Airtel has targeted the premium and upper middle class. The rationale behind it is that only those segments should be targeted who value time and have the paying capacity. It Is also planning to target the business tourists during their stay in the capital
About 60% of the clientele are top executives of corporate houses. About 15% are foreign organisations and the rest are professionals and small businessmen. During the introduction stage there was intense pressure to get consumers across to hook up with their brand, because getting them to switch brand loyalty later would be hard
So far Airtel marketers have been concentrating totally on the business executive class but now that the basic viable volumes has beer) built up and prices have declined to a certain extent they are planning to venture further a field.
POSITIONING
The product is sought to be positioned as a business efficiency tool. a lifestyle revolution and a status symbol The emphasis is to remove misconception that the cellphone is an expensive means
of communication and drive home the point that the cellphone is actually a day-to-day utility
PRODUCT POLICY AND PLANNING
The product or service is the heart of the marketing mix.
Without a product or a service customers' needs cannot be satisfied.
The basic product promise by Airtel is mobility. Airtel's main marketing strategy is to be a first mover all the time. It has recognised the significance of making the first move-- because in the field of Communication & Information Technology changes occur at a tremendous pace.
Effective product segmentation has to be carried on continuously because basic services can be and will be copied and in time become expected component of the product. Airtel seeks to carry out this segmentation through provision of new information services and making new facilities available. The product policy and planning depends on the stage of the product life cycle. At present the cellular phone market has reached the maturity stage. Since, the premium segment is nearing saturation the company targeting the upper middle and middle-middle class. In order to do so Airtel is trying to optimise the price performance
This involves the selection of the suitable hardware (handset) and its software (its services.) with reasonable price in order to deliver maximum price performance to its customers. In addition, it offers free Airtime services and other concessions to make the prices and thus the product more attractive. It has also opened a 24 hours customer service.
Only price doesn't serve as an effective differentiator, value added services become the effective differentiator.
The "Value Added Services" provided from Airtel are:-1). Voice Mail service
This system is similar to the answering machine - if the user is not able to answer a call for some reason the caller can leave messages in the voice mail box which can be later retrieved by the user
ii) Short Message Service
The short message service is like a two-way pager. It gives an option of sending and receiving text messages directly from one mobile phone to another without the intervention of an operator.
iii) Mobile Fax 1 Data Service
This service helps the subscriber to send and receive Faxes, access E-mail, download computer files from other systems and remotely log on to another computer and surf the Internet.
iv) Cash Card
The cash card is a pre-paid and pre-activated card which allows the buyers to buy air time in advance. All it requires is the payment of an initial amount. This is a useful service for people who travel to Delhi often and those who want to control the expenses on their calls.
v) Caller ID
Displays calling person's number.
vi) Outgoing call restriction
To prevent or limit outgoing calls, for example, in peak hours.
Also possible to exclude one or several countries, or any geographical region, to permit only local calls, or to limit the outgoing calls to a listed number.
viii) Call forward
Incoming calls can be forwarded to another fixed or mobile phone.
Besides these some other services provided by Airtel are - Call conferencing, Call Broadcast et cetera.
It is in the operators -Interest that they not only get many subscribers but also get them to use the mobile facility frequently. In the early stages getting increases to subscribe may be easier than getting them to talk since they will find it costlier to use the mobile phone as compared to a conventional phone [if is believed that initially cellphones would be used buy]
viii) Roaming Facility
Roaming facility is available while the subscriber is travelling.
The billing is done in the home network (Delhi). Roaming facility is available manually* as well as semi-automatically. Once a subscriber is In any other city or country, where a GSM network is available, simply insert the SIM card of the local operator Into your handset and start talking.
* Manual Roaming means a separate SIM card is provided for each city
** Semi automatic roaming means one card has the facility for different cities.
AIRTEL'S MARKETING ORIENTATION.
Since this is a high-involvement expensive product, the service provider has to fully take care of the customers.
a) They take personal responsibility to "get" the answer for any problem faced by the customer
b) They anticipate customers' problems and take pro-active steps to prevent them
c) They give answers to the questions & requests, quickly &
efficiently.
d) They have a positive tone & manner while interacting with customers.
e) They end the interaction on a positive or a humorous note-making the last 30 seconds count.
Airtel realises that attracting people 'Is easy but converting them into loyal customers is hard, hence emphasis is on maintaining a 'Smiling and a Friendly Atmosphere' to please and retain the customer.