A

SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

“COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS REGARDING CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR IN BETWEEN HINDUSTAN TIMES AND THE TIMES
OF INDIA”
SUBMITTED TO

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY (GHARAUAN) PUNJAB
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Award of degree of
Masters of business administration (MBA)
SUBMITTED BY: PROJECT GUIDE
VIBHA GUPTA(18mba1029) PROF. SAJJAN
Chowdhary

SESSION (2018-2020)
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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that project report on “comparative analysis
between Hindustan times and the times of India’s beneficial
work carried out by VIBHA GUPTA Student of MBA under my
supervision. This project is in partial fulfillment for the
requirement of course MBA of CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY.
According to my opinion, the student has put sincere efforts
and the work meets the required standard. She remains sincere
and dedicated throughout the project. She completed her
project with full dedication and hard work.
I wish best of luck for her future.

Supervised by:

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 CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY

PREFACE

The project undertaken is to know the perception, preferences &

satisfaction of customers or readers towards the newspapers. And
Educate customers about times of India schemes and Marketing of the
newspapers and magazines so that more and more customers should
subscribe i.e. to sell the subscriptions of the newspapers and magazines
which gives an experience to meet the customers and also to understand
the customer satisfaction level and also to get an effective feedback from
the customer with the help of a market survey.
The project provided opportunity to explore our creativity and made us
to think out of the box. It also helped in honing our selling and
persuading skills and in it helped in learning how to sell the products.
By interacting with different customers tremendous experience was
gained regarding customer psychology, because every customer has
different perception, taste, moral values and also came to learn
importance of team work.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all I am grateful to God who gives me sound mind and sound
health to accomplish my project report on time. It is my immense
pleasure to have opportunity for the preparation of this project. I am
highly obliged by CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY, for giving me the
opportunity to do summer internship with The Times of India Group.
Therefore, I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to
CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY and The Times of India Group for
offering a unique platform to earn exposure and garner knowledge in the
field of Sales and Marketing. First of all, I extend my heartfelt gratitude
to my project guide Mr.Vishal Sharma, Chief Manager at Times of
India, Chandigarh for having made my summer training a great learning
experience by giving me his guidance, insights and encouragement
which acted as a continuous source of support for me during this entire
period. I would also like to thank Mr. Rakesh sukheija, Assistant
Marketing Manager of TOI, Chandigarh for his help and guidance in
sales and parents, friends and colleagues for their sincere cooperation.
Without which the success of this project wouldn’t had been possible. I
would also like to express my profound gratitude to my faculty guide
PROF. SAJJAN CHOWDHARI for his constructive support during
the summer internship period, which leads to successful completion of
my internship at The Times of India, Chandigarh.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate I
Preface Ii
Acknowledgement Iii
Company training certificate
C Iv
CHAPTER CHAPTER TITLE PAGEN
NO. O.
1 Introduction 8-10

2 Introduction of the company 11-22

3 Introduction of the project 23-34

4 Review of literature 35-36

5 Need , scope and objectives of the study 37-38

6 Research methodology 39-41

7 Data collection and analysis 42-47

8 Data analysis and interpretation 48-55

9 Findings of the study 56-58

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10 Conclusion and recommendations 59-61

11 References and bibliography 62

12 Annexure 63-65

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Page 7
 CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN PRINT MEDIA INDUSTRY
Indian print media is one of the largest print media in the world. The history of it started in 1780,
with the publication of the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta.

1. HISTORY
James Augustus Hickey is considered as the "father of Indian press" as he started the first Indian
newspaper from Calcutta, the Calcutta General Advertise or the Bengal Gazette in January, 1780.
In 1789, the first newspaper from Bombay, the Bombay Herald appeared, followed by the
Bombay Courier next year (this newspaper was later amalgamated with the Times of India in
1861).
The first newspaper in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali. The first issue
of this daily was published from the Serampore Mission Press on May 23, 1818. In the same
year, Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya started publishing another newspaper in Bengali, the Bengal
Gazetti. On July 1, 1822 the first Gujarati newspaper the Bombay Samachar was published from
Bombay, which is still extant. The first Hindi newspaper, the Samachar Sudha Varshan began in
1854. Since then, the prominent Indian languages in which papers have grown over the years are
Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Bengali.
The Indian language papers have taken over the English press as per the latest NRS survey of
newspapers. The main reasons being the marketing strategy followed by the regional papers,
beginning with Eenadu, a telegu daily started by Ramoji Rao. The second reason being the
growing literacy rate. Increase in the literacy rate has direct positive effect on the rise of
circulation of the regional papers.
The people are first educated in their mother tongue as per their state in which they live for e.g.
students in Maharashtra are compulsory taught Marathi language and hence they are educated in
their state language and the first thing a literate person does is read papers and gain knowledge
and hence higher the literacy rate in a state the sales of the dominating regional paper in that state
rises.
The next reason being localisation of news. Indian regional papers have several editions for a
particular State for complete localisation of news for the reader to connect with the paper.
Malayala Manorama has about 10 editions in Kerala itself and six others outside Kerala. Thus
regional papers aim at providing localised news for their readers. Even Advertisers saw the huge
potential of the regional paper market, partly due to their own research and more due to the
efforts of the regional papers to make the advertisers aware of the huge market.
1.1.2 INDIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY: SOME FACTS
 The total number of registered newspapers, as on 31 March, 2006: 62,483
st

 The number of new newspapers registered during 2005-06: 2,074

 Percentage of growth of total registered publications over the previous year: 3.43 %
 The largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any Indian language
(Hindi): 24,927
 The second largest number of newspapers & periodicals registered in any language
(English): 9,064

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  The state with the largest number of registered newspapers (Uttar Pradesh):9,885
 The state with the second largest number of registered newspapers (Delhi): 8,545
 The number of newspapers that submitted Annual Statements: 8,512
 The total circulation of newspapers : 18,07,38,611
 The largest number of newspapers & periodicals that submitted Annual Statements in any
Indian language (Hindi): 4,131
 The second largest number of newspapers & periodicals that submitted Annual
Statements in any language (English) : 864
 The largest circulated Ananda Bazar Patrika Bengali, Kolkata. : 12,34,122
 The second largest circulated Daily: The Hindu ,English,Chennai (Printed from 12
different Printing Press):11,68,042
 The third largest circulated Daily: Hindustan Times,English, Delhi: 11,36,644
 The largest circulated multi-edition Daily: The Times of India, English(six
editions):25,42,075
 The second largest circulated multi-edition Daily: Dainik Jagran,Hindi,(fifteen
editions):21,11,316
 The largest circulated periodical: The Hindu, English,Weekly, Chennai (Printed from 12
different Printing Press) :11,02,783

Newspapers in India are measured on two parameters, circulation and readership:-

Circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations which is an industry body. It audits
the paid-for circulation of the member newspaper companies.

Readership is estimated by two different surveys, The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) and the
National Readership Survey (NRS).

