AN ANALYSIS OF
INTEGRATED MARKETING STRATEGY OF THE PACKAGES SO FAR CONDUCTED AND OF NEAR FUTURE BY BANGLALINK
I. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Recently mobile became a necessity from passion to our customers. “Be Mobile” is a slogan of all the firms to pursue the customers to buy one. Customers are also very enthusiastic to get a mobile and they are very cautious in buying decision. They switch almost instantly from one brand to another brand. So it is a problem for the management to attract and retain the customers. Moreover government is also imposed VAT, which deteriorate the whole situation for the marketers. Marketers are using complex and ambiguous offers to the customers to dazzle their eyes. So the marketer gets the response from the customers who can overwhelm the customers by the worthwhile offers.
Objective of the Report
Objective of this report is to give a general idea about the organization, business and operations of banglalink, An Orascom Telecom Company and to provide information about the market position and measure the customer’s preferences in various packages and services.
Company Overview
Orascom Telecom Launches Banglalink™ GSM in Bangladesh on February 13th, 2005.Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“Orascom Telecom”) is a leading mobile telecommunications company operating in nine emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia having a total population under license of approximately 520 million with an average penetration of mobile telephony of 5%. Orascom Telecom operates, GSM networks in Algeria (“Djezzy”), Egypt (“MobiNil”), Pakistan (“Mobilink”), Iraq (“IraQna”), Bangladesh (“Banglalink”), Tunisia (“Tunisiana”), Congo Brazzaville (“Libertis”), Democratic Republic of Congo (“Oasis”) and Zimbabwe (“Telecel Zimbabwe”). Orascom Telecom had over 11 million subscribers as of September 2004.
Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. (“OTH”) announces the launch of GSM mobile services in Bangladesh by its wholly owned subsidiary which operates under the name Banglalink™. OTH expects its subsidiary to invest over US$ 200 million in expanding its network coverage and capacity and deploying its services during the coming years.
In September 2004, OTH acquired a mobile services company in Bangladesh with a nationwide GSM license valid until 2011. Since then, OTH has installed new management, upgraded the network and re-branded the company as Banglalink. Banglalink has rapidly deployed new network infrastructure, set up a distribution network and points of sale, and designed complete commercial plans to offer high quality voice and data telecommunications services at competitive prices to the people of Bangladesh.
Report preview
The report is divided into two different parts. First part of the report is the organization part, which will give a general picture of the organization i.e. banglalink which is a concern of Orascom Telecom Holding, operating in Bangladesh. The departments of banglalink are briefly described. Moreover, the products and services are elaborately explained in this part. The other part is the project part, is assigned by the intern supervisor to fulfill the requirement of the internship. The topic is ? “An analysis of integrated marketing strategy of the packages so far conducted and of near future by banglalink”.
In this part, exploratory research was conducted by the researcher to the management personnel. The findings of exploratory research are illustrated. Then the hypothesis was developed. Furthermore, an extensive survey was accomplished on the customers and management personnel. The data are interpreted with charts. Last but not least, the hypotheses were tested by different statistical tools.
Finally, all the findings that were encountered by the researcher are marked. The researcher realized some recommendations and that are also written down in the paper.
II. ORGANIZATION PART
Telecommunications services in Bangladesh are provided principally by the Bangladeshi Telegraph and Telephone Board (the BTTB), the incumbent state owned fixed line operator, with respect to fixed-line services, and by five GSM mobile operators, Sheba (Banglalink), GrameenPhone (the market leader), TM International Bangladesh Ltd. (AKTEL), Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd. (CityCell) and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. (Teletalk), a subsidiary of BTTB. Following the acquisition of Banglalink, SingTel acquired a minority stake in the number three operator based on market share, the only CDMA-based operator.
A. Introduction
Orascom Telecom Holding purchased 100% of the shares of Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Limited in September 2004. OTH operates a GSM network in Bangladesh and provides a range of prepaid and postpaid voice, data and multimedia telecommunications services.
1. License. Banglalink license is a nationwide GSM license that will expire in November 2011. It was acquired for US$ 60 million and re-branded and launched its services under Banglalink in February 2005.
2. Commercial, Marketing and Sales. Sheba re-branded its operation under the trade name Banglalink shortly after it was acquired by OTH. Banglalink provides its subscribers with basic voice services, messaging services and value-added services. Banglalink offers a prepaid and postpaid telephony service. Banglalink has entered into international roaming agreements with approximately 15 operators, which Banglalink expects will be implemented in the near future. Banglalink provides customer support through a 24-hour a day, seven day a week call center in one location, staffed by more than 35 operators.
Banglalink sells its mobile telecommunications services through indirect channels and Banglalink-owned shops. Banglalink has agreements with 10 exclusive national distributors. In addition to this indirect channel, Banglalink owns and operates two shops, which also act as a point of service and support its customers.
