GL BAJAJ INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

ON

“Business Development And Client Acquisition”

TOWARDS THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

DR. APJ ABDUL KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

by

Divya Pandey
(2301920700135)
Session 2024-25
Under the Supervision of
Prof. Dr. Ankur Srivastava
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work presented in this report entitled “ “Business Development And
Client Acquisition”” was carried out by me. I have not submitted the matter embodied in this
report for the award of any other degree or diploma of any other University or Institute. I have given
due credit to the original authors/sources for all the words, ideas, diagrams, graphics, computer
programs, experiments, results, that are not my original contribution. I have used quotation marks
to identify verbatim sentences and given credit to the original authors/sources.

I affirm that no portion of my work is plagiarized, and the experiments and results reported
in the report are not manipulated. In the event of a complaint of plagiarism and the
manipulation of the experiments and results, I shall be fully responsible and answerable.

Name : Divya Pandey

Roll. No. :2301920700135

Specialization :Marketing and Operation

(Candidate Signature)
 GL BAJAJ
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
Approved by A.I.C.T.E. & affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Divya pandey, ROLL No- 2301920700372 has undertaken this project titled
“Business Development and Client Acquisition” “for the partial fulfilment of the award of Master
of Business Administration degree from Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow (U. P.).

I wish her all the best for his bright future ahead.

Date: 28/12/2024

Project Supervisor

(Ankur Srivastava)
Department of Management Studies

Head of Department
(Dr. Vikas Tripathi)

Department of Management Studies

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The internship opportunity I had with Outlook Group was a great chance for learning and

professional development. Therefore, I am also grateful for having a chance to meet so many

wonderful people and professionals who led me through this internship period.

Bearing in mind the previous I am using this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude and

special thanks to the HR of Outlook Group who in spite of being extraordinarily busy with his

duties, took time out to fear, guide and keep me on the correct path allowing me to carry out

my project at their esteemed organization and extending during the training.

I express my deepest thanks to the mentor Mr. Ankur Srivastava for taking part in useful

decisions & giving necessary pieces of advice and guidance to make the project easier. I

choose this moment to acknowledge her contribution gratefully.

I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to Prof. Vikas Tripathi (HOD) who

supported me throughout the course and constantly reviewed my work and provide guidance

of this MBA project.

Thank You

Sincerely

Divya Pandey
Internship Certificate
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

To thrive in today's competitive corporate environment, management interns must put in a lot
of effort. They should be well-versed in the workings of the business world. The two-month
industrial training programme is an important element of the management curriculum, and it
seeks to provide management students a good understanding of the numerous operations that
take place in an industry. Internship is a program that makes a student experience corporate life
for the first time. I was assigned as an intern under the marketing division at Outlook Group.
The Outlook Group is one of India's most successful magazine publishing companies. It is a
well-known and well-liked brand all around the world. The Outlook Group is owned by Mr.
Rajan Raheja. The Outlook has been published in New Delhi by the Outlook Group since
October 1995.
Any publishing group's two major goals are as follows:
• Increase magazine circulation
• Improve readership profile

This is because advertising is the primary source of revenue for any publishing company, and
an advertiser would prefer to know the facts and figures before investing money in advertising.
The Magazine divisions of Outlook consist of Outlook Weekly, Outlook Money, Outlook
Traveller, Outlook Business and Outlook Hindi.
The objective of the project is to understand buyer challenges and ways to increase their
engagement in the process of generating leads and defining a clear roadmap for the company
to achieve its overall goal.
My internship was done virtually because of current Covid-19 situation. My industry mentor,
who was in charge of the department's corporate sales operations, mentored me as an intern. I
was employed particularly to market their product.
I was primarily responsible for cold calling and lead generation for the product. In the report, I
discuss my contribution to the project. I spent my first month as a summer intern learning about
the company's operations, sales, and marketing activities. During the product launch, we were
educated on the market's requirements as well as the product's features. This work required me
to engage in client engagement, which enabled me to investigate various possibilities and
problems connected with the product, as well as develop domain-specific tactics for future
projects.
In order to assess and comprehend consumer preferences, the Outlook India group is attempting
to learn about their business methods and how magazine publication is conducted. I attempted
to come up with innovative ways to attract clients while also meeting their wants and
expectations.
Customers are dissatisfied as a result of a serious delivery problem with outlook. Customer
retention should be prioritised by the company, which may be accomplished by enhancing the
delivery system, providing loyalty gifts, auto-renewing memberships, and offering special
discounts. For client happiness, improve the substance and news in the magazine.
Customers also look for different segments which should be offered by Outlook to increase the
number of subscribers like magazine on Fashion, Sports, Technology, etc.
I worked in the subscription division for 2 months. It was a very educative and professional
experience and thereby gaining a practical overview of the corporate work culture.
 TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter Topic Page
No. No.

1 Introduction 1
1.1 A Brief Introduction about the Print Media Industry 2-3
1.2 History of Print Media in India 4
1.3 Rajan Raheja Group 5-6
1.4 A Brief Introduction about the Company 7-8
1.5 Product and Services of the Organization 9-10
1.6 Research Area 11-12
2 Literature Review 13-16
3 Research Methodology 17-25
4 Marketing & Sales 26
3.1 Problem Statement 26
3.2 Problem Objective 27
3.3 STP of the Outlook Group 28
3.4 Procedure Adopted 29
3.6 4 Ps for Outlook group 30
5 Customer Relationship Management 31
4.1 Customer Life Cycle 32-37
4.2 Major Player in Print Media Business in India 38
4.3 Competitors Analysis 39-41
4.4 Importance of Customer Life Cycle Strategies, and ways 42
in which they have paid dividends
4.5 Loyalty Programs of the Companies 43
4.6 Net Promoter Score 44-45
4.7 Lessons from International Print Media Industry 46
6 Digital Marketing 47
5.1 Analysis of any Raheja Group Company's Digital Audit 48-55
Report and its Competitors
 5.2 Action plan as a Digital Marketing Manager to reap higher 56-58
dividends
5.3 Social Media Marketing of Exide and Amaron 59-61
7 Product and Brand Management 62
6.1 PBM: Exide Industries Limited 63-65
6.2 Compairison Exide vs Amaron 66
6.3 Suggested Action Plan Pertaining to PBM for the 67
Company
8 Advertising 68
7.1 Launch of Premium Fashion Magazine : - Outlook Spurge 69-71
7.2 Consumer Market Sales Promotion Technique 72
7.3 Use of Integrated Brand Promotional Tools in Degital 72-73
Media
7.4 Detail Media Plan 73-74
9 Finding, Recommendation and Conclusion 75
8.1 Findings 76
8.2 Recommendation 76-77
8.3 Conclusion 78
10 References 79-80
 CHAPTER 01
INTRODUCTION

1
1.1 A Brief Introduction about the Print Media Industry: -

Print media is considered to be an old and well-settled industry in India. Newspapers and
magazines being the direct publishing of print media, yet books publishing is a more
minor but critical source of income. Even though print media is a full-grown industry,
new magazines find their space in the existing market. India, being a developing nation,
solid utilization and rising income level has acted as a catalyst in the development of print
media. The print media is regarded as one of the greatest innovations ever made for the
benefit of humankind and has changed the world completely. As anyone can understand,
it is one of the crucial factors that mould how a nation works. Newspaper magazines are
read by many people and are considered the most trusted source of information. Every
passing day comes up with new topics related to day-to-day life. India has a huge market
of print media may it be a newspaper or a magazine, thousands of which are in circulation
every day. Commercials and memberships are the sources of revenue for magazines, out
of which 73% of income comes from promotion and 27% from circulation.