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 1.2 INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY

Page 11
TYPE: PRIVATE

INDUSTRY: MASS MEDIA

FOUNDED: 4 NOVEMBER, 1838

HEADQUARTERS: MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

The Times of India (TOI) is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is the third-
largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest selling English-language daily in the world
according to Audit Bureau of Circulations (India). According to the Indian Readership Survey
(IRS) 2012, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in India with a
readership of 7.643 million. This ranks the Times of India as the top English daily in India by
readership.
It is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu
Jain family. In the Brand Trust Report 2012,Times of India was ranked 88th among India's most
trusted brands and subsequently, according to the Brand Trust Report 2013,Times of India was
ranked 100th among India's most trusted brands. In 2014 however, Times of India was ranked
174th among India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, a study
conducted by Trust Research Advisory.
It is the largest company in media and entertainment industry in India and South Asia. It has
completed 175 years of its journey in media industry from 1838, established in Mumbai. Starting
off with The Times of India – which is now the largest English publication in the world, BCCL
and its subsidiaries (called The Times of India Group), are present in every existing media
platform –Newspapers, Magazines, Books, TV, Radio, Internet, Event Management, Outdoor
Display, Music, Movies and more. Having strength of more than 11,000 employees, its revenue
is exceeding $1.5 Billion, it has the support of more than 25000 advertisers and a vast audience
spanning across the world.

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1. HISTORY
1838
In November 3, 1838 the first edition of The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce were
published, reflecting basically the business community of Bombay. It was a bi-weekly
publication. Dr. J.E. Brennan was the Editor.
1850
Shareholders decide to increase the share capital and the paper is converted into a daily.
1859
Bombay Standard and Chronicle of Western India merges into The Bombay Times and Journal of
Commerce to form Bombay Times & Standard.
1861
Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The Bombay Times & Standard and Bombay Telegraph &
Courier to form The Times of India - giving it a national character.
1892
T. J. Bennett becomes the editor and enters into a partnership with F.M. Coleman to form a joint
stock company - Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).
1907
Editor Stanley Reed revolutionizes news production by extending the deadline to midnight. Until
then any news that came in after 5 pm was held over for the next day. The newspapers’ first price
war was also initiated with cover price being cut from 4 annas to 1 anna
leading to a five-fold increase in circulation.
1946
The Times of India gets Indian ownership with Seth Ramakrishna Dalmia buying the company.
1947
Exclusive Sunday edition of Times of India launched in Mumbai. The company also launches its
Hindi daily - Nav Bharat Times in Delhi.
1948

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Sahu Jain Group takes over as the owners of the company after Ramakrishna Dalmia sells the
firm to his son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain - who becomes the first Chairman of the group.
1950
The Times of India launches in Delhi.
1952
Filmfare launched.
1959
Femina launched.
1961
The Economic Times is launched.
1962
Maharashtra Times launched.
1965
Femina Miss India contest started.
1988
Times of India complete 150 years. Special stamp released by Government of India to
commemorate the occasion.
1996
The Times of India crosses 1 million marks in circulation. It also carries the first-ever color
photograph.
1997
BCCL enters into music market with Times Music.
1999
India times web portal launched; BCCL enters music retailing business with Planet M. Also
operates the first-ever private FM broadcast through Times FM (which later becomes Radio
Mirchi).
2000
The Times of India crosses the 2 million mark in circulation.
2001

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Radio Mirchi - Nationwide private FM broadcasting starts. 360 Degrees - Event management
business also launched. TOI goes all colour and storms Delhi by being "Number One".

2003
Launch of the Times Private Treaties as a strategic business division. Launch of the Jobs portal
Times Jobs. TOI E-paper launched. Entry into TV business with the launch of India’s first
lifestyle and entertainment channel Zoom.
2005
Launch of a Matrimonial website Times Matri–later rebranded as Simply Marry. Mumbai Mirror,
the city-centric daily tabloid launched in Mumbai.
2006
Launch of a television News Channel called Times Now.
Radio Mirchi holding company ENIL (Entertainment Network India Limited) lists on the Indian
stock markets. It is the first Times Group Company to list on the bourses with IPO being
oversubscribed by more than 41 times. Launch of a Property services portal Magic Bricks. Times
of Money launch Remit2Home, to cater to global remittance market. Acquisition of Karnataka’s
leading newspaper company Vijayanand Printers Limited makes BCCL the dominant force in
Karnataka.
2007
Launch of Bangalore Mirror, Ahmedabad Mirror, ET (Gujarati) and Whats Hot – a premier
weekend entertainment supplement. The Times of India becomes largest English daily in the
world with circulation breaching the 3 million mark and beating Sun (tabloid) of UK.
2008
Launch of ET (Hindi), Pune Mirror and The Times of India editions at Jaipur, Goa and Chennai.
Acquisition of Virgin Radio (now rebranded as Absolute Radio) in the UK.
2009
TOI Crest edition launched. Launch of ET Now – premier business channel having integrated
newsroom with ET print edition.
2010
Private Treaties re-branded as Brand Capital. The Speaking Tree newspaper launched. ET Wealth
launched. Maharashtra Times launches Pune edition. Vijay Next (premier weekly newspaper
from Vijay Karnataka) launched. India’s first HD -only premium movie channel
Movies Now (HD) launched.

Page 15
2011
Sunday ET re-launched as a tabloid.
Bodhivriksha (spiritual weekend newspaper in Kannada) launched.
Launch of The Times of India, Coimbatore and Madurai/Trichy Editions.
2012
Launch of The Times of India, Kerala, Visakhapatnam and Raipur(Chhattisgarh) Edition
2013
Launch of the Times of India, Kolhapur Edition
1.2.2 THE TIMES OF INDIA IS PRINTED FROM THE FOLLOWING PLACES:

 Bhubaneswar
 Bengaluru
 Bhopal
 Chandigarh
 Chennai
 Delhi
 Goa
 Hyderabad
 Indore
 Jaipur
 Kanpur
 Kolkata
 Lucknow
 Mangalore
 Mumbai
 Mysore
 Nagpur
 Patna
 Pune
 Ranchi
 Surat
1.2.3 KEY BUSINESS AREAS:

 Publishing
 Television
 Digital
 Other Activities
Publishing:-

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  Largest publisher in India: 13 newspapers, 18 magazines, 16 publishing centres, 26
printing centres
 Largest English newspaper in India by circulation (and the world), the Times of India.
 Largest Business newspaper in India by circulation (2nd largest English Business daily in
the world, behind WSJ), the Economic Times.
 Largest Non‐English newspapers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore by circulation (India’s
three largest cities).
Television:-

 Largest English News TV Channel, No. 2 English Business News TV Channel.

 Largest Bollywood News and Lifestyle TV Channel, No. 2 English Movies TV Channel.

