Airtel to expand rural footprint in Karnataka

Microfinance Focus, Aug. 19, 2009: India’s mobile phone giant Bharti Airtel announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its rural footprint in Karnataka launching Airtel Service Centers (ASCs) which will serve as one-stop shop for all mobile requirements of customers in small and remote towns and villages.
ASCs are Multi Brand Outlets (MBOs), located in accessible locations like the main market in a village that attracts high footfalls. This new initiative, based on consumer research and insight highlighting different behavioral patterns of a customer in rural / smaller towns and villages, makes Airtel to serve customers differently, the release said.
Announcing the launch of ASCs, Mr. Venkatesh V, CEO, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Karnataka, said, “We are now focusing on a dominant rural strategy to strengthen the 4A’s in mobile communication — Availability, Affordability, Awareness and Acceptability. A one-stop shop for customers’ immediate communication requirements, ASCs will revolutionize the lives of our rural customers with localized mobile communication and service at closer locations”.
The rural model reflects the fact that the rural consumers are hesitant to speak with machines and most rural people are not comfortable speaking with the call centre executives but prefer to be served in the local dialect, by a local representative.

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