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N E T A J I ISNU S BT H
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PROJECT ON MARKETING
DESIGNING THE MARKETING STRATEGY FOR BUSINESS LINE ANALYZING THE MARKET DATA AND THE MAKING OF A PROPOSAL FOR PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY TO BOOST SALES UDITYA NARAYAN UJJAIN 01/06/2011 TO 02/08/2011

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DECLERATION
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I hereby declare that the project work entitled To study The Leadership Building Strategy of Business Line In Kolkata Through Business Line Reader Special Subscription Scheme. in Kolkata, It is an original and bonafide work done by me. This project is being carried out as compulsory two-month summer training, a part of MBA curriculum from, BUSINESS LINE (THE HINDU)"Kolkata, (W.B.) The content of this report is based on the information collected by me during my tenure from different primary and secondary data used. This training is being done to get exposure of industry. This project is used only for educational purpose and it will never published in any magazine, newspaper, or any research paper.

UDITYA NARAYAN UJJAIN

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CERTIFICATE FROM INTERNAL GUIDE

This is certify that project entitle Designing the market strategy for influencing the readers of business line in the market is that bonafide work carried out by Mr. Uditya narayan Ujjain student of MBA, NETAJI SUBHAS INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, JAMSHEDPUR(university Roll no.09MBA2100096)form 01/06/2011 to 01/08/2011 in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the summer internship project for the Degree of Master in Business Administration. The project has not formed for the award of any other degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles. DATE:-1st Aug.20011

Name and signature of faculty ___________________ Prof. S. RAHUL Faculty of Marketing NSIBM, JAMSHEDPUR

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CERTIFICATE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to place on record my deep sense of gratitude to BISUNESS LINE (THE HINDU), for providing me an opportunity to take up this project and giving me a platform which is the first step of my professional career.. A successful project can never be prepared by the single efforts of the person to whom project is assigned, but it also demand the help and guardianship of some conversant person who helped the undersigned actively or passively in the completion of successful project. I did my summer project for nine weeks in the Kolkata city of W.B. At the point of submission of this report, I feel honored to be associated with the leading key maker of the world, with one of its Branches located at Kolkata. It was a great experience staying with Business Line, where I have (The Hindu group). I come to know about many aspects of this profession. 'To initiate with anything I would like to record my sincere thanks to Mr. Manojit kar (senior sales officer) to give me an opportunity to work as trainee in the organization, at Kolkata unit. I would also like to extend my thanks to Mr. Rony Gupta (Regional manager) who spared valuable time from their busy schedule to guide me on certain occasions white my project work was in progress. Finally, I give my sincere thanks to all the members of The Hindu Group, Kolkata and my respected Faculty members who helped me and motivated me for preparing this project.

Thanks and regards UDITYA NARAYAN UJJAIN

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Executive Summary
This project is on Designing the market strategy for influencing the readers of Business Line in the market I have attempted to study the news media sector in India that is currently passing through an exciting and challenging phase. The basic aim is to do a comparative study of the various newspaper companies with focus on financial newspaper. Further the project attempts to analyze the factors that influence the choice of the customers in choosing financial newspaper. The study involve a survey of several respondents using questionnaire as the research instrument augmented with informal interviews of the customers and also make through use of information available on the internet. A part of the project report also dealt with understanding the behavioral aspect of the consumer and some doubt regarding financial paper and trying to give some guide line regarding that.

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TABLE OF THE CONTENTS


Contents Introduction Preface Objectives of the study Scope of the study Limitations of the study Research Methodology Data Collection Tools Training Activities Industry Overview The newspaper industry Opportunities for FDI Threats from new age media Newspaper distribution channel Types of newspaper selling Financial newspaper in west Bengal Company Profile The Hindu The Business Line Sections of Business Line Supplements of business Line Marketing Mix for business Line Strategic business planning form SWOT analysis for business line Page No 9--12 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13--20 13 --14 14 14--15 15--16 16--18 18--19 21--28 21 22 22--23 23 24--25 25--26 26--28

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Contents Competitor and its content analysis Economic Times Business Standard Financial Express Mint Competitive overview Secrets of success of financial newspaper Consumer profiling and need analysis of buying behavior Competitive analysis of Porters Five Forces Model Most popular financial dailies for the corporate Findings/ Sample survey Interpretation Economic Times Business Line Business Standard Financial Express Mint Composite Result Data Analysis Price wise classification Looks wise classification Availability wise Content wise Brand value wise Awareness wise Percentage of composite score

Page No 28--33 28--29 29--30 30--31 31 31--32 33 33--34 35--36 37 38--39 39--46 41 42 43 44 45 46 47--50 47 47 48 48 49 49 50

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Contents Presentation and data analysis Current market scenario Sector wise analysis Use of financial dailies Mostly preferred newspaper Readership voting Voting for progress of Business Line Need for dailies for post-graduate students

Page No 51--54 51 52 52 52 53 53 54

Recommendation Conclusion Annexture Questionnaire survey Questionnaire design List of organizations visited during the project Bibliography

55--56 56--57 58--61 58--59 60--61 62 63

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ININTRODUCTION
Newspaper cannot be defined by the second word-paper. They have got to be defined by the first word paper. Arthur sulberg, Jr New York time publication The newspaper-almost every household around the world is familiar with its name. It is one of the most powerful parts of print media which is considering as a major of information. Stocks market spreading their wins speedily. It is growing at a very high speed. Most of the cities people are involved in stock market. Need of financial newspaper is also increasing day by day. As we know that all banks must have to take at least one financial newspaper at all branches. So there is huge scope of financial newspaper. Financial newspaper is very different from the general paper. It only consists of very specific news and very helpful for investors, businessman and professional students. Now a days beside the general newspaper (like the statement, The telegraph, The times of India,etc) the financial newspaper such as the Economic Times, The business standard, Mint, The financial express etc. are also gaining popularity among the people due to their extra thirst of knowledge regarding the business world. Business Line, the financial paper is the publication of The Hindu. It had launched 14 years ago in south India but the company starts selling it in Kolkata only 2 and half years ago. So it is facing competition with mainly Economics Times which is here from 38 years and huge readership support. The Business Line is the 2 nd largest selling financial paper in India after the Economics Times. Through Business Line I was given a topic for my summer training, i.e. Designing the marketing strategy to influence the readers of business line in the market.