3. Vision. “Banglalink understands people’s needs best and will create and deliver appropriate communication services to improve people’s life and make it easier”
4. Values. Banglalink aims to understand peoples’ needs best and develop appropriate communication services to improve peoples’ life and make it simple. All of the work is aimed towards meeting their vision. All members of the Banglalink family are highly passionate individuals, fully committed to achieving the vision that has set by them. Customers’ needs matter most to them- making their life simple and improving it is all they want. To ensure their vision is achieved, they have set a few values, they want to be:
Straight Forward
Reliable
Innovative
Passionate
All the Banglalink family members have one thing in common- a passion to serve. They want to go that extra mile, so that customers can have the best possible service investing in the future.
5. Making a difference. The biggest barrier today for people is the cost of handsets. Management of banglalink realized the main barrier of buying a mobile and wanted to persuade the consumers by providing handset at lower price. As per their comments -“We will strive to lower the total cost of owning a mobile. We are here to help make a difference in people’s lives by providing affordable and reliable connectivity solutions. We will strive to connect people and link their lives by listening to them and by understanding their needs. We are here to help you speak your language”.
B. Organization Framework
1. Profile of CEO “Mr. Lars P. Reichelt”. Mr. Lars P. Reichelt has over 14 years experience in wireless from startup to mature businesses. He is a seasoned executive and has lead several wireless ventures to success.
Prior to assuming his position as Managing Director & CEO of Banglalink, Mr. Reichelt has held positions as CEO of Telefonica 3G Mobile in Zurich, Head of Wireless for Yahoo! Europe in London, Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director of mobile operator ONE in Vienna, COO of CEKOM GSM in Prague, and Senior Consultant with Monitor Company in London and Cambridge, MA.
He is founder of RA Ltd. Zollikon, Switzerland, an advisory company for wireless; he is Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UCPmorgen AG, one of Europens leading wireless ASPs; he also serves on the advisory board of Freude GmbH, one of Austriaâ leading advertising agencies, and is a Board Member of the Porsche 356 Club, Switzerland.
Mr. Reichelt graduated from St. Gallen University (HSG), Switzerland in Business Administration & Organizational Development.
2. Departments of Banglalink. There are around eight departments in banglalink. The brief description of these departments are as following:
a. Sales. The sales department is responsible for all the sales activities of the organization. The department led by Mr. Hassan Samy, Director Sales. This department is divided into four divisions: Direct Sales, Corporate Sales, Distribution Sales and Sales Support.
Direct Sales: This is the prime team in the department, consisting of more than 66 employees. The direct sales division operates three sales booths, run by its own employees. The first booth is located in Gulshan 2, on the 4th Floor of its head office, the second booth is in Motijheel, while the third booth in Chittagong. The purpose of these booths is to sell directly to its customers, together with its distributors/dealers. It helps the company stay in close touch with its customers and get faster and more reliable feedback from the sales force. Now company is in the process of establishing more sales point, named BANGLA POINT all over the country.
Corporate Sales: Corporate Sales is a comparatively small team compared to direct and distribution sales. They are yet to launch any packages, although they have recently started selling to public call offices (PCO) through Flora Computer Systems.
Distribution Sales: This is the largest team in the department. Consisting entirely of male employees, this department is responsible for managing the sales activities and ensuring that sales targets are met by the company’s six distributors (Ring Bangladesh, Lipro, Asimpex, Butterfly, Propel, Deens & Deshlink).
Sales Support: This team is the smallest of all the four teams. Nevertheless, they form an integral part of the department by providing logistical support to the other three teams.
b. Marketing. The Marketing team also consists of several teams, which includes PR & Communications, VAS, Loyalty & Retention and International Roaming. The teams all report to Omer Rashid, the Marketing Director.
The Loyalty & Retention team is responsible for the designing of the special offers launched from time to time in an attempt either to increase customer base or to increase ARPU. The VAS division is responsible for the continuously adding valuable services to provide a complete solution to existing customers, for example, for making conference calling & ring tone/logo downloads possible. These two teams together are in charge of making the customers experience with the network more satisfying.
PR & Communication is responsible for designing and developing all promotional materials for the marketing of any new product/package and any other activities. They coordinate and work directly with the advertising agency and other vendors. While other companies have an entire department for promotions and branding, at Banglalink™ this division, consisting of only a handful of people is responsible for this task.
c. Human Resources. Aside from recruiting and training employees, the HR department is also responsible for disseminating internal communication to all users and in the process of developing compensation packages for its employees, such as medical insurance under the group plan, life insurance and running several activities such as the Vaccination Program for all.
