A

PROJECT REPORT

ON

“Sales & Promotion of Virgin Mobiles”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award
of
(__________)

Submitted by: Under the guidance of:

BHARATI VIDYAPEETH UNIVERSITY, SDE

ACADEMIC STUDY CENTRE; BVIMR,
NEW DELHI

1
 Acknowledgement

My Special Thanks and gratitude to Mr. Vinay Kumar Singh (S.M), of

Virgin Mobile for his generosity, cooperation and superb guidance that helped
me in completion of my project report.

I am also thankful to Mr. S.S.Vernekar, for their encouragement and

motivation which was a great source of inspiration.

I am extremely grateful to Mr.Tarun Mehta (Operation. Manager) and the

entire staff of Mobile Store for their cooperation and generosity. Their
experience helped me a lot in doing my project.

HARSHIT GULATI

2
 TABLE OF CONTENT

TITLE PAGE No.

CHAPTER-1
RATIONAL STUDY
CHAPTER-2
PROJECT TITLE
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER-3
PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

CHAPTER-4
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
CHAPTER-5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER-6
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER-7
FINDINGS
CHAPTER-8
LIMITATIONS
CHAPTER-9
CONCLUSION& RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY

3
CHAPTER -1

Rationale for the Study

In today’s intensely competitive, rapidly changing and highly complex environment

characterize by diminishing customer loyalty, the need to be market –focused and
customer centric is more critical than any other time in past. It is highly imperative for
every organization to retain and use valuable information about their customer to
enhance their business strategies and product and service offerings. Today, the key
focus area of much organization is identification of a link between customer

4
satisfaction and performance. However, satisfaction as the confirmation of
expectation has started to be conceptualizing almost as a threshold for customers. The
delivery of satisfaction is the minimum the customer expects.

This project is totally focusing on the consumer preferences towards

different sales promotion techniques means which sales promotion technique is
mostly preferred by the customer in the city of Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh). As the
sales promotion techniques are used for the marketing of the product so the research
has done in the area of marketing. Today every firm is facing the situation of cut
throat competition. So it becomes very important for every firm to promote its product
otherwise it cannot survive in the market. These techniques are used in the marketing
of product in the last stage which is called retailing. It is the stage from which the
product directly goes in the hand of customer and today India is standing on the
threshold of retail revolution and witnessing a great change in its retail landscape i.e.
from unorganized retailing to organized retailing. Retail is growing with an annual
rate of 40%. Its contribution towards GDP is 11% and towards employment is 8%. So
after agriculture retailing is one of the biggest sources of employment in the country
and is one of the largest industries in India. Although retail industry has existed in our
country for centuries but it is only the recent past that it is witnessing such a
tremendous growth.

In Allahabad Mobile Store has created its image in a very short period Mobile store is
best outlet for Mobiles and its accessories. It is attracting the customers with its good
services. Most of the customer satisfied by Mobile store services and facilities.

5
CHAPTER -2

Objective of the Study

Project Title:

“Sales and Promotion of Virgin Mobile in mobile Store in Allahabad”

Objective of project:

Primary objective:

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  To study the customer awareness about Virgin Mobile in Mobile Store.

 To enhance the sale of Virgin Mobile in Mobile Store.

 To know the reason for the loss of inventory.

Secondary objectives

 To analyze the customer buying behavior.

 To find out the satisfaction level of the Virgin mobile customers at

Mobile Store.

 To study the effect of event and promotion.

 To make various suggestion on the improvement of Virgin Mobile in

Mobile Store.

Scopes:

 Study is restricted to various parts of Allahabad which include: LGF,

Atlantis Mall Allahabad Purana Katra.

 Time frame-there is limited time of two months June to August 2009.

 Analyze the consumer buying behavior at Mobile Store.

7
CHAPTER -3

Profile of the Company

8
About The Mobile Store:

Mr. Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and

Director, The Mobile Store
Limited, heads India's first
countrywide chain of telecom retail
outlets. "The Mobile Store" is an
Essar Group venture, set to
introduce a pan-Indian network of
retail telecom outlets. The Mobile
Store offers a world class shopping environment, with state of the art
technology.

The Mobile Store format is a one stop mobile solution shop that provides,
multi brand handsets, accessories, connections, repairs, VAS etc all under one
roof.The Mobile Store currently has more than 1050 outlets and the vision is
to have a network of 2500 stores by 2010 across 650 cities, thus covering
virtually every major town in every state across India.

The Mobile Store outlets are in three formats: Large - 1000-1500 square feet,
Medium- 800-1000 square feet and Corner-150-200 square feet, with smaller
formats located primarily in large malls.

Key thrust areas for the retail format are: Comprehensive Product Range,
Knowledgeable Store Staff & Interactive Environment, Competitive Prices
and Handset Repairs.

