1

Project Report
On

Customer Satisfaction on Mobile Service Provider

Networks

In

International Market Research Bureau (IMRB)

Hyderabad
By
CH. KARTHIK

(08M009)
(Marketing/Finance)
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Post Graduation
Diploma in Business Management

DHRUVA COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT

MEDCHAL
HYDERABAD.

C E R T I F I C AT E

This is to certify that the thesis entitled Customer Satisfaction on Mobile Service
Provider Networks in IMRB INTERNATIONAL, HYDERABAD, that is being
submitted by Mr. CH.KARTHIK in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
degree of PGDM in MARKETING & FINANCE in Dhruva College of Management is a
bonafied work carried out by him under the guidance and supervision of the undersigned.
The results embodied in this dissertation have not been submitted to any other university or
institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Date:
Place:

Supervisors Signature and designation

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the dissertation entitled Customer Satisfaction on Mobile Service
Provider Networks that is being submitted by me in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of the degree of PGDM in FINANCE & MARKETING to Dhruva College
of Management is a record of bonafied work carried out by me.
The results embodied in this dissertation have not been submitted to any other university or
institution for the award of any degree or diploma.

Date:
Place:

Signature of the student

Internal supervisor

Examiner (s)

1
2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authorship of a monograph is usually attributed to one person but a report on the
internship or a project work like this one is a joint affair. I am indebted to all who have
directly and indirectly been of great help to me in doing and writing this project report.
Firstly, I am thankful and express my gratitude to Mr. Srikanth (SUPERVISIOR) who
inspired me and guided me throughout the period of Project Work that enabled me to
successful completion the project.
I am also grateful to Dr. Satya Prasad, Faculty DCM - Hyderabad for his continuous and
deliberate discussion on the topic and indeterminable burden taken by him in helping me
during the project.
I extend my thanks to Dr. S. Pratap Reddy (Chairperson DCM) and for providing all the
necessary facilities in bringing out this project report
Special regard and greatest appreciation is reserved for all the Executives and Employees of
IMRB INTERNATIONAL, Hyderabad whose honest feedbacks, ideas and thoughts helped
me navigate through the most difficult phases of the project work.
Last, but not least I am thankful to my parents who motivated me throughout this project
work, The preparation of this report would not have been an easy task without the help and
support of my parents.
I am pleased to say that the whole report is just the presentation of the facts that have been
found during the projects through different sources and its each sentence is an exact
representation of the information obtained and the analysis thereof.
I hope that I have manifested my sincere attempts to represent all the information and other
things to the best of ability.

CH. Karthik

ABSTRACT

The present study is undertaken to understand the customer satisfaction in mobile service
providers .It is done under the guidance of IMRB
The study was done to find out the customer satisfaction level in mobile service provider
players in the market and to know the customer perception towards other mobile service
providers, this survey was done in twin cities.
The data was processed using computer aided tools such as MS-EXCEL,SPSS frequency
tables were used for analysis ,the study was conducted from June 25 th 2009 to July 25th 2009
i.e., for a period of one month in the city of Hyderabad.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.....................................................................................................................................4
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................................5
1.

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................7

6
1.1.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC...........................................................................................7
1.1.1.
Customer Satisfaction....................................................................................................................7
1.1.2.
Skills of Marketers.........................................................................................................................9
1.1.3.
Method to Measure Customer Satisfaction.................................................................................10
1.1.4.
Introduction to Telecom Industry.................................................................................................11
1.1.5.
Market Share of Public and Private Industry..............................................................................13
1.1.6.
The Global Cellular Mobile Industry..........................................................................................14
1.2.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................................17
1.3.
RESEARCH LIMITATION.........................................................................................................................18
2.

MAIN TEXT LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................19

3.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................................24
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.

4.

DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................26
4.1.

5.