Fig 1: Print Media

Similar to other nations, India is also experiencing an extreme stage in the magazine
business. By adding supplements to their principal issue, the daily paper has intruded on
the substance secured by magazines. As there is a massive surge in demand for the
content, new TV stations have been dispatched. With the invention of cell phone and
availability of internet facility everywhere there has been a rise in the news and story
consumption on distinctive points yet the demand for top quality print content and

2
magazines is still the same and increasing day by day. In the age of television and internet,
Top Notch Journalism, enhanced reporting, unity of press and a strong network are the
pillars for the success of Print Media. As India being a developing country, a huge chunk
of population lives in rural or under developed region, hence print media has proven to
be a great source of General Knowledge and literacy for average people. Also, the content
on the internet is to be distributed and investigated such that the cell phone industries are
to be offered decision to their subscribers for consuming content from anywhere.

As India is a diverse country having various languages spoken, hence availability of

newspaper and magazines in regional languages makes it easier for the readers.

India has a huge potential market space for the development of print media industry, also
there are various ways to attain the complete growth. Proper selling and distribution
network along with s strategic marketing plan can help India achieve its target. Some of
the strategies about the distribution are listed below:

 Retail: A proper distribution network wherein the retailer playing the role of
marketeer who promotes magazine and earns commission.
 Membership: Subscribers are directly or indirectly signed up by the publisher.
 Selective Distribution: Special sponsored copies are distributed in aircraft and
hostels.

The print business in India is divided because of the presence of number of local
languages. 46% of the piece of the pie is claimed by Territorial publication distributions,
44% by Hindi language publications and the remaining 10% is served by English
productions. The essential use of English magazines currently is in metros and urban
centres yet the development is widening to modest urban communities as the education
and income levels build among the white-collar class.

With the opening up of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, the several international
publishers are actively engaging the market and this trend is expected to be continued.

3
1.2 History of Print Media in India: -

Indian media has existed from the late 18th

century. Around India, print media first
appeared in 1780. India's media is one of the
world’s oldest. It predates Ashoka's rule by
Fig 2: Indian Print media
a long time. The Registrar of Newspapers
for had over 120,000 publications registered. India has the world's second-largest
India
newspaper market, with daily newspapers claiming a combined circulation of more than
240 million copies.

The earliest Indian newspaper was Hicky's Bengal Gazette, which was launched in 1780.
The India Gazette, The Calcutta Gazette, The Madras Courier (1785), and The Bombay
Herald (1789) were among the first to give the impression. The news from the territories
under British administration was published in these newspapers. The Bombay Samachar,
which was created in 1822 and is currently published in Gujarati, is Asia's oldest
newspaper. Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla began publishing Udant Martand (The Rising Sun),
the first Hindi-language newspaper published in India, on May 30, 1826, in Calcutta (now
Kolkata).

The newspapers in various languages such as Marathi Lokmat, the Gujarati Gujarat
Samachar, the Malayalam Malayali Manorama, the Tamil Daily Thanthi, the Telugu
Eenadu, the Kannada Vijaya Karnataka, and the Bengali Ananda bazar Patrika are some
of India's most popular regional newspapers.

The British were the first to produce periodicals in India. The Oriental Magazine; or,
Calcutta Amusement (1785–86) was the first to publish, followed by a series of short-
lived missionary periodicals. The Hindustan Review, which began publication in 1900,
was the first journal created and edited by an Indian.

4
1.3 Rajan Raheja Group

Rajan Raheja group was primarily into the construction business. After having a huge
success in the construction industry, they diversified into manufacturing, financial
services and media. In a short span of time Raheja group become the major media player
in India, with the ownership of outlook magazine.

Fig 3: Ranjan Raheja Group

5
They also have a significant stake in the growing convergence business in India, having
various sectors such as:

 Prism Cement: A cement manufacturing business with a facility in Satna,

Madhya Pradesh, that began operations in June 1997. It has a combined
production capacity of 7 million Tones.
 H&R Johnson Ltd.: It specializes in the production of ceramic tiles. H & R
Johnson (India) Ltd. was purchased in 1993 after a cooperation with H & R
Johnson UK.
 RMC Ready Mix: RMS stand for Ready Mix Concrete and was established by
RR group in India. It is the third largest concrete manufacturers in the country.
 Exide Industries: Strongest brand of automotive and industrial batteries. It is
India's largest and fourth-largest maker of automotive and industrial lead-acid
batteries.
 Supreme Petrochem: Largest processors of plastic materials in India. It is also
the leading exporter of PS from India.
 Outlook Publications: It is one of the largest selling English weekly magazines
in India.
 Asianet Satellite Communication: Owns and operates fiber optic cable network.
Since 1999, the firm has owned 100% of a well-known cable television network
in Kerala's southern state.
 Globus Stores Private Ltd.: It is a retail clothing store chain, the chain has more
than 35 locations in 22 cities in India.
 Raheja QBE: Rajan Raheja Group and QBE Insurance, Australia's second
biggest global insurer, have formed a joint venture called Raheja QBE which
provides innovative insurance products for a wide range of clients.

6
1.4 A Brief Introduction about the Company: Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt Ltd: -

Mr. Rajan Raheja is the Owner of THE

OUTLOOK GROUP which is established in
October 1995, the OUTLOOK Group is one of the Fig 4: Outlook logo
magazine publishing groups in India. A group company Hathaway Investments Private
biggest
Limited entered the print media industry as a weekly news magazine which was headed
by Lt. Vinod Mehta. Outlook is a well-known brand and appreciated in India as well as
all over the world. It is one of the well-established brands in India with its head office
located in New Delhi and branches at various cities like Kolkata, Bangalore, Gurgaon,
Chennai and Hyderabad. Mr. Vinod Mehta was the editor-in chief when the first issue of
the magazine was printed. Outlook a weekly News magazine galvanized a sluggish
market reeling Outlook under the impact of satellite TV.

As outlook is a need for readers who understands the value, placed itself in depth. It is
perceptive, provocative, engrossing, thorough magazine which delivers up to date
perspective along with a holistic approach. It provides updates on politics, cricket, sports,
cinema and business news from India. Outlook has a loyal readership and is socially
responsible and makes people to think on interesting content investigative reporting as
well as its enhanced visual format. It connects brand to 1.2 million influential consumers,
who are early innovators that build brands and drive effective advertising. Outlook is
today's most preferred magazine of around 2 million readers in India, and more than 12
million copies are sold every year. Outlook group consists of six magazines. One of those
magazines (OUTLOOK) is in Hindi and other five are in English.

7
VISION OF THE COMPANY

Leadership through empowering individual thought.

MISSION OF THE COMPANY

To be the largest and the best profitable Magazine Publisher in India.

Outlook quickly carved a niche for itself among perceptive readers who has its value. It
has ruffled the establishment on events ranging from Kargil to Kashmir to Cricket,
sensitised the public reading on important topics like big dams, education and gender and
provided a constant focus on South Asian geopolitics, adjourned the parliament on
answering service issues. Since its launch, Outlook which is the most dashing and the
fastest growing news weekly magazine in India continues to reconstruct the news
magazine market. It has grown at an outstanding pace and is continuing its growth.
Personality wise it can be described as young, dashing and contemporary and is the most
preferred magazine for readers who believe in setting trends and are conscious about the
image and are open to new ideas and products having high exposure levels. Outlook
Group Magazines are also printed in various genres all over the country. Outlook
Traveller is the India’s most read and No1 travel magazine. Outlook Business keeps its
readers ahead in decision making. Outlook Money is a Personal Finance magazine based
on smart savings. Outlook Hindi is a monthly magazine based on current affairs. Outlook
Traveller Luxe is a new addition that consists of information concerning Luxury travel.
Outlook Traveller guide helps travellers with information map. Hence, Outlook has
always proved itself as the foundation for premium products and services advertisers.

