ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to place on record my grateful thanks and sincere gratitude to my esteemed guide Ms GURBINDER KAUR DHALIWAL, who gave me valuable advice and inputs for my study. I am immensely grateful to her whose continued and invaluable guidance can never be forgotten by me but for whom , this study could not have got present shape. Last but not least , I would also like to express my thanks to my family members who inspired me to put in my best efforts for the Research/Project Report. I am pleased to say that the whole report is just the presentation of the facts that have been found during the projects through different sources and its each sentence is an exact representation of the information obtained and the analysis thereof. I hope that I have manifested my sincere attempts to represent all the information and other things to the best of ability

Amrinder Singh

CERTIFICATE BY THE GUIDE

This is to certify that the work entitled customer satisfaction on mobile service provider networks is is a piece of project work done by AMRINDER SINGH , a student of MBA-2nd semester bearing Enrolment number 81008317007 under my guidance and supervision for partial fulfilment of master degree of Punjab Technical University. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the project report

Embodies the work of the candidate himself Has been duly completed Is up to the standard both in respect to contents and language for being referred to the examiner.
1. 2. 3.

Forwarded To:Guide

DR. Meenu Jaitely Gurbinder Kaur Head Of Department

MS.

DECLARATION
I, AMRINDER SINGH of 2nd Year MBA, DOABA GROUP OF COLLEGES, MOHALI(20082010), bearing Enlolment No. 81008317007 ,hereby declare that the project titled customer satisfaction on mobile service provider networks is is the outcome of my own work and the same has not been submitted to any university / institute for the reward of any degree or any Professional diploma

Date :

AMRINDER SINGH

TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter. No 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2 3 4 5 6 7 CONTENTS INTRODUCT ION INTRODUCT ION TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INTRODUCT ION TO SERVICES INTRODUCT ION TO TELECOM INDUSTRY LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH OBJECTIVES RESEARCH LIMITATIONS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DATA ANALYSIS &INTERPRETATIONS OBSERVATIONS & FINDINGS RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSION ANEXTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY Page No. 6 7 13 18 28 30 32 35 50 52 54 56 59

Executive Summary
A.

Project Title:--

Customer Satisfaction on Mobile Service Provider Networks (B) Project Location:--

Twin cities CHANDIGARH & MOHALI (C) Objectives The main objective of the study are:-1. To study the customer satisifaction towards mobile service providers. . 2 . To study and identify how the customers are benefited.

3 . To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to assess their current satisfaction levels. . 4 .To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers. (D) Research Methodology The research was mainly of primary research consisting of descriptive research and exploratory research. The secondary research consisted of literature search and Internet search.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Introduction
Theoretical Background of the Topic
Customer Satisfaction
1.1.1 According to Philip Kotler, satisfaction is a persons feelings of pressure or disappointment resulting from products perceived performance (outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. Customer satisfaction is the level of a persons felt state resulting from comparing a products perceived performance (outcome) in relation to the persons expectations. In today's increasingly competitive environment, quality services and customer satisfaction are critical to corporate success. Delivering high quality services is closely linked to profits, cost savings and market share. As stated by Piercy (1995), it is striking that one of the few elements that links many of the otherwise disparate recommendations made to managers over the past several decades has been the need to focus on customer satisfaction as a route to sustained high performance. Companies should, to a much higher degree, be aware of the fact that customer dissatisfaction equals both defection and long-term losses. As stated by various authors (Ballantayne et al. 1996; Berry, 1986; Collier, 1994; Schneider and Bowen, 1995): It is easier and much cheaper - to keep existing customers than to get new ones. Additionally, another benefit from achieving satisfied customers is the fact that the willingness to repurchase is much higher for satisfied customers than for dissatisfied and indifferent ones. Despite this awareness concerning the importance of customer satisfaction, it is beyond the ability of many of today's service companies to maintain satisfied customers. Empirical surveys concerning the proportion of satisfied versus dissatisfied customers reveal that a large amount of service industries suffer from an insufficient number of satisfied customers. A survey conducted in the BD by Dr.siraj (2001) reveals extreme low levels of overall customer