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PREFACE
Newspaper is the ambassador of truth Newspaper has become the stable diet of every individual residing on this oval. It is only mode of communication which collect information from one end and spread it to the entire world .The world will come to stand still if the newspaper does not knock the door of the individuals hive. The proverb pen is mightier than the sword is only appropriate for the newspaper industry. NETAJI SUBHAS INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT has provided me the golden opportunity to work with the one of the competing financial daily of our country. The project DESIGNING THE MARKETING STRATEGY TO INFLUENCE THE READERS OF BUSINESS LINE IN THE MARKET makes an attempt to study and analyze the market penetration of the financial daily BUSINESS LINE among the target readers which include people such as business associates, corporate houses, BSCHOOL students, investors, career professionals etc. It also tries to create awareness among the target segment about business line with the help of sales promotion which in turn helps the company to increase the subscriber base.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY


In order to frame the project some objectives were set up in contrast with the main purpose of the project. The objectives are classified as: To study and analyze the market penetration of business Line among the target segments. To analyze the acceptance of Business Line as a financial daily in the corporate houses and B-schools. To analyze how Business Line as a financial daily fulfill the needs of the corporate houses. To increase the corporate base of the Business Line among the corporate houses and B- school. To increase the sales of Business Line among corporate and educational sector. Last but not the least to gain knowledge to market so as how Business Line could raise its market share. This project helped in various fields, such as in understanding the market scenario of Kolkata, in understanding the customers perception regarding financial daily.

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY


The project will help us to understand deeply about the financial newspaper segment at Kolkata. It will also help us to understand the consumer behavior and perception towards the financial dailies, especially business line among the target segment. The project also deals with promoting business line among the corporate houses and Bschools.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:


1. Most of the big corporate houses were not interested in devoting time in such kind of study. 2. Time Constraints, completing a project with in two month of time duration was really a challenge. 3. The target segment for the financial dailies is generally not high .It is very tough to make general newspaper readers interested towards financial dailies. 4. 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.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In a comprehensive manner the Research Methodology can be further simplified into the following points Setting up the research objectives. Identify the target group from the data. Identification of an appropriate data collection tool (in this case it was to conduct a survey.) Planning the work to be done. Designing a survey Questionnaire. Making calls and Conducting the survey. To convince the readers regarding the benefits they can drive from the daily Business Line. Analyzing the data collected from the survey forms. Interpretation of the data and to come up with some providing suggestions and recommendation.

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DATA COLLECTION TOOLS


Relevant data collection is a primary function to carry out a survey. For the purpose of the project, to collect data on various topics related to the newspaper .industry as well as readers attitude and buying behavior towards the business newspaper was most important.

Primary data
The relevant data was collected mainly by interviewing various corporate executives and taking their responses for especially designed questionnaire.

Secondary data
Data relating to business information industry has been collected from different web sources. Other information regarding newspaper circulation has been collected from the reports of AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION AND NATIONAL READERSHIP SURVEY and the statistics available from Business Line Ltd.

TRAINING ACTIVITIES:
The prime objective of my one month internship was to analyses the consumer buying behavior for Business Line newspaper among its target segments and also to increase the subscription base for the newspaper. For this purpose, it is utmost necessary to get a basic idea about the newspaper industry. The knowledge about printing and distribution channel would immensely help to conduct such kind of survey. Regarding the subscription purpose, one should clearly aware of the different subscription offers for different target segments. On the first two days of my internship, I had a knowledge transfer session with my supervisor where I was mentioned all the relevant information which turned out as worth for me throughout the internship.

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ABOUT THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY


The news paper industry is one of the most growing industry in every country and its stands out as a powerful part to the development of modern society by acting as one of the most potential stage for implements of thoughts and opinion. Now newspaper is still the most iconic outlet for news and other type of journalism. A newspaper is a written publication mixing of news, information, advertising, printed at low cost and easily carried paper called newspaper. Basically general newspaper contains of political news, crime, business art/entertainment, society and sports. Every newspaper also has some different type of feature an editorial part containing columns which express the personal opinion of writer. Supplementary parts contain advertising, comic, coupons, and other printed media. It also provides commentary on the news, advice to readers question and answer and sometimes includes feature such as comic trips, cartoon. Now in all cases publications of commercial advertising became a part of income. Now there are core competitions of instant news report on radio and television, newspaper has become more complicate and analytical. They now provides large background information of news, it is going on science the enlargement of television news in the 1960. Paper industry in India is the 15 th largest in the world. It provides employment to nearly 1.5 million people and contributes Rs 25 billion to the governments kitty. The government regards the paper industry as one of the 35 high priority industries of the country. The newspaper industry spreads knowledge and awareness among the people through its various topics such as politics, sports, social issues, entertainment, advertisement and marketing and so on.

Some Facts about Indian print Media:


Current size: US$ 3.6 billion Projected size by 2011: US $ 5.8 billion Compound annual growth rate 13%
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It reaches to 222 million people throughout the country. There is a vast potential to grow market, about 369 million literate people in India are still not tapped by any publication. More than 130,000 printing presses in active operation all over the country.

Drive Factors
1. Booming Indian Economy. 2. Government initiatives opening the sector to Foreign Direct Investment. 3. Higher number of newspaper/magazine readers both in rural and urban areas.

Some Facts about Indian Newspaper Industry:


1. The Indian Newspaper Industry is the fastest growing newspaper economy in the Asia Pacific region. 2. More than 150 million people read a newspaper everyday. 3. Newspaper circulation has increased by 33% from 2001 to 2005 (59.1 million to 78.6 million)

Opportunities for Foreign Direct Investment:


1. 100 percent FDI is now allowed in print media segment for non-news publications. 2. 26 percent FDI is allowed for news publications.

