NEW INITIATIVE: Competition has made Chennai Telephones take to `umbrella marketing' strategies such as this one in Mogappair East on Thursday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: The dynamics of the market have necessitated the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to re-orient its marketing strategies for Chennai Telephones. The emphasis is on reaching out to more subscribers.

As a monopoly, it saw a mismatch between the limited capacity and huge demand for its services, and the never-ending waiting list and customer queues. But BSNL is now literally going to the customers.

Evident of this is the "umbrella marketing" initiative that began early this month under which Chennai Telephones conducts road shows to hard sell its landline, mobile and broadband services. Besides facilitating on-the-spot bookings, presumably chosen on their market potential, the personnel ensure almost immediate installation/activation. The attempt is to spread the message that it no longer is an organisation whose customers travelled long distances to book a connection and waited for months to get one. The initiative "helps us understand the customers better," said G. Kuppuswamy, General Manager (North), Chennai Telephones.

Coming in the backdrop of a slump in the landline subscriber base over the last couple of years from over 10 lakh to around 8.5 lakh and the rising popularity of its mobile services, the road shows help instil confidence among the subscribers.

"People feel confident when connections are given instantly ... moreover it (umbrella marketing) helps us clarify the doubts of the customers," explained A. Subramanian, General Manager (Marketing).

On why the BSNL entity opted to take this route instead of the standard marketing practices such as media campaign and advertising, he admitted: "Probably we have waken up [to competition]."

Without denying that the drop in the landline subscriber base was a reason for the marketing initiative, he says entrusting the exercise it to the field staff helps bring out their innovative skills. The road shows range from umbrellas set up at Mogappair East to melas, such as the one organised at the western suburb of Pattabiram on Wednesday.

The strategy seems to have paid off. Describing the public response as "very good," Mr. Kuppuswamy, said that over 1,000 new landline connections were sold through the road shows in Madhavaram, Aminjikarai, Choolai, Pattabiram and Mogappair East and West this week.

The chief coordinator of Tiruvallur District Consumer Information Centre, T. Sadagopan, who inaugurated the mela at Pattabiram, says such interactions would help the average subscribers choose the right (user) plan.

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