satisfaction. He examined the overall customer satisfaction levels in various service branches: Grocery chains (31%), fast-food outlets & Res. (24%), and banks (15%). One can argue that these results constitute a low range of general service provision. However, even companies which focus their efforts on achieving satisfied customers, rarely exceed a customer satisfaction ratio above 50-70% (Scheby, 1998). However , it is important to emphasize that it is almost impossible to compare various levels of satisfaction, as the numbers depend heavily on the specific method of measurement. As a result, it is not possible to refer to the degree of satisfied versus dissatisfied customers in absolute terms, but only in relative terms. Based on the results above, the impression rises that the discipline of satisfying customers is not always successfully translated into activities practiced by service companies. This fact has supported our interest in conducting an investigation concerning the relationship between service providers and customer satisfaction. The satisfaction level is a function of difference between perceived performance and expectations. If the products performance, exceed expectation the customer highly satisfied or delighted. If the performance matches the expectations the customer is satisfied. If the products performance fall shorts of expectations the customer is dissatisfied. 1 Many companies are aiming for high satisfaction because customers who are just satisfied still find it easy to switch when a better offer comes along. High satisfaction or delight creates an emotional affinity with brand. 2 Variety of factors that affect customer satisfaction includes product quality, product availability and after sales support such as warranties and services. Customer satisfaction is seen as a proof of delivering a quality product or service. It is believed that customer satisfaction brings sales growth, and market share. A company can always increase customer satisfaction by lowering its price or increasing its services but

this may result in lower profits. Thus the purpose of marketing is to generate customer value profitability. 3 India is on the threshold of a new millennium. India chose for global economy, exposing her to winds of change in the market place, which has expanded vastly and become fiercely competitive. In the changed environment, decision makers view the marketing concept as the key to success. Marketing in practice has to manage products, pricing, promotion and distribution. 4 A successful product can be developed by exploding these opportunities. While delivering the value of the consumer we make use of marketing support. This support is based on the knowledge of consumers and distribution. Marketing support both at the introduction of products and maturing is considered 5 Marketing, as suggested by the American Marketing Association 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". 6 The two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers (acquisition) and the retention and expansion of relationships with existing customers (base management). Marketing methods are informed by many of the social, 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.

7. For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four "Ps"1 i.e. product, price, place, promotion must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers 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 marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this 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.

Skills of Marketers
Marketers have 4 main skill sets that they bring to an enterprise:-1. Opportunity Identification: Marketing begins before there is a product to sell. Many people think marketing is just selling whatever comes out of the manufacturing plant. It's the job of marketing to decide WHAT comes out of the manufacturing plant in the first place. Before a business can make money there must be opportunities for money to be made and it's marketing's job to define what those opportunities are. Marketers analyze markets, market gaps, trends, products, competition, and distribution channels to come up with opportunities to make money.
1

2) Competitive strategy/positioning:

Markets consist of groups of competitors competing for a customer's business. The job marketing is to decide how to create a defensible sustainable competitive advantage against competitors. Marketers conceive strategies, tactics, and business models to make it hard if not impossible for competition to take away customers from their business. 3) Demand generation/management It's the job of marketing to create and sustain demand for a company's products. Marketers manage demand for a company's products by influencing the probability and frequency of their customer's purchase behavior.

4 ) Sales: The ultimate goal of marketing is to make money for a business. In most companys sales is a different discipline and department from marketing. But in order for salespeople to have any long term success in a company they must be led by marketing. The better job a company does of identifying opportunities, creating a differential sustainable competitive advantage, and generating demand for their products the easier itwill be for salespeople to make sales.

Methods to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Companies use the following methods to measure customer satisfaction. 1 ) Complaints and suggestion system: companies obtaining complaints through theircustomer service centres, and further suggestions were given by customers to satisfy their desires.

2) Customer satisfaction surveys Responsive companies obtain a direct measure of customer satisfaction by periodic surveys. They send questionnaires to random sample of their customers to find out how they feel about various aspects of the companys performance and also solicit views on their competitors performance. It is useful to measure the customers willingness to recommend the company and brand to other persons.

3 )Lost Customer Analysis. Companies should contact customers who have stopped buying or who have switched to another supplier to learn why this happened. 4 )Consumer Behavior Vs Consumption Behavior Consumer behavior refers to the manner in which an individual reaches decision related to the selection, purchases and use of goods and services. Walters and Paul says that, consumer behavior is the process where by the individuals decides what, when, how and from whom to purchase goods & services. Consumer behavior relates to an individual person (Micro behavior) where as consumption behavior relates to and to the mass or aggregate of individuals (Macro behavior) consumers behavior as a study focuses on the decision process of the individual consumer or consuming unit such as the family.