Threats from New age media:


Recent development in electronic media surely threatens the old newspaper industry. The internet and television are definitely catching hold a distinctive portion of the viewers. The Breaking News concept by the electronic media is causing the toughest challenge for the traditional newspaper industry.

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Despite of these, in Indian scenario, the newspaper is still holding majority of market share. This is primarily because of less awareness about new age media among general public. Even in the major metro cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai only a small portion of the population can afford to have high speed internet access in their homes. Now-a-days countless news channels are promoting Breaking News in every minute with exciting visuals. But they are engaged more in competition regarding who does it first with each other which is gradually decreasing their creditability. The challenges from internet, mobile news alert, direct to home television (DTH).FM radio channels are forcing innovations to the conventional newspaper industry. Competition is always good for any industry. The print media is also trying to find new models and new markets. Thus the new electronic media is not only challenging the industry but also making them more valuable.

NEWSPAPER DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL


Five major functional areas consist in newspaper industry. These include editorial, advertising, production administration and circulation. The main area of sales of the product is dealt by circulation, hence the important of distribution channel in the newspaper industry. The distribution channel of a typical can be represented through the following flow diagram:-

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Raw material for the newspaper industry, news is supplied by the editorial, which is a functional area in the newspaper office itself. The editorial is fed with news from various places by reporter, correspondents and news agencies. The final news is sent to the printing facility where newspaper is printed. The printed newspaper is delivering to various distributors across the country through transportation. The newspaper distribution has sole right to distribute the newspaper in his area. His revenue is based on a commission on the sale of every newspaper. He achieves circulation through salesman appointed and salaries by him, who in turn pass it on to Hawkers. Hawkers, vendor and book stall owners are the last link of the supply chain before reach to readers. In newspaper there are two type of edition:1. Early edition and 2. Late edition. 1. Early edition- supply outstation-upcountry such as Durgapur, Asansol, bokaro etc receives such type of edition. 2. Late edition supply outstanding areas which fall under Kolkata city (include North Kolkata. South Kolkata and central Kolkata etc)

DIFFERENT TYPE OF NEWSPAPER SELLING TACTIS


There are some processes which Business Line always follows different types of selling process. The processes are given below 1. Trade copy selling 2. Subscription 3. Institutional selling 4. Sponsorship activity.

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Trade copy selling


Trade copy selling is the most traditional process of selling but as the competition increases in the news paper industry they had to change their selling strategies to have a satisfying circulation.

Subscription
Subscription is the marketing strategy taken by the company to increase the circulation of the product and to compete with other competitors. In this selling process company used to select a selection from society and give them special offer and sometimes gifts. This type of selling is called as subscription.

Special subscription offer


Period- regular price- subscription price - % discount 6 months Rs712 (178 issues) Rs300 (178 issues) more than 50% 12 months Rs1424 (356 issues) Rs 600(356 issues) more than 50%

Institutional selling
It is the process to target the readers from different airlines, clubs, hospitals, hotels etc. This is a special type of selling where the papers are to be delivered in one point. The top level managers usually deal with this type of selling. Generally corporate tie up makes the deal easier for the companies. The supply chain of institutional selling Newspaper from press centre Carried through company vehicle To the respective corporate house Institutional selling includes different type of sponsorship activity such as 1. Media printer and 2. Joint promotional activity.

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SOME FACTS ABOUT INDIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY


1. The India newspaper industry is one of the first growing newspaper industries in Asia Pacific Region. 2. It combined the circulation of 150 million in 21 languages containing 5600 dallies, 15000 weeklies and 20000 periodicals. 3. Newspaper circulation has increased by 38% from 2001-2008 (59.1 million to 83.9 million) 4. More than 160 million people read newspaper everyday 5. The annual growth is 13% The Indian newspaper industry has achieved different stages of evolution to reach the status and todays position.

FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER IN WEST BENGAL


The financial newspaper achieved a good proportion of the market comparatively with general newspaper. In almost every corporate, stock exchange and also in Bschool the financial dailies have a large demand. Financial newspaper is different from the general newspaper. The general newspaper mainly deals with the information happening day by day on the analysis of causes of happenings not their effect of on the economy where as the financial paper analyze that events effect on the economy as a whole. The main aims of financial newspaper are to give the information of the corporate and their financial activities such as merger and acquisition. The financial newspaper deals with the money and banking. It also covers stock market information and its depth analysis. These are very helpful to the investor in stocks, mutual fund, derivatives, commodity etc.

These are the main feature should be of a financial newspaper:


Tips on market Banking news Corporate up-to-date News on o Stock market o Derivatives o Commodities o Mutual fund

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Agricultural business news Logistics

A business daily is preferred for some facts which are : Availability Analysis on stock market Articles on financial term Brand awareness Corporate news Editorial International business news Supplementary news

In west Bengal the market of main four financial dailies are:1. Business Line 2. The Economic Times 3. Business Standard 4. The Financial Express 5. Mint

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The Hindu is the Indias most admired newspaper company. THE HINDU publication is an English language Indian newspaper company. It is the 2 nd largest selling newspaper company in India after THE TIMES OF INDIA. THE HINDU is the third most widely read English newspaper in India. It has its largest base of circulation in south India, especially TAMIL NADU. Its headquartered is in CHENNAI. It is 130 years old Newspaper Company of our country. It is operating its business since 1878.it become national newspaper in 1999.it is first Newspaper Company which goes on internet. THE HINDU is published from 13 locations. THE followings are the publication of the HINDU group & company. THE HINDU BUSINESS LINE FRONTLINE SPORTS STAR

Apart from these publications they have some annual books and journal publications.

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BUSINESS LINE
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 130,000 copies daily. Business Line is published from 14 locations Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The Business Line is the 2 nd largest selling financial newspaper in India of The Hindu group publication. The current readership of the Hindu edition Business Line is 124000. It covers 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. Its Editor-in-chief is Mr.N.Ram. It is only paper having a research bureau.

