Chapter 1 :

INTRODUCTION

COMPANY

PROFILE

1
 HINDUSTAN

TIMES IN INDIA

2
 BACKGROUND

HT Media Limited is a major player in the print media in India. It has a leadership position in

the English newspaper market in North India and the second position in the Hindi newspaper

market in the North and East.

The group now intends to consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse

through strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a consumer focused

approach.

Hindustan Times, the flagship publication from the group, was inaugurated by Mahatma

Gandhi in 1924 and has established its presence as a newspaper with editorial excellence and

integrity.

Today, Hindustan Times has a circulation of over 1.2 million and is the fastest growing

mainline English newspaper in terms of readership. Hindustan Times, Delhi, is India’s largest

single-edition daily. In July 2005, Hindustan Times made a successful entry into the

commercial capital of India – Mumbai.

Hindustan Times has continuously evolved itself to meet the needs of the global Indian

consumer. Changing with the times, it introduced the compact web-width format that has

now become a norm in the industry. It has recently undertaken a complete redesign to sport a

new, international look.

Hindustan, the Hindi daily from HT Media Limited, is one of the leading Hindi dailies in the

country with a readership in excess of 10 million. This makes it the fourth largest read daily

in India.

The group's news portal HindustanTimes.com, with over four million unique visitors and 90

million page views per month, is one of the largest news portals in the country. It has

3
consistently been ranked amongst the top 10 news sites in the world by Forbes and offers in-

depth coverage and analyses to its users.

The group recently entered into an MOU with Virgin Asia to enter the emerging radio space

in the country.

4
 DEVELOPMENT OF HT IN INDIA: -

 1 September 26 - The Hindustan Times comes into being, with Mahatma Gandhi

performing the inauguration ceremony.

 2 Setting up the newspaper office cost a princely sum of Rs 25,000, which equals Rs

50 lakh in 1990 prices The Hindustan Times is printed out of a three-storey house in

Burn Bastion Road, near Old Delhi Railway Station

 3 Sardar Mangal Singh and Sardar Chanchal Singh are appointed as the managers.

 1 Six months from its inception, the paper faces a financial crisis.

 2 Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya purchases the paper for Rs 20,000 and gives Rs

20,000 more to Krishan Das Kohli for running the paper.

 3 Professor K M Panikkar joins the paper as editor, but resigns after falling-out with

Kohli over the deadlines (Panikkar could never submit his editorials before 4 pm).

 4 Jairamdas Daulatram assumes editorship of the paper on the condition that his

tenure is only for 6 months

 1 J N Sahni becomes the editor of The Hindustan Times.

 2 The edition is split into several Dak editions timed to catch trains to several cities in

Punjab, UP and Rajasthan (then Rajputana).

 1 The Hindustan Times buy its first linotype machine press to replace the manual

typesetting that had been the modus operandi for composing the paper.

 2 The Hindustan Times buys its first rotary printer to replace its automated sheet-fed

flat-bed press.

5
 1 For the first time, advertisement revenues of the paper cross Rs 1 lakh 2 The

Hindustan Times is shifted to Connaught Circus, right opposite Curzon Road (now

known as Kasturba Gandhi Marg).

 1 The Evening News is started.

 1 The Hindustan Times declares dividends to its shareholders for the first time in its

history.

 2 Durga Das joins The Hindustan Times as its Special Representative and Political

Correspondent.

 1 G D Birla takes over as Chairman of the Board following the demise of Pandit

Madan Mohan Malviya

 1 The Hindustan Times overtakes The Statesman as the top-selling newspaper in

colonial Delhi, with a circulation of over 53,000 copies.

 1 Durga Das takes over as the Editor of The Hindustan Times following the demise of

Devadas Gandhi.

 2 Krishna Kant Birla joins the Board of Directors.

 3 Circulation hits 58,700 copies.

 1 S Mulgaokar becomes the Editor of The Hindustan Times; Durga Das is promoted

to the position of Editor- in-Chief.

 1960

 1 The literary magazine Kadambini is started.

 2 Durga Das retires, and S Mulgaokar assumes full editorial charge of the paper.

 1 The children's magazine Nandan is started.

 1 G D Birla retires and is succeeded by K K Birla as Chairman of the Board of

Directors.

 2 Circulation figures reach 1, 44,287.

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 1 The Hindustan Times shifts offices to Hindustan Times House at Kasturba Gandhi

Marg.