In contrast the consumption behavior as a study is to do with the explanation of the behavior of the aggregate of consumers or the consuming unit. Consumer is a pivot, around which the entire system of marketing revolves. The study of buyer behavior is one of the most important keys to successful mark

CHAPTER 1.2

INTRODUCTION TO SERVICES

INTRODUCTION TO SERVICES

History and Evolution of Services

In the literature there has been a tremendous number of publications dealing with the marketing and management of services. According to Fisk, Brown and Bitner (1998) the development of service marketing and management can be divided into three phases. First, there is the "Crawling-Out Phase" from 1950 to 1980, when only a few researchers made efforts to distinguish between marketing strategies for goods and services. These few researchers proclaimed that services are different from goods, and therefore need specific marketing and management attention. In her article "Breaking Free from Product Marketing" Shostack (1977) demanded further research interest in services. She states that the traditional marketing and management theories do not provide relevant tools for the characteristics of services. This critique has been accepted later by academicians and practitioners. Second, in the so called "scurrying-Out Phase" from 1981 to 1985, further concentration on the marketing and management of services took place. With significant publications from Gronroos (1981), Berry (1980), Zeithaml (1981), and Shostack (1984), marketing and management of services received the right to be considered as an independent discipline. During this period several articles were published in some of the best known journals, i.e. Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and Harvard Business Review. New service specific journals also emerged, for instance the Journal of Services Marketing and international Journal of Service Industries Management. There have been strong efforts to develop marketing and management tools which are applicable to improve services. As a consequence, relationship marketing (Berry 1983) and internal marketing (Gronroos 1981) have their roots in the intense research of the service sector. Finally in the "Walking-Erect Phase" from 1986 until today the number of contributions in books, articles and dissertations have increased explosively. Efforts have been undertaken in order to improve the understanding of the

heterogeneity of services, designing and controlling intangible processes (Fisk et al., 1993). According to Wright (1995) the emerging interest in services can be labeled a new service paradigm from the marketing discipline's traditional focus on marketing purely physical goods.

Characteristics of Services
Having described the development of service marketing and management, it is now important for the overall understanding of services, to examine what actually characterizes services. Although service industries are themselves quite heterogeneous, there are some service characteristics upon which it is useful to generalize. The characteristics we have chosen to discuss are:

Intangibility Inseparability Heterogeneity Perishability

Intangibility
Service are not tangible, as stated by Berry: " A good is an object, a device, a thing; a service is a deed, a performance, an effort" (Berry, 1984). When a service is purchased, there is generally nothing tangible to show for it. As argued by Berry, "Services are consumed but not possessed" (berry, 1984). Although the performance of most services is supported by tangibles, the essence of what is being bought is a performance rendered by one party, for another. Most market offerings are a combination of tangible and intangible elements. It is whether the essence of what is being bought is tangible, or intangible, that determines its classification as a physical good or a service.

Inseparability :
Another characteristic concerning services is that production takes place simultaneously with consumption. Generally, goods are first produced, sold, then consumed. Services on the other hand are usually sold first, and then produced and consumed simultaneously. This raises a number of problems

which marketers of goods do not face: Participation of customers in the production process, or delivery process, the interaction between the service provider, the service environment and the customer, and the merging of operations, human resource and marketing responsibilities in one individual. Additionally, some service organizations such as passenger transport companies and restaurants, produce and deliver their service for many customers simultaneously. In these cases, customers interact not only with the service organization; but also with each other. As a result, other customers are a part of the service consumption experience.

Heterogeneity
Compared to goods service are normally less standardized and uniform. Services are not homogeneous. Service industries tend to differ regarding the extent to which they are "people based" or "equipment-based" (Thomas, 1978). That is to say, there is a larger human component involved in performing some services than others. Equipment-based services vary depending on whether they are automated or monitored by skilled or unskilled operators. People-based services also vary depending no whether they are provided by unskilled, or professional workers.

Perishability
Services cannot be stored, hence services are highly perishable, e.g. empty tables in a restaurant can seen as a revenue opportunity lost for ever. Time cannot be held over for future sale, thus, services cannot be inventoried. The Perishability of services is not a problem when demand is steady, because it is easy to staff the services in advance, when demand fluctuates, service companies have difficult problems. Service marketers need therefore to manage not only the demand, but also the supply so that a profitable equilibrium is consistently obtained. All of these mentioned service characteristics are associated with several marketing problems.

CHAPTER 1.3

Introduction to Telecom Industry

Introduction to Telecom Industry

The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents unique opportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007. According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2012 The wireless subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004- 2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. The wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and 5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities, covering 2000 towns across the country.

Evolution of the industry-Important Milestones Year 1851 First operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta(seat of British power)

1881 Telephone service introduced in India

1883 Merger with the postal system

1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)

1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Cable Communication Company (IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form

the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry of Communications 1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive

provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system)

1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly governmentowned companies:

the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created.

1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy

is adopted. 2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumers' income and spending owing to strong economic growth have helped make India the fastest-growing telecom market in the world. The first and largest operator is the state-owned incumbent

BSNL, which is also the 7th largest telecom company in the world in terms of its number of subscribers. BSNL was created by corporatization. while DTS (Department of Telecommunication Services), a government unit responsible for provision of telephony services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policies were revised to allow private operators, companies such as Bharti Telecom, TATA Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, Idea, Vodafone and BPL have entered the space. Major operators in India. However, rural India still lacks strong infrastructure.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 300 million mark on June 18 2008The overall tele-density has increased to 36.98% in March 2009 .In the wireless segment, 15.87 million subscribers have been added in March 2009. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base is more than 391.76 million now. The wire line segment subscriber base stood at 38.22 million with a decline of 0.13 million in October 2008.

