1.

1Rationale of the study:

The project report on Business Standard is made keeping in view the changing need of
customers and ever increasing awareness. As the number of newspaper being published in
Indian market is increasing, the competition is huge. When we talk about business news
papers, there are six business dailies being published in India. Among these The Economic
Times is clear leader by huge margin. Under such circumstance for Business news paper like
Business Standard, with no strong background unlike ET, it is very difficult to compete. Still
BS stands at second position as far as circulation is concerned. But there is still a lot of scope
of improving its position.

Keeping in view the potential of BS the project is aimed at finding some of the facts and
findings which may be of some help. The project is a detailed research of market share, growth
rate, readership, SWOT analysis, Industry Overview, and potential growth opportunities of
Business Standard.

So in this project I have done a research analysis where in I have analyzed how company
offers great deal of its products and what is the satisfaction level of Customers which
ultimately helps finding market potential for Business Standard.

1
 INDUSTRY PROFILE

2.1 Media and Entertainment

Media, the fourth estate, when entwined with the entertainment component represents
an effective facet of consumers in India. Technology has played a key role in influencing the
entertainment industry, by redefining its products, cost structure and distribution.

The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry stood at US$ 12.9 billion in
2009 registering a 1.4 per cent growth over last year, according to a joint report by KPMG
and an industry chamber. Over the next five years, the industry is projected to grow at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent to reach the size of US$ 24.04 billion
by 2014, the report stated. Additionally, the gaming segment is expected to be the fastest
growing sector in the M&E industry. The sector showed a 22 per cent growth in 2009 and is
expected to grow at a CAGR of 32 per cent to reach US$ 705.2 million by 2014, while the
animation segment is expected to record a CAGR of 18.7 per cent in the next five years as
per the joint report.

2.1.1 Television

According to the figures released by an industry chamber in March 2010, the

Broadcast and Television (TV) sector comprised over 43 per cent of the overall M&E sector
wherein the total size of the television sector accounted for US$ 5.7 billion. The broadcast
sector is on a strong growth path and the outlook for advertisement expenditure is on a rise
for the television sector.

A report by research firm Media Partners Asia (MPA) stated that India is poised to
become the world's largest direct-to-home (DTH) satellite pay TV market with 36.1 million
subscribers by 2012, overtaking the US. Furthermore, in its report titled 'Asia Pacific Pay-TV
and Broadband Markets 2010', MPA said India's DTH subscriber base will increase from 17
million in 2009 to 45 million by 2014 and 58 million by 2020.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's company, Reliance MediaWorks (RMW) has signed
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IMAGICA Corp of Japan for film processing

2
services. Under this alliance, RMW, on behalf of IMAGICA, would provide film restoration,
image processing and enhancement and high definition (HD) conversion services to the
Japanese clients. IMAGICA Corp would work with RMW's Los Angeles-based subsidiary
Lowry Digital, which has handled projects for leading studios like Walt Disney, Paramount
Pictures, MGM and 20th Century Fox. RMW would be doing the processing job for
IMAGICA either in India or in California in the US.

2.1.2 Music

The music industry is a vast entity and over the years it has witnessed change
significantly. The potential of the Indian music industry can be better understood from its size
estimated at around US$ 182.9 million in 2010, up from US$ 160.9 million in 2008,
portraying a growth of 14 per cent during the reporting period. It is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 16 per cent over 2010-14 to reach US$ 379.1 million.

2.1.3 Radio

Radio is considered a mass medium. It ideally suits the Indian environment -

leveraging its twin advantages of wide coverage and cost effectiveness. Currently, the sector
generates annual revenues worth US$ 49.5 million and is growing at around 20 percent
annually, according to the joint report by KPMG and an industry chamber.

To exploit the true potential of this sector, frequency modulation (FM) radio needs to
step up its penetration to at least 300 stations in 100 cities, which would further attract an
investment of US$ 899,160 per radio station frequency, the total additional investment
required has been estimated at US$ 247.3 million, according to industry sources.

Radio is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent over 2010-14 and reach to a size
of US$ 361.4 million by 2014.

Globally, radio is enjoying a revival, based on the support of the youth, with players
like Radio Mirchi emerging out as one of the clear leaders with over 41.2 million listeners, as
per the recently published Indian Readership Survey (IRS) quarter 1 (Q1), 2010.

3
 VedantiNET, the Broadband and application service provider of Guwahati promoted
by SM Computer Consultants Pvt Ltd, has launched the service of first Internet Radio of
Assam, ‗Radio Assam', in the city.

2.1.4 Advertising:

A report by consultancy firm KPMG stated that the US$ 5.2 billion advertising
industry is set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent in 2010,
in comparison to the last year. KPMG observed that online advertising will grow about 30 per
cent per annum, establishing itself as the fastest growing advertising medium. While
elaborating further it stated that the growth in regional advertising is partly driven by new
sectors such as education, hospitality, jewellery and real estate which often have local brands
and therefore prefer to advertise through local channels.

Emphasising on the Internet advertising industry, KPMG said the US$ 185 million
industry would encourage both multinational companies and local brands to focus on their
marketing strategies.

2.1.5 Cinema:

Films Division has been motivating the broadest spectrum of the Indian public with a
view to enlisting their active participation in nation building activities.

According to the joint report by KPMG and an industry chamber, the film industry
contracted 14 per cent growth in 2009 wherein the industry is projected to grow at a CAGR
of 9 per cent to touch an estimated amount of US$ 3.02 billion over the next five years.
Growth drivers for the sector would include expansion of factors like an increase in the
number of multiplex screens, digital screens facilitating wider releases, higher cable and
satellite revenues, improving collections from the overseas markets and supplementary
revenue streams like DTH, digital downloads, etc, which are expected to emerge in future.

Reliance MediaWorks Ltd has signed a deal with UFO Moviez to establish a gateway
for digital film releases on Indian screens. The pact will enable the firm to combine UFO
Movies digitisation technology with its programming expertise and digital cinema experience
as stated by Reliance Media works.

4
2.1.6 Print/Publishing:

The print media industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9 per cent and targets to
reach around US$ 5.93 billion by 2014, according to the joint report by KPMG and an
industry chamber.

Jagran Prakashan of Jagran Group, which publishes one of India's largest read
language dailies, stated that it will acquire all the publications of Mid-Day Multimedia in a
stock deal valued nearly at US$ 40 million.

Foreign investment, including foreign direct investments (FDI) and investment by

non-resident Indians (NRIs)/person of Indian origin (PIO)/foreign institutional investor (FII),
up to 26 per cent, is permitted for publishing of newspapers and periodicals dealing with
news and current affairs under the Government route.

FDI policy for publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with news
and current affairs is: Foreign investment, including FDI and investment by NRIs/PIOs/FII,
up to 26 per cent, is permitted under the Government route. 'Magazine', for the purpose of
these guidelines, will be defined as a periodical publication, brought out on non-daily basis,
containing public news or comments on public news. Foreign investment would also be
subject to the Guidelines for Publication of Indian editions of foreign magazines dealing with
news and current affairs issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) on
Publishing/printing of Scientific and Technical Magazines/specialty journals/ periodicals
100per cent FDI is permitted under the Government route.

2.1.7 Theatre:

Mexico-based multiplex operator Cinepolis plans to set up 40 screens over the next
12months in India, which could entail an investment of US$ 28 million.

Milan Saini, Head and Managing Director, Cinepolis India Country stated that "India
is a huge opportunity for us as the market is under-penetrated. We plan to set up 40 screens
over the next 12 months across seven properties in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai
and Hyderabad."

5
2.1.8 Digital Media:

The digital technologies and their innovative applications have changed the
entertainment sector considerably, especially the content production and its quality. Internet
has also emerged as the latest revenue stream and has become one of the fastest growing
advertising medium and has made a significant impression on the entertainment industry.

Officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry have planned a roadmap for
making broadcasting operations completely digital. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) has suggested a three-stage process for digitisation, wherein tier one cities
would be covered by 2013, tier two cities by 2014 and tier three cities by 2017. They further
stated that the digital transmission helps in enhancing the audio and picture quality.

Madison Media bagged the media buying account of US carmaker General Motors
(GM), estimated at more than US$ 22.1 million. GM, the third biggest ad spender among
auto companies in the country after Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor, has given the account
to Madison for a period of three years.

2.2 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

The Government has initiated the following measures:

 The government has allotted US$ 50.13 million in the current Five-Year Plan (2007-
2012) for various development projects for the film industry. The funds will be utilised to
set up a centre for excellence in animation, gaming and visual effects
 To offer better audio quality and sharper picture to millions of its viewers, public
broadcaster Doordarshan plans to go completely digital by 2017.

