Project Stage-1

A Report Submitted to

Prof. Arundhati Bhattacharyya

for the course

Qualitative Research Methods for Marketers

By
Group 6
Ankita Kumari
Nitika Tyagi
Sai Jyothi
Suraj Jain
Yadala Syambabu

On 07-03-2022
 Mindworkzz

Interview taken: Suraj Jain

I have taken interview of Mr. Arun Chaturvedi (Chief Operating Officer) at Mindworkzz. It was
over a call, and I contacted him easily via WhatsApp. I worked for Mindworkzz myself so
scheduling a call was not difficult.

Mindworkzz is a CAT coaching institute started by Mr. Arun Sharma with his wife, Meenakshi
Upadhyaya. Both the founders are IIM Bangalore 1996 pass out and after doing MBA they
started the CAT coaching. Arun Sharma is wrong in all CAT industry for writing CAT books,
and he is a legend with scoring 99.9+ percentile for 21 years. There are three sections in CAT
and Meenakshi mam handle Verbal ability and Reading comprehension. Other two sections are
covered by Arun Sharma sir, namely Quantitative aptitude and Logical reasoning and Data
Interpretation.

I in the interview have taken the consent to take the interview before starting the process. It was
easily given. Arun Chaturvedi sir is a NITIE pass out 2013 Batch, and after that did executive
MBA from IIM A. Before NITIE, he did his graduation as an engineer from a college in UP. Hu
he was very intelligent student from the very start end used to score good marks from the very
beginning he got admission into one of the great colleges for B.tech when he did his mechanical
engineering after doing the mechanical engineering, she started working with TCS for 2 years
and gain experience too hello. He started his MBA in NITIE Mumbai in 2011 and was interested
in operation because of his engineering hello when I started the interview, she was very kind and
introduced himself. He said the above points. He seems to be very calm while answering and
humble, and while talking about himself, the company and Arun Sharma sir, he was equally
confident. This shows that he is positive about what he is doing and love his work. He also said
that, when he did his B.tech, he had another offer which had better monetary benefits, but he
choose to work with Mindworkzz as he wanted to leverage into this sector and he was very
passionate of working in Edtech industry. This shows he is very futuristic, and he could plan his
way. He was positive and happy with his decision of not joining the company he was getting
through NITIE right after his MBA and joining Mindworkzz, as he said that he is getting almost
double of what his friends from same batch is earning. Now I started knowing more about
Mindworkzz, he joined the company in 2013 just after his MBA and Started Mindworkzz in
online mode. It's a company which deals with CAT courses and previously, it was only in offline
medium. He talked about revenue numbers for the company at the very start, the company is
making a revenue of 8 to 9 crores in a year, the total student base in the company is
approximately 2500 the company is reaching to valuation of 90 crores because in the EdTech
sector the company’s valuation is 10 times that of the revenue. He also talked about the
competitors, in Mindworkzz with the company model being boot strapped, one of the things that
he told me was the difficulties in a self-started company that is not funded the companies like
Unacademy which are funded by the investors because they are funded by the investors, and they
can pay and even if the revenue is less than the expenses and still sustain but for the company
like mindworkzz which is bootstrapped it cannot survive if they do not generate revenue. If they
are generating a revenue of ₹100 send the expenses ₹85, ₹15 is the profit and that will be
reinvested. So, these companies basically work on the profits that you are making unlike
Unacademy where the revenue is much less than the expense, the companies incurring they were
revenue numbers of few crores which is much less then what they are spending. Arun Sharma sir
and I have never thought about it, although many investors are reaching out to us with this
valuation of 90,00,00,000 but we don't want to dilute the share and we want to increase the
revenue numbers without funding at least for next 5-7 years.

Now when I asked him about how they are generating the leads and how they are selling the
courses he said dead there are 3 different channels by which they are generating the leads. The
first channel is by Running Google ads, we are spending huge amount in running Google ads on
website and the Facebook pages, this is also bringing quality leads as well as good conversion
rates. On average, we are spending ₹2,00,000 in a month on Google Adds, by spending
₹2,00,000 we are generating close to 1500 leads with each lead is costing us ₹130. The 1500
leads are quality leads with a conversion of 16 to 17%, which is said to be a very good
conversion, if we talk about outbound marketing. We follow both outbound & inbound
marketing now when we're talking about the second source of getting leads that is through
referrals of ex-students. They are sending the new students because of the referral scheme we
have, where we are paying ₹2000 per enrolment to the student if they are getting one lead
converted. On average the price of our courses ranges from ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 and ₹2000 is a
decent amount that we can pay if we don't have to incur any other cost in bringing the leads. This
shows his skills of generating a good revenue model and he is good with channelizing the sales
process.

