SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

On

“SALES GENERATION STRATEGIES AT THE OUTLOOK GROUP”

OUTLOOK GROUP

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)

By

Avnish Kumar Rasniya

Batch 2017-19

Roll No. 05

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s

Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management

Copernicus Lane, Kasturba Gandhi Marg

New Delhi

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2
 DECLARATION FORM

I hereby declare that the Project work titled “SALES GENERATION STRATEGIES AT THE
OUTLOOK GROUP”
Submitted by me for the Summer Internship during the Post Graduate Diploma in Management to
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM) is my own
original work and has not been submitted earlier either to BULMIM or to any other Institution for the
fulfillment of the requirement for any course of study. I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in
whole or in part is lifted and incorporated in this report from any earlier / other work done by me or
others.

Signature of Student: _____________

Name of Student: Avnish Kumar Rasniya
Batch: 2017-2019
Date:
Place:

Signature of Faculty Mentor: ________ Signature of Company Mentor: ___________

Name of Faculty Mentor: Dr J. R. Dikshit Name of Company Mentor: Ms. JASLEEN BHASIN
Designation: Assistant Professor Designation: Deputy Manager, Sales and Marketing
Date: Date:

Place: Place:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Usha & Lakshmi

Mittal Institute of Management (BULMIM) and Outlook 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 grat-

itude to my project guide Ms. JASLEEN BHASIN, Deputy Manager, Sales and Marketing at Outlook

Group Magazine, New Delhi 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 all my 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. Dr J. R. Dikshit for his constructive support during the summer in-

ternship period, which leads to successful completion of my internship at Outlook Group Magazine, New

Delhi.

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List of Content

1.0 Executive summary.........................................................................................................................9

2.0 Objective of study...........................................................................................................................10

3.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................11 22

3.1 Print Media Industry Overview................................................................................................11

3.2 Future of Indian Entertainment and Media (E&M) Industry....................................................12-14

3.3 Print Media: Industry Profile....................................................................................................14-15

3.4 Company Profile.....................................................................................................................16-18

3.5 About Products of Outlook Group..........................................................................................19-21

4.0. Marketing Strategy at Outlook India............................................................................................22-25

4.1 Business to Customer (B-2-C)...............................................................................................22

4.2 Business to Business (B-2-b).................................................................................................23

4.3 Sample Cover-on-cover (CoC) Template...............................................................................24

4.4 Lead Sourcing at Outlook Magazine through Zomato and Just Dial.....................................25

5. Reason behind the High churning rate of Outlook Magazines.........................................................26-27

6. Customer Retention Strategy at Outlook.........................................................................................28-29

6.1 Digital Subscription (E-Magazine and App Based)...............................................................28

6.2 Gift Offer on Subscription.....................................................................................................29

7.0 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at Outlook Group:-Flowchart.................................30-32

7.1 Customer Response Log sheet...............................................................................................32

8.0 Competitive Analysis (Outlook Group vs. India Today)................................................................33

9.0 Research Methodology..................................................................................................................34

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10.0 Data analysis and Interpretation..................................................................................................35-44

10.1 Reason for denying are discussed........................................................................................43-44

11.0 SWOT Analysis...........................................................................................................................45

12.0 Findings.......................................................................................................................................46

13.0 Recommendations.......................................................................................................................47

14.0 Limitations..................................................................................................................................48

15.0 Learning......................................................................................................................................49

16.0 References...................................................................................................................................50

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List of Tables and Figures

3.2.1 Media consumption......................................................................................................................13

3.4.1 Outlook Group.............................................................................................................................16

3.4.2 Rajan Raheja Group.....................................................................................................................18

3.5.1 List of Outlook Group Magazine..................................................................................................20

3.5.2 Outlook Magazine in brief...........................................................................................................21

4.0.1 Marketing Strategy at Outlook India ...........................................................................................22

4.3.1 Sample Cover-on-cover (CoC) Template.....................................................................................24

4.4.1 Lead Sourcing at Outlook Magazine through Zomato and Just Dial ...........................................25

5.0.1 Reason behind the High churning rate of Outlook Magazines ....................................................26

6.1.1 Digital Subscription (E-Magazine and App Based)......................................................................28

6.2.1 Gift Offer on Subscription............................................................................................................29

7.0.1 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at Outlook Group:-Flowchart................................30

7.1.1 Customer Response Log sheet......................................................................................................32