According to the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy document

released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India, foreign investment, including foreign direct
investments (FDI) and investment by non-resident Indians (NRIs)/person of Indian origin
(PIO)/foreign institutional investor (FII), up to 26 per cent, is permitted for publishing of
newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and current affairs under the Government
route.

6
The Consolidated FDI Policy document brings forth the following guidelines for the M&E
industry:

Terrestrial Broadcasting FM (FM Radio): Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO
investments and portfolio investments are permitted up to 20 per cent equity for FM Radio's
Broadcasting Services with prior approval of the Government subject to such terms and
conditions as specified from time to time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for
grant of permission for setting up of FM radio stations.

Cable Network: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO investments and portfolio
investments are permitted up to 49 per cent for cable networks under Government route
subject to Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 and other conditions as specified from time
to time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

Direct–to-Home: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO investments and portfolio
investments are permitted up to 49 per cent for Direct to Home under Government route.
Within the limit of 49 per cent, FDI will not exceed 20 per cent. This will be subject to such
guidelines/terms and conditions as specified from time to time by Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting (I&B)

The total direct and indirect foreign investment including portfolio and foreign direct
investment in Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) Broadcasting Service shall not exceed 74 per
cent. FDI upto 49 per cent would be on automatic route and beyond that under government
route. This will be subject to such guidelines/terms and conditions as specified from time to
time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B)
FDI policy in the Up-linking of TV Channels is as under:

Foreign investment of FDI and FII up to 49 per cent would be permitted under the
Government route for setting up Up-linking HUB/ Teleports.
FDI up to 100 per cent would be allowed under the Government route for Up linking a Non-
News & Current Affairs TV Channel; Foreign investment of FDI and FII up to 26 per cent
would be permitted under the Government route for Up-linking a News & Current Affairs TV
Channel subject to the condition that 48 the portfolio investment from FII/ NRI shall not be
"persons acting in concert" with FDI investors, as defined in the SEBI(Substantial
Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997

7
2.3 GOING GLOBAL:

Reliance Big Entertainment, owned by Anil Ambani, has bought half of UK's games
and publishing company, Codemasters. The investment is expected to open up the fast-
growing Indian market for Codemasters, in order to assist Reliance tap the potential of games
which is vividly catching the fantasy of the growing local interest. Rod Cousens, CEO of
Codemasters stated that the deal will help the company realise the full potential of their game
coding and online excellence across various platforms, especially in the world's fastest-
growing markets.

2.4 PRINT MEDIA:

2.4.1 Print media in India:

India offers a promising market for the print media industry. The expected CAGR of 12
per cent up to 2010 is a result of the increasing rate of literacy and thus the increase in the
number of people reading newspapers and magazines. Also, the demand for the latest events
in the country and the world is driving the newspaper industry growth. In 2010, the print
media is expected to reach Rs 19,000 crore from its present value of Rs 17,500 crore.

 Current size: Rs 17,500 crore

 Projected size by 2010: Rs 19,000 crore
 CAGR: 8%

The bright future and the immense scope of the Indian print media have also aroused
the interest of foreign investors and recently the government has opened up the sector to
foreign investment. Foreign media has also shown interest in investing in Indian publications.
The revenues for India's newspaper market are generated from advertising and circulation.
India's growth rate in this segment is poised to be higher than the average rate of growth in
the Asia-Pacific region over the next four years.

Digital printing, new ways of promotion and distribution are the latest trends and
content being the focus of the print media industry. A few leaders in India in this segment
are: Times of India Group, Dainik Jagran, Lok satta, The Hindustan Times and The Hindu.

8
2.4.2 News paper:

The history of newspapers is a dramatic chapter of the human experience going back
some five centuries. In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated privately
among merchants, passing along information about everything from wars and economic
conditions to social customs and "human interest" features. The first printed forerunners of
the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400's in the form of news pamphlets or
broadsides, often highly sensationalized in content. Some of the most famous of these report
the atrocities against Germans in Transylvania perpetrated by a sadistic veovod named Vlad
Tsepes Drakul, who became the Count Dracula of later folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were

corantos, small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred.
The first successively published title was The Weekly News of 1622. It was followed in the
1640's and 1650's by a plethora of different titles in the similar news book format. The first
true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a generation it was the only
officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles were in print by the century's
end.

2.4.3 Asia’s role in the Newspaper industry:

Worldwide newspaper sales edged up by more than two percent in 2007 while
advertising revenue recorded significant gains, according to the World Association of
Newspapers.

In its report on trends in the newspaper industry, the WAN said nearly 515 million
copies of newspapers were sold daily in 2007 and read by an estimated more than one billion
people worldwide. China, India and Japan were the world's biggest newspaper markets in
2007 and China overtook Japan as the country with the highest number of publications in the
world.

Three-quarters of the world's 100 best selling daily newspapers were now published
in Asia where sales were up 4.1 percent for the year. The figures from WAN's annual survey
of press trends, were released to more than 1,300 publishers, editors and other senior

9
newspaper executives from 81 countries attending the World Newspaper Congress and the
World Editors Forum, Asia's biggest ever media gathering.

Worldwide newspaper circulation grew 2.1 percent, the number of daily titles was up
two percent and advertising revenue rose 5.3 percent, its biggest jump in four years, the
WAN report said. "It has been an extraordinarily positive 12 months for the global newspaper
industry," said Timothy Balding, director general of the Paris-based WAN.

"Newspapers are clearly undergoing a renaissance through new products, new

formats, new titles, new editorial approaches, better distribution and better marketing."

Graph: Growth of Print media(in INR billion):

200
180
160
140
120
100
175
80 159 162
148
60 128
108
40
20
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Graph 2.4.3.1: Growth of Print media (in INR billion):

Source: FICCI REPORT

2.5 INDIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY:

India is one of the few countries in the world to have many business newspapers,
which not only reflects the vitality and vibrancy of the media, but also the new vitality of our
economy. The large readership for these business newspapers transcends from the rapidly
growing corporate sector, it also illustrates the growing interest that the general public now
evinces in economic matters which reflect the growing importance of business and economy
in our national discourse.

10
 There was a huge growth in the sales of the business newspapers for the past few
years. According to the recent study by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI), this growth would outperform the general economy each year till 2011.

The Indian print media industry netted $90.80 million in foreign investment in the last
three years; few papers like Business standard have tied up with Financial Times of London.
Business newspapers have the ability to carry the message in greater detail and clarity, more
in-depth information and analysis, which helps companies and their business.

Business newspapers are re-inventing themselves to protect their turf in a fiercely

competitive multi-media environment. They are using different strategies to attract the
customers of different sectors. Business newspapers focused mainly on business news,
insightful views on significant issues and comprehensive coverage of the stock market.

They have managed to hold the attention and fidelity of more than 9, 00,000 readers
(both individual and corporate across the nation). All the business newspapers in India
(Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Times, Business Line, Mint and Financial
Chronicle) are working strategically to increase their sales.

This Summer Internship Program is also designed with a view to study about the
market regarding the personal sale of the Business Standard products and also looking for
subscriptions and promoting the product and also creating awareness about business
newspapers among different sectors.

The aim is to create an in-depth awareness of the brand Business Standard among the
various segments of readers, in comparison to other business dailies like Economic Times,
Business Line and Financial Times. There is a huge scope of growth for Business
newspapers in coming years as only a paltry 0.1% of the population is reading business
newspapers at present.

Newspapers reach only 35 per cent of our adult population even though the adult
literacy is about 65 per cent. To build this gap between readership and literacy and also to
remain competitive the publications have kept their prices low and depended entirely on
advertisers to subsidize the reader and to increase the sales.

11
 The Indian Newspaper industry can be primarily segmented across two categories viz
English Newspapers and Regional / Vernacular Newspapers. The English medium dominates
the industry in terms of advertisement revenues, though vernacular newspapers outperform
the English newspapers in circulation.

English newspaper industry in India has been fragmented with the players having a
regional focus such as the Deccan Chronicle in Hyderabad, Hindustan Times in Delhi, Times
of India in Mumbai, Hindu in Chennai, Telegraph and Statesman in Kolkata, Deccan Herald
in Bangalore, Gujarat Samachar in Ahmedabad. However, the industry is witnessing a trend
whereby players are looking beyond their home territories viz. Times of India‘s and Business
Standard‘s entry into certain newer territories and Deccan Chronicle and Hindustan Times
also doing the same.

The competitive landscape has now drastically changed with major publishers trying
to expand to other geographic regions, initiating price wars and marketing campaigns to win
readers. The competitive intensity, which was quite ―mild‖ until few years ago, also reached
a higher level with the launch of DNA and Hindustan Times in the Mumbai market.