Training activities are continuously taking place to develop and hone the skills & knowledge of the personnel, such as the English Language & MS Project Courses for selected employees and conducting a GSM Orientation session for all employees, especially the Sales, Marketing & Customer Care Departments who have to deal with customers.
d. Customer Care. Rumana Reza, the only female director in the organization, is the head of the Customer Care department. This too is segmented, consisting of the Customer Care division itself, and then there is Care Line, Credit Management Unit and the Support Services Unit. They are responsible for handling customer queries and providing solutions to any problems faced by the subscribers. This department is located in Tigers Den at Gulshan-1.
e. IT & Billing. The IT & Billing department, as is evident from the name, is in charge of all the hardware, software and program requirement of the other departments. They also generate the bills for the company subscribers (post-paid).
f. Administration. Apart from the Administration division, the department also consists of the Legal division and the Project Management Office.
g. Finance. The finance department is the largest department at the head office with an entire floor devoted to their needs. They consist of the Procurement & Cash Management divisions among many others.
h. Technical. This department is located at Hosna Tower in Gulshan – 1, but many work off site, taking care of BTS or BSCs. The various divisions of this particular department include Access Network, Core Access, O&M, Roll-out & CTO.
C. Products
1. Regular package. Banglalink offered prepaid packages at lowest price for the first time in our country in their inaugural period. That package roused huge excitement to the customers. People waited in queue for long time to get this SIM with hand set. Then they launched various packages within short interval of time. Many services have been provided by banglalink at shortest possible time. Now they are trying to increase the services under VAS (value added services). The product and services offered by banglalink is elaborated below:
Pre-paid M2M: This is the package with which Banglalink™ made a huge splash in the Bangladesh mobile industry on February 12th of this year. The product had then been bundled with a handset and six scratch cards networth Tk. 1,800. The entire package had been priced at only Tk. 3,400, meaning that the handset would cost a
consumer only Tk. 1,400 (a M2M SIM is priced at bTk. 200, the lowest in the industry).
The launch offer had allowed Banglalink™ to expand its subscriber base very quickly. Within one week of its launch the subscrier base had grown to 100,000 from a mere 30,000 and to over 300,000 in just one and half month (an astounding 900% growth).
Presently, the company is selling only SIM at a price of Tk. 200, the lowest in the industry. However, ever since the end of the launch offer, sales has been significantly down compared to previous sales levels. Tk. 20 airtime is pre-loaded into the SIM so that the customer can start conversing immediately.
Pre-paid Standard. The Standard SIM allows a subscriber to make and receive local, BTTB, NWD and ISD calls. It costs Tk. 1,499, a price which had been nearly 60% lower than competition at the time of launch on March 29, 2005. Currently, even though it is still the lowest in the industry, it is just Tk. 1 less than GP’s corresponding package. However, since it has Tk. 320 airtime pre-loaded into the SIM, it can be said that the SIM costs only Tk. 1,179, significantly lower than other copmetitors.
2. Ladies First
Women care and women connect, and that is why women always have a greater need to talk and to listen. When women get together, they talk about feelings and relationships, their work, and their family. Women often call each other to keep up to date. Conversing is an important part of their lives. Women hold the society together and keeps empathy flowing. More knowledge and information is disseminated through their communication than any other human media.
But, there had never been a particular focus on women’s need to talk and to listen from operators around the world. It has never been recognized as a core need, let alone being facilitated through products or services. For the first time in Bangladesh, Banglalink has taken the bold step to pay a tribute to women, and created a product exclusively to meet their need to talk and to listen.
“Ladies first” is the Banglalink offer that specifically focuses on women, and makes their lives easier, efficient and comfortable. This is an offer only for women, an offer no woman can refuse. For Banglalink, this is not just a product offer, but more of an acknowledgment of the contribution that women of Bangladesh make to the society, the nation, and all of us.
a. Ladies First Pre-paid Rates:
² Lowest peak-hour rate to any mobile at Tk. 2.25/30 sec
² Lowest off peak-hour rate to any mobile at Tk. 0.98/30 sec
² Your time: special day-time rate to any mobile between 12pm-3pm at Tk. 1.50/30 sec
² Calls to any banglalink number all day at Tk. 1.25/30 sec
² FnF: call one banglalink number for Tk. 0.98/30 sec, all day
² SMS to any banglalink number for Tk. 1.00/sms
Unlike all other operator banglalink with this package is offering its consumers the opportunity to talk more with lesser tariff.