Now I asked him about the competitors, so he talked about time, career launcher and IMS, where
he basically segregated in terms of revenue and how old the institute was. He classified these big
players into one cluster, few local new institutes like Study Buzz, Learn4Exam and Edu Mentor
into second cluster and Funded start-ups like Byjus and Unacademy into the third cluster. He has
clearly segregated the competitors and it was very impressive when we get that clarity while
having a conversation.

When, I asked him how you are planning to scale the company, he asked me that we are
channelizing and building new revenue models. We are trying to find out the sources where we
can get more enrolment and plans to go to UPSC, IIT JEE and other entrances also. We are till
now known for CAT that too because of the sir himself, as he writes CAT books. We have
started working more on social media pages and generating traffic from there to make
enrolments.

Now when I asked him about the number of people who are working for mindworkzz, he said
that we have a team of salespeople and 2 people working in a marketing team company as we are
edtech company, we are more focused on importing the value through the right quality of
education in any Education company the most important is educators, and we have best
educators from all over India and a small team of salespeople and marketing people to do the rest
of the work. There are 8 people who are doing the cold calling and the normal calls which is
provided to them on daily basis. The marketing team is generating the leads through Google
Adds in different channels. The different channels include conducting webinars in different
colleges to generate awareness and bring the leads. We also do promotional activities in the form
of providing goodies to students who are involved in social media handles and add actively
participating in quizzes that we are floating in social media channels. This shows that
Mindworkzz have good marketing team and as Arun chaturvedi Sir himself take care of all the 3
departments i.e., marketing, sales and operations, he must be good with these particular skills.

Now when I asked him about the education system at mindworkzz and the results he told that the
coaching is delivering great results from the inception, that is approximately 15 to 20% of the
people who are enrolled with mindworkzz are getting the calls from the top colleges. This is a
great number, and they are improving on this as well. They are giving us a lot of classes on
regular basis and rigorous doubt clearing sessions. Personal mentorship through Arun Sharma Sir
is being provided to every student. When student is getting a call from any of the top B-schools
then they are interviewed by the top faculties like Arun Sharma Sir, Meenakshi mam and Pinaki
mam. We have a lot of mentors, and every student is allotted a personal mentor, one particular
mentor will handle a team of 20 to 25 students, and can easily manage this number, this is one of
the USPs of Mindworkzz.

Hello then I wanted to ask few more things on the USP, must which he said that we are
providing personal mentorship to the students which no other institute is giving. Also, we are
charging less as compared to our competitors. Add competitors are charging like 50 to ₹60,000
for the course we are providing at mere ₹35,000 we're giving a greater number of classes then
any of the institute the frequency of the classes 5 to 6 in a week and it is highest in the industry.
he is very confident with the quality they are delivering and wants to make an impact in the
education sector very clearly. His vision for the company is not short-term. When asked about
the employees, He appreciated all the employees and satisfied with the work. He said that he
cares for every employee and want to have to grow together which shows his futuristic vision for
himself and also help the company in the long term.

Interview was taken by Ankita Kumari

1. Introduction and purpose

The manager of the company Mindworkzz is interviewed for the purpose of identifying how the
company fulfills the needs of the customers, how do their current customers view the brand, and
if there are any gaps that can be identified and fulfilled. A depth interview has been conducted
for this purpose and it is completely consumer-focused. A potential consumer (me) approached
the manager of the institute to get clarification on what they offer to the consumers and how they
meet the challenges that come along. Permission and cooperation of the company were requested
and this research study does not contain anything which is against their permission.

2. Aims of the study

The aim of the study was to identify any or all of the following:
➔ What type of consumers is the company catering to
➔ Brand perception
➔ Needs and desires of the consumers
➔ What matters to them
➔ To identify any gap that can be met
➔ How does the company reach its consumers and convince them
➔ Its competitor analysis
➔ To unearth different categories of social, emotional, and action-oriented behaviors in
consumers

3. Data collection methods

Connected with one manager of Mindworkzz and took his depth interview, wherein I acted like a
customer who wishes to take the CAT exam this year and is looking for coaching.