A booming economy and the opportunity to raise funds from a well-developed

financial market have also contributed to the growth of the newspaper industry in India.
Indian newspaper industry has turnover of Rs 16,200 crore in 2009. It is expected to touch
Rs 17,500 crore. The size of media industry in India as a portion of the GDP is estimated
at 0.7%, which is lower than most of the developed and developing nations. Thus it offers a
scope of high growth in this industry moving forward. Advertising expenditure to GDP
reveals that advertisement expenditure to GDP ratio in India is 0.4%. With rising income and
education level in India, readership is expected to rise and with favorable demographics,
advertising revenues will increase as advertisers start spending more to attract higher quality
audience with more purchasing power.

Newspaper publication is usually issued on a daily or weekly basis, the main function
of which is to report news. Many newspapers also furnish special information to readers, such
as weather reports, television schedules, and listings of stock prices. They provide
commentary on politics, economics, and arts and culture, and sometimes include
entertainment features, such as comics and crossword puzzles. In nearly all cases and in
varying degrees, newspapers depend on commercial advertising for their income.

12
 Present scenario is that by the time, they see a newspaper, most people have already
learned about breaking news stories on television or radio. Readers rely on newspapers to
provide detailed background information and analysis, which television and radio newscasts
rarely offer. Newspapers not only inform readers that an event happened but also help readers
understand what led up to the event and how it will affect the world around them.

List of top thirty newspapers (circulation wise):

Sr. Newspaper Language Daily Owner

No Circulation
(in
millions)
1 The Times of India English 3.146 Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd.
2 Dainik Bhaskar Hindi 2.547 DB Crop Ltd.
3 Dainik Jagran Hindi 2.168 Jagaran Prakashan Ltd.
4 Malayala Malayalam 1.514 Malayala Manorama Group
Manorama
5 The Hindu English 1.360 Kasturi & Sons Ltd.
6 Eenadu Telugu 1.350 Ramoji Group
7 Deccan Chronicle English 1.349 Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd.

8 Ananda Bazar Bengali 1.277 Ananda Publishers

Patrika

9 Amar Ujala Hindi 1.230 Amar Ujala Publications Ltd.

10 Hindustan Times English 1.143 HT Media Ltd

11 Hindustan Hindi 1.142 HT Media Ltd
12 Sakshi Telugu 1.256 Jagati Publications Ltd.
13 Mathrubhumi Malayalam 1.077 Mathrubhumi Group
14 Gujarat Samachar Gujarati 1.051 Lok Prakashan Ltd.
15 Punjab Kesari Hindi .902 Founder Jagat Narain was
assassinated by Sikh militants on
September 9, 1981

13
16 Dinakaran Tamil .901 Kal Publications
17 Sakaal Marathi .879 Sakal Media Group
18 Dina Thanthi Tamil .854 Founded by S. P. Adithanar
19 Divya Bhaskar Gujarati .840 Gujarati version of the Dainik
Bhaskar
20 Aaj Hindi .748 Jnanamandal Limited

21 The Economic English .651 Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd.

Times
22 The Telegraph English .465 Ananda Publishers
23 DNA English .400 Diligent Media Corporation
24 Prajavani Kannada .364 The Printers (Mysore) Private
Limited
25 The New Indian English .309 Express Publications Ltd.
Express
26 Deccan Herald English .214 The Printers (Mysore) Private
Limited
27 Udayavani Kannada .185 Udayavani
28 Business Standard English+hi .184 Business Standard Ltd. (BSL)
ndi
29 The Statesman English .172 The Statesman Ltd.
30 Business line English .144 Kasturi and sons ltd.

The staff of a large newspaper works under the constant pressure of deadlines to bring
news to readers as quickly as human energy and technological devices permit. Reporters,
photographers, artists, and editors compile articles and graphics—sometimes in just a few
hours. Page designers assemble articles, photos, illustrations, advertisements, and eye-
catching headlines into page layouts, and then rush their work to the printer.

Newspapers as known today are complete with advertising and a mixture of political,
economic, and social news and commentary.

14
 Business news papers in India

List of business Newspapers in India:

 Economic times
 Business Standard
 Financial Express
 Mint
 Business Line
 Financial chronical

Publication of Business newspapers started in India by the launch of Economic Times on

5th march 1961. It has traditionally been the essential reference document on Indian business,
polity, economy and finance. Its focus on the managerial component and evolving business in
India and abroad makes it the favorite amongst intellectuals, managers as well as students and
researchers, having recorded a staggering growth of 150% over the past few years. The
Economic Times has emerged as the most widely circulated economic and business daily in the
country and among the top three English financial dailies in the world.

Business Standard was started in 1975 by the Ananda Bazaar group in what was then
Calcutta, the paper was hived off as a separate company in 1996, and then bought by Mumbai-
based financial investors, after which it began a phase of rapid expansion with the launch of
new editions. The Financial Times of London took an equity stake in BSL in 2004.

Business Line or The Hindu Business Line is an Indian business newspaper published
by Kasturi and Sons, publishers of the The Hindu newspaper.

Business Line started publishing in 1994. It is India's youngest business newspaper and
also the country's second largest selling, with a circulation of one lakh copies, next to the
Economic Times.

Financial Times entered into the market after Business Line, so did the Hindustan
Times, Mint and Financial Chronicle which is the youngest of the lot.

15
 COMPANY PROFILE OF THE BUSINESS STANDARD

3.1 Brief history:

Business Standard (BS) is a serious, respected, top-notch, non-frivolous, business daily,

which is founded on the editorial principles of integrity, accuracy and trust.

Growing rapidly & consistently, circulated in more than 1000 cities across the country. This
shows that more readers value Business Standard.

It is regarded as India‘s most credible and the second largest business daily. BS has some of
the country‘s best economic journalists and columnists working for it.

The Editor of BS is Mr. SANJAY BARU Ex. Media Advisor to the PM. Mr. MANMOHAN
SINGH.

Mr. A.K.Bhattacharya, Group Managing editor is a former editor of The Pioneer and
associate editor of Economic Times.

Regular columnists include many reputed names such as:

– A V Rajwade -FOREX expert

– T Thomas - Ex Chairman, HLL
– G.N Bajpai -Ex Chairman SEBI
– Shankar Acharya - Former chief economic Advisor, GOI
– Suman Berry - Director General,NCAER
– Deepak Lal - Prof. of Economics, UCLA
– M Govinda Rao - Director, National Inst of Public Fin.
– Ravi Mohan - Managing Director, CRISIL
– Surjit Bhalla - Managing Director, Oxus Research
– Arvind Singhal - Managing Director, Technopak
– Arun Balakrishnan - Managing Director, Rediff.com
– A G Krishnamurthy - Ex Managing Director, Mudra

16
 Vision

"Providing information that creates wealth and enriches Life‖

Mission

“To deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees and

society at large. “

17
Serious Facts about Business Standard

 It is second largest business daily in India.

 Growing rapidly at 49%.
 Circulated in more than 1000 cities across India.
 Circulation of over 1.7 lakh copies.
 Only paper to cover the Global stock market.

Business Standard – Best Pan India Coverage

Business Standard has a print order of over 200,000 copies

The daily newspaper Business Standard (also available as an e-paper) is the preferred
choice of serious business readers. It is published from 12 centres - Mumbai, New Delhi,
Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi
and Bhubaneswar.

18
 A Hindi Business Standard is published from seven centres across northern India:
Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Bhopal and Chandigarh reaching more than 1000
locations.

There have been traumatic episodes in its corporate history and sharp alterations in its
editorial policy. But none of these has taken away from image of The Business standard as a
reliable sober, if a little pompous newspaper of record. Even the fact that lately, The
Business standard has adopted new fashions in keeping with the times has not materially
affected the image.

"What has marked The Business standard generally has been an outlook of relative
objectivity in news gathering, responsibility and even pluralism in expression of opinion and,
by and large, a sober, if somewhat conservative presentation of news and opinion, it has also
been characterized by a degree of liberalism on both political and economic matters, these
features of The Business standard are reflected in the newspaper as a whole over the long
span of its existence. The readership of the company is growing every year at a fair pace.

The figure below shows the growth trend of BS:

200000 184646
170500
180000
160000 143549
116234
140000
Circulation

120000 96150
80454 87976
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
Jan- Jan- Jan- Jan- Jan- Jan- Jan-
Dec 03 Dec04 Dec 05 Dec 06 Dec 07 Dec 08 Dec 09

Graph 3.1.1: Growth trend of business standard.

19
 3.2 SERVICES AND PRODUCT LINE OF THE BUSINESS STANDARD
Initially, Business standard was covering the various events and societal happenings
in one paper i.e. The Business standard. But later on Business standard found it difficult to
reach the entire target market/ consumers through a single newspaper. Secondly, it become
difficult for Business standard to depict the complete picture because of the increase in
activities of society, growing consciousness of people to know each and every aspects of the
happening and also because of the diverse demands of the people. So apart from The
Business standard, the company started offering many more services and products which
further increased the credibility of Business standard.