8.0.1 Competitive Analysis (Outlook Group vs. India Today)...............................................................33

10.0.1 Age group ..................................................................................................................................35

10.0.2 Gender .......................................................................................................................................35

10.0.3 Customer occupation..................................................................................................................36

10.0.4 How often do you read magazine ..............................................................................................36

10.0.5 Name the magazine you read/subscribe .....................................................................................37

10.0.6 How do you get magazine .........................................................................................................37

10.0.7 Reason for not reading ..............................................................................................................38

10.0.8 Entertainment ............................................................................................................................38

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10.0.9 Information.................................................................................................................................39

10.0.10 Gossips ....................................................................................................................................39

10.0.11 Updates ....................................................................................................................................40

10.0.12 Price ........................................................................................................................................40

10.0.13 Service .....................................................................................................................................41

10.0.14 Language..................................................................................................................................41

10.0.15 Quality vs. Price ratio ..............................................................................................................42

10.0.16 Renewal call ............................................................................................................................42

10.1.1 Reason for discontinued.............................................................................................................43

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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Internship at Outlook Magazine Provided an opportunity to understand the challenges faced by
traditional Print Media from newer forms of News Communication such as Social Media and e-updates.
The Phenomenal advancement in Information Technology and its subsequent impact on Media and News
Industry has closed the business of many well-known Media groups who even after Producing the Good
content were not able to survive as they lost the customer value proposition to digital and Social Media.

Outlook group is facing similar problem of high customer churn-out because they are not renewing their
subscription and hence revenue generation has become quite challenging, though Outlook has started their
digital version as well as App, however these two things are not sufficient to meet the challenges, hence
Outlook is focusing on printing those magazines whose content is and will remain relevant in the near
future like Investment, Travel, Business etc.

During my internship I learned how outlook sales is facing cumbersome task of achieving the targets, on
the other hand in Business to business (B-2-B) they are looking for Advertisement, hence it given an
opportunity to learn how revenue is being generated through Magazine sales and Advertisement.

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2.0 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

Primary:

 Generation of sales for outlook’s magazines subscription.

 Analyze the client’s response affecting the level of sales and list out potential clients in each seg-
ment.
Secondary:

 To extract my potential to the fullest and use it for the benefit of the company and my own self by
achieving a remarkable sales target.
 To work on improving convincing skills.

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3.0 INTRODUCTION

3.1 Print Media Industry Overview

Print Media, as anyone can understand is one of the most important factors coming through in the way a
nation works. Newspapers, magazines, books etc. are ready by a lot of people and are certainly one of the
most trusted mediums of National and International News.

India has a vast array of Print Media with Thousands of Magazines (49,000) and Newspapers in
circulation. Top Notch Journalism, great reporting, press unity and a very strong network is what makes
Print Media so much of a success even today in the age of Television and the Internet. It is also said that
Print Media also helped literacy and undoubtedly the General Knowledge of the average person in India.

The newspaper with the largest Circulation in India is Dainik Jagran, having near about Two million
readers. Next comes Times of India, an English newspaper, followed by Dainik Bhaskar, another Hindi
Newspaper.

India has a lot of regional newspapers and magazines as well in a lot of languages. Therefore there is
something out there for everyone to read!

Print media:

Current size: Rs 22,900 Crore

Projected size by 2020: Rs 34,500 Crore

CAGR: 12%

A Progressive Indian economy, growing need for content and government initiatives that have opened up
the sector to foreign investment are driving growth in the print media. With the literate population on the
rise, more people in rural and urban areas are reading newspapers and magazines today. Foreign media
too is evincing interest in investing in Indian publications.

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3.2 Future of Indian Entertainment and Media (E&M) Industry

The Indian Entertainment and Media (E&M) industry is poised to grow at 19% compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) to reach Rs 95,740 Crores by, according to 2017 annual edition of the FICCI -
PricewaterhouseCoopers report Indian Entertainment and Media Industry - Unravelling the potential.

Economic growth, rising income levels, consumerism, coupled with technological advancements and
policy initiatives taken by the Indian government that are encouraging the inflow of investment, will
prove to be the key drivers for the entertainment and media industry.

The industry has been forecast to outperform the economic growth in each year, till 2010. ―Two factors
that will contribute to the growth of the industry are low media penetration in lower socio-economic
classes and low ad spends‖ said Deepak Kapoor, Executive Director and Leader for Price-water house-
Coopers ‘Entertainment & Media Practice in India. ―Today media penetration is poor in lower socio-
economic classes, but efforts to increase it even slightly are likely to deliver much higher results, simply
due to the absolute numbers being large.