 1 Prolific writer Khushwant Singh joins the newspaper as Editor. He quit in 1983.

 1 Circulation figures reach 5, 66,484.

 1 The Hindustan Times celebrates its Platinum Jubilee.

 1 Five new editions of The Hindustan Times launched in olkata, Bhopal, Ranchi,

Chandigarh and Jaipur.

 1 Hindustan Times launches its latest edition in Mumbai.

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 Between the Landmarks

 1 The Hindustan Times was the premier nationalist newspaper of the Capital during

the turbulent pre-Independence years.

 2 The paper was the brainchild of the Akalis, who felt that an English newspaper

would reach a larger audience than their Punjabi newsletters and pamphlets could.

 1 The Hindustan Times was to be published originally in Lahore but there were

already two established newspapers there: The Tribune and The Civil and Military

Gazetteer. The centre proposed next was Amritsar but there was hardly any

readership for an English daily.

 2 Suggestions for the newspaper's name included The Times, The Delhi Times and

Hindustan.

 3 No one is quite sure who financed the launch of the paper. Possible financers

include the Akalis, the Sikhs in Canada and the Ghaddar Party of Lala Hardayal,

based in San Francisco.

 4 Initially, the newspaper had a paid circulation of 20 copies and complimentary

distribution of 350.

 5 The Hindustan Times was originally an afternoon paper.

 6 The initial price of The Hindustan Times was 1 anna (equivalent to Rs 15-18 in

today's money).

 7 The Hindustan Times was the first Indian newspaper to follow the American

practice of publishing news stories on its front page, unlike the The Times (London)

that published advertisements there.

 1 Innovations introduced in the early years of The Hindustan Times included

curtailing the length of the editorials, and making them witty and to-the-point;

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 continuing front page stories at the back page to avoid the awkward process of

opening and refolding the newspaper; changing number of columns from four to five

by decreasing the column width (which also gave rise to more advertising space).

 2 The Hindustan Times had low running costs, with the Managing Editor drawing a

salary of only Rs 500, whereas the Editor of The Statesman then drew a salary of Rs

2000.

 3 The Hindustan Times is the largest-selling English daily in north India.

9
 INTRODUCTION

India's foremost media conglomerate is home to the leading newspapers in the country -

Hindustan Times (the flagship English daily) and Hindustan (Hindi newspaper). The HT

Media Ltd. also has a significant online presence with HindustanTimes.com.

The HT Media Ltd. plans to consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse

through strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a consumer focused

approach. N INVESTMENT can be considered in HT Media, as it will be the premier print-

media player in the listed space and has the potential to deliver attractive gains over the long

term. Investors with an appetite for risk can participate in the initial public offering in the Rs

445-530 price band. HT Media publishes two daily newspapers — Hindustan Times in

English and Hindustan in Hindi — apart from a couple of magazines.

Bidding at the cut off price will be the best option, as that may improve the chances of

securing an allotment; this would require payment of Rs 530 per share upfront. If the final

price is fixed at a lower level, the excess will be refunded. The principal risks to our

recommendation are a failure of the Mumbai edition of Hindustan Times to make a mark,

over the long term, and a spurt in newsprint cost in the near term.

The HT Media Ltd. plans to consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse

through strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a consumer focused

approach.

INVESTMENT can be considered in HT Media, as it will be the premier print-media player

in the listed space and has the potential to deliver attractive gains over the long term.

Investors with an appetite for risk can participate in the initial public offering in the Rs 445-

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530 price band. HT Media publishes two daily newspapers — Hindustan Times in English

and Hindustan in Hindi — apart from a couple of magazines

Our recommendation is based on the following factors:

PRICING AND VALUATION

The earnings growth over the next two-three years may not justify the pricing on offer, unless

the Mumbai edition of Hindustan Times rakes in profits, or, at least breaks even within a

couple of years. That seems a daunting prospect as of now.

But we believe the key drivers of the stock price would be the growth in earnings of the non-

Mumbai operation, which is an emerging story, and the circulation numbers that Hindustan

Times notches in Mumbai. The price-earnings multiple will acquire a critical role only over

the longer term.

We would be more comfortable had the final pricing been closer to the lower end of the band,

as it would provide investors some cushion. It could also lead to a higher degree of interest in

the post-listing period that would augur well for investors in the IPO.