The Mobile Store caters to the Indian consumer's choice of the widest and
most comprehensive range of mobile phones with special offers from all the
key brands available across the globe. The Mobile Store offers complete
telecom solutions right from handset purchase to the choice of service
operator and miscellaneous services like monthly bill collections etc., the
stores also offer connections (pre paid and post paid), accessories and VAS
including the latest ring tones, wallpapers and gaming and prompt after sales

9
service, available not only in the city of purchase but in all The MobileStore
outlets across the country.

The Mobile Store has undertaken

an extensive training program to
equip all its employees with in-
depth knowledge of the products
and brands available at the store,
thereby allowing them to provide
the right kind of guidance to the
customer.

The Mobile Store has categorized its mobile device offerings into consumer
segments keeping in mind the profiles and needs of different consumers. The
unique segments available in The Mobile Store The Mobile Store are:
Business - PDA & Smart phones, Emails, data transfer etc., Lifestyle -
Fashion phones, Look and elegance, Fun - Multimedia & music, camera,
games, wacky ring tones and wallpapers, Value for Money - Special offers,
discounts and budget phones.

All major handset brands like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG, Samsung, Motorola,
Fly, Sagem, HP, I Mate, Dopod, HTC and Blackberry are available at the
store. The Mobile Store has also tied up with all leading operators including
Airtel, Vodafone, BPL, Idea, MTNL/BSNL and Reliance, Tata Indicom.

All major handset brands like

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG,
Samsung, Motorola, Fly, Sagem,
HP, I mate, Dopod, HTC and
Blackberry are available at the
store. The Mobile Store has also
tied up with all leading operators

10
including Airtel, Vodafone, BPL, Idea, MTNL/BSNL and Reliance,
TataIndicom.

INTRODUCTION-WHY VIRGIN MOBILE?

In Indian mobile market, Virgin mobile is a unique player based on its

business model and strategy. It is the only service provider which does not
hold any bandwidth and mobile setup infrastructure but uses Tata Teleservices
spectrum and is penetrating market totally on its branding and marketing
strategy. Creating a niche brand and promoting it to specific customer
segment with proper marketing has been the key success factor for virgin
mobile across the globe. So, from marketing and customer understanding
point of view, this is a very unique company to study.

UNDERSTANDING VIRGIN’S BUSINESS MODEL:

Virgin has promoted itself as the brand for young India, keeping the Indian
youth as its target customer segment. The idea behind targeting this segment
can be found inherited in virgin’s business model. The different marketing
perspectives are explained in fig 1.

The salient features of Virgin’s business model from customer perspective

are:

1) With intensive competition and reducing voice tariffs, the profit

margins for voice service are decreasing day by day. So, the future
profit strategy is maximizing profit margins through data services and
it is youth segment which provides maximum data service revenues.

2) Future projection of increasing young and working population of India

as 65% of overall population by 2020.

3) Increased use of data services in future due to technological

advancements.

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 So, in mobile sector where all other players are trying to provide similar service to
different customer segments, virgin is targeting specific segment with tailor made
plans keeping its long term goals in mind.

NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

Tata
Online Retail
Teleservice
Bluedart selling Access
s

Samsung

VIRGIN MOBILE
BRAND

PRODUCT DESIGN COMMUNICATING VALUE

PROPOSITION
Paid Fig
50 paisa Youth Young &
incoming
1: Creating Virgin brand through various marketcentric
channels
STD Vibrant
calls advertiseme website
nts
Value
VBYTES added
services
COMMUNICATING THE VIRGIN BRAND:
12
Virgin mobile has communicated itself as the youth oriented brand of India
through various communication channels. They are:

a) “Think Hat ke” advertisement campaign targeting youth

b) Red and vibrant website look with youth focused language (Fig 2)

c) Tailor made plans for young segment

d) Getting paid for incoming calls: a source of recharge option for youth

Fig 2. Virgin Mobile website depicting youth flavor

TARGET MARKET:

13
The Virgin Mobile Brand, targets Indian youth aged between 14 and 25 years.
There are 215 million people in this age group. Out of this, 70 million own a
mobile phone and this segment is expected to add another 50 million new
subscribers in the next three years. Though young subscribers constitute only
30 percent of the total mobile subscribers, they contribute more than 50
percent of the revenues of telecom industry. By 2010 this group is expected to
contribute 60-70 percent of total revenues.

The distinct mobile phone usage habits of the young users provide a huge
advantage to Virgin Mobile. They make more and longer out-bound voice
calls, which means huge billing potential for service providers. The usage of
SMS, data services in the form of mobile internet, mobile shopping and other
value added services like ring tones, caller tunes, wallpapers, etc are very
high in this group which again provides a huge opportunity to be tapped.
Moreover young users have a short handset up gradation cycle-under 12
months as compared to two years for people above 25 years of age.

CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND RETENTION

STRATEGIES:

The company knows that they are trying to position themselves into a very
established and competitive market. They understand the fact that they cannot
start making profit from day one neither they have plans for it; they anticipate
to achieve a subscriber base of 5 million in next three years and will make
profit afterwards they will be able to break even in three year or so.

