A Project Report On "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND MANAGEMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANY" FOR IMRB INTERNATIONAL Submitted To UNIVERSITY OF PUNE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BACHLOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA) BY WASIM AHMED ABEDA INAMDAR SR. COLLEGE PUNE-411001 2010-2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENT I have great pleasure in presenting the Project titled "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & MANAGEMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION CO. For IMRB International in Pune". The success of any project depends on the coordinated efforts of many people. No human efforts have succeeded and the attempts are completed unless somebody paves the right path and right direction. First of all I would like to thank Almighty GOD for his blessings without which I couldn't have completed the project. I would like to extend my gratitude to ABEDA INAMDAR SR. COLLEGE for giving me this opportunity to work with IMRB International. Every page of this report reminds me about the moral support and guidance that was bestowed on me by my respected Guide, mentors, professors, friends and family members throughout the project. My sincere gratitude goes to Prof. TEHSEEN MAKANDAR (PROJECT GUIDE), without whose valued guidance, encouragement and inspiration the completion of this project would ever have been possible .1 am indebted for giving me valuable information during my project. I am unable to mention many others who have help me greatly but it gives immense pleasure to appreciate all those without whose encouragement and help this project would never have been completed.
DECLARATION I hereby declare that & the project entitled "CUSTOMER OF TELE-
SATISFACTION
MANAGEMENT
COMMUNICATION COMPANY" is submitted as a part of my Management Research Project for the BBA program from Abeda Inamdar Sr. college, Pune. The project has been done under the able guidance of Project Guide Prof. Tehseen Makandar Company Guide Mr. Sachin janawale This project has not been submitted in full elsewhere for any award or degree. WASIM AHMED
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Introduction of topic synopsis B. Introduction to the project
CHAPTER 2 a. History
Company profile
b. Organization structure c. Product and service offer by the company d. Market share e. Future development f. Reorganization and awards
CHAPTER 3 a. Primary data
Literature and review
b. Secondary data Objectives Scopes Assumption Limitations CHAPTER 4 Statistical methods
Data Analysis
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION SUGGESTION BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project is done in IMRB-International Est. inl971, which is one of India's largest Market Research Organization. IMRB is member of Kantar group, having 26 offices in 12 countries. Associated with the group of international market companies such as British market research bureau (BMRB) and Mill ward Brown International, IMRB International is a division of Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA) in India. The client was Airtel telecom service. The project is taken up to identify and evaluate various telecom services in retail shop. We have visited all outlets which offer Recharge Coupons or E-recharge for Prepaid Mobile Connections and Value Added Services. The List of outlets to be contacted is provided to us by IMRB Research. The main objective of the study is to check the customer's response towards the mobile outlets, services and to check the mode of its competitors. Under this project I have included interviews of customers for product satisfaction that is mentioned in the main questionnaire. The Questionnaire administered has been the same for all types of outlets. Along with the Questionnaire, photographs of different POS Materials are also attached for reference. This study aims at understanding the reason behind the preferences of customers for certain telecom services and the factors that attract them.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
IT IS NO LONGER ENOUGH TO SATISFY CUSTOMERS. YOU MUST DELIGHT THEM. MEASURING SATISFACTION. - P.KOTLER
A.
INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC SYNOPSIS
Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Customer satisfaction, on the other hand, is how the customer feels about the service they receive and the company that provided it. This is your customer's perception and emotional response, and you have no direct control over it. It is harder to measure and even harder to improve. (From Journal 1) Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business. There are many factors which lead to high levels of customer satisfaction including: • • • Products and services which are customer focused and thence provide high levels of value for money. Customer service giving personal attention to the needs of individual customers. After sales service - following up the original purchase with after sales support such as maintenance and updating (for example in the updating of computer packages). What is clear about customer satisfaction is that customers are most likely to appreciate the goods and services that they buy if they are made to feel special. This occurs when they feel that the goods and services that they buy have been specially produced for them or for people like them. This relates to a wide range of products such as razors that are designed for ease of use and good quality finish, petrol products that are environmentally friendly and customized to meet the needs of particular types of engines, etc.
B.
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
The word “Telecom” (which is an abbreviated version of ' telecommunication’) in real sense refers to the transfer of information between two distant points in space. This meaning however, has been subjected to modifications in accordance with further innovations made be the Telecom Industry. With cut-throat competition in the telecom sector, and new entrants every passing year, how can the network providers survive? When does a customer feel satisfied (in view of telecom industry)? • A customer is satisfied when: • The promises made before purchase are fulfilled. • The network quality is good. • The customer enjoys the option of a wide range of services like sms, mms, email, etc. • The operator provides good customer care service. • The operator provides pocket friendly plans. But do all networks fulfill these needs? Are the customers satisfied? Is there actually a relationship between customer loyalty & customer satisfaction? To address all these questions we conduct a survey to test customer satisfaction in the Pune circle. The only way to get a true assessment of satisfaction is to ask the customer.