The various products and services offered by the company are as follows:-

Content Editorial Property Frequency

International News Financial Times Page Daily

Lifestyle, Luxury & Gizmos Business Life Daily

Corporate News Companies Daily

Policy & Analysis Issues & Insights Daily

Regional News Accent Daily

Corporate Social Responsibility Social enterprises Every Monday

Transportation Business & Logistics Logistics Every Monday

Management Education & Training Business Education Every Monday &

Avenues Initiative By Business Thursday
Schools

It, Telecom & Entertainment ICE World Every Tuesday

SME Business SME World Every Wednesday

Human Relation Power Zone Every Wednesday

Real Estate-Market Scenario & Real Estate Every Friday

Opportunities

Automobiles & Ancillary Segment BS Motoring Every Saturday

20
 Business Standard is the country's most respected business daily, being the first choice of
serious business readers. The newspaper believes in free, fair and independent journalism and
strives to inculcate these values in its editorial staff. The journalism practiced by Business
Standard lays equal stress on quality, credibility and accuracy.

1. First page consist of the headlines, news of the last day. On the top of the page, there is a
line, which indicates the volume number, publishing centers from where this newspaper is
being printed.
2. On left side of the whole page there are certain columns like In Brief, Market watch and
opinion poll.
3. On the bottom right corner of the page there is a sole ad generally. Second and third pages
consist of the news related to the Economy.
4. There is a separate page for International news and State news.
5. Tenth and Eleventh page generally consist of Issues & Insights and Opinion respectively.
6. A separate section called Money and Markets comes which contains all the news related
to currency, daily stock market fluctuation and also about the commodity market. This
section is completely made for money and markets only, to give the detailed news of each
and every factor.
7. Apart from the daily newspaper, some supplement comes along with the newspaper,
Supplements like Smart Investor (from Tuesday to Friday), The Strategist (Monday), and
Weekend Lifestyle.

21
 3.3 Supplements of Business Standard:

• Smart investors
• Strategist
Supplement • Weekend

• The Fund Manager

• The Billionaire Club
Magazine • Banking Annual
• BS 1000

Weekly supplements

The strategist

 A sought after weekly supplement, the strategist appears every Monday.

 Covers issues on management & marketing. Analyses critical issues through case studies.
 Rich in content, the strategist relies heavily on highly researched articles so that the
reader gets a complete understanding of the subject.

Weekend

 ―BS Weekend‖ Covers the topics of lifestyle, Art, Travel, Portraits of wealthy people,
Real Estate, Golf, Book reviews among others.
 A perfect way to start your weekend knowing the leisure's of life.
 Only with Business Standard

22
 Annuals

 The Fund Manager - Covers the high points and performances of Mutual Funds. An
annual guide to smartly invest in mutual funds. Includes profiles of top fund managers.
 Banking Annual – Performances of the banking sector. Annual ranking of banks,
exploring the mantras adopted by top-rated banks to succeed.
 BS 1000 – A guide to India‘s top 1000 companies. An annual reference book on
corporate performance. Analyses and rates top 1000 listed companies.

MARQUEE: - A LIFESTYLE PRODUCT:

 The tabloid theme is devoted to luxury and lifestyle as a general principle; Luxuriant
lifestyles, Premium real estate and holidays, Luxury cruises and Watches, Fashion, Cars,
Hotels and Spas, Jewellery, golf, accessories, imported furniture, exotic cuisines, quality
spirits, office equipment, Home Interiors & home entertainment systems.
 The magazine targets the super rich & the affluent who make a style statement with the
luxury buys is circulated quarterly with Business Standard in Mumbai, Delhi & Banglore.

3.4 Reader Profile:

 Business Standard is read by the decision makers & policy makers.

 A premium product read by the Crème de la crème of corporate India.
 The reader is upscale, influential and mobile.

Graph: Readers Profile

VP/GM
59%
Chairman/CEO/MD
1.2 14%
President,Executive,Directo
rs,Others
CFO,CIO,CMO,CTO ETC
8%

23
BS is published Monday to Saturday in all locations.

On Sundays, the paper is published from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Additionally, BS offers its readers dedicated, topical magazines, inserted into the newspaper.

3.5 Promotional Offers of Business Standard (English):

Offers Business school(bulk buying Other Subscribers

1 year 450/- 625/-

Promotional Offers of Business Standard (Hindi):

Cover Price(Rs) Offer Price(Rs) Saving(Rs) Saving (%)

6 month 468 350 112 23.9%
1 year 936 675 261 27.8%
2 year 1872 1314 558 30%

24
3.5 SWOT Analysis of Business Standard:

Strength
Weakness
LOW PRICE
POOR DITRIBUTION
PUBLICATION IN
HINDI NO PUBLICATION ON
SUNDAY
IN DEPTH ANALYSIS

SWOT

Threat
Opprtunities ALTERNATIVE BRANDS
LARGE POTENTIAL DEALERS UNION
MARKET NEW INFORMATION
INCREASE IN TECHNOLOGY
READERSHIPS OTHER MEDIA SUCH
AS T.V.

25
 LITERATURE REVIEW

4.1 Introduction:

Consumer Behaviuor: Consumer behavior involves the psychological processes that

consumers go through in recognizing needs, finding ways to solve these needs, making
purchase decisions (e.g., whether or not to purchase a product and, if so, which brand and
where), interpret information, make plans, and implement these plans (e.g., by engaging in
comparison shopping or actually purchasing a product).

Sources of influence on the consumer. The consumer faces numerous sources of influence.

Often, we take cultural influences for granted, but they are significant. An American
will usually not bargain with a store owner. This, however, is a common practice in much of
the World. Physical factors also influence our behavior. We are more likely to buy a soft
drink when we are thirsty, for example, and food manufacturers have found that it is more
effective to advertise their products on the radio in the late afternoon when people are getting
hungry.

A person‘s self-image will also tend to influence what he or she will buy: an upwardly
mobile manager may buy a flashy car to project an image of success.

Social factors also influence what the consumers buy: often, consumers seek to
imitate others whom they admire, and may buy the same brands. The social environment
can include both the mainstream culture (e.g., Americans are more likely to have corn flakes
or ham and eggs for breakfast than to have rice, which is preferred in many Asian countries)
and a subculture (e.g., rap music often appeals to a segment within the population that seeks
to distinguish itself from the mainstream population). Thus, sneaker manufacturers are eager
to have their products worn by admired athletes.

Finally, consumer behavior is influenced by learning: you try a hamburger and learn
that it satisfies your hunger and tastes good, and the next time you are hungry, you may
consider another hamburger.

Consumer Choice and Decision Making: Problem Recognition. One model of

consumer decision making involves several steps.

26
 The first one is problem recognition: you realize that something is not as it should be.
Perhaps, for example, your car is getting more difficult to start and is not accelerating well.
The second step is information search: what are some alternative ways of solving the
problem? You might buy a new car, buy a used car, take your car in for repair, ride the bus,
ride a taxi, or ride a skateboard to work. The third step involves evaluation of alternatives. A
skateboard is inexpensive, but may be ill-suited for long distances and for rainy days.
Finally, we have the purchase stage, and sometimes a post-purchase stage (e.g., you return a
product to the store because you did not find it satisfactory). In reality, people may go back
and forth between the stages. For example, a person may resume alternative identification
during while evaluating already known alternatives.

Consumer involvement will tend to vary dramatically depending on the type of

product. In general, consumer involvement will be higher for products that are very
expensive (e.g., a home, a car) or are highly significant in the consumer‘s life in some other
way (e.g., a word processing program or acne medication).

It is important to consider the consumer‘s motivation for buying products. To achieve

this goal, we can use the Means-End chain, wherein we consider a logical progression of
consequences of product use that eventually lead to desired end benefit. Thus, for example, a
consumer may see that a car has a large engine, leading to fast acceleration, leading to a
feeling of performance, leading to a feeling of power, which ultimately improves the
consumer‘s self-esteem. A handgun may aim bullets with precision, which enables the user
to kill an intruder, which means that the intruder will not be able to harm the consumer‘s
family, which achieves the desired end-state of security. In advertising, it is important to
portray the desired end-states. Focusing on the large motor will do less good than portraying
a successful person driving the car.