SOURCES OF DATA................................................................................................................................24
SAMPLING DESIGN................................................................................................................................24
COLLECTION METHOD..........................................................................................................................25
RESEARCH DEFINITION.........................................................................................................................25

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION.................................................................................................26

CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................41

BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................................42

1. Introduction
1.1. Theoretical Background of the
Topic
1.1.1. Customer Satisfaction
1.1.1

According to Philip Kotler, satisfaction is a persons feelings of pressure or

disappointment resulting from products perceived performance (outcome) in

relation to his or her expectations. Customer satisfaction is the level of a persons

felt state resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (outcome)
in relation to the persons expectations.
This satisfaction level is a function of difference between perceived performance and
expectations. If the products 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 when a better offer comes along. High satisfaction or
delight creates an emotional affinity with brand.

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.

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.

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

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".

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.

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 is the practical application of this process. The offer is also an
important addition to the 4P's theory.

1.1.2. Skills of Marketers

Marketers 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 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 companys 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.

1.1.3. 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 centres, and further suggestions were given by customers to satisfy their
desires.
2) Customer satisfaction surveys

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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 companys performance and also solicit views on
their competitors performance. It is useful to measure the customers 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.
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

1.1.4. Introduction to Telecom Industry

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

11

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.

Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones

Year
1851

First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta
(seat
of British power)

1881

Telephone service introduced in India

1883

Merger with the postal system

1923

Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

1932

Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable
Communication
Company (IRCC)

1947

Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form

the
Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the
government's Ministry of Communications

1985

Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive

provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own
regulator (separate from the postal system)

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1986

Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies:

the
Videsh Sanchar Nigam
telecommunications

Limited

(VSNL)

for

international

and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in

metropolitan areas.

1997

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999

Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy

is
adopted.

2000

DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumers' income and
spending owing to strong economic growth have helped make India the fastest-growing
telecom market in the world. The first and largest operator is the state-owned incumbent
BSNL, which is also the 7th largest telecom company in the world in terms of its number of
subscribers. BSNL was created by corporatization. while DTS (Department of
Telecommunication Services), a government unit responsible for provision of telephony
services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policies were revised to allow private
operators, companies such as Bharti Telecom, TATA Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, Idea,
Vodafone and BPL have entered the space. Major operators in India. However, rural India
still lacks strong infrastructure.
The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 300 million mark on June 18
2008The overall tele-density has increased to 36.98% in March 2009 .In the wireless
segment, 15.87 million subscribers have been added in March 2009. The total wireless
subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base is more than 391.76 million now. The wire line

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segment subscriber base stood at 38.22 million with a decline of 0.13 million in October
2008.

1.1.5. Market Share of Public and Private Industry

The fixed line and mobile segments serve the basic needs of local calls, long distance calls
and the international calls, with the provision of broadband services in the fixed line segment
and GPRS in the mobile arena. Traditional telephones have been replaced by the codeless and
the wireless instruments. Mobile phone providers have also come up with GPRS-enabled
multimedia messaging, Internet surfing, and mobile-commerce.The much-awaited 3G mobile
technology is soon going to enter the Indian telecom market. The GSM, CDMA, WLL
service providers are all upgrading them to provide 3G mobile services. Along with
improvement in telecom services, there is also an improvement in manufacturing. In the
beginning, there were only the Siemens handsets in India but now a whole series of new
handsets, such as Nokia's latest N-series, Sony Ericsson's W-series, Motorola's PDA phones,
etc. have come up.
Touch screen and advanced technological handsets are gaining popularity. Radio services
have also been incorporated in the mobile handsets, along with other applications like high
storage memory, multimedia applications, multimedia games, MP3 Players, video generators,
Camera's, etc. The value added services provided by the mobile service operators contribute
more than 10% of the total revenue.

1.1.6. The Global Cellular Mobile Industry

Global telecom sector
Earnings visibility
Earnings growth is being driven by improving pricing conditions, stabilizing operating
trends, aggressive cost cutting initiatives, a positive regulatory environment, strong wireless
growth, and new market opportunities. This has translated into greater visibility of forward
earnings as evidenced by recent increased analyst upgrades within the sector.

