summer internship project on business line (the hindu)

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT ON

“A STUDY DIRECTED AT UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER

PREFERENCE & THE PRESENT POSITION OF Business Line IN

KOLKATA MARKET”

Carried out at

LMJ Chambers, 1st Floor,15C, Hemanta Basu Sarani, A C Market,

Kolkata – 700 001

PROJECT SUBMITTED BYARKA DASPGDM 05030105050

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF

Prof. Malay Bhattacharjee Mr. C.V Suresh PROFESSOR OF MARKETING ASST. REGIONAL MANAGER CIRCULATIONGLOBSYN BUSINESS SCHOOL THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE RQUIREMENT FOR THE ACHIEVEMENTOF POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

IN

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIESNATIONAL CAMPUS

(2015-2017)

MOUZACHANDI,PS-BISHNUPUR,AMTALA J.L. NO-101,DISTRICT-24 PARGANAS(SOUTH),D.H.ROAD,

PIN-743 503,WEST BENGAL,INDIA

Project Title: A study directed at understanding the consumer preference & the present position of BUSINESS LINE in Kolkata market

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Through this acknowledgement, I express my sincere gratitude towards all those people

who have helped me and support me in the preparation of this project, which has been

learning experience for me.

I appreciate the co-operation by the management and staff of ‘BUSINESS LINE’ for

giving me the opportunity to get trained in their office.

I would like to thank the Faculty Guide: - Prof. Malay Bhattacharya and the other

Faculty members, the Librarian and the administrative staff of Globsyn Business

School, Amtala Campus, for their support.

I also thank Mr. Rony Gupta who guided me throughout the project and gave me

valuable suggestion and encouragement.

Finally I also thank Dr. Subir Sen, Dean of Globsyn Business School and Mr. Biswajit

Chakraborty, Registrar of Globsyn Business School for providing us the opportunity to

embark on this project.

Last but not the least I would like to thank the almighty God and our Parents who gave

me the immense power to complete the project. I will strive to implement the skills and

knowledge acquired during the above mentioned project period to the best of our ability

and I will continue to improve myself in order to attain desired career objectives.

Thank you all once again

1 | P a g e SUBMITTED BY Arka Das


DECLARATION

I, Arka Das, Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) student of Globsyn

Business School, Kolkata, hereby declare that the project entitled “A STUDY

DIRECTED AT UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER PREFERENCE & THE

PRESENT POSITION OF Business Line IN KOLKATA MARKET, submitted by me

is exclusively prepared for the fulfillment of PGDM degree in Globsyn Business

School, Kolkata.

I am also declaring that I am submitting this report after training at The Hindu

Business Line on the various activities into the market and studying the consumer

behavior, acceptability of Business Line in Kolkata and converting non-readers to

readers into Business Line.

I further declare that this project and the data and facts given by me is absolutely

authentic and has not been submitted to any other institution or not been published for

the award of any degree or diploma or other similar titles or prizes.

Date: .…………………………...Place: Kolkata ( Signature of the Declarant )



CERTIFICATE From Institute Guide

This is to certify that the project report titled “A STUDY DIRECTED AT

UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER PREFERENCE & THE PRESENT POSITION OF

Business Line IN KOLKATA MARKET” is based on the original project done by Mr.

Arka Das, student of Globsyn Business School, Kolkata as a part of Summer Internship

Program under my guidance.

This finds less scope for duplication and was not submitted for the award of any degree

or diploma from any other university or institution.



Date:

……………………………….

Place: ( Prof. Malay

Bhattacharya )

Designation: Professor of Marketing, Globsyn Business School

Chapter Scheme Page No.

Chapter 01. Introduction 9

Chapter 02. Objective of the Study 14

Chapter 03. Company Profile 16

Chapter 04. Product Profile 27

Chapter 05. Production Chain (Kolkata) 31

Chapter 06. Research Methodology 32

Chapter 07. Data Analysis & Interpretation 37

Chapter 08. Opportunities & Threats 53

Chapter 09. Limitation 55

Chapter 10. SWOT Analysis 56



Chapter 11. Suggestions/ Recommendations 58

Chapter 12. Conclusion 59

Chapter 13. Bibliography 60

List of Tables Page No.

1. Showing number of Respondents and Non Respondent

37

2. Showing the readers of Newspaper 38

3. What is your occupation 39

4. Which type of newspaper are you reading? 40

5. Which mode do you use for reading newspaper? 41

6. How do you get your Newspaper? 42

7. Showing the readers of Business Newspaper 43

8. Which financial newspaper do you prefer? 44

9. How long have you been reading this financial paper? 45

10. Which factors influences the most while choosing this financial newspaper?

46

11. Rank your financial newspaper according to your perception

47

12. Does the information in this newspaper helps you in decision making?

48

13. With what you relate Business Line? 49



14. Which section do you read the most in Business Line? 50

15. Would you suggest Business Line to your colleague/ friends?

51

16. Why don't you read Business Line? 52

List of Graph Page No.

1. Showing number of Respondents and Non Respondent

37

2. Showing the readers of Newspaper 38

3. What is your occupation 39

4. Which type of newspaper are you reading? 40

5. Which mode do you use for reading newspaper? 41

6. How do you get your Newspaper? 42

7. Showing the readers of Business Newspaper 43

8. Which financial newspaper do you prefer? 44

9. How long have you been reading this financial paper? 45

10. Which factors influences the most while choosing this financial newspaper?

46

11. Rank your financial newspaper according to your perception

47

12. Does the information in this newspaper helps you in decision making?

48

13. With what you relate Business Line? 49



14. Which section do you read the most in Business Line? 50

15. Would you suggest Business Line to your colleague/ friends?

51

16. Why don't you read Business Line? 52

Executive Summary

This project has been a great learning experience for me; at the same time this

project gave me the enough scope to implement my classroom learning’s.

I joined Business Line for summer training and I have assigned to work on the project

titled as “A STUDY DIRECTED AT UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER

PREFERENCE & THE PRESENT POSITION OF Business Line IN KOLKATA

MARKET” in A CLASS Region using high impact direct communication program.

Business Line is a flagship brand of THE HINDU which is the English

newspaper. Business Line is the India’s third largest read daily which is certified by the

IRS (Indian Readership Survey) consecutively 22 times.

Business Line has also been awarded as the “Most credible source of news all over

India” by a survey conducted by BBC Reuters. Business Line currently has 56.3 crore

readers in India across 11 states 200+ districts.