Sections:From Tuesday to Saturday, Business Lines main sections has 20 to 24 pages which include Corporate, Information Technology, Marketing, Editorial & Opinion (2 pages), commodities & Agribusiness, Economy, International Business, Stock Market news, stock and Mutual fund quotes (5 pages), states Variety, Logistics and Market Watch. On Sundays Business Lines main section has 18 pages. Apart from regular contents on Sundays. It also provides key information about stocks, mutual funds and deposits which makes the circulation of Business Line on Sunday higher than the rest of the days. On Mondays Business Lines main sections has 18 pages and along with regular contents it also provides two special sections. 1. The New Manager to introduce the leaders from the world of business. 2. Mentor-A comprehensive resource on taxation, financial systems and books, Money & Banking, Editorial & opinion, States and variety.

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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.

Supplements:1. THE NEW MANAGER: Insights from business leaders, career guidance, HR tips and more is published every Monday. 2. MENTOR: Comprehensive inputs on taxation, accounting, law and management is published every Monday. 3. eWorld: News and articles on latest in technology, networking, computers and gadgets is published every Monday. 4. SMARTBUY: A lifestyle magazine, featuring automobiles, gadgets, premium brands and more is published every Wednesday. 5. BRANDLINE: Latest trends and options from the world of marketing and advertising is published every Thursday. 6. LIFE: Tips on health, fitness, leisure and much more to lead a good life is published every Friday. 7. INVESTMENT WORLD: Sharp advice on stocks, mutual funds and a special page for young investors is published Every Sunday.
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MARKETING MIX FOR BUSINESS LINE


Product. Price. Place. Promotion. Product- Our product is newspaper, we have different kind of newspaper, one is financial daily and other is general newspaper. Price - The price of the newspaper is fixed for everyday. 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 Price Rs. Sun 4.00 Mon 4.00 Tue 4.00 Wed 4.00 Thurs 4.00 Fri 4.00 Sat 4.00

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 5400 copies. It is published from 13 locations.

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. Stall promotion of business line given below -

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Strategic Business Planning Form for Business Line


1. SWOTS - Briefly list major existing strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) & threats (T). S & Ws are internal to the business and O & Ts are external. All SWOTs should be 'one-handed; for example, something is either a S or a W but cannot be both! 2. Vision - Guide: What will the business look like in 3-4 year's time? 3. Mission statement - What is/will the business really, really be doing? What activity is/will it performs, where, how etc.? What is/will the business offer and how is/will it be special/competitive? 4. Corporate values - Describe the values and standards governing the operation of the business and its relationships with society, customers, suppliers, employees, local community and other stakeholders.

5.

Busines s objecti
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ves - Highlight the achievements and broad progress to be realized over the next 3-4
years. These can relate to shareholders, management (if not shareholders) and business itself. 6. Key strategies -List major strategies covering the business as a whole (including diversification, organic growth, or acquisition plans) or primary matters within key functional areas (finance, management, marketing, sales, operations, R and D etc.). 7. Future SWOTS - Review your plan so far and add any new or emerging SWOTs which may not have been adequately addressed within the proposed vision, mission, objectives and strategies. 8. Review of plan - Refine and revise/restate key strategies to deal with the perceived FUTURE SWOTs and to make sure that all elements of the plan are realistic, specific, practical, internally consistent and mutually supportive. 9. Major goals - Based on the foregoing, quantify key high-level targets which are (very) achievable over next 3-4 years in terms of sales. 10. Strategic action programs - Based on the proposed strategies and set goals, outline up to six major action programs in order of importance.

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 where as 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.

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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 its 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 readers requirement.

Opportunities: 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.


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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.

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COMPETITOR AND ITS CONTENT ANALYSIS


The Economic Times: The economic times has emerged as the most widely
circulated economic and business daily in the country. Enjoying its position among the top three business dailies in the world. The economic times serves as a knowledge platform of business and economy in India, providing economic information on Indian Business and Economy across the globe. The Economic times was launched on 5 th March 1961 and is published by Indias largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, which along with its other group companies is more popularly known as The Times Group. Currently it has daily readership of over 650,000 copies. It has seven regional editions- Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The current Executive Editor of The Economic Times is Rahul Joshi.The Economic Times is also available on Internet at Economic Times.com & epaperdaily.timesofindia.com.

Supplements:
1. Brand Equity This is a weekly color supplement that appears every Wednesday, which covers marketing, advertising, media and market research. 2. Corporate Dossier It is a supplement that appears every Friday, aimed at the CEOs of corporate India, with a special focus on management and strategy. 3. ET Travel It is a weekly all color supplement which covers travel and tourism aimed at the burgeoning band of Indians who want to see and know about their country and the rest of the world-through Indian eyes. 4. ET Auto Mania It is a weekly all-color supplement covering all aspects from the auto industry.

Business Standard :
Business standard has emerged as the most credible financial daily of the country which provides information that creates wealth and enriches lives. Enjoying its position as the second largest circulated financial daily of the country, it has traditionally been as essential reference document on Indian business, economy and finance. Its distinctive focus on the every aspects of the countrys economic environment makes it the favorites among the intellectuals, students and researchers.

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Business standard is published by Business standard Ltd (BSL).The paper was founded in 1975 by Ananda Bazaar Group in Kolkata but in 1996, it got seperarated as a separate entity. Business standard has a circulation of over 200000 copies daily and is published from 12 locations reaching more than 800 locations in the country. From Monday to Saturday, the paper is published from the following locations- Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Kochi and Bhubaneswar. On Sundays, the paper is published from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Supplements
1. Smart Investor smart investors appears on every Monday which serves as a comprehensive investment guide. It is a 12 page supplement. 2. The strategies The strategies appears on every Tuesday which covers issues on management and marketing. It also provides the solutions of critical issues through analysis of case studies. 3. Weekend weekend appears on every Saturday with weighted contents covering art, leisure and lifestyle. 4. Monthly Magazines - Open Sky, Business standard motoring and business standard spend. 5. Annual Magazines Business standard 1000, The Billionaire, Banking Annual and Fund.