4. Research questions
For the purpose of the research, the researcher (me) acted as a customer and asked various
questions to the manager to see how Mindworkzz handles customers’ queries and what all do
they offer and how they have positioned themselves differently from their competitors. The
research questions revolved around:
● Whether there will be any challenges due to the online mode and what if people who
haven’t enrolled for the course enter the zoom meeting class. This will be a demotivation
for me to pay. I can simply ask for the zoom link from any of my acquaintances and
attend the class without paying for them
● What if the session recordings provided to the students go to an outsider? Again, it will
be a demotivation for me to pay for the course
● Any issues in maintaining close interaction with the professors
 ● What all are your offerings and how are you different from your competitors

5. Research methods
● Memoing was done to understand the context of the interaction with Mindworkzz’s
manager
● Coding to see the interaction from a personal lens

6. Findings
Understands consumers' buying behavior:
Memoing the transcript and further analysis revealed that the manager does give importance to
the behaviors of the customers while making the purchase decision. He went and gave a grand
tour of what his institute offers to the customers, what kind of faculty they have, and testimonials
of the past consumers. This shows the institute does give importance to the fact that their
customers should know real facts before they purchase their products. The interviewer is quite
aware of the fact that it is very important to understand the background of the consumer before
making them any product offerings. He made sure that he collects information about the
customer regarding what is her current educational qualification, what year is she planning to
give her CAT exam, and also what time of the month will be beneficial for her to join her CAT
coaching.
Related excerpts from the transcript:
“Okay, so are you familiar with CAT, what it is and how things proceed?”
“What have you done currently?”
“Okay, so basically, you are into the second year now. And you will be attempting CAT 22 For
the first time?”
When asked if I can take the CAT coaching a little late, given the fact that I am appearing for
CAT’22, the interviewer showed concern and tried to connect with the consumer and tried to
suggest that I should take the coaching classes as early as possible.
“ No, it is not more than one year, you are already late. Very honestly CAT is something which
is written by many top people right. So there are 2.5 lakh people who are appearing for cat, if we
are combining all the IIMs together, then also we have 2400 seats. So less than 1% of the people
are getting into it. It requires a lot of practice around 12 to 13 months of practice, we only have
nine months for now. So we are already late by like three to four months.
But still, we can manage this particular like the period, but even if we are late by like, if we are
coming in the month of April, we will not be able to help you a lot, right, because we will have
very less amount of time. So this is a perfect time you need to input.”
Coding in this part: Attentive (about the feelings and needs of potential customers)
In the later part of the interview, the customer raised some concerns regarding the online mode
of the CAT coaching classes. To this, the manager seemed to take the customer at ease by giving
reasonable arguments. He said that this online mode will help you get access to different
faculties, not limited by any geographical boundaries. Also, no outsider, who hasn’t enrolled for
the course will be allowed to enter the zoom meets and disturb the class. Also, there will be a
mentor assigned to each student, who will guide them into what is the speed of a student’s
preparation, how are mock exam going, etc. In addition to this, students will have access to class
recordings, which cannot be accessed by anyone not enrolled in the course. The manager seemed
to understand the hidden needs of their customers well in advance. This can be seen from the fact
that he listed down all these solutions even without me stating concerns.
On noteworthy thing of this institute is that as they have shifted to the online mode, they did
reduce the price of their courses a lot. Because of the online mode, they are saving on the rent,
electricity, paperwork, etc. Any institute can easily keep charging the same previous amount and
students would have accepted it as CAT is a big exam and students pay thousands of fees to get
quality coaching for it. But Mindworkzz chose to focus on the customers’ side rather than on the
business side.
Coding in this part: Customer-centric