In order to complete our project and to understand the perception in the minds

of LOCALITY of Kolkata we went to the A Class areas of Kolkata like IIM Kolkata,

Esplanade and Salt Lake. We went their door to door in order to get the data as well as

to promote the subscription of Newspaper. This Promotion was very good it attracted



many customers many new customers were created by me who were taking different

Newspaper.

Even the customers were very happy as they were getting right Quality at Right

Price. This project gave me a lot of practical exposure related to event management and

Consumer Behavior. With this practical exposure I will definitely be much more

confident in our coming career.

Introduction

A marketer can rarely satisfy everyone in the market .Therefore, marketers start

by dividing the market into segments .They identify and profile a distinct group of

buyers who might require or prefer varying product and service mixes by examining

demographic ,psychographic and behavioral difference among buyers.

After identifying market segments the marketer then decides which present the

greatest opportunity- which are its target markets .For each a firm develops a marketing

offering that it positions in the mind of the target buyers as delivering some central

benefits. Companies perform best when they choose their target market carefully and

prepare tailor marketing programs.

2.1 Segmentation:

Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target

market into subsets of consumers who have common needs and applications for the

relevant goods and services. Depending on the

specific characteristics of the product, these subsets

may be divided by criteria such as age and gender,

or other distinctions, like location or income.


Chapter 1


Marketing campaigns can then be designed and implemented to target these specific

customer segments.

2.1.1 Criteria for Segmenting

An ideal market segment meets all of the following criteria:

It is possible to measure.

It has to be large enough to earn profit.

It has to be stable enough that it does not vanish after some time.

It is possible to reach potential customer via organization's promotion and

distribution channel.

It is internally homogeneous (potential customers in the same segment prefer the same product qualities).

It is externally heterogeneous, that is, potential customers from different segments have different quality preferences.

It responds similarly to a market stimulus.

It can be reached by market intervention in a cost-effective manner.

useful in deciding on marketing mix

2.1.2 Basis for segmenting consumer markets

Geographic segmentation

The market is segmented according to geographic criteria—nations, states, regions,

countries, cities, neighborhoods, or zip codes. Geo-cluster approach combines

demographic data with geographic data to create a more accurate profile of specific.

With respect to region, in rainy regions you can sell things like raincoats, umbrellas and

gumboots. In hot regions you can sell summer wear. In cold regions you can sell warm

clothes.

Demographic Segmentation



Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups based on

variables such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race

and nationality. As one might expect, demographic segmentation variables are amongst

the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups. This is partly because

customer wants are closely linked to variables such as income and age. Also, for

practical reasons, there is often much more data available to help with the demographic

segmentation process.

Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographics is the science of using psychology and demographics to better

understand consumers. Psychographic segmentation: consumer are divided according to

their lifestyle, personality, values. Aliens within the same demographic group can

exhibit

very different psychographic profiles

Behavioral Segmentation

In behavioral segmentation, consumers are divided into groups according to their knowledge of, attitude towards, use of or response to a product. It is actually based on the behavior of the consumer.

2.2 Targeting:

2.2.1Market Targeting Strategies

Once the firm has identified its market-segment opportunities, it is ready to initiate market targeting. Here, marketers evaluate each segment to determine how many and which ones to target and enter.

2.2.2 Evaluating Market Segments

In evaluating different market segments, the firm must look at two factors:

(1) The segment’s overall attractiveness, and

(2) The company’s objectives and resources. First, the firm must ask whether a

potential segment has the characteristics that make it generally attractive, such as size,

growth, profitability, scale economies, and low risk.10 | P a g e SUBMITTED BY Arka

Das


Second, the firm must consider whether investing in the segment makes sense given

the firm’s objectives and resources. Some attractive segments could be dismissed

because they do not mesh with the company’s long-run objectives; some should be

dismissed if the company lacks one or more of the competences needed to offer

superior value.

2.2.3 Selecting and Entering Market Segments

Having evaluated different segments, the company can consider five patterns of target market selection.

2.2.3.1Single-Segment Concentration

Many companies concentrate on a single segment: Volkswagen, for example, concentrates on the small-car market, while Porsche concentrates on the sports car market.

Through concentrated marketing, the firm gains a thorough understanding of the segment’s needs and achieves a strong market presence.

.

2.2.3.2Selective Specialization

Here the firm selects a number of segments, each objectively attractive and appropriate. There may be little or no synergy among the segments, but each segment promises to be a moneymaker. This multi segment coverage strategy has the advantage of diversifying the firm’s risk.

TABLE NO 1 Five Patterns of Target Market Selection

Identifying market segment and selecting target markets



2.2.3.3 Product Specialization

Another approach is to specialize in making a certain product for several segments. An example would be a microscope manufacturer that sells microscopes to university laboratories, government laboratories, and commercial laboratories

2.2.3.4 Market Specialization

With market specialization, the firm concentrates on serving many needs of a particular

customer group. An example would be a firm that sells an assortment of products only to university laboratories, including microscopes, oscilloscopes, and chemical flasks.

2.2.3.5 Full Market Coverage

Here a firm attempts to serve all customer groups with all of the products they might need. Only very large firms can undertake a full market coverage strategy. Examples include IBM (computer market), General Motors (vehicle market), and Coca-Cola

(Drink market). Large firms can cover a whole market in two broad ways: through undifferentiated marketing or differentiated marketing.

In undifferentiated marketing, the firm ignores market-segment differences and goes after the whole market with one market offer.

In differentiated marketing, the firm operates in several market segments and

Designs different programs for each segment. General Motors does this with its various vehicle brands and models; Intel does this with chips and programs for consumer, business, small business, networking, digital imaging, and video markets. Business Line uses the Product Specialization strategy i.e. it offers the single product to different market segment. BSL sells the same newspaper to Metro, Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3 cities across India.

2.3 Positioning:

Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinct place in the minds of the target market. The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of the consumers to maximize the potential benefit of the firm.



The result of positioning is the successful creation customer focused value proposition a cogent reason why customer should buy the product.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the project undertaken was to “Study segmentation, targeting and analyze positioning of Business Line in comparison to other financial newspapers”

1.1.1Primary objectives:1) To analyze the segmentation, targeting and positioning of Business Line

2) A study of the factors affecting the purchasing decision of readers in buying a business daily.

3) To do the comparative analysis of various financial newspapers.