| Table:1
LADIES SPECIAL RATE PLAN |
|
| Outgoing | |
| Peak (7am-12pm & 3pm-11pm) | |
| Banglalink to Banglalink | Tk.1.25/30 sec |
| Banglalink to Others | Tk.2.25/30 sec |
| Off peak (11pm-7am) | |
| Banglalink to any mobile | Tk.0.98/30 sec |
| Your Time | |
| Banglalink to Banglalink | Tk.1.25/30 sec |
| Banglalink to others | Tk.1.50/30 sec |
| FRIENDS & FAMILY (1 NUMBER) | |
| Banglalink to Banglalink | Tk.0.98/30 sec |
| SMS | |
| Banglalink to Banglalink | Tk.1.00/SMS |
| Banglalink to others | Tk.1.75/ SMS |
| Ladies first! | |
| ? Horoscope
? Beauty Tips ? Cooking Tips ? Health Tips ? Home Management Tips ? Child Care Tips ? Cinema & Drama Schedule ? First Aid |
Tk.1.00/SMS |
Source: Secondary
? Calls to BTTB, BTTB charge will be added for standard
? BTTB incoming rate for standard and M2M plus
- 1st minute free
- Tk.0.996/30 second
b. Ladies first! Friend and Family number:
² Tk.1.00/30 sec throughout the whole day and night
² Customer can select any one banglalink number as your friends and family to call at above price
² Friends and family number can changed 1 time every three months and 4 times per year
² After change of 4 times Tk.25 is applicable for each change
² No charge is applicable for each activation/delete/add excluding the extra allowed changing charge
c. Ladies first! Value Added Service (VAS). Except for talking there are some more ways of interacting that one can enjoy with a mobile connection. To fulfill that need banglalink has came up with some more VALUE ADDED SERVICES that we are calling VAS.
As a value proposition, you can enjoy the following value added service with special rate:
· Horoscope
· Beauty Tips
· Cooking Tips
· Health Tips
· Home Management Tips
· Child Care Tips
· Cinema & Drama Schedule
· First Aid
d. Discount on Shopping. The customers of the package will enjoy a discount in the following shops for any purchases made:
· Beauty parlor
· Boutique shops
· Handicraft shops
· Departmental shops/ cosmetics shops
How to get the discount:
· Type shop code and send to 333
· You will receive the % of discount at that particular store
· Please show the message you receive from banglalink to the shop keeper
Table:2: Shop Code
| Group | Shop Name | Shop Code | Code |
| Tangail Saree Kutir | TAN | 333 | |
| LADIES FIRST | Priyo Super Shop | PRI | 333 |
| Total Care | TOT | 333 | |
| Mayasir | MAY | 333 | |
| Kumudini | KUM | 333 |
Source: Secondary Data
3. Upper Class. They say that “only the smart or the wealthy know how to save money!”. Well, with call and control the smart money is with Banglalink. With Call & Control, the newest package from upper class, one can get the ideal combination of a post-paid connection with pre-paid control and flexibility.
With the lowest monthly fee on your bill, you will enjoy post-paid tariffs that are charged through pre-paid scratch cards. This allows you to benefit from the much lower call charges and SMS rates of upper class, all the services that come with the upper class package and yet you are in total control because you determine how much money you spend on calls by using scratch cards.
There is no validity periods for the Call & Control scratch cards and you will never be barred – provided your monthly fee payments are made on time. But with monthly fees as low as Tk. 50 for M2M or Tk. 125 for Standard that should not be a problem.
Post-paid M2M.The post-paid M2M SIM is similar to the pre-paid one; the difference lies in the fact that the subscriber can his/her bill after usage rather than before. The difference between Banglalink™ ™’s post-paid lines and its competitors is that banglalinks SIMs do not cost anything. Subscribers just have to pay a certain security deposit, which is also lower than its counterparts, and can avail the facility. For an M2M connection the deposit amount is merely Tk. 500. The Banglalink™ connections also allow subscribers 125% credit limit where all other counterparts allow only 100%.
Post-paid M2M+.Similar to an M2M connection, customers have to pay only Tk. 500 security deposit to become an M2M+ subscriber. Subscribers just pay only Tk. 100 more in monthly line rent (Tk. 250 instead of Tk. 150) to avail the T&T incoming facility.
Post-paid Standard.The standard connection offers subscribers two options. They can either pay only Tk. 1,000 security deposit and get a connection with T&T incoming & outgoing, and NWD facilities. For the other option, subscribers pay Tk. 2,500, which would allow them to make ISD calls in addition to the other facilities. The monthly line rent is Tk. 350 only.
When the post-paid connections were initially launched, the new subscribers were allowed to purchase a connection by paying only a security depost. As a special offer, they were not charged any amount for the connection. However, now that two months promotion period is over, customers are required to pay an additional minimal amount for the connection.
a. Benefits of Call & Control:
• Lowest monthly line rent in the market, as low as Tk. 50 for m2m & Tk. 125 for standard connections
• Dedicated sales & customer care service. Purple Carpet treatment and dedicated upper class customer services (just dial 100)
• Pre-paid scratch cards to talk as much as customer like and yet control their spending.
• Unlimited validity period for Call & Control scratch cards
• Value added services can be enjoyed at lower upper class rates.
