BHARTI AIRTEL

BhartiAirtel,India'slargestmobiletelephonyplayer,hasgottowhereitistodaylargelyonthebackofits

ruralgrowth.Ithaskeptitsleadershippositionintactsince2005.Initially,Airtelfacedseveralhurdles.Thebiggestproblem,however,wasthenegligiblepresenceofhandsetmanufacturersinruralmarkets.Airtelenteredintoa crucialpartnershipwithNokiato bundlehandsetswithconnectionsandotheralliancesfordistribution.IthelpedthatbothAirtelandNokiahadthesame,immenselypopularbrand

ambassador,ShahRukhKhan.Therightmixofproductandpricing,strengthenedbyavastanduniquenetworkofover25,000centrestoservecustomers,formedthebackboneoftheAirtelstrategy.Airtel'srechargeratescamedown,eventuallyculminatingin "lifetimevalidity"connectionsforaslittleas

INR99andmicro-rechargeswhereconsumerscouldtopupasrequired,inmultiplesof INR10.To

increasereachanddistribution(notjustforinitialconsumeracquisition,butforrechargeandservicerequirements),Airtelcreatedatwo-tieredstructurewithruralsuper-stockistsanddistributorsunder

them.Airtelservicecentreshelpedto widenservice,anda roamingdistributorhelpedto acquireconsumers.Airtelalsocreatedserviceoptionstargetedat ruralconsumers,suchasserviceinthe

village,SMS-basedsystems,vernacularIVRsystems,etc.,througheffectivelyoutsourcedsystemsliketheAirtelservicecentres.Itcreatedacost-effective,youngentrepreneur-leddistributionchannel.

It effectivelyworkedaroundtheissueofhandsetmanufacturersnothavingtherelevantdistribution

networks.Inadditiontothefreedomtocommunicate,ruralconsumersarealsoprovidedwithsupportto theirlivelihoodthroughjobalerts,weatherandprice-relatedinformation.Ruraldistributorswere

effectivelyyoungentrepreneurs(around30,000at lastcount),whowereallocatedterritoriesaround

afewmobiletowersandwereresponsibleforconsumeracquisition.Airtelalsoenteredintoalliances

with IFFCO,whichhelpedit to sell connectionsthrough35,000agriculturalsocieties.It builtanenablingsystemthatallowed700,000ruralretailoutletstosellrechargesthrougha mobiledevice.Thepenetrationin ruralIndiahasincreasedmanifold,giventhattwo outof threenetsubscriberadditionsinIndiatodaycomefromitsvillages.