The Financial Express


The Financial Express is one of the most trusted financial daily circulated primarily in south-east Asia. It was launched on November 10, 1993 in Bangladesh as the first English financial daily of the country. It was an ambitious venture on the part of the International Publication Limited to launch a financial daily in Bangladesh.

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Primarily its focus has been on news concerning economic activities at national, regional and international levels. Being distinctive as a financial or economic daily it also covers the general news topics concerning socio-political and cultural activities. It also includes the major developments, nationally and globally which have direct or indirect impact on the economic life of the people. The financial Express offers the following matter

On Monday Economy, Focus east, Insight business tomorrow, corporate watch,


sections from economist.

On Sunday Wellness/Health, Real estate/Techlife, Corporate citizen, Economy,


Arts and Entertainment, books and Lifestyle/Luxury.

On Thursday to Saturday Economy, Infrastructure ,Selection from


economist,FF360,Focus east, Editorial & Chat room, FE Motobahn, Development dossier, Corporate & market, Investor, Money & Funds, Commodities, FE insight, stocks, Money & Funds.

Mint:
Mint is Indias first business daily newspaper in a convenient compact size. Mint delivers financial business and economic news each morning daily Monday-Saturday. MINT enjoys an initial circulation of 80,000 with distribution to Delhi the economic capital of Northern India and Mumbai a rapidly forming financial centre. Riverside Media will provide U.S advertising sales and marketing support for MINT in conjunction with HT Medias flagship publications. The Hindustan Times and the Hindustan. The paper carries a weekly supplement campaign on marketing, strategy and management with Saturday supplements Mint Lounge and Mint B in magazine format. In west Bengal mint has launched on 25 th May in 2009.

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COMPETITIVE OVERVIEW In todays scenario, the business newspaper segment of India is totally covered by four newspapers- The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Hindu Business Line and The Financial Express. The Economic times leads this segment with more than 55% market share. It was launched 45 years back for today since a long span of time. It has been the only player in this segment. Gaining the advantage of first mover, it has already deeply penetrated the market. It is also immensely benefitted by the brand name in its back. Since it is published by Bennett Coleman 50 % Co (Times group) which has brought a revolution in the Indian newspaper industry through the publications of times of India. Times group has already created a respect for themselves for their contribution towards the improvement of newspaper industry to compete globally. The clear pricing strategy of the Economic Times also contributes towards holding its position in its class. It enjoys an edge in price over other financial dailies. It is priced Just Rs7 from Monday to Friday & Rs 10 on Saturday & Sunday. It comes with a lot of advertisement which obviously cut down the space for actual content. More advertisement reflects the marketing features rather than providing necessary information. Business standard is the second player of this field with the daily circulation of more than 4 lakhs copies though it was launched in 1975.Its growth rate was almost steady. In 1996 It was taken by Mumbai based financial investors after which it has been possessing distinctive growth rate .With almost 30% growth rate during the past three years it is following up the economic time very quickly. Its association with the economic times of London also adds weight age to it to compete with other business dailies. Business standard is priced from Monday to Friday Rs 6 for Saturday and Sunday. Business line is a daily financial newspaper. It is very new in the Kolkata market but it is growing very fast. It will capture the Kolkata market very soon because of the marketing personnel are very strong and efficient. It has 124000 readership supports as per Indian readership survey march 2010.

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SECRETS OF SUCCESS OF FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER IN INDIA


Believe it or not, buying English financial newspaper is still considering a status symbol in India. Many people feels proud themselves if they have an English financial newspaper on their table. If you will carefully analyze you will find the paper on the evening as same folded as it was in the morning in the case of many people. They take it for show not for need because it shows their status and standard of living according to them. Apart from this the financial paper is very strict on using odd picture for selling that attracts the corporate reader most. The people of India are binding towards the stock market operation which is creating huge opportunities to the financial newspaper and it demand is increasing day by day.

CONSUMER PROFILING AND NEED ANALYSIS OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR WHICH CAN INFLUENCE CUSTOMERS
To determine the circulation and readership trends of a business newspaper, the most vital step is to identify the demographies of the readers. The business newspaper is very much related to the need and requirement of the targeted readers. The identification of the demographies of the readers helps in better understanding the readers perception. From our research and data collected, we have identified some of the basic demographic factors that affects the circulation of business newspaper especially Business Line which includes Educational Level Income level Job Function Organizational Status

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EDUCATIONAL LEVEL
Education is closely related to readership. According to survey data from Pew research centre 64%of the college graduate reported reading a newspaper. But survey shows that the readership figures for business newspaper are more concentrated among the B-school students only. Therefore it can be concluded that readers for business standard and other business newspaper readers are concentrated among higher education levels only that too among people who either are or will be related to business anyhow.

INCOME LEVEL
It has been noticed that the circulation of weekend editors of business newspapers are almost the same although its price is double or triple than the weekly rates. Thus for a person who can afford a weekend edition of a business newspaper is not supposed to bother to pay one rupee more if the newspaper provides the relevant stuff.

JOB FUNCTION
A business newspaper targets its targeted readers from diversified work areas. It includes readers related to banking, stock-broking, consultancy, mutual funds, IT sector, engineering services and B-school students. The readership of a business newspaper generally depends on it news contents. Most of the contents in a business newspaper focus on analysis of business issues which immensely help the decision makers. Data collected from the survey shows that most of the people related to managerial and financial sector read business newspapers. But the readership of business newspaper, in IT sector, is comparatively less due to the hectic workschedule of the people associated to this sector.

ORGANISATIONAL STATUS
The readership of business newspaper also depends upon the hierarchy of the reader in the organization. The decision makers, chief executors, financial directors get the rime importance within an organization and have the most influential power. Data indicates that an individual who is influential and makes significant decisions within an organization read at least one business newspaper.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ON PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL:


A number of reasons can be responsible for low marker penetration of a business newspaper in a particular city or country. It is highly necessary to analyses the competitive forces that governs the newspaper industry has to understand the reasons for low circulation. According to Business strategy experts, they are five basic forces that define the competition within an industry. MICHEALE PORTERs forces model is the best way to analyses these forces. According to this model, firms strive for a competitive advantage over the rivals. Degree of rivalry is defined by the following factors Exit Barriers Industry Concentration Industry Growth Product Differences Brand Identity Diversity of Rivals Corporate Stake

Switching Cost

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Industry Growth:
Indian Newspaper Industry is the fastest growing newspaper economy in the Asia Pacific Region. Newspaper circulation has increased by over 40% within the last five years. This growth is forcing to increase the number copies to be published for every newspaper. Thus the industry provides a stable platform for every business newspaper.