Being the largest and the most advantageous Magazine Publisher in India The Outlook
Group Magazines comprises of 5 National issues:

• Outlook English

• Outlook Traveller

• Outlook Money

• Outlook Business

• Outlook Hindi

8
1.5 Product and Services of the Organization: -

1. Outlook Weekly: Outlook weekly is India’s

leading fully loaded news magazine. For
around 25 years it continues to constantly
drive the news, arouse, engage and thrill its
readers. Basically, it is a sectional magazine,
covers vivid depiction of Technology,
Lifestyle, Science, Politics, National,
International, Sports, etc. It is truly a
magazine, which fuels the worldwide
perspective.
2.
Fig 4: Outlook
Weekly
2. Outlook Business: Outlook Business is an
intuitive, thought inciting, fascinating, in-
depth business magazine which delivers fresh
perspective, coupled with a holistic
approach. Outlook Business is the Business
Magazine mainly for Decision Makers. A
holistic approach ensures all influences on
business: economic, political, regulatory and
market driven are inspected. Views from the
best in industry enhancement strong analytical
in-house features. Outlook Business
Fig 5: Outlook Business incorporates a worldwide perspective in all its
content.
3.
3. Outlook Traveller: Outlook Traveller is
India’s No. 1 travel magazine, has been the
standard holder for travel writing in India for
well over a decade. In a rapidly changing
environment, it has kept the leading quality of
content in its coverage, even as it has evolved,
adding new elements while strengthening its
core. The guides are thorough and written
from a traveller’s point of view giving details
on places to visit, best season to visit, how to
reach, where to stay, shop and eat, contact
details of hotels etc.

Fig 6: Outlook Traveller

9
 4. Outlook Money: Outlook Money is India’s
1st and Only Personal Finance magazine,
Outlook Money has persistently helped its
readers in making smart investments. Its
stories are focused on giving the reader a
precise and actionable tip that they can use to
make their money propagate. Outlook Money
acts as the reader’s money manager, helping
them in investing well along with borrowing
wisely and spending smartly.

Fig 7: Outlook Money

5. Outlook Hindi: Outlook Hindi is the only

National Hindi Language magazine, which
has the original content in Hindi (not
translated from English publication). With
Trustworthiness and Exclusive matter for vast
circulation all over India, it is a complete
magazine for influential Politicians,
Businessman, Scholars, People in Literary and
Cultural field, Teachers, Students, Medical
and Legal Professionals, and Women.
Established in 2002, Outlook Hindi tracks a
wide range of issues from Politics, Economy,
Finance, Education, Health, Development,
Foreign Affairs, Cinema, Theater, Literature,
Satire, Spiritualism, Astrology and lot of elite
items with colorful Photo Features. Fig 8: Outlook Hindi
6.

10
1.6 Research Area: -

Research Objective 1: Customer Relation Management

To perform comparative analysis outlook with its competitors on specific parameters.
To determine perception of existing customer towards outlook magazine.
Nature:
The following RO is descriptive in Nature because we are studying the relationship
between the known variables and analysing parameters like frequency of shopping,
preferences of people etc. This research is an attempt to describe the customer buying
behaviour of Outlook subscribers.
Data collection Source:
For the RO we will use secondary data sources like organization data base, magazines,
newspapers, different websites and research papers.
Data collection Methodology:
As we are going for secondary approach, we will refer qualitative data collection
method because CRM is something which is directly related with the quality of product
of Outlook group.
Research Objective 2: Digital Marketing
To find various dimensions of digital marketing in outlook contexts.
To understand the impact of digital marketing on overall business model of Outlook
group.
Nature:
The following RO is Exploratory in Nature because we are studying the various
parameters which are important for their business. And these parameters will help in
exploring the reason behind the success of Outlook group.
Data collection Source:
For the RO we will use secondary data sources like organization data base, magazines,
newspapers, different websites and research papers.
Data collection Methodology:
As we are going for secondary approach, we will refer qualitative data collection
method because the study of various parameters will help in enhancing the quality of
Outlook group as a whole.

11
Research Objective 3: Product & Brand Management
To evaluate the Brand Equity of Outlook Group for the fiscal year 2019-2020
Nature:
The following RO is descriptive in Nature because we are studying the relationship
between the known variables. And we are going to study the relationship between them.
Data collection Source:
For the RO we will use secondary data sources like organization data base, magazines,
newspapers, different websites and research papers.
Data collection Methodology:
As we are going for secondary approach, we will refer qualitative data collection
method.

12
 CHAPTER 02
LITERATURE REVIEW

13
CRM: Many studies have been conducted on customer relationship management (CRM)
in order to examine its programmes, how it influences loyalty and satisfaction, how it
functions as a marketing strategy, and so on. Whether or not it has anything to do with
customer behaviour as a result, The goal of this research is to add to the existing body of
knowledge on how Customer relationship management (CRM) is linked to customer
behaviour.

Consumer buying behaviour was proven to be a major predictor of CRM by Mohannad

A. M. Abu Daqar and Ahmad K. A. Smoudy (2019). Furthermore, while integrated
marketing communication tools have no substantial impact on customers' purchasing
decisions, respondents agree that sales promotion is the most essential instrument that
influences their decisions. The research advises banks to upgrade their CRM systems in
order to get the most up-to-date information on their clients, as well as to embrace the
most cutting-edge CRM technology in order to better analyse customer data.

Woojung Chang, Jeong Eun Park and Seoil Chaiy(July 2009) aims to explain the link
between CRM technology and organisational performance. How customer relationship
management (CRM) technology has gotten a lot of attention from academics and
practitioners as a tool for improving organisational performance. The findings show that
marketing capacity is a mediating factor in the relationship between CRM system
adoption and performance. CRM technology is also made easier by a customer-centric
company culture and management structure.

Digital Marketing: The phrase "digital marketing" refers to the use of various digital
technologies to improve reachability at consumers' doorsteps in order to promote products
or services in a targeted, quantifiable, and engaging manner. The main goal of this activity
is to promote the product or service while also working on the company's brand image so
that brand equity may be built in the marketplace. In order to establish a complete
marketing plan for any organisation, digital marketing tactics and related channels are
essential. Knowing your customers is critical since you need to convey your business to
them and they need to be responsive to your messaging. The company must combine its

14
understanding of client preferences and expectations across all channels in order to be
able to provide the value that they want to provide.

Andrew T Stephen (2016) examines customers in the context of digital and social media
marketing he addressed that consumer digital culture, responses to digital advertising,
effects of digital environments on consumer behaviour, mobile environments, and online
word of mouth are identified as five themes. These articles together give light on how
consumers interact with, affect, and are impacted by the digital landscapes in which they
find themselves in their everyday lives.

Dr. Madhu Bala and Mr. Deepak Verma (October 2018) agreed that businesses can
benefit greatly from digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimization,
search engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, e-commerce
marketing, campaign marketing, and social media marketing, as well as e-mail direct
marketing and games. The increased usage of social media is opening up new options for
digital marketers to gain clients over the internet. Consumer motivations must be
understood in order to have a better knowledge of what motivates people to produce
content about a business.

Product and Brand Management: As organisations struggle to stay up with fast change
in sectors such as technology, the product and the brand associated with is has emerged
as one of the only resources that may give a long-term competitive advantage. “The name,
connected with one or more goods in the product line, that is used to identify the source
of character of the item(s)” was a classic definition of a brand (Kotler 2000, p. 396). A
name, word, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, designed to identify the
goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to separate them from those of
competitors.
Mandeep Kaur and Bikram Jit Singh Mann (February 22, 2013) evaluate and contrast the
branding tactics utilised in the three sectors of FMCG, services, and durables. The
findings show that branding techniques differ across the three industries. Durables and
credibility services are the most common uses of a single company brand strategy.
Individual brand type backed by corporate brand type is the most commonly utilised
branding approach in FMCG and experiential services. So, there is a tendency for
corporate branding, which is popular across all industries.

15
K.B Saji and Shashi Shekhar Mishra's (2013), "Investigating the function of firm
resources and environmental factors in new product commercialization," aims to explain
the function of company resources and environmental factors in pursuing new product
commercialization in high-tech markets. This article summarises the key findings of a
notable research on product management that sought to demonstrate links between
environmental factors, company resources, and the business's technological strategy in
the pursuit of new product commercialisation.

