The Marketing mix of BSNL analyses the 4Ps of BSNL’s marketing strategy, which includes the Product, Price, Place, and Promotion of BSNL. BSNL is an Indian company that deals in the telecommunications industry. This corporation is owned by the Indian government and was founded in 2000. It has its base in New Delhi, the national capital. With the company securing over 60% share, the brand BSNL has made a name for itself in the telecom market. The company has tried to maintain a competitive environment with equal opportunities in both the rural sector and urban areas. Besides being an excellent provider of services to its consumers, it also provides opportunities for career advancement and training facilities to its employees. The companies that have been feeding it stiff competition are as follows.
- Nokia
- Bharti Airtel
- Idea
- MTS
- Aircel
- Reliance Communications
- Videocon
- Vodafone
About Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
- Type: State-owned Telecommunications Enterprise
- Industry: Telecommunications
- Founded: 1 October 2000
- Founder: Government of India
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Area served: India
- Key people: Pravin Kumar Purwar (Chairman) and P.K. Purwar (CEO)
- Number of employees: 1.5 million
Table of Contents
BSNL Product Strategy
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a primary telecommunications provider in India, offers diverse products and services. The new Product Mix target of BSNL in 2023 is as follows (Source)
- Mobile Telephony Services: BSNL offers GSM mobile services under the’ Cellone’ brand and provides both postpaid and prepaid options. These services include voice calls, SMS, and data services.
- Landline Telephony Services: BSNL is one of India’s largest landline telephone services providers. It offers various plans and features for residential and business customers.
- Broadband Internet Services: BSNL provides broadband internet services through various technologies like DSL and fiber optics (Bharat Fiber). These services cater to home and business users with multiple plans offering different speeds and data limits.
- Enterprise Solutions: BSNL offers various enterprise services, including leased line services, MPLS-VPN, and other business solutions tailored for corporate clients.
- 3G and 4G Data Services: The company provides 3G and 4G mobile internet services, offering high-speed data connectivity to its subscribers.
- Wi-Fi Hotspot Services: BSNL has set up public Wi-Fi hotspots in various locations, providing internet access to users on the go.
- Value-Added Services (VAS): These include various services like caller tunes, missed call alerts, voicemail, and other telecommunication enhancements.
- Satellite Phone Services: For areas where traditional mobile networks are unavailable, BSNL offers satellite phone services.
- International Roaming: BSNL provides international roaming services, enabling its customers to use mobile phones in many foreign countries.
- IPTV and VoD Services: In some areas, BSNL offers Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and Video on Demand (VoD) services.
- Cloud and Data Center Services: BSNL also ventures into cloud computing and data center services, offering hosting and cloud-based solutions for businesses.
- Rural Telephony: A significant focus of BSNL is to provide telecommunication services in rural and remote areas of India, including basic telephony and internet services.
BSNL Place Strategy
BSNL has the distinct advantage of being the country’s principal and the oldest provider of communication services. It has a vast and intricate network spread throughout the country. The only exceptions to the rule are the cities of New Delhi and Mumbai. It has built a channel management team to increase the service capacity and network coverage. For easy accessibility, the company has divided into various administrative units. There are twenty-four telecom circles, four specialized units, six project circles, four maintenance regions, three training institutions, five telecom factors, and two metro districts. BSNL has been able to invest more in developing telecommunication services and facilities in faraway places like tribal areas and hilly remote regions.
The company has established a network system for management and surveillance throughout the country so that an efficient and uninterrupted telecom traffic flow can continue. It has network alliances with companies like Cisco and Ericson and IT with companies like Compaq and HP. BSNL has established nationwide call centers to provide solutions to consumers.
Here’s the Place Strategy of BSNL.
- Extensive Network Coverage: BSNL has established a widespread network across India, particularly notable for its extensive reach in rural and remote areas, ensuring telecommunications services are accessible even in regions where other providers have limited presence.