Concentration:
The Indian business newspaper industry is concentrated in four major players only. The Economic Times is capturing the largest market share in this segment followed by Business Standard, Business Line and financial Express respectively.

Corporate Stake:
The print media industry in India is enjoying an exciting time ahead. Today 100% FDI is allowed in the Indian print media which is making the industry more valuable. Business Standard site up with Financial Times of London has initiated the process of foreign newspapers to keep step in Indian newspaper industry. These tie ups with foreign players of the same industry will help the Indian industry to compete globally. It will also make the competition more intense with the addition of some new players in the industry.

Competitive threats (Availability of Substituent):


In the present market scenario, The Economic Times, Business Standard, Business Line and Financial Express are covering the total business newspaper segment of the country. The Economic Times is leading the segment with more than 55% market share. In southern market Business Line is the major business daily. In order to survive in the market Business Standard has to be ahead of other business dailies and it should prepare itself to compete nationally through better content.

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Most popular Financial Dailies for the corporate


From the data collected during the survey reveal that Economic Times is the most popular financial dailies in the corporate of Kolkata 37 corporate houses read Economic Times.

From the above survey made we can draw a conclusion that Economic Times is the most popular amongst the Financial Dailies, but in the market Business line holds a

fair position.

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SMAPLE SURVEY TOOL USED (WMS model)


Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness ECONOMIC TIMES WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 4.80 SCORE (S) 2 3 5 5 6 6 W*S 0.2 0.3 1.25 1.25 0.6 1.2

Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness

BUSINESS LINE WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL= 3.85

SCORE (S) 6 4 3 4 5 3

W*S 0.6 0.4 0.75 1 0.5 0.6

Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness

MINT WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.55

SCORE (S) 4 4 2 5 4 3

W*S 0.4 0.4 0.5 1.25 0.4 0.6

Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness

FINANCIAL EXPRESS WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.55

SCORE (S) 4 3 5 5 4 3

W*S 0.4 0.3 1.25 1.25 0.4 0.6

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Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness

BUSINESS STANDARD WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.70

SCORE (S) 4 3 4 4 4 3

W*S 0.4 0.3 1 1 0.4 0.6

INTERPRETATION
From the collected data of sample survey irrespective of Newspaper Company or media we have taken the weightage of 5 attributes out of 1 on an average basis thats is shown like the following way, we have asked our respondents to mark each newspaper attributes (price, contents, availability, brand image & awareness) out of 1 and from the result data we have taken the final score on weightage on a average basis. We are presenting those data in table and wheel chart format.

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Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness

0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2

WEIGHTAGE(W)

10% 20% 10% Price Looks 10% Availability Contents Brand Image 25% Awareness

25%

After getting the weightage of each attributes we have tried to get the score of 5 financial newspaper Economic times, Business Line, Business Standard, Financial Express and Mint. On the basis of previously selected attributes namely (price, contents, availability, brand image & awareness) then according to WSM model we have multiply the score of a financial newspaper company on collected on the basis of 5 point scale i.e.(1 as very poor and 5 as excellent). After that we have calculated weighted sum score of each media company namely Economic Times, Business Line, business standard, Mint & financial express in the following manner.

ECON OMIC TIMES


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In the following table we can see how WSM model works, first weightage (w) of attributes determined out of 1 point. Then score collected on the media company here on Economic Times through 5 point scale (i.e. 1 as very poor and 5 as excellent) then from the total sample taken a average of that in this case the scores are (price = 2, looks= 3, availability=5, contents=5, brand image=6, awareness=6) after that scores is multiplied with weight and determined weighted score (W*S).
Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness ECONOMIC TIMES WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 4.80 SCORE (S) 2 3 5 5 6 6 W*S 0.2 0.3 1.25 1.25 0.6 1.2

ECONOMIC TIMES WEIGHTAGE(W) TOTAL = 4.80 0% Awareness 20% Price 10% Looks 10%

Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness TOTAL = 4.80

Brand Image 10% Availability 25% Contents 25%

From the above table and pie chart we have tried to show the result acquired from the sample survey of 600 respondents in the area of whole Kolkata.

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BUSINESS LINE
Business line with having the data on weightage of attributes determined out of 1 point scale we have calculated weighted score on business line by the following table and charts we have represented the data, which are as follows:Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness BUSINESS LINE WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL= 3.85 SCORE (S) 6 4 3 4 5 3 W*S 0.6 0.4 0.75 1 0.5 0.6

B U S IN E S S L IN E W E IG H TA G E (W ) TO TA L = 3 .8 5 0% P ric e 10% Look s 10%

A w a re n e s s 20% B ra n d Im a g e 10%

P ric e Look s A va ila b ility C o n te n ts B ra n d Im a g A w a re n e s s

A va ila b ility 25% C o n te n ts 25%

TO TA L = 3 .8

From the above table and pie chart we have tried to show the result acquired from the sample survey of 600 respondents in the area of whole Kolkata.

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BUSINESS STANDARD
Business Standard with having the data on weightage of attributes determined out of 1 point scale we have calculated weighted score on business standard by the following table and charts we have represented the data, which are as follows:Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness BUSINESS STANDARD WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.70 SCORE (S) 4 3 4 4 4 3 W*S 0.4 0.3 1 1 0.4 0.6

BUSINESS STANDARD WEIGHTAGE(W) TOTAL = 3.70 0% Awareness 20% Price 10% Looks 10% Price Looks Brand Image 10% Availability 25% Contents 25% Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness TOTAL = 3.70

From the above table and pie chart we have tried to show the result acquired from the sample survey of 600 respondents in the area of whole Kolkata.