Advertisement: Advertisements have been used to influence customer purchasing

behaviour for many years. Advertisers invest a significant amount of money to promote
their products, thus they focus on these characteristics in order to influence customer
behaviour through commercials. Advertisement aids a corporation in creating awareness
among its consumers, and the elements in advertising impact the customers' perceptions
in either a favourable or bad way. The consumer's purchasing choice is influenced by
their sense of quality, product awareness, and consumer opinion. Researchers evaluates
these factors which shape the buying behaviour and provides the deep insights towards
the role of advertisements shaping the consumer behaviour.
One of the key factors for developing an advertising has been entertainment. Customers'
attention is gained through the use of entertainment. Consumers are more likely to recall
a fascinating and engaging advertisement than a dull one. As a result, it is possible to
assert that entertainment improves the efficiency of advertising. As a result, many
businesses spend a significant amount of money on hilarious commercials (Mandan,
Hossein & Furuzandeh, 2013).
The most effective approach to disseminate these pictures that symbolise societal ideas is
through the mainstream media (Tiggemann, 2003). Advertising promotes societal ideas
and lifestyles by portraying the ideal consumer's position and encouraging consumers to
buy (Pollay & Mittal, 1993).

16
 CHAPTER 03
Research Methodology

17
 Research Methodology
During the internship training with Outlook Group, a structured and systematic research
methodology was employed to achieve the objectives of the project and ensure the
collection of accurate and relevant data. The following approach was utilized:

1. Research Design

The research followed a descriptive design, aimed at understanding the current market
trends, customer preferences, and the effectiveness of marketing and sales strategies
adopted by the Outlook Group.

2. Data Collection Methods

Primary Research

Primary research involves collecting first-hand data directly from sources to gather fresh
and original insights. This method helped me understand customer behavior, preferences,
and market trends specific to Outlook Group's products and services.

 Sample frame – Refers to the category of people within the sample chosen and the
distinct feature which separates them from others. For this project, it refers to the
readers of Outlook magazine available within Kolkata.

 Sample size – Refers to the total number of samples used. A sample size of 120
was used for this project

 Convenient sampling was done due to easy availability and quick access to the
samples.

18
For this project, a sample size of 120 people was chosen from among the readers of
outlook magazines within the regions of Kolkata. The sample frame consisted of people
of varied age groups, income levels, qualification and profession to ensure homogeneity
of the data.

The total size of 120 people was broken down into smaller groups of 20 people per
individual surveyor. This ultimately led to the following data arrangement:

40 samples –Outlook news

40 samples – Outlook Traveler

20 samples – Outlook Business

20 samples – Outlook Money

A survey was then conducted on these people with the intention of identifying their
mindsets and perceptions about the company. A questionnaire was used for this process
and the questions were asked either through telephone or direct visits.

Surveys were also conducted on the leads generated from BELOW THE LINE activities
namely ‘Travel Agents Association of Bengal’ tourism fair hosted in Khudiram
anushilan, which gave a more in depth insight into the buying patterns of customers.

Based on the answers received the data was arranged into several categories ranging from
the ‘customer is highly satisfied’ to the ‘customer is highly dissatisfied’.

These categories are then analyzed thoroughly to find out the major shortcomings of the
company as stated by the customers themselves.

Based on these shortcomings, certain measures are suggested which may help to improve
the state of business and decrease customer dissatisfaction if present.

Given below is the questionnaire used for the survey:

Customer perception is measured in terms of 3 things:

 The content of the magazine

19
  The delivery mode of the magazine

 The subscription schemes and gifts offered to the customers by the company

For all of these factors, a 5 point scale is used measuring satisfaction ranging from
excellent to very poor.

Brand loyalty is measured in terms of the duration of subscription of the individual and
the time period of association with Outlook in total.

A general mindset of the customer about the magazine can also be obtained from whether
they would recommend the magazine to any friends or relatives of theirs.

1. Age 18-25 y 26-35 y 36-45 y 46 and above

2. Gender: Male Female

3. Qualification: Under Graduate Post graduate

4. Occupation: Student service business Self-employed

Retired
5. Income level (yearly): Rs.1,00,000 – 3,00,000 Rs.3,00,000 – 5,00,000
Above
6. Which magazine of OUTLOOK group are you subscribed to?

Outlook news Business Traveller Money

7. What is the duration of your subscription?

1 year 2 years 3 years 5 years

20
8. What is your opinion regarding the contents available within the magazine?

Excellent Good Average Bad very poor

9. What is your opinion regarding the delivery mode of the magazine?

Excellent Good Average Bad very poor

10. What is your opinion regarding the subscription schemes available within the
OUTLOOK brand?

Excellent Good Average Bad very poor

11. Which brand is of your preference within the OUTLOOK group?

Outlook news Traveller Money Business

12. Since how long are you associated with OUTLOOK group as a reader?

Less than 1 year 1-3 years 3-5 years Above 5 years

13. Would you recommend this magazine to other contact of yours?

Regularly Sometimes Never

21
14. Any suggestions? …………………………………………………..

………………………..CONTACT

…………………………...................Email

Interviews

Conducted interviews with sales representatives, marketing managers, and customers to

gather qualitative insights about sales strategies and challenges.

Focused on identifying customer pain points and competitors' strengths.

Field Observations

Participated in sales visits to observe customer interactions and understand buyer

behavior in real-time.

Advantages of Primary Research

Direct and specific data relevant to Outlook Group’s marketing objectives.

Tailored insights for informed decision-making.

22
Secondary Research

Secondary research involves gathering data from existing sources to analyze market
trends, competitor strategies, and industry benchmarks. This method was essential to
build a foundation of understanding before implementing strategies.

Sources Utilized

Internal Records:

Analyzed past sales data, marketing campaign reports, and customer feedback available
within Outlook Group’s database.

Assessed the effectiveness of previous strategies.

Industry Reports and Market Studies:

Reviewed reports from market research firms and publications about trends in the
publishing and media industry.

Focused on digital transformation in media and customer shifts toward e-magazines.

Competitor Analysis:

Studied competitor websites, social media campaigns, and advertisements to identify their
positioning strategies.

Benchmarked Outlook Group's performance against competitors.

Online Resources:

Referenced articles, journals, and case studies to understand consumer behavior in the
media sector.

Explored trends such as content personalization and subscription models.

23
Advantages of Secondary Research:

Time-efficient and cost-effective.

Provides a broad perspective and industry-wide insights.

Integration of Primary and Secondary Research

Combining these two methodologies allowed me to derive actionable insights for Outlook
Group:

Primary research offered specific, actionable feedback directly from stakeholders.

Secondary research helped contextualize the findings within broader industry trends.

For instance, survey responses revealed a growing preference for digital content, which
was further supported by market reports indicating a global shift in readership habits. This
integration guided the formulation of strategic recommendations.

Conclusion

Using a mix of primary and secondary research methodologies enabled me to gather

comprehensive data to understand and analyze the marketing landscape of Outlook Group
effectively. This dual approach ensured that the insights were both relevant and aligned
with current industry trends.

4. Data Analysis Techniques

Utilized quantitative tools like Microsoft Excel for data tabulation, charts, and statistical
analysis.

Applied qualitative methods, including content analysis, to interpret customer feedback

and insights from focus groups.

5. Tools and Resources Used

Surveys were conducted using Google Forms or printed questionnaires.

24
CRM software and data analytics tools were used for analyzing sales patterns and trends.

Presentation tools like PowerPoint were employed for compiling and presenting findings
to mentors and stakeholders.

6. Limitations of the Study

Limited time frame restricted in-depth exploration of certain aspects.

Sample size may not represent the entire customer base due to resource constraints.

Dependence on secondary data may include inherent biases.

7. Ethical Considerations

Ensured confidentiality of customer data and followed ethical guidelines during

interviews and surveys.

Obtained informed consent from participants before data collection.

The research methodology was critical in systematically identifying opportunities and

challenges, enabling actionable insights to be formulated for the marketing and sales
strategies of the Outlook Group

25
 CHAPTER 04
MARKETING & SALES

26
 MARKETING & SALES

In Outlook group the first task assigned to us was of Sales and Marketing (Product
learning). In this task the interns were asked to make themselves acquainted with product,
product mix, opportunities and challenges associated with outlook magazine.
Furthermore, the students were made to engage in customer interaction which has helped
us explore different opportunities and challenges associated with the product and prepare
domain specific strategies for the future tasks. The Time duration for the first task was of
14 days. And the Revenue target was from between 4000 to 20000 INR.