Digital:-

 Largest Indian network based on traffic and revenue (behind Google, Facebook, Yahoo).
 Operates 30+ digital businesses, most of which are Top 3 in their competitive segment.
 Most popular B2C mobile short code in India, across SMS, voice, WAP, and USSD
Radio.
 Largest radio network in India by revenue and listenership, with 32 stations.
 Operates the largest rock radio station in the UK.
Other Activities:-

 Music
 Movies
 Education
 Financial Services
 Event Management
 Specialised publications - including books and multimedia.
1.2.4 SUBSIDIARIES OF TIMES GROUP:-
TIML & ENIL
Times Innovative Media Limited (TIML) & Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL) that
together control,
Radio Mirchi National network of Private FM stations
360 Degrees Events
Mirchi Movies Limited Filmed Entertainment.
Times Internet Limited

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 Times Internet Limited is one of the largest internet companies of India. It has interests in online
news, online business news, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali news, mobile, e-Commerce,
music, video, and communities. Some of the larger properties of TIL include:
India times shopping - one of the largest and earliest ecommerce portals in India
Times of India
Economic times.com
Navbharattimes.com
Maharashtra Times
Timescity.com
Gaana.com
BoxTV.com
Times Deal
Times of Money Times of Money operates financial remittance services for Indians abroad to
send money back to India. Their product, remit2India, is a standalone product, while also
powering the remittance services of many banks globally.
Times Global Broadcasting Limited
Television division. It is also called Times Television Network.
Times Now A general interest news Channel
Smart Hire A Consulting Division –Recruitments
ET Now A business news channel
Zoom A 24x7 Bollywood entertainment and gossip channel
Movies Now A 24x7 Hollywood Movies channel in High Definition (India's first)
Times Business Solutions
TBSL, corporate website of TBSL.
Times Jobs, a jobs portal.
Techgig, a professional networking site for Technology Peoples.
Simply Marry, a matrimonial portal.
Magic Bricks, a real estate portal.
Yolist, free classifieds portal.

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Ads2Book, online classifieds booking system for print publications.
Peer Power, a Senior-Level professional networking portal.
WorldWide Media
World Wide Media - started off as a 50:50 magazine joint venture between BCCL and BBC
magazines. In August 2011, it was announced that Bennett, Coleman & Co. bought out the
remaining 50 per cent shares of Worldwide Media from BBC Worldwide thereby making World
Wide Media a fully owned subsidiary of BCCL.
Filmfare
Filmfare Awards
Femina
Top Gear Magazine India
BBC Good Homes
Femina Hindi
Grazia
Good homes
Home Trends

TIML Radio Limited

On 30 May 2008, SMG sold The British Virgin Radio to TIML Radio Limited for £53.2 million
with £15 million set aside for rebranding. On 28 September 2008, The British Virgin Radio
Station rebranded as Absolute Radio, including the sister radio stations Absolute Xtreme and
Absolute Classic Rock.
Stations
Absolute Radio
Absolute Radio 60s
Absolute Radio 70s
Absolute 80s
Absolute Radio 90s
Absolute Radio 00s
Absolute Classic Rock

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 Absolute Radio Extra This company is a direct subsidiary of BCCL (not through TIML or
ENIL).
Times Syndication Service
The syndication division of The Times of India Group, grants reprint rights for text, and other
media from the group's publications.
Brand Capital
Brand Capital provides funding to growth oriented enterprises for their long term brand building
needs.
Online shopping
Satvik shop, an online shopping website dedicated to organic and ayurvedic products.

1.2.5 STRUCTURE OF THE MANAGEMENT

CEO

Managing Director (Mr. B)

Subordinate Managing Director (Mr. C)

General Manager (Mr. D)

Regional Manager (Mr. E)

Branch Manager (Mr. F)

Department Manager

Sales Manager

Direct Sales Force

Executives

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1.2.6 KEY MANAGEMENT
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
PROMOTERS & DIRECTORS
1.Chairperson: Indu Jain
2.Vice-Chairman & MD: Samir Jain
3.Managing Director: Vineet Jain
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1.Executive Director: Trishla Jain
2.Executive Director & CEO: RavindraDhariwal
3.Executive Director & COO: Shrijeet Mishra
4.Executive Director & President: Arunabh Das Sharma
5.Non Executive Director: A.P. Parigi
6.Non Executive Director: Kalpana J. Morparia
7.Non Executive Director: M. Damodaran
8.Non Executive Director: Leo Puri
Times Television Network (comprising TGBCL and ZEN)
Group CEO (TV business): Sunil Lulla
ZEN CEO: AvinashKaul
Times Internet Limited
CEO: SatyanGajwani
Times of Money
President: Avijit Nanda
Times Business Solutions Ltd.
CEO: DebashishGhosh
Times VPL
CEO: Sunil Rajshekhar
Worldwide Media.

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CEO: TarunRai

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.

CEO: PrashantPanday
Alternate Brand Solutions (I) Ltd.
CEO: Prashant Panday
Times Innovative Media Ltd
CEO: Sunder Hemrajani
Absolute Radio
CEO: Donnach O' Driscoll
Times Foundation
Head: ShailendraNautiyal

EDITORIAL HEADS
The Times of India
Editorial Director: Jaideep Bose
Executive Editor: Arindam Sen gupta
Economic Times
Editorial Director: Rahul Joshi
Maharashtra Times
Executive Editor: Ashok Panwalkar
Navbharat Times
Executive Editor: Ramkripal Singh
Mumbai Mirror
Editor: MeenalBaghel
Speaking Tree
Editor: Narayani Ganesh
Vijaya Karnataka

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Editor: E. Raghavan
Times Now
Editor: ArnabGoswami
ET Now
Editor: R. Sridharan

2. INTRODUCTION OF THE PROJECT

Consumer behavior and comparative analysis between

HINDUSTAN TIMES AND THE TIOMES OF INDIA

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 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for
the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior.
Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects
only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the
consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer
analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he
should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors influencing the purchases of
consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological.

1.3.1 FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

1. Cultural Factors

Consumer behavior is deeply influenced by cultural factors such as: buyer culture, subculture,
and social class.

Culture

Basically, culture is the part of every society and is the important cause of person wants and
behavior. The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to country therefore
marketers have to be very careful in analyzing the culture of different groups, regions or even
countries.

Subculture

Each culture contains different subcultures such as religions, nationalities, geographic regions,
racial groups etc. Marketers can use these groups by segmenting the market into various small

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portions. For example marketers can design products according to the needs of a particular
geographic group.

Social Class

Every society possesses some form of social class which is important to the marketers because
the buying behavior of people in a given social class is similar. In this way marketing activities
could be tailored according to different social classes. Here we should note that social class is not
only determined by income but there are various other factors as well such as: wealth, education,
occupation etc.

2. Social Factors

Social factors also impact the buying behavior of consumers. The important social factors are:
reference groups, family, role and status.

Reference Groups

Reference groups have potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The impact of
reference groups varies across products and brands. For example if the product is visible such as
dress, shoes, car etc then the influence of reference groups will be high. Reference groups also
include opinion leader (a person who influences other because of his special skill, knowledge or
other characteristics).