Market Share of Public and Private Industry

The fixed line and mobile segments serve the basic needs of local calls, long distance calls and the international calls, with the provision of broadband services in the fixed line segment and GPRS in the mobile arena. Traditional telephones have been replaced by the codeless and the wireless instruments. Mobile phone providers have also come up with GPRS-enabled multimedia messaging, Internet surfing, and mobile-commerce.The muchawaited 3G mobile technology is soon going to enter the Indian telecom market. The GSM, CDMA, WLL service providers are all upgrading them to provide 3G mobile services. Along with improvement in telecom services, there is also an improvement in manufacturing. In the beginning, there were only the Siemens handsets in India but now a whole series of new handsets, such as Nokia's latest N-series, Sony Ericsson's W-series, Motorola's PDA phones, etc. have come up. Touch screen and advanced technological handsets are gaining popularity. Radio services have also been incorporated in the mobile handsets, along with other applications like high storage memory, multimedia applications, multimedia games, MP3 Players, video generators, Camera's, etc. The value added services provided by the mobile service operators contribute more than 10% of the total revenue.

The Global Cellular Mobile Industry

Global telecom sector Earnings visibility Earnings growth is being driven by improving pricing conditions, stabilizing operating trends, aggressive cost cutting initiatives, a positive regulatory environment, strong wireless growth, and new market opportunities. This has translated into greater visibility of forward earnings as evidenced by recent increased analyst upgrades within the sector.

Definition of Cellular/Mobile phone The Cellular telephone (commonly "mobile phone" or "cell phone" or "hand phone") is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone,

The Global Cellular Mobile Industry:

The global mobile phone industry is based on many different manufacturers and operators. The industry is based on advanced technology and many of the manufacturers are operating in different industries, where they use their technological skills, distribution network, market knowledge and brand name. Four large manufacturers of mobile phones are today dominating the global mobile phone industry &networks; Nokia, Sony Ericson, Samsung and Motorola . Airtel, Bsnl , tataindicom ,Vodafone, reliance, others. In addition to these companies there are many manufacturers that operate globally and locally.

Telecom Industry in India

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly200 million telephone lines making it the third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth rate in the8world. Much of the growth in Asia Pacific Wireless Telecommunication Market is spurred by the growth in demand in countries like India and China. Indias mobile phone subscriber base is growing at a rate of 82.2%.

 China is the biggest market in Asia Pacific with a subscriber base of 48% of the total subscribers in Asia Pacific. Compared to that Indias share in Asia Pacific Mobile Phone market is 6.4%. History of Indian Telecommunications It was Started in 1851 ,when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were emerged with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923. After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by the government's Ministry . Telecom sector was considered as a strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's control. The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an exclusive provider of domestic and long distance service that would be its own regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian policymakers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy(NTP) 1994 was the first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunicationssector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector.. Telecommunication sector inIndia can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services, national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and collectively account .Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access

(CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Essar, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular industry. Cellular he tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance, international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand. Classification of Telecommunication services 1. Basic services 2. Cellular services 3. Internet Service Provider (ISP)

CHAPTER 2

Literature Review

Main Text Literature Review

. Review of Literature
1. Robins (2008) This paper is about marketing the next generation of mobile telephones. The study is about third generation of cell phone technology, what is usually known as 3G for short. There are various issues about that new innovative. One is how to price 3G handsets and services at a level which will enable telephone operating companies to recoup the high prices they have already paid to governments for operating licenses. Second the technology is not yet complete, there are no agreed international standards and companies do not yet know what new services the technology will prove capable of delivering effectively. All variants of 3G remain dependent on largely unproven technology. Marketing 3G is going to be about

services which are new and in many cases, yet to be designed. At the same time, it will involve services which can also be obtained by computer and other means. It follows that the marketing task will be high risk. First, 3G has no obviously unique selling proposition to build on except, perhaps, the combination of live video and easy portability. Second, the potential customers have not yet had adequate opportunity to signal their service likes and dislikes. Third, the cost and complexity of service provision leave doubt about the markets reaction to price. 2. Debnath (2008) This study explain that the prime focus of the service providers is to create a loyal customer base by benchmarking their performances and retaining existing customers in order to benefit from their loyalty. With the commencement of the economic liberalization in 1991, and with a view to expand and improve telecom infrastructure through the participation of the private sector, the Government of India permitted foreign companies holding 51 percent equity stake in joint ventures to manufacture telecom equipment in India. The Indian Government has announced a new policy, which allows private firms to provide basic telephone services. There had been a monopoly of the state-owned department of telecommunications.