Any gap that can be met: Mindworkzz takes classes on weekdays and weekends during night
time starting from 7 PM. So, I believe there is a diverse set of people who appear for CAT every
year. Some are in their undergraduate college and have classes till 6 PM, so they might prefer
classes on weekends during the morning or evening. So that they can enjoy their weekends also.
Some have taken a gap year and would prefer to have their classes during the day so that they
can do their self-study during the second half of the day.
Brand perception: The company clearly is customer-centric and in addition to this they provide
services like helping in MBA profile building through certification courses, a mentorship
program to keep students engaged and motivated during the entire duration of the course. Not
every CAT coaching institutes provide similar facilities. These facilities, if maintained seriously
and with consistency, along with customer-centricity will definitely lead to a good brand
perception in the minds of the customers. The manager also stated that the attitude of the
professor is friendly. Students can reach out to them at any point of time.
Related excerpts from the interview:
“The attitude of all the professors is very nice, very friendly, you can reach out to any one of
them at any point of time, they are with us for like from the very beginning. None of the teachers
have left us in all the years okay, ever since they started the journey, they have not left us. So, the
work culture here is good. People are friendly. So, this is what we brag about and
so, like you can reach out to any particular teacher it doesn't necessarily be the teacher who is
teaching you directly. So, you can reach out to let suppose you are teaching you are taught by
Mr. X for Quantitative Aptitude, you can reach out to Professor Y if he/she is teaching for the
same subject. So, every teacher is very willing to help you out at any point of time not only
teachers but the counselors the reception people who are teaching taking you through the courses
at all every everybody in my books will be basically helping you out at any point of time.”

Competitor analysis: There are premier institutes like TIME, Career Launcher that is the market
leaders when it comes to CAT coaching. To maintain a stable market share, Mindworkzz claims
to do the following:
● Personal mentorship that they provide to the students
● Students to teacher ratio are comparatively good, which gives every student an
opportunity to get their doubts clarified in the class. It's not like a fish market
● Office hours for one-on-one interaction with teachers
● Teachers who are the alims of IIMs and have years of good experience in taking CAT
exams
● Customer-centricity approach in running the institute
Interview was taken by Nitika Tyagi

1. Introduction
The interview of the sales manager of Mindworkzz was taken in order to understand their current
offerings. I, as a potential customer (who is appearing for CAT) took a depth interview to
identify how their product offerings could fulfill my requirements as well as other customers’
needs. This research study was conducted after taking necessary permission and consent from the
company and this document does not contain any data against the terms and conditions of the
company.

2. Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study was to identify the following:
➔ Target Customers
➔ Customers’ needs
➔ Convincing the customers
➔ Identify gap, if any
➔ Analyzing competitors’ offerings

3. Method
All the data has been collected via conducting an in-depth interview of the Sales manager of
Mindworkzz. I have acted as a prospect customer who would be appearing for CAT and need to
take admission in a coaching institute for the same.

4. Questions
In order to do the research, I as a researcher who acted as a prospective customer asked certain
questions to the Sales Manager of the company to understand how the company understands its
customers’ needs and how they brief about their product offerings. The research questions were
as given below:
 ● What are their product offerings
● What mode of classes will be there online or offline
● I face difficulties in online mode, how would you convince me for opting online coaching
classes
● What about personalized training, if needed
● How do my doubts would be solved in online mode
● Would the professors be available anytime, in case needed
● How are they different from their competitors
● At What locations are they present currently

5. Insights
From the interview and transcript analysis, the following observations could be made about the
company:
The Sales Manager tried to understand the customers’ requirements very properly. First, he made
it very comfortable to ask him whatever queries or questions I had. I gave him my introduction
first and why I want to go for CAT and seek admission in a coaching institute. Then he himself
asked if I know about “what CAT and other MBA entrances are all about”. When telling him that
I do not have much knowledge about CAT and admission processes in MBA colleges, he went
ahead to tell me everything in detail which at the same time solved many of my doubts and
queries about MBA admissions in various colleges. Then he tried to understand my background
and asked “if I have appeared for CAT earlier” and tried to gain as much information as he could
in the midst of communication.
Some of the questions are:
You are going to drop a year since you are graduating in 2022?
Is this the first time you are appearing for CAT?
So, you have done your graduation from Delhi University, In which domain?
What are your strong and weak areas?
This signifies that the Sales Manager gives utmost importance to understand the customers’
requirements and then goes ahead for suggestions. On asking if Arun Sharma Sir would be
teaching us Qualitative Aptitude, he honestly answered that it is not sure because of his hectic
schedule but made assurance that there would be top-notch faculty for every subject who would
be teaching us. His answer from the transcript:
“He used to teach QA but we do not commit people because we can never tell how rigorous the
time table of Arun Sharma may be. He used to teach Quantitative Aptitude and LRDI in the
previous batches but now from like last one year he is taking less no of batches. Although there
are few number of Arun Sharma Sir’s sessions for all the batches but in total, he would not be
teaching everything and the curriculum that we follow is basically made by him only so for all
the teachers who are teaching the subjects like Quantitative Aptitude, LRDI and VARC, the
curriculum is made by Arun Sharma Sir only”.
This shows that the institute does not commit false claims for the sake of converting a lead into a
potential customer.
On showing concern about the online mode, the manager also gave a brief explanation about the
benefits of online classes and why they do not want to shift to offline mode intentionally. This
shows the attentive nature of the manager for understanding the needs and requirements of the
customers. He further elaborated that all the recordings of the classes would be provided, doubt
clearing sessions would be conducted for the students.
Another reason for going for online classes was that the faculties are from different areas or
regions and that would be convenient for them to take online classes. This would be cost
convenient for the students also and time convenient both for the students and the institutes. So,
due to this they are preferring to be in online mode only in spite of being offline before COVID
and having five centres in Connaught Place, Delhi.