This would be important in the wake of risks imposed by HT Media's foray into the Mumbai

market and aggressive pricing of the offer, which is partly attributable to the buoyant state of

the equity market.

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Leeway for FIIs: The stock is also likely to attract support from institutional investors as it

offers quality exposure in the print media space. Investment through the FDI (foreign direct

investment) route and by FIIs (foreign institutional investors) in print media stocks is capped

at 26 per cent. Two strategic financial investors — Henderson group and Citigroup — would

hold about 15 per cent of the post-offer equity in HT Media. The FIIs can buy about 10 per

cent of the equity in the IPO and, subsequently, trade within the 26 per cent limit. The FII

factor would ensure that the stock remains richly valued.

The Mumbai angle: We also take a positive view of HT Media's foray into Mumbai where it

launched an edition of Hindustan Times earlier this month. HT Media is the first player with

the financial muscle to battle for a share of the Mumbai market.

The entry of Daily News & Analysis — a Zee-Dainik Bhaskar group newspaper — should see

intense efforts to expand the Mumbai market. The entry of DNA may not be a negative for

Hindustan Times. As two players with financial backing challenge the supremacy of Times of

India in Mumbai, they have a greater chance of succeeding in creating visibility and interest

among readers for an alternative.

Even if Times of India does not lower prices, the attractive subscription offers from the new

entrants may bring them a significant number of readers leading to an expansion of the

Mumbai market.

Such a market expansion happened in New Delhi over the past decade, when Hindustan

Times and Times of India battled it out. Though in Mumbai Times of India's leadership in

circulation is unlikely to be altered, the expansion of the readership may help Hindustan

Times pick up a respectable share of the most lucrative advertisement market in the country.

12
Yet, the payoffs are likely to emerge only over three to five years and, till then the Mumbai

venture could act as a drag on HT Media's per share earnings. We expect the robust growth in

profitability from the non-Mumbai editions of Hindustan Times and Hindustan to absorb the

losses from the Mumbai operations in the initial years.

An emerging story: There is scope for significant expansion in operating margins and

earnings of the non-Mumbai operations, as the scars of the bruising battle with Times of India

for market share in Delhi are likely to be erased over the next couple of years.

Hindustan Times has managed to come through a difficult period with a substantial

expansion in circulation for the New Delhi edition; its circulation has stabilized at the

one-million-plus level since last year. This has led to a greater clout with advertisers.

The hike in the advertisement rates in May and the rise in average daily page levels

are also likely to improve profitability.

As the circulation of Hindustan (the Hindi daily) is on the verge of crossing the

million threshold, its contribution to revenues is also be a crucial likely to improve, as

it may be able to command higher rates from advertisers.

Price-cuts that hurt profitability — an integral part of its battle with Times of India in

Delhi — appear to be a story of the past.

In March, Hindustan Times and Times of India raised prices by about 30 per cent to

Rs 2. In the wake of this move, the discount wars are also likely to abate. The benefits

would be reflected in the financials from FY-06 onwards and will be largely earnings-

accretive.

13
In New Delhi, even if the growth in circulation declines to single-digit, it would be on

a high base after a five-year period when the annual growth was about 10 per cent.

Over three-five years, even such a modest rate of increase in New Delhi, coupled with

robust growth in places such as Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh,

could drive revenue growth and enhance clout with advertisers.

The commissioning of a contemporary printing facility near New Delhi is also likely

to aid profitability, as HT Media would be able to publish editions with more colour

pages and improved print quality.

As tariffs are higher for colour advertisements; this should also expand profitability

levels. The benefits of the new facility are likely to be reflected in earnings only over

the next couple of years.

With an improvement in earnings and cash flows from FY-05 and a cash pile of about

Rs 400 crore after the offer, HT Media is also well placed to cut its sizeable debt

burden.

Hindustan Times' coverage of sports, lifestyle, movies and city life is fairly

comprehensive and impressive; this coupled with an attractive layout of pages are

facets that should enable it connect with readers in the 18-25 age group; this would

positive from a long-term perspective and a significant factor in luring readers in the

Mumbai market.

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 THE OFFER DETAILS

HT MEDIA is offering 46.4 lakh shares. Thirty per cent is earmarked for investors who apply

for shares with a value of less than one lakh. The offer would raise Rs 200-250 crore,

depending on the pricing. Its proceeds are largely intended to bankroll its Mumbai foray. At

the lower end of the price band of Rs 445-530, the stock would be valued at a price-earnings

multiple of 40 times its likely earnings in FY06.

