CIA-1

RESEARCH BASED ASSIGNMENT

MBA 231 – MARKETING MANAGEMENT

By

Ayush Narang 1927005

Sai Syam Bharat Varanasi 1927019

Durba Chakraborty 1927034

Tanvi Kamani 1927048

Viknesh R. 1927059

Vaishali Chouhan 1927060

Submitted to

Dr. BARKATHUNISSA A

Institute of Management

CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), Bengaluru

Sep 2019
 Introduction

Market Leader
Firm with the largest market share is known as market leader. It’s important to point out that the
market leader isn’t necessarily the first-to-market. Those are pioneer brands, and they can be
surpassed by other brands that enter the market later and steal the market leader position. They
are frequently able to lead other firms in the
Price and promotion strategies.
These constantly try to increase their market
share even further with innovations and creative
promotions. These firms breaks the Tradeoffs
through a combination of activities or
technologies. Market leadership as a concept
holds much relevance in the internet age because
over a period of time, we have seen large
number of companies becoming market leaders.

Market Follower
Majority of companies in an industry are market
followers. These firms are interested in gaining
the market abut are not concerned much about
differentiating the brand from leader. These firms
capitalize on leader and challenger mistakes and instantly grab market share. Since they are not
generally the pioneers of the industry they have lower R&D costs.

A market follower may be second to the market leader in a particular industry. It does not want to
lose its share by disrupting the status quo. This type of company never challenges the leader.
However, it can usually maintain market share with significantly lower investment costs than the
market leader.
They can position themselves against the category gold standard in the areas of price/performance,
ease of use, convenience, design, reliability, range of selection, customer experience and
location. A successful follower may eventually become a leader as they build their resource pool
and create their own compelling story.

For the purpose of this study, the group has market leaders and followers in India Aviation
Industry and Newspaper industry.
 Aviation Industry
Leader: IndiGo

With a market share of 49 percent IndiGo Airlines is holding the top position of airlines industry
in India. It has managed to stay at this position for quite a period. Along with various strategies
implemented by Interglobe Aviation which runs IndiGo, a strengthening rupee and crude oil prices
act as tailwinds for the company to stay ahead of the competition. The company managed to rise
its market share by 3 percent in 1 financial year, which is a major achievement. This boosts the
morale of the entire organization to stay at the top position.

Following are the major strategies adapted by IndiGo airlines to stay as a leader
in this industry:
• The key strategy implemented by IndiGo to procure this market share in a highly competitive
industry is Deploying Capacity. When there is an overall increase in the number of passengers
preferring air travel, IndiGo is making use of
this opportunity to seize the market by
deploying more airplanes to cater to all the
customers across the nation. This is a move
that can be boldly taken by IndiGo, whereas its
competition cannot as IndiGo is already an
established leader in this industry and also the
huge capital it holds and also the gigantic
 revenues it generates every year helps it do this. IndiGo has planned to increase its capacity
from 25% to 30%. This aggressive deployment of planes should take its market share from
43% to 45% percentage in the next three years. As the crude oil prices have dropped to a great
extent and increase in the capacity of its planes helps IndiGo make us of the operational
leverage as utilization levels go up.
• Another key strategy followed by IndiGo would be low-cost, single class model. While its
competition opted to provide various services to its customers at varying prices, IndiGo stuck
to offering one class on one model of airplane. This helped IndiGO to maintain its standards
in providing service to its customers at a consistent level, which helps in retaining its customers
as well as improve the brands awareness through word of mouth of its happy customers.
• Selling and leasing back planes is another key
strategy incorporated by IndiGo for success. It
maintains a young fleet of planes by selling and
leasing its plane every six years, and this helps IndiGo
to keep its operational costs low as it does not require
major service checks often and repairs as well. It also
made a unique move by purchasing 100 Airbus 320
aircrafts even before it started its operation in 2006,
which gave it a great pricing advantage.
• Lean and Quality work force can be attributed as another key strategy for successful running
of IndiGo at the top position. The company hires employees only after its CEO Bhatia meets
everyone personally and approves them. And also the entire organization works on a limited
number of employees. These moves, helps in maintaining a organization in which the
employees are of high efficiency and tend to the customers
in the best way.
• On time all the time, this customer-centric services by
IndiGo to help customers reach their destination at the right
time always has helped keep its customers happy and
satisfied. They have always focused on keeping the
customers first and serving them right, which has helped
them retain the majority of the market share.
• Using technology smartly