REQUIREMENTS • Analysis of the existing information available for the networks under study. • A survey for finding out the current trends and relevant information. Analyzing the data obtained with help of statistical graphs and charts. • Journals on customer satisfaction. • Material available on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty from internet and books like Marketing Management by P.Kotler. • One of the biggest requirements, although not material would be the truthfulness of the respondents. Customer bias can lead to biased results.
CHAPTER 2 COMPANY PROFILE
About IMRB International Established in 1971 and with over three decades of market research experience, IMRB is a pioneer in India in various research areas. Associated with the group of international market companies such as British market research bureau (BMRB) and Mill ward Brown International, IMRB operates out of thirteen cities in India and has associates offices in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. IMRB International promises high quality conceptualization, strategic thinking, execution and interpretation skills on all clients research needs. In 1996, IMRB International managed 2,500 projects and 4,000,000 interviews. IMRB International is the only research company in India today that offers the entire range of research based service to its clients. IMRB International specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, and business- to- business marketing, social marketing and rural marketing. Services offered by IMRB International The depth and Breadth of services that company provides are extensive and includes research and advisory services in the following areas: • Advertising promotion and media research • B2B and Industrial research • Brand research • Customer satisfaction research • Corporate and employee research • Channel and retail research
• Product and packaging research • Pricing research • Strategic market research IMRB International's Divisions IMRB International has been offering over 30 years of specialist research services to clients in India and overseas on products and services covering the entire gamut of business and industry. IMRB International today operates, Out of its five full service offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and in Bangalore and is supported by 13 other regional centers for collection of survey information that literally span the entire country. They are able to provide highest quality of professional services to the utmost satisfaction of their clients which include small medium and large scale industries, the government and public sectors unit, multinational corporations and international companies that are eying the highly promising Indian market. To serve the diverse needs of their clients, they also have 5 specialist units • Probe qualitative research (PQR) • Social and Rural research Institute (SRI) • Media and Panel research group • Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM) • Business and Industrial Research Division (BIRD)
•
And the technology group @ IMRB International
Probe qualitative research is one of India's leading qualitative researches and has executives specially trained in India and overseas in qualitative research methods. Drawing on learning from ethnography, psychology and anthropology, PQR has created a validated tool kit for product, communication and brand development. The social and rural research institute specializes in social research and in conducting research on emerging rural markets. It has staff with special expertise in conducting knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP), studies on health and sanitation, water, environment and other fields, in India as well as Internationally. The media and panel group of IMRB International is A pioneer in the field of media research in India. It has been conducting the national readership surveys in India since 1978. It has been running India's only Television Rating (TRP) since 1986, the year in which television went commercial ion major way. It has also developed its own people meters. Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement is part of the walker information global network and is the first such specialist organization in India with an exclusive focus on customer and employee satisfaction, reputation and stakeholder assessment. Business and Industrial Research Division (BIRD) and the e-technology group at IMRB International: As industrial markets transformed from monopolies to competitive markets, the need for research based consultancy services was demanded of IMRB International. IMRB International spun off the Business and Industrial research division to meet the growing and changing needs of the Industrial marketer. Over a decade of research experience in telecommunication, office automation,
information technology and the convergence of these technologies has given the e-Technology group of IMRB International, knowledge and experience in a wide spectrum of hardware, software and services.
IMRB International's office Sr. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. OFFICE Corporate Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office International Office International Office LOCATION Mumbai Mumbai New Delhi Kolkata Bangalore Chennai Bangalore Ahmedabad Bhuvaneshwar Kolkata Chennai Guwahati Hyderabad Cochin Lucknow Mumbai Patna Pune New Delhi Indore Ludhiana U.A.E Sri Lanka
A. HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES
Sectors IMRB International researches Ever since its establishment in 1971, IMRB International has been the pioneer in conducting market research exercises for several sectors. Today, there is hardly any sector that IMRB International hasn't researched. From potato wafers PC's cigarettes to cellular phones, alcohol to air conditioners and bubble gums to big sized cars- just name it and they have researched it. • Alcohol • Automotive • Agriculture and agro products • Building and construction • Consumer durables • Household care
•
IT, Internet and Telecom
• Industry and Business • Media and Entertainment • Social an Rural • Tobacco
Network operators under consideration: BHARTI AIRTEL
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group, has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management. Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU’s) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to
corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
B. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF AIRTEL
As an outcome of a restructuring exercise conducted within the company; a new integrated organizational structure has emerged; with realigned roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships of bharti’s key team players. With effect from March 01, 2006, this unified management structure of 'One airtel' will enable continued improvement in the delivery of the Group’s strategic vision.