In Product learning task the Outlook differentiation strategies were studied in details. The
differentiation strategies involve key parameters like features, performance,
conformance, durability, reliability, reparability and style.

3.1 Problem Statement: -

Eventually with the introduction of digitalization in the media industry and outbreak of
Covid-19 pandemic the sales of print media are highly affected. In addition, there is a
dynamic change in the consumers preferences and likes which makes it more difficult for
the company to identify its right audience.

3.2 Project Objective: -

To understand buyer challenges and ways to increase their engagement in the process of
generating leads and defining a clear roadmap for the company to achieve its overall goal.

3.3 STP of the Outlook Group: -

Segmentation: Outlook focuses on segmenting middle class and upper middle class
inside and outside India.

Targeting: It targets Corporates, Institutes, Hotel industries, Travelers, Businessman,

Students and Individuals.

Positioning: It positions itself as magazines which gives more than just news. It covers
majority of the segments of the market to fulfill every requirement of the individual

27
3.4 Procedure adopted: -

 Enlisting the potential client in each segment.

After the identification of the segments, a list of potential clients is compiled in
each segment using internet, google form and telephone directory services. The
list would include all of the customer' information, such as their name, address,
and phone number.
 Collect information about a customer and the decision-maker.
This stage entails acquiring information on the client or the decision makers such
as if it accepts publications and at what pricing. Along with this the information
related to willing to invest their time and money to purchase subscriptions is
identified.
 Schedule an appointment.
The next step is to contact the client's decision maker and to initiate his or her
interest in the product by setting up a meeting with him or her.
 Contact your customer
After making an appointment, the following step is to contact the customer at the
scheduled time. The meeting should begin with a detailed explanation of the
client's business. If the client is buying other periodicals, he should be asked how
much they cost. The client should then be informed about the product's numerous
characteristics as well as how it differs from the competition. They may have
several alternatives, including cover-on-cover, strip, and flap. To demonstrate the
different possibilities, sample soft copies are shared.
 Proposal to be sent
If the customer expresses interest in the plan, the following step is to make a
proposal. The proposal includes information such as the price, the options
available, and other elements such as delivery, payment in advance, and so on.
 Follow up
Following up on the proposal is essential until the individual/organization's
decision maker makes a choice on ordering.

28
 Agreement on Terms and Conditions
Once the client indicates his willingness to order, the terms and conditions,
delivery, advance payment, and subscription duration are discussed. The customer
is also provided a customized sample copy and his permission is sought.
 Closing
This is the final step of the selling process where a final contract is maid between
the customer and organization. When the seller and buyer agree on the terms of
the sale and the buyer makes a definite commitment to the transaction, the sale is
said to be closed.

29
3.5 “4 Ps” for Outlook group: -

Product: The firm categorises each product into several groups and tries to cover all of
them. Outlook Money and Outlook Business, for example, are aimed at the corporate
sector and the working class. Outlook Hindi is mostly intended for those who do not
speak English. Outlook Traveller is India's most popular travel publication. Every
product caters to a specific demographic and age range.

Price: Pricing is determined by studying the pricing strategies of rivals. Even a minor
price reduction results in a large profit. The cost of an annual membership to Outlook
magazine ranges from Rs 549 (Monthly Money/Hindi Fortnightly) to Rs 2499 (Weekly
Outlook), based on the amount of money invested in each publication and the target
market. Subscription offers must be a means of saving money, as they are far less
expensive than purchasing individual magazines.

Place: The location is chosen in accordance with the product's target market and age
range. Magazines aimed at the affluent class are distributed through malls and other
outlets, whilst health and fashion magazines are distributed through saloons, fitness
clubs, and spas. Airports, vehicle rentals, and other travel-related businesses are
frequently featured in travel magazines. Outlook Weekly, a full-featured publication, is
aimed at coaching institutes, colleges, libraries, and reading halls. The majority of
Outlook Hindi is sold in semi-urban regions as selling location has a significant impact
on sales.

Promotion: Outlook India has a marketing approach that involves holding events at
malls and giving away free subscriptions as a gift. Outlook's use of hoarding, banners,
and a fresh approach to advertise their magazine is excellent. It hires an intern to use a
push mix sales technique for a sales campaign in which anybody who purchases from
the intern receives special discounts. As there is a large audience in these places, it is
aimed at the shelter and the airport for marketing and advertising. Outlook also offers
substantial financial reductions to customers who acquire a long-term membership and
an extended subscription to Outlook magazine.

30
 CHAPTER 05

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT

31
 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

4.1 Customer Life Cycle: -

The customer life cycle marketing refers to the tactics used by organisations to
acquire, convert, keep, and leverage customers in order to increase revenue and develop
their brands. All of these methods keep clients engaged throughout their purchasing
process.

When it comes to customer lifecycle marketing, we must examine the major stages that
a buyer goes through from initial contact with your product or service through purchase,
loyalty, and retention. Customer lifecycle marketing aims to prevent customers from
reaching the end of their buyer's journey and instead encourages them to return and
remain engaged consumers.

Fig 9: Customer lifecycle Strategy

 Awareness:

In the awareness stage of the funnel, advertisers frequently employ mass-market

techniques. Non-digital techniques as well as digital outreach are used for creating
awareness and generating leads for the company's product(s). During this stage, the firm
answers the following questions:

What kind of goods or services does the company provide?

Why should your target market buy your product?

1. Outlook:
Outlook employs two marketing tactics -

32
  A Pull Blend, which consists of mass impersonal selling tactics (advertising)
with a higher emphasis on mass interpersonal sales practices. Pull mix has
the goal of pre-selling the product to all end customers so that they may
purchase it at the retail distribution stage.
 A Push Blend i.e., face-to-face personal selling (Salesman ship). Companies
that use this strategy often create a large sales team at both the seller and
manufacturer levels. It also organizes road shows, award shows, and event
sponsorship, among other things.
2. India Today:
India has embraced a digital marketing strategy and is quite active on social
media and mobile apps, offering a suitable but engaging platform for audience
interaction. Aside from that, the firm already has a brand image and is also a
television news station, which aids in brand growth. The firm collaborated with
Rediff.com, which allowed them to reach out to the Rediff userbase, which was
beneficial to both organizations.
3. The Week:
The Week has implemented an Integrity innovative customer-centric people-
care program, in which they employ a one-size-fits-all approach. According to
them, the greatest approach to promote the magazine is via teamwork, fun, and
simplicity. A properly functional customer relationship management system can
assist a business in obtaining indirect word-of-mouth marketing.

 Engagement:

In the funnel's engagement stage, it drives the audience to learn about your items and
contemplate purchasing them, but they want to learn more about what you have to offer.
Customers are drawn to interact with your business on a deeper level, thus the call to
actions must be louder and more direct than in the awareness stage. During this stage,
the firm answers the following questions:

What is the value addition one gets?

Why should buyers put their money into your goods and services?

1. Outlook:

33
 Outlook engages its readers with high-quality material that is rich in resources,
and the magazine's paper quality is acceptable and easy to read. It assures
customers of accurate and unbiased news, as well as how outlook is a status
indicator. The firm gives promotional deals and details on its many themes.
Outlook has a user-friendly website and application. It guarantees that the
product is delivered on time. It has also started providing hard as well as soft
copies of magazine to their readers.
2. India Today:
India Today has a high brand value in the market nowadays. It is India's largest
magazine publisher. It recently moved into paperless reading across many
platforms because to its diversified rich multimedia content, giving its users
access to digital content reading. One persuasion element provided by the firm
is free access to its magazine prior to the real subscription, which acts as true
interaction with the audience. This not only encourages the audience to read it,
but it also ensures that the conduct is transparent.
3. The Week:
The Week stands for reporting that prioritizes accuracy and reliability, educated,
independent, and fair commentary, and journalism that is grounded in ethics and
characterized by a sacred relationship with the reader. Its expert contributions
include some of the brightest brains in the field of economics and business. It
produces a range of magazines in the automobile, leisure, and business sectors,
all of which are high-quality and meet customer demand.