Unlike manual systems used by other airlines, IndiGo planes are equipped with a digital link
system for for transmission of short, simple messages between aircraft and ground stations via
radio or satellite called Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS).
Before every IndiGo flight departs an automatic message is triggered from the aircraft to its
operations control centre - and immediately the same departure time gets recorded in the
software. Similarly, the moment the flight lands an automatic message is triggered from aircraft
to control centre. Hence, the on-time performance is diligently monitored for every flight in
real time.

• More capacity on Fewer routes is another strategy that has helped IndiGo to keep its share
in the market by attaining new customers as well as retaining the existing ones. Sticking to one
model of airplane, thereby reducing its operational costs and keeping the fares low has helped
IndiGo to generate better revenues and profits compared to its competition.

Follower: GoAir
About GoAir:

GoAir is a conglomerate of the Wadia Group and is a low

cost carrier based in Mumbai, India. GoAir has a substantial
market share and is considered among the top five largest
airline in India. The founder and MD is Jehangir Wadia and
has its hubs based in Delhi and Mumbai. It had commenced its operations in November 2005 and
in economy configuration and operates a fleet of Airbus A320. GoAir was awarded by Pacific
Area Travel writers Association as "Best Domestic Airline For Excellence in Quality and Efficient
Service" in 2008. It was awarded with Best Performing Airline an Asia and Africa by Airbus based
on fleet utilization and performance metrics. The major competitors of GoAir are IndiGo, Jet
Airways, SpiceJet, Air India and many more.

Vision: “Go Airlines strives to maintain and enhance passenger’s perception of its services, and in
doing so, will consistently endeavor to improve the quality and reliability of its operations.”
Mission: “ To provide safe, secure and efficient transportation at all times with attention to
essential details that lead to creating a unique service differentiation and further strengthening and
maintaining our position in the market”

CURRENT STRATEGIES OF GoAir:

Product strategy:

GoAir is one of the largest low cost airline carriers in India. GoAir offers domestic flights across
India in select routes in its marketing mix. It also facilitates combo purchase of flight plus hotels
through its website for a competitive price. Under the GoHolidays scheme, customers can book
holiday travel destination package designed for Honeymoon Couples, Pilgrimage and beach visits
though GoAir.

Pricing Strategy:

GoAir uses the tagline FLY SMART to inform customers about contemplating various factors
when booking flights and the company offers the better cost to benefit ratio.

Distribution Strategy:

GoAir flights travel to almost every major destination across India. The GoAir flight tickets can
be booked from its website and other ecommerce sites such as Makemytrip, Yatra etc where users
can instantly book a flight as per their convenience. Through GoAir website customers can book
travel insurance, use mobile app to check status, Pre Book Excess Baggage, Pre Book Seats, Check
Inflight Menu. The flight tickets can be purchased from the airport by visiting the company desk.

Promotional Strategy:

GoAir carries out various promotion activities throughout the year, some of the offers are
discounted check in and discounted fare for soldiers on Republic day. Under SMART Student
FARE scheme, students are given 5 % discount on the base fare and additional baggage allowance
of 25 kg on producing valid student id card. Under the low fare scheme, GoAir offers one of the
cheapest flight pricing in India.
Recommended Strategies for GoAir

2019 seems to hold good prospects for the aviation industry. Airline Marketing is on the rise with
avenues such as customer tracking, airline mapping have become a reality. According to Air
Transport Association (ATA) there will be a rise in passenger traffic to 7.3 billion by 2034 with
annual growth of 4.1%. Following strategies could be adopted by GoAir to become a market
leader.

Pricing strategy:

India’s aviation industry is largely untapped with huge growth opportunities, considering that air
transport is still expensive for majority of the country’s population. The company can fix a floor
price depending upon the distance and time the passengers are travelling. The additional price can
be charged to customers according to their preferences. Ex: airline can charge customers a little
extra for window seats. Loyal Customers with can be awarded with some brownie benefits which
makes them more loyal towards the brand as well as act as a word of mouth marketing.