Strong economic growth, rising consumer spending and regulatory corrections are drawing foreign
investments in most segments of the E&M industry, especially the print media. ―The sector needs a
consistent and uniform media policy for increase in investments.

Also, the on-going threat of piracy, which continues to hinder investments in all sectors, needs efforts not
just by the industry bodies, but by government, with empowered officers enforcing anti-piracy laws, said
Dr. Amit Mitra- Secretary General, FICCI.

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Fig 3.2.1

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3.3 Print Media: Industry Profile

There are the two main sources of obtaining data to determine readership of any publication:

National Readership Survey – NRS and Indian Readership Survey - IRS

National Readership Survey is a survey on all media, but especially the print medium, conducted by the
National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) - supported by Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC),
Advertising Agencies association of India (AAAI) & Indian Newspapers Society.

It investigates the readership of about 80 major Indian publications-dailies, weeklies, bi-weeklies and
monthlies-in over 475 towns of 57 regions across the length and breadth of the country. The towns,
selected, however are publication Centre’s of dailies. By process of ‘systematic sampling,’ over 55,000
households in these towns are surveyed, the number of households in each town proportionate to it
population. All men and womenfolk above the age 15 are questioned for about half an hour on the basis of
a structured questionnaire.

It claimed to be the most thorough readership survey in the country. It provides exhaustive data (available
to its clients on computer disks) readership, radio listenership profile’-the socio economic characteristics
of the readers of various publications, of cinema and TV viewers, and of listeners to radio, as well as the
degree of duplication among publications and between media. Research agencies involved are: IMRB,
TNS Sofres Mode, and AC Nielsen in collaboration with ORG.

Indian Readership Survey is conducted by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC). IRS 2002 is the
largest continuous media survey ever conducted (sample size of 229,000 individuals) providing a single-
source database for demographics, media habits and product/brand usage across 986 towns and 2858
villages in India. The survey was conducted over two rounds with the field work between November 2001
and November 2002.

This all-India survey conducted jointly with the Media Research Users' Council (MRUC) also provides
product / brand penetration information for over 50 different products allowing one to link media habits
and product usage data for adults and children from the age of 12 years.

Both NRS & IRS

Gives media consumption habits, product ownership & consumption, lifestyle indicators information on
macro demographic & geographic parameters.

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Population coverage: 12 years & above

Sample size: over 200, 000

Geographic coverage: All India (Urban + Rural)

Sample Frame: Electoral rolls based on 2001 Census definition of Urban Agglomeration

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3.4 Company Profile

Fig 3.4.1

Started in 1995 by Mumbai Based Raheja Group with Mr. Vinod Mehta as Editor-in-chief at a time when
print media was losing its sheen due to advancement of Satellite Television, however within four years of
its inception, Outlook English (Weekly) become the fourth most read news Magazine in terms of
Readership and expanded its footstep in Money, Travel and Business Domains.

As per the Indian Readership survey 2014, Outlook English stands Sixth in Top Indian English Magazines
with a 425,000 Readership, Overall the Outlook Group has 1.5 Million Readership and in terms of
subscription it stands second after India Today Group.

The Rajan Raheja Group is a diversified conglomerate which has interests in sectors such as building
materials (through Prism Cement, H&R Johnson (India) and RMC Ready-mix (India)), automotive and
industrial batteries (Exide Industries), cable T.V. (Hathaway Cable & Datacom and Asianet Satellite
Communications), financial services (in life insurance and asset management through joint ventures with
ING), publishing (OUTLOOK group), retail (Globus, H&R Johnson (India) TBK, Food world and Health
& Glow), real estate development, software, petrochemicals and hotels.

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Introduction of Group Companies.

Rajan Biharilal Raheja (born 1954) is an Indian businessman who lives in Mumbai. Forbes magazine
has identified him as a billionaire with a net worth of $2.15 billion, making him the 30th richest person in
India. Rajan Raheja made his beginning in the construction business. After building a huge presence in
the realty market, his Rajan Raheja Group diversified laterally into manufacturing, financial services and
media—each venture initiated, and executed, to fulfill the objective of assuming leadership in core areas.