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FINANCIAL EXPRESS
Financial Express with having the data on weightage of attributes determined out of 1 point scale we have calculated weighted score on financial express by the following table and charts we have represented the data, which are as follows:Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness FINANCIAL EXPRESS WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.55 SCORE (S) 4 3 5 5 4 3 W*S 0.4 0.3 1.25 1.25 0.4 0.6

FINANCIAL EXPRESS W EIGHTAGE(W ) TOTAL = 3.55 0% Awareness 20% Price 10% Looks 10% Price Looks Availability Contents Availability 25% Contents 25% Brand Image Awareness TOTAL = 3.55

Brand Image 10%

From the above table and pie chart we have tried to show the result acquired from the sample survey of 600 respondents in the area of whole Kolkata.

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MINT
MINT with having the data on weightage of attributes determined out of 1 point scale we have calculated weighted score on mint by the following table and charts we have represented the data, which are as follows:Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness MINT WEIGHTAGE(W) 0.1 0.1 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.2 TOTAL = 3.55 SCORE (S) 4 4 2 5 4 3 W*S 0.4 0.4 0.5 1.25 0.4 0.6

M INT W E IG H TA G E (W ) TO TA L = 3.55 0% P ric e 10% Look s 10%

A warenes s 20% B rand Im age 10%

P ric e Look s A vailability Contents B rand Im age A warenes s TO TA L = 3.55

A vailability 25% Contents 25%

From the above table and pie chart we have tried to show the result acquired from the sample survey of 600 respondents in the area of whole Kolkata.

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INTERPRETATION 0F COMPOSITE RESULT


Now we will try to show the interpretation of data by taking another set of factors those are attributes wise break up of data from the below drawn composite table.

Now from the above table & chart we will separately analyze and show the result of each attributes on the basis of media press which are as follows:-

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PRICE WISE BREAK UP


1st we will try to analyze the price wise break up on the basis of 5 different financial news paper company those are Economic Times, Business Line, Business standard, Mint & financial Express and tried to show the result in pie chart format which is given below:This will help us to know the customer perception on price factor and which press they prefer to get financial paper at minimum cost in the Kolkata market and how they can be taped to sell the respective product by the database.

LOOKS WISE BREAK UP


Now I will try to analyze the Looks wise break up on the basis of 5 different press those are Economic Times, Business Line, Business standard , Mint & financial Express and tried to show the result in pie chart format which is as follows:

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AVAILABLITY WISE BREAK UP


Availability wise break up will help us to know the customer perception on the product available in the market and which brand they prefer more if all brands are available at a time.

CONTENTS WISE BREAK UP


Contents wise break up will help us to know the customer perception on contents factor and which financial newspaper they prefer and how they can be taped to sell the respective product by the database.

BRAN D VALU E WISE BREA K UP


The brand wise break up
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of 5 different financial newspaper company will help us to know the customer perception on brand image and which company they prefer to get newspaper in the market and how they can be taped to sell the respective product by the database.

AWARENESS WISE BREAK UP


Awareness wise break up will help us to know the customer perception on the product awareness and its impacts on the customer buying process and how they can be taped to sell the respective product by the database.

The Percen
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tage of Composite Score of The Following Table After Calculating The All Scores Individually.

The above pie chart represents the consumer perception on the basis of a selected sample survey. After calculating above all data on the basis of WSM model this will be helpful for the sales personals to design such offering that suite the readers desire. The product should be design such a manner which is supposed to be the blend of the above shown attributes having the prescribed proportion.

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PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA CURRENT MARKET SCENARIO

SECTOR- WISE CLASSIFICATION


During the survey I find that which sector mostly respond towards the queerer reading which financial daily.

SECT OR WISE USE OF FINA NCIA L DAILI ES


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WHICH FINANCIAL DAILY IS MOSTLY PREFERRED

Name of the newspaper

No. of people preferred

Business Standard The Economic Times Business Line The Financial Express Both ET and BS Other newspaper

20 25 15 10 20 10

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READERSHIP VOTING ON EDUCATION AND CAREER


No. of people preferred

Other newspaper 10% Both ET and BS 20%

Business Standard 20% Business Standard The Economic Times Business Line The Financial Express The Economic Times 25% Both ET and BS Other newspaper

The Financial Express 10% Business Line 15%

HOW BUSINESS LINE IS PREFERRED TO OTHER FINANCIAL DAILIES

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THE NEED OF FINANCIAL DAILIES FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS


In the survey all 30 post graduate students are pursuing MBA but we also need to analyze that wether other Post graduate students do also read Financial Newspaper or not. To find out the above I made a survey of the following colleges: 1) Two MBA colleges. 2) Calcutta University(MSC,M.COM) 3) MCA colleges like B.B Poddar and George. I made a survey of 40 MBA students, 40 MBA students pursuing either MSc or M.com and 30 students pursuing MCA. After the survey the result obtained from the survey:
SL NO. STUDENT PROFILE NO. OF STUDENT SURVEYED NO. OF STUDENT READING FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER

1 2 3

MBA MSC/M.COM MCA

40 40 40

34 16 8

From the above survey it is very clear that the students of B schools are the potential readers of the Financial Newspaper. Therefore to increase the circulation Business Standard should concentrate on the B schools and MBA students. The students doing M.Com do also have a tendency to read Financial Newspaper but not many students of MCA do have an urge towards reading Financial Newspaper. A statistical representation of the above survey : In the above survey of Post graduate students we can clearly find out that 59% of Manage ment students read
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financial newspaper whereas students pursuing MSC or M.COM comprises of only 27% and students from MCA background comprises the least.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Its time for Business Line to do something new.