Merger synergies

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Given the substantial amount of excess capital available in the sector and in private equity we
expect to see additional merger and acquisition activity, albeit at a slower pace than recently
witnessed. Global telecom M&A deals over the past two years have reflected market
expansion but have also had a positive effect on the buyers balance sheets. Partnering
companies have begun realizing their synergies through cost reductions and economies of
scale. In the US, the largest three companies now account for over 70% of the sector market
cap; this compares to 34% in 1990. Trends in bundled services are also paving the way for
additional M&A activity. Sector consolidation will further increase the importance of stock
selection.
Growth
While cost-cutting has been a major source of earnings growth, we have seen top-line
pressures decreasing which will help revenues become a larger driver of earnings growth
again. We see growth within the sector coming from a number of areas including: broadband,
3G (third generation) technology, expansion in emerging markets. Broadband penetration has
been accelerating as internet customers are seeking faster downloads for audio and video
files. 3G services, which facilitate the simultaneous transfer of both voice and non-voice (i.e.
video, downloads, SMS, etc.) data are providing mobile users with a much more robust
communication platform and should finally begin to realize their growth potential in 2007.
Emerging market companies benefit from low penetration rates and also tend to have lower
leverage, higher margins and higher growth than most developed markets telecom companies.
Global opportunities
It has become less difficult to find attractive telecom investment opportunities globally than it
was a year ago. As the fog has lifted from the sector, there are increased opportunities within
both the growth and value spaces.

Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone

The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or "hand phone") is a
long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the
standard voice function of a telephone,

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The Global Cellular Mobile Industry:

The global mobile phone industry is based on many different manufacturers and operators.
The industry is based on advanced technology and many of the manufacturers are operating
in different industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network, market
knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile phones are today dominating
the global mobile phone industry &networks; Nokia, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Motorola .
Airtel, Bsnl , tataindicom ,Vodafone, reliance, others. In addition to these companies there
are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally.

Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has
nearly200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world
after China and USA.
With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in
the8world.
Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by
the growth in demand in countries like India and China.
Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.
China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total
subscribers in Asia Pacific.
Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%.
Considering the fact that India and China have almost comparable populations, India
slow mobile penetration offers huge scope for growth.

History of Indian Telecommunications

It was Started in 1851 ,when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near
Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In
1883 telephone services were emerged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph
Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign

16

telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph
(PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry . Telecom sector was considered as a
strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first
wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector
was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of
Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and
long distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In
1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam
Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.
In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy.
Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better
quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policy makers to initiate a change process
finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National
Telecom Policy(NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the
Indian telecommunicationssector.
In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act
as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector.. Telecommunication sector in
India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular
Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and
international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for
almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently
available in selective urban areas, and collectively account .Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is
dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Essar, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is
dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long
distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular he
tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in
tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has
driven demand.
Classification of Telecommunication services
1. Basic services
2. Cellular services
3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)

1.2. Research Objectives

Scope of study: scope is limited to Hyderabad and secunderabad region only
Objectives of the study: This project aims at studying the present market scenario.The
major players in the market today are Airtel, Vodafone,Bsnl, Tata indicom ,Reliance,Idea.All
The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating fast developing
area and so all the service providers were taken to measure the satisfaction of customer

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The main objective of the study are:

1. Service providers in the market which are not reaching the customer.
2. To study the customer satisifaction towards mobile service providers.
3. To study and identify how the customers are benefited.
4. To evaluate the major service provider satisified the customer.
5. To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to
assess their current satisfaction levels.
6. To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers.
7. To understand the performance of different brands in the market on various
parameters like product quality, performance of the customer relationship officer
(CRO), service quality, range and selection of products available.

About the company

IMRB Established in 1971 and with over three decades of market research experience, It is a
pioneer in India in various research areas. Associated with a group of international market
companies .International promises high quality conceptualization, ISMRB International is the
only research company in India today that offers the entire range of research based services to
its clients.
consumer market research both quantitative and qualitative, industrial market research,
business to business market research, social and rural market research, media research, retail
research, and consumer panels.
This provides specialist research services to its clients in India and overseas on products and
services covering the entire business and industry. IMRB International today, operates out of
its five full service offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and Bangalore and is
supported by15 other regional centers for collection of survey information that literally
spanthe entire country.