• Never get barred. Off-peak rates for peak hours on Fridays
• No credit limit or security deposit required discerning customer, the customer that wants special attention, the customer that appreciates the little touches in life. It is much more than just a price plan – it is an overall different experience with different services designed to make life just that little bit easier and it also includes very competitive pricing.
b. Specifically upper class offers: Special attention: You will see purple carpets at selected banglalink™ sales outlets and most banglalink™ customer care centers. Also all upper class customers can access a dedicated hotline (100) with specially trained service representatives.
Help with configuring your handset to suit your way of using it, help copying the numbers from your old handset or old SIM and setting up your personal assistant with your greeting and explaining how to make it work best for you.
Golden numbers, ie. special numbers with certain number combinations that you like, or customized numbers, ie. numbers that resemble your existing mobile number and all that changes is the pre- fix supply is limited.
Call back service (a world exclusive): You just send an SMS with the text “Call back” to 120 and our upper class customer care representatives call you back rather than you holding the line. A delightful service that works 24 hours, seven days a week.
Easy bill inquiry: Just send an SMS with the text “Bill” to 121 and almost instantly you get your details for your outstanding bill and the unbilled amount to date. You wouldn’t want to drive a car without a fuel gauge either.
Big SIM – more numbers, more messages, more applications essentially giving upper class customers up to 1000% more storage than the most commonly used SIM cards in Bangladesh (Big SIM will be avaible end of August.
International Roaming : 110 Countries, 250 Operators and you can be reached on your number. Tested, tried and it works (including SMS).
All of the above can be had with two different subscriptions models, either with bundled minutes, where you pay one monthly package price and you get a certain amount of minutes all inclusive; or you pay a monthly subscription fee and pay for the number of minutes at the end of the month.
Bundled minutes packages: tailor made bundles of 200 minutes, 350 minutes or 600 minutes, where you can change your bundles according to your needs and the pricing per minute is as low as tk. 2.25.
Discounts on monthly fees increase automatically with usage, ie. when call more than Tk. 1400 a month, his/her monththly fee goes down by 50% and if he/she calls more than Tk. 1900 he/she don’t pay any monthly fee. A bit like getting an upgrade to first class without asking.
4. Be-Linked. It’s a new offer and got huge attraction to the customers. Most of the dealers and distributors fall in short of SIM at the first day. Be-linked is launched by the tag line –Misti Komola. Orange was distributed at the first day to the inhabitants of the Dhaka city.
a. The value proposition at a glance:
· Lowest peak-hour rate to other networks at Tk. 2.20/30 sec
· Lowest off peak-hour rate to any mobile at Tk. 0.98/30 sec
· Your morning: special day-time rate to any mobile between 07 am to 10 am at Tk. 1.50/30 sec
· Calls to any Banglalink number all day at Tk. 1.25/30 sec
· FnF: call one Banglalink number for Tk. 1.1/30 sec from 07am to 11 pm.
SMS to any Banglalink number for Tk. 0.99/sms
b. Be-linked rate plan. Be- linked rate plan is given below in table three.
Source: Secondary Calls to BTTB, · BTTB charge will be added for standard BTTB incoming rate for standard and M2M plus · 1st minute free · Tk.0.996/30 second c. Be-linked 1 Friends and Family number · Tk 1.1/30 sec at 07 am to 11 pm & 0.98/30sec from 11pm to 07 am. · You can select any 1 Banglalink number as your friends and family to call at above price · Friends and family number can change 1 times every three months & four times per year. · After change of 4 times Tk.25 is applicable for each change · No charge is applicable for each activation/delete/add excluding the extra allowed changing charge d. How to activated/change FnF number Just call to no 121 and follow the instruction · Your friend and family number will be activated instantly · You can also change the friends and family number instantly e. Be-linked package value added service:
Source: Secondary f. Other details: Free Tk.20 talk time valid for three days 30 second pulse from the start Scratch card availability: · Tk.150 with 75 days validity · Tk.300 with 181 days validity · Tk.600 with 366 days validity |
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5. Installment Package. Government imposed tax on every SIM. It is 900 on every SIM. So the purchase cost is more and consumers need a fixed amount which is hard to pay. The management of banglalink makes it easier by initiating installment system. A consumer can buy a SIM by 300tk only.
I’ Pack – Easy To Buy, Easy To Pay
Banglalink i’ pack offers you the comfort of buying Banglalink Pre-Paid connection by paying connection fees and Government tax over a short period of time in installments. Pay a down payment and pay the rest over 5 to 8 months depending on the type of connection.
a. The i’ pack plan is given below:
Table: 5-How to buy an i-pack
| Package | Down
payment |
Monthly
installment |
Number of
installments |
Total
payment |
| M2M | Tk.350 | Tk.150 | 5 | Tk.1,100 |
| M2M Plus | Tk.350 | Tk.150 | 7 | Tk.1,400 |
| Standard | Tk.899 | Tk.150 | 8 | Tk.2,099 |
Source: Secondary
b. Terms and Conditions:
· Installment money will be deducted automatically from the customer’s account after each 30 days.
