The Vodafone Experience

The telecom market in India is vividly outspreading. The services associated with a Telecom provider is now rated through its ability to provide maximum value to the customer through its services. Mere calls and short messenger services do not generate enough prowess to plough the seeds of proficiency in the minds of the customer.

With the dawn of 2014, it is easily comprehendible that calling service and short message service is a saturated market with minimal revenue margin and zilch skill to attract more customer and even retain the present market. Here walks into the picture, the internet service. 2G is not a new face in the market, and for that matter even 3G has established itself quite well and has been selling profoundly in the market.

In UPW, Vodafone had been restricted to 2G till May 2014 after which the re-launch of 3G was made. I started working as an intern for Vodafone South Ltd. in April 2014 and thus my project work deals with both 2G and 3G services.

In the first part of my project I was given a set of pre-collected data called the TEZ report. TEZ consisted of SMSs sent by authorized Vodafone retailers across the UPW circle, these SMSs contained 2G data speed, location from where the speed test was done, the time of testing and the handset used by the retailer test speed.

After gathering the data, it was pruned and categorized in an orderly fashion using statistical bar chart tools and MS excel. The data speed was put into different categories was analysis and further interpretation. The objective was to pick out the key areas where the 2G speed was unsatisfactory and to determine the factors influencing the slow speed.

Upon further analysis it was found that the data speed particularly varies with respect to area rather than any other factors namely handset model and time of the speed test. The location with the highest frequency of low speed was found out, followed by a market visit to that locality to find out the behaviour of the customer.

It became crucial at this point to understand the need of 3G in UPW and thus the second part of the project of undertaken. Vodafone 3G was launched in UPW earlier in 2013 but due to certain reasons it had to be withdrawn, this lead to the re-launch of the product again in May 2014 to be made more effective.

I was tasked with the understanding of the various MarCom elements such as banners, buntings, hoardings, signages, flanges etc. These elements needed to be installed and running effectively to reach out to each and every current and prospective customer. The set of tasks pertaining to each element was Artwork finalization, printing, dispatch and receiving, installation, going live in the market and proof from the agency.

Further these Marcom elements come under two categories: ATL [Above the Line] and BTL [Below the Line]. ATL deals with marketing elements which are outside the retailer’s shop and thus require more funding and maintenance, needless to mention that its effectiveness in attracting customer is more. BTL are in store elements that provide in depth details of the plans they would wish to purchase, rather than their magnanimity BTL elements possess the power to reach out to the willing customer already within the grasp of purchasing a Telecom Service.

To maintain a proper update of these elements, a Gantt chart was made to collectively and efficiently link the MarCom team with the 3G data team. Successful updates of each element was put into effect in the Gantt chart and information was conveyed to the Data and MarCom team with presentations.

By the end of May, after each element was deployed market visits were made to specific UPW markets [viz. Saharanpur, Meerut, Agra, Aligarh] to find out how and where the elements are installed, their effectiveness, retailer-manager communications and the lifetime of each established element.

Each market had different problems and different ways of handling those issues. The retailer-manager communication was different in different area as well. The type of customer targeted varied and thus the approach to lure them also varied. These key findings were reported and submitted to the marketing head of Vodafone UPW.

The key learnings from this project has certainly been:

1.      The understanding of the office environment of a global Telecom company such as Vodafone. The necessity of constant change and value addition to customer along with the fact that complacency leads to rapid revenue expulsion. The Telecom market is undergoing a rapid change from calling services to data, and thus it becomes necessary to be a strong contender against a myriad of rising Telecom service providers.

2.      The Telecom customer is unlike any other customer, very rarely would it stick to its loyalty to a brand and not move on to a better alternative. The Telecom customer is a smart customer only adhering to his/her needs, the customer may be swayed through advertisements and marketing propaganda but still in the end it’s the service that matters.

3.      There was a deep understanding made regarding marketing strategies during a new product launch, on ground and off ground activities to lure a customer.

4.      The behaviour of a customer and its reaction to a product launch, the competitive edge one gains over another competitor through a product launch in such a tightly fought market and the importance of marketing communications in a market like Telecom.