The Henderson group is making an offer for sale of 23.5-lakh shares that would fetch it

between Rs 100 crore an Rs 125 crore. The book running lead manager is Kotak Mahindra

Capital Company. Bidding in the book-built offer starts on August 4 and would end on

August 10. The offer document is available on the Web sites of SEBI (www.sebi.gov.in) and

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company (www.kmcc.co.in).

15
 PRODUCTS of HT:

The Flagship has FIVE Successful Brands.

 HINDUSTAN TIMES (Delhi's No-1 Daily English Newspaper)

 HINDUSTAN (Fastest Growing Hindi Newspaper in Delhi)

 KADAMBINI (Monthly Hindi Family Magazine)

 NANDAN (Monthly Hindi Children's Magazine)

 HT NEXT (Daily Youth Edition) –India’s first Youth Newspaper

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 O N L I N E

 HindustanTimes.com: Online edition of Hindustan Times

 HT Pace.com: Partnerships for Action in Education

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'Channel Management'

18
Definition: The term Channel Management is widely used in sales marketing parlance. It is

defined as a process where the company develops various marketing techniques as well as

sales strategies to reach the widest possible customer base. The channels are nothing but

ways or outlets to market and sell products. The ultimate aim of any organization is to

develop a better relationship between the customer and the product.

Description: Channel management helps in developing a program for selling and servicing

customers within a specific channel. The aim is to streamline communication between a

business and the customer. To do this, you need to segment your channels according to the

characteristics of your customers: their needs, buying patterns, success factors, etc. and then

customize a program that includes goals, policies, products, sales, and marketing program

(1). The goal of channel management is to establish direct communication with customers in

each channel. If the company is able to effectively achieve this goal, the management will

have a better idea which marketing channel best suits that particular customer base. The

techniques used in each channel could be different, but the overall strategy must always

brand the business consistently throughout the communication (2).

A business must determine what it wants out of each channel and also clearly define the

framework for each of those channels to produce desired results. Identifying the segment of

the population linked to each channel also helps to determine the best products to pitch to

those channels.

19
What’s Your Channel Development
Marketing Strategy?

20
Cloud has brought MSPs and VARs out from the woodwork. While it might have worked in

the past, relying on the name recognition of the master seller (or sellers) you have partnered

with is no longer a recipe for success. To avoid getting swept away in the wave of channel

partners vying to position themselves in front of both customers and sellers, you

must cultivate a cohesive strategy to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

In the context of this changing market, a channel development marketing strategy is of

paramount importance to differentiate yourself in the crowded market. At Total Product

Marketing, we can guide and assist you in developing a strategy that will help you stand out

in the crowd and establish yourself as a valuable asset to both hosting partners and clients

alike. If you’re ready to focus on channel development marketing, get in touch with our team

today. We’ll be with you every step of the way.

21
Demonstrate Your Value to
Master Sellers

22
The question Cloud providers are asking is no longer, “Do we need channel partners?” but

rather, “How do we find the best partners to ensure our channel development marketing

strategy succeeds?” For managed service providers and value-added resellers, this shift in

paradigm can mean an abundance of opportunity – if you are correctly positioned to provide

those partners with the numerous benefits that can be realized through channel partnering.

Rapid industry growth has altered the way Cloud services are delivered, and as a result, the

fee structure associated with those services as well. Gone are the days of a big upfront

installation fee – as hardware is replaced with hosting, the subscription service has become

the new standard.

What does that mean to you? Master sellers whose single installation fees have transformed

to smaller monthly subscriptions now have a greater incentive to provide a more hands-on

approach to customer service to maintain customer loyalty. Customers, however, frequently

sign on for services without actually understanding exactly what they need or why, and

demand follow-up service and support from their provider – the kind of relationship that

master sellers aren’t necessarily set up for.

What do your industry partners need? Where are they failing to reach markets that could use

their service but don’t make the leap to actually purchasing? Help master sellers identify

untapped opportunities, and then demonstrate how a partnership with you could unlock those

potential leads. Whether you can provide a unique insight into specific industry or geographic

market, offer specialized value added services or sell their product to your existing customer

base, you have what they’re looking for – a marketing strategy will make sure they know it.