Family

Buyer behavior is strongly influenced by the member of a family. Therefore marketers are trying
to find the roles and influence of the husband, wife and children. If the buying decision of a
particular product is influenced by wife then the marketers will try to target the women in their
advertisement. Here we should note that buying roles change with change in consumer lifestyles.

Roles and Status

Each person possesses different roles and status in the society depending upon the groups, clubs,
family, organization etc. to which he belongs. For example a woman is working in an
organization as finance manager. Now she is playing two roles, one of finance manager and other
of mother. Therefore her buying decisions will be influenced by her role and status.

3. Personal Factors

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Personal factors can also affect the consumer behavior. Some of the important personal factors
that influence the buying behavior are: lifestyle, economic situation, occupation, age, personality
and self concept.

Age

Age and life-cycle have potential impact on the consumer buying behavior. It is obvious that the
consumers change the purchase of goods and services with the passage of time. Family life-cycle
consists of different stages such young singles, married couples, unmarried couples etc which
help marketers to develop appropriate products for each stage.

Occupation

The occupation of a person has significant impact on his buying behavior. For example a
marketing manager of an organization will try to purchase business suits, whereas a low level
worker in the same organization will purchase rugged work clothes.

Economic Situation

Consumer economic situation has great influence on his buying behavior. If the income and
savings of a customer is high then he will purchase more expensive products. On the other hand,
a person with low income and savings will purchase inexpensive products.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle of customers is another import factor affecting the consumer buying behavior. Lifestyle
refers to the way a person lives in a society and is expressed by the things in his/her
surroundings. It is determined by customer interests, opinions, activities etc and shapes his whole
pattern of acting and interacting in the world.

Personality

Personality changes from person to person, time to time and place to place. Therefore it can
greatly influence the buying behavior of customers. Actually, Personality is not what one wears;
rather it is the totality of behavior of a man in different circumstances. It has different
characteristics such as: dominance, aggressiveness, self-confidence etc which can be useful to
determine the consumer behavior for particular product or service.

4. Psychological Factors

There are four important psychological factors affecting the consumer buying behavior. These
are: perception, motivation, learning, beliefs and attitudes.

Motivation

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The level of motivation also affects the buying behavior of customers. Every person has different
needs such as physiological needs, biological needs, social needs etc. The nature of the needs is
that, some of them are most pressing while others are least pressing. Therefore a need becomes a
motive when it is more pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction.

Perception

Selecting, organizing and interpreting information in a way to produce a meaningful experience

of the world is called perception. There are three different perceptual processes which are
selective attention, selective distortion and selective retention. In case of selective attention,
marketers try to attract the customer attention. Whereas, in case of selective distortion, customers
try to interpret the information in a way that will support what the customers already believe.
Similarly, in case of selective retention, marketers try to retain information that supports their
beliefs.

Beliefs and Attitudes

Customer possesses specific belief and attitude towards various products. Since such beliefs and
attitudes make up brand image and affect consumer buying behavior therefore marketers are
interested in them. Marketers can change the beliefs and attitudes of customers by launching
special campaigns in this regard.

1.3.2 STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS

A consumer goes through several stages before purchasing a product or service.

NEED
↓
INFORMATION GATHERING/SEARCH
↓
EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES
↓
PURCHASE OF PRODUCT/SERVICE
↓
POST PURCHASE EVALUATION

Step 1 - Need is the most important factor which leads to buying of products and services. Need
infact is the catalyst which triggers the buying decision of individuals.

An individual who buys cold drink or a bottle of mineral water identifies his/her need as thirst.
However in such cases steps such as information search and evaluation of alternatives are
generally missing. These two steps are important when an individual purchases expensive
products/services such as laptop, cars, mobile phones and so on.

Step 2 - When an individual recognizes his need for a particular product/service he tries to gather
as much information as he can.

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An individual can acquire information through any of the following sources:

 Personal Sources - He might discuss his need with his friends, family members, co
workers and other acquaintances.
 Commercial sources - Advertisements, sales people (in Tim’s case it was the store
manager), Packaging of a particular product in many cases prompt individuals to buy the
same, Displays (Props, Mannequins etc)
 Public sources - Newspaper, Radio, Magazine
 Experiential sources - Individual’s own experience, prior handling of a particular product
(Tim would definitely purchase a Dell laptop again if he had already used one).

Step 3 - The next step is to evaluate the various alternatives available in the market. An
individual after gathering relevant information tries to choose the best option available as per his
need, taste and pocket.

Step 4 - After going through all the above stages, customer finally purchases the product.

Step 5 - The purchase of the product is followed by post purchase evaluation. Post purchase
evaluation refers to a customer’s analysis whether the product was useful to him or not, whether
the product fulfilled his need or not?

1.3.3 SEVEN SECRETS.

The seven secrets of successful selling can be summarized as follows:
1. Know your customer
2. Know your product
3. Know the process of production, manufacture and distribution
4. Know your costs
5. Know your competitive edge
6. Know the communication process
7. Know yourself
Simply put the process of successful marketing stems from sound knowledge, good products,
innovative distribution channels and successful communication processes. Very often potential
customers may be grouped together to form market sectors or segments. It is important for the
marketer to be able to identify how different sectors of the market vary from each other, and how
the different requirements of each sector may be targeted using specific selling techniques.
1. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER
The customer may be an end user, a processor or a manufacturer. The marketer must have an
understanding of the requirements of each end user, processor, and manufacturer and in terms of:

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  Product quality specifications
 Product volume
 Product appearance and finish
 Product supply consistency

Understanding the needs of the customer requires the marketer to develop empathy and trust for
the customers business and I or personal requirements. This has been recently termed,
"relationship marketing. " A marketer with a similar product and an established relationship with
the customer have a distinct competitive advantage.

2. KNOW YOUR PRODUCT

In order to successfully market a product or service, the seller must be able to define the benefits
of the products over those of the opposition's products. Benefits are different to advantages in
that benefits relate to the specific needs of the individual customer, rather than the strengths of
one product over another.

The seller should also have a comprehensive knowledge of the disadvantages of their products in
particular processing or utilization situations (for example, the use of untreated pine products in
exposed situations as opposed to treated products). The better the marketer knows and
understands the product and its idiosyncrasies, the greater the level of service afforded to the
customer, and the more trust created between the parties.

3. KNOW THE PROCESS

Getting the product to the customer can be one of the more trying exercises for the marketer.
The marketer of farm forestry products should possess some knowledge of the species, site,
silvicultural harvesting techniques, sawing, processes, transportation and distribution required for
the product to get into the hands of the customer. The more information that the marketer has to
assist the customer in the decision making process, the greater the chance of the sale.

4. KNOW YOUR COSTS

Without understanding the fixed and variable costs of production, it is difficult to successfully
plan for profitability and sustainability of production. Consequently the marketer must place a
sufficient margin on the product to cover the costs of all processes and Labour, whilst remaining
competitive in the marketplace. Understanding the costs and desired profitability level will also
allow some flexibility in the marketplace, should a situation of price warring occur.