C. PRODUCT AND SERVICE OFFER BY THE COMPANY
Our top clients include BAT Group, Bharti Group, Cadbury, Ford Group, Frito Lay, Glaxo Smithkline, Heinz, Indian Airlines, Intel, ITC Group, Millward Brown, Nestle, Pepsi Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Research International, TVS Motors, Unilever Group, VST and so on.
A few words from two of our esteemed clients:
“As a team they produce thoughtful proposals, excellent fieldwork and presentations. They are constantly involved in the work. They feel like a version of our own office…”
“IMRB showed a high degree of professionalism, rigor and discipline. An excellent level of client servicing, need fulfilment, pro-activeness and analytical focus.”
D. MARKET SHARE
SHAREHOLDING PATTERN OF BHARTI AIRTEL Throughout its existence, Bharti Airtel has been able to attract substantial investment from international organizations such as BT, Telecom Italia, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Infrastructure Fund (IFC), and SingTel. In 2005-2006 Vodafone joined that list with a (direct and indirect) stake of 10%. Today, the company has two strategic investors: SingTel and Vodafone and the composite foreign holding of Bharti Airtel is within the prescribed limit for the telecom sector. This is a clear reflection of the ever growing interest and confidence of the international community in the company, which in turn is an outcome of the principles of sound corporate governance that the company adheres to in order to enhance its shareholder's value The table below gives a broad structure of the shareholding of the company. Category Indian Holding • Promoters • Bank/Mutual Funds/Indian Financial institution • Indian Resident/Body corporate/Others Total-Indian 45.40 3.95 2.62 51.97 Percentages
Foreign Holding • Foreign Companies • Foreign Institutional Investors • NRI's & OCB's Total-foreign Grand Total 21.60 25.61 0.82 48.03 100.00
E. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Our perspective is unique. Our approach is refreshing. And our solutions provide a comprehensive response to our client’s needs, not packaged data but custom solutions for clients. We offer services with the integration of qualitative and quantitative tools.
We are designed in India for India, our measures and scales are created to maximize sensitivity. We work together with TGI, Web-I, IMRB Retail, Market Pulse, ITOPS and ICUBE. Our passion is to drive your business growth by combining consumer understanding and brand knowledge with intuition and innovation. Vision To be the most admired brand in India by 2010:
• • •
Loved by more customers Targeted by top talent Benchmarked by more business
F. REORGANIZATION AND AWARDS
IMRB has demonstrated its vision and leadership in the Indian market by establishing several industry wide measurement and rating systems. Notable amongst these is our pioneering role in establishing India’s first TV rating system (TAM) and the creation of social economic classification (SEC) system in India. We have won several prestigious awards. Amongst them the most noteworthy being the MR Agency of the year from 2005-2009. We have presented cutting edge research for several years at international forums including ESOMAR and won awards for our efforts. We have also been awarded the WPP’s Atticus award jointly with JWT.
CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE AND REVIEW
SOURCES OF DATA PRIMARY DATA • Sources/Plan for primary Data: Research technique: Survey • Contact method: Personal visit to the concerned customers. • Research instrument: questionnaire. • The primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. The primary data was collected through experiment or survey conducted in Pune. SECONDARY DATA • The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have been passed through the statistical process.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY • To know the customers satisfaction. • To know the customers behavior and response towards Airtel Company. • To find out the factors influencing the customers. • To know the activities and facilities provided by company to satisfy customers. • To study welfare activities of the company. • To know the expectations of customers while connecting with Airtel Company. • To know how branded the Airtel is? • To give remedial measures that can be implemented by Airtel.
SCOPES
•
The scope of the project report is to study the level of satisfaction of the customers with Airtel GSM. Every company wants the feed back of their customer about the product, price, service and promotional activities in order to know the customer attitude towards its product. This study confirms that the Bharthi Airtel Pvt Ltd has satisfied its customers with Airtel GSM service.
• We value and reward high performance through various practices. ORION; our Performance Management System is an objective system based on 180 degree feedback culture. • High performers are given significantly higher performance incentives and opportunities for training and skill development. • Promotions at IMRB are linked to demonstration of potential capabilities for the next role and living our core values. We invest in people’s potential development through our performance culture which includes individual development as a fundamental aspect of reviewing.
ASSUMPTION
Indian telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel added 2.31 million mobile phone subscribers in March 2010.
LIMITATIONS
• The time given was not sufficient as only one person had to conduct the survey. • The exact thinking of the respondents cannot be found out. • Surrogate error could be one of the limitations. • Findings are made within the limited Information & views of the respondents. So a chance of bias information is not totally eliminated.
CHAPTER 4 Statistical methods
DATA ANALYSIS GENERAL INFORMATION • 18 out of 20 users wee in the age bracket of 18-21 years. • Majority of the respondents have Airtel and Vodafone numbers, both of them being established players in the market. • The number of prepaid users was more than postpaid users. • In the chart below we can see that maximum no. of respondents have monthly expenditure between Rs.500-1000 & Rs.1000-1500 bracket.