4) To study the Brand preference among Financial newspaper


Chapter 2


1.1.2Secondary objective:1) To form a brand equity of business line in the market

2) To study company profile of The Hindu Business Line.

3) To study the customer satisfaction for business line

4) To create awareness among corporate world for the financial newspaper.

5) To develop the market of Business Line in Kolkata region.

Need To compare the qualitative service of Business Line and Economic

Times

To compare the promotion strategies of the both

To compare both newspaper on different aspect.

1.1.3 TASK ASSIGNED:

The Summer Internship project commenced on 18th April 2016 and concluded on 30th

July 2016. During the project a research was conducted to study the STP strategy of Business Line. Additional task of developing the market of Business Line in Kolkata region was allotted.

The targets that I had been assigned by the company were:

1. To study STP strategy of Business Line in comparison to other financial

newspapers

2. As a promoter to create awareness of Business Line.

3. To search, plan and make sales call to prospect.



4. To convert at least 21 prospects into clients in a month for business line

newspaper i.e., a total of 42 subscribers during my project work.

5. Distribution of free samples at IIMC as part of brand promotion of Business

Line.

6. Also sale books along with subscriptions of our publishing company.

15C, LMJ Chambers, 1st Floor, Hemanta Basu Sarani, A C Market, Kolkata + (91)-9830069994 | 44023333 | 44023324+ (91)-(33)-22485219, 22485219


Chapter 3


Logo and its Significance

Logo and its Significance

The Kamadhenu (a divine bovine-goddess described in Hindu mythology as the

mother of all cows) suggests auspiciousness (marked by success).

The sun is the source of knowledge and vitality, a living force.

India the mother country.

The elephant represents strength and power.

The ‘shankh’ represents the voice of people.

The lotus stands for purity and independence.

The ‘Blades of Grass’ stand for multiplicity & fertility (the growing popularity

of the paper).



Ownership type: PrivatePrivate equity investors: NoStock market:Reuters Code: N/ABloomberg Code: N/ALast full year revenues: INR 0.000 millionsYear end: Select Financial Year 0

Key activities: Newspapers

BooksConsumer magazines

Contact detailsAddress: Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Annasalai ChennaiTamil NaduIndia - 600002

Tel: 91 44 28576300 Website:www.hinduonline.com

Contact Name: The Hindu Group Contact Title: Advertisements QueriesEmail Address

TYPE Daily

FORMAT Broadsheet

OWNER Kasturi And Sons Limited(KSL)

PUBLISHER The Hindu Group

EDITOR Siddharth Varadarajan

FOUNDED 20th September 1878

POLITICAL ALLIGNMENT Left learning, Independent

LANGUAGE English, Tamil


http://www.hinduonline.com/


HEADQUARTER Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860,anna

Salai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600002

CIRCULATION 15,58,379

OFFICIAL WEBSITE www.thehindu.com

The Hindu, started in 1878 as a weekly, became a daily in 1889 and from then on has

been steadily growing to the circulation of 15,58,379 copies (ABC: July-December

2015) and a readership of about 22.58 lakhs.

The Hindu uses modern facilities for news gathering, page composition and printing. It

is printed in seventeen centres including the Main Edition at Chennai (Madras) where

the Corporate Office is based. The printing centres at Coimbatore, Bangalore,

Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada,

Mangalore, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubli, Mohali, Allahabad and Kozhikode are

connected with high speed data lines for news transmission across the country.

• Started as a weekly

newspaper, the paper became a

tri-weekly in 1883 and an

evening daily in 1889.

• Soon after its founding, most

of the Triplicane Six parted

ways to practice as lawyers.

Chief-editor Subramania Iyer

and Managing Director

Veeraraghavachariar were the

only ones who remained.



• Subramania Iyer took a bold stand and questioned the British masters as well as

the Hindu orthodoxy. Veeraraghavachariar, on the contrary, was a moderate and

opposed Subramania Iyer's militant views.

• The difference in ideologies caused a rift between the two. This rift was further

compounded more as time passed.

• In 1898, G. Subramania Iyer left The Hindu and took over the management of

the Swadesamitran (was a Tamil language newspaper that was published from the

then Madras city from 1882 to 1985).

• Left alone, Veeraraghavachariar employed C. Karunakara Menon as the Chief-

Editor and tried to convert the newspaper into a joint-stock (A joint-stock company is a

Business entity which is owned by shareholders. Each shareholder owns the portion of

the company in proportion to his or her ownership of the company's shares) company

in 1901.

• The Hindu was one of the many newspapers of the period established to protest

against the discriminatory policies of the British government in India.

Modern History of the Hindu

• N. Ram was appointed on

27 June 2003 as its editor-

in-chief with a mandate to

"improve the structures and

other mechanisms of the

newspaper.”

• On April 2, 2013 The

Hindu started "The Hindu

in School" with

S.Shivakumar as its editor.

• The Hindu in school an all-

new edition for young



readers which will be distributed through schools as part of The Hindu's

Newspaper in Education programme.

• The eight-page broadsheet will have a good mix of the day's important news

developments, features, sports, and regional news,The Hindu school edition will strength

students to improve their knowledge in various fields, including sports and world affairs,

science and technology.

• Subscription and advertisement are major sources of income. TheHindu became,

in 1995, the first Indian newspaper to offer an online edition.

Subramania Iyer became the first editor and Veeraraghavachariar, the

first managing director of the newspaper.

• On 16 september, 2013 The Hindu group launches its Tamil edition with K.

Ashokan as its editior. The daily engaged readers of all age groups with

extensive regional, national and international news coverage in tamil language.

• The newspaper has also established foreign bureaus in eleven

locations – Islamabad, Colombo, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Beijing, Moscow, Paris, D

ubai, Washington D.C., London and most recently Addis Ababa.

• The Hindu was published weekly when it was launched in 1878, and started

publishing daily in 1889.

• The Hindu was the first newspaper in India to have a website, launched in 1995.

• According to the Indian Readership Survey in 2012, it was the third most widely

read English newspaper in India (after the Times of India and Hindustan

Times), with a readership of 2.2 million people.

• It is printed at 20 locations across eight states Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore,

Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam,

Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli,Kolkata,Hubli, Mo

hali, Allahabad, Kozhikode, Luck

now, Anantpur and Nellore.

• According to the Audit

Bureau of Circulations (it is

a non-profit circulation-auditing

organization, which certifies and 20 | P a g e SUBMITTED BY Arka

Das


audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines

in India) The Hindu had a circulation of 1.51 million copies as of December 2015.