ABACUS FIELD
Abacus Field handles the field operations for all the business divisions in IMRB. it has a
network of 15 regional offices spread across the country that gives IMRB the capability to
run pan India research projects smoothly &effectively. In research infrastructure in
neighbouring countries. They work with associate companies in Sri Lanka (Lanka Market
Research Bureau) and in the Middle East(Arab Market Research Bureau), and through
affiliates in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Tunisia,
Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

3.2) DIVISIONS
IMRB has five specialist units to serve the diverse needs of their clients:
Probe Qualitative Research (PQR)
Social and Rural Research Institute (SRI)

18

Media & Panel Research Group

Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM)
Business & Industrial Research Division (BIRD)

1.3. Research Limitation

Limitations of the Study

Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some
problems, which are listed here:

The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and
every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time.

Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in
responding rightly.

Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about

themselves and their organization.

Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services

provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information.

Most of the respondents dont want to disclose the information about the various other
companies which they have experienced before.

Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they
were not able to properly differentiate among their product.

Due to human behavior information may be biased. Mainly in BSNL case.

2. Main Text Literature Review

.

Review of Literature

19

Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile
telephones. The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is
usually known as 3G for short. There are various issues about that new innovative.
One is how to price 3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone
operating companies to recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments
for operating licenses. Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed
international standards and companies do not yet know what new services the
technology will prove capable of delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain
dependent on largely unproven technology. Marketing 3G is going to be about
services which are new and in many cases, yet to be designed. At the same time, it
will involve services which can also be obtained by computer and other means. It
follows that the marketing task will be high risk. First, 3G has no obviously unique
selling proposition to build on except, perhaps, the combination of live video and
easy portability. Second, the potential customers have not yet had adequate
opportunity to signal their service likes and dislikes. Third, the cost and complexity
of service provision leave doubt about the markets reaction to price.

Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to
create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining
existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of
the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom
infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India
permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to
manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a
new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There
had been a monopoly of the state-owned department of telecommunications.
However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change.

20
3

Bhatt (2008), in his study titled A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post
Graduate Students analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service
providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and
young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well
understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive
aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by
gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies.

Jha (2008), in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver
of the telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give
a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several
embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208
mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender,
monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage
pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service
providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different
market segments.

Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given
favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the
attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services
promised and services offered. The overall customers attitude towards cell phone
services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more
services to be provided.

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6

Kumar (2008), in their study titled Customer Satisfaction and Discontentment vis-avis BSNL Landline Service: A Study analyzed that at present, services marketing
plays a major role in the national economy. In the service sector, telecom industry is
the most active and attractive. Though the telecom industry is growing rapidly,
India's telecom density is less than the world's average telecom density as most of
India's market is yet to be covered. This attracts private operators to enter into the
Indian telecom industry, which makes the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
more alert to run its business and survive in the market.

Seth et al (2008), in their study titled Managing the Customer Perceived Service
Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation analyzed that
there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that
responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer
perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This
would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of
importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid
instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile
services.

Fernandez (2007) in their study titled Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving

Industry: Case of Mobile VAS in India analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services
(VAS) is a rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is
made at understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within
which the Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our
literature and industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is
complicated yet one can observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between
mobile network operators and content aggregators.

22

Bismut (2006) in his study titled Competition in European Telecom Markets

analyzed that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed
major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks
and a surge in the number of available services and applications. While many factors
have contributed to the transformation of the telecommunications industry,
competition has played a key role in driving telecom players to invest in new
technologies, to innovate and to offer new services.