The list of his Group's successes is long and eclectic. Today, H&R Johnson (India) Limited is the top
name in ceramic tiles in India. Exide is the strongest brand of batteries in the automotive and industrial
field. Co-promoters of Supreme Petrochem Ltd. along with Supreme Industries Ltd, largest processor of
plastic materials in India. The Group also joined hands with Oberoi Hotels as co-promoters of Trident
Hotels and luxury resort Rajvilas, which Conde Nast Traveller ranked as one of the 25 best villa
hideaways in the world.

Prism Cement Ltd has a production capacity of 2.5 million tones; The Group is a Co-promoter of
Sonata Software Ltd, one of the leading software companies in India. As owners and operators of a fiber
optic cable network in Kerala through Asianet Satellite Communications, Co-promoters of RMC
Ready-mixed (India) Pvt. Ltd. along with RMC Group plc. U.K, the world’s largest manufacturer of
Ready-mixed concrete.

Hathway Cable &Datacom Pvt. Ltd has extensive cable network in 6 major cities and 7 large towns
across India. Globus Stores Pvt. Ltd. is India’s one of the largest apparel brand chain. A 50% JV with
the ING group of Netherlands in ING Life Insurance. The venture is already the 5th largest insurer in
India.

17
Rajan Raheja Group

{BUILDING MATERIALS, BATTERIES, FINANCIAL SERVICES, MEDIA, HOSPITALITY,

RETAIL}

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3.5 About Outlook product

Following is the List of Outlook Group Magazines.

Name Status

Outlook Weekly English Continue

Outlook Weekly Hindi Continue

Outlook GEO Discontinued

Outlook Profit Discontinued

Outlook Marie Claire Discontinued

Outlook People Discontinued

Outlook Newsweek Sold

Outlook Business Continue

Outlook Money Continue

Outlook Traveler Continue

Outlook Careers 360 Sold

Most of the Products which have been discontinued by outlook group were Market leaders in their
respective segments, however the revenue generated from those products was not sufficient to run the
business and the story is more or less similar for Print media in India or Abroad.

Outlook Magazines in brief

Outlook: Outlook is a weekly magazine, started in the year October 1995 by Mr. Vinod Mehta. It
provide the latest news on sports, politics, economics, and cinema both domestic and international.

19
This magazine took over the industry by storm due to its boldness and the way outlook presented
story, this was appreciated by its reader all over India. Outlook weekly talked about everything from
Kargil War to the corruption today, from free education to children to bringing the rights of women
on its magazine. Outlook is now preferred over by 2 Million readers in India and sell more than 12
Million Magazines. As of now Outlook is priced at Rs 60 per copy.

Outlook Money: It was launched in the year 1998, and was launched as an Intelligent Investor
Magazine but was renamed in November 2002 as Outlook Money. This is published twice in a
month. It was India’s first magazine which laid the basic and strong details of investing and was
a perfect for salaried middles class and people in India. With the growing service sector and the
requirement to save money this was a most sought after magazine for investment purpose. It had
a very simple and meaningful message ‘Invest well, borrow wisely, spend smartly'. Clearly the
message was well delivered and Outlook Money sold 1 Lakh copies in the very first year.
However, the key differentiating factor is that 93% of its reader has renewed their subscription
over and over again.

Outlook Traveler: It’s a monthly magazine prices at Rs. 100 per copy. This is one of the most
selling magazine of Outlook Group probably because it provide, captures and bring the
wanderlust to the table. This magazine provide all kinds of travels details like Domestic and
International. Recently it published world Top 100 Destination to travel this year in its June
Edition. This also bring the low cost trekking and travel destination that can be accessed through
this. Hence this magazine is most preferred by people and is also a great source of advertisement
for the Outlook Group adding revenue to the account.

Outlook Hindi: It is weekly magazine and was launched in the year October 2002. To be specific
this magazine targets the Hindi readers who have evolved over the period of time keeping in mind
their interest, expectation and reality happening around. Outlook Hindi is famous among its
readers because of its boldness and unique style which represents the style of publication of
Outlook other magazine. This magazine is process at Rs 50 per copy.

Outlook Business: Outlook Business is by monthly magazine. This bring latest news related to
business globally and in India. This is another important magazine for outlook keeping in mind
the investment and financial goals happening in India specially.

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Fig 3.5.2

4.0 MARKETING STRATEGY AT OUTLOOK INDIA

Fig 4.0.1

21
4.1 Business to Customer (B-2-C)

All the sales people were provided with database of those subscribers whose subscription was about to
expire.