While asking about the concern of doubts in online mode, the Sales Manager explained that
office hours would be scheduled and the faculties will be available for a given time frame. In
case of a particular doubt, one can reach out to the faculty at any point of time and give the
assurance that he or she would be available via google meet or Zoom Call and one’s doubt would
be resolved at that point of time and it would not be late.
Excerpt from the transcript:
“Doubts are something which are very important for us therefore we always schedule the office
hours very frequently. So all the teachers are scheduling the doubt sessions and the office hours
sessions very frequently like thrice or four times in a week. So, it would completely give the feel
of an offline class.”
On asking about the past results of their students, he answered that “basically we have a
conversion rate of 15%- 17% of getting the calls from top MBA colleges so we have segregated
the B Schools in four different levels. First is the top IIMs, the second level includes new IIMs,
third includes baby IIMs and the comparable colleges and fourth is the average colleges . The
top IIMs and the other top MBA colleges, have 15%- 17% conversion rate in those particular
two slots, so we have a very decent number to brag about.”
On asking about the coaching materials if I would be receiving the hard copies or the soft copies,
the Sales Manager explained that they can provide the soft copies because everything would be
provided on the portal, we will be receiving all the materials there and pdf material. After every
single class, sheets would be provided on the portal.
He further explained about the mock tests of the institute and how they are going to help in
clearing CAT and there would not be any need of attempting mock tests of other coaching
centres such as TIME, Career Launcher, IMS and others.

This signifies that the Sales Manager was completely customer focused and he was very friendly
and trying to solve all the queries and doubts at the same time.
Competitor Analysis:

On telling him that I have also tried to connect with other coaching institutions for the same
reason and they are going to start offline classes as well, he tried to explain the following
differential things:
● Personal mentorship to the students. If a student needed them then they could provide the
personal guidance to the students. In this scheme, they basically allocate one mentor to
15-20 students and they can seek any guidance from their mentor at any time and none of
the other competitors is currently providing the same.
● Office hours which are very frequently scheduled to solve students’ doubts or queries
● The fee structure is quite low as compared to other coaching institutions
● All the faculties are from top B Schools
 NETNOGRAPHY

Netnography is a research methodology used to understand the social media

interactions and behaviours of the respondents to study the patterns in which they interact with
one another and how they perceive about the product or service under consideration. This digital
communication and association with the brand with the customers provide the researchers with
targeted inputs about the level of adaptation and identify the potential gaps for further expansion
or any necessary changes in the existing product if necessary.

In IIM Calcutta the no of students with engineering/ mathematics background is nearly 75-80%
over the years. So as a CAT coaching institute it is very essential for mindworkzz to keep track
of the trends in the edtech industry and take up initiatives to make sure they provide good value
for their customers (mainly students between the age of 25-27). Below are the few testimonials
and google reviews from the students who took CAT coaching from Mindworkzz.

Company testimonials

Mohd Faisal

Mindworkz helped me in building my basics[YS1] , especially for Quants section. It helped me

in understanding CAT comprehensively[YS2] . The much-needed motivation by mentors played
an important role. The study material is more than enough to excel in CAT. I started by solving
easy sets from ARUN SHARMA books and later on increased the difficulty. I also closely
followed the DI a day started by Arun Sir. Lastly, Mocks helped me in gaining the
confidence[YS3] .