· 1st installment will start after 30 days of first call
· Connection will be deactivated in case of shortfall in balance during the installment payment.
· This offer is valid for all Pre-Paid connections.
· No guarantee or post-dated check is required for buying the connection.
· Two color photographs are required for purchasing the connection.
c. Pre-Paid M2M plus. Banglalink Pre-Paid M2M Plus is a unique product to suit people’sn need.
Pre-Paid M2M Plus gives:
· Mobile to mobile (incoming and outgoing) facility and
· T&T incoming facility
T&T incoming rate:
· 1st minute free
· Tk.1.00/30 second in peak and Tk.0.50/15 second in off peak hour.
The offer is lowest one in Bangladesh. A customer can get a SIM with a handset only by 2500 tk only. The remaining money will be given by 5 installments.
6. High value PCO. A subscriber has to buy eight connections to be a high value user. It needs 200,000 tk to buy those eight lines. Moreover, the subscriber has to pay minimum this amount. It seems to be a restriction for the customer. But he/she get the lower tariff rate facility. He gets the facility to talk at only 1.5 tk/m. Furthermore, every second pulse is applicable for his business.
7. PCO (Public call offer). Customer has a restriction to pay the bill of tk. 7763 with VAT in every month. Here, he gets 3250 minute free in this amount. The call rate is tk.2.39 per minute. Call rate reduces at tk.2.30 above this minute. Moreover, 30 second puls system is applicable from first minute.
8. CU (Commercial User). It is a new package for the business. The PCO subscribers are automatically migrated to this package in the first day of the new month. Call rate is 2.30 tk/m at a flat rate. No restriction is given as free minute system. But a customer has to make use of tk.3000 in every month. A customer has to pay tk.250 as line rent.
9. Bundle and Other Packages. There are three type of bundle. Every bundle has four types of connection. Those are briefly described below.
Table 6: Bundle and Other Packages
| Package Name | Call Facility | Monthly Fee (without VAT) | Credit Limit | Monthly Bundle Free Minute |
| (On-net & Off-net airtime) | ||||
| Banglalink 200 | M2M | 650 | 650 | 200 minutes |
| Banglalink 200 | M2M plus | 700 | 700 | 200 minutes |
| Banglalink 200 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD | 750 | 1,500 | 200 minutes |
| Banglalink 200 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD, ISD | 750 | 2,500 | 200 minutes |
| Banglalink 350 | M2M | 950 | 950 | 350 minutes |
| Banglalink 350 | M2M plus | 1,000 | 1,000 | 350 minutes |
| Banglalink 350 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD | 1,050 | 1,500 | 350 minutes |
| Banglalink 350 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD, ISD | 1,050 | 2,500 | 350 minutes |
| Banglalink 600 | M2M | 1,350 | 1,350 | 600 minutes |
| Banglalink 600 | M2M plus | 1,400 | 1,400 | 600 minutes |
| Banglalink 600 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD | 1,450 | 1,500 | 600 minutes |
| Banglalink 600 | M2M + T&T Local, NWD, ISD | 1,450 | 2,500 | 600 minutes |
Source: Secondary
10. Black and Orange (1200). The rate of this package is given below.
Table7: Rate of black and orange package
| CALL TYPE | Peak Hour | Off Peak Hour | Late Night Hour | |
| (8:00 – 20:00) | (20:00 – 23:00) | (23:00 – 8:00) | ||
| Outgoing call | M2M | 1st 30 sec. 1.74 then 0.87/15sec. | 1st 30 sec. 1.13 then 0.57/15 sec. | 1st 30 sec. 0.48 then 0.24/15 sec. |
| (Banglalink to Banglalink) | ||||
| M2M | 1st 30 sec. 1.74 then 0.87/15sec. | 1st 30 sec. 1.13 then 0.57/15 sec. | 1st 30 sec. 0.74 then 0.37/15 sec. | |
| (Banglalink to others) | ||||
| M2 T&T | 1st 30 sec. 1.74 then 0.87/15sec. + T&T charge | 1st 30 sec. 1.13 then 0.57/15 sec. + T&T charge | 1st 30 sec. 0.74 then 0.37/15 sec. + T&T charge | |
| Incoming call | M2M | Free | Free | Free |
| From T&T 2M | 1st Minute Free then 1.00/30 sec. | 1st Minute Free then 1.00/30 sec. | 1st Minute Free then 0.50/30 sec. | |
| SMS | SMS to Banglalink | 1.00/message | ||
| SMS to Others operators | 1.75/Message | |||
| SMS to Push Pull service | 2.00/Message | |||
| SMS to International | 2.00/Message | |||
| SMS to Premium service | 9.00/message | |||
| VMS retrieval | 1st 30 sec. 1.74 then 0.87/15sec. | 1st 30 sec. 1.13 then 0.57/15 sec. | 1st 30 sec. 0.48 then 0.24/15 sec. | |
| Call Conference | As per out going call | |||
Source: Secondary
11. Professional. It is an offer for professional like doctor, engineer and other service holder. Banglalink made a relationship with Eastern Bank Limited to launch this offer. Those who have a bank account like short term deposit or fixed deposit can gat this package. The connection is like call & control. If any body use then he will pay. No use no pay. No line rent is required for this package.