Information search and decision making: Consumers engage in both internal and
external information search. Internal search involves the consumer identifying alternatives
from his or her memory. For certain low involvement products, it is very important that
marketing programs achieve ―top of mind‖ awareness. For example, few people will search
the Yellow Pages for fast food restaurants; thus, the consumer must be able to retrieve one‘s
restaurant from memory before it will be considered. For high involvement products,
consumers are more likely to use an external search. Before buying a car, for example, the
consumer may ask friends‘ opinions, read reviews in Consumer Reports, consult several web

27
sites, and visit several dealerships. Thus, firms that make products that are selected
predominantly through external search must invest in having information available to the
consumer in need—e.g., through brochures, web sites, or news coverage.

A compensatory decision involves the consumer ―trading off‖ good and bad attributes
of a product. For example, a car may have a low price and good gas mileage but slow
acceleration. If the price is sufficiently inexpensive and gas efficient, the consumer may then
select it over a car with better acceleration that costs more and uses more gas. Occasionally,
a decision will involve a non-compensatory strategy. For example, a parent may reject all
soft drinks that contain artificial sweeteners. Here, other good features such as taste and low
calories cannot overcome this one ―non-negotiable‖ attribute.

The amount of effort a consumer puts into searching depends on a number of factors
such as the market (how many competitors are there, and how great are differences between
brands expected to be?), product characteristics (how important is this product? How
complex is the product? How obvious are indications of quality?), consumer characteristics
(how interested is a consumer, generally, in analyzing product characteristics and making the
best possible deal?), and situational characteristics (as previously discussed).

Two interesting issues in decisions are:

 Variety seeking (where consumers seek to try new brands not because these brands are
expected to be ―better‖ in any way, but rather because the consumer wants a ―change of
pace,‖ and
 ―Impulse‖ purchases—unplanned buys. This represents a somewhat ―fuzzy‖ group. For
example, a shopper may plan to buy vegetables but only decide in the store to actually
buy broccoli and corn. Alternatively, a person may buy an item which is currently on
sale, or one that he or she remembers that is needed only once inside the store.

A number of factors involve consumer choices. In some cases, consumers will be more
motivated. For example, one may be more careful choosing a gift for an in-law than when
buying the same thing for one self. Some consumers are also more motivated to comparison
shop for the best prices, while others are more convenience oriented. Personality impacts
decisions. Some like variety more than others, and some are more receptive to stimulation
and excitement in trying new stores. Perception influences decisions. Some people, for

28
example, can taste the difference between generic and name brand foods while many cannot.
Selective perception occurs when a person is paying attention only to information of interest.
For example, when looking for a new car, the consumer may pay more attention to car ads
than when this is not in the horizon. Some consumers are put off by perceived risk. Thus,
many marketers offer a money back guarantee. Consumers will tend to change their behavior
through learning—e.g., they will avoid restaurants they have found to be crowded and will
settle on brands that best meet their tastes. Consumers differ in the values they hold (e.g.,
some people are more committed to recycling than others who will not want to go through the
hassle). We will consider the issue of lifestyle under segmentation.

The Family Life Cycle. Individuals and families tend to go through a "life cycle:" The
simple life cycle goes from

For purposes of this discussion, a "couple" may either be married or merely involve living
together. The breakup of a non-marital relationship involving cohabitation is similarly
considered equivalent to a divorce.

In real life, this situation is, of course, a bit more complicated. For example, many couples
undergo divorce. Then we have one of the scenarios:

Single parenthood can result either from divorce or from the death of one parent. Divorce
usually entails a significant change in the relative wealth of spouses. In some cases, the non-
custodial parent (usually the father) will not pay the required child support, and even if he or
she does, that still may not leave the custodial parent and children as well off as they were
during the marriage. On the other hand, in some cases, some non-custodial parents will be
called on to pay a large part of their income in child support. This is particularly a problem
when the non-custodial parent remarries and has additional children in the second (or
subsequent marriages). In any event, divorce often results in a large demand for:

 Low cost furniture and household items

 Time-saving goods and services

Divorced parents frequently remarry, or become involved in other non-marital relationships;

thus, we may see another variation involves

Here, the single parent who assumes responsibility for one or more children may not form a
relationship with the other parent of the child.

29
Integrating all the possibilities discussed, we get the following depiction of the Family Life
Cycle:

Generally, there are two main themes in the Family Life Cycle, subject to significant
exceptions:

 As a person gets older, he or she tends to advance in his or her career and tends to get
greater income (exceptions: maternity leave, divorce, retirement).
 Unfortunately, obligations also tend to increase with time (at least until one‘s mortgage
has been paid off). Children and paying for one‘s house are two of the greatest expenses.

Note that although a single person may have a lower income than a married couple, the single
may be able to buy more discretionary items.

Note that although a single person may have a lower income than a married couple, the single
may be able to buy more discretionary items.

Family Decision Making: Individual members of families often serve different roles in
decisions that ultimately draw on shared family resources. Some individuals are information
gatherers/holders, who seek out information about products of relevance. These individuals
often have a great deal of power because they may selectively pass on information that favors
their chosen alternatives. Influencers do not ultimately have the power decide between
alternatives, but they may make their wishes known by asking for specific products or
causing embarrassing situations if their demands are not met. The decision maker(s) have the
power to determine issues such as:

 Whether to buy;
 Which product to buy (pick-up or passenger car?);
 Which brand to buy;
 Where to buy it; and
 When to buy.

Note, however, that the role of the decision maker is separate from that of the purchaser.
From the point of view of the marketer, this introduces some problems since the purchaser
can be targeted by point-of-purchase (POP) marketing efforts that cannot be aimed at the
decision maker. Also note that the distinction between the purchaser and decision maker may
be somewhat blurred:

30
 The decision maker may specify what kind of product to buy, but not which brand;
 The purchaser may have to make a substitution if the desired brand is not in stock;
 The purchaser may disregard instructions (by error or deliberately).

It should be noted that family decisions are often subject to a great deal of conflict.
The reality is that few families are wealthy enough to avoid a strong tension between
demands on the family‘s resources. Conflicting pressures are especially likely in families
with children and/or when only one spouse works outside the home. Note that many
decisions inherently come down to values, and that there is frequently no "objective" way to
arbitrate differences. One spouse may believe that it is important to save for the children‘s
future; the other may value spending now (on private schools and computer equipment) to
help prepare the children for the future. Who is right? There is no clear answer here. The
situation becomes even more complex when more parties such as children or other relatives
are involved.

Some family members may resort to various strategies to get their way. One is
bargaining one member will give up something in return for someone else. For example, the
wife says that her husband can take an expensive course in gourmet cooking if she can buy a
new pickup truck. Alternatively, a child may promise to walk it every day if he or she can
have a hippopotamus. Another strategy is reasoning trying to get the other person(s) to accept
one‘s view through logical argumentation. Note that even when this is done with a sincere
intent, its potential is limited by legitimate differences in values illustrated above. Also note
that individuals may simply try to "wear down" the other party by endless talking in the guise
of reasoning (this is a case of negative reinforcement as we will see subsequently). Various
manipulative strategies may also be used. One is impression management, where one tries to
make one‘s side look good (e.g., argue that a new TV will help the children see educational
TV when it is really mostly wanted to see sports programming, or argue that all "decent
families make a contribution to the church"). Authority involves asserting one‘s "right" to
make a decision (as the "man of the house," the mother of the children, or the one who makes
the most money). Emotion involves making an emotional display to get one‘s way (e.g., a
man cries if his wife will not let him buy a new rap album).

The Means-End Chain: Consumers often buy products not because of their attributes per se
but rather because of the ultimate benefits that these attributes provide, in turn leading to the

31
 satisfaction of ultimate values. For example, a consumer may not be particularly interested in
the chemistry of plastic roses, but might reason as follows:

The important thing in a means-end chain is to start with an attribute, a concrete

characteristic of the product, and then logically progress to a series of consequences (which
tend to become progressively more abstract) that end with a value being satisfied. Thus, each
chain must start with an attribute and end with a value. An important implication of means-
end chains is that it is usually most effective in advertising to focus on higher level items. For
example, in the flower example above, an individual giving the flowers to the significant
other might better be portrayed than the flowers alone.