According to the Indian Readership Survey in 2014, it was the third most widely read

English newspaper in India

(after the Times of India and Hindustan Times). The enterprise employed over 1,600

workers and annual turnover reached almost $200 million in 2010.

Management The Hindu is family-run. It was headed by G. Kasturi from 1965 to 1991, N. Ravi from

1991 to 2003, and by his brother, N. Ram, from 27 June 2003 to 18 January 2012. Other

family members, including Nirmala Lakshman, Malini Parthasarathy, Nalini Krishnan,

N Murali, K Balaji, K Venugopal and Ramesh Rangarajan are directors of The

Hindu and its parent company, Kasturi and Sons. S Rangarajan, former managing

director and chairman since April 2006, died on 8 February 2007. Ananth Krishnan,

who is the first member of the youngest generation of the family to join the business

worked as a special correspondent in Chennai and Mumbai from 2007, and foreign

correspondent in Beijing from 2009. It now conducts very popular "The Hindu Young

World Quiz', hosted by noted quizmaster V.V. Ramanan, that has now completed 12

years and is arguably the largest live, middle-school quiz competition.

Managing Director’s

M. Veeraraghavachariar (1878–1904)

S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (1904–1923)

K. Srinivasan (1923–1959)

G. Narasimhan (1959–1977)

N. Ram (1977–2011)

K. Balaji (2011 – present)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Balaji_(publisher)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Ram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Narasimhan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Srinivasan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Kasturi_Ranga_Iyengar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Veeraraghavachariar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Times

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_of_India

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Readership_Survey


Editors :

G. Subramania Iyer (1878–1898) C. Karunakara Menon (1898–1905)

Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (1905–1923)

S. Rangaswami Iyengar (1923–1926)


A. Rangaswami Iyengar (1928–1934)


S. Parthasarathy (1959–1965)

G. Kasturi (1965–1991)

N. Ravi (1991–2003)

N. Ram (2003–2012)

Siddharth Varadarajan (2012–present)

Board of Directors

The Hindu Group is managed by the descendants of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar. As of 2010,

there are 12 directors in the board of Kasturi & Sons—N. Ram, N. Ravi and N. Murali

(sons of G. Narasimhan); Malini Parthasarathy, Nirmala Lakshman and Nalini Krishnan

(daughters of S. Parthasarathy); Ramesh Rangarajan, Vijaya Arun and Akila Iyengar

(children of S. Rangarajan); K. Balaji, K. Venugopal and Lakshmi Srinath (children of

G. Kasturi).

Achievements

The Hindu has many firsts in India to its credit which include the following

1940: First to introduce color

1963: First to own fleet of aircraft for distribution


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddharth_Varadarajan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Ram

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Ravi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Kasturi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Parthasarathy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Rangaswami_Iyengar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Rangaswami_Iyengar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Karunakara_Menon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Subramania_Iyer


1969: First to adopt facsimile system of page transmission

1980: First to use computer aided photo composing

1986: First to use satellite for facsimile transmission

1994: First to adopt wholly computerized integration of text and

Graphics in page make-up and remote imaging

1995: First newspaper to go on Internet.

Key Milestones:

Sept 20, 1878 : Six young men start The Hindu as a weekly edition.

April 1, 1889 : The Hindu becomes an evening daily.

Nov 11, 1940 : The Hindu becomes a morning daily.

July 15, 1978 : KSL starts The Sportstar a weekly magazine for Sports.

Dec 1, 1984 : KSL starts Frontline a fortnightly magazine on current affairs.

Jan 28, 1994 : KSL starts The Hindu Business Line, a business daily.

April 18, 1996 : The Hindu Internet Edition launched.

Sept 13, 2003: The Hindu celebrates 125 years.

Sept 20, 2012 : KSL launches The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy.

Supplements

The Hindu is the only newspaper that comes up with supplements on every day of the

week.

On Mondays

Metro Plus

Business Review



Education Plus

On Tuesdays

Metro Plus

Education

Book Review

On Wednesdays

Metro Plus

On Thursdays

Metro Plus

Science, Engineering, Technology & Agriculture

On Fridays

Friday Features covering cinema, arts, music and

entertainment

Young World, an exclusive children's supplement.

Quest, a supplement by children for children, appears once a

month.

On Saturdays

Metro Plus

On Sundays

Weekly Magazine covering social issues, art, literature,

gardening, travel, health, cuisine, hobbies etc.



Other Publications

THE HINDU

BUSINESS LINE

SPORT STAR

FRONTLINE

Organization Structure :

Mission

To educate Indians that citizenship of this republic is the only valid identity in the

public sphere. We believe this set of fundamental values should be strengthened for a

liberal society to really take root here.



Vision

Our endeavor is to promote a vision of nationhood firmly anchored to the rights of all

Indian citizens. The Centre’s explorations will include the manner in which certain

concepts like secularism and social justice have become such contentious items of

political discourse. As a public policy resource, our goal is to enlighten the Indian

public and to increase their awareness of their political and social choices.

Product Profile

TAG LINE – Even in Business, white has the advantage.

Business Line or the Hindu Business Line has emerged its name among the most

reputed financial dailies of the

country. Business Line started

publishing in 1994 and is

published by Kasturi and sons,

the publishers of the newspaper

The Hindu. Currently it has a

circulation of around 185,000

copies daily.

The Business Line is the

2nd largest selling financial

newspaper in India of The Hindu

group publication. The current

readership of the Hindu edition

Business Line is 124000. It covers


Chapter 4


all corporate news specially banking news, stocks, logistics, commodities, derivatives,

IT, HR, Finance, marketing, economy and more. It has the followings supplement-

eWorld which publish every Monday, Smart buy it comes on Wednesday, Brand line on

Thursday and Life which comes on every Friday.

Business Line is published from 14 locations – Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore,

Tiruchirapalli, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai,

Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam

Its Editor-in-chief is Mr. N. Ram. It is only paper having a research bureau.

Sections:- On Monday Business Line gives special Portfolio column where timely alerts and

detailed analyses on stock, bonds, gifts, bullion, fixed deposits, insurance products

and mutual funds- both debt and equity information are given. All together Portfolio

is tailor made for those looking for new opportunities in alternative investment.

On Tuesday it provides Emerging Entrepreneur where in depth articles on startups,

with special focus on contemporary issues that relate to a young entrepreneurial

generation.