5. KNOW YOUR COMPETITIVE EDGE

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The greater the understanding of the marketing chain and the product, the more likely the relative
strengths may be ascertained. The strengths or competitive advantages commonly relate to price,
product, positioning, perception and process. In the traditionally conservative timber industry,
competitive strengths are achieved through proximity to the resource, ease of harvesting and
processing and proximity to marketplace.

6. KNOW THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Some customers enjoy regular contact from marketers, whereas other customers prefer to be in
control of the event. It is important for the marketer to understand the preferences of the
customer, to know how often the customer prefers to receive information and through which
media. For example, using current technology, it is possible to sell products using photographs
and text on a website. However, this may only attract business from a certain sector of the
market.

7. KNOW YOURSELF
It is extremely difficult to sell products and services that one doesn't believe in or doesn't
understand. It is also difficult to sell products if one does not believe in oneself! To be a
successful marketer, appraise your own strengths and weak-nesses in order to present the selling
opportunity to your customer in a way that works for you. This will usually occur in a situation
where all parties are comfortable and relaxed, able to understand and relate to each other's
situations and requirements. It's fun, enjoy it.
1.3.4 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING STRATEGY
The study of consumers helps firms and organizations improve. Their marketing strategies by
understanding issue such as how

 The psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different
alternatives (e.g., brands, products).

 The psychology of how the consumers is influenced by his or her environment (e.g.
culture, family, signs, media).

 The behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions.

 Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence

decisions and marketing outcome.

 How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products that differ in
their level of importance of interest that they entail for the consumer.

 Behavior occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group (e.g., friends’
influence what kinds of clothes a person wears) or an organization (people on the job make
decisions as to which products the firm should use).

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 Consumer behavior involves the use and disposal of products as well as the study of how
they are purchased. Product use is often of great interest to the marketer, because this may
influence how a product is best positioned or how we can encourage increased consumption.
Since many environmental problems result from product disposal (e.g., motor oil being sent
into sewage systems to save the recycling fee, or garbage piling up at landfills) this is also an
area of interest.

 Consumer behavior involves services and ideas as well as tangible products.

 How marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing
strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

Understanding these issues helps us adapt our strategies by taking the consumer into
consideration. For example, by understanding that a number of different messages compete for
our potential customers' attention, we learn that to be effective, advertisements must usually be
repeated extensively. We also learn that consumers will sometimes be persuaded more by,
logical arguments, but at other times will be persuaded more by emotional or symbolic appeals.
By understanding the consumer, we will be able to make a more informed decision as to which
strategy to employ.
One "official” definition of consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or
organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services,
experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer
and society."

1.3.5 FOUR MAIN APPLICATION OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR:

The most obvious is for marketing strategy-i.e., for making better marketing campaigns. For
example, by understanding that consumers are more receptive to food advertising when they are
hungry, we learn to schedule snack advertisements late in the afternoon. By understanding that
new products are usually initially adopted by a few consumers and only spread later, and then
only gallfly, to the rest of the population, we learn that
(1) companies that introduce new products must be well financed so that they can stay afloat
until their products become a commercial success and
(2) it is important to please initial customers, since they will in turn influence many subsequent
customers’ brand choices.
There are several units in the market that can be analyzed. Our main thrust in this course is the
consumer. However, we will also need to analyze our own firm's strengths and weaknesses and
those of competing firms. To assess a competing firm's potential threat; we need to examine its
assets (e.g., technology, market knowledge, and awareness of its brands) against pressures it
faces from the market. Finally, we need to assess conditions (the marketing environment). For
example, although we may have developed a product that offers great appeal for consumers, a
recession may cut demand dramatically.

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At Present we are living in modern era, which draws drastic impact on the consumer preference
towards different products and services. Earlier people were interested in only the news and
major happenings in the world, but now people want many more things from the newspaper and
magazines, information regarding each and every field from education to business, political
changes, lifestyle, health and fitness, horoscope, religion, property, beauty and so many other
things.
The project undertaken is to know the perception and preferences of customers or readers
towards the Times of India.
Why do they want newspapers so cheap? This is the only commodity which is sold at a price less
than the cost of production. A NEWSPAPER COPY COSTS RS. 19 to THE TIMES OF INDIA
and customer is getting it @Rs4.00only.
There is a big competition between different companies. In the essence, they have need of new
ideas, approaches and techniques for attaining a competitive excellence. Many Indian
organizations have started realizing the importance of Marketing management and new strategy
to be adopted during the marketing of the products. They have realized that continuous is the
key to excellence. This requires regular development of their systems, techniques and people.
Most of the companies prefer to have specialized marketing mix for particular product.

Marketing management is creating a revolution in marketing of products and services providing

to the market and consumers of the organization throughout the world.
.
Marketing management is a vital process for attaining organizational goals and getting
competitive advantage. Summer training project goal is to help students become effective
managers in today’s competitive, global environment. The main focus of the project is on the
different marketing processes in the field of marketing of the organization. Emphasis is given on
discovering the challenge of both managing and understanding the relation of distinct activities
of the organization, and how the marketing functions of organization.

Customer influences the decisions of company, because customer is a king of market who
influence the economy.Therefore it is must to know the perception of customer for success of
product.

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2.2 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN HINDUSTAN
TIMES AND THE TIMES OF INDIA:

Target audience : 18-45 years(mohali and Chandigarh)

TOTAL NO. OF RESPONDENTS FOR HINDUSTAN TIMES: 36

TOTAL NO. OF RESPONDENTS FOR THE TIMES OF INDIA: 31
Both the newspaper are famous in our country and even available in
every part of the country. Hindustan times id available in both Hindi and
English language whereas the times of India comes with English only.
But times of India are the best of all newspapers. We can see the
following list:
 Easy language: People find its language very easy. They can
understand it easily. It expresses the views of the reporter clearly.
Whereas Hindustan times having little bit tough language than the
times of India.

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  International news: There is news related to international matters in
times of India. It depicts a clear picture of the world. It has all type
of news concerned to this world.

 Popularity: This time of India newspaper is very popular in almost

all countries. It is not only read by the youngsters but also by the
children’s. They are sold in great quantity in our country.

 Which newspaper is sold mostly: The times of India is sold in great

quantity in our country. There are many people that read it.

 Which newspaper is more costly: Hindustan time is more costly

than the times of India. As I was doing my internship in the times
of India so I know the on which price they were selling their
newspaper. Price of subscription was 400 per newspaper with full
year and whereas the Hindustan times subscription amount was rs.
800 per year.

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Page 35
CHAPTER-2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
It was proposed to survey the literature regarding differentiation of the product offerings. In the
event that the consumer finds him or herself in market that displays low level of differentiation,
the consumer might result to purchasing influenced by convience. Like consumers who displays
complex buying behavior consumers with dissonance reducing behavior were seek to establish
personal beliefs regarding the products. These beliefs with eventually transforms into attitude
regarding the product offerings. Some Economist had done extensive work on this as a whole.
There had been certain endeavors that have direct or indirect bearing on the present study.
Assael(2004) considered consumers displaying habitual buying behavior as consumers who did
not experience the same sequences the previous two behavioral types. Instead of basing their
decision making process on seeking product information pertaining to functionality or
characteristics, this type of consumer purchase was based on information gathered passively via.
Company’s promotional efforts, by it through the medium of TV, Radio, or Print Advertising.
Common to this type of consumer , is “brand switching” in order to satisfy there need for
diversification.