23
Be the Answer To Their

Questions

24
Rapidly evolving technology means customers often don’t understand the products or

services they’re being offered – and they don’t want to. This is where channel development

marketing comes in. As the emissary between corporate provider and business customer, you

provide the industry expertise and understanding of clients’ pains necessary to keep the

whole partnership running smoothly.

The question is, does your audience know you provide the solutions they need? When your

potential or existing customers decide they are ready to transition to Cloud hosting, are they

picking up the phone to speak to you, or Googling Cloud hosting providers to find out who

can help them?

The hosting services provided by your partner organizations, combined with the specialized

insights and services your own team can offer have the capacity to address the pains of your

clients – in some cases, before they’ve even identified the pains themselves.

Make sure that you’re marketing to these issues and not selling a product. Most people don’t

care about brands. If it works and solves a problem, that’s all that matters. Use content

marketing, email campaigns or infographics to establish yourself as a problem solver.

Whatever your clients’ IT needs may be, they need to understand you have the answers.

25
 FIVE TIPS FOR
EFFECTIVE CHANNEL
SALES DEVELOPMENT

26
A lot of companies are managing their channel partners in a less structured way compared to

their direct sales teams. But in most cases, your expectation from the channel is the same as

your expectation from inside and field sales. You expect closed business & new customers.

Below are five fundamental suggestions for establishing and managing a channel-based sales

program.

1. You need an overall and by-channel sales goal.

You need to establish a sales & pipeline growth discipline with each individual

partner. It would be great if the partner was aligned with this and also had a sales goal

in mind (to drive referral fees back to them as revenue), but at minimum you need to

have an internal expectation of sales & revenue yield by channel.

This seems fundamental, but I’ve seen many channel “objectives” talk about

partnerships, customer alignment and awareness. Maybe, but those are means to an

ends. Be explicit about expected sales & revenue yield from these channel

relationships.

2. To get to this, you need an accurate sizing of the channel –

how many prospective customers are involved, how big those customers are, and

what revenue potential is inherent in each. Do the napkin math on what kind of sales

& revenue would result in getting 5% of channel participants to sign up, 10%, etc.

27
3. You won’t necessarily be driving sales from new partners in month

one, but you should have a clear, month-to-month expectation for

lead activity, sales & revenue growth.

Also, what are the leading-indicator metrics via which you can judge early success in

the first couple months? Things like message/offer penetration & impressions in their

communication channels, # of inbound leads tracked to that partner, etc. You need a

very clear, quantifiable way of measuring progress.

4. Create a common sales toolkit for partners

so you’re doing everything possible to enable them to communicate your value

proposition and accelerate sales growth. This should include sales collateral,

messaging platforms, samples of emails and other ad copy, access to your webinars

and white papers, case studies, etc.

5. In addition to having a clear compensation model for the referring

channels, consider “juicing” compensated activity in the early days of

the partnership

to help develop the habit of driving awareness, leads and business your way. For

example, you could pay them for inbound leads in the first month. Eventually, you’d

only want to pay points on closed deals, but you could essentially let them earn more

28
early by delivering leads, then they’d get paid for that with a higher % on the first

couple deals (so you don’t have to pay for anything until you start actually closing

channel-generated business).

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 PACE
PROFILE

30
“BRINGING THE WORLD I NTO THE CLASSROOM”

INTRODUCTION

PACE - Partnerships for Action in Education, the Hindustan Times Newspaper in Education

Programme was launched in 1998 at which point in time the print media was faced with

growing challenges namely an ageing readership profile, threat from the electronic media and

a significant decrease in reading habits among the youth.

Today, a front-runner of all NIE initiatives in India, PACE has succeeded in making the

newspaper an integral part of a child’s curriculum seriously addressing the student

community whilst bringing about significant value-addition in and around the editorial

product thus succeeding in literally bringing the world into the classroom.

Successfully established in over fifteen hundred schools in five cities across India, PACE has

grown from a small beginning of a hundred students to a countrywide network of over three

hundred thousand Students, Teachers, Principals, Parents, Govt. organizations, UN agencies,

NGOs, Corporates and Resource Persons.

The critical element common across all sub-initiatives of PACE is that the ownership of the

programme belonged to ‘them’- the students and their educators with the newspaper being

the facilitator. Associated with schools for over five years, today PACE has become a trusted

partner of schools in their endeavour to add value to education and a new dimension to

classroom teaching.