However, several companies are expected to benefit from the policy change. 3. Bhatt (2008), in his study titled A Study of Mobile Phone Usage Among the Post Graduate Students analyzed that it is important for mobile carriers, service providers, content developers, equipment manufacturers, as well as for parents and young people alike that the key characteristics of mobile technology is well understood so that the risks associated with its potentially damaging or disruptive aspects can be mitigated. This paper has tried to compare the usage difference by gender with respect to the difference manufacturing and service provider companies. 4. Jha (2008), in his study analyzed that it is the youth which is the real growth driver of telecom industry in India. Considering this fact, the paper is an attempt to give a snapshot of how frequently young people use their mobile phones for several embodied functions of the cell phones. Data was collected from a sample of 208 mobile phone owners, aged between 20 and 29. The study sheds light on how gender, monthly voucher amount and years of owning mobile phones influence the usage pattern of this device. Findings of the study would be helpful for the telecom service providers and handset manufacturers to formulate a marketing strategy for different market segments.

5. Kalavani (2006) in their study analyzed that majority of the respondents have given favourable opinion towards the services but some problems exist that deserve the attention of the service providers. They need to bridge the gap between the services promised and services offered. The overall customers attitude towards cell phone services is that they are satisfied with the existing services but still they want more services to be provided. 6. Kumar (2008), in their study titled Customer Satisfaction and Discontentment vis-avis BSNL Landline Service: A Study analyzed that at present, services marketing plays a major role in the national economy. In the service sector, telecom industry is the most active and attractive. Though the telecom industry is growing rapidly, India's telecom density is less than the world's average telecom density as most of India's market is yet to be covered. This attracts private operators to enter into the Indian telecom industry, which makes the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) more alert to run its business and survive in the market. 7. Seth et al (2008), in their study titled Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation analyzed that

there is relative importance of service quality attributes and showed that responsiveness is the most importance dimension followed by reliability, customer perceived network quality, assurance, convenience, empathy and tangibles. This would enable the service providers to focus their resources in the areas of importance. The research resulted in the development of a reliable and valid instrument for assessing customer perceived service quality for cellular mobile services. 21 8. Fernandez (2007) in their study titled Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of Mobile VAS in India analyzed that Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) is a rising star in the fast growing wireless business. In the paper, attempt is made at understanding the strategic dynamics of the evolving environment within which the Indian players are operating, the challenges and structure of the same. Our literature and industry review indicates that - while the value chain of industry is complicated yet one can observe the bipolar nature of bargaining powers between mobile network operators and content aggregators. 9. Bismut (2006) in his study titled Competition in European Telecom Markets

analyzed that in recent years the European telecommunications market has witnessed major developments, with rapid expansion in access to telecommunications networks and a surge in the number of available services and applications.

CHAPTER 3

Research Objectives

Research Objectives
Objectives of the study : This project aims at studying the present market scenario.The major players in the market today are Airtel, Vodafone,Bsnl, Tata indicom ,Reliance,Idea.All The companies want to capture the market study concerns with evaluating fast developing area and so all the service providers were taken to measure the satisfaction of customer The main objective of the study are:--

To study the customer satisifaction towards mobile service providers. To study and identify how the customers are benefited. To assess the needs, requirements and expectations of the customers in order to

assess their current satisfaction levels. To know the attitude, enthusiasm regarding the service provided to customers.

CHAPTER 4

Research Limitation

Research Limitation
Limitations of the Study
Carrying the survey was a general learning experience for us but we also faced some problems, which are listed here:- The market of Telecommunication is too vast and it is not possible to cover each and every dealer, manufacturer and seller in the available short span of time. Generally the respondents were busy in their work and were not interested in responding rightly. Respondents were reluctant to discover complete and correct information about themselves and their organization.

 Most respondents were not maintaining proper knowledge of various services provided by their company, so they were unable to provide exact information. Most of the respondents dont want to disclose the information about the various other companies which they have experienced before. Some of the respondents were using the service first time of their company and they were not able to properly differentiate among their product. Due to human behavior information may be biased. Mainly in BSNL case.

CHAPTER 5

Research Methodology

Research Methodology Sources of Data

SOURCES OF DATA The study undertaken there to be mainly based on the primary data i.e. structured questionnaire is designed. The study also contains secondary data i.e. data from authenticated websites and journals for the latest updates just to gain an insight for the views of various experts. METHODOLOGY & PRESENTATION OF DATA The data collected is then coded in the tables to make the things presentable and more effective. The results are shown by tables which will help me out in easy and effective presentation and hence results are being obtained. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR ANALYSIS In this study the technique used for interpreting the results is CHI SQUARE test. weighted average method and It is used as because sample size is 100.