 Attitudes: Consumer attitudes are a composite of a consumer‘s (1) beliefs about, (2) feelings
about, (3) and behavioral intentions toward some ―object‖ within the context of marketing,
usually a brand, product category, or retail store. These components are viewed together
since they are highly interdependent and together represent forces that influence how the
consumer will react to the object.
 Beliefs: The first component is beliefs. A consumer may hold both positive beliefs toward an
object (e.g., coffee tastes good) as well as negative beliefs (e.g., coffee is easily spilled and
stains papers). In addition, some beliefs may be neutral (coffee is black), and some may be
differ in valance depending on the person or the situation (e.g., coffee is hot and stimulates--
good on a cold morning, but not good on a hot summer evening when one wants to sleep).
Note also that the beliefs that consumers hold need not be accurate (e.g., that pork contains
little fat), and some beliefs may, upon closer examination, be contradictory.
 Affect: Consumers also hold certain feelings toward brands or other objects. Sometimes
these feelings are based on the beliefs (e.g., a person feels nauseated when thinking about a
hamburger because of the tremendous amount of fat it contains), but there may also be
feelings which are relatively independent of beliefs. For example, an extreme
environmentalist may believe that cutting down trees is morally wrong, but may have positive
affect toward Christmas trees because he or she unconsciously associates these trees with the
experience that he or she had at Christmas as a child.
 Behavioral intention: The behavioral intention is what the consumer plans to do with
respect to the object (e.g., buy or not buy the brand). As with affect, this is sometimes a
logical consequence of beliefs (or affect), but may sometimes reflect other circumstances--

32
 e.g., although a consumer does not really like a restaurant, he or she will go there because it is
a hangout for his or her friends.

Changing attitudes is generally very difficult, particularly when consumers suspect

that the marketer has a self-serving ―agenda‖ in bringing about this change (e.g., to get the
consumer to buy more or to switch brands). Here are some possible methods:

 Changing affect: One approach is to try to change affect, which may or may not involve
getting consumers to change their beliefs. One strategy uses the approach of classical
conditioning try to ―pair‖ the product with a liked stimulus. For example, we ―pair‖ a car
with a beautiful woman. Alternatively, we can try to get people to like the advertisement and
hope that this liking will ―spill over‖ into the purchase of a product. For example, the
Pillsbury Doughboy does not really emphasize the conveyance of much information to the
consumer; instead, it attempts to create a warm, ―fuzzy‖ image. Although Energizer Bunny
ads try to get people to believe that their batteries last longer, the main emphasis is on the
likeable bunny. Finally, products which are better known, through the mere exposure effect,
tend to be better liked—that is, the more a product is advertised and seen in stores, the more it
will generally be liked, even if consumers to do not develop any specific beliefs about the
product.
 Changing behavior: People like to believe that their behavior is rational; thus, once they use
our products, chances are that they will continue unless someone is able to get them to
switch. One way to get people to switch to our brand is to use temporary price discounts and
coupons; however, when consumers buy a product on deal, they may justify the purchase
based on that deal (i.e., the low price) and may then switch to other brands on deal later. A
better way to get people to switch to our brand is to at least temporarily obtain better shelf
space so that the product is more convenient. Consumers are less likely to use this
availability as a rationale for their purchase and may continue to buy the product even when
the product is less conveniently located.
 Changing beliefs: Although attempting to change beliefs is the obvious way to attempt
attitude change, particularly when consumers hold unfavorable or inaccurate ones, this is
often difficult to achieve because consumers tend to resist. Several approaches to belief
change exist:
 Change currently held beliefs: It is generally very difficult to attempt to change beliefs that
people hold, particularly those that are strongly held, even if they are inaccurate. For

33
 example, the petroleum industry advertised for a long time that its profits were lower than
were commonly believed, and provided extensive factual evidence in its advertising to
support this reality. Consumers were suspicious and rejected this information, however.
 Change the importance of beliefs: Although the sugar manufacturers would undoubtedly
like to decrease the importance of healthy teeth, it is usually not feasible to make beliefs less
important--consumers are likely to reason, why, then, would you bother bringing them up in
the first place? However, it may be possible to strengthen beliefs that favor us--e.g., a
vitamin supplement manufacturer may advertise that it is extremely important for women to
replace iron lost through menstruation. Most consumers already agree with this, but the
belief can be made stronger.
 Add beliefs: Consumers are less likely to resist the addition of beliefs so long as they do not
conflict with existing beliefs. Thus, the beef industry has added beliefs that beef (1) is
convenient and (2) can be used to make a number of creative dishes. Vitamin manufacturers
attempt to add the belief that stress causes vitamin depletion, which sounds quite plausible to
most people.
 Change ideal: It usually difficult, and very risky, to attempt to change ideals, and only few
firms succeed. For example, Hard Candy may have attempted to change the ideal away from
traditional beauty toward more unique self expression.
 One-sided vs. two-sided appeals: Attitude research has shown that consumers often tend to
react more favorably to advertisements which either (1) admit something negative about the
sponsoring brand (e.g., the Volvo is a clumsy car, but very safe) or (2) admits something
positive about a competing brand (e.g., a competing supermarket has slightly lower prices,
but offers less service and selection). Two-sided appeals must, contain overriding arguments
why the sponsoring brand is ultimately superior—that is, in the above examples, the ―but‖
part must be emphasized.
 Perception: Our perception is an approximation of reality. Our brain attempts to make sense
out of the stimuli to which we are exposed. This works well, for example, when we ―see‖ a
friend three hundred feet away at his or her correct height; however, our perception is
sometimes ―off‖—for example, certain shapes of ice cream containers look like they contain
more than rectangular ones with the same volume.
 Subliminal stimuli: Back in the 1960s, it was reported that on selected evenings, movie
goers in a theater had been exposed to isolated frames with the words ―Drink Coca Cola‖ and
―Eat Popcorn‖ imbedded into the movie. These frames went by so fast that people did not

34
 consciously notice them, but it was reported that on nights with frames present, Coke and
popcorn sales were significantly higher than on days they were left off. This led Congress to
ban the use of subliminal advertising. First of all, there is a question as to whether this
experiment ever took place or whether this information was simply made up. Secondly, no
one has been able to replicate these findings. There is research to show that people will start
to giggle with embarrassment when they are briefly exposed to ―dirty‖ words in an
experimental machine. Here, again, the exposure is so brief that the subjects are not aware of
the actual words they saw, but it is evident that something has been recognized by the
embarrassment displayed.
 Organizational buyers: A large portion of the market for goods and services is attributable
to organizational, as opposed to individual, buyers. In general, organizational buyers, who
make buying decisions for their companies for a living, tend to be somewhat more
sophisticated than ordinary consumers. However, these organizational buyers are also often
more risk averse. There is a risk in going with a new, possibly better (lower price or higher
quality) supplier whose product is unproven and may turn out to be problematic. Often the
fear of running this risk is greater than the potential rewards for getting a better deal. In the
old days, it used to be said that ―You can‘t get fired for buying IBM.‖ This attitude is
beginning to soften a bit today as firms face increasing pressures to cut costs.

Organizational buyers come in several forms. Resellers involve either wholesalers or

retailers that buy from one organization and resell to some other entity. For example, large
grocery chains sometimes buy products directly from the manufacturer and resell them to
end-consumers. Wholesalers may sell to retailers who in turn sell to consumers. Producers
also buy products from sub-manufacturers to create a finished product. For example, rather
than manufacturing the parts themselves, computer manufacturers often buy hard drives,
motherboards, cases, monitors, keyboards, and other components from manufacturers and put
them together to create a finished product. Governments buy a great deal of things. For
example, the military needs an incredible amount of supplies to feed and equip troops.
Finally, large institutions buy products in huge quantities. For example, UCR probably buys
thousands of reams of paper every month.

Organizational buying usually involves more people than individual buying. Often,
many people are involved in making decisions as to (a) whether to buy, (b) what to buy, (c) at
what quantity, and (d) from whom. An engineer may make a specification as to what is
needed, which may be approved by a manager, with the final purchase being made by a

35
purchase specialist who spends all his or her time finding the best deal on the goods that the
organization needs. Often, such long purchase processes can cause long delays. In the
government, rules are often especially stringent—e.g., vendors of fruit cake have to meet
fourteen pages of specifications put out by the General Services Administration. In many
cases, government buyers are also heavily bound to go with the lowest price. Even if it is
obvious that a higher priced vendor will offer a superior product, it may be difficult to accept
that bid.

Consumer behavior is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not
buy product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and
economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually
and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and
behavioral variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess
influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and
society in general.

Customer behavior study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer
playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an
influential asset for customer behavior analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of
the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer
or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship
management, personalization, customization and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can
be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.

Each method for vote counting is assumed as social function but if Arrow‘s
possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some
specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonicity,
unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No social choice function
meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important
characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and
creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy
customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the
production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer (Kioumarsi et al., 2009).