These people will call the subscribers and will inform them about the current status of their Subscription,
in case if subscription is about to expire they will request the subscriber to renew the Subscription through
online payment or through sending Cheque to the Outlook Head office.

However Outlook is facing a Customer churning rate of 15% and new customer subscription is around
12%, thus a net loss of 3%, another important observation is that those who have discontinued the
Outlook subscription were long term readers of Outlook Magazine i.e. Loyal Readers and the new
subscribers are lacking loyalty and this patter was uniform in most of the Print media.

4.2 Business to Business (B-2-b)

Outlook launched a different version of Paid Advertisement known as “Cover-on-cover”.

22
Under this scheme the Restaurants, Pubs, Car Dealers, Hotels in Delhi/NCR region were given a full page
advertisement about their Product or Service, the Advertisement covers the Both sides of the front and
back Page, however the Major difference between the Advertisement and Cover on Cover advertisement
is that an Advertisement is Published in all the Copies of Magazine, however the Cover on cover Ad was
published in limited nos. of copies as ordered by the Client.

Outlook under (Coc) was Accepting a minimum order of 1000 nos. of Copies, in these copies the Ad will
be Published and will be send to best Target customer as per the Business of the Client, for Example for a
Pub XYZ located in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi they will send the Magazines to the Posh Societes like
Green Park, Greater Kailash and Lutiyens Zone, where the no of citizens who visit pubs and bars is very
high and they generally go for shopping at Places like Hauz khas Village

The Lead Generation is done for Pubs and Restaurant’s was done through online restaurant review
websites like www.zomato.com, the restaurants with poor customer review were targeted for business as
there probability to change their image through leveraging the Outlook Platform is very high.

However the lead generation for Auto dealers, Event Management Companies and local brands was done
through yellow pages, then having a physical visit to the client place and handing over the outlook
Proposal Catalog.

4.3 Sample Cover-on-cover (CoC) Template

Fig 4.3.1

23
4.4 Lead Sourcing at Outlook Magazine through Zomato and Just Dial.

24
This technique was used for B-2-b business through Cover on cover advertisement, we used to browse
through the Users Review of Different Restaurants and Event Companies, those who have a User rating
below 3.9 were potential lead for us as they need their promotion, so if they accept the Outlook Cover-on-
cover Proposal then they were advertised on the Front and Back of the Magazine which will increase their
visibility in nearby areas as these magazines were sent to subscribers in the 9 km radius from the location
of concerned Restaurant, Pub or Event Management company.

The screenshot of Zomato has been attached below, if you look at the “Experts in Hauz khas Village” then
most of the Top reviewers are women and hence the Magazines were sent to Maximum no. of Female
Subscribers in the locality of the Restaurant.

Similarly for hotels, One copy of Outlook with hotel ad will be placed in each room to enhance the brand
image of that hotel and were also offered when the customer checked-out, however in order to check
success of Cover-on-cover, Outlook has attached coupons in each such magazine which can be redeemed
at that Particular restaurant.

Fig 4.4.1

5.0 REASON BEHIND THE HIGH CHURNING RATE OF OUTLOOK MAGAZINES

25
Fig 5.0.1

The Previous decade has observed a substantial changes in the reading pattern of Public at large, few
years ago people used to read the Magazines to know the current events , however Generation “Y”{Born
in 90’s) prefers digital medium, social media to remain updated about day to day happenings. As of now
information about any important incident related to Politics, share Market, Business, Sports, Page3,
Movies, and Food is instantly available on Smart Phones and desktop hence the Print form of Magazines
has lost their Value Proposition to these new channels of Information Flow

And this is why All the Major Magazine Publisher are facing high churning rate of customers be it The
Economist in UK, Forbes and TIMES in US or India Today and Outlook in India, Such is the impact o
this Customer attrition that Outlook has to discontinue its Eight Premier Magazines out of Twelve.

However with every Problem there comes an opportunity, Outlook Group and so does other Established
Print Media Groups has realized that which content people at Present times Like or Interested in Reading
and they are Information on Business Market, Savings and Travel and that is why most of the Media
houses are launching or improving the Magazines which focuses on Money, Business and Travel, the

26
Diagram shown in the above figure depicts the Customer Value for different categories of magazines,
Nearer to the Customer value more is the Value proposition of the Magazine for the customer.

“In Product Cycle Terms we can say the Print Media in in the decline stage, whereas Digital and Online in
the Growth stage”.