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The key objectives being:

 To provide a platform for schools to interact with each other and with the

communities they function in.

 To maintain standards of world-class excellence in NIE

 To sensitize students to global issues of peace, tolerance, gender bias, literacy and

environmental concerns thus helping build responsible and insightful future citizens.

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 ORGANIZATION CHART OF HT PACE

(Chandigarh location): -

PACE Manager

Sales
Editorial
Asst. Manager Executives
Co-ordinator

Ambala Chandigarh Ludhiana

33
 RECOGNITION OF HT PACE
.

In its endeavour to fulfill the objectives of enriching learning and adding a new dimension to

education, PACE has earned recognition from distinguished bodies both at the national and at

the international level. Some of these include:

1. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN),

2. The World Bank,

3. UNICEF,

4. UNESCO and

5. WHO.

Closer home PACE has been appreciated by none other than the Hon'ble President of India

H.E. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K Advani, Nehru Bal Samiti,

Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan and the Rotary club of Kolkata.

34
 EVOLUTION OF HT PACE

HT School Times

HT School Times is the communication vehicle of PACE reaching out to the student

community. The editorial endeavor is to encourage a healthy newspaper reading habit and to

be a catalyst in shaping student opinion, dreams and aspirations.

HT School Times is all about combining learning with fun, testing students' general

knowledge as well as their creative pursuits. Prize-led columns and student’s expression

encourage children to explore their creative potential through this vibrant medium of

expression. News, competitions and student activities are the forte of this supplement, which

continuously strives to balance education with entertainment.

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 EVENTS

PACE events have emerged as the most laudable in the school circuit. From the highly

competitive national inter-school quiz, to the equally exciting national inter-school cricket

tournament, PACE events are marked by the tremendous value that participants derive from

them. In each city, inter-school competitions in a wide range of areas such as painting, essay

writing, dance, photography and music, mark the year, making the learning process more

attractive and fun. All events carry the PACE signature of excellence. Each year PACE also

hosts a series of seminars across the country, recognizing educators as powerful agents of

social change.

36
 NATIONAL EVENTS

 PACE InQuizitive- The Annual National Inter-School Quiz

 Teachers’ Day- A country-wide celebration

 PACE Forum- The Annual National Inter School Debate

 Young Cricket – The Annual National Inter-School Cricket Tournament

37
 OTHERS

 Inter-School Painting Competition.

 Inter-School Essay Writing Competition.

 Inter-School Photography Competition

38
 MAIN COMPETITORS OF HT PACE

 THE TRIBUNE- TRIBUNE IN EDUCTION

 DAINIK BHASKAR- SCHOOL BHASKAR

 THE TIMES OF INDIA- NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

 INDIAN EXPRESS- IN EDUCATION

 EXACT TIMES- FORTNIGHTLY MAGAZINE

39
CHAPTER-2

40
OBJECTIVES
OF
STUDY

41
 HT with it’s competitors

 To explore the major share of newspapers in the market.

 To measure the performance of HT in comparison to other newspapers.

 To study the attitude of readers towards Hindustan Times.

 To increase the market share by providing different services.

42
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

43
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in

a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

Research methodology is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted. It

constitutes the blueprint for the collection measurement and analysis of the data.

Research methodology is a framework for the study and is used as a guide in collecting and

analyzing the data. It is a strategy specifying which approach will be used for gathering and

analyzing the data. It also includes the time and cost budget since most studies are done under

these two constraints.

Research methodology is a way to systematically study and solve the research problems. If a

researcher wants to claim his study as a good study he must clearly state the methodology

adopted in conducting the research so that it may be judge by the reader whether the

methodology of work done is sound or not.

The research methodology here includes:

1. Research problem.

2. Research design

3. Sampling design.

4. Sampling technique.

5. Data collection method.

6. Data analysis and rationale of research instruments.

44
1. Research problem: -

The first step while conducting research is careful definition of research problem. The present

project has been undertaken to analyze the reader presence of newspapers in the market.

2. Research design: -

Exploratory Research: -

The objective of this research is the development of hypothesis rather than their testing. This

research undertakes an exploratory research design. The main purpose of such studies is to formulate

a problem for more precise investigation or of developing hypothesis from an operational of financial

products and the survey tries to explore the potential of a financial product. The research design is

flexible enough to incorporate different aspects of the problem under study.