36
4.2 Black box model:

ENVIRONMENTAL BUYER'S BLACK BUYER'S

FACTORS BOX RESPONSE
Marketing Environmental Buyer Decision
Stimuli Stimuli Characteristics Process
Product Economic Attitudes Problem Product choice
Price Technological Motivation recognition Brand choice
Place Political Perceptions Information Dealer choice
Promotion Cultural Personality search Purchase timing
Demographic Lifestyle Alternative Purchase amount
Natural Knowledge evaluation
Purchase
decision
Post
purchase
behavior

The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics,
decision process and consumer responses. It can be distinguished between interpersonal
stimuli (between people) or intrapersonal stimuli (within people) The black box model is
related to the black box theory of behaviorism, where the focus is not set on the processes
inside a consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the consumer. The
marketing stimuli are planned and processed by the companies, whereas the environmental
stimulus is given by social factors, based on the economical, political and cultural
circumstances of a society. The buyer‘s black box contains the buyer characteristics and the
decision process, which determines the buyer‘s response.

The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious, rational
decision process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized the problem. However,
in reality many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem by the
consumer.

37
 Information search

Once the consumer has recognised a problem, they search for information on products and
services that can solve that problem. Belch and Belch (2007) explain that consumers
undertake both an internal (memory) and an external search.

Sources of information include:

 Personal sources
 Commercial sources
 Public sources
 Personal experience

The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search is
perception. Perception is defined as "the process by which an individual receives, selects,
organizes, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world".

The selective perception process

Stage Description

 Selective exposure consumers select which promotional messages they will expose
themselves to.
 Selective attention consumers select which promotional messages they will pay attention to.
 Selective comprehension consumer interprets messages in line with their beliefs, attitudes,
motives and experiences.
 Selective retention consumers remember messages that are more meaningful or important to
them.

The implications of this process help develop an effective promotional strategy, and select
which sources of information are more effective for the brand.

Information evaluation

At this time the consumer compares the brands and products that are in their evoked
set. How can the marketing organization increase the likelihood that their brand is part of the
consumer's evoked (consideration) set? Consumers evaluate alternatives in terms of the
functional and psychological benefits that they offer. The marketing organization needs to

38
understand what benefits consumers are seeking and therefore which attributes are most
important in terms of making a decision.

Purchase decision:

Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a purchase
decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. The marketing
organization must facilitate the consumer to act on their purchase intention. The organization
can use variety of techniques to achieve this. The provision of credit or payment terms may
encourage purchase, or a sales promotion such as the opportunity to receive a premium or
enter a competition may provide an incentive to buy now. The relevant internal psychological
process that is associated with purchase decision is integration. Once the integration is
achieved, the organization can influence the purchase decisions much more easily.

Post purchase evaluation:

The EKB model was further developed by Rice (1993) which suggested there should
be a feedback loop, Foxall (2005) further suggests the importance of the post purchase
evaluation and that the post purchase evaluation is key due to its influences on future
purchase patterns.

Internal influences:

Consumer behavior is influenced by: demographics, psychographics (lifestyle),

personality, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. Consumer behavior
concern with consumer need consumer actions in the direction of satisfying needs leads to his
behavior of every individual depend on thinking

External influences:

Consumer behavior is influenced by: culture, sub-culture, locality, royalty, ethnicity,

and family, social class, past experience reference groups, lifestyle, sex and all

All the consumers are unique and this uniqueness is reflected in the kind of decision
making, consumption pattern and the process of purchase.

39
 OBJECTIVES:-

1) To have a deep understanding of the readership habits of the consumers.

2) To study the various factors that impacts the buying decisions of the consumers regarding
newspapers.

3) To know which is the commonly used brand amongst this product category.

4) To know what is the level of penetration of Business Standard newspaper in Patna.

SCOPE:-

This research was carried out with an aim to conduct the study about the reader‘s perception in
Patna and increase the sales in the given area.

40
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

5.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Marketing research is a systematic design, collection, analysis & reporting of Data

and findings relevant to specific market situation facing the company. My research process is
as follows.

(1) DEFINES THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study conducted was to study of market potential of online share
trading. Secondary objective of customer survey was to know the customer awareness
towards online share trading. My other objectives were to find out the overall perception
about the system and what motivates the people to think about going for online share trading.

(2) DEVELOPING RESEARCH PLAN

The second stage of marketing research calls for developing a most efficient plan for
gathering needed information. Designing a research plan calls for taking decision on data
sources research, approach, research instrument, sampling plan and contact methods.

DATA Sources

There are two types of methods used in data collection i.e. primary data & secondary data.

A) Primary data

Those data which are collected at first hand by the researcher especially for the
purpose of the study ,are known as primary Data .The data is collected directly from the
person in sample population. In this project research the collection of data is directly
interviewing customer. In the collection of the primary data, I have used survey method and
use the questionnaire methods.

There are mainly two methods for the collection of the primary data which are given
below:

 Observational Method.
 Survey Method.

41
Observation method:-

In the observation method, it requires the observer. The observer will keenly observe the
person at the time of the interview & record his behavior accurately. it is also one of The
important method for the collection of data but it requires good & experienced observer who
can observer The behavior of the respondent properly and record it with great accuracy.

Survey method:-

It is most popular method for the collection of necessary data from the respondents. I have
used survey method for the collection of the necessary data.

Different types of the survey are given below,

 Personal interview.
 Telephonic survey.
 Mail questionnaires.
Personal interview:-

In the personal interview, the interviewer will personally meet the respondent and will take is
interview. The interviewer will ask question in face to face direction to the respondents or
group of respondents.

Telephonic survey:-

In the telephonic interview, the interviewer will make call to respondents, inform the
respondents about the purpose of the call and then he will ask the related questions to the
respondents. This method is used, when the information to be collected is limited. It is mostly
used when information to be collected is limited.

Mail questionnaire:-

In the mail questioner the interviewer will mail the questionnaire to the respondents and
inform them about the purpose of the survey. Also the time limit for the questionnaire is
specified in the mail. This method is used when the area to be covered is large and the survey
has to be conducted in the specific limit.

In my survey, I have used the personal interview to know customer awareness towards online
share trading. I have visited respondents personally.

42
B) Secondary data

Any data which had been gathered earlier for other purposes are secondary data in hand of
marketing research. These data has been collected from company dealer like Dealer profile,
industrial profile, company profile are collected from the internet.

The secondary data are collected from the magazines, internet and web sites. Different web
sites like www.sharekhan.com and GOOGLE search engine help in collecting the detailed
information.

RESEARCH APPROACH

Out of 4 ways of research approaches i.e.

1. Observation research.
2. Survey Research
3. Focus Group research
4. Experimental research.

In this project the approach used was survey approach because the main objective of our
survey was to study of the market potential and have an idea about the customer awareness.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Research instruments can be of two types firstly questionnaire methods and secondly
mechanical instruments. In this survey the research instrument was questionnaire method.

Research Design:

To analyze and design this project in the present situation, the following type of research
has been taken into consideration:-

Analytical research: This has been conducted to collect information through survey method
i.e. preparing questionnaire and interviewing readers of both B.S and E.T on the basis of this
questionnaire.

Quantitative research: This sort of research offered a direction of gathering data and
information regarding satisfaction level of readers of Business Standard to prepare a
conclusive report.

43
 DATA COLLECTION SOURCES

Data collection sources are divided in the following two categories.

1. Primary data: The main source for the study of this project was the questionnaire through
which data has been collected from 100 respondents.
So the information gathered through the questionnaire provides the best needed source for the
project.

2. Secondary research: Secondary data offered a great help in forming the project as it
provides company profile and other facilities like books on marketing research.

3. SAMPLING PLAN
Sample Size: The data was collected from 100 samples. All the 100 readers were from Patna,
ranging from all age group of 18-65 including management institute, student, servicemen and
business class and also others.
Sample size : 100
4. Sampling Procedure
This sample is chosen on the basis of non-probability purposive sampling.
5. Analytical Tools
For the project study we made use of many analytical tools such as percentage, Pie charts in
order to analyze and depict the data.

44
 Q.1) Are you aware about the new papers completely dedicated to business news?

Table 7.1: Awareness about business news paper

Yes No Total

100 0 100

100

80
60
100
40
20
0 0
Yes
No

Graph 7.1: Awareness about business news paper

Interpretation:

Awareness about business news papers is growing as all the respondent knows about one or
the other business news paper.

45
Q.2) Which business news papers do you read?

Table 7.2: Readers of different news papers

Sr.No. Readers No. of respondents:

1. Business standard 45

2. Economic Times 48

3. Business line 10

4 Other 10

50

40

30 Other
45 48 Business Line
20
Economic Times
10
Business standard
0 10
10
BS
ET
BL
Other

Graph 7.2: Readers of different news papers

Interpretation:

BS and ET are major players with ET leading by small margin. But looking at the ET
readership all over India BS penetration is increasing fast. Other newspapers have very less
readership in the region.