6.0 CUSTOMER RETENTION STRATEGY AT OUTLOOK

27
6.1 Digital Subscription (E-Magazine and App Based)

Realizing the diminishing market for Traditional Print Magazine, Outlook Group launched its App in
2015 with an overall rating of 4.1 as of May’16, Entire content of Magazines is available on its App
but limited to only in English and Hindi Languages.

The App based Marketing is yielding positive results in terms of subscription , since three months
subscription is free from the day of App installation. However, Other Major Competitors are also doing
aggressive App based Marketing and it is the better Comprehensions of news Contents available on Apps
which will make the whole difference.

The Picture of Outlook App has been shown below.

Fig 6.1.1

6.2 Gift Offer on Subscription.

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After the Detailed Consumer buying behaviour Analysis from Outlook database , it was concluded that
Most of the Serious and Loyal subscribers are from the Eastern and Southern Part of Country for Outlook
Money, Business and Traveler Magazines, for them the quality of Content was most important influencing
factor, however in Northern India some Co-Promotion is required as Customers from North Part looks for
better customer attention, hence Outlook Launched many Gift offers on Subscription of Outlook
Magazine as shown in the figure below.

Fig 6.2.1

4 in 1 bag set

7.0 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) at Outlook Group:-Flowchart.

29
Fig 7.0.1

Generally for every 100-200 calls made to the customers only one sales takes place, however 5 to 6 years

ago it was 25:1, this has leads to increased focus on retaining existing customers.

30
As shown in the customer log sheet(On the next Page), the conversion rate is very low, hence outlook

CRM tries to directly approach the customer through telephonic call instead of email or Post, the sales

team makes at least five calls to convince the less loyal customers to renew their subscription who

constitute 60% of active Outlook Subscribers, However the efforts are not yielding the desired result and

hence the focus has shifted to categories the Subscribers based on their previous subscription record, those

with 5 years or more subscription kept in category 1 and given maximum attention, those with 2 to 5 years

in category 2, those with less than 2 years in category 3 and others in category 4 Respectively.

7.1 Customer Response Log sheet

31
Fig 7.1.1

8.0 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS (Outlook Group vs. India Today)

32
Fig 8.0.1

9.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

33
Task: As a part of the Summer Internship Program we have been assigned to book subscriptions for the
various magazines published by Outlook Group, sold and distributed by Outlook Group and also to collect
renewal from the expired subscribers.

Objectives:

1. To predict and explore the customer demands in terms of Price, Quality and Services for magazines
published by Outlook Group.
2. To find out the reasons why subscribers are not renewing or discontinuing their subscription.

Problem definition: What are the various aspects in which Outlook Group is lacking behind in fulfilling
the customers demand?

Research methodology:

This Exploratory research has been conducted through primary data. The data will be qualitative as well
as quantitative. The data has been collected through form filling both online & offline and telephonic
interview.

Research design:

The sample size is based on the forms filled during survey done online and offline forms.

Data Collection:

Data collection method: The data has been collected through a survey by form filling which is been
filled by the customer of Outlook magazine.
Target group: The respondents consist of existing subscribers, discontinued subscribers and non-
readers.

10.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. Sample Size Distribution: Total sample size: 219

34
Sample are Readers include Existing subscribers (during the SIP) and Expired subscribers. The Expired
subscribers are divided into two parts, 1) Discontinued subscriber, who doesn’t want to renew their
subscription and 2) Continued subscriber, who have renewed their subscription.

The below information is taken from online survey.

Age group:

Fig 10.0.1

25.3 % of customer are 60+ age group who subscribe to outlook magazine.

Gender:

Fig 10.0.2

Mostly male are the subscriber or outlook magazine 71.4%. Female are less than 30%.

Customer Occupation:

35
 Fig 10.0.3

Mostly subscriber are businessman and salaried.

How often do you read magazines?

Fig 10.0.4

Mostly customer read weekly basis which is up to 55.2%.

Name of the magazine you read/subscribed:

36
Fig 10.0.5

Mostly subscriber are subscribing the Outlook English magazine which is up to 57%. This is general
magazine which cover all the area like politics, business etc.

How do you get your magazine?

Fig 10.0.6

Mostly customer are subscribe online which is up to 61% and 39% of customer are buying offline by local
vendor.

2. Reason for not-reading:

37
 Fig 10.0.7

Among the Respondents covered under Non-reader criteria, 7.6% said that they are not able to afford a
magazine, 15.1% do not read due to non-availability of time, 22.6% are not interested in reading
magazines and the remaining 54.7% Prefer to read online.

