abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Industry Growth Drivers:-
Fixed Line Segment.
Capacity expansion of fixed line exchanges helped consumers avail
quick connections.
Quick connection availability boosted number of fixed line
connections during 1985 – 1995.
Wireless Segment.
Vast geographic expanse of India acted as a catalyst to boost mobility.
Low call costs since 2002 fueled the wireless segment.
Narrowing gap of call costs between fixed and wireless convinced
customers to subscribe to wireless connections.
Nationwide roaming facilities on GSM.
SMS facility.
Internet + Subscription bundling.
Reduced cost of handsets (affordability factor).
Customs duties have been reduced from 10% to 5%.
Critically analyze the customer preference and satisfaction measurement in Indian Telecom Industry
In remote areas where providing fixed line connections were difficult,
wireless did the magic.
CDMA fixed wireless gave customers 3 in one advantage – mobility,
internet and easy access.
Many telecom service providers provide Global Calling Card (GCC)
to their customers. These cards help them to make calls from the
foreign countries and it saves up to 80-90% in international roaming.
Segmentation of the Indian Telecom Consumer Market:-
With the proliferation of mobile phone users, several micro segments have
also emerged lately, each with their own specific needs. The Indian Mobile
consumer market has been segmented as follows:
Critically analyze the customer preference and satisfaction measurement in Indian Telecom Industry
The rationale behind the above segmentation is to identify customers on the
basis of their stage in life and hence to tailor-make schemes for each
customer segment. The different segments are explained as follows:
Youth:-
Over the years, service providers have started giving greater attention to this
segment, as it has emerged as one of the biggest users of mobile phones. For
the youth, mobile phones are not just a necessity, but rather an indispensable
accessory. This segment particularly values prepaid schemes with free SMS
services. It is further differentiated into various micro-segments based on
age and gender.
For instance, youngsters in the age group of 19 to 23 years
generally have a large circle of friends and more access to money.
Companies thus focus on providing services like group talk and group SMS
to these people. This segment is very dynamic as its needs keep changing
very frequently, driven by the latest trends and fads. For instance,
downloading new ring-tones is the latest fad among the youth today. This is
a huge revenue source for service providers and so they need to keep up with
the changing tastes of this segment.
Young Professionals:-
People entering the workforce and thus moving out of the dependent bracket
constitute this market segment. They generally prefer using post paid
schemes with value added services like information about stock markets,
news updates and so on.
Small and Medium Enterprise:-
This segment mainly consists of people who are switching over from
landlines to mobile phones, seeking a cost advantage. The focus here is on
economy-packages rather than value added services.
Family:-
Family as a segment consists of more number of dependents. These
dependants are serviced by prepaid schemes. Geographically dispersed
families tied by the same cellular service providers may get cost advantages
in terms of lower pulse rates.
Special:-
The ‘Special’ category includes a small but growing segment which requires
largely customized services sought by celebrities, politicians, CEOs and the
super-rich. Tailor made schemes for each segment have been a great success
so far. This customization, however, has reached such a stage that every
service provider has numerous schemes being provided at the same time.
Being short term schemes, they keep changing frequently and customers
thus start switching from one service provider to another based on the
attractiveness of the scheme. This has brought down customer loyalty and
hence service providers are finding it difficult to retain existing customers. It
is estimated that in the near future the plethora of schemes provided by the
Fixed Line Segment.
Capacity expansion of fixed line exchanges helped consumers avail
quick connections.
Quick connection availability boosted number of fixed line
connections during 1985 – 1995.
Wireless Segment.
Vast geographic expanse of India acted as a catalyst to boost mobility.
Low call costs since 2002 fueled the wireless segment.
Narrowing gap of call costs between fixed and wireless convinced
customers to subscribe to wireless connections.
Nationwide roaming facilities on GSM.
SMS facility.
Internet + Subscription bundling.
Reduced cost of handsets (affordability factor).
Customs duties have been reduced from 10% to 5%.
Critically analyze the customer preference and satisfaction measurement in Indian Telecom Industry
In remote areas where providing fixed line connections were difficult,
wireless did the magic.
CDMA fixed wireless gave customers 3 in one advantage – mobility,
internet and easy access.
Many telecom service providers provide Global Calling Card (GCC)
to their customers. These cards help them to make calls from the
foreign countries and it saves up to 80-90% in international roaming.
Segmentation of the Indian Telecom Consumer Market:-
With the proliferation of mobile phone users, several micro segments have
also emerged lately, each with their own specific needs. The Indian Mobile
consumer market has been segmented as follows:
Critically analyze the customer preference and satisfaction measurement in Indian Telecom Industry
The rationale behind the above segmentation is to identify customers on the
basis of their stage in life and hence to tailor-make schemes for each
customer segment. The different segments are explained as follows:
Youth:-
Over the years, service providers have started giving greater attention to this
segment, as it has emerged as one of the biggest users of mobile phones. For
the youth, mobile phones are not just a necessity, but rather an indispensable
accessory. This segment particularly values prepaid schemes with free SMS
services. It is further differentiated into various micro-segments based on
age and gender.
For instance, youngsters in the age group of 19 to 23 years
generally have a large circle of friends and more access to money.
Companies thus focus on providing services like group talk and group SMS
to these people. This segment is very dynamic as its needs keep changing
very frequently, driven by the latest trends and fads. For instance,
downloading new ring-tones is the latest fad among the youth today. This is
a huge revenue source for service providers and so they need to keep up with
the changing tastes of this segment.
Young Professionals:-
People entering the workforce and thus moving out of the dependent bracket
constitute this market segment. They generally prefer using post paid
schemes with value added services like information about stock markets,
news updates and so on.
Small and Medium Enterprise:-
This segment mainly consists of people who are switching over from
landlines to mobile phones, seeking a cost advantage. The focus here is on
economy-packages rather than value added services.
Family:-
Family as a segment consists of more number of dependents. These
dependants are serviced by prepaid schemes. Geographically dispersed
families tied by the same cellular service providers may get cost advantages
in terms of lower pulse rates.
Special:-
The ‘Special’ category includes a small but growing segment which requires
largely customized services sought by celebrities, politicians, CEOs and the
super-rich. Tailor made schemes for each segment have been a great success
so far. This customization, however, has reached such a stage that every
service provider has numerous schemes being provided at the same time.
Being short term schemes, they keep changing frequently and customers
thus start switching from one service provider to another based on the
attractiveness of the scheme. This has brought down customer loyalty and
hence service providers are finding it difficult to retain existing customers. It
is estimated that in the near future the plethora of schemes provided by the