Howard and Seth(2005) fully ascertained the effects that branding had on the consumer
decision making process. Howard model is used in the process of decision making during
purchasing activities. Its model illustrates that cognitive decision making is the process in which
consumers mentally process information that influences them.

Kepferer(2007) mentioned that shift in focus towards brands began when it was understood that
they were something more than mere identifiers.

Aaker and Joachmisthaler(2011) stated the traditional branding model where a brand
management team was responsible for creating and coordinating the brands management

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program. The basic objective was the coordination with the manufacturing and sales departments
in order to solve any problem concerning sales and market share.

Keller(2013) had given a qualitative statement that whenever marketer creates a new name,
logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she created a brand. He recognizes, however, that
brands are much more than that. As can be seen, according to these definitions brands have
simple and clear functions as identifier.

Kotler(2014) concluded that the essence of this approach is critical for organizational success, so
that they can have better understanding of their customer’s behavior. The physical action or
behavior of consumer and their buying decision every day can be measured directly by
marketers. For that reason many organizations these days are spending lot of their resources to
research how customer makes their buying decision, what they buy, how much they buy, when
they buy.

CHAPTER-3
NEED, SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF
THE STUDY

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 3.1 NEED OF THE STUDY
The project undertaken is to know the perception and preferences of customers or readers
towards Times of India.
Why do they want newspapers so cheap? And how much a survey regarding products matters for
a company’s growth. . An effective survey can support the performance of the company.
Company cannot make pertinent decision regarding particular problem until having the effective
survey which was done by interacting with readers and common person. So improvements can
be taken with accurate information about the preference of the customers.
This project also allows us to renew the subscriptions for the customer and also allows us to
book new subscriptions which give us an experience to meet the customers and also to
understand the customer satisfaction level and also to get an effective feedback from the
customer with the help of a market survey which helps in SWOT analysis and how to compete
with competitors like Tribune and increase market share so that overall development and sales of
Times of India can be increased.

3.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study was limited to Chandigarh ,Mohali ,Kharar to study Consumer
Behavior towards Times of India, and the study was conducted in year 2019 (from 12 June to 1 th

July) which included:-

Corporate calling: Each and every type of corporate call like bank call, schools, private offices
and shops.
Field visits: Visiting dealers and distributors.

3.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

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Main objective of research study was to study the consumer behavior towards newspaper and do
the comparative analysis between the Hindustan times and the times of india-Times of India on
the basis of the product features and schemes of the English newspaper.
1. To Study consumer behavior towards daily newspaper.
2. To find out expectation of readers in current scenario.
3.To find out the factor influencing brand loyalty.
4. Marketing of the newspapers and magazines so that more and more customers should
subscribe the newspapers and magazines i.e. to sell the subscriptions of the magazines.

CHAPTER-4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The process used to collect information and data for the purpose of making business decisions.
The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other
research techniques, and could include both present and historical information.
Research is thus an original contribution to an existing stock of knowledge making for its
advancement. It involves systematic collection, analysis and reporting of data and finding
relevant solution to a specific problem.

4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

The Research design was descriptive in nature because it is used to obtain information
concerning the current status of depository system in the company so that to describe “what
exists” with respect to conditions in a situation.
Descriptive Research
It includes surveys, facts, findings and inquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of the
descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. Descriptive
Research is that kind of research where the researcher has no control over the variables. Reporter
can only report what has happened or what is going to happen. But these incidents cannot be
changed by the researcher. This research was descriptive because it would just study the general
attitude of people towards daily newspaper without having any control over it.

4.2 SAMPLING DESIGN

The following factors were decided within the scope of sample design:

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4.2.1 UNIVERSE OF THE STUDY
Universe of the study means the area or the limits of the study in which it is to be conducted.
Universe is divide into three categories theoretical universe and accessible universe and target
population.
Theoretical Universe that part of total population which fulfills our conditions which included
youngsters, middle age and old age persons all over the world.
Accessible Universe means that part of the population which is within our reach which included
youngsters, middle age and old age persons in India.
Target Population means that part of the accessible universe who actually answer the query
which included selected youngsters, middle age and old age persons in Mohali and Kharar.
4.2.2 SAMPLE UNIT:
Sample unit indicates who is to be surveyed. The researcher must define the sample unit that
was sampled. In this study sampling unit was youngsters, middle age, and older persons of
kharar and mohali to be selected according to the convinence and own judgement of our team
head Mr. Rakesh sukhieja(Assistant Marketing Manager Times of India).
4.2.3 SAMPLE SIZE:
A sample of minimum respondents was selected from the different areas of Mohali and Kharar.
An effort was made to select the respondents evenly. The survey was carried out on 300
respondents including mohali and kharar.
4.2.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE:
For the purpose of research convience sampling technique and judgemental sampling technique
would be used. On the basis of convenience and own judgemental eligible respondents were
selected from the different areas of kharar and mohali.

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 4.3 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Page 42
4.3.1 DATA COLLECTION
There were two types of data sources used in project:
i) Secondary Data
It is the data which have already been collected by someone else and which have already been
passed through the statistical process. In this case one is not confronted with the problems that
are usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data is either published or
unpublished. In this case it has been collected from website of “TOI”, old articles, projects,
books.
ii) Primary Data
It includes information collected afresh and the first time, and thus happen to be original in
character. It is the backbone of any study. It was obtained through questionnaire from
respondents as given below:-
Corporate calling: Each and every type of corporate call like bank call, schools, private offices
and shops.
Residential calling: Door to door selling was done in this type of strategy. Most of the posh
areas were covered under this.
Field visits: Visiting dealers and distributors.

PROCEDURE USED FOR GETTING PRIMARY DATA:-

1.Company assigned me the areas for daily visit.

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 Everyday in the morning , there is one meeting point we all are there at 7:30AM , and our mentor
should provides the area ,which we have cover in the kharar and mohali only. The Areas were:-
23rd may To 10 June :- Amari greens,Nirwana greens, kharar
11 June TO 15 June :- Shivjot enclave, kharar
16 June To 20 June :- Gtb nagar ,kharar
21 june To 23 june:-Noor villa, kharar
24 june To 27june :- jamuna apartments
28 June To 30 june :- phase-5 Mohali
1July To 3 July:- sector-70,3b2 market, Mohali
3 july To 7 july :- phase-9,phase-10 market, Mohali
As per the guidelines of mentor area was covered as per the plan, but some more extra efforts were
done by visiting places like:-
Schools
Industrial Area Phase 8, Mohali
Industrial Area Mohali
Saloons
Shops
Dance academies
So from these places bulk order for magazines and newspapers were obtained.
2.Approached to area assigned and interact with concerned person
3.Take the feedback of the customers about the newspaper they are already reading.
4.Making daily report of the competitor’s strength and weaknesses.