According to the patron, Sir Richard “We want to deliver a more tailored and
relevant offering for a single segment.” Company targets only 10% of the
above mentioned segment and have plans to acquire and retain them by
various innovative propositions, some of them are-

1) Providing services which were not offered so far

a) Get paid for incoming calls.

b) 50 paisa for all calls across the country.

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c) A brand truly meant for the young India which is reflected at each & every
touch point.

d) Extensive data service offers in the form of vbytes.

e) Excellent value added plans.

f) Go online facility for enquiry, purchasing phone, recharging and

everything.

g) One touch VAS access from every virgin mobile.

2) Providing services which others are not providing meticulously

a) Easy to change the handset from a wide range of handset providing at very
reasonable prices.

b) Boring customer care services telling you are in queue.

c) One customer care officer dedicated for all queries of one customer leading
to transparency.

d) No jammed or bad network coverage.

e) Tailor made customized plans without any hidden charges.

f) No monthly bills.

VALUE CREATION THROUGH PRODUCT DESIGN:

Various steps that Virgin is taking to add value to the customer are on price,
quality, technology and social front. Company is providing the best prices in
whichever plan you go, quality of signals is not only comparable but better
than most of the service providers, on technology front it is the first in India
to go for one-touch VAS access from every Virgin Mobile.

MARKETING MIX:

15
 The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an
organisation in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market.

Product: Virgin Mobile offers six RUIM enabled handsets with colour screen,
FM radio and include one touch access for V bytes-Virgin Mobile’s VAS
portal.

Price: The handsets are priced in the range of Rs2000-5000.The call tariff is
very nominal which is 50p per call both local and STD subject to terms and
conditions.

Place: The focus of Virgin Mobile on customer acquisition has so far been in
the top 60 cities of India and is set to extend to more cities. The product is
available across a host of modern retail outlets The Mobile Store, Hotspot,
RPG Cellucom, Croma etc.

Promotion: Virgin Mobile entered the Indian market in grand style. The
company surprised the readers of a leading Indian daily when all the headlines
on the front page were in the colour red. Virgin Mobile has used a very
vibrant colour to relate itself with the targeted market. Apart from traditional
media, internet and outdoor youth centric advertising has been used wisely to
attract the targeted audience.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL:

Virgin mobile makes its products available to the customer by both retail
stores and online distribution.

Selective Distribution:

Virgin mobile has selected some retail outlets to distribute its products. It
does not follow the strategy of intensive and exclusive distribution. The
strategy of selective distribution helps the company gain optimum market
coverage and more control but at a lesser cost than intensive distribution.

Virgin Mobile launched a new mobile handset v Billing on 7 July 2008. V

Billing is available across 15,000 outlets nationally and over 1000 modern

16
retail outlets including The Mobile Store, Univercell, Croma, Convergem, Big
C, Vishal Mega Mart, Vijay Sales and Sangeetha to name a few. Apart from
this, the handset will also be available in 34 kiosks in high traffic malls across
the country.

Online Distribution:

Virgin Mobile India has announced that customers can now buy Virgin Mobile
branded products and services online. They just need to select the handset,
plan and number of their choice by filling an online form. Post the payment
transaction, handsets will be delivered to the customer within 24 - 48 hours
and the requisite documents for proof of identity will be collected in person.
Customers taking advantage of online shopping will also be offered additional
talk time, extra messages as well as other freebies.

Disintermediation and re-aggregation: The different features of the online

distribution are stated as follows:

• Intermediary becomes redundant as customer buys directly from the

firm using web technology.
• Customization becomes easier and feasible which adds to the customer
value.
• Re-aggregation occurs in the sense that companies today encourage
customers to lodge their complaints or send their queries on the net.
These are then routed to another site where they are dealt with
immediately in a seamless manner. So it helps in improving the
overall efficiency of the channel.

For the delivery of the ordered products Virgin Mobile has tied up with Blue
Dart.

17
COMPETITION:

Virgin Mobile has entered into a very competitive industry where Airtel,
Vodafone and Reliance are the dominant players. Virgin Mobile faces stiff
competition from Reliance CDMA phones. Virgin Mobile have taken a
‘hatke’ route and launched the brand in the youth segment. The tie up with
Tata Teleservices enables it to fight competition as the network quality of
Tata Teleservices was ranked first by DOT. The company is spending huge
chunks of money to promote their VAS services and it would be interesting to
watch out what Virgin Mobile plans to offer.

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CHAPTER -4

REVIEW OF
LITERATURE

Marketing is a societal process which discerns consumers' wants, focusing on

a product or service to fulfil those wants, attempting to move the consumers
toward the products or services offered. Marketing is fundamental to any
businesses growth. The marketing teams (marketers) are tasked to create
consumer awareness of the products or services through marketing
techniques. Unless it pays due attention to its products and services and

19
consumers' techniques. Unless it pays due attention to its products and
services and consumers'

techniques. Unless it pays due attention to its products and services and
consumers' techniques. Unless it pays due attention to its products and
services and consumers' selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the
customers' future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market
research.