 Evaluating:

As the name implies, assessment is the process through which people compare your
brand to others and affirm that your brand is the best option available. Customers are
more likely to read reviews and compare features before making a purchase to ensure
that your items are of excellent quality. Customer acquisition strategy is another name
for this phase. During this stage, the firm answers the following questions:

What is the USP you provide your customer?

What guarantees do you provide to ensure quality?

34
1. Outlook:
Outlook Group's USP is that it publishes one of India's most popular English
weekly magazines. Which offers high-quality material to the viewers while also
ensuring the content's authenticity. Assures consumers of the paper's quality and
ensures delivery on schedule.
2. India Today:
India Today is one of India's oldest weekly publications. Because India
Today now has a broad range of rich multimedia material, it has lately branched
out into paperless reading across many platforms, allowing its citizens to
consume digital content. One persuasion element provided by the firm is free
access to its magazine prior to the real subscription, this stimulates the consumer
and gives the impression that the firm is accepting and aware of their
requirements.
3. The Week:
The week is India's most widely circulated business daily magazine. It provides
users with a diverse range of information in regional languages, ensuring high-
quality content.

 Purchase:
In this phase the consumer has already made the decision to purchase. It's not
your duty to persuade them to buy; it's your responsibility to assist them in doing
so.

1. Outlook:
Outlook has a user-friendly
website with minimum
information needs and a simple
payment method. Its user
interface is so simple that any
new user could quickly select the
needed subscription plan, and
the system would then
35
recommend the customer to the
best deal available. It offers free
 2. India Today: Fig 10: Outlook website
India today offers its customers
to monitor their merchandise
using an easy-to-use website
with a tracking feature. All the
plans' specifics are available on
their website, where users may
easily select a subscription
Fig 11: India Today website
option.

3. The Week:
The week, like every other rival,
has its own website with simple
access to purchase subscriptions
and information on current
specials. Fig 12: The Week website
 Post-Purchase:

Brands frequently struggle with either doing too much or too little post-purchase
marketing.

Follow-up surveys and customer service material may keep customers engaged after
they've made a purchase. Make use of social media and blog material to provide clients
with tips on how to get the most out of their purchases. Customer retention strategy is
another name for this. During this stage, the firm answers the following questions:

When will customers need to buy from us again?

What can we do to improve the purchase experience for our customers?

1. Outlook:
The company uses an email marketing strategy here; it keeps track of users
whose memberships are about to expire and sends them an email with
information about their current subscription status or, if the subscription is about

36
 to expire. This allows the company to keep in touch with customers and better
convert them into loyal customers. It also provides extended subscription to a
loyal customer who resubscribes a particular magazine.
2. India Today:
Through email marketing and the Intermale website application, as well as its
social media presence, an engaging social media helps the firm stay connected,
the company keeps tabs on consumers and creates loyalty relationships.
3. The Week:
It adopts email marketing strategy as well as SMS to the existing customer to
resubscribe the subscription.

 Advocacy Phase:

The ultimate objective is to transform consumers into brand advocates who generate
leads and sales through word of mouth as they progress through the purchase process
and build loyalty to your company. Loyalty, one of the most important markers of
success is having satisfied customers who not only purchase (and repurchase) from you,
but also refer more business to you from friends and family and become advocates for
your product. However, just because a consumer has progressed down the funnel to
become a loyal customer doesn't imply, they will remain loyal. To ensure client
happiness and retention, businesses must pay close attention to marketing from the top
level.

1. Outlook:
The firm offers free or extended magazine subscriptions and uses the referral
voucher system, which allows customers to receive a cash discount or incentive
when they make a purchase using a referral code. This, in turn, aids the firm in
attracting new consumers and cultivating brand loyalty.
2. India Today:
Through its website, Intermiles, the firm offers loyalty programs as well as cash
discounts and referral vouchers.
3. The Week:
Provide customer with extended subscription packages.

37
4.2 Major Players in Print Media Business in India: -

India Today: India Today is one of the biggest competitions of Outlook group. Living
Media India Limited publishes India Today, a weekly English-language news magazine
in India. With a circulation of about 9.5 (2019) million, it is India's most widely circulated
magazine. Vidya Vilas Purie (owner of Thompson Press) founded India Today in 1975,
with his daughter Madhu Trehan as editor and son Aroon Purie as publisher. India Today
is now available in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu. On May 22, 2015, the news
channel India Today was established.

The Week: The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd. publishes The Week, an Indian weekly
magazine that was launched in 1982. Kochi is the headquarters for the magazine, which
is now printed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kottayam. It is India's most widely read
English news magazine, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. It's more than a
news digest; it's an innovative view on current events throughout the world. The week is
the country's most prestigious business daily, and serious business readers turn to it first.
The magazine is committed to free, fair, and independent journalism, and the editorial
staff attempts to reflect these principles. Quality, trustworthiness, and accuracy are all
valued equally in the journalistic practises of the week.

38
4.3 Competitors Analysis: -

Parameters Outlook Group India Today The Week

Parent Company The Outlook Group India today Group Malayala
Manorama
Based in New Delhi Noida Kochi
Category Magazines Magazines Magazines
Sector Media & Media & Media &
Entertainment Entertainment Entertainment
Slogan/Tagline Think Beyond, Stay Making Sense of Journalism with a
Ahead India human touch
USP It is one of the It is one of the It is the largest
largest selling oldest weekly circulated English
English weekly magazines in India news magazine in
magazines in India India
Language English, Hindi English, Hindi, English
available Tamil, Telugu and
Malayalam
Segmentation Middle class and Middle class and Middle class and
upper middle class Business men upper middle class
Positioning As a news As a magazine As a magazine that
magazine that gives that offers a gives an innovative
more than just news thorough insight view on current
on India events.
Number of 1.76 9.15 1.63
Readers in
million
Website Rank 1313 87 1339
(in country)
Outlook English India Today Malayala
Manorama Weekly

39
Product type and Outlook Money Money Today NA
competition Outlook Traveller Travel Today NA
Outlook Business Business Today, The Man
Business Economy
Outlook Hindi India Today Vinitha Hindi
(Hindi)
Strengths 1. The parent 1. Due to the 1. The company
company has a variety it offers it has high brand
good brand appeals to a reputation in
manifestation in the broader mass of Indian Market.
Indian media people. 2. Quality of
industry. 2. The magazine analysis is high
2. Outlook has its has a high brand with a strong
own strong loyalty distribution
distribution channel network
Weaknesses 1. Inspite of being 1. News channels, 1. The price of
one of the foremost internet have made magazine is quite
magazines in India, it problematic for high in
it is not very the magazine to comparison to its
popular globally. maintain its competitors.
2.Competition from stronghold 2. The quality and
other free internet 2. The magazine is no of pages are
media has sometimes low.
decreased its brand criticised for
loyalty giving biased
reports
Opportunities 1.The magazine can 1. The parent 1. The magazine
increase its company is a can do foreign Tie-
circulation by media magnate ups to increase its
offering special and has a strong global presence.
subscription offers existence in the 2. Through
to colleges and Indian media promotional
offices. industry. subscriptions the

40
 2. By making good 2. Through magazine can
use of the virtual various increase its overall
and social media promotional circulations
space, the magazine subscriptions throughout India.
can increase its offers to colleges 3. The magazine
reputation. and offices, the can be published
3. It can have magazine can in various local
control upon the increase its spread. languages which
vast media 3. If the magazine could help the
experience of its can gain week magazine to
parent company. popularity in the penetrate Indian
virtual and social market.
media space, it
will have bright
forecasts.
Threats 1. A number of 1. With too many 1. Competitors
international brands magazines coming may further lower
are coming to India up, India Today the price as the
which will pose faces rigid have a very strong
rigid competition. competition. distribution
2. With the advent 2. The magazine network set
of the internet the also faces strong throughout India.
scope of print competition from 2. Other compe-
media is the internet, which titors is coming
deteriorating. is a much with different
inexpensive schemes and lower
resource. subscription
prices.

