1. f'
Aircel, mobile
a
phoneserviceproviderin India which offers both contacted informationn different ervice
for
o
s
providers,
Aftercolallthe required
information,
thebuyer
wouldrequest
some
prepaid
andpostpaid
GSMcellular phonecoverage.commenced lecting
of
to
operations1999,It becamethe leadingoperatorin TamilNadu friendsof hiswithan understanding technology accompany
in
within 8months,
1
Itsubsequently
launched servicesin 18 circles, himtothenearby
its
town, here
w
hewould
getmore
product
andbrand
genuine roducts.
p
anda warranty,
The
company
decided extendits operationsto rural areas.and choice,
to
fentheneed understand rural ecosystemwith referenceto
to
the
TheSIMwasbought
fromthevillage
retailer hogave
w
suggestions
present
practicesegardingmobileservicedeliveryand customer
r
totheservice
provider
onthebestsignal.
andhelped
withthedocuexpectation.
mapping the future practicesof an elevatedcus- mentation.
for
tomer
service
deliverymodel.In 2009. it commissionedMARTto
studyheusage, ttitudeand behaviourtowards different mobile Initially phone
t
a
the
wasusedlikea landline it always
as
remained
phone
services.
identify problems
the
inthe servicedeliveryof differ- at hometo be usedby the entirefamily. utsubsequently.
B
when
ent perators,
o
identify
futurecommunication information
and
needs. another obile
m
waspurchasedythefamily.hefirstonebecame
b
t
and
understand
retailer ehaviour.
b
thepersonal
phone
ofthechiefwage
earner.
whocarried withhim
it
The
study asconducted UttarPradesh. est BengalandTamil
w
in
W
Nadu, focusmarkets. herespondentsegments
their
T
coveredwere
consumers,
keyopinion
leaders
and retailers.Participatory
rural appraisal, focusGroupdiscussions, ndin-depthinterviewswere
mini
a
used
tounderstand ruralecosystem.
the
wherever
hewent
Afterthestudy.
Aircellearnt
thatcoverage
isthefirstcriteria
consideredbythe consumer
whiledeciding
upona service
provider. is
It
important
todevelop last-mileeach
a
r
sothatthebrand
reaches
the
doorstepftheconsumer.
o
Forthe"last-mile
reach",
Aircel eeds
n
to
retailer"
formatnaddition
i
totheregular istributord
The
purchase
process
studied
revealed
thatthe needfor a mobile usethe"mobile
formatTheyalsorealized
thatsimpleschemes akefor
m
connection triggeredythechiefwageearner rtheyouthin retailer
was
b
o
consumers.
the
household.
Friends ndrelatives lready
a
a
usingmobiles
were happy