Essentially, marketing is the process of creating or directing an organization

to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but
are willing to buy.

Therefore good marketing must be able to create a "proposition" or set of

benefits for the end customer that delivers value through products or services.

A market-focused, or customer-focused, organization first determines what its

potential customers desire, and then builds the product or service. Marketing
theory and practice is justified in the belief that customers use a product or
service because they have a need, or because it provides a perceived benefit.

Two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers

(acquisition) and the retention and expansion of relationships with existing
customers (base management). Once a marketer has converted the
prospective buyer, base management marketing takes over. The process for
base management shifts the marketer to building a relationship, nurturing the
links, enhancing the benefits that sold the buyer in the first place, and
improving the product/service continuously to protect the business from
competitive encroachments.

For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps" must reflect
the wants and desires of the consumers or Shoppers 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 insights
from marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what
consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this

20
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.

Within most organizations, the activities encompassed by the marketing

function are led by a Vice President or Director of Marketing. A growing
number of organizations, especially large US companies, have a Chief
Marketing Officer position, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) states, "Marketing 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.".[1]

Marketing methods are informed by many of the social sciences, 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. Marketing is a
wide and heavily interconnected subject with extensive publications. It is also
an area of activity infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary
according to the times and the culture.

Two levels of marketing-

Strategic marketing attempts to determine how an organization competes

against its competitors in a market place. In particular, it aims at generating a
competitive advantage relative to its competitors.

21
Operational marketing executes marketing functions to attract and keep
customers and to maximize the value derived for them, as well as to satisfy
the customer with prompt services and meeting the customer expectations.
Operational Marketing includes the determination of the marketing mix (4
Ps).

Four Ps - In the early 1960's, Professor Neil Borden at Harvard Business School
identified a number of company performance actions that can influence the
consumer decision to purchase goods or services. Borden suggested that all those
actions of the company represented a “Marketing Mix”. Professor E. Jerome
McCarthy, also at the Harvard Business School in the early 1960s, suggested that
the Marketing Mix contained 4 elements: product, price, place and promotion.

In popular usage, "marketing" is the promotion of products, especially

advertising and branding. However, in professional usage the term has a wider
meaning which recognizes that marketing is customer-centered. Products are
often developed to meet the desires of groups of customers or even, in some
cases, for specific customers. E. Jerome McCarthy divided marketing into
four general sets of activities. His typology has become so universally
recognized that his four activity sets, the Four Ps, have passed into the
language.

The four Ps are:

 Product: The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications

of the actual goods or services, and how it relates to the end-user's needs
and wants. The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements
such as warranties, guarantees, and support.


 Pricing: This refers to the process of setting a price for a product,

including discounts. The price need not be monetary - it can simply be
what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy,
psychology or attention.


22
  Promotion: This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and
personal selling, branding and refers to the various methods of promoting
the product, brand, or company.
 Placement (or distribution): refers to how the product gets to the
customer; for example, point of sale placement or retailing. This fourth P
has also sometimes been called Place, referring to the channel by which a
product or services is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region
or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people),
etc.

These four elements are often referred to as the marketing mix, [1] which a
marketer can use to craft a marketing plan. The four Ps model is most useful
when marketing low value consumer products. Industrial products, services,
high value consumer products require adjustments to this model. Services
marketing must account for the unique nature of services. Industrial or B2B
marketing must account for the long term contractual agreements that are
typical in supply chain transactions. Relationship marketing attempts to do
this by looking at marketing from a long term relationship perspective rather
than individual transactions.

As a counter to this, Morgan, in Riding the Waves of Change (Jossey-Bass,

1988), suggests that one of the greatest limitations of the 4 Ps approach "is
that it unconsciously emphasizes the inside–out view (looking from the
company outwards), whereas the essence of marketing should be the outside–
in approach". Nevertheless, the 4 Ps offer a memorable and workable guide to
the major categories of marketing activity, as well as a framework within
which these can be used.

Sales promotion-Promotion involves disseminating information about a

product, product line, brand, or company. It is one of the four key aspects of
the marketing mix. Sales promotion is an important component of a
company's marketing communication strategy along with advertising, public

23
relations, and personal selling. At its core, sales promotion is a marketing
activity that adds to the basic value proposition behind a product (i.e., getting
more for less) for a limited time in order to stimulate consumer purchasing,
selling effectiveness, or the effort of the sales force. As this definition
indicates, sales promotion may be directed either at end consumers or at
selling intermediaries such as retailers or sales crews.