The marketing team of Business Line should look for promotional activities. Advertising is the most effective and quickest way to reach the masses. The innovative way could be through hoardings, TV channels, and corporate conferences and in B-school fest. Business Line should go for price regulation. It is the vital part of marketing. Price sensitiveness influences the consumer buying behavior. The brand image is pretty low which leads to low circulation.Reseach reveals that it has been confined to certain areas only. So, it should concentrate on brand image as brand image adds huge advantage in the marketing of any product. It is related with the sensitivity that customers expects from a particular product. Business Line should focus on the visuality of the newspaper. Although it offers excellent contents, there is certainly a scope for the improvement of the visibility. To get par with the competitors, the presentation style should be mesmerizing and eye catching. It should also easily communicatable to the readers. Business Line should concentrate more on B-schools as it constitutes a huge portion of the target readers. It would be helpful for the students as well as for the newspaper if it devotes at least one page to the B-school containing case studies and other relevant managerial analysis. Business Line should do some promotional activities in the B-schools because B- schools are like a pool of readers of financial newspaper and they are thus the potential readers of business Line.

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Business Line to look forward to tie up and deliver newspaper in the coffee shops. Because many a times we have witnessed people coming and sitting in a coffee shop to spend some time and relax. Many corporate people do visit coffee shop and while having a sip over a cup of coffee they prefer to have a glance at the newspaper and often financial newspaper. Business Line should look to deliver newspaper in the coffee shops so that these people get a chance of reading Business Line free of cost. If they like then surely they will start reading Business Line. This is a tricky strategy adopted by a newspaper, Mint to get familiar in Kolkata city. It should look to tie up with some stock broking company so as to deliver a fixed number of copy every day. Business Line should take the initiative to distribute newspaper at a discounted rate in the railway platform. Large number of local people does buy newspaper from the platform. Once they become accustomed to Business Line and they read the newspaper then only they will understand the difference of business line from others. As readers do not change their reading habits too often so it would be helpful for business line to form a large market share by this strategy. Business Line should come up with some weekly magazines. This will attract more readers. And it should also offer in the corporate houses at a discounted rate.

CONCLUSION:
This project is on Designing the market strategy to influence the readers of Business Line in the market. We have attempted to study some popular Brands of financial newspaper company and reader perception about them and trying to measure the blend of selected attributes which should be there in the product that will attract the readers in the selected market segment. The project recommends some guidelines to analyze the factors that influence the choice of the readers in choosing newspaper and its various ranges of attributes.

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The study involves a sample survey of 600 respondents in Kolkata using questionnaire on the basis of weighted sum model as the research instrument augmented with formal as well as informal interviews with the customers and also make through use of information available on the internet and the database of some brokerage & chartered firms. Further the project includes the comparative study of the current market trend and the possible reasoning of that on this basis of the global economic condition slowdown. A part of the project also dealt with understanding the behavioral aspect of readers of financial newspaper. As we found in the market that the awareness of the Business Line, the financial newspaper is not at par what it should be. So it needs awareness campaigns to achieve the aims of the Hindu Business Line. I am overwhelmed with the generosity and cooperation that I have got from Business Line. If given a chance I will like to see myself as an employee in Business Line and it will be dreams come true for me. In a nutshell, it was a learning experience for me which will help me in immensely in shaping up my career graph.

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ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE SURVEY


1. Which Newspaper do you read? O The Times Of India O The Economic Times O Business Line O Others 2. Do you read any financial newspaper? O Yes O No 3. (If yes) What Business Newspaper do you usually read? O Economic Times O Business Standard O Business Line O Financial Express O Mint 4. (If not reading Business Line) Are you aware of the newspaper Business Line? O Yes O No O May be 5. Do you read Business Line? O Yes O No O Often 6. (If reading Business Line) How many times you read BL in a week? O Daily O On weekdays O On weekend 7. Are you satisfied with Business Line? O Agree O Moderately Agree O Disagree 8. How do you rate it to other financial daily? O Better O At par O Needs Improvement 9. Do you deal with stock market, mutual fund & derivatives? O Yes O No
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10. Which is the section you like the most in Business Line? 11. Is there anything else you would like to read in business Line? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12. (If not reading Business Line) Would you like to read Business Line at a special discounted rate? O Yes O No 13. Where would you like to read? O At Residence. O At Office 14. Any comment on Business Line? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NAME OF THE EXECUTIVE: NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION: DESIGNATION: ADDRESS:

PHONE: OFFICE:

MOBILE:

SIGNATURE OF THE EXECUTIVE:

INTERVIWEE:

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Questionnaire Design
Rank and give a tick () on the suitable option of the following Brand on a 5 point scale: (1 as very poor and 5 as excellent)
Name Address Education Occupation Gender

Economic Time
Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness Excellent Fair Good Poor Very Poor

Business Line
Excellent Fair Good Poor Very Poor

Financial Express
Excellent Fair Good Poor Very Poor

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Business Standard
Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness Attributes Price Looks Availability Contents Brand Image Awareness Excellent Fair Good Poor Very Poor

Mint
Excellent Fair Good Poor Very Poor

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LIST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS VISITED DURING THE PROJECT BANKS:


ABN-AMRO Bank, camac street Syndicate Bank, Shakespeare sarani Regional Office of Syndicate Bank, Shakespeare sarani Yes Bank, Camac street Bank of Baroda, HA block, Sector-3, Salt Lake Regional Office of Bank of Baroda, Sector-5, Salt Lake Standard Chartered, Shakespeare sarani Federal Bank, Camac street HSBC Bank, Salt Lake, Sector-3

CORPORATE OFFICES:
Sahara Pariwar Barclays Finance Bajaj Capital Sahara Life Insurance Wipro India Forms Centre Tanishq Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance

STOCK BROKING FARMS:


Gateway Financial Services Ltd. , Shakespeare sarani Indovision security Pvt Ltd. , Canning street Suraj stock Broking Ltd. , 3A Pollock street Sri Ram Insight Share Broking Ltd. , Salt Lake Arch Finance Ltd. , Salt Lake Techno share and stock Ltd. , Salt Lake Dynamic securities Pvt Ltd. , Salt Lake East India security Ltd. , Salt Lake Ashika Stock broking Ltd. , A J C Bose Road

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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 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., Business Research Method. Internet: information available at the website of the Hindu and others sites as follows. O O O O O O O O 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

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