Anil Dudi

I am extremely grateful to Arun Sir and Meenakshi Ma’am for providing invaluable [YS4] inputs
in my CAT preparation. My way of interpreting numbers changed drastically after a few of
Sharma sir’s classes and this changed perception [YS5] helped me in both Quants and Data
Interpretation. Their guidance [YS6] right up to the exam helped in settling any nerves.
K.H. Abhishek

Dear Sir/ Ma’am, I have been offered admission to PGP program of IIM Calcutta. This is all due
to your timely and earnest advice [YS7] and help, be it my SOP or general guidance for
interviews even though I am miles away[YS8] . Thank you, you both mean a lot to me and
thanks a lot to the whole Mindworkzz Team. The whole year at Mindworkzz was a great
learning [YS9] period for me.

Himanshu Salgotra

As I celebrate [YS10] my success in CAT, my deepest gratitude [YS11] goes to the entire team
at Mindworkzz for the constant support [YS12] offered to me. Being a first timer at CAT, the
training offered at Mindworkzz helped me sharpen [YS13] my skills and get over my weak
areas[YS14] a. The material and lectures provided helped me get the concepts and strategy right
while the mock tests helped me identify where I stood in the race [YS15] at each stage of my
preparation[YS16] . The regular mock interviews and the suggestions for improvement were of
immense help.

Vipul Kumar

Mindworkzz guided me to overcome all the Sections related problems in a quick time [YS17]
and always helped in handling mental stress[YS18] . I got guided throughout my CAT
Preparation and corrected [YS19] whenever needed. All of you need to understand that CAT is
like a letter balance (equal balance of hard work and luck ). Take a break after you complete
your task, play and be physically fit [YS20] too.Interact with your mentors to clear all your
doubts without any hesitation[YS21]

Chirag Bhardhwaj

First of all, I would like to thank the Mindworkzz team and faculty. Arun Sharma sir and
Meenakshi Ma’am were great motivators[YS22] . Being a BTech student I was more inclined
towards Maths[YS23] . So I focussed on Quants the maximum. My personal focus was to score
maximum [YS24] in this section. Arun Sir’s techniques were like icing on the cake[YS25] si.
The excellent pedagogy, and small-batch size and mock tests of Mindworkzz have helped me
accomplish [YS26] my goal. Thanks for your efforts and support[YS27]

Google reviews

manish ahlawat

I Joined Mindworkzz for CAT 2020 but also wanted to prepare for CAT- 19. They allowed me to
sit in CAT 19 batch also apart from my CAT 2020 batch which others institutions straight
forward denied to me. The environment here is student friendly[YS28] . I can sit and study after
the classes with no disturbance[YS29] . Teacher here are adaptive [YS30] to students. One of the
biggest positive point of Mindworkzz is that all the lectures are also available online [YS31]
which are helping me a lot in my preparations, I am not the kind who can understand all in one
go so I revise [YS32] cmy lectures from online sessions.

All in all I feel good [YS33] emabout joining Mindworkzz without any regrets[YS34] f.

Shivam Haldwaniya

I am currently preparing for CAT from Mindworkzz and so far my experience has been
good[YS35] . Great faculty (I mean THE BEST[YS36] as per my knowledge), proper batch
sizes [YS37] and a great environment. Regular updates on Whatsapp/Telegram. Moreover, you
also get back up classes [YS38] for any missed class, online class backup is one of the best thing
of the institute. Overall a great place to prepare for Management Entrance exams. Hoping to get
into Top-5 B-Schools this year :) :)

pooja rathi

My experience with Mindworkzz has been quite good [YS39] till now. The teachers are
outstanding and are always supportive. The batch size is also very small as compared to other
MBA institutes. So, If you want some personal attention while studying and want to make your
basics strong, go for Mindworkzz.

Divya Mehra
As per my experience, I can say that Mindworkzz is a great place to take your CAT prep to a
next level[YS40] . Their classes, content and guidance helped me in my CAT Journey [YS41]
and I am hoping to get a good score in CAT (fingers crossed). Guidance from Arun Sharma Sir
is like best thing [YS42] that one can get here. Thank u sir :) :)

Vansh Agarwal

I am currently studying here and it's the worst Institute for CAT coaching. I would suggest NOT
to take admission here. They are all CHEATERS. They'll just take ur admissions and later will
not stand on their words. Batch size is of minimum 60 students and one can never study in their
classrooms. Even after complaining many times they never listen to our problems and just keep
ignoring. Better go and join some other institutes.