46
Q3) Which business news interests you?

Table 7.3: Interest area of readers in business news papers

Whole Newspaper 4%
Headlines 6%
Editorial 12%
Stocks and mutual funds 78%
Total 100%

Whole news Paper

Head lines
4%
6%

Editorial
12%

Stocks and mutual

funds
78%

Graph 7.3: Interest area of readers in business news papers

Interpretation:

 Most of the readers read business news paper for a specific purpose rather than for the
general business awareness.
 Business news papers are mostly beneficial to stock brokers.

47
 Q.4) What would you give preference while subscribing business news paper?

Table 7.4: preference while subscribing business news paper.

News coverage 89%

Gifts 4%
Discount 5%
Price 2%

5 2
4

News coverage
Gifts
Discounts
Price
89

Graph 7.4: preference while subscribing business news paper.

Interpretation:

 News content is the first criteria for deciding subscription for most of the customer.
 If discounts and offers are given along with good content it helps in selection process.

48
 Q.5) For how long you have been subscribing business news paper?

Table 7.5: Subscription

1-6 month 5
6-12 month 17
More than 1 year 44
More than 5 years 34

1-6 month
5%

6-12 months
> 5 years
17%
34%

> 1year
44%

Graph 7.5: Subscription

Interpretation:

 There are high percentage of people who have been subscribing the business news paper
for more than 1 year and more than 5 years.
 It means the brand is fairly established in the market and lot of new readers increasing
fast the potential of BS is fairly high.

49
Q.6) Do you think business news paper helps you in taking investment decision?

Table 7.6: how much helpful is business newspaper in investment decision.

Very helpful 32%

Helpful 49%
Of little help 14%
Of no help 5%

5%
14%
32% Very helpful
Helpful
Of little Help
Of no help

49%

Graph 7.6: how much helpful is business newspaper in investment decision.

Interpretation:

 Most of the investors (81%) find business newspapers helps in their investment decision.
 It shows that analysis of stocks and mutual fund in the newspaper is of high quality.

50
Q.7) Do you know about Business Standard?

Table 7.7: Awareness about Business Standard

Yes No Total

78 22 100

80

70

60

50
80 No
40
Yes
30

20
20
10

0
Yes No

Graph 7.7: Awareness about Business Standard

Interpretation:

 80% of respondent know about business standard, but still 20% of them don‘t know
about it.
 This shows that promotion program run by BS is not as effective to reach the entire
target market.

51
Q.8) How did you know about business standard?

Table 7.8: Awareness about business news paper

Through 24
Advertisement

Through Hoarding 8

Through Other 32
Readers

Through Sales 16
executive

20%
30%
Advertisement
Hoarding
Other Readers
Sales Executives

10%
40%

Graph 7.8: Awareness about business news paper

Interpretation:

40% of the respondent knows about BS through other readers while only 30% of them know
it through advertisement and hoarding. Rest 20% knows it through sales executives.

It shows that Ad campaign of BS is still to reach masses.

52
Q.9) In which language you will prefer it?

Table 7.9: Language Preference in reading Business news Papers:

Language Response

English 76

Hindi 24

80
70
60
50
40 76
30
20
10 24
0
Hindi English

Graph 7.9: Language Preference in reading Business news Papers

Interpretation:

 Most of the people like reading business news papers in the regional language.
 Regional language creates more connectivity with the people.

53
Q.10) Are you satisfied with the delivery service?

Table 7.10: Delivery satisfaction:

Highly Satisfied 4%
Satisfied 34%
Not Very Satisfied 56%
Not Very Satisfied at all 6%

Not satisfied at all Highly satisfied

6% 4%

Satisfies
34%

Not very satisfied

56%

Graph 7.10: Delivery satisfaction:

Interpretation:

 More than 60% of the customer are not satisfied with the service and have complained
about not on time delivery.
 It shows that distribution channel of BS is not very effective.

54
Q.11) Are you satisfied with the quality of the news?

Table 7.11: Satisfaction pertaining content quality:

Highly Satisfied 34%

Satisfied 35%
Not Very Satisfied 23%
Not Very Satisfied at all 8%

Not satisfied at all

8%

Highly satisfied
Not very satisfied 34%
23%

Satisfied
35%

Graph 7.11: Satisfaction pertaining content quality:

Interpretation:

 Readers have a mix reaction over content quality.

 The content is not equally important for every kind of readers.

55
Q.12) Will you continue with the subscription of Business Standard?

Table 7.12: Decision on continuation of Subscription

Yes 85%
No 10%
Not decided 5%

Not decided
5%

No
10%

Yes
85%

Graph 7.12: Decision on continuation of Subscription

Interpretation:

High percent(85) of readers wish to continue their subscription.

It can be said that BS has fairly established in the market and if it works upon its distribution
it would be able to retain its customers.

56
 OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

 Awareness about business news paper is increasing very fast as all the respondent know
about one or the other business news paper.
 Analysis of stocks and mutual fund is the major area of interest in business news papers
for majority (78%) of the readers.
 Market penetration of Business Standard is increasing at a fair pace despite the presence
of its strong competitor- The Economic Times.
 Hindi Edition of Business Standard is preferred to English edition. In this region people
are concerned about content and if it is available in regional language they can
comprehend it faster.
 Customers are unhappy with the policy of the company (Business Standard) as the
company is not publishing any issue on Sunday.
 The customers are somewhat dissatisfied with the delivery of the newspaper. Also the
newspaper is not available everywhere when compared to its competitors.
 In Hindi edition of BS the content level is not as good as English edition.
 Purchasing or subscription decision of the customer depends on content more than
anything else.
 Majority of the customers feel that business news paper help them in taking decision in
their business or investment.
 Majority of the current subscriber (85%) wish to continue their subscription of BS.

57
 CONCLUSION

 Market penetration of BS is high. Low price of business Standard along with quality
content is the reason of Market penetration.
 Business news paper is preferred in regional language. Thus the move to launch Hindi
edition at various location is showing good results.
 Business Standard is 2nd largest business news paper in India after The Economic Times.
 Stock Market and Current Affair news attract more and more customers. Maximum
business man demand for stock market news rather than regional news and students
prefer current affair news.
 Business Standard news paper gives good influence on business decision making and help
to take any decision. Due to right information at right time Business standard help lots of
customer to take any decision related to business.
 Maximum customers of Business Standard are Business Man, Professional, and
Management students.
 Business Standard is not able to involve common readers as its content is very specific
and interests only few segments.

58
 RECOMMENDATION

 Business standard should intensify its advertising of both Hindi and English edition of
newspaper as it is comparatively newer in the market and does not have any strong
background like its nearest competitor The Economic Times.
 The Hindi edition of newspaper should contain more business news to benefit all business
persons and other readers.
 Business standard should monitor its distribution system properly. A proper vendor
management system should be there to felicitate proper distribution.
 Business Standard should start its Sunday copy in all the editions with some better
strategies than its competitors who are charging more for the Sunday edition.
 Business Stander must focus on retention strategy by constantly taking feedbacks from its
older customers and implementing those feedbacks seriously.

59
 Bibliography

Books:

Marketing Management: Phillp Kotler ( 13th edition)

Research Methodology: C.K.Kothari

Consumer Behaviour : Del I Hawkins, Amit Mookerjee, Kenneth A. Coney. (9th Edition)

Web sites:

Business Standard.com

FICCI.com

Google.com

Wekepedia.com

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 QUESTIONNIRE

Name:

Age:

Occupation:

Address:

1. Are you aware about the new papers completely dedicated to business news? If yes name
few.

2. Which business news paper do you read?

A. Financial Express B. Economic Times C. Business Line D. Any Other

(Please specify

3. Which business news interests you?

A. Shares and stocks B. Editorials C. General business news

D. Headlines

4. What would you give preference while subscribing business newspaper?

A. News coverage B. Discounts C. Gifts D. Offers

5. For how long you have been subscribing business news paper?

A. 1-6 month B. 6-12 months C. More than 1 year D. More than 5 years

6.Do you think the news in these news papers is useful for your business?

A. Very helpful B. Helpful C. Of little help D. Of no Help

7. Do you know about Business Standard?

A. Yes B. No

61
8.How come you know about Business Standard?

A. Through Hoardings B. Through Add C. Through other readers

D. Any Other Source ( Please Specify)

9. In which language you will prefer it?

A. English B. Hindi C. Regional language

10. Are you a subscriber of Business Standard?

A.Yes B. No
11. Are you satisfied with the delivery service?

A. Highly Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Not very much satisfied D. Not satisfied at all

12. Are you satisfied with the quality of the news?

A. Highly Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Not very much satisfied D. Not satisfied

at all

13. Are you satisfied with the quantity of the news?

A. Highly Satisfied B. Satisfied C. Not very much satisfied D. Not satisfied

at all

14. Will you continue with the subscription of Business Standard?

A. Yes B. No C. Not decided

15. What improvement do you want in the paper? ( Explain briefly )

62