MONTHLY MOBILE EXPENDITURE(IN %)
10 15 35 Less than 500 500-1000 1000-1500 1500 or more 45
SPECIFIC INFORMATION Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network operator? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent)
USER SATISFACTION WITH NETWORK
20% 5% 10%
1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT
25%
40%
Interpretation • 40% of the users think that their network is good (i.e. rating of 4),20 % think that their network is excellent & only 5% think that their network is really bad.
Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent)
USER SATISFACTION WITH CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE 0% 11% 26% 16%
1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT
47%
Interpretation • Majority of the users i.e. 47% have access to just average customer care service (i.e. a rating of 3). • None of the users surveyed has experienced excellent customer care service (i.e. rating=5).
Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months?
10%
YES
NO
90%
Interpretation • The verdict is clear i.e. a whopping 90% of the respondents have been affected by ads and spam messages.
Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator?
45% 55%
YES NO
Interpretation • Majority of people i.e.55% have not registered for National Do Not Call service. • While those who have registered comprise 45%.
Q5. If yes, what was the result…….
22%
22%
No m ore irritating calls Less calls but problem persists No change
56%
Interpretation • Out of the 9 respondents who had registered for NDNC service, 56% believed that marketing calls had been reduced, but still there was more to be done.
Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is…………..
20% 35%
Better Alm ost sam e Worse
45%
Interpretation • Majority believes that all the networks are almost same. • While a significant 35% believe that their network is actually better than other networks.
Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again?
30%
35%
Yes No Maybe
35%
Interpretation • We have mixed results here, therefore no clear winner.
Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others?
25% 40%
Will recom mend Not recom mended Maybe
35%
Interpretation • 40% users are likely to recommend their network operator to others and an almost equal percentage i.e.35% may not recommend it.
Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one?
30%
35%
Will change Won't change Not sure
35%
Interpretation • The results are mixed here, as a result there is no clear majority.
Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.?
25% 35%
Quite often Once or tw ice Never
40%
Interpretation • 40% i.e. a majority of users have been duped by the operator atleast once.
Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection?
30%
Yes
No
70%
Interpretation Majority i.e. 70% believe that they have got a fair deal from the operator and all the promises have come true.
Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage…1…2…3…4…5=maximum usage)
• As expected we find that maximum users use their mobiles for calling only. • Next in usage comes SMS service. • The last position is taken by other services like MMS, GPRS, etc.
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION
From the above findings, it is very clear that all the customers who have been satisfied by the network operators by ways of providing better network, better customer care, better services, and etc.have turned loyal to the operator. The customer satisfaction has been converted into customer loyalty. This conversion is very important as these days customers are known to change numbers every 6 months. This will greatly reduce the number of people dumping the connection and at the same time increase the number of new buyers, as the loyal customers also act as an agent for word of mouth publicity (Journal 2). Hence all the network operators should avoid dissatisfying customers as it involves huge losses • Customer service is not something network operators in Pune circle can boast about, as a majority of people experienced just average customer care service. • 90% of the people are affected by spam messages and the problem is common to all networks. Hence the solution does not lie in changing the no. • 45% people believe that the quality of their network is the same as others, while 35% people believe that their network is better. This indicates that the customers are biased towards their own network, and this loyalty may be converted into more market share by the referrals provided by the customer. • 35% people are likely to recommend their own network to others, which is in sync with the 35% people above who believe their network is superior. This clearly proves that customer satisfaction
may lead to customer loyalty, which in turn means growth for the operator. • Almost the same percentage i.e. 30 % people are likely to buy the connection again. • When we see the group of customers who have been duped by the network operator, we find that 65% people have been duped at least once. But again we notice a group of 35% people who have not been misled by the operator and hence are satisfied.
SUGGESTION
Following are some of the suggestions given by the researcher so that Telecommunication companies can serve people and its customers in an improved way: ? Telecommunication companies should decrease call rates for local users. ? Telecommunication companies should provide more offers to PostPaid customers so that the number of Post-Paid customers increase. ? Telecommunication companies should bring introduce some new SMS schemes for the youngsters. ? Telecommunication companies should introduce more schemes and offers. ? Telecommunication companies should provide more schemes and offers to its old customers. ? Telecommunication companies should decrease call rates of STD and ISD.
BIBLIOGRAPHY www.google.comhttp://www.airtel.in/http://vodafone.in/ www.rcom.co.in/ www.ideacellular.com/http://mtnlPune.in/ www.tataindicom.com/
APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network operator? (1=bad 2= 3…4………..5=excellent)
Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent) Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months? Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator? Q5. If yes, what was the result……. Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is………….. Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again? Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others? Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one?
Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.? Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection? Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage…1…2…3…4…5=maximum usage)
doc_100044065.doc
ACKNOWLEDGMENT I have great pleasure in presenting the Project titled "CUSTOMER SATISFACTION & MANAGEMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION CO. For IMRB International in Pune". The success of any project depends on the coordinated efforts of many people. No human efforts have succeeded and the attempts are completed unless somebody paves the right path and right direction. First of all I would like to thank Almighty GOD for his blessings without which I couldn't have completed the project. I would like to extend my gratitude to ABEDA INAMDAR SR. COLLEGE for giving me this opportunity to work with IMRB International. Every page of this report reminds me about the moral support and guidance that was bestowed on me by my respected Guide, mentors, professors, friends and family members throughout the project. My sincere gratitude goes to Prof. TEHSEEN MAKANDAR (PROJECT GUIDE), without whose valued guidance, encouragement and inspiration the completion of this project would ever have been possible .1 am indebted for giving me valuable information during my project. I am unable to mention many others who have help me greatly but it gives immense pleasure to appreciate all those without whose encouragement and help this project would never have been completed.
DECLARATION I hereby declare that & the project entitled "CUSTOMER OF TELE-
SATISFACTION
MANAGEMENT
COMMUNICATION COMPANY" is submitted as a part of my Management Research Project for the BBA program from Abeda Inamdar Sr. college, Pune. The project has been done under the able guidance of Project Guide Prof. Tehseen Makandar Company Guide Mr. Sachin janawale This project has not been submitted in full elsewhere for any award or degree. WASIM AHMED
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Introduction of topic synopsis B. Introduction to the project
CHAPTER 2 a. History
Company profile
b. Organization structure c. Product and service offer by the company d. Market share e. Future development f. Reorganization and awards
CHAPTER 3 a. Primary data
Literature and review
b. Secondary data Objectives Scopes Assumption Limitations CHAPTER 4 Statistical methods
Data Analysis
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION SUGGESTION BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project is done in IMRB-International Est. inl971, which is one of India's largest Market Research Organization. IMRB is member of Kantar group, having 26 offices in 12 countries. Associated with the group of international market companies such as British market research bureau (BMRB) and Mill ward Brown International, IMRB International is a division of Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA) in India. The client was Airtel telecom service. The project is taken up to identify and evaluate various telecom services in retail shop. We have visited all outlets which offer Recharge Coupons or E-recharge for Prepaid Mobile Connections and Value Added Services. The List of outlets to be contacted is provided to us by IMRB Research. The main objective of the study is to check the customer's response towards the mobile outlets, services and to check the mode of its competitors. Under this project I have included interviews of customers for product satisfaction that is mentioned in the main questionnaire. The Questionnaire administered has been the same for all types of outlets. Along with the Questionnaire, photographs of different POS Materials are also attached for reference. This study aims at understanding the reason behind the preferences of customers for certain telecom services and the factors that attract them.
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
IT IS NO LONGER ENOUGH TO SATISFY CUSTOMERS. YOU MUST DELIGHT THEM. MEASURING SATISFACTION. - P.KOTLER
A.
INTRODUCTION OF TOPIC SYNOPSIS
Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Customer satisfaction, on the other hand, is how the customer feels about the service they receive and the company that provided it. This is your customer's perception and emotional response, and you have no direct control over it. It is harder to measure and even harder to improve. (From Journal 1) Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business. There are many factors which lead to high levels of customer satisfaction including: • • • Products and services which are customer focused and thence provide high levels of value for money. Customer service giving personal attention to the needs of individual customers. After sales service - following up the original purchase with after sales support such as maintenance and updating (for example in the updating of computer packages). What is clear about customer satisfaction is that customers are most likely to appreciate the goods and services that they buy if they are made to feel special. This occurs when they feel that the goods and services that they buy have been specially produced for them or for people like them. This relates to a wide range of products such as razors that are designed for ease of use and good quality finish, petrol products that are environmentally friendly and customized to meet the needs of particular types of engines, etc.
B.
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
The word “Telecom” (which is an abbreviated version of ' telecommunication’) in real sense refers to the transfer of information between two distant points in space. This meaning however, has been subjected to modifications in accordance with further innovations made be the Telecom Industry. With cut-throat competition in the telecom sector, and new entrants every passing year, how can the network providers survive? When does a customer feel satisfied (in view of telecom industry)? • A customer is satisfied when: • The promises made before purchase are fulfilled. • The network quality is good. • The customer enjoys the option of a wide range of services like sms, mms, email, etc. • The operator provides good customer care service. • The operator provides pocket friendly plans. But do all networks fulfill these needs? Are the customers satisfied? Is there actually a relationship between customer loyalty & customer satisfaction? To address all these questions we conduct a survey to test customer satisfaction in the Pune circle. The only way to get a true assessment of satisfaction is to ask the customer.