On Wednesday company insights and advice on strategy and execution from

practicing managers. The New Manager offers you exactly the information you need

to improve your professional skills.

On Thursday Company provides news and updates from the world of technology

which is evolving every day at an incredible space and Technophile helps you stay

on top of it.

On Friday if you want to know Great ideas and stories from the world of advertising

and marketing, Cat.a.lyst is your one stop shop for everything you need.

On Saturday Business Line’s main sections has 30 pages and along with supplement

named BLink which provides the perfect end to a working week. It offering an

interesting mix of opinion, reportage and profiles, this 24 page feature is the perfect

break from business on Saturdays and gives you the happenings from the world of

politics, culture, economics, art and literature.

On Sunday no issue.



Contents - Frequency – Contents – Frequency Corporate – daily - commodities – daily

Money & banking – daily – stocks & derivatives – daily

Economy – daily – mutual funds – daily

Market watch – daily – logistics – daily

Marketing – daily – accountancy – daily

International news – daily – Tourism – daily

Agri-Business – daily – Taxation – daily

Information Technology – daily – Editorial & opinion – daily.

Price - The price of the newspaper is fixed for every day. No price discrimination is

entertained in this marketing strategy. The price is set low compared to other

regular financial dailies. But it varies when the discount is offered. Regular price is

given here.

Day Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Price ₹ 8.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 8.00

Business Line offers a special 6 month and 1 year subscription price for customers

Place – our place will be something different for our kind of paper. Places will be:

1. Corporate office

2. Company

3. Stock exchange

4. Institution (B-school) Publication and circulation – Business Line has a

circulation of over 1,15,753 copies. It is published from 13 locations.


SUBSCRIPTION

TERM

ORGINAL PRICE OFFER PRICE SAVINGS

6 Month 1024 600 424

1 Year 2082 1200 882


Promotion – Business line follows process of stall promotion activity. Here the

owner of stall has a direct link with company agent. The newspapers which are unsold

are again returned to the agent with some return tax. In this activity we have to know the

sale and promotion of business line, business standard, economic times, financial

express and mint in a stall. Then we have to put the idea in the survey form. It was also

told that from where the vendors buy and where stall is located.

Distribution channel:



PROCESS OF PRODUCTION


Chapter 5


Research Methodology

Research methodology is a scientific way of getting the specific information. It is an

art of investigation for collecting information. It compromises defining problem,

formulating hypothesis, collecting organizing and evaluating data, making deduction

and coming to conclusion.

Research methodology states how the research study is under taken. It includes

specification of research design, source of data and method of primary data collection,

sampling design and analysis procedure adopted. Research methodology states what

procedures were employed to carry out the research study.

During the Internship period I had to do sales for the organization and along with that I

had to do a research on various economic dailies for the project. With the help of this

survey and findings of this survey, it will be helpful in penetrating and developing the

market for The Business Line.


Chapter 6


Following order of steps to be taken provide useful guidelines regarding the research process.

Research Design

Sampling

Data Collection

Research Design

Formulation of objectives and sub objectives of the study,

Designing the suitable methods for the data collection,

Select the sample size,

Collecting the data,

Processing and analysis of data,

Reporting the findings.

Research designs are of following types:

1. DESCRIPTIVE 2. DIAGNOSTIC

3. CAUSAL 4. EXPERIMENTAL

5 .EXPLORATORY 6. APPLIED

In this project, Applied type of research design has been used. This method was used so that finding of research can be used for improving STP strategies. In this project the objective was to gather information regarding Positioning of Business Line.

Research ObjectiveThe Objective of the present study was accomplished by conducting a systematic market research to know the promotional strategies and services of Business Line. Market research consists of the systematic collection, recording, analysis, interpretation



and reporting of information about various facts of phenomenon under study. It plays a truly analytical approach to decision that will be take.

Research Approach:Qualitative as well as Quantitative approach has been used for this research. But the

stress was basically on the quantitative approach.

6.4.2 Quantitative approach:

Quantitative data involves the generation of data in a quantitative form which can be

subjected to analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.

.

6.4.2 Qualitative approach:

It is concerned with subjective assessment of opinions and behavior.

Research ToolA structured questionnaire was used as an instrument in gathering the required

information from the Regular customer. It is a systematic compilation of questions. The

questions were well defined and mostly were Closed ended question because of which

respondent don’t have to stress their mind. The reason why the questionnaire was

preferred is due to following reasons:

a. Low cost b. Anonymity.

c. Total coverage. d. Avoid bias.

Sampling Method

It refers where each and every item in the population has an equal chance of inclusion in

the sample and each one of the possible samples, in case of finite universe, has the same

probability of being selected. There are two types of sampling methods



1. PROBABILITY METHOD. 2. NON PROBABILITY METHOD

In this research the non-probability sampling technique is used and in non-probability

sampling Judgmental sampling was used.

Judgmental sampling or Purposive sampling - The researcher chooses the sample

based on who they think would be appropriate for the study. This is used primarily

when there is a limited number of people that have expertise in the area being

researched.

Sample Unit

The Sample unit are Management student and Professors, corporate

professionals,

CA, Bank Managers, and Stock Brokers whose were interviewed in regard to the

current research study.

Sample Size

The Sample size for the survey is 110 chosen from the large population. The

survey is conducted among 110 respondents.

Sample Frame

The entire list that contains the sample unit is known as sample frame: in this

case my sample frame was entire Kolkata (subscribers of newspaper) region.

The area covered were from extreme south Baruipur to north Belgachia, where I

covered each and every Offices, Banks and Colleges including IIM Calcutta in 2

and half months.

Sources of DataThe research has been carried out using a combination of primary and secondary data.

Primary Data: It was selected from the sample by a self-administrated

questionnaire in presence of the interviewer, through which the research was

able to get the opinion and preference of people towards the Business line.

Primary Data are collecting through



(a) Google Doc Questionnaires and

(b) Personal interviews through structured questionnaire

For this project I had personally interviewed and collected data through

Structured Closed Ended Questioner to collect data among 150 people.

Secondary Data: It is the data which is collected and analyzed by someone

previously or we can also say that the available data which is available to us

before the commencement of the research is called Secondary data.

It include both quantitative and qualitative data and they are used principally in

both descriptive and explanatory research. When a researcher utilizes the data,

he also has a look out for the different sources of data and their degree of

authenticity. It has been collected through Articles, Reports, Journals,

Magazines, Newspapers and Internet.