Mayank Sharma

Worst Institute,if you guys want to save your career ,then don`t ever join this institute.they have
hired the faculties i.e, Btech graduate will be the teachers,also these male teachers and office
boys drink alchohol at the center itself,so its unsafe for girls who go there.also guys,"Arun
sharma" will not be teaching,he`ll just take guest lectures that`s it.and by the name of Arun
sharma they`ll trap you!I joined this institute and it was the worst decision of my life. so beware
of such an institute.

SAMEER SINGH

3rd class experience , they only want admission on name of Arun Sharma, and they will tell that
Arun Sharma will take class.,and when u will ask them that whole week he will take the class, so
they will tell Arun Sharma and his team they don't clear, and they will give a no. To save in your
phone but never send material

Some of the key observations emerging from the above feedbacks from the students is
that self confidence is one key element which makes a huge difference for them to stand out in
the crowd. The change of perception about the test and about the method of teaching is what
students expect from the institute along with a structured pattern in the curriculum. Need for
support all the time and personal attention is what makes mindworkzz to be perceived as an
option to be considered. There are certain fears expressed by the students as many of them are
with a stereotype that the exam is very tough and hard to crack. The way Mr. Arun sharma
teaches is definitely adding values to the students and it should be made sure that all other
faculty are seen to be at par with him with adds credibility for the institute when they expand into
other streams of competitive exams as they are planning to do so currently.

The students as seen from the reviews and feedback are expecting some points of
difference in addition to points of parity when compared to other institutes which offer similar
coaching. As the industry the company is currently operating is highly competitive with many
players having minimal market share and also the domestication of certain institutes in particular
geographic locations, some institutes offering remote classes and recorded sessions to tap into
the rural or inaccessible market makes the game even tougher for mindworkzz. To make sure
that they stay profitable the company should focus on formulating a strategy before venturing
into other competitive exams whether they are going to be a market share leader or differentiator
or cost leader. As seen from the above testimonials many students are vouching for the targeted
or customized approach to each student offered by the management. This approach should be
continued for them to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Majority of the students opting for competitive exams and CAT in particular struggle
with self confidence that they can be a front runner in the huge no of students taking the tests. It
is evident from the words like support, effort, guidance, confidence, motivation etc. So
mindworkzz should also look into the personality building side of the coaching which makes the
students ready for the big game. The campaigns run in the Instagram handle and LinkedIn
accounts of Mr. Arun and Mrs. Meenakshi are quite good but the frequency of the posts and the
timing of them should be calibrated through some SEO or SEM techniques such that they reach a
wider audience as social media is one of the major lead generating medium for the institute.

In addition to the improvement areas there are certain focus areas which are of concern
and need utmost importance to mitigate the adverse effects they might cause to the reputation as
well as long term customer perception of the business/company. As seen from the above
highlighted words in the colour green we can observe that there are certain students or aspirants
who had bad experience in the past (nearly 2 to 4 years earlier) and who took to google reviews
which has much wider reach and impact to express their concerns. The words like worst, never
listen to our problems, 3rd class experience tells the quality of service they experienced with the
institute. But on the other hand there are certain reviews with much hard hitting words about the
behavior of the teaching and specifically non-teaching staff drinking alcohol and the threat they
posses to the female aspirants who wish to take coaching in the institute. This is a serious
concern and should be dealt on war foot. Although there are replies from the management for the
negative reviews but the impact or the remedy they propose to the aggrieved customer should be
reflected to such an extent that the same customer should change his feedback after the problem
is addressed.

For a company like Mindworkzz which is into the education service industry the USP
should be the quality of service they offer to the consumers and the timely assistance they offer
to their existing aspirants before extending geographically or to other streams of coaching. The
social media interaction with the students is also very minimal and this should be given
immediate attention given the technological advancements and smartphones adoption in the
country. frequent live session or demo sessions in social media platforms like Youtube,
facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. would give a better reach to the company and help in
generating leads.

So targeting youngsters who are between the age groups of 25-30 and channelizing the
promotional campaigns highlighting the individual attention, mental guidance, structured
approach, quick redressal of concerns and most importantly multiple modes of learning
experience, constant touch with the aspirants in all areas of preparation until they reach the
ultimate goal are some of the key points mindworkzz has to focus upon to make an impact in the
CAT as well as other competitive aspirants.

