Vntel

FAREAST CONNECT, INC.

VNTel

MM522

Hai Nguyen

12/13/2007

Marketing plan for VNTel, telecommunication service, which will be a connector between businesses of two countries: the U.S and Vietnam

Executive Summary

After years of doing with businesses in Vietnam, Fareast Connect realized that communication is a big disadvantage to businesses of two countries. The cost of telecommunication and the lack of information have prevented companies from cooperating with oversea partners. To help the U.S and Vietnam promote their business, Fareast introduces VNTel service which plays a role in connecting businesses of both countries with oversea partners.

The core of VNTel is the use of VoIP technology in telecommunication. VNTel contracts with carriers of both sides and provides a guaranteed lowest rate of telecom to businesses and consumers. VNTel includes many other features such as caller ID, call-waiting and in-network calling….Besides, VNTel provides customers freedom in choosing carriers and foreign “toll free” numbers. Directory of Business is also a major feature of VNTel.

VNTel will focus on small to medium sized businesses of both countries. Especially, in the U.S, VNTel will market to Vietnamese American businesses in first years. The targets will also be Vietnamese people who have family or relative in the U.S or Vietnam.

Fareast will use agents and Vietnamese carriers to distribute VNTel service. Agents will help Fareast to introduce the service to the U.S market. Carriers such as VDC and FPT will play the role of distributors or master agents who provide the service to Vietnamese market.

VNTel will be marketed on TV, radio, magazines and website banner ads. We also use direct mailing to advertise the service. VNTel will have many promotions, discounts keep its’ customers and attract new ones. VNTel will sponsor many events in Vietnamese community to raise its visibility.

VNTel will provide three types of service plan: basic, professional, and ultimate. Customers will be flexible in paying bill: prepaid or postpaid. The price of service depends on market, plan and number of features. The rate of calling from the U.S to Vietnam will be 5.7cents/minute. The rate from Vietnam to the U.S will be a 30% markup of price that carriers offer to consumers. Features cost $5USD/each in the U.S and $3.12/each in Vietnam.

The marketing budget will be very high in the first year, about $215,000. The following years will be around $170,000 because we will not use mass advertising strategy after gaining attention from businesses and consumers.

1. Product

Fareast Connect, Inc. (FEC), a multi faced business provider of services for Vietnamese community in the U.S, is about to launch a new telecom service, VNTel, in order to promote telecommunication between businesses and consumers in both countries, the U.S and Vietnam.

After ten years of operation, FEC has many experiences in dealing with the service sectors in Vietnam. FEC has been helping to promote companies between both countries in traveling, accounting, and telecommunication. FEC, however, realized that telecommunication is still the biggest difficulty for businesses. The main reason is the cost. Before the year of 2000, making a phone call from the US to VN could cost almost $1USD/minute. A call from VN to US could be $10USD/minute (150,000 VND/minute). In 2006, the cost reduced to $0.3USD/minute in the US and $3USD/minute (48,000 VND/minute) in Vietnam. Despite the falling cost in communication, it is still a big burden to businesses and consumers who are doing business in both countries.

Realizing a huge demand of telecommunication, FEC acquired XRainbow a SIP Based, class 5 softswich from Seawolf Technologies Inc. XRainbow is a powerful turnkey system and has abilities to enable FEC to provide broadband, calling cards, pinless and softphone services. It also allows establishing a website and managing thousands of agents in the U.S and Vietnam. FEC contracted with Quest Communication, AT&T and X.O Communication to provide basic telecommunications to Vietnam.

In 2007, FEC made long term contracts with four Vietnamese biggest telecom companies including Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Viettel, Saigon Post and Communications Services Corporation (SPT) and Financing & Promotion Technology (FPT). These companies play a role in providing telecommunication infrastructure in Vietnam. FEC also had a joint venture with Vietnam Data Communication (VDC) that is also the major distributor in the channel.

All of those elements helped FEC establish VNTel service, which provides inexpensive prices, quality, easiness, convenience and security in communication to businesses and consumers in both countries. The main advantage of VNTel servie is the use of the latest technology in communication, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) which reduces the cost of making a phone call when compared with the traditional phone line. It also reduces the cost associated with phone line maintenance, installation and upkeep. VoIP also help to bring major improvements in the quality of VNTel service. A decrease in the delay of voice packets makes the VNTel line have a clearer sound with fewer breaks or echoes. VNTel can offer the same sound quality of the traditional telephone line.

VNTel also enables customers to choose the carriers to compare the quality of the service. Three major carriers VNPT, Vietel and SPT have to compete by biding lower prices and providing better services. Customers also benefit from features including caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, in-network calling, caller ID block, voicemail, call forwarding, calling detail report, traffic analysis, customer self care module, Web SDK module, internet cafÐ"© module, agent and sub agent module which are totally new in Viet Nam.

In additional, VNTel also provides “toll free” numbers for companies in both sides. The U.S companies can have direct numbers without establishing representative office in Vietnam. The Vietnamese side can also own 1 800 numbers in order to communicate with U.S companies. VNTel will also provide the Directory of Business, which would help companies easily find partners in each other countries.

We believe that VNTel will be the ultimate telecommunication service that promotes commerce between the U.S and Vietnam. VNTel will be positioned as a connector