REQUIREMENTS • Analysis of the existing information available for the networks under study. • A survey for finding out the current trends and relevant information. Analyzing the data obtained with help of statistical graphs and charts. • Journals on customer satisfaction. • Material available on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty from internet and books like Marketing Management by P.Kotler. • One of the biggest requirements, although not material would be the truthfulness of the respondents. Customer bias can lead to biased results.
CHAPTER 2 COMPANY PROFILE
About IMRB International Established in 1971 and with over three decades of market research experience, IMRB is a pioneer in India in various research areas. Associated with the group of international market companies such as British market research bureau (BMRB) and Mill ward Brown International, IMRB operates out of thirteen cities in India and has associates offices in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. IMRB International promises high quality conceptualization, strategic thinking, execution and interpretation skills on all clients research needs. In 1996, IMRB International managed 2,500 projects and 4,000,000 interviews. IMRB International is the only research company in India today that offers the entire range of research based service to its clients. IMRB International specialized areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, and business- to- business marketing, social marketing and rural marketing. Services offered by IMRB International The depth and Breadth of services that company provides are extensive and includes research and advisory services in the following areas: • Advertising promotion and media research • B2B and Industrial research • Brand research • Customer satisfaction research • Corporate and employee research • Channel and retail research
• Product and packaging research • Pricing research • Strategic market research IMRB International's Divisions IMRB International has been offering over 30 years of specialist research services to clients in India and overseas on products and services covering the entire gamut of business and industry. IMRB International today operates, Out of its five full service offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and in Bangalore and is supported by 13 other regional centers for collection of survey information that literally span the entire country. They are able to provide highest quality of professional services to the utmost satisfaction of their clients which include small medium and large scale industries, the government and public sectors unit, multinational corporations and international companies that are eying the highly promising Indian market. To serve the diverse needs of their clients, they also have 5 specialist units • Probe qualitative research (PQR) • Social and Rural research Institute (SRI) • Media and Panel research group • Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (CSMM) • Business and Industrial Research Division (BIRD)
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And the technology group @ IMRB International
Probe qualitative research is one of India's leading qualitative researches and has executives specially trained in India and overseas in qualitative research methods. Drawing on learning from ethnography, psychology and anthropology, PQR has created a validated tool kit for product, communication and brand development. The social and rural research institute specializes in social research and in conducting research on emerging rural markets. It has staff with special expertise in conducting knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP), studies on health and sanitation, water, environment and other fields, in India as well as Internationally. The media and panel group of IMRB International is A pioneer in the field of media research in India. It has been conducting the national readership surveys in India since 1978. It has been running India's only Television Rating (TRP) since 1986, the year in which television went commercial ion major way. It has also developed its own people meters. Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement is part of the walker information global network and is the first such specialist organization in India with an exclusive focus on customer and employee satisfaction, reputation and stakeholder assessment. Business and Industrial Research Division (BIRD) and the e-technology group at IMRB International: As industrial markets transformed from monopolies to competitive markets, the need for research based consultancy services was demanded of IMRB International. IMRB International spun off the Business and Industrial research division to meet the growing and changing needs of the Industrial marketer. Over a decade of research experience in telecommunication, office automation,
information technology and the convergence of these technologies has given the e-Technology group of IMRB International, knowledge and experience in a wide spectrum of hardware, software and services.
IMRB International's office Sr. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. OFFICE Corporate Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Research Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office Field Office International Office International Office LOCATION Mumbai Mumbai New Delhi Kolkata Bangalore Chennai Bangalore Ahmedabad Bhuvaneshwar Kolkata Chennai Guwahati Hyderabad Cochin Lucknow Mumbai Patna Pune New Delhi Indore Ludhiana U.A.E Sri Lanka
A. HISTORY OF TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES
Sectors IMRB International researches Ever since its establishment in 1971, IMRB International has been the pioneer in conducting market research exercises for several sectors. Today, there is hardly any sector that IMRB International hasn't researched. From potato wafers PC's cigarettes to cellular phones, alcohol to air conditioners and bubble gums to big sized cars- just name it and they have researched it. • Alcohol • Automotive • Agriculture and agro products • Building and construction • Consumer durables • Household care
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IT, Internet and Telecom
• Industry and Business • Media and Entertainment • Social an Rural • Tobacco
Network operators under consideration: BHARTI AIRTEL
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group, has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management. Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, India’s largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBU’s) - Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to
corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.
B. ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF AIRTEL
As an outcome of a restructuring exercise conducted within the company; a new integrated organizational structure has emerged; with realigned roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships of bharti’s key team players. With effect from March 01, 2006, this unified management structure of 'One airtel' will enable continued improvement in the delivery of the Group’s strategic vision.