Sales promotion stems from the premise that any brand or service has an
established perceived price or value, the "regular" price or some other
reference value. Sales promotion is believed to change this accepted price-
value relationship by increasing the value and/or lowering the price. Familiar
examples of consumer sales promotion tools include contests and
sweepstakes, branded give-away merchandise, bonus-size packaging, limited-
time discounts, rebates, coupons, free trials, demonstrations, and point-
accumulation systems.

Three issues clarify sales promotion. First, sales promotion ranks in

importance with advertising and requires similar care in planning and strategy
development. Second, three audiences can be targeted by sales promotion:
consumers, resellers, and the sales force. And third, sales promotion as a
competitive weapon provides an extra incentive for the target audience to
purchase or support one brand over another. This last factor distinguishes
sales promotion from other promotional mix tactics. For example, unplanned
purchases may be directly related to one or more sales promotion offers.

In order to understand the basic role and function of sales promotion, one
must differentiate between sales promotion and other components of the
marketing mix. Sales promotion usually operates on a short timeline, uses a
more rational appeal, returns a tangible or real value, fosters an immediate
sale, and contributes highly to profitability. The idea of contribution to
profitability may be confusing. It is simply the ratio between what is spent on
a promotional mix compared to the direct profitability generated by that
expenditure. A few exceptions to the above characteristics do exist. For
example, a sweepstakes might use a very emotional appeal, while a business-
to-business ad may be very rational.
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Promotion is generally sub-divided in the textbooks into two parts:

• Above the line promotion: Promotion in the media (e.g. TV, radio,
newspapers, Internet) in which the advertiser pays an advertising
agency to place the ad
• Below the line promotion: All other promotion. Much of this is
intended to be subtle enough that the consumer is unaware that
promotion is taking place. E.g. sponsorship, product placement,
endorsements, sales promotion, merchandising, direct mail, personal
selling, public relations, trade shows

Marketing Communication-

Reaches large, geographically dispersed audiences,

often with high frequency; Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are
high; Consumers perceive advertised goods as more legitimate; Dramatizes

25
company/brand; Builds brand image; may stimulate short-term sales;
Impersonal, one-way communication; Expensive .

Most effective tool for building buyers’ preferences,

convictions, and actions; Personal interaction allows for feedback and
adjustments; Relationship-oriented; Buyers are more attentive; Sales force
represents a long-term commitment; Most expensive of the promotional tools

May be targeted at the trade or ultimate consumer;

Makes use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests, etc.; Attracts
attention, offers strong purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts sagging
sales; Stimulates quick response; Short-lived; Not effective at building long-
term brand preferences

Highly credible; Very believable; Many forms: news

stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc.; Reaches many prospects
missed via other forms of promotion; Dramatizes company or product; Often
the most under used element in the promotional mix; Relatively inexpensive
(certainly not 'free' as many people think--there are costs involved)

Many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online

marketing, etc.; Four distinctive characteristics: Non-public, Immediate,
Customized, Interactive; Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts.

Why Telecom Industry?

26
Indian Telecom industry is one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the
world. In telecom industry, service providers are the main drivers; whereas
equipment manufacturers are witnessing growth and decline in successive
quarters as sales is dependent on order undertaken by the companies.

Today the Indian telecommunications network with over 452.91 million(as on

May 09) subscribers is second largest network in the world after China. India
is also the fastest growing telecom market in the world with an addition of 10-
12 million monthly subscribers. The tele-density of the Country has increased
from 18% in March 2006 to 38.88% in May 2009, showing a stupendous
annual growth of about 50%, one of the highest in any sector of the Indian
Economy. The Department of Telecommunications has been able to provide
state of the art world-class infrastructure at globally competitive tariffs and
reduce the digital divide by extending connectivity to the unconnected areas.
India has emerged as a major base for the telecom industry worldwide.

Recent things to watch in Indian telecom sector are:

• 3G spectrum auctions

• Mobile Number Portability(MNP) Implementation

• New Policy for Value Added Service

• Due to technological advancement and increase in traffic.

• Abolition of Access Deficit Charge (ADC).

27
CHAPTER -5

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology

Research methodology is away to systematically solve research problem. In it we

study the various step that are generally adopted by researcher in studying his
research problem along with logic behind them. It is necessary for a researcher to

28
know not only the research method/techniques but also the methodology. It may be
noted, in the context of planning & development that the significance of research lines
in its quality and not in quantity. Researcher should know how to apply particular
research techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods or
techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate
and why?

Meaning of Research

“Research is common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. In fact research is an

act of

Scientific investigation.”The project was divided in to the following steps.

To decide objective of the study

To decide research design &

application

To decide source of data collection

To decide from of data

collection

To organize & collect data

To process & analyze report

To prepare the research

report
1. To decide
objective of the Study:-

This step is also research problem. Problem definition is the most critical part
of the research process. Research problem definition involves specifying the
information needed by management. The main objectives of the study are:

29
  To Creating the Awareness of Hotel Pristine Inn in among Corporates
in Pune.

 To find out the level of customer satisfaction with the offers, discount
and services offered by Pristine Inn.