I think applicability of Primary Data collection is the best way of analysis of perception

in the minds of customer about Business Line with respect to other newspapers in the

Locality of Kolkata.

Survey Process:For the research, customers visited were Company, Institutes, and C.A. were asked

questions which are short and specific and easily understandable. Data was also

collected data from official sites, Published articles, research works.

6.3.1 Steps Undertaken:

1. Information about the customers was collected from the company database, from

yellow pages and from the local vendors.

2. Before approaching the customers call was made to them to seek the permission.

3. If the customer is not free that time; some other date was asked and in the 35 | P a g e SUBMITTED BY Arka

Das


meantime asked for the mail id and was send the Business line subscription

package and was informed the customer to go through it.

4. At the time of meeting respondents were first asked about the readership habits of

the towards business dailies and if it’s there, then ask for the particular newspaper.

5. After that question pertaining to project were asked, as to the content of the news,

preference of the newspaper any specific problems pertaining to the availability,

satisfaction level and such I requested them to fill up the questionnaire.

6. All the responses along with any recommendations given by the customer was

properly taken into consideration. The customers were helped in giving a rational

response then analyzed the questionnaires and provided the results through pie

charts and bar graphs.

7. In case of the corporate and the educational institutions I went for Google forms

instead of getting questionnaires filled up.

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Table 01: Table Showing the result of Respondents & Non respondents

FACTORS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE(In %)

CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY

Respondents 154 86 154Non Respondents 26 14 180

TOTAL 180 100


Chapter 7


86%

14%

Showing total no. of Respondents and Non-respondents

No. of RespondentsNon-respondents

INTERPRETATION

During this project period of my SIP, I approached 180 people for making sales and in during that I also did work for my project. There were 156 people who responded to my questions and 26 people simply didn’t bother to answer any of my question.

Table 02: Table Showing the readers of news paper



YES 80 54 80NO 24 13 104SOMETIMES 50 33 154

TOTAL 154 100



YES NO SOMETIMES0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

YES; 80

NO; 24

SOMETIMES; 50

Showing the readers of newspaper

INTERPRETATION

This Graph clearly shows that approximately 54% of the people read newspaper daily.

So during this survey I understood that the number of readers is very less in Kolkata.

Table 03: Table Showing the readers occupation



Serviceman 42 54 42Businessman 38 13 80Student 50 33 130

TOTAL 130 100



Serviceman32%

Businessman29%

Student38%

Showing the readers occupation

Serviceman Businessman Student

INTERPRETATION

During this project I survey among 180 people, an out of 180, 130 respondent read

newspaper and within this 32% people are Serviceman, 29% are Business people and

39% are professional students. Perceptions are given below

Table04: Showing the result of readers choice

Frequency Percentage (in %) Cumulative frequency

General 80 62% 80Financial 15 11% 85Both 35 27% 125

TOTAL 130 100



General

Financial

Both

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

General; 80

Financial; 15

Both; 35

Showing the result of readers choice

INTERPRETATION

Here the graph clearly shows that the percentage of financial paper readers are very less

than general newspaper readers. So in Kolkata market, it is quite difficult to find

financial paper readers and convert them into business line.

Table 05: Table showing mode of reading newspaperFactors Frequency Percentage (in

%)Cumulative Frequency

Only Physical 74 57 74Only Online 13 10 87Only Mobile App 18 14 105More than One mode

25 19 130



TOTAL 130 100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Only Physical; 74

Only Online; 13Only Mobile App; 18

More than One mode; 25

Diagram showing mode of reading newspaper

INTERPRETATION

It is evident from the graph that physical mode of reading newspaper is the most preferred mode. While doing the survey I found out that people who are always on the move, prefer reading news on their laptop and mobile because of convenience of the electronic format. Mobile apps for reading news are quite very popular among the students of B-schools and professionals, as it is free and very convenient.

So it is evident that with the advent of new technology people are adopting different modes for reading the news and are a threat to the physical or the hard copy version.

Table 06: Showing mode of getting newspaperFactors Frequency Percentage (in


Monthly payment basis 82 63 82Subscription Basis 48 37 130

TOTAL 130 100



INTERPRETATION

We can understand that out of 150 responders, there are 48 responders who are taking their newspaper on subscription basis and 82 responders are taking on monthly payment basis. Because there are so many responders who are saying that they don’t trust the subscription facility, due to unavailability of the paper for those specific subscription period.

Table 07: Showing the readers of Business news paperFACTORS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

(In %)CUMULATIVE FREQUENCY

YES 29 22 29NO 43 33 72SOMETIMES 58 45 130

TOTAL 130 100


Monthly Payment basis; 82; 63%

Subscription Basis; 48; 37%

Diagram showing mode of getting newspaper

Monthly Payment basis Subscription Basis


Yes22%

No33%

Sometimes45%

Showing the readers of Business news paper

Yes

No

Sometimes

INTERPRETATION

This Graph clearly shows that approximately 22% of the people read Business newspaper. In daily basis and 45% people read sometimes. This is the actual scenario of readers of business newspaper.

Table 08: showing readership of different financial newspaperfactors Frequency Percentage (in

%)Cumulative frequency

Business Line 19 15 19Economics Times 45 35 64Mint 15 11 79Business Standard

24 18 103

Financial Express 27 21 130



TOTAL 130 100

Business Line Economics Times Mint Business Standard Financial Express0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Business Line ; 19

Economics Times; 45

Mint; 15

Business Standard; 24

Financial Express; 27

Diagram showing readership of different newspaper

INTERPRETATION

This graph clearly shows that Economics Times is read the most in the LOCALITY of Kolkata. This clearly convince that the readership of Economics Times is highest in Kolkata and Economics Times, Mint and Business Standard is a very close competitor of Business Line.

Table 09: Table showing duration of reading newspaperFrequency Percentage (in


less than 6 month

31 24 31

6 month – 1 year 54 42 851 – 3 years 16 12 101More than 3 years

29 22 130



TOTAL 130 100

less than 6 month6 month – 1 year

1 – 3 yearsMore than 3 years

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

31

54

16

29

Bar chart showing duration reading newspaper

INTERPRETATION

During this survey I observe that out of 130 responders most of them (54) are read newspaper from 6 month to 1 year. Then 31 people are read less than 6 month. It means majority are new customers. It’s the best time to grab new customers by promotional activity or attractive package.