C. PRODUCT AND SERVICE OFFER BY THE COMPANY
Our top clients include BAT Group, Bharti Group, Cadbury, Ford Group, Frito Lay, Glaxo Smithkline, Heinz, Indian Airlines, Intel, ITC Group, Millward Brown, Nestle, Pepsi Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Research International, TVS Motors, Unilever Group, VST and so on.
A few words from two of our esteemed clients:
“As a team they produce thoughtful proposals, excellent fieldwork and presentations. They are constantly involved in the work. They feel like a version of our own office…”
“IMRB showed a high degree of professionalism, rigor and discipline. An excellent level of client servicing, need fulfilment, pro-activeness and analytical focus.”
D. MARKET SHARE
SHAREHOLDING PATTERN OF BHARTI AIRTEL Throughout its existence, Bharti Airtel has been able to attract substantial investment from international organizations such as BT, Telecom Italia, Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Infrastructure Fund (IFC), and SingTel. In 2005-2006 Vodafone joined that list with a (direct and indirect) stake of 10%. Today, the company has two strategic investors: SingTel and Vodafone and the composite foreign holding of Bharti Airtel is within the prescribed limit for the telecom sector. This is a clear reflection of the ever growing interest and confidence of the international community in the company, which in turn is an outcome of the principles of sound corporate governance that the company adheres to in order to enhance its shareholder's value The table below gives a broad structure of the shareholding of the company. Category Indian Holding • Promoters • Bank/Mutual Funds/Indian Financial institution • Indian Resident/Body corporate/Others Total-Indian 45.40 3.95 2.62 51.97 Percentages
Foreign Holding • Foreign Companies • Foreign Institutional Investors • NRI's & OCB's Total-foreign Grand Total 21.60 25.61 0.82 48.03 100.00
E. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Our perspective is unique. Our approach is refreshing. And our solutions provide a comprehensive response to our client’s needs, not packaged data but custom solutions for clients. We offer services with the integration of qualitative and quantitative tools.
We are designed in India for India, our measures and scales are created to maximize sensitivity. We work together with TGI, Web-I, IMRB Retail, Market Pulse, ITOPS and ICUBE. Our passion is to drive your business growth by combining consumer understanding and brand knowledge with intuition and innovation. Vision To be the most admired brand in India by 2010:
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Loved by more customers Targeted by top talent Benchmarked by more business
F. REORGANIZATION AND AWARDS
IMRB has demonstrated its vision and leadership in the Indian market by establishing several industry wide measurement and rating systems. Notable amongst these is our pioneering role in establishing India’s first TV rating system (TAM) and the creation of social economic classification (SEC) system in India. We have won several prestigious awards. Amongst them the most noteworthy being the MR Agency of the year from 2005-2009. We have presented cutting edge research for several years at international forums including ESOMAR and won awards for our efforts. We have also been awarded the WPP’s Atticus award jointly with JWT.
CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE AND REVIEW
SOURCES OF DATA PRIMARY DATA • Sources/Plan for primary Data: Research technique: Survey • Contact method: Personal visit to the concerned customers. • Research instrument: questionnaire. • The primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. The primary data was collected through experiment or survey conducted in Pune. SECONDARY DATA • The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have been passed through the statistical process.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY • To know the customers satisfaction. • To know the customers behavior and response towards Airtel Company. • To find out the factors influencing the customers. • To know the activities and facilities provided by company to satisfy customers. • To study welfare activities of the company. • To know the expectations of customers while connecting with Airtel Company. • To know how branded the Airtel is? • To give remedial measures that can be implemented by Airtel.
SCOPES
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The scope of the project report is to study the level of satisfaction of the customers with Airtel GSM. Every company wants the feed back of their customer about the product, price, service and promotional activities in order to know the customer attitude towards its product. This study confirms that the Bharthi Airtel Pvt Ltd has satisfied its customers with Airtel GSM service.
• We value and reward high performance through various practices. ORION; our Performance Management System is an objective system based on 180 degree feedback culture. • High performers are given significantly higher performance incentives and opportunities for training and skill development. • Promotions at IMRB are linked to demonstration of potential capabilities for the next role and living our core values. We invest in people’s potential development through our performance culture which includes individual development as a fundamental aspect of reviewing.
ASSUMPTION
Indian telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel added 2.31 million mobile phone subscribers in March 2010.
LIMITATIONS
• The time given was not sufficient as only one person had to conduct the survey. • The exact thinking of the respondents cannot be found out. • Surrogate error could be one of the limitations. • Findings are made within the limited Information & views of the respondents. So a chance of bias information is not totally eliminated.
CHAPTER 4 Statistical methods
DATA ANALYSIS GENERAL INFORMATION • 18 out of 20 users wee in the age bracket of 18-21 years. • Majority of the respondents have Airtel and Vodafone numbers, both of them being established players in the market. • The number of prepaid users was more than postpaid users. • In the chart below we can see that maximum no. of respondents have monthly expenditure between Rs.500-1000 & Rs.1000-1500 bracket.