41
4.4 Importance of customer life cycle strategies, and ways in which they have paid
dividends: -

1. Outlook: The firm uses advertising methods to attract potential consumers.

Once a customer visits their website, it is critical for them to persuade them of
the goods without saying anything, which is where brand engagement comes in.
The primary goal of providing promotional incentives, cash discounts, voucher
codes, travel bags, and extended subscriptions by Outlook is to boost readership
and attract new audiences. The barrier to converting a lead to a customer is
removed by providing easy access to subscriptions. where perspective has done
admirably as well as post-purchase tactics have aided in increasing
resubscriptions as well.

2. India Today: India today noted that their publication has never had a problem
with public recognition. It has a strong presence in the Indian magazine industry,
but they needed to overcome the challenge of making the selling process easier
for the user, so they launched Intermiles, a customer-friendly website that has
helped the company gain many customers and encourage readers to read in both
print and digital formats. Promotional offers and discounts also play a significant
influence.
India has today ticked all the boxes when it comes to being India's top magazine
company.

3. The Week: Despite the fact that the Week magazine is creating numerous
advertising strategies that are paying off for the firm, the majority of people are
ignorant of the magazine, and they need to raise awareness about it someplace.
When it comes to increasing subscriptions, the week magazine has to grow its
operations. Despite their excellent offerings, they must lower the price of their
publications to compete with their direct competitors.

42
4.5 Loyalty programs of the companies: -

Outlook Group: As part of the loyalty program, Outlook group provides free 3 months
subscriptions to any user who purchase a yearly subscription worth 2499/-. Along with
this many special offers such as special edition magazine is being offered to them.

Fig 13: Outlook Loyalty Program

India Today:Intermiles had been chosen as India Today's partner. However, the two
appear to have ended their partnership recently.

Fig 14: India Today Loyalty Program

43
The Week: Any user who subscribes for a longer period gets to choose between many
special offers and avail a special magazine as well.

Fig 15: The Week Loyalty Program

4.6 Net Promoter Score: -

Analysis of NPS of Outlook Group and its Competitors: -

Net Promoter Score: It is one of the ways to measure the customer experience that
matters i.e., Net Promoter Score. It is used to understand the incredible value of
customer who actively recommend the company. NPS is a measurement system that
helps them to track and increase the likelihood of the customer recommending an
organization.

So in order to calculate this a google form was circulated amongst the customers and
the respondents were asked a simple question “How likely are you to recommend this
company to friends and relatives?” and customer have to choose a response from an 11
point scale that goes from 0 – (not at all likely) to 10 – (Extremely Likely). Based on
their responses they were categorised into one of 3 categories as shown in table.

Category Score Description

Detractors 0-6 Are not particularly satisfied by the company
Danger of spreading negative word of mouth
Passive 7-8 Are receptive to competing offers from
competitors
Are left out of NPS calculation
Promoters 9-10 Are loyal and highly committed to company
Fuel viral growth through word of mouth

Table 2: NPS

44
Net Promoter Score = %Promoters - %Detractors

Fig 16: Net Promoter Score

The purpose of calculating NPS was not merely to focus on the number, but to uncover
and rectify the issues that lead to detractors, and then to lower the number of detractors
by promoting and repeating actions that lead to promoters. So, it is important to
understand what is causing customers to choose their responses. This can be done by
using a follow-up question which would be an open-ended question like “If you have
rated 6 or below it for any of the magazine would you like to specify the results”. This
could help the company to understand the customers view point about a company’s
product.

For Outlook Group: Out of a total of 104 respondents 36 i.e., 34.61% were Promoters,
26 respondents i.e., 25% were the detractor and the remaining 42 i.e., 40.38% respondents
were passive once.

So, the NPS for Outlook Group = 34.61 – 25 = 9.61

Similarly, the NPS was calculated for India Today & The Week Magazine which was as
mentioned below:

So, the NPS for India Today = 40.38 – 27.88 = 12.5

And the NPS for The Week = 25.96 – 34.61 = -8.65

So, we conclude that outlook has NPS score somewhere in between its competitors.

45
4.7 Lessons from International Print Media Industry: -

Here are certain tips to consistently increase or score high NPS.

1. Make a good first impression: This is an open chance for you to present yourself
in the best light possible, whether it's via the goods you offer or through the service
you provide. Along with the safety of the goods you offer, the delivery time should
be as short as feasible. Every customer's first encounter to a procedure should be
handled as efficiently as feasible.
2. Integrate client success into your company's culture: Always remember that
the customer is king, and that you must attend to every detail when it comes to
making him happy. This culture should be adopted throughout a business in order
to increase energy and excitement across the board. Consider how you might share
your clients' "victories" with your entire staff more frequently. This has a
contagious good effect.
3. Do what other competitors are hesitant to do: Take a look at your competitors.
What can you do to set yourself apart from them that they aren't doing? The
international print media sector frequently sends presents or provides unique
access to them, as well as doing things that don't appear to be scalable yet are
simple to do. Even a few simple gestures like this may go a long way, so think
about what you can do and include it into your client service process.
4. Quickly solve problems: Occasionally, a customer issue or obstacle will arise.
We get on that problem as soon as it arises, and we do so quickly so they know
we're serious about their achievement. Multiple team members must jump in to
give advice and assistance on how to fix the issue. This demonstrates to our clients
that we genuinely care.
How can you demonstrate to your clients that you're in the trenches with them and
that they're more than "just a customer" in the same way.

46
 CHAPTER 06
DIGITAL MARKETING

47
 DIGITAL MARKETING

5.1 Analysis of any Raheja Group Company's Digital Audit Report and its
Competitors: -

5.1.a EXIDE INDUSTRIES LIMITED (Raheja Group Company)

Exide Industries Limited, located in Kolkata, India, is a storage battery manufacturer and
a life insurance business. It is India's largest and fourth-largest maker of automotive and
industrial lead-acid batteries. It has factories in India and Sri Lanka, as well as a dealership
network that spans 46 countries on five continents. Exide also operates four significant
lead-acid battery recycling facilities: two in the United States, and one each in Spain and
Portugal. According to the firm, 99 percent of the lead handled in these plants is recycled.

Exide has had an unrivalled reputation and recall in India for almost six decades. Their
continual focus on innovation, large geographic reach, strong relationships with marquee
clients, and steady technological upgrades with worldwide business partners have
positioned them as a clear leader in the lead-acid storage battery sector for both
automotive and industrial applications.

Exide produces, develops, and distributes the world's largest variety of lead acid storage
batteries, ranging in capacity from 2.5Ah to 20,600Ah, to meet the needs of a wide range
of applications. We make batteries for the automotive, electricity, telecom, infrastructure,
and computer industries, as well as the railroads, mining, and defence sectors, using the
most up-to-date technological inputs.

5.1.b AMARA RAJA BATTERIES LIMITED (Amara Raja Company)

The major manufacturer of standby valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries in the
Indian Ocean Rim region is Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL), which works in
partnership with Johnson Controls Inc. of the United States. We provide a comprehensive
selection of India's most powerful zero-maintenance batteries to the discriminating Indian
client. In the holy city of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India, we have a fully integrated
world-class manufacturing plant. Amaron batteries include the most recent technical

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advancements in the field of captive power and are comparable to batteries made and sold
elsewhere on the planet.

Most vehicle models have an Amaron battery under the hood when they roll off the
assembly line, since Amaron is the chosen supplier to all major original equipment
manufacturers. In the Indian aftermarket for automobile batteries, they are the second
largest brand. They've also made major inroads into overseas markets, with encouraging
results in places like Singapore and Mauritius, where Amaron powers every third car.

As of now, about 13,500,000 Amaron batteries are in use in Indian cars.