10 Kalpana and Chinnadurai (2006) in their study titled Promotional Strategies of

Cellular Services: A Customer Perspective analyzed that the increasing competition

and changing taste and preferences of the customers all over the world are forcing
companies to change their targeting strategies. The study revealed the customer
attitude and their satisfaction towards the cellular services in Coimbatore city. It was
found that advertisement play a dominant role in influencing the customers but most
of the customers are of opinion that promotional strategies of cellular companies are
more sale oriented rather than customer oriented.

11 Fredric (2008) analyzed the importance of yield management and discrimination

pricing in telecommunication sector. Yield management is the process of allocating
the right type of capacity or inventory unit to the right kind of customer at the right
price so as to maximize revenue or yield. Yield management and dynamic pricing
strategies could be usefully applied to preserve and increase profitability. Yield
management techniques can help telecom operators and similar companies to
optimize the benefits they can derive from a subtle management of information
networks and partnerships. However, such an approach is more difficult to
implement in the telecommunications industry than in the airlines sector because of
the difficulty to control (and sometimes to refuse) network access to customers

12 Chris (2003) has analyzed Telecom advertising in print media. This research
attempted to investigate why Telecom theme are used in advertisement, and the

23

motives that lead companies and advertisers to use sport celebrities and sport concept
in advertisements. From study it has been revealed that the appearance of sport
celebrities in advertising endorsement occurred more often in Telecom magazines
than in other magazines, because their target group is more acquainted with athletes.
The sport celebrities that dominated each printed media are related with their target
group characteristics.

3. Research Methodology

24

3.1. Sources of Data

SOURCES OF DATA
The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured
questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated
websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various
experts.
METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA
The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more
effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective
presentation and hence results are being obtained.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS
In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is CHI SQUARE test. It is used as
because sample size is 100.

3.2. Sampling Design

RESEARCH DESIGN
The design for this study is Exploratory and Random sampling

3.3. Collection Method

DATA COLLECTION

25

The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of
questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. Because it is a pilot study and due to
time constraint the sample size is small.

3.4. Research Definition

The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a systematic and a
replicable process, which identifies and defines problems, within specified boundaries. It
employs well-designed method to collect the data and analyses the results. It disseminates the
findings to contribute to generalize able knowledge. The main characteristics of research
presented below are:

Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests relationships between
them,
Collecting, organizing and evaluating data.
Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others
Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected
Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a larger
population
Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it.
Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts.
Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would facilitate to take
decision.

For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were use. It
helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data which will be collected
from a sample of population was assumed to be representing entire population was interest.
Demographic factors likeage, income and educational background was used for the
classification purpose.

4. Data Analysis
4.1. Data Analysis and Interpretation
Customer satisifaction: Gap b/w Consumer Expectations and Companies Performance
of Telecommunication

26

Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have?

Particular

No. of respondents

AIRTEL

40

VODAFONE

32

IDEA

16

BSNL

12

No. of respondents
45
40
35
30

No. of respondents

25
20
15
10
5
0
AIRTEL

VODAFONE

IDEA

BSNL

Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, where the
market leader is Airtel. Thats why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Airtel. Above
data analysis shows that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two
market leaders Airtel and vodafone. Minor is bsnl.

Q2:- What kind of service you have?

27

Particular

No. of respondents

Pre-Paid

84

Post-Paid

16

No. of respondents

Pre-Paid
Post-Paid

Interpretation: - Above data shows that most of the respondents in the area have pre-paid
connections. And I got only 16% questionnaire filled by post-paid users.

Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

Brands
Airtel

Excellen
t
7

Good

Avg

Poor

18

10

Terrible Not
Sure

28

Vodaphone

15

20

Idea
Bsnl

1
0

06
10

04
03

05
08

20
18
16
14
12

Airtel

10

Vodaphone
Idea

Bsnl

6
4
2
0
Excellent Good

Avg

Poor

Terrible Not Sure

Interpretation:- From the graphic it depict that Airtel is the most excellent and good service
provider as 19 out 20 responded believes that the service of the company is excellent. Then
vodaphone has also good rate of excellence as 16 out of 18 respondents rated Vodaphone as a
good service provider. But the idea and Bsnl are not under good ratings. 8 respondents of
BSNL and 5 of Idea have rated their service provider as Poor. BSNL is found to be worst
service provider from all above as 12 respondents rate it as a average service provider and 8
as a poor service provider.

