Price…Tariff…Fee..is one of success factors in selling a product. In marketing theory “4P” (pricing, promotion, product, placing), pricing is the one of considered factors. In Indonesia, most of peoples are price sensitive. Whether for consumer goods, also for services, no exceptional in cellular. How far prices influence the cellular user ? Does the price is the only one strategy for cellular operators in the telecommunication business competition ?
In Indonesia, tariff war between all cellular operators is already happen intensively. All operator race to decrease the price of their
services, of course in parallel with promotion and communication to all customer intensively too. Even communications much more intensively than consumer goods. The objective is how to increase the customer based market that can get from acquisition and penetration. Beside it, with decreasing tariff, hopefully the volume of communication activities will increase too. As its barometer is : the increasing of ARPU (Average Revenue per User) and also MoU (Minutes of Use).
In Blue Ocean Strategy theory, its says that it’s better not to join the same battle with competitors, but we should make new opportunities where there is no competition. It means that tariff war should be sidestepped. Instead, we could concern in product development, coverage expansion, and improvement in outlet or distribution channel as service centers and also in promotion and communication. For new comers (new operators), low pricing is a must to look for new customers. In the other hand, for incumbent operators it’s not a problem to decrease the existing tariff for retention of being losses customers. In other words tariff war could not be avoided.
Pricing is one of marketing strategy that isn’t unique. This kind of strategy is easily to imitated. If one of operator decreases their service tariff then soon the others could do the same thing, or even with more off (more discount).
In several customer satisfaction surveys (made by independent surveyor), tariff is the most or primarily decided in making decision by customers.
Generally, this kind of survey do by divided it in three categories, such as : Voice Call tariff, SMS tariff, and Starterpack tariff. In this time, Telkomsel has the first rank, followed by Indosat, Excelcomindo, and Hutchinson Charoen Phokpan Telecommunication. But generally conclusion in that survey is all customers is already satisfied with the existing tariff. Other factors in customer satisfaction are : product quality (drop call ratio, cisrcuit fall, no service), after sales services (complaint handling, refill voucher supply), and also variation of features. Thereby, tariff is very important when we want to get customers with discount programs or other gimmicks that makes customer interest in. But, for incumbent operators that already have big customer based should be more concern in product quality and after sales services.
In this time, tariff war has already intensively happened. Its marked with intensively promotion (Below The Line and Above The Line). Perhaps, customers have already saturated with these many promotions and maybe not aware or less aware with the difference of tariff. This is probably makes the customer satisfaction index is very high in cellular tariff.
In the middle of the tariff war, cellular market/industry in Indonesia still rapidly growing. Predicted that from 2006 to 2007, cellular customers will increasing from 67.2 millions to 72.7 millions, and at the end of 2008 it will achieved 80.7 millions.
From this, it can be concluded that even with the tariff war, cellular industry in Indonesia still growing fast. The only question is whether the existing operators in cellular could be still stayed. From the market growth we see, it still could be possible for new comers. But, it’s all depend on the strategy that play by the existing operators. And the strategies mean not only with the tariff campaign, but also focused in product development and after sales services along with anticipated the turbulence of regulation changing.
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In Indonesia, tariff war between all cellular operators is already happen intensively. All operator race to decrease the price of their
services, of course in parallel with promotion and communication to all customer intensively too. Even communications much more intensively than consumer goods. The objective is how to increase the customer based market that can get from acquisition and penetration. Beside it, with decreasing tariff, hopefully the volume of communication activities will increase too. As its barometer is : the increasing of ARPU (Average Revenue per User) and also MoU (Minutes of Use).
In Blue Ocean Strategy theory, its says that it’s better not to join the same battle with competitors, but we should make new opportunities where there is no competition. It means that tariff war should be sidestepped. Instead, we could concern in product development, coverage expansion, and improvement in outlet or distribution channel as service centers and also in promotion and communication. For new comers (new operators), low pricing is a must to look for new customers. In the other hand, for incumbent operators it’s not a problem to decrease the existing tariff for retention of being losses customers. In other words tariff war could not be avoided.
Pricing is one of marketing strategy that isn’t unique. This kind of strategy is easily to imitated. If one of operator decreases their service tariff then soon the others could do the same thing, or even with more off (more discount).
In several customer satisfaction surveys (made by independent surveyor), tariff is the most or primarily decided in making decision by customers.
Generally, this kind of survey do by divided it in three categories, such as : Voice Call tariff, SMS tariff, and Starterpack tariff. In this time, Telkomsel has the first rank, followed by Indosat, Excelcomindo, and Hutchinson Charoen Phokpan Telecommunication. But generally conclusion in that survey is all customers is already satisfied with the existing tariff. Other factors in customer satisfaction are : product quality (drop call ratio, cisrcuit fall, no service), after sales services (complaint handling, refill voucher supply), and also variation of features. Thereby, tariff is very important when we want to get customers with discount programs or other gimmicks that makes customer interest in. But, for incumbent operators that already have big customer based should be more concern in product quality and after sales services.
In this time, tariff war has already intensively happened. Its marked with intensively promotion (Below The Line and Above The Line). Perhaps, customers have already saturated with these many promotions and maybe not aware or less aware with the difference of tariff. This is probably makes the customer satisfaction index is very high in cellular tariff.
In the middle of the tariff war, cellular market/industry in Indonesia still rapidly growing. Predicted that from 2006 to 2007, cellular customers will increasing from 67.2 millions to 72.7 millions, and at the end of 2008 it will achieved 80.7 millions.
From this, it can be concluded that even with the tariff war, cellular industry in Indonesia still growing fast. The only question is whether the existing operators in cellular could be still stayed. From the market growth we see, it still could be possible for new comers. But, it’s all depend on the strategy that play by the existing operators. And the strategies mean not only with the tariff campaign, but also focused in product development and after sales services along with anticipated the turbulence of regulation changing.