Sampling Design
RESEARCH DESIGN

The design for this study is Exploratory and Random sampling

Collection Method
DATA COLLECTION The data is collected randomly irrespective of the category of the people in the form of questionnaire and the sample size is 100 respondents. Because it is a pilot study and due to time constraint the sample size is small.

Research Definition
The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a systematic and a replicable process, which identifies and defines problems, within specified boundaries. It employs well-designed method to collect the data and analyses the results. It disseminates the findings to contribute to generalize able knowledge. The main characteristics of research presented below are: Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests relationships between them, Collecting, organizing and evaluating data. Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a larger population Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it. Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts.

 Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would facilitate to take decision. For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage were use. It helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data which will be collected from a sample of population was assumed to be representing entire population was interest. Demographic factors likeage, income and educational background was used for the classification purpose.

CHAPTER 6 Data Analysis and Interpretation

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Q1: - Which mobile connection do you have?

PARTICULAR NO. OF RESPONDENTS AIRTEL VODAFONE IDEA BSNL 40 32 16 12

Interpretation: - As the area of the study is in Chandigarh and Mohali, where the market leader is Airtel. Thats why majority of the questionnaire I got filled by Airtel. Above data analysis shows that majority of the market that is approximately 50% is covered by two market leaders Airtel and vodafone. Minor is bsnl.

Q2:- What kind of service you have?

Interpretation: - Above data shows that most of the respondents in the area have pre-paid connections. And I got only 16% questionnaire filled by post-paid users.

Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider?

Brands Weighted avg.

Airtel 3.9

Vodafone 3.6

Idea 3.1

BSNL 3.09

Interpretation:- From the graphic it depict thatAIRTEL l is the most excellent and good service provider with weighted avg of 3.9 as 25 respondets believes that the service of the company is excellent and good & 10 respondents have rated it as average. Then VODAFONE has also good rate of excellence as 20 respondents rated IT AS EXCELLENT & good & 20 as average respectively. But the idea and Bsnl are not under good ratings. 8 respondents of BSNL and 5 of Idea have rated their service provider as Poor.

Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you the most to buy the service of your choice?

Interpretation of Chi: - As the 95% level of confidence Chi square value 6.035 is more than the table value 5.991, so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means Price factor is the most influencing factor for the purchase of Telecom service.

Interpretation:- Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred because of its best network service and Brand image as well. Where Vodafone is preferred because of its good pricing strategy, network service, brand image and the most Value Added Services of the company. And Idea is preferred because of all above factors. Where Bsnl is preferred the most because of its low price as compare to its competitors and because of its value added services as well.

Q5- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service:

PARTICULA SMS CONCESSION R PACK CALL RATES AIR TEL 0 3 15 6 11

INTERNET SERVICES 6 1 6 0

FULL TALK TIME 5 7 4 7

VODAFONE 9 IDEA BSNL 4 16

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that Airtel is being preferred because of its internet service. And vodaphone because of its Concession calls rates and full talk time VAS. Where Idea the most because of its Concession Call Rates and SMS pack. But BSNL because of its SMS pack mainly and then concession rates also.

Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company?

Interpretation:- Above table analysis depicts that most of the users are using their telecom Cservice from last one year. Some of the users are also using it from last 3 year, where majority of the users are BSNL connection holders. Most of the users of the Vodaphone are using it from last 6 months. Very few respondents are a new users of their services that let our study not vague.

Q7:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company?

BRANDS AIRTEL

VERY SATISFIED 7

SATISFIE NEUTRA DISSATISFIE VERY D L D DISSATISFIED 23 18 13 14 0 1 2 8 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0

VODAFON 3 E IDEA BSNL 2 2

Calculated weighted avg.:_ Brands Weighted avg. Airtel 4.23 Vodafone 4.09 Idea 4.0 BSNL 3.4

Interpretation: - Above table data analysis shows that the satisfaction rate of network service is leaded by Airtel as not a single user of service is neutral or dissatisfy with calculated weighted avg of 4.23. And VODAFONES network service satisfaction rate is also good. And it can be also found that ideas & BSNLs network service is not good as compare to others competitors

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money? Observed table:-

Calculaed weighted avg.:_ Brands Weighted avg. Airtel 4.07 Vodafone 4.03 Idea 4.16 BSNL 4.11

Interpretation: - Above data and chart analysis depicts that IDEA has the highest rating of Value for /money calculated on the basis of weighted averagei.e 4.16, Then BSNL company is followed by AIRTEL , with weighted avg. of 4.11 and 4.07 respectively, VODAFONE has got weighted avg. of. 4.03 .& has least service value for money.

Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service department of your service provider? OBSERVED TABLE BRANDS AIRTEL BILLING RELATED & ACTIVATION INF.OF VAS & N/W TOTAL /DACTIVATION RELATED = 9 10 7 8 24 49 19 25 26 30 100

VODAFON 18 E IDEA BSNL TOTAL= 18 6 51

EXPECTED VALUE TABLE 9.69 12.75 13.26 15.3 9.31 12.25 12.74 14.7

DEGREE OF FREEDOM= (C 1)(R-1) = (4 1)(2 1) =3 SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL AT 5 % = Chi square value=19.29 Table value= 2.366

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 5% level of confidence Chi square value 19.29 is more than the table value 2.366 so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means People contact customer care mostly for activation and deactivation of the service. Interpretation: - From the above data analysis it has been found that most of the users of telecommunication contact to their customers care for activation and deactivation of various services. Then they also contact for information about various value added services provider by companies like validity, call rates, sms pack, caller tones etc. Network service has been found a problem of mainly BSNL users and to some extent of Idea users as well.

Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service? H0: - Airtel is not the best service provider of customer care service. H1: - Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service. OBSERVED FREQUENCY TABLE= BRANDS AIRTEL VODAFONE IDEA BSNL TOTAL= SATISFIED 9 8 11 10 38 NEUTRAL 6 7 9 6 28 DISSATISFIED 9 8 7 10 34 TOTAL 24 23 27 26 100

DEGREE OF FREEDOM= (C 1)(R-1) = (4 1)(3 1) =6

SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL AT 5 % =

Chi square value: 1.49 value: 5.348

Table

Interpretation of Chi:- As the 5% level of confidence Chi square value 1.49 is LESS than the table value 5.348, so the null hypothesis is rejected, it means Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service in the industry.. Interpretation:- From the above data interpretation we can conclude that Airtel is the best service provider of customer care service. As it has been also found in some of the article that Airtel is expending more on its customer care service as compare to other competitors in the market. The Vodaphone service is also satisfactory as most of the users has rated it as satisfied service provider. But Bsnl is to be found as a not satisfactory service provider. Most of the users said that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single time.

Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved? OBSERVED FREQUENCY TABLE= BRANDS AIRTEL IDEA SATISFIED/ NEUTRAL 20 16 DISSATISFY/ VERY DISSATISFY 12 11 8 TOTAL= 32 21 24

VODAFONE 10

BSNL TOTAL=

13 59

10 41

23 100

EXPECTED FREQUENCY TABLE=

18.8 12.3 14.2 13.6

13.1 8.6 9.8 9.4

DEGREE OF FREEDOM= (C 1)(R-1) = (4 1)(2 1) =3 SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL AT 5 % = Chi square value: 1.85 2.366 Table value:

Interpretation: - From above data analysis we can say that most of the users, who are satisfied with their customer care service, are also satisfied with the process of getting their queries resolved. Airtel again has been rated as the best service provider for getting queries resolved. Results are similar approximately with the 10-question analysis.

Q12:- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory.

Interpretation: - Above data analysis shows that most of the users of all companies are found satisfactory with the waiting time their queries resolved. But the result of BSNL is again not good as the users say that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single time. Some of them have talk but after a lot of waiting time. So they are found not satisfied and rated this question also as dissatisfied and neutral. So after studying their views with a personal discussion we can not say that the customer care representatives of BSNL are not able to solve their customer queries in a satisfactory time.

CHAPTER 7

Observations & Findings

Observations & Findings

1. As per my belief we have seen that the choice of mobile handset and services can not be separated came out true because when we tried to find out the customer decision .we successfully classified customers in to eight group each with some special requirement service wise and handsets attribute wise. Competition in telecom industry is heating up its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new dynamic business environment. 2 . There is more room for data analysis but the rest of the part is beyond the scope of this project report. According to the results, the most of the customers are using mobile phones of AIRTEL company and 84% of them are using its prepaid services and the rest of are using postpaid services When customers were asked to rate their network service provider , it is found that satisfaction rate of network service provider is leaded by AIRTEL among its major competitors VODAFONE, IDEA & BSNL . 3. .IDEA is found to be leader in highest service value for money as compared to its competitors and the customers re satisfied with its services 4 When customers were asked to rate their servise provider AIRTEL is found to be excellent and good service provider , as compared to its competitors VODAFONE , IDEA , & BSNL. From the analysis done above ,mostly all the users or cutomers are found satisfactory with the waiting time their queries resolved. But the result of BSNL is again not good as the users say that they have not talk to their customer care service provider even for a single time
5.

6. It is found that price factor is the most influential factor that customers used to consider or to keep in mind to buy the mobile services of their choices

Recommendations

Recommendations
Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to
1.

satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of other .