Table 10 : Table Showing factor influencing while choosing newspaper

Factors Frequency Percentage (in %)

Content 65 54Availability 51 15Brand 39 11Price 36 11



Moderate language

22 6

Service 54 16Positive word of mouth

16 5

Up to date market info

53 16

Others 3 1

Content

Availability

Brand

Price

Moderate language

Service

Positive word of mouth

Up to date market info

Others

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

65

51

39

36

22

54

16

53

3

Diagram showing factor influencing while choos-ing newspaper

INTERPRETATION During this survey, most of the people like Content and up to date market information, also service. Here Business Line Content wise and market news wise good, but I faced more complaints in Service.

Table 11 : Table Showing ranking of newspaper according customer perception


Cumulative Frequency

Poor 0 0 80Moderate 6 5 130Good 49 38 140



Very good 60 46 148Excellent 15 11 150

TOTAL 130 100

Moderate5%

Good38%

Very good46%

Excellent12%

Diagram showing ranking of newspaper according customers perception

Poor Moderate Good Very good Excellent

INTERPRETATION

While doing this survey, people generally happy or satisfied with their newspaper. Most

of them are ranked good and very good. I noticed generally people don’t compare their

newspaper with another, either it gives inadequate or irrelevant content. Every

newspaper provide their best to satisfy their customers. So it is very difficult to grab

another newspapers market, if it already have a big fan following.

Table 12 : Table Showing customers decision making



Always 6 4 6Most of the times 27 21 33Sometimes 36 28 69Not at all 61 47 130



TOTAL 130 100

AlwaysMost of the times

SometimesNot at all

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Always; 6

Most of the times; 27

Sometimes; 36

Not at all; 61

Bar Diagram showing customers decision making

INTERPRETATION

According to my survey, readers somehow not satisfied by their newspaper, approx.

61% people (36+27) showed their interest to switch. So if Business Line understand and

fill up this area by Content and Service, then I think Business Line easily grab Kolkata’s

market.

Table 13 : Table Showing most preferable content area according to customer


Career related 29 56.9Advertisement strategy

13 25.5



Business with general news

29 56.9

World Economy 40 78.4Banking 29 39.2Editorial 19 37.3Up to date market info

23 45.1

Others 0 0

C a r e e r r e l a t e d

A d v e r t i s e m e n t s t r a t e g y

B u s i n e s s w i t h g e n e r a l n e w s

W o r l d E c o n o m y

B a n k i n g

E d i t o r i a l

U p t o d a t e m a r k e t i n f o

O t h e r s

29

13

29

40

29

19

23

0

Dia gra m Sh owin g most p refera ble c on ten t a rea a c c ord in g to c u stomer

INTERPRETATION

Most of the people wanted World Economy news, also preferred Banking and career

related news. Here Business Line comes with a step ahead from another newspaper.

Table 14 : Table Showing most preferable section in Business LineFrequency Percentage (in

%)Cumulative frequency

Portfolio 38 46.3 38Emerging Entrepreneur

36 43.9 74



The New Manager 26 31.7 100

Technophile 12 14.6 112Autofocus 14 17.1 126Other 4 4.9 130 TOTAL 130 100

Portfolio

Emerg

ing E

ntrepre

neur

The New M

anager

Technophile

Autofo

cus

Other

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40 Portfolio ; 38

Emerging Entre-preneur; 36

The New Manager; 26

Technophile; 12Autofocus ; 14

Other; 4

S h o w i n g mo st p refera bl e sec t i o n i n Bu si n ess L i n e

INTERPRETATION

During this survey I observed that businessman want up to date market information,

stock bond share report. Besides Professional students, professors, employees, bank

managers prefers Emerging Entrepreneur and the new manager column. Some of them

prefers both column. Others who are engineers, car and gadget lovers prefers another

two columns. So here Business Line have done a fabulous job, where every category

people could find their preferable ones.

Table 15 : Table Showing Customers reference towards Business Line





Definitely 34 26 34Probably Suggest 52 40 86Probably not suggest

19 15 105

Definitely not suggest

4 3 109

Not sure 21 16 130

TOTAL 130 100

26%

40%

15%

3%

16%

Showing Customers reference towards Business Line

Definitely

Probably Suggest

Probably not suggest

Definitely not suggest

Not sure

INTERPRETATION

Here I observed, most of the people could suggest Business Line. As per diagram 66%

people might or definitely suggest Business Line to their relatives and friends. The good

news is negative response was very less as per content wise.

Table 16 : Table Showing reason of not using Business Line





Do not want to switch

78 26 78

Inadequate Content

4 40 82

Non availability 28 15 110Never heard of it 4 3 104Costly 16 16 130

TOTAL 130 100

Do not w

ant to sw

itch

Inadequate

Conte

nt

Non availabilit

y

Never heard

of it

Costly

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

9078

4

28

4

16

Showing reason of not using Business Line

INTERPRETATION

After completion of my survey I understood that if people are satisfied with their thing,

they generally don’t want to switch. Same reason is applicable in newspaper also.

Another big giant companies already grab the market. So many of the people already

use subscription. So it is very difficult to switch a person to another newspaper at first

sight.

Opportunities52 | P a g e SUBMITTED BY Arka

Das

Chapter 8


As the people of India are bending towards the stock market operation. This may cause

increase the market size. So there are huge opportunities to capture the readers.

B-school students are a big opportunity to increase the circulation of Business

Line, because reading a financial daily for a management student is very

essential in order to know the latest updates of the Business world.

The present growth of population at large, is in itself a big opportunity for the

newspaper to spread itself across the length and breadth of the country.

Market is growing.

Population is large so scope is greater.

Perception of customer is changing.

There is also huge market opens to be taped. Product development will offer Business

Line Many opportunities.



Threats: The threats for the Business Line are as follows:

Electronic media is the main threats for it. Electronic media is now challenging

the existence every newspaper, so it is also posing threat to Business Line also.

Competitors have superior base of readership.

The brand image of Economic Times and Business standard is over shadowing

Business Line.

Business Line is facing off competition from financial dailies in the market as

well.

Some new upcoming company has emerged.

There are very close substitutes in the market.

Buyers today have the last word. So close substitute of Business Line like,

financial express and Mint are a big threat to the newspaper.



Limitations of the Study

Although we have tried to do our survey error free but still there were certain limitations

of the Study:-

Most of the big corporate houses were not interested in devoting time in such

kind of study.