MONTHLY MOBILE EXPENDITURE(IN %)
10 15 35 Less than 500 500-1000 1000-1500 1500 or more 45
SPECIFIC INFORMATION Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network operator? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent)
USER SATISFACTION WITH NETWORK
20% 5% 10%
1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT
25%
40%
Interpretation • 40% of the users think that their network is good (i.e. rating of 4),20 % think that their network is excellent & only 5% think that their network is really bad.
Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent)
USER SATISFACTION WITH CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE 0% 11% 26% 16%
1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT
47%
Interpretation • Majority of the users i.e. 47% have access to just average customer care service (i.e. a rating of 3). • None of the users surveyed has experienced excellent customer care service (i.e. rating=5).
Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months?
10%
YES
NO
90%
Interpretation • The verdict is clear i.e. a whopping 90% of the respondents have been affected by ads and spam messages.
Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator?
45% 55%
YES NO
Interpretation • Majority of people i.e.55% have not registered for National Do Not Call service. • While those who have registered comprise 45%.
Q5. If yes, what was the result…….
22%
22%
No m ore irritating calls Less calls but problem persists No change
56%
Interpretation • Out of the 9 respondents who had registered for NDNC service, 56% believed that marketing calls had been reduced, but still there was more to be done.
Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is…………..
20% 35%
Better Alm ost sam e Worse
45%
Interpretation • Majority believes that all the networks are almost same. • While a significant 35% believe that their network is actually better than other networks.
Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again?
30%
35%
Yes No Maybe
35%
Interpretation • We have mixed results here, therefore no clear winner.
Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others?
25% 40%
Will recom mend Not recom mended Maybe
35%
Interpretation • 40% users are likely to recommend their network operator to others and an almost equal percentage i.e.35% may not recommend it.
Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one?
30%
35%
Will change Won't change Not sure
35%
Interpretation • The results are mixed here, as a result there is no clear majority.
Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.?
25% 35%
Quite often Once or tw ice Never
40%
Interpretation • 40% i.e. a majority of users have been duped by the operator atleast once.
Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection?
30%
Yes
No
70%
Interpretation Majority i.e. 70% believe that they have got a fair deal from the operator and all the promises have come true.
Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage…1…2…3…4…5=maximum usage)
• As expected we find that maximum users use their mobiles for calling only. • Next in usage comes SMS service. • The last position is taken by other services like MMS, GPRS, etc.
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION
From the above findings, it is very clear that all the customers who have been satisfied by the network operators by ways of providing better network, better customer care, better services, and etc.have turned loyal to the operator. The customer satisfaction has been converted into customer loyalty. This conversion is very important as these days customers are known to change numbers every 6 months. This will greatly reduce the number of people dumping the connection and at the same time increase the number of new buyers, as the loyal customers also act as an agent for word of mouth publicity (Journal 2). Hence all the network operators should avoid dissatisfying customers as it involves huge losses • Customer service is not something network operators in Pune circle can boast about, as a majority of people experienced just average customer care service. • 90% of the people are affected by spam messages and the problem is common to all networks. Hence the solution does not lie in changing the no. • 45% people believe that the quality of their network is the same as others, while 35% people believe that their network is better. This indicates that the customers are biased towards their own network, and this loyalty may be converted into more market share by the referrals provided by the customer. • 35% people are likely to recommend their own network to others, which is in sync with the 35% people above who believe their network is superior. This clearly proves that customer satisfaction
may lead to customer loyalty, which in turn means growth for the operator. • Almost the same percentage i.e. 30 % people are likely to buy the connection again. • When we see the group of customers who have been duped by the network operator, we find that 65% people have been duped at least once. But again we notice a group of 35% people who have not been misled by the operator and hence are satisfied.
SUGGESTION
Following are some of the suggestions given by the researcher so that Telecommunication companies can serve people and its customers in an improved way: ? Telecommunication companies should decrease call rates for local users. ? Telecommunication companies should provide more offers to PostPaid customers so that the number of Post-Paid customers increase. ? Telecommunication companies should bring introduce some new SMS schemes for the youngsters. ? Telecommunication companies should introduce more schemes and offers. ? Telecommunication companies should provide more schemes and offers to its old customers. ? Telecommunication companies should decrease call rates of STD and ISD.
BIBLIOGRAPHY www.google.comhttp://www.airtel.in/http://vodafone.in/ www.rcom.co.in/ www.ideacellular.com/http://mtnlPune.in/ www.tataindicom.com/
APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE
Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network operator? (1=bad 2= 3…4………..5=excellent)
Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad………2…3…4………..5=excellent) Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months? Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator? Q5. If yes, what was the result……. Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is………….. Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again? Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others? Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one?
Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.? Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection? Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage…1…2…3…4…5=maximum usage)
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