They should also think for searching new space or we can say either creating a new blue space to sustain their growth in long run.
2.

3.

To be successful, communications service providers must deliver

positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. .The second most important factor is the periodical fixed cost and another factor is the opening cost. These indicate, not surprisingly, that communication firms need to deeply consider. Also, this indicates that a lot of effort must be put in the pricing strategy. 5. The different mobile service provider companies should work to deliver their services of lower defects as the lower defects increase loyality
4.

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
Competition in telecom industry is heating up its time for Indian telecom players also to align up in the new dynamic business environment. Telcom majors should think to launch the product according to the needs of customers to satisfy them and make them brand loyal as very soon this blue ocean of Indian telecom scenario will convert into red ocean where the loss of is the gain of other From the above findings it is found that most of the customers are brand loyals and are very much satisfied with the services of their service providers as in my analysis most of the customers are using AIRTEL connection and their satisfaction level as compared to its major competitors like VODAFONE, IDEA & BSNL , is comparatively high Quality of service and the ability to attract and retain customers dictate the success or

failure of next-generation communications service providers. In todays competitive environment, customers are quick to abandon services that do not meet expectations. The ease with which customers can switch from their current service to another, demands that providers deliver the highest possible levels of service quality and performance. To be successful, communications service providers must deliver positive customer experiences with rich, value-added services supported by comprehensive service quality management. To this effect-Mobile services has experienced the negative attributes of not being customer focused and realizes that quality is an attribute that creates customer satisfaction profitably.

ANNEXTURE

ANNEXTURE Questionnaire NAME- ___________________ MOBILE MODEL- ________ AGE- ________ OCCUPATION-_________________ Q1:- Which mobile connection do you have? a) Airtel b) Vodafone c) Idea d) Bsnl Q2:- What kind of service you have a) Pre-paid b) Post-paid Q3:- Overall, how would you rate your service provider? a) Excellent b) Good c) Average d) Poor e) Terrible f) Not Sure Q4:- Rank the following factors which influenced you to buy the service of your choice?

a) Price b) Network Service c) Brand Image d) Value Added Services (Rel to Rel Free after 11PM) Q5- Rank the following VAS which attracted you the most to buy or retain the mobile service: a) SMS pack 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent --1 2 3 4 5 -Poor b) Concession Call Rates 1 2 3 4 5 c) Internet Service 1 2 3 4 5 d) Full Talk Time 1 2 3 4 5 Q6:- How long have you used the service of that company? a) Less than one month b) 1 to 6 months c) 6 months to a year d) 1 to 3 years e) Over 3 years Q7:- Overall, how satisfied are you, with network service of your company? a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Very dissatisfied

Q8:- How would you rate the service's value for money?

a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor d) Not sure Q9:- What kind of problems occurs the most for which you need to contact customer care/service department of your service provider? Rank them. a) Billing related b) Activation/deactivation related c) Information about VASs d) Network problem Q10:- In thinking about your most recent experience with that company, how much satisfied are you with the customer care service? a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Very dissatisfied f) N/A Q11:- How satisfied are you with the process of getting your queries resolved?
a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Very dissatisfied

Q12- The waiting time for having my questions addressed was satisfactory. a) Strongly Disagree b) Somewhat Disagree c) Neutral d) Somewhat Agree e) Strongly Agree If you were not totally satisfied with the customer service, will you please describe the reasons for your dissatisfaction?

Bibliography

Bibliography
REFERANCES

1. Jallet, Frederic, Yield management, Dynamic pricing and CRM in telecommunications, 2. Debnath, Roma Mitra, Benchmarking telecommunication service in India, 2008 3. Robins, Fread, The marketing of 3G, vol 21, no 6, 2008 (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=236E 2B6B4 5CF101465D540FD4401AEB9? contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=854647&history=true>) 4. Kalwani, Banumathy, Consumers Attitude towards Cell phone Services, 2006 5. Fernandez, Fronnie, Understanding Dynamics in an Evolving Industry: Case of Mobile VAS in India, 2007 6. Kumar, Kaliyamoorthy, Influence of Demographic Variables on Marketing Strategies in the Competitive Scenario, 2007 7. Seth et, Etal, Managing the Customer Perceived Service Quality for Cellular Mobile Telephone: an Empirical Investigation, 2008 8. Tecor, Jha, Understanding Mobile Phone Usage Pattern among CollegeGoers, 2008

Journal

The Indian Telecom Industry, IIM Calutta, Vatsal Goyal, 2009 Investment Surge in the Indian Telecom Space, Times Global, Issue 2, 2008 A multiple-perspective model for technology assessment, vol 3, 2008

The marketing of 3G, Vol 21, no. 6, 2009

Books Zeithaml, Valarie (2008), Service Marketing, 4th Ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Lmt.