Ethnography Observations

For the basic ethnography research we have collected the profiles of the students who are taking
coaching in mindworkzz and profiles of students who are not taking coaching in the mindwork.
On the initial data gathering we have come up with some research questions. They are as
follows:
 ● Students opinion about mindworkzz faculty support for coaching
● Students experience and opinions before joining
● Students barriers in the online mode
● What are the pros and cons of online and offline medium coaching
Using these research questions we are planning to observe the students behavior and help
management of mindworkzz to help meet the students needs with the changing environment and
how mindworkzz can promote the new options available for coaching.

Students Profile
The mindworkzz is operating coaching in two different modes. One is online medium and other
is offline mode. The coaching center available in Delhi is in offline mode. The number of
students is limited. The students in the offline mode of coaching occur in different batches and
students from different parts of India were given admission.

Observations
We have obtained testimonials from the company and google reviews. We have segregated the
observations of these into two categories. As the mindworkzz offers its classes in two modes we
have segregated our observations into online experience and offline experience.
Initial observations about students joining in the mindworkzz in offline mode:
● Arun Sharma was the biggest influencer in the students opinion to join the mindworkzz.
Its because of the convenience and popularity he created by his books
● Brand value of the Mindworkzz in the locality
● Cost of the coaching offered with scholarship test
● Helps in building basics
● Providing motivation to students when needed
● Building confidence in the individual by small initiatives and mock exams
● Non Mathematics background students are feeling comfortable by their teaching
● Helping the students to crack into Premiere MBA colleges
● Right Guidance for the Interview Preparation
● Analyzing the weak areas of individual and helping them
● Feedback system after mock tests and interviews helped the students
 ● Helping with stress and anxiety of the exam
● Limited batch size
● Suitable if a student is looking for personal guidance
● Huge numbers of batches is causing problems to few students
● Complaints on non-teaching staff
Initial observations about students joining the mindworkzz in online mode:
● Convenience of time offered for lectures
● Feasibility of learning
● Brand value of Arun sharma
● Promotion of google ads on the right platform
● Helping in building basics strong
● Helping the students to crack into Premiere MBA colleges
● Accessibility of recorded lectures
● Adaptive learning
The basic expectations from a student are:
● Good coaching from faculty
● Basic amenities in the offline coaching center
● Availability of lecturers for doubts resolving
● Feasibility of lectures timings
● 24/7 Guidance
● Motivation when needed
● Good work culture
● Personalized feedback

Future work
Till now we have done research using the initial testimonials and visiting the profile of their
social media. Going forward we will cover the perception of the students if new courses are
added apart from the CAT. We would like to take in- depth interviews of students who are taking
coaching in mindworkzz and students who are not taking coaching in mindworkzz. We would
also like to observe the students' behavior in online classes. How comfortable they are while
attending the classes.

To observe the above we have taken permission from the manager to conduct the in-depth
interviews of students.

[YS1]Strong foundation

[YS2]Ease of learning

[YS3]Emotion of pride

[YS4]Emotion of progress

[YS5]Presence of stereotypes

[YS6]Need for support

[YS7]Lack of constant support earlier in life

[YS8]24*7 guidance provided

[YS9]Self awareness about the progress

[YS10]Emotion of sharing

[YS11]Emotion of giving back in return to a favour

[YS12]Continuous association

[YS13]Need for improvement/betterment over iterations

[YS14]Absence of confidence or self awareness

[YS15]Need to be ahead

[YS16]Indicates timeline

[YS17]Looking for instant change

[YS18]Need for support

[YS19]Overcoming mistakes

[YS20]The relationship between mental health and physical fitness

[YS21]uncertainity

[YS22]Need for support

[YS23]biasedness

[YS24]Fear of falling behind

[YS25]Simplicity of teaching

[YS26]Feeling of satisfaction

[YS27]Need for assistance

[YS28]Might be presence of bad experiences in the past

[YS29]Related to a chaos/ disturbing environment in connection with the above experience

[YS30]Expectation of personal attention

[YS31]Looking for various options

[YS32]Continuous learning

[YS33]Emotion of satisfaction

[YS34]Fear of bad performance

[YS35]satisfaction

[YS36]Comparison with other institutes in terms of experience of faculty

[YS37]Individual attention

[YS38]Looking for added benefits

[YS39]Overall satisfaction

[YS40]Self discovery and development

[YS41]Indication of a process

[YS42]satisfaction