2. To decide research design & application:-

Research design involves defining the research problem, determining how to

collect the data and from whom, establishing the way the data will be
analyzed estimating costs and the preparation of the research approach. For
this study, descriptive research was selected.

3. To decide Source of data there are two source of data

 Primary Data

 Secondary Data

Primary data:-

Primary data is the original data collected specifically for the problem.

Reason for selecting primary data:-

In terms of primary data a questionnaire has been used to interview desire

sample units that give accurate and up to data information as well better to
research problem.

Research approaches: - Primary data can be collected in five main ways:

through Observation, focus groups, surveys, behavioral data, and experiments.

Research instruments:- Marketing researchers have a choice of three main

research Instruments in collecting primary data:

 Questionnaires: - A questionnaire consists of questions presented to

respondents for their answers. Because of its flexibility, the
questionnaire is by far the most common Instrument used to collect
primary data. Questions can be open-ended or closed-Ended.

30
  Qualitative measures: - Some marketers prefer more qualitative
methods for gauging consumer opinion because consumer actions do
not always match their answers to survey questions. Qualitative
research techniques are relatively unstructured measurement
approaches that permit a range of possible responses, and they are a
creative means of ascertaining consumer perceptions that may other-
Wise be difficult to uncover.

 Mechanical devices: -Mechanical devices are occasionally used in

marketing research .Mechanical devices like galvanometers measure
the respondent’s interest or emotions aroused by exposure to a specific
ad or picture.

Secondary data:-

Data potentially useful in solving a current problem but that were collected
for a different purpose.

Reason for selecting secondary data:-

Secondary data can be gathered quickly and inexpensively, compared to

primary data, it is clear useful to study analyzing the recent development in
the telecom industry.

Contact methods:- Once the sampling plan has been determined, the
marketing researcher must decide how the subject should be contact:

 Mail questionnaire: - The mail questionnaire is the best way to reach

people who would not give personal interviews or whose responses
might be biased or distorted by the interviewers. Mail questionnaires
require simple and clearly worded questions.

 Telephone interview: - Telephone interviewing is the best method for

gathering information quickly; the interviewer is also able to clarify
questions if respondents do not understand them. The response rate is
typically higher than in the case of mailed questionnaires.

31
  Personal interview: - Personal interviewing is the most versatile
method. The interviewer can ask more questions and record additional
observations about the respondent, such as dress and body language.
Personal interviewing takes two forms. In arranged interviews,
respondents are contacted for an appointment, and often a small
payment or incentive is offered. Intercept interviews involve stopping
people at a shopping mall or busy street corner and requesting an
interview.

 Online interviews: - There is increased use of online methods. There

are so many ways to use the Net to do research. In this method,
researcher can include a questionnaire on its Web site and offer a
people to answer the questionnaire.

4.To decide from of data collection:-

For this project survey method was selected which was carried through person
interview. Because information from different customers was required.

5. To organize & collect data:-

Once the researcher has formulated and development a research design

including questionnaire second thing he has to decide whether he has to
collect the information. From all the targeted customers. There can be two
types of survey are possible.

 Sample Survey

 Census Survey

“For this project sample Survey was chosen”

Characteristics of the sample survey are:-

 It is cheaper than census survey

 It requires less time

 It is economical

32
  More detail information can be collected

 Deciding the sample plan requires following decisions

 Sample unit “Who is to be surveyed”

Sample

Sample is the true representation of the population by studying of the sample

we can predict the behavior of the population.

Sample Size: 250 (in this case)

Method of Sampling:-

In this project, the survey was done within the market that means probabilistic
convenience Sampling was carried out.

6. To process & analyze data:-

After the data was collected it was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted to the
conclusion reach.

Techniques Applied

Bar Chart:- A chart in which the length of the bar represents the amount of
the item associated with the bar.

Pie Chart:- A circle divided in to sections, such that each section represent
the percentage of the total area of a circle associates with one variable.

Types of Research

Along with this there may be 3 type of research methodology these are :-

They are –

Exploratory Research
Descriptive Research
Casual Research

33
“Our research is based on the exploratory research.”

Exploratory Research
“The objective of this research is to gather preliminary information that will help us to
define the problem and to suggest any hypothesis.”

Which means first we have to define the problem and research objective? Then we
have to develop the research plan for collecting information. Now after collection data
we have to interpret those data for any suggestion,

34
CHAPTER-6

DATA ANALYSIS &

INTERPRETATION

Proximity of Service Center

Table No.6.1

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 3%
Very Good 30%
Good 37%
Average 23%
Poor 7%

35
 Figure No.6.1

Data
Analysis

The
analysis
shows that
there is 3%
Customer’s
opinion for
excellent, 30% for Very good,37% for good and there is also 23% opnion is
average and 7 % for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin has a large no. of customers those are satisfied with the services, it
increase the customer relationship and also increase the sales of the company.