Tie-ups:

Tie-ups with the Duty Free Shops/Restaurants in the Airport eventually will be useful in help the
customers to purchase using Travel Tickets which makes them privileged being the customer of
the brand.

Contests:

In association with institution like Frankfinn, GoAir can organise contests such as “Lucky draw”,
“click a selfie with a GoAir aircraft”, “Wednesday wanderers” etc.

Sponsorship:

Sponsoring number of sporting, cultural and charitable activities around the world. The activities
the airline sponsor must complement the current business and marketing objectives. The main
objective of sponsorship is boosting visibility in new markets, demonstrating community
involvement; engaging employees; building relations with frequent business flyers and securing
business from sponsored properties. These sponsorships are either in cash or in-kind tickets.
Distribution strategy:

The Proper channelizing of the

Ticket sale will be the best way to
win the market. Allowing Third
Party Booking Agency to trade will
be better option but the best option
is to not allowing the middlemen to
swindle money which might affect
in the customer preference towards
the brand. So maintaining a app
through which the ticket sale can be
done with no flaw in it with the
support of the proper and 24/7
technical team will increase and pitch in the sales hike.
 Newspaper Industry
A newspaper is one of a literate person's most significant reading materials in his life. In modern
age, a person can't believe of his or her daily routine without a newspaper. As a consequence of a
fast shift in the communication process, the need for adequate newspaper marketing arose. To
maintain present clients and attract prospective clients, an efficient marketing strategy is required.
A newspaper as a commodity can meet the need for data that helps in the social and family life
decision-making process.

Currently the largest circulated English newspaper is The

Times of India. The total readership of The Times of India
is 13047, which is followed by The Hindu at 6847. This
study aims to overview how The Telegraph, which is a
market follower, can adopt new marketing strategies to
become a market leader.

The Times of India

The Times of India is one of India's top English newspapers. The Times Group is India’s largest
media conglomerate with its flagship Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL) being
the largest publishing company in India and South-Asia. BCCL has history of 175 years founded
from the year 1838. The Times of India has great news and media coverage and has become one
of English's most prominent platforms for printing and online news. The newspaper, the printed
version circulating throughout the nation, lies within its marketing mix product portfolio
offering. To add to this, it also offers the tech-savvy millennials and practitioners with e-
newspaper. Times of India has also introduced its own app to cater for this brand news readers
segment across various platforms such as iOS and Android. The Times of India is facing heavy
competition from The Hindu and thus always adopts a competitive pricing strategy for the race
to be ahead. It has targeted its competitors ' readers and reduced their subscription prices in order
to maintain the competitive advantage particularly in the South Indian market. Times of India is
one of the leaders in news platform media advertising.
The Times of India journal is discovered in nearly all India's cities and towns, and it has been
able to penetrate deep into the nation targeting an enormous section of readers every day. They
are sold door-to-door through sellers or are discovered in nearly all the crowded touch points in a
town at newspaper and book stalls. The most widely read and distributed English newspaper in
India is Times of India. The outstanding distribution guarantees that newspapers are commonly
accessible at newspaper outlets, railway stations and supplied at households separately.

In terms of promotion, it always gets engaged with its Hindu rival in banter and thus develops
creative marketing tactics in advertising, digital promotions such as banner ads. The Times Of
India go for door-to-door selling to preserve a competitive advantage and features videos on their
websites as well as TV media to promote their product. The Times Of India is one of the
catalysts of viral marketing strategies and has effectively covered every possible touch point in a
region starting from stores, tea stalls, malls and even billboards in buses, street dividers and
across prominent areas. In addition, it organizes activities such as Mega Trade Fair and TOIFA
to enhance its presence across the country.