29

Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of
your choice?

H1: -Price factor is not the most influencing factor for the purchase of Telecom service.
H0: - Price factor is the most influencing factor for the purchase of Telecom service.

Brands

Price

Airtel

Network
Service

Brand
Image

16

VAS

Expected
values
25

Vodafone

25

Idea

10

25

Bsnl

22

10

25

Chi square value:6.035

Table value: 5.991

Interpretation of Chi: - As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value 6.035 is more than
the table value 5.991, so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means Price factor is the most
influencing factor for the purchase of Telecom service.

Interpretation:- Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred because of its best
network service and Brand image as well. Where Vodafone is preferred because of its good
pricing strategy, network service, brand image and the most Value Added Services of the
company. And Idea is preferred because of all above factors. Where Bsnl is preferred the
most because of its low price as compare to its competitors and because of its value added
services as well.

30

Q5- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile
service:
Particular

Airtel

Vodafone

Idea

Bsnl

SMS Pack

16

Concessio
n Call
Rates

15

11

Internet
Service

Full Talk
Time

16
14
12
10

SMS Pack
Concession Call Rates

Internet Service

Full Talk Time

4
2
0
Airtel

Vodafone

Idea

Bsnl

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred because of its
internet service. And vodaphone because of its Concession calls rates and full talk time VAS.

31

Where Idea the most because of its Concession Call Rates and SMS pack. But BSNL because
of its SMS pack mainly and then concession rates also.

Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?

Brands

>1 Month

Airtel

1-6 Month

6 M 1 Year

< 1 Year

< 3 Year

13

Vodafone

11

13

Idea

Bsnl

14
12
10
8
6
4
2

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Bsnl

Interpretation:- Above table analysis depicts that most of the users are using their telecom
service from last one year. Some of the users are also using it from last 3 year, where majority
of the users are BSNL connection holders. Most of the users of the Vodaphone are using it

32

from last 6 months. Very few respondents are a new users of their services that let our study
not vague.

Q7:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company?

Brands

Very
Satisfied

Satisfied

Neutral

Dissatisfy

Very
Dissatisfy

Airtel

23

Vodafone

18

Idea

13

Bsnl

14

25
20
15
10
5

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Bsnl

Interpretation: - Above table data analysis shows that the satisfaction rate of network
service is leaded by Airtel as not a single user of service is neutral or dissatisfy. And
vodaphone network service satisfaction rate is also good. And it can be also found that BSNL
network service is not good as compare to others competitors as 14 respondents are found to
be not satisfied with the company network service.

33

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money?

Brands

Excellent

Good

Fair

Airtel

24

Vodafone

20

Idea

10

Bsnl

14

Poor

Not Sure

25
20
15

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea

10

Bsnl
5
0
Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

Not Sure

Interpretation: - Above data and chart analysis depicts that BSNL has the highest rating of
Value for /money as 33 persons out 34 has rated it as a excellent and good service provider.
Then Idea Company is following Bsnl as a best service provider for value for money. Other
two players Airtel and Voda has similar performance approximately. Both has been rated
good and excellent, where good has been rated more as compare to other options.

34

Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer
care/service department of your service provider?

H0: - People do not contact customer care mostly for activation and deactivation of the
service
H1: - People contact customer care mostly for activation and deactivation of the service

Brands

Billing
Related

Activation/
Deactivation

Informatio
n of VASs

Airtel

10

25

18

25

12

25

11

13

25

Vodafone
Idea

Bsnl

Chi square value:

9.351

Network
Problem

Expected
values

Table value: 7.815

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value 9.351 is more than
the table value 7.815, so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means People contact customer
care mostly for activation and deactivation of the service.

