Mr. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, an Indian business magnate who is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), once again exemplified his sheer brilliance in portending the future and carrying the legacy of his father. 1st of Sept, 2016 when he announced his venture in telecom sector with a highly ambitious ( the people called then) aim of reaching 100 million subscribers in a year. The masters of the sector laughed him off and did not see a motivated , determined, well planned person going for his dream.
Now that the so called highly ambitious aim of one of the India’s finest business tycoon, has been breached in 170 days after its roll out and that too 195 days earlier than its targeted time frame.
Let us have brief outlook at what led to such a huge response to “Jio”, hardly a name one year back but now a necessity for all the people of any economic background.
- Foreseeing the paradigm shift of people from being voice hungry to data hungry:
The stalwarts of the former Telecom era of India focused on the voice call charges as it made up a huge share of their revenue earned and kept the data packs at a higher cost using smart marketing tactics. There was a monopoly of these stalwarts in the market with identical plans which made people run out of choices. But the advent of various social media platforms, a data hungry section came into being and there began a search for alternative data packs. “Jio” was put in front of data hungry pack of wolves to feed them. It was an instant hit.
- Going along the Government’s push for Digital India slogan.
(source: https://digitalindia.gov.in)
Yes, there was a push for digitizing every nook and corner of India. But it seemed a distant dream until Jio came into being. Now the big push is on for striving on our respected Prime Minister’s dream of Digital India. Mr. Ambani sensed the right opportunity to give Digital India a new pathway and in doing so he gained the support of almost every people in India.
- Complacent effort by its peers.
When Jio was doing all it can to rope in new subscribers, a monumental mistake was made by its competitive peers : staying stubborn on their rates and refusal to give incentives to their old and loyal subscribers. The peers were playing the wait and watch game which gave Jio ample time strengthen its hold on the Telecom market.
Everyone was expecting some great incentives to the loyal subscribers but seeing their complacent efforts in keeping the subscribers interested, even the most loyal subscribers turned to Jio. One should know the fact that that when Jio ventured into Telecom sector , already huge chunks of the subscribers were in the hands of the former stalwarts and in such a scenario one would definitely expect some cracker deals.
- Classy Marketing strategy
The fact that Mr. Ambani has a huge fan following base as a businessman helped him a lot. From sport-stars to film-stars everyone was seen endorsing Jio. One must have noticed the advertisements during the recently concluded IPL 10 , the marketing strategy of roping in every franchise to endorse Jio. Also the free data and voice calls meant spending more time with our near and dear ones living in different states via video chat and calls. The ads using the various states as a harbinger of connecting people residing there went pretty well with its ultimate goal.
- Giving more than the treasure could hold:
What was a maximum limit of 1gb usage (then cheapest) earlier turned to an unlimited data feast offered by Jio. It took only 2 to 3 days top get this viral and thousands thronged at the Jio sim outlets as if they were visiting some deity. Gone were those days when each MB counted. Its was a beginning of a revolution ….”DIGITAL REVOLUTION”
- Master-stoke in acquiring the spectrum:
No matter what the speculations may appear but acquiring the 4G spectrum by one of a less known company at a cheaper price and then the same company being taken over by Jio is not a coincidence to digest. It showed how Jio was readying itself for the giant leap. The acquisition of the 4G spectrum at cheaper price gave a huge head-start to Jio to come to the frame.
Renaissance of the Telecom Consumer’s lost rights:
This was a much needed end to the the monopoly of the high price rates set by the stalwarts. We had lost the charm of being privileged customer and were mere puppets in the hands of the monopoly these former stalwarts. with Jio in fray we, the customers feel the balance between customer and seller is put back to order. After all as a consumer we need some healthy fight in the market to make us feel special . The bottom line is that it is the consumer who should make the choices and not the telecom operators sets us up.
As Mr. M. K. Gandhi said once:
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider of our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”
Maverick Speaks 