User friendliness of delivery Point

Table No.6.2

Customer’s Opinion Percentage responded

Excellent 33%
Very Good 53%
Good 7%
Average 7%
Poor 0%

Figure No.6.2

36
Data Analysis

By the analysis we conduct that there is 5% for the excellent, 25% customer’s
opinion for very good,7% for good and also 0% for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin has friendliness of delivery point, Virgin Mobile use effective

techniques for take attention of customer’s.

Service Time

Table No.6.3

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 19%
Very Good 34%
Good 27%
Poor 20%

Figure No.6.3

37
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 3% response for excellent and very good, 47% for
good, 27% for average also there is 20% response for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin makes the huge no of satisfied customers by its services. It is helpful

to increase the customer relationship and also for the sales of the company.

Availability of Customer Care

Table No.6.4

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 19%
Very Good 34%
Good 27%
Poor 20%

Figure No.6.4

38
Data Analysis

There is observed by the analysis that 18% opinion for excellent, 23% for
Very good, 39% good and also there is 20% for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin mobile has very good and huge customer care service, by this customer
can easily find the solution of the problem.

Quality of Service by Customer Care

Table No.6.5

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 19%
Very Good 34%
Good 27%
Poor 20%

Figure No.6.5

39
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 19% response for excellent, 34% very good, 27%
good and also for 20% poor

Data Interpretation

Virgin Mobile has good quality of customer care Services, where customer
gets the quick response of his queries; it makes the good relationship between
the company and customer.

Network Quality

Table No.6.6

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 17%
Very Good 36%
Good 26%
Poor 21%

Figure No.6.6

40
Data Analysis

The analysis shows that there is 17% response for excellent, 36% for very
good, 26% for good and also 26% response for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin mobile has good network quality; by the analysis it is found that there
is large no. of customers those are highly satisfied with the network quality of
virgin mobile.

Overall Satisfaction Level

Table No.6.7

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Excellent 12%
Very Good 38%
Good 28%
Poor 22%

Figure No.6.7

41
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 12% response for excellent,38% for very good,28%
response for good, and also 22% response for poor.

Data Interpretation

Virgin has large no. of satisfied customers by its services and offers. But in
rural area virgin is not so much successful.

.Virgin Connection

Table No. 6.8

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Yes 90%
No 10%

Figure No.6.8

42
Data Analysis

By the analysis we come to conclusion that 10% of customer base is using

virgin connection and 90% other network.

Data Interpretation

There is less no of virgin mobile user in the Allahabad, so there is large no of

other network user.

Which is the most important factor while using Mobile Service

Table No.6.9

Reasons Percentage Responded

Price 42%
Mobile handset compatibility 33%
Mobile Service of friends and relatives 12%
Free extra services like internet, down 6%
Others 7%

43
 Figure No.6.9

Data Analysis

By the analysis we conduct that there is 42% for price, 33% for mobile handset
compatibility, 12% for mobile service of friends and relatives, 6% for free extra
service like internet download,7% for others.

Data Interpretation

There is large no of customer price conscious and they prefer handset compatibility
like GSM or CDMA.

Which is the most cost effective Brand?

Table No.6.10

Brand Percentage Responded

Virgin 21%
Reliance 24%
Tata Indicom 7%
Aitel 24%
Vodafone 24%

Figure No.6.10

44
Data Analysis

The analysis shows that there 21% for virgin,24% for reliance,7% for Tata Indicom,
24% for Airtel,24% for Vodafone.

Data Interpretation

By the analysis it is founded that virgin is most cost effective brand.

Are you aware of virgin’s 50 paisa STD Plan

Table No.6.11

Customer’s Response Percentage Responded

Yes 68
No 32

Figure No.6.11

45
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 68% response for yes and 32% response for no.

Data Interpretation

There is average awareness of virgin mobile 50 paisa STD plan.

Are you aware of virgin’s paid incoming call plan ?

Table No.6.12

Awareness Percentage Responded

Yes 88%
No 12%

Figure No.6.12

46
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 88% response for yes and 12% response for No.

Data Interpretation

There is highly awareness of virgin mobile paid incoming call plan.

If not a virgin customer, will you like to switch to virgin ?

Table No.6.13

Customer’s Opinion Percentage Responded

Yes 14
No 32
Can’t Say 54

Figure No.6.13

47
Data Analysis

By the analysis there is 14% response for yes and 32% response for no and 54% for
can’t say.

Data Interpretation

There is low customer response for switch to virgin mobile because of the CDMA
compability.

What is the main problem going for virgin mobile?

Table No.6.14

Problems Percentage Responded

CDMA Technology 36%
Limited Handsets 42%
Price 8%
Switching from existing handset 10%
Others 4%

Figure No.6.13

48
49
Data Analysis

By the analysis we conduct that 36% response for CDMA technology, 42% for
Limited handset, 8% for Price, 10% for Switching from existing handset, 4 % for
others.