Interpretation: - From the above data analysis it has been found that most of the users of
telecommunication contact to their customers care for activation and deactivation of various
services. Then they also contact for information about various value added services provider
by companies like validity, call rates, sms pack, caller tones etc. Network service has been
found a problem of mainly BSNL users and to some extent of Idea users as well.

35

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much
satisfied are you with the customer care service?

H0: - Airtel is not the best service provider of customer care service.
H1: - Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service.

Brands

Very
Satisfied

Satisfied

Airtel

14

Vodaphone

12

Idea

11
2

Bsnl

Chi square value:

11.143

Neutral

Dissatisfy

Very
Dissatisfy

22

Table value: 9.488

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value 11.143 is more than
the table value 9.488, so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means Airtel is the best service
provider of customer care service in the industry..

Interpretation:- From the above data interpretation we can conclude that Airtel is the best
service provider of customer care service. As it has been also found in some of the article that
Airtel is expending more on its customer care service as compare to other competitors in the
market. The Vodaphone service is also satisfactory as most of the users has rated it as
satisfied service provider. But Bsnl is to be found as a not satisfactory service provider. Most
of the users said that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a
single time.

Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved?

36

Brands

Very
Satisfied

Satisfied

Airtel

12

17

Vodafone

12

Idea

1
3

Bsnl

Neutral

Dissatisfy

Very
Dissatisfy

19

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Bsnl

Interpretation: - From above data analysis we can say that most of the users, who are
satisfied with their customer care service, are also satisfied with the process of getting their
queries resolved. Airtel again has been rated as the best service provider for getting queries
resolved. Results are similar approximately with the 10-question analysis.

Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous.

Brands

Strongly

Somewhat

Neutral

Somewhat

Strongly

37

Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Agree

Airtel

13

Vodaphone

14

12

10

12

Idea
Bsnl

20

20
18
16
14
12

Airtel

10

Vodaphone
Idea

Bsnl

6
4
2
0
Strongly Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all companies found
their customer service provider courteous. But the result of BSNL is not good as the users say
that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single time. Some of
them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are found not satisfied and rated this
question also as dissatisfied. So after studying their views with a personal discussion we can
not say that the customer care representatives of BSNL are not courteous.

Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.

38

Brands

Strongly
Disagree

Somewhat
Agree

Strongly
Agree

Airtel

22

Vodaphone

17

10

12

Idea
Bsnl

20

Somewhat
Disagree

Neutral

25
20
15
10
5
0

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Bsnl

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all companies found
their customer service provider knowledgeable. But the result of BSNL is again not good as
the users say that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single
time. Some of them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are found not satisfied
and rated this question also as dissatisfied. So after studying their views with a personal
discussion we can not say that the customer care representatives of BSNL are not
knowledgeable. But one more finding is there in that question that Idea is not perfect in hiring
best personnel for customer care representatives as 8 users are neutral for this question reply.

Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory.

39

Brands

Strongly
Disagree

Somewhat
Disagree

Somewhat
Agree

Strongly
Agree

Airtel

23

Vodafone

15

10

12

Idea
Bsnl

20

Neutral

25
20
15
10
5
0

Airtel
Vodafone
Idea
Bsnl

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all companies are
found satisfactory with the waiting time their queries resolved. But the result of BSNL is
again not good as the users say that they have not talk to their customer care service provider
even for a single time. Some of them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are
found not satisfied and rated this question also as dissatisfied and neutral. So after studying
their views with a personal discussion we can not say that the customer care representatives
of BSNL are not able to solve their customer queries in a satisfactory time.

5. Conclusion
CONCLUSION

As per my belief we have seen that the choice of mobile handset and services can not be
separated came out true because when we tried to find out the customer decision .we
successfully classified customers in to eight group each with some special requirement

40

service wise and handsets attribute wise. Competition in telecom industry is heating up
its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new dynamic business
environment.
Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to
satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom
scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of other .They should
also think for searching new space or we can say either creating a new blue space to
sustain their growth in long run.
There is more room for data analysis but the rest of the part is beyond the scope of this
project report According to the results, the most important determinant for consumers are
price and sacrifice perception (monetary and non-monetary sacrifice), which in
perception. These are periodical fixed cost, minute or traffic charge and opening cost
when purchasing mobile phone. The results indicate that the minute charge is the most
influential factor when a customer assesses to purchase. The second most important factor
is the periodical fixed cost and another factor is the opening cost. These indicate, not
surprisingly, that communication firms need to deeply consider. Also, this indicates that a
lot of effort must be put in the pricing strategy.

Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or
failure of next-generation communications service providers. In todays competitive
environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations.
The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another,
demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and
performance. To be successful, communications service providers must deliver
positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by
comprehensive service quality management. To this effect-Mobile services has
experienced the negative attributes of not being customer focused and realizes that
quality is an attribute that creates customer satisfaction profitably. Therefore quality
must be fused with all resources channeled towards their customers

Bibliography
REFERANCES
1

Jallet,

Frederic,

Yield

management,

Dynamic

pricing

and

CRM

in

telecommunications,
(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4
5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?

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contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1747102&history=true>)
[Viewed 13/3/09]
2

Debnath, Roma Mitra, Benchmarking telecommunication service in India, 2008

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4
5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?
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[Viewed 2/3/09]

Robins, Fread, The marketing of 3G, vol 21, no 6, 2008

(http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E2B6B4
5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9?
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[Viewed 2/4/09]

Kalwani, Banumathy, Consumers Attitude towards Cell phone Services, 2006

Fernandez, Fronnie, Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of

Mobile VAS in India, 2007
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57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?
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Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing

Strategies in the Competitive Scenario, 2007
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57A565F9A6CBAC8800F658?
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Seth et, Etal, Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile
Telephone: an Empirical Investigation, 2008

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Publishing Company Lmt.

43

1.6 ANNEXURE
Questionnaire
NAME- ___________________

MOBILE MODEL-

________

AGE- ________

OCCUPATION-_________________

Q1:- Which mobile connection do you have?

a) Airtel

b) Vodafone

c) Idea

d) Bsnl

Q2:- What kind of service you have

a) Pre-paid

b) Post-paid

Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Average

d) Poor

e) Terrible

f) Not Sure

Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you to buy the service of your choice?
a)

Price

b)

Network Service

c)

Brand Image

d)

Value Added Services (Rel to Rel Free after 11PM)

Q5- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile
service:
a) SMS pack

Poor
b) Concession Call Rates

Excellent --1 2 3 4 5 --

44

c) Internet Service

d) Full Talk Time

Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?
a) Less than one month

b) 1 to 6 months

d) 1 to 3 years

e) Over 3 years

c) 6 months to a year

Q7:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company?
a) Very satisfied
b) Satisfied
c) Neutral
d) Dissatisfied
e) Very dissatisfied

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money?
a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Fair

d) Poor

d) Not sure

Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer
care/service department of your service provider? Rank them.
a)

Billing related

b)

Activation/deactivation related

c)

Information about VASs

d)

Network problem

45

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied
are you with the customer care service?
a)

Very satisfied

b)

Satisfied

c)

Neutral

d)

Dissatisfied

e)

Very dissatisfied

f)

N/A

Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved?
a)

Very satisfied

b)

Satisfied

c)

Neutral

d)

Dissatisfied

e)

Very dissatisfied

Q12:- The customer service representative was very courteous.

a)

Strongly Disagree

b)

Somewhat Disagree

c)

Neutral

d)

Somewhat Agree

e)

Strongly Agree

Q13:- The customer service representative was very knowledgeable.

a)

Strongly Disagree

46

b)

Somewhat Disagree

c)

Neutral

d)

Somewhat Agree

e)

Strongly Agree

Q14:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory.
a)

Strongly Disagree

b)

Somewhat Disagree

c)

Neutral

d)

Somewhat Agree

e)

Strongly Agree

If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, will you please describe the
reasons for your dissatisfaction?
-- -

Thank you for spending your precious time on filling in the questionnaire for us!