Times of India is leading since 2010

The Telegraph

The Telegraph is an Indian English daily newspaper founded and continuously published in
Kolkata since 7 July 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper competes with
The Times of India. It has a circulation of 466,001 copies as of Jul-Dec 2016, according to the
Circulations Audit Bureau. Calcutta, South Bengal, North Bengal, Northeast edition (Guwahati
split), Jharkhand edition (Jamshedpur and Ranchi splits), Patna and Bhubaneshwar are five
editions of the Telegraph. On 14 December 2018, the Telegraph stopped printing the
Bhubaneshwar & Patna Editions. The Telegraph was established on July 7, 1982. The London's
The Sunday Times design director, Edwin Taylor, designed the newspaper and set a design and
editing standard. It has become the largest English daily circulation in the eastern region
published from Kolkata in 31 years. In 1982, there was M. The daily newspaper was edited and
designed by J. Akbar, which had a major impact on newspaper journalism in India. The
Telegraph is published by the Ananda Publishers media group, which is closely linked to ABP
Pvt. Anandabazar Patrika (a Bengali language newspaper) has also been published by the group
since 13 March 1922. Apart from newspapers the group even published Bengali and English
periodicals like Anandamela, Unish-Kuri, Sananda, Anandalok, Desh magazine, The Telegraph
in Schools and Career. Businessworld, which was initially part of the ABP group, has been sold
to Anurag Batra, of Exchange4Media and Vikram Jhunjhunwala, an investment banker for an
undisclosed amount.

Why is Telegraph a Follower?

Due to the medium's ability to reach large numbers of people on a regular basis, businesses
frequently turn to newspapers to market and advertise their offers. But newspapers also have
marketing requirements for promoting their brand, boosting readership, and taking a competitive
market position. Compared to The Times of India, the Telegraph has some drawbacks because it
is still a follower in the newspaper industry. It is competing heavily with Times of India. The
newspaper also has a lack of weekly magazines. In terms of the news quality, it is not as
effective as the high ranking newspapers. Due to its limited reach and user base around the
country, The Telegraph cannot take risk oriented steps such as aggressive expansion as these
would incur heavy costs to the company. Coming in to the market around early 80’s is another
setback for The Telegraph because majority of the market leaders in this newspaper industry
have been running shop for more than an year and this gives them an extra edge to stay ahead in
the competition. This also makes it difficult for The Telegraph to attain customers to advertise in
their newspaper, which otherwise would have led to great revenues for the company and it can
be put into various expansion and advertisement activities of the company. When a company is
not among the top in newspaper industry it is also difficult to attract writers that work for the
paper as any major successful writer wishes that his work reaches majority of the audience,
rather than a minority. All of these factors put The Telegraph among the followers line up rather
than a leader or challenger in the newspaper industry.

Market Share of English Dailies (All Figures in Lakhs)

Strategies which can be adopted by The Telegraph to become the market

leader:

1.Online E-Paper Advertising: Now a days people are opting for E-paper rather than traditional
papers because time constraint. Hence E-paper advertising will get to people more faster than the
traditional ones.
2. Creating Brand Value by new Advertisements: We hate leaving in 21st century, where
achieving your aim or goals is a bit difficult if you want to go in normal or formal way. So one
way to tackle this and boost your brand value is through advertising which will not only give you
a brand value but also increases the business.
3. Weekly Magazines: There are people who wont be able to read or get the current affairs or
day to day new. For such people coming up with weekly magazines will help them to update
themselves during the weekends.
4. Increase of circulation: In order to increase or boost your promotion, you need to increase
your circulation. Circulation to even the remote areas, villages, rural sites etc.
5. Social Media Marketing: With the rapid increase in the technology and people getting
adapted to it in much faster way, these social media’s are playing a vital role in every individual
life. As social media’s have become a part of human beings, advertising here will reach the
people in fraction of seconds.
6. Continuous Innovation: Innovation is always an important aspect in the life of a scientist. As
you can see the evolution of the telephone which was first invented by Graham Bell. 21st century
cellular phones where the basic concept is same just the innovation is being done each and every
time. Hence innovation is must and necessary for the ease of the life of consumer.
7. Increase Advertisements: Advertising is always an important part of the business. Just
advertising for once wont help to increase business, we need to do it prime time in order to reach
the people’s heart or mind.
8. Contests and Freebies: People won’t buy your product unless and until they have taste of it.
So by contesting and providing winners a free product will get them to know the quality of the
product and helps increasing sales.
9. Social Networking: Traditional advertising will cost you more as we need to sponsor
someone to promote your brand. But social networking being a part of your life, you can
promote your own brand by yourself.
10. Newspaper Kiosks: People with a busy schedule or unpleasant office timing, for them
newspaper kiosks plays in vital role. As they can take from it anytime and anywhere. Whenever
it is possible for them.
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