Data Interpretation

There is huge response for CDMA Technology Problem and also for Limited
handsets.

50
CHAPTER-7

FINDINGS

51
Findings

 Virgin comes only CDMA features.

 Virgin has a large no. of customers those are satisfied with the
services, it increase the customer relationship and also increase the
sales of the company.

 Virgin has friendliness of delivery point, Virgin Mobile use effective

techniques for take attention of customer’s.

 Virgin mobile has very good and huge customer care service, by this
customer can easily find the solution of the problem.

 Virgin has large no. of satisfied customers by its services and offers.
But in rural area virgin is not so much successful.

 Virgin is most cost effective brand.

52
CHAPTER-8

LIMITATION

53
Limitation

 It was assumed that the information given by the respondents is

authentic and best of their knowledge.

 Some of the view given was completely views by customers as

they were in a hurry and were not considered in the data
analysis.

 The result of the study is applicable to the survey area only.

 Time and Money is also one of the important limitations.

 Dull process and unwilling respondent also affect the result of

the study.

54
CHAPTER-9

Conclusion & Recommendation

55
Conclusion of the Study

Telecom industry is seeing a rise as the trend goes and has potential for growth.
Taking into account the tele-density of 38.88% there is still unexplored market. The
competition is fierce with around 10 Service providers in most of the 18 circles and
also the implementation of MNP. The service providers have to be different and have
to stick to strict service norms and provide excellent customer service in order to hold
on to the market share. Thus there is intense competition in the market but at the same
time scope for development in rural areas. Airtel, Idea and Vodafone have taken up
initiatives to provide customized connections to Rural customers like Motor pumps
control system, loud speaker phone for illiterates and so on.

In a few words Telecom sector has a lot of scope for growth and the customers at the
same time have the benefit to choose from a wide range of service providers offering
various plans targeted to specific customers

 It can be said that Virgin has created its image in a very short period in
Allahabad.

 It is attracting the customers with its good services. Most of the customer
satisfied by Virgin mobile services and facilities.

 This satisfaction can be concluded by the response of customer in the

questionnaires. Day by day Virgin is improving his reputation to other Mobile
network.

56
Recommendations:

 Virgin should try to promote its latest plans like 50 paisa STD calls in
advertisements.

 Making customers aware about latest pricing will increase its market share in
terms of cost effectiveness.

 Virgin should try to tap 14% of customer base who want to switch to virgin
but not able to switch because of existing non-compatible handset.

 Solving existing non-compatible handset problem and better communication

to inform latest pricing strategies will lead to substantial increase in consumer
base for virgin mobile.

 In order to enhance customer satisfaction, time gap between services sought

and delivered should be minimized.

57
 Appendix

Questionnaire for the Virgin Customers:

Please fill this questionnaire and rate Virgin Mobile on the following aspects from 1
to 5, with 5 representing excellent i.e. highly satisfied and 1 being poor i.e. highly
dissatisfied.

Q.No.1: how is the proximity of the service centre?

Ans: 1 2 3 4 5

Q.No.2: Is the delivery point user friendly?

Ans : 1 2 3 4 5

3. How satisfied are you with time gap between services sought and delivered?

2 3 4 5

4. How accessible is the customer care on phone?

1 2 3 4 5

5. How well does the customer care respond to the queries of the customer?

1 2 3 4 5

6. How is the Network quality?

1 2 3 4 5

7. The overall satisfaction level with Virgin Mobile?

1 2 3 4 5

Name:

Address:

Contact No:

58
Questionnaire for target customer’s expectation:

Note: - Please fill this questionnaire and help us in finding target customer’s
expectation from the firm. Please select the option which according to you is most
suitable:

1. Do you own a virgin mobile connection?

a) Yes b) No

2. Which is the most important factor while using a mobile service?

a) Price b) Mobile handset compatibility c) Mobile service of friends and

relatives

d) Free extra services like internet, downloads e) Others

3. Which is the most cost effective brand in mobile service?

a) Virgin b) Reliance c) Tata Indicom d) Airtel e) Vodafone f) Idea g) Bpl h) Don’t

know

4. Are you aware of 50 paise national call plan of virgin mobile?

a) Yes b) No

5. Are you aware of paid incoming call facility by virgin mobile?

a) Yes b) No

6. If not a virgin customer, will you like to switch to virgin?

a) Yes b) No c) Can't say

7. Why you do not want to go for virgin mobile?

a) CDMA technology b) Limited Handset c) Price

d) Switching from existing handset

e) Others

59
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Name Of Book Name Of Author Edition &

year

Marketing Management Paramhans Foundation First Edition,

1992

Research Methodology C.R.Kothari Second Edition,

1993

Marketing Management Philip Kotler Tenth Edition,

1999

Fundamentals of Statistics D.N.Elhance Present Edition,

1992

REFRENCES
1. Website of www. mobilestore.com
2. Website of www.google.com

3. www.virginmobile.com

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