D. Value added services
· Voice Mail Service (VMS)
· Short Messaging Service (SMS)
· Ring Tone Download
· Logo Download
· SMS (Text, Quotes & Jokes, Cricket update, Horoscope, Emergency …)
· Conference Call
· Ring Tones
· SMSemail
· SMSadda
· Picture Messages
· International SMS
· Song Dedication
1. Instant Recharge (i-Top from Banglalink). Subscribers can just register with Banglalink i’top-up. i’top-up is the easy to use service that lets a subscriber transfer in an instant any balance amount starting from as low as Tk. 10 and up to Tk. 150 from your phone to that of another.
| 2. Registration. To transfer balance, first register by sending the SMS breg to 4242. Now you are registered. You will receive an SMS that will contain a PIN number and confirm registration. The PIN is important to remember for future balance transfer transactions.
3. Balance Transfer. A registered subscriber can then transfer balance by simply writing btr, followed by the PIN number, the mobile to which the balance is to be transferred, and the amount that is to be transferred. A subscriber just needs to be registered once. As an example, if your PIN is 1234, and you want to send Tk 100 to 0191184436, you will have to write and send SMS to 4242. After a successful transfer, both sender and recipient will receive confirmatory messages. One can get detailed information about i’top-up by writing help and sending to 4242. 4. Validity Period. · Any amount that is transferred with i’top-up carries a validity period of two days. · However, if a customer already had some validity in his account, then the higher of the two validities (his own validity and the 2 day validity from balance transfer) will remain applicable. · A deactive subscriber can receive balance and get 2 days validity 5. Banglalink i-bubble. Banglalink launches for the first time in Bangladesh i’bubble (Voice message). Through this service, Banglalink customers may send a message as Voice instead of text. Subscribers will be able to record voice messages and send it. This will eliminate the typing interface problem used in text-based SMS and replace it with a fast and easy-to-use voice based interface. Moreover, it will overcome the language barrier of SMS. Service Charge Tk. 3/voice (excl. of VAT); * 2 minutes, voice recording & instruction. Tk. 3 for each 2 minutes. * Voice messages can be sent to other operators.
7. International SMS. Currently Banglalink covers 640 operators in 171 countries Charges :
8. Logo Banglalink phone offers to Customize the mobile with a unique logo reflecting one’s style. Operator logos are currently available for Nokia and Siemens handsets.
Source: Secondary 9. Picture Message. A banglalink subscriber using Nokia hand set can send picture message through banglalink network to any operator. The picture message are available in four broad heads: w EMOTION w MISC w ROMANCE w VALENTINE Some examples are given below:
10. Short Messaging Service. Short Message Service (SMS) is a value added service where one can send message via text. You can share your feelings; memorable events with another Banglalink mobile without making any phone call. SMS allows you to send and receive text messages from your own Banglalink mobile handset to any other Banglalink mobile handset. The highest characters of any message are 160. SMS Advantages
11 Song Dedication Over IVR. Banglalink launches for the first time in Bangladesh Song dedication service over IVR (Interactive Voice Response). Through this service, Banglalink customers may dial a short number 4226, select a song from the list of available category of songs and send it to another number immediately or in a specific time and date. A customer may also add his (her) personal voice message to be sent with the song. Currently available songs are: 1. Bangla songs I. Band songs (L.R.B., Nagarbaul, Miles, Artcell…etc) II. Modern songs (Habib, Mousumi bhoumik, Akbar…etc) III. Love songs (Bachelor, Winning, Khaled…etc) IV. Instrumental (Ai mon tomake, Jechelo…etc) V. Special occasion songs (Holud bato, Bangladesh…etc) 2. English songs I. Rock & POP songs (Bonjovi, Back street boys, JLo…etc) II. Reggae songs (Bob Marley, UB 40…etc) III. Love songs (Chris de Burgh, Leo Sayer, Jone Danver, Lobo…etc) IV. Instrumental & Jazz songs (Kenny G , Billy Stuart, Fourplay…etc ) V. Special occasion songs (George Harrison, Spice Girls…etc) 3. Hindi songs I. Film & Modern songs (KK, Jisam, Dhoom…etc) II. Gazzal & Classic (Kishor Kumar, Pankaj, Lata…etc ) III. Love songs (RHTDM, Lucky Ali, DDLG…etc ) IV. Instrumental (Rangela, Roja, Taal…etc) V. Special occasion songs (Viva, Models…etc) Call Rates: Tk. 9/min. (excluding VAT); Dedication FREE, charges apply for browsing only. |
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E. CCD (Customer Care Department)
Customer Service Introduction
Banglalink Customer Service Center (CSC) offers a dedicated 24 / 7 service to answer all your queries. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. Any queries you may have about:
- subscribing for a new connection
- any form of account information
- coverage details
- product information
- value added services etc
Customers can call to the following numbers:
- From their Banglalink number: 121 (free for postpaid subscriber)
- From PSTN: 02 988 8370-1 or 02 986 2324-6
Banglalink CSC is devoted to make certain that all your queries are answered without delay, serving for your convenience.