The methods followed in concerning literature experience survey to measure customer’s level

of satisfaction and analysis of insight stimulating examples offered by reaction of individuals of

different social strata.

3. Sampling design: -

The respondents selected should be as representative of total population as possible in order

to produce a miniature cross-section. The selected respondent constitutes what is technically called

and sample and the selection process is called sampling technique. The survey so conducted, is known

as sample survey.

Sampling has been widely used in every type of consumer study in most cases of research

studies. Sampling is necessary because it is almost impossible to examine the entire parent population

(i.e. the entire universe)

45
 Various factors such as time available, cost, purpose of study etc. make it necessary to choose

a sample.

Sample chosen must be representative of universe to be studied and therefore, every care must

be taken in size may give better results the constraints like time and money comes to limit the size of

the sample. So besides, being care representative of the universe, a sample should be convenient in

terms of size. It should neither be too small nor too big. It should be manageable. Following points

must be kept in mind:

1. Universe: -

The total items to be surveyed constitute the universe. Universe can be finite or

infinite. In finite universe the number of items is certain and in infinite universe the number

of items is uncertain. In this study the universe is finite.

2. Sampling Unit: -

Sampling unit may be a geographical area as Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Mohali in his

project is taken into consideration.

3. Source List: -

It is also known as sampling frame from which sample is to be drawn. It contains

name of all items of a universe. The source list is the name and address of the students in

CPM.

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4. Size of Sample: -

It refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute a sample. It is

accepted that the bigger the size of the sample, the greater it is representative of whole universe. A

balance is to be maintained between sample size and time cost trade off. Sample size for the study is:

1 Distribution – CHANDIGARH = 100

MOHALI = 100

PANCHKULA = 100

5. Sampling technique: -

The need for adequate and reliable data is ever increasing for taking wise decisions in

different fields of human activity and business.

The basic objective of sampling study is to draw inference about the population. Sampling is

only a tool that helps to know the characteristics of the population by examining only a small part of

it.

Due to time, distance and financial constrains, whole universe was not covered but a well-

structured sample was chalked out. In order to select the sample, I have used two types of sampling

techniques: -

Random sampling: -

Random sampling refers to the sampling technique in which each and every sample item has

an equal chance of being included in the sample. The selection is free from personal bias and the

sample depends entirely on chance.

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Clustered sampling: -

In this method, the sample is divided into a number of groups or clusters on the basis of Type

of private and govt. schools. Once the whole sample is divided into various clusters, certain numbers

of sample is taken from each cluster at random. This method facilitates me in greater control over the

selection of the samples and no important group is left out.

4. Data collection method: -

After the sample has been taken the type of information to be sought was decided upon. The

next step is to collect the data. As the data collected is to be the base of what we plan to find out, the

relevant care should be taken that the errors in methods of collection of data involved are minimized.

The factors of availability of time, cost and human involvement come to affect the reliability of the

data collected. Broadly there are two types of data:

Primary data: -

Primary data is that which is firsthand data and collected by the researcher for the study in

hand.

The data is collected through a structured questionnaire to conduct the study in a more

uniform and comprehensive way. This method is a set of stimuli to which people are exposed in order

to observe their verbal behavior under these stimuli. It helped us in obtaining limited amount of

information from a large number of persons. The questions that form the basis of the questionnaire

method are formed with an object in view. The respondent is expected to reply to the questions

accordingly. For Data collection purpose two questionnaires are used:

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 a) Questions related to the customer satisfaction were asked from the students. The

questionnaire is attached in Appendix ‘A’.

Secondary data: -

It means the statistics not gathered for the immediate study at hand but for some other

purpose. It is the data collected by someone for purpose other than solving the problem being

investigated.

In the present study I have made use of secondary data collected from website of the company

and internal records of the company.

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LIMITATIONS

50
LIMITATIONS

1. Time duration was short.

2. The territory assigned was new thus, unfamiliar working arena, field activities and client

interaction was a whole new challenge.

3. Many respondents were hostile.

4. A large sample could not be taken and systematic probability was not conducted due to lack

of time.

5. During the course of survey some unavoidable errors are faced such as no response,

inaccuracy in response as respondents were children and also the disinterest of the

respondents.

The findings are totally based on respondents’ perception and hence can be biased to some extent.