Time Constraints, completing a project within two month of time duration was

really a challenge.

The target segment for the financial dailies is generally not high .It is very tough

to make general newspaper readers interested towards financial dailies.

Since the market segment for financial dailies is already saturated by the

economic times and business standard, it is very difficult to convince people to

subscribe for business line as they want to stick to ET or BS only.

There is a possibility of biased answer from the respondents, hence the

information collected might not be an accurate one.

Price of Subscription is comparatively higher than another financial dailies.

Most of the offices and banks do not prefer to talk in Office hours also some of

them rejected us, thinking as a salesman.

The findings are regional and do not represent the state or country.

Selling of subscription was limited in Kolkata circle,

Most of the customers were not heard of or read Business Line. So in that case,

selling of subscription to them was quite difficult in first glance.


Chapter 9

Chapter 10


SWOT ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS LINE

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strength, weaknesses,

opportunities, and threats in a business venture or in any other situation requiring a

decision. In SWOT, strength and weaknesses are internal factors whereas opportunities

and threats are external to the organization.

Now we will do the SWOT analysis of Business Line which will help marketers to

focus on key issue. These are as follows.

Strengths:

The Business Line is a power full Brand because it is link with the Hindu which is the

oldest newspaper company of India and most trusted brand of India. The editorial as

well as marketing personals are very strong and efficient of the Hindu the Business

Line.Business Line is the third leading financial newspaper in India.

Other than English, the newspaper is published in other regional languages too.

Growing rapidly in last few years.

Excellent performance of the consumer need.

Subscription offers, at regular intervals are a lucrative offer to the reader.

Affordable in price.

Good quality paper.

Easily carried and it’s getting much consumer demand and publicity.

Different kind of news is published.

Business Line has good distribution channel.



Weaknesses: The weaknesses of the Business Line are as follows:

Print outsourcing which increase the cost.

They are very new in Kolkata as compared to their competitors

The stock analysis part is inferior as compared to its competitors.

Lack of advertisement and promotional activity.

The newspaper I read by few selected readers.

Low brand awareness.

The market of Business Line is totally city based.

Selective and few readers

Different type of reader’s requirement.



Recommendations

Business Line should focus on retention of customers because getting a new

customer is more costly in today’s market.

Increase the number of centers from where the newspaper is available

Business Line should start its edition with some better strategies than its

competitors whose are come up with Sunday edition.

Distribution channel needs more development because there are so many people

who are not receiving their copy after completing subscription process.

Business Line should extend its availability towards the sub urban area also.

New attractive incentive scheme for vendors.

Collaboration with Offices, B schools to provide copy of Business Line to their

employees and students.

Sales department should think other ways for better promotion of their business

Make events with corporate to spread awareness of Business Line.

Again if Business Line organize various types of competitions, Business ideas at

state and national level in the business colleges to attract students then again it

can be a process of better promotion of Business Line.

The company should improve quality of service and the marketing strategies in

terms of advertising, so that the awareness of brand level can be increased in

market.

After completing subscription process, company have to send a digital format

coupons to the customers after 2 or 3 days. Because there had been so many

cases where customers could not get the coupons after 1 month.

Company have to increase their circulation compare to another financial dailies


Chapter 11


CONCLUSION

To conclude I would express deep regards to my college for giving me the opportunity

to have a real life feel as to how demanding the profession might be. The 24 X 7 work

of mine has really helped me a lot to change my attitude which I feel has brought about

a considerable change in me as an individual. In the process I have learnt how different

the work environment can be from that of the cushioned life of the college. I've

understood what "responsibility" happens to be and how to manage it. I've also

understood that in the times of stress the most convenient way to handle it is to believe

that 'my target" (Sales Target) is actually a responsibility of mine and the organization

is expecting. Thereby, to fulfil the expectations the motivational surge comes from

within and makes the work easy to accept.

Take away's from the project:

To understand "responsibility" is so hard and it took me this time to really

understand the word in its real sense.

Working in an organization would be fun when one knows the art of fulfilling

the expectations of the organization (boss).

I feel more confident in matters like meeting a prospective client.

It really has been a lesson for me to understand the limitations of the

organization that I've served in this short stint. In the process I have also seen


Chapter 12


and felt what competition is all about (though I did hear about competition time

and again in my classes).

My Methodology (Unbiassed)

Business Line surely has a good reputation among its readers as it comes from a very

reputed publishing brand of The Hindu, which is working very well in the market.

But there is a hearsay popular in our society “Judge your look first, then judge your

Quality.” The dynamically changing business environment the competition is getting

very high. The other brands are not letting any opportunity of promotion go off their

hand.

If company management should not come in favor of any promotional activity, others

take the opportunity. That’s why Business Standard, Mint these newspaper’s circulation

is more than Business Line.

Also if I talk about its service, local newspapers are far better than Business Line. In

Kolkata metropolitan network also, there are many places where Business Line paper is

not come. Customers have more complaints in its service.

So in my opinion, still now if company should not focus on these areas, today in digital

world news spread rapidly, the day is not far, where customers might stop to take

Business Line or its reputation will go in vain. So now there is a big question mark in its

service and promotion. Because Promotion is the important part of 4 P’s.



Bibliography

Information has been collected from the product training, market survey and study material available at the various press media web sites, discussing with the company


Chapter 13


personals, faculty guide and respondents surveyed access to management for guidelines for the project.

The following books and internet sites will also be referred:

Books:

O Marketing: Philip Kotlar, Marketing Management

O Marketing Research: Malhotra Naresh Kumar, Marketing Research& Applied Orientation.

O Business Research: Cooper Donald R. and Schindler Ramila S., BusinessResearch Method.

Internet: information available at the website of the Hindu and others sites as follows.

www.the Hindu.com http://www.businessline.com/ http://www.economictimes.com/ http://www.businessstandard.com/ http://www.mint.com/ http://www.financialexpress.com/ www.ibef.org/industry/media.aspx www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/postgraduate/mba/content/project

Questioner

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScGst0sIEDjpQZI83MC5jOnqjVkj0vRA2RFlH-JR4d4T53nSQ/formResponse

QUESTIONER through Google Form


http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/postgraduate/mba/content/project

http://www.ibef.org/industry/media.aspx

http://www.financialexpress.com/

http://www.mint.com/

http://www.businessstandard.com/

http://www.economictimes.com/

http://www.businessline.com/