3. Rating upon features: Respondents were asked to rate the features with number “between” 1 to 10.

A) Entertainment:

Fig 10.0.8

It shows that only 35.7% subscribers are fully entertained by the magazines who gave 10 out of 10. They
are less entertained than other 35.7% subscriber who gave 7 out of 10. 7 is a good score out of 10
Therefore it shows that maximum percentage of population want more entertainment in the magazines.

B) Information:

38
 Fig 10.0.9

Survey indicates that all the respondents are well satisfied with the information delivered through the
magazines. They are giving 7, 8, 9 and 10 out of 10.

C) Gossip:

Fig 10.0.10

It shows that customers are demanding less gossip in the magazines. They rated this feature with 7, 8, 9
and 10. The Survey on this topic also shows their demand to avoid gossiping.

39
D) Updates:

Fig 10.0.11

The contents in the magazines are well updated as the diagram shows that mostly respondent gave 7-10
out of 10. Only a few percentage of respondent think that magazines are not well updated.

E) Price:

Fig 10.0.12

In case of price, survey shows that 30.8% are highly satisfied and another 15.4% are less satisfied than
other subscriber so they give 5 out of 10. By seeing other responses we can say that subscribers are well
satisfied with price of the magazines. But still their demand is to decrease the price due to human
behaviour of expecting more than what they get.

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F) Services:

Fig 10.0.13

Services is one of the main factor which helps in maintaining the customer loyalty and keeping the
readership size constant. The survey shows that there are less percentage of people who are well satisfied
with the services who give higher rating. Their demand is to improve the services including the
distribution system and customer care system, in this subscriber also give 3 out of 10.

G) Language:

Fig 10.0.14

Customers are well satisfied with the language used in the magazines. Maximum percentages of the
respondents give higher rating.

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H) Quality vs. Price Ratio:

Fig 10.0.15

When the respondents were asked about the quality vs. price, good responses have received from them.
There are maximum percentages of people who are highly satisfied with the quality of the magazines
relating with price.

4. Renewal Call:

Fig 10.0.16

During the internship period, 100 renewal calls has been done. Out of which aprox.3% renewals have
been collected. The remaining 97% has denied renewing their subscription. This conclusion is base of my
calls.

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10.1 The reasons for denying are discussed

A) Reason for Discontinuation:

Fig 10.1.1

Reasons derived from the survey, for the discontinuation of the subscriptions,

Service: The last but the main reason for which people are not ready to renew their subscriptions. As
maximum percentage i.e. 35.2% of the respondents have stopped their subscription only because of
services problem. There are three types of service problems derived.
1. Delivery: Customers were getting issues lately or never got some issues. In case of fortnightly
magazines, they were getting two issues at a time. Also some were not getting issues in a proper
condition i.e. damage of packaging, crashed papers etc.
2. No response in problems: When the subscribers faced the above mentioned problems, they were
not responded well from the sales department. Their problems were not solved. That’s why this be-
came a big reason for discontinuing subscription.
3. Representative: Another problem in services is due to representatives. At the time of renewal no
representative were came to collect. They were interested but due to available publishers they have
shifted to others. Again in this case, they have got calls from sales department for renewal, ap-
pointments for collection were also fixed, but still they didn’t come to collect. Thus TOI have lost
some subscriber.
Cost: 16.7% people are not ready to continue their subscription because they thought that the current
scheme of up to 50% discount on 1 - 5 year subscription is not so cost effective.
Only subscribed for gift: Subscription scheme plays an important role in increasing readership. There
is high demand of gifts in subscription scheme. There are 18.5% people who are not interested in con-
tinuing their subscription because there is no gift in current scheme. But if they will be provided with
preferable gift scheme, they are ready to continue their subscription.

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Due to contents: 14.8% subscriber thought that the full contents comes in an issue are not necessary for
him/her. They need only a part or few pages of the magazine. For which they think that it is none other
than wasting of money by buying the whole. Therefore they now prefer internet for their need.
Shifting: There are two types of shifting observed, 1. To other Outlook magazines. 2. To other publish-
ers.
Decrease of interest and usability: 13% of the respondent said that they have stopped their subscrip-
tions due to decrease in interest. Also the usability.

