Cell phone services major Modi Telstra is fast changing tack from aiming at greater market share and is instead training its efforts on creating newer avenues. The company has chosen the largely untapped middle income segment, particularly in Calcutta and parts of the eastern region, for its market creation drives. Rajat Jain, vice president _ marketing, strategy and business development, said "There is now a greater focus on market development aimed at identifying and servicing different market segments." With advertisement-led promotions being a crucial part of the market development efforts of any cell phone services operator, the company is working closely with HTA to achieve this purpose.
According to Rohit Ohrie of HTA, Calcutta, "MobileNet, as the market leader, is looking to create a bigger market in Calcutta. We are currently working on a new campaign to fulfil this objective. The company has identified some potential customer segments which it would be tapping shortly. These segments include women, students, small trade and government employees. Says Jain, "Cash cards will extensively help in market expansion, particularly in these segments." Cash cards, he adds, would, in fact, become the business of the future. There are, however, some glitches that would have to worked at in the course of its market expansion drive. "The key barriers to entry in this part of the country, as compared to Delhi or Mumbai, is the price factor and lack of awareness. Long term advertising strategies would therefore focus on market education as a means to market expansion." said Jain.
Ohrie said, "I don't believe that there is a lack of public awareness about the product. But the core problems are lack of relevance and price perception". While promotions for new tariff plans or schemes and new products entail the creation of new campaigns at a regular frequency, HTA has built up a core brand concept for MobileNet. "Brand MobileNet stands for empowerment, which is expressed through the brand idea of Mpower. We would like to build this as the core brand concept from which all communication will flow, be it for new products, tariff plans or schemes." explained Ohrie. The Calcutta market is perceived by the company as a conservative cost conscious market with a slow acceptance record of new technology. According to Jain, "Advertising here has to be more persistent and frequent, which naturally makes it more expensive than Delhi or Mumbai." However, he adds, because penetration in Calcutta is lower, the opportunity is greater. In three years, the company has built a subscriber base of 30,000.
"The Calcutta market is very sensitive to promotions" said Jain. To expand its presence, the company is also bidding for the position of the second operator for roaming services in the West Bengal circle, he added.