- Pan-India Presence with Local Offices: The company has a pan-India presence with numerous local offices and customer service centers, facilitating easy access to their services and customer support for people across different regions of the country.
- Online Presence for Service Access and Payment: BSNL has strengthened its online presence, offering services such as bill payments, plan subscriptions, and customer support through its website and mobile applications, catering to the growing digital-savvy customer base.
- Collaboration with Other Service Providers: BSNL collaborates with other providers for infrastructure sharing and network expansion, enhancing its service reach and capacity, especially in urban areas where network congestion is expected.
- Focus on Underserved Areas: A significant aspect of BSNL’s place strategy is its focus on serving underserved and rural areas, aligning with its public service mandate to provide universal telecommunication access, bridging the digital divide in India.
BSNL Pricing Strategy
As the company BSNL is state-owned, it has provided services at affordable and low rates so that every section of society can avail itself of telecom services. Value for pricing is the criteria BSNL uses to set its pricing policy. The policy depends on various factors. The usage charges about tariffs are deciding factors for making pricing policies. One of the other essential factors is the cost incurred during the launch and installation of the product and its services.
The type of services required also decides the rate charged as per conditions. The company has set up normal and higher usage ranges. The callers whose calls cost even more than INR 5,000 come under the higher usage segment. In such cases, where usage is higher than usual, discounts are provided to lure customers and lower their costs. For example, Special timings are allotted for them when the calls cost marginally less. The revenues earned from this group are higher, hence the different pricing policies. BSNL also offers its consumers lifetime cards, and this policy helps maintain future revenue flows.
BSNL’s pricing strategy reflects its position as a state-owned enterprise committed to accessibility and competitiveness. Here’s a breakdown of the critical aspects of their pricing strategy:
- Competitive Pricing: BSNL positions itself with competitive pricing, often undercutting private competitors. This strategy aims to attract price-sensitive customers, especially in India’s highly competitive telecommunications market.
- Tiered Pricing for Broadband and Mobile Services: BSNL employs a tiered pricing strategy for its broadband and mobile services. This approach allows them to cater to a wide range of customers, from those seeking basic, affordable plans to those requiring high-speed, premium services.
- Promotional Offers and Discounts: Regularly introducing promotional offers and discounts, BSNL seeks to retain and attract new customers. These offers often include reduced tariffs, additional data, and other value-added services.
- Rural-Focused Pricing: Given its mandate to promote digital inclusion, BSNL’s pricing in rural and remote areas is strategically designed to be affordable, supporting the government’s goal of increasing digital literacy and connectivity in less urbanized regions.
- Customized Enterprise Solutions: For its enterprise customers, BSNL adopts a customized pricing strategy. This involves negotiating prices based on large business clients’ specific requirements and usage patterns, ensuring competitiveness in the corporate sector.
Promotions in the Marketing mix of BSNL
BSNL has a strong base of loyal consumers. However, new companies with new products are being launched in the market, and to maintain its loyal base and to create a new breed of younger consumer base, the company has opted for activities that will prove promotional as well as increase the brand’s visibility and influence in the market. It has its slogan “Connecting India, faster”.
To promote the brand’s services, the company has developed various promotional schemes that have benefitted the customers. Some of these schemes are like – machines for depositing cheques installed for accessible payment services; service centers are open every day from 8.00 AM – 8.00 PM, help is available round the clock on helpline numbers, payments are possible through both demand draft and cheque and multiple connections can be applied for on the single application.
BSNL has decided on a uniform identity and has created a marketing strategy that applies to its brand and all of its products under a single window. The ace shooter Abhinav Bindra is associated with BSNL as its brand ambassador. Actors Preity Zinta and, recently, Deepika Padukone have been the ambassadors of this brand.
Some Recent Video ads and Print ads of BSNL are:
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (bsnl.co.in)
BSNL broadband ads ! ! – YouTube
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