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11.0 SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:

Well Experienced Journalist and Editors

Good Rating and Readership of Outlook Magazines.
Well organized and experienced staff.
Innovative and customer oriented products.
Direct approach to the customer.
Customer satisfaction.
Strong distribution network.
Efficient and fast delivery system Through Blue Dart
Good subscription gifts.
Have separate group for Hindi magazines
Weakness:

Lack of data Mining tools to get better customer Insights

No Proper training for sales team
Excessive dependence on Cold Calling
Magazine being bilingual, Hindi and English Only
Price of some magazines is high.
Opportunities:

Starting a News channel

Magazine Targeting Youth for Competitive exams.
E-Magazines to reduce delivery time, Cost and Printing Overhead.
Outlook Weekly is very good and effective magazine. This is the public –interest magazine.
Outlook has an opportunity to promote its magazine at international level with interna-
tional edition.
Threats:

Digital Media
Social Sites

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24*7 News channels
Perception of Readers: Outlook Favor Congress party and most of time
12.0 FINDINGS

Magazines are well entertained, updated and well informative.

 The price according to the quality of the magazines is satisfactory.
Subscribers have high demand in the improvement of services.
 There is a tough competition among magazines in India.
Maximum people prefer English edition.
 Subscription schemes attract more customers.
 Schemes with gift are playing a good role in increasing readership as there are a lot of customers who
have subscribed only for gift.
 Peoples are highly interested in magazines but low awareness about the schemes.

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13.0 RECOMMENDATION

Improvement of Services: The first and foremost recommendation that can be suggested from the find-
ings of the research is the improvement in services. As there are high demand of the magazines of Out-
look Magazine. The customers now have huge options for selecting a magazine, as there are so many
producers of magazines in different language and increased usage of internet. Therefore a small problem
faced by a customer may lead to losing that one.
 A better distribution channel: I would also like to recommend that by implementing a better distribu-
tion channel, Outlook can increase its market share.
 A better renewal reminder system: A better renewal reminder system can also be implemented. There
is a system of reminder but customers are complaining that they are not getting the reminder alarm.
 Appointment of new staff: Outlook can also improve their services by appointing new staff as ‘Cus-
tomer care Executive’ by giving well training so that they will be able to respond the customers well who
have problems. Because currently customers are not well responded.
Increased focus on Advertisement: By this people get to know more about Outlook Magazines.
Implementation of Referral Programs: Referral program help company to expand their customer
without increasing the employees.

14.0 LIMITATIONS

Most of the customer’s doesn’t want to fill the survey form.

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The total filled from is only 219, only on this 219 filled form analysis is been done.
Few of the previous clients were not satisfied so 1 out 10 clients where demanding for renewal.
Much of the time wasted in commuting with the customer which are not interested.
Sometimes magazine, gifts, etc. were out of stock so many suspects dropped the subscription.
Sometimes magazines do not reach on time (Delivery issues).
Some clients do not have a good perception about Outlook and hence they think that magazine from the
Outlook Group would also be not good.
In comparison to India Today, Outlook lags in its distribution channel because India Today delivers its
magazines within 2 weeks from the date of subscription whereas Outlook takes 4-6 weeks.

15.0 LEARNING

This training proved to be highly beneficial for me as it trained me for future.

It increased my practical knowledge and well equipped me with all the methods and knowledge.

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I learned to deal with people and control my patience level which is a very important ingredient in the
dish of life. I faced all kinds of people and learned to adopt myself in different situation.
The training was very useful in studying the services, client’s satisfaction, consumer behavior,
company culture which is vital for us as we are the future managers who will lead the world.
It made me polish my internal qualities such as competitiveness, team spirit, leadership, confidence etc.
I adopted good convincing skills and characteristics to work in different environment

16.0 REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlook_(magazine)

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http://www.outlookindia.com/aboutus.aspx

http://www.outlooktraveller.com/

http://www.outlookbusiness.com/

http://www.outlookmoney.com/

http://subscription.outlookindia.com/newoffer/kj_newoffer.html?source=1&vouchercode=DELH103096

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/65091774/Research-Analysis-on-Consumer-Buying-Behaviour

http://www.globeco.ro/wp-content/uploads/vol/split/vol_1_no_1/geo_2013_vol1_art_015.pdf

https://www.academia.edu/2322257/Consumer_Magazine_Subscription_The_Roles_of_Customer_Satisfa
ction_and_Content_Quality

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Study-Of-Customer-Prespective-Towards-Outlook-505788.html

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