem one should be very clear about the problem and the research objective so that he does not collect the worth less information.
2) DEVELOP THE RESEARCH PLAN :
This is second step and one of the most important step in marketing research process as it calls for developing the most efficient plan for gathering the needed information. Designing the research plan call for decisions on data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan contact methods.
a) Data Sources: The data was collected for this project with the help of both primary as well as secondary data. The secondary data was collected from internet and annual reports of the company but secondary data was not sufficient for the purpose of the project, so it was necessary to go for the primary data, which was collected through market survey.
b) Research Approach: Primary data can be collected in 5 ways;
Observation
Focus groups
Surveys
Behavioral data
Experiments
The research approach in this project i.e. the primary data in this project was collected through survey of outlets was carried out in Nagpur region which included retail outlets, restaurants, bars, bakery shops etc The reason for carrying out survey was to find out the various out the various reasons for the non-availavility
The other approaches mentioned above not used
c) Research Instruments:
In research instruments we have a choice of two main instruments for collecting primary data,
Questionnaire
Mechanical devices
In this project survey was carried out with the help of questionnaire with open as well as closed ended questions.
d) Sampling Plan: After deciding on the research approach sampling plan must be designed. The plan calls for three decisions:
Sampling unit
Sample size
Sampling procedure
i) Sampling Unit: Who is to be surveyed?
This is the question that we have to answer under this heading in this project sampling units were:
ii) Sample Size: How many people should be surveyed?
It is not necessary that a large sample should be selected but a size that can give you valuable information should be selected but a size that can given you valuable information should be taken to carry out survey.
Sample size taken for the customer
=50 customers
e) Contact Methods: Once the sampling has been determined one must decide how the subject should be contacted.
Mail
Telephone
Personal interview
Collection of data 1) Primary data The primary data are collected through survey method. Survey method is undertaken to find the customer satisfaction and opinion. A survey was conducted among the people of Nagpur City by the aid of well structured questionnaire. The population for the study consists of people who are using cell phones in Nagpur City. The sampling unit for the study is 50, which includes the cell phone, fixed wireless phones and internet users in Nagpur City. The sampling size includes male and female users from different occupation, age. The sampling size was restricted to 50 because of the time constrains. Here, convenient sampling technique has been adopted for collecting the primary data.
2) Secondary Data Like from Internet, Magazines, Newspaper, Book etc. The secondary data will collect from the printed source conglomerate
•
Q.1) Which Telecommunication service are using?
Tabular Representation Q.
Which Telecommunication services are using?
Total
Graphical Representation
Reliance
16
Airtel
10
Vodafone
11
BSNL
8
Other
5 50
Analysis 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
In this graph, 40% customers are using Reliance Telecommunication service. In this graph, 20% customers are using Airtel Telecommunication service. In this graph, 13% customers are using Vodafone Telecommunication service. In this graph, 13% customers are using BSNL Telecommunication service. In this graph, 14% customers are using Other Telecommunication service.
Q.2) Which plan you are using?
Tabular Representation Q.2
Which plan you are using?
Total
Graphical Representation
Post Paid
10
Pre-Paid
35 50
Analysis 1) By this graph, 22% customers are using post paid service. 2) By this graph, 78% customers are using pre-paid service.
Q.3) Are you satisfied with your service provider?
Tabular Representation Q.3
Are you satisfied with your service provider?
Total
Graphical Representation
Yes
15
No
30 50
Analysis 1) From this graph, 67% customers are not satisfied with their service provider. 2) From this graph, 33% customers are satisfied with their service provider.
Q.4 Your age group?
Tabular Representation Q.4
Your age group?
18-25
30
25-40
15
Above Total
Graphical Representation
50
Analysis 1) Above graph, 67% customers’ age group is 18-25. 2) In this graph, 33% customers’ age group is 25-40.
Q.5) Your occupation?
Tabular Representation Q.4
Your occupation?
Total
Graphical Representation
Student Business
23 10
Employee
17 50
Analysis 1) In this graph, 27% customers are Employee. 2) In this graph, 13% customers are Businessmen. 3) In this graph, 60% customers are student.
Q.6) Are you using Reliance Telecommunication service?
Tabular Representation .i)
If YES, then what makes you to use the service?
Tariff rate are affordable
2
Network is good
3
various plans provides
6
good customer services
3
other
Total
.ii) If NO, what are the reasons?
2 16
Tariff rate are not affordable
9
Network is bad
7
plan not available
6
4 Bad customer services other
Total
Analysis 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
In this graph, 13% customer are told, tariff rate are affordable. In this graph, 19% customer are told, network is good In this graph, 37% customer are told, various plans providers. In this graph, 18% customer are told, good customer service In this graph, 18% customer are told, other service.
3 29
Analysis 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
In this graph, 3% customers are told, tariff rate are not affordable. In this graph, 19% customers are told, network is bad. In this graph, 37% customers are told, plans not available. In this graph, 18% customers are told, bad customer. 5) In this graph, 18% customer are told, other service
CONCLUSION Following are the conclusion that the researcher found after the survey.
From the above analysis the researcher concludes that major are
dissatisfied with some of the major services like call
respondents rates, SMS rates
and new schemes & offers.
Major respondents from all respondents use services of Vodafone.
Major customers of Vodafone are old customers so many of the respondents are satisfied with the services of Vodafone and thus they would like to recommend Vodafone to others.
Major respondents using Vodafone use pre-paid services compared to post-paid services.
Major respondents are youngsters so they need more SMS facilities and low call rates, but Vodafone dissatisfies these age group (18-25) as their call rates and SMS rates are much high.
SUGGESTION Following are some of the suggestions given by the researcher so that Vodafone can serve people and its customers in an improved way:
Vodafone should decrease call rates for local users.
Vodafone should provide more offers to Post-Paid customers so that the numb of Post-Paid customers increase.
Vodafone should bring introduce some new SMS schemes for the youngsters.
Vodafone should introduce more schemes and offers.
Vodafone should provide more schemes and offers to its old
Vodafone should decrease call rates of STD and ISD
customers.
BIBLOGRAPHY
Marketing management analysis planning an control. -PHILLIP KOTLAR
Marketing on consumer behavior. -L.K.SCHIFFMAN
www. Vodafone telecommunication.com.
SERVEY ON “CUSTOMER PREFERENCE OF VODAFONE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE IN NAGPUR” 1) Which Telecommunication service are you using? a) Reliance b) Airtel c) Vodafone d) BSNL 2) Which plan you are using? a) Post Paid
b) Pre-Paid
3) Are you satisfied with your service provider? a) Yes
b) No
4) Your age group? a) 18-25 b) 25-40 c) Above 5) Your occupation? a) Student b) Business c) Employee
e) Other_______