5.Note down the complaints and views of the customers

6.Find the actual need of customer regarding MAGAZINES and NEWSPAPER

7.After realization of need presentation was done in front of customer regarding the
magazine and newspaper
8.Made customer aware about the subscription scheme of magazines, way of payment and
distribution process
THE TIMES OF INDIA (12 MONTHS SCHEME)
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PERIODICITY: Daily
COVER PRICE : Rs.4.00 on weekdays and Rs.5 On Saturday and Sunday
12 MONTHS RATE: RS 399/-
DURATION: 12 months
And Economic Times also with same offers @Rs.375/- with one year subscription except
Saturday and Sunday.
And All The Magazines Of Times Group were available at 50% Discount.
ASSURED GIFT: 50% off on cover price, discount coupons availed at various outlets around
worth Rs 3000 and Rs 500 worth advertising coupons. Coupons were provided on the
subscription of newspaper as well as magazines.
9.Fill the subscription receipt after selection of magazine or newspaper by customer and
receive the payment through cheque in case of newspaper while booking the order and cash
as well as cheque was accepeted in case of Magazine. For example if customer go for
subscription of TOI Newspaper the following receipt was filled:-

Figure 4.3.1(1) Billing Receipt of Times of India

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10.At closing of subscription process wish to subscriber and make him believe that you
bought trustful product which would be best for you and sure them about quick
distribution of magazine and newspaper.

4.3.2 TOOLS OF PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.3.2(1) TOOLS OF ANALYSIS
In the given research tools for analysis percentages and summated scores have been used.

4.3.2(2) TOOLS OF PRESENTATION

It means all the tools used to present the data in a meaningful way so that it becomes easily
understandable. In this research data was represented by figures and charts. Bar graphs and Pie
charts were used to present the data.

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4.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 The field work for the purpose of research was limited to some part of the Mohali and
Kharar city only. Therefore, it may not represent the overall consumers perceptions as
consumers perceptions may vary from place to place due to demographic factors.
 The research was carried out in a short period. Therefore, the sample size and the
parameters were selected accordingly so as to finish the work within the given time
frame.

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  Some of the respondents were unable to answer due to lack of knowledge. For example,
in kharar most of the peoples were unable to answer the questions due to lack of
knowledge and some of them were just slammed the door on our face.

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 CHAPTER-5
DATA ANALYSIS
AND
INTERPRETATION

+- +-DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q.1 Do you spend time on reading?

A) Yes B) No

Table 5.1 Time Spent

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 Option Number

Yes 210

No 90

Figure 5.1 Time Spent

250

200

150

100

50

0
Yes No

Analysis and Interpretation

Maximum no of Mohali people read a newspaper daily. They give a time approximately 20-30
minutes daily . So 70% people read newspapers on daily basis.

Q.2 Which newspaper do you like to read?

a)Times of India b)Hindustan Times c)Tribune d)Dainik Bhaskar e)Amar Ujala f) Others

Table 5.2 Newspaper Like to Read

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 Option Number Percentage(%)

Times of India 50 16.6

Hindustan Times 55 18.3

Tribune 86 28.3

Dainik Bhaskar 57 19

Amar Ujala 34 11.3

Others 18 6

a)Times of India-16.6 b)Hindustan Times-18.3 c)Tribune-28.3 d) Dainik Bhaskar-19 e)

Others; 18 Times of India; 50

Amar Ujala; 34
Hindustan
Dainik Bhaskar; 57 Times; 55

Tribune; 86
Amar Ujala-11.3 f) Others-6

Analysis and Interpretation

Maximum number of people in mohali region prefers to read Tribune because of its more
coverage on regional news and bigger fonts than other newspapers.After Tribune, Dainik
Bhaskar (Hindi Newspaper) is on the second position and among first in Hindi Newspapers.
Times of India is at the 4th position after Hindustan Times.

Q.3 What do you like the most in your newspaper?

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a) Content b) Presentation c) Language d) Any other

Table 5.3 Like most in Newspaper

Option Numbers Percentage

Content 75 25

Presentation 137 45.6

Language 80 26.6

Any other 8 2.6

a) Content-25% b) Presentation-45.6% c) Languge-26.6% d) Any other-2.6%

Any other; 8
Content; 75
Language; 80

Presentation; 137

Analysis and Interpretation

Most of the people likes the way of presentation in their newspaper. 88% people said they like
the language of their newspapers in this maximum people are Tribune and Dainik Bhaskar
readers, they like language of their newspaper and rest of the people are impressed by the
contents or matter provided in their newspaper in this maximum people are Tribune, Times of
India, or Hindustan Times reader.

Q.4 Which is your favorite column in newspaper ?

a) National/International b) Sports c) Business d) Editorial e) Any other

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 Table 5.4 Favorite Column

Option Number Percentage

National/International 230 76.6

news

Sports 23 7.6

Business 20 6.6

Editorial 9 3

Any Other 18 6

a) National/International-76.6% b) Sports 7.6% c) Business 6.6% d) Editorial 3% e) Any Other-

6%

Any Other; 18
Editorial; 9
Business; 20

Sports; 23

National/International news; 230

Analysis and Interpretation

Generally people read newspaper for national and international news 76.6 percent of the people
read only national and international news while some are interested in sports, business, editorial

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and some other columns like horoscope, travel, health and fitness, religion etc. For education
mostly people reads Times of India, for business they prefer economic times which is also
Bennet & Coleman publication.

Q.5 Do you go through additional supplements that are provided with the newspaper?

a) Yes b) No

Table 5.5 Habit of going through Additional Supplements

Option Number Percentage

Yes 225 75

Percentage; 66.6

Number; 200

Analysis and Interpretation

More than half of the people in the survey go through the additional supplements provided in the
newspaper and rest of them doesn’t like to read additional supplements.

Times of India’s most popular supplement is Education Times regarding education of the
students and Times Ascent regarding jobs available in the market.

Hindustan Times popular supplement is Brunch regarding fashion, cinema, lifestyle.

Tribune’s popular supplement is Spectrum and Lifestyle.

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Q.6 Does your newspaper provide you all the essential business information?

a)Yes b) No c) Doesn’t read

Table 5.7 Satisfaction for Business Information

Option Number Percentage(%)

Yes 75 25

No 51 17

Doesn’t read 174 58

Yes; 75

Doesn’t read; 174

No; 51

Analysis and Interpretation

Maximum number of people doesn’t go through business column in their newspaper, Mostly
business man and the students for their general knowledge go through this column and 25
percent of the total people in the survey are satisfied with the business information provided in
their newspaper. Mostly people prefer economic times for business queries

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Q.7 Do you want to go with yearly subscription scheme?

a) Yes b) No

Table 5.12 Customers ready to go with yearly subscription

Option Number Percentage

Yes 62 65

No 33 35

Analysis and Interpretation

Out of 95 peoples 65% peoples were ready to get yearly subscription whereas rest 35% were not
ready to go with yearly subscription even after offering Discount Coupons and free
Advertisement coupons.