Address of Customer Care Centers
Dhaka
1. Rangs Arcade, Gulshan North C/A, Dhaka1212
2. Shapla Chottor, Motijheel
Chittagong
Lalkhan BazarCDA Avenue, Chittagong 4000
Sylhet
Level 03, Liakat Bhavan, Jallarpar, Zindabazar, Sylhet 3100
III. INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT
B. Background
Bangladesh is an attractive market for mobile services due to its large and highly concentrated population, very low penetration of telecommunications services, and high growth in mobile subscribers. With approximately 140 million inhabitants, it ranks as the eighth most populous country in the world and is among the most densely populated. Regarding the Banglalink launch, Mr. Naguib Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of OTH noted, “Bangladesh is well suited for OTH’s ongoing expansion into emerging markets, and their preparation for the challenges of providing top quality services nationwide is solid. They are confident that Banglalink will repeat the success story of Mobilink in Pakistan”
C. Management Problem
Intelligent and rigorous attempts are required to identify customer’s preferences in mobile industry. Marketers have to predict the intention of customers to various attempts. Research can provide the necessary information to the marketers. That’s why the intern is going to conduct a research, how the strategies worked and which strategy will work better in future. Moreover, the intern will try to bring the preference between pre-paid and post paid services and among prepaid services.
D. Research Problem
The research problem is to identify the reason why customer’s preferences vary among various packages and which marketing strategy persuades them intensely.
E. Problem Statement
An Analysis of Integrated Marketing Strategy of the Packages so far Conducted and of near Future by Banglalink
F. Scope
The research is limited within Dhaka and some specific packages.
G. Limitation
The research might have following limitations:
þ In this survey, convenient probability sampling is carried out and the proportion of respondent is very low in comparison with more than 9 (nine) lack subscribers.
þ Banglalink launched more than 33 packages. Most of them were under Small and Medium Entrepreneur (SME) package. Moreover, most of the business package (SME) were failed to fulfill the target. That’s why the packages were withdrawn from the market. So, the scope of the researcher is limited to some successful packages like regular package, ladies first, be-linked, PCO.
þ Shortage of time is one of the limitations of the research. If more time would be available, the research findings could be more exact and precise.
H. Exploratory Research
The exploratory research has carried out to define the problem more precisely through different techniques of the exploratory research like Experience Study and Secondary Data analysis. Moreover, a small scale survey has been conducted to get accurate and precious information of research topics. Furthermore, it helps to identify the course of action, to develop the hypothesis and also notice the major factors of the research problem so that the ultimate purpose is filled up. During this research phase, some of the target personnel have been selected with the help of some respondents who have some initial information and links with them. Some specific questions have been asked in a very modest manner at non-structured and non-disguised questioning. Questionnaires are prepared after discussion with some researchers and some related research study.
Moreover the questions have limited to some packages. Banglalink launched more than 33 packages. The packages that were launched under SME were failed in most of the cases. As a result, the packages were withdrawn from the market. So the researcher worked on only following packages.
§ “Ladies First” Pre-paid: “Ladies first” is the exclusive Banglalink offer that specifically focuses on women, and makes their lives easier, efficient and comfortable. It offers lowest peak and off peak tariff, one FnF numbers, a substantial number of VAS etc. This package was one of the most successful packages which make banglalink highly competitive in the market.
§ “Be-Linked” Pre-paid: It offers lowest peak-hour rate to other networks at Tk. 2.20/30 sec, one FnF numbers, off-pick facility under “Your Morning” facility and a substantial number of VAS etc. Call rate of be-linked is lowest in the country.
§ “Upper Class” Post Paid: With Call & Control, the newest package from upper class, one can get the ideal combination of a post-paid connection with pre-paid control and flexibility. It offers lowest monthly line rent in the market and unlimited validity period.Value added services can be enjoyed at lower upper class rates and there are off-peak rates for peak hours on Fridays. Upper class has many options like U