Ms. Sarika Punglia
Dr. Ashok K. Pundir
Dr. L. Ganapathy
Abstract
Zero usage of mobile telephone services by a userfor a long period of time indicates that the user is going through a churn process. Earlier studies suggest that the mobile user churn rate in India is anywhere between 2 percent to 6 percent per month, which is one of the highest rates in the Asia-Pacific region. Further, the cost of acquiring a new customer is estimated as more than five times that of retaining an existing customer. Mobile telecom service providers are aware that their company's bottom line is significantly affected due to this high churn rate. This paper addresses the causes that contribute to zero or close to zero air time usage by the customers of a leading mobile telecom company in India. A "gap-analysis" is carried out for the telecom supply chain consisting of various distributors, retailers and customer categories. The study recommends ways to minimize this gap and thereby reduce customer churn, retain the customer base and enhance revenue inflows.
Keywords- Zero Usage, Customer Churn, Customer Segmentation