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CHAPTER 3

52
 Data Analysis and Interpretation of Survey

Q1. Which Newspaper do you read?

45%

40%

35%

30%
HT
25% TOI
Dainik Bhaskar
20%
Tribune
15%
Punjab Kesri
10%

5%

0%
Mohali Chandigarh Panchkula

Interpretation:

1. HT has a medium stake of readers in the market.

2. The major stake in the market is held by Dainik Bhaskar.

3. TOI is the major Competitor when it comes to English Newspapers in Tri-City.

4. Tribune is most Trusted Newspaper when it comes to the Regional News as it holds

the detailed content about the region.

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Reasons for Ht not the Leader in the Market:

1. Contains many advertisements as the newspaper is 33% covered with only

2. The content of the newspaper contains many grammatical errors.

3. The newspaper is not able to make itself a habit when it comes to the point of reading.

4. The newspaper is mostly focused on selling rather than content.

5. The queries and the complaints of customers are not fully entertained or satisfied.

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 Q2. How much do you pay for your Newspaper?

Response:

1. HT- Rs.150p.m. or 365/year or 799/year.

2. TOI- Rs.150p.m. or 365/year.

3. Dainik Bhaskar- Rs.180-200/month.

4. Tribune- Rs.150-180/month.

5. Punjab Kesri- Rs.120-150/month.

Interpretation:

- Mostly the Newspapers cost almost the same.

- It is the game of Only Selling when it comes to HT or TOI to make customers.

- Dainik Bhaskar is the Major leader when talked about the Hindi Language.

- Tribune too holds up a Loyal Customer base as people like its font and the content.

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Q3. How much will you prefer this newspaper to other friends to read it?

Response:

1. Most of the population of Mohali likes this newspaper and likes to recommend this to

others @9/10 rating.

2. The population of Chandigarh likes this newspaper on the scale of 8.5/10.

3. The population of Panchkula is not so newspaper loyal as a brand and will

recommend it on the scale of 6-7/10.

Interpretation:

- This newspaper is likely to be read by the users of Mohali and Chandigarh but the

Panchkula region is less aware of the scemes which the newspaper companies offer to

their customers so the Brand Loyalty play a vital issue in liking and disliking for any

particular brand.

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Q4. Do you read the news online too???

Response:

1. Approx. 30-35% of the entire population of the TriCity reads news online.

2. Other people does not read news online as at some areas there is a problem of

language and some are not even interested in reading news.

Interpretation:

- People now a days prefer news online as the main issue faced in newspapers is time as

people now a days doesn’t have much time for reading the entire newspaper.

- People prefer news on the go as this keeps people updated and saves time.

- Most preferred online portals for reading the news is Facebook, Twitter, and online

newspaper.

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CHAPTER 4

58
FINDINGS

 Sales of HT are good in comparison with the main competitors like Time of India, The

Tribune and Indian express.

 Readers desire more offers and schemes.

 Delivery of HT is not proper.

 Circulation is a consistent problem.

 Content at times is also a problem.

 Some people even faces a problem font and less Govt. articles.

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CONCLUSION

After analyzing all the questionnaires it is found that HT’s performance is satisfactory

regarding customer satisfaction. Their various schemes, facilities and availability of product

at cheap price make it more demandable. The main problem faced by HT Customer’s is their

irregular supply. So it can be improved by making supply chain most effective and also try to

make more concentration on news instead of advertisement. This all will help HT to

strengthen their position in market and get leader position.

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61
 SUGGESTIONS

 The supply of Product to the end user must be in a full systemised manner.

 The Categorisation of newspapers should be section wise for all readers like students

and elders.

 There should be a method to validate the newspaper has been delivered to it’s reader

everyday.

 The feedback should be conducted on a regular basis.

 The newspaper should give more space for reader participation so that people may

also be provided to contribute their view points towards some topics.

 All promises should be fulfilled as the subscriptions and other coupons must be

delievered on proper time.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Kotler, Philip; Marketing Management 11th Edition, New Delhi, Prentice Hall of India,
2002.
2. Ramaswamy, V.S. and Namakumari, S.; Marketing Management; Vikas Publishing,
New Delhi, MacMilian, 1990.
3. Rajan Saxena, Marketing Management, 2nd edition, Tata Macgraw Hill, 2002.
4. www.hindustantimes.com
5. www.htpace.com
6. www.google.com

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