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 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Page 57
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

 Maximum number of Mohali people read a newspaper daily. They give a time approximately
20-30 minutes daily . So 70% people read newspapers on daily basis.

 Maximum number of people in Mohali region prefers to read Tribune , Hindustan times
because of its more coverage on regional news and bigger fonts than other newspapers.

After Tribune, Dainik Bhaskar (Hindi Newspaper) is on the second position and among
first in Hindi Newspapers. Times of India is at the 4th position after Hindustan Times.
Times.
 Most of the people likes the way of presentation in their newspaper. 88% people said they
like the language of their newspapers in this maximum people are Tribune and Dainik
Bhaskar readers, they like language of their newspaper and rest of the people are impressed
by the contents or matter provided in their newspaper in this maximum people are Tribune,
Times of India, or Hindustan Times reader.
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 Generally people read newspaper for national and international news 76.6 percent of the
people read only national and international news while some are interested in sports,
business, editorial and some other columns like horoscope, travel, health and fitness, religion
etc.
For education mostly people reads Times of India, for business they prefer economic
times which is also Bennet & Coleman publication.
 More than half of the people in the survey go through the additional supplements provided in
the newspaper and rest of them doesn’t like to read additional supplements.
Times of India’s most popular supplement is Education Times regarding education of the
students and Times Ascent regarding jobs available in the market.
Hindustan Times popular supplement is Brunch regarding fashion, cinema, lifestyle.
Tribune’s popular supplement is Spectrum and Lifestyle.
 Most of the people are satisfied with the education column in their newspaper while 23.6
percent of the people are not satisfied and rest of the people doesn’t go through education
column, people who are satisfied with education column are Times of India, Hindustan
Times, Dainik Bhaskar and Tribune readers and people who are not satisfied are mostly Amar
Ujala and Punjab Kesari readers.
 Maximum number of people doesn’t go through business column in their newspaper, Mostly
business man and the students for their general knowledge go through this column and 25
percent of the total people in the survey are satisfied with the business information provided
in their newspaper. Mostly people prefer economic times for business queries.
 A large number of people from the survey doesn’t read classified section.
33.3 percent of the people are satisfied with the classified section it mostly includes
Tribune, Times of India, Hindustan Times reader.
Rest of the people are not satisfied with the classified section it includes Dainik Bhaskar,
Amar Ujala, Punjab Kesari reader.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

Working in field was very enriching experience and gave good exposure. It was a golden
opportunity to apply knowledge and learning gained from classroom lectures in practical
business environment. The SIP program helped in gaining knowledge and developing the
confidence level to work. It helped in knowing about the behavior of human being, which
fluctuates in different situations and time.

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The project provided an excellent opportunity to apply marketing concepts in real time situation.
Conducting survey and booking the orders were the two areas where we were given opportunity
to work for. Both the areas involved required a lot of creativity and out of the box thinking.
The people in Mohali still preferring printed contents despite of technology adaption. In posh
areas people prefer English Newspapers. But maximum areas still prefer to read a Hindi
newspaper. There are some people who are aware about it but they are not aware about the
subscription schemes. They were interested in subscribing. When they came to know about the
schemes, they immediately bought subscriptions. But still there are some areas where awareness
about TOI is very low.
Market Research is the most crucial activity in the field of marketing to assess the consumer
behavior towards any company or brand. How far does the psychology of the consumer effects
the performance of any product was practically witnessed. Best level has been tried by me to
present all the facts correctly but as marketing research is not a true science hence certain degree
of alterations are possible in the research report.
TOI is not able to provide accurate service to all customers. There are some other reasons also,
but if TOI works on improving

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Improvement of Services:

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The first and foremost recommendation that can be suggested from the findings of the research is
the improvement in services.

2.A better distribution channel:

I would also like to recommend that by implementing a better distribution channel, TOI can
increase its market share.

3.Appointment of new staff:

TOI can also improve their services by appointing new staff as ‘Customer care Executive’ by
giving well training so that they will be able to respond the customers well who have problems.

4.Regional News:

As regional news is comparatively less than other newspapers. Therefore, it should increase
regional news if it have to pass Tribune as it is the biggest lacking area.

5.Quality Of Newspaper:

Fonts used is smaller than other newspapers was the main complaint by older peoples
mostly.Therefore it needs to improve font size.

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6.Advertisement

Many people complaint that it includes large number of advertisements as compared to news.
Students said that the advertisements of competitive exams does not come in the Times of India.

7.Promotional Schemes:

Promotional schemes offered to the consumers helped in increasing sales of Times of India.

Finally looking at the acceptance of promotional scheme of the Times of India conclude that the
scheme offered was mostly liked by the readers and ultimately most of them were subscribing to
it. Therefore, it should come up with more and more innovative ideas like more promotional
schemes to increase its sale.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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1. Ali S., .“A Study of Readership Survey, Consumer Behavior& Loyalty In Print Media –
Challenges & strategic prescriptions with Special reference to English, Hindi, Marathi News
Paper readers-Mumbai”.ABHINAV. 1 (4), pp.64-70

2. Times Group. About us. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.timesgroup.com/bccl/about-

us.html.
3. Vital Business Media . Go East, young journalist: India publishing market is hot. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.emediavitals.com/content/go-east-youngjournalist-india-publishing-
market-hot.

4. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19317077/consumer-behavior-towards-times-of-india-news-
paper#scribd

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Pag/

6. http://www.indiannewspapersociety.org/history1.htm

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ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

I, vibha gupta (18mba1029) student of MBA at “CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY

GHARUAN”conducting a survey on “Readership survey of The Times of India” as a part of
my curriculum. Kindly help me to gather the information by sparing your 5-10 minutes for
fulfilling the questionnaire. I assure you that information will be kept confidential. I will be very
thankful to you.

Name……………………………………………………………….Age………………………......
Address……………………………………………………………Occupation……………………
Phone No…………………………………………………………..

Please ( √ the option given in the answers which are most suitable to you. You can answer more
than one option if required).

Q.1 Do you spend time on reading?

A) Yes
B) No

Q.2 Which newspaper do you like to read?

a)Times of India
b)Hindustan Times
c)Tribune
d)Dainik Bhaskar

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e)Amar Ujala
f) Others

Q.3 What do you like the most in your newspaper?

a) Content
b) Presentation
c) Language
d) Any other

Q.4 Which is your favorite column in newspaper ?

a) National/International
b) Sports
c) Business
d) Editorial
e) Any other

Q.5 Do you go through additional supplements that are provided with the newspaper?
a) Yes
b) No

Q.7 Does your newspaper provide you all the essential business information?
a)Yes
b) No
c) Doesn’t read

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Q.8 Has the information from classified section been able to resolve your queries?
a)Yes
b) No
c) Doesn’t read
Q.9 Suggestions (If any) …………………………..........................................................................
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Date:…… Signature:…………..

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