Editorial: Sharad Mehrotra on competing in India

I am sure you have heard the mantra that India is the fastest growing and most competitive telecom market in the world. Every month, India adds an average of 18 million new mobile subscribers to its ranks. With a dozen mobile operators vying for the attention of this immense pool of potential customers, there is a very real chance of getting lost in the crowd.

Being a late entrant meant that Uninor had to do things differently. With so many confusing plans and schemes in the market, the customer relies on the shopkeeper to simplify all of this and recommend the best SIM. Rather than running expensive promotion campaigns, Uninor started out with a more targeted approach. We entered into direct relationships with retailers, working to win their trust and build confidence in our brand.

A new operator for a new India

Uninor entered the Indian market with the promise of being a new operator for a new India. We got off to a successful start, but after a couple of months we lost some speed. Subscriber numbers and revenues were not improving as planned. We realized we had been trying to do too many things at the same time. We decided to take up a new and extremely simple strategy. For the Sales and Distribution function, this has helped us prioritize our efforts and focus on what is important.

Our key differentiator over competitors in this cluttered market is our close relationship with channel partners: the retailers and distributors. Uninor has more than 300,000 points of sale in the 13 telecom circles where we operate. These numbers are important to ensuring that we service our markets well. But having many points of sale alone will not make a difference unless those retailers are recommending our brand over competitors. We estimate that approximately 50 percent of customer decisions are made at the retail point: people listen to the person behind the counter. We knew that our relationship with both distributors and retailers would be critical.

Building direct relationships

While retailers are instrumental in customer acquisition, distributors are crucial to retaining both customers and retailers. Uninor has a network of around 1,500 distributors across India who service points of sale in their local areas every day. Rather than trying to work with larger established telecom distributors, Uninor approached local distributors. Our proposal for them is to ‘grow as we grow’ – a relationship in which we are both committed to driving long-term growth.

Between the retailers and the distributors, Uninor has a large field sales force. We put great emphasis on equipping these people with state-of-the-art technology and training to ensure they can manage our relationships professionally and efficiently. Our field sales force – currently about 6,000 people – is connected to Uninor through a manpower agency, but they identify themselves closely with Uninor and often serve as our most important brand ambassadors.

Uninor’s distribution model is based on three key differentiators

1. Uninor actively uses Telenor’s electronic Sales Tracking System (STS), which is basically a handheld device connected to our central database. All our field sales managers have one, and it provides us with real-time updates on sales and inventory numbers. The Sales Tracking System enables us to avoid retailers running out of stock and keeps them supplied with relevant products at all times. Currently, Uninor is the only mobile operator using this system in India.
2. We pay commissions on time and operate with full transparency, which is key to gaining the confidence and loyalty of the retail shop owners. We also offer value-based incentives to motivate the retailers to promote Uninor to their customers.
3. We have a well-trained sales force. All our field sales managers go through Uninor’s Sales Academy, which consists of several physical and electronic training modules. The investments we put into our field sales force results in more skilled, motivated and loyal people. Our own staff is also regularly hitting the streets in all our markets, to understand the everyday situations and frustrations of retailers and customers.

In a dynamic market like India, you have to win every day

At Uninor, our motto is to “win every day”. We say this because we are operating the world’s most competitive and dynamic market. Our goals are ambitious and our challenges are great, but we are an organization that is living and breathing the same strategy each and every day: be the best in servicing basics, best in mass market distribution and best on low cost operations. I’m sure you will find Uninor employees across the country reciting this in their sleep.

Uninor is here to stay

We are no longer the newcomer in India. We are increasingly being recognized by both consumers and competition as a brand that is here to stay. Our main task going forward, in order to maintain the level of growth we’ve seen so far, is to build sustainable competitive advantages. Our strategy is simple to understand and challenging to execute. We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish in such short time. But we also know that there is no time to rest. We have a promise to keep.