In India, five Amaron batteries are installed in automobiles per minute (excluding two-
wheelers).

5.1.c Digital Audit Report:

A digital marketing audit is a detailed, personalised study that shows how your company
can use digital to achieve its strategic objectives.

True digital audit reports are much more than the automatic email you get after entering
your website's URL on a fancy landing page. They are comprehensive and highly
customised to your company's industry, history, and objectives. They include a complete
examination of your digital portfolio, as well as deeper insights into what has performed
well in recent years.

Fig 17: Comparison of rank of Exide and Amaron

 Global Rank: Traffic rank of website as compared to all other sites in the world.
 Country Rank: Traffic rank in the country where this site was best ranked.
 Category Rank: Traffic rank of site, as compared to all other sites in its main
category in the world each company comes in vehicles category.

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Traffic Overview: -

Total Visits: It is the total traffic to any websites. Total Visitors is the total number of
visits to the examined domain within the nation and time period studied. Total Visits may
be used to determine the total number of interactions with a website.

Fig 18: Total Visits and Engagement on Exide and Amaron website

Amaron.in has a total of 53.84K visitors for last 6 months with an average visit
duration of 00:01:55 sec with a pages per visit of 3.28 and a bounce rate of 42.14%.

Exideindustries.com has a total of 152.68K visitors for the last 6 months a=with an
average visit duration of 00:02:46 sec while pages per visit are 2.73 which is less in
comparison to Amaron and has a bounce rate of 50.42% which is more than
Amaron.

Traffic Sources: The Web Traffic Sources statistic determines which traffic sources are
bringing visitors to your site and compares them. Direct, referral, and search are the three
primary traffic sources, however your website may also receive visitors through
campaigns such as banner advertisements or sponsored search. Consider evaluating the
number of objective completions from each traffic source in addition to monitoring the
number of visits from each traffic source.

Direct Traffic: Visitors that arrive at your site by entering the URL into their browser or
via an unidentified route. The above graph shows that the direct traffic on Exide website
i.e., 27.28% which is more than that of Amaron website i.e., 9.03%. which means that
Exide industries has a unique brand positioned in the minds of the people. It just
needs to continue its positioning strategies which resembles its strong brand personality
which keeps itself

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Referral Traffic: Visitors that arrive at your site by clicking on link referred through
some other website or blog. The referral traffic rate for Amara Raja batteries ltd. was
0.26% while that of Exide industries ltd. was 9.18%.

Fig 19: Traffic Sources

The data to the left which is blue in colour resembles Amaron and to the right which is
orange in colour resembles Exide.

Organic Search Traffic:

Organic Traffic Insights is a dashboard that integrates data from Google Analytics,
Google Search Console, and SEMrush. This contains statistics from SEMrush and Google
Search Console, such as click-through rate, sessions, and volume, as well as organic
keywords and ranks. With this connection, you can easily cross-reference data sources
and unearth those "not given" terms from Google Analytics to receive the most accurate
overall picture of your website's organic search performance.

According to Google Analytics, traffic that comes at your site via a search engine result
is distinguished from traffic that arrives via other referring routes. This type of traffic is
referred to as organic search traffic in your reports.

The Organic Search Traffic of Exideindustries.com is 312K while that of

Amararaja.com is 34K. It can be seen clearly that Excide clearly out performs its
direct competition, though there is always a scope for improvement for everyone and so
here are some of the ways for SEO.

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Using keyword opportunity and keyword ranking, backlinking, link building to
enhance link popularity, and producing material appropriate for human readers are
some examples of organic SEO strategies. Users occasionally change the keyword
phrases they employ to make a purchasing choice. Here's where you'll want to make sure
you perform further keyword research so you can figure out what they're looking for.

Organic Search traffic for last 2 years: Here Amaron has an upper hand over Exide
batteries as the search traffic rate for Amaron is 90.71% whereas for Exide is
61.98%.

Fig 20: Organic Traffic of Amara raja Fig 21: Organic Traffic of Exide
batteries limited for last 2 years industries limited for last 2 years

Campaign traffic: Visitors that come to your site as a result of a dedicated campaign or
by clicking on a link with specific tracking settings are known as campaign traffic that
have clicked on your ad.

Organic Keywords: This graph depicts changes in the number of organic keywords for
which a domain gets ranked.

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 Fig 23: Organic Keywords of Exide
industries limited

Fig 22: Organic Keywords of Amara Raja

batteries limited

Authority Score:

Our Authority Score is a composite domain score that ranks a website's overall quality.
The higher the score, the more weight backlinks from a domain or webpage are believed
to have. All authority scores are determined in relation to the scores of domains that fall
inside the same authority range. Simply said, even if nothing on your site changes, any
enhancements made by nearby competitors might reduce your score.

The SEMrush Authority Score is a composite measure that we use to assess the overall
quality and SEO performance of a domain or website. The score is based on a number of
indicators (more on that below) that indicate trustworthiness and authority, and it is
constantly updated and accurate thanks to a neural network and machine learning.

The Authority score of Exideindustries.com is 47 while the authority score of

Amararaja.com is 38. This merely implies that the Exide’s backlinks, referring
domains, and IPs are of greater quality – this website appears to be using a higher-
quality SEO approach.

Obtaining excellent backlinks is one method that might help you increase your Authority
Score. Some strategies to increase authority score may include:

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  Create high-quality content for your website, distribute it, and perform outreach
to request a connection to your new page from other websites.
 Find directories and indexes that include websites/businesses in your field and
submit your information to be included in the directory.
 Locate best-of articles or lists in your niche that you believe your website should
be featured in, then contact the authors to request inclusion.
 Locate any broken links that used to lead to your competitor's site and contact
them to request a link to yours instead.
 Remove any harmful backlinks from your link profile.

Backlinks:

Backlinks are one of the most essential SEO ranking criteria to consider if you want to
increase the amount of traffic your website receives from Google. Backlinks, along with
content, are one of the two most significant signals used to rank websites, according to
Google, which reaffirmed this in 2016.

Backlinks are important because.

 They Will Assist You in Obtaining a Higher Ranking

 They're one of the ways Google discovers new pages.
 They increase your credibility and trustworthiness.
 They send traffic to your page through referrals.

The Backlinks for Amararaja.com are 2.4K with 395 referring domain whereas
Excideindustries.com has a total of 211.7K with 1.47k referring domain this is why
Excide has higher ranking than Amara Raja with high credibility, trustworthiness
and so google send traffic to Exide page.

How to get backlinks for your website:

 Request that your suppliers link to you.

 Examine the backlink profile of your competitors to spot opportunities.
 Contribute a guest post to a employment journal.
 Make use of niche directories.
 Convert brand mentions into clickable links.

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 Fig 24: Backlinks type on Amaron Website Fig 25: Backlink type on Exide website

Display Advertising:

Reports on display advertising provide you all you need to know about how your
competitors are using online display ads. This means you may examine your competitors'
Google Advertising banners, sidebars, and text ads on the Google Display Network. You
may use this tool to improve your media purchasing strategy by identifying new
publishers, or you can use it to examine the landing pages from your competitor's
campaigns and uncover behind-the-scenes data like which advertisements lead to each
landing page on their site over different durations.

If you know who your main rivals are, you can use this report to discover whether or not
they execute display advertising campaigns. If SEMrush has information on them, you
can be sure they're launching a campaign. This will help you with your own advertising
since you'll be able to see which techniques work and replicate them in your own
campaign.

Excide Industries has 2 display advertising publishers, but Amara Raja is yet to begin
with display advertising. Excide has effortlessly boosted brand recognition among its
target demographic using a display advertising campaign.

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Suggestion:

To compete, the company needs develop a strong brand image in the market. To improve
brand image, they should consider modifying the appearance and style of advertising
campaign. Because individuals tend to forget about product promotion, a reminder
message must be sent at regular intervals and through appropriate channels to reach a
significant number of potential consumers. Exide industries can get more and more traffic
on their website and penetrate the Indian market by releasing fresh and intriguing
advertising on a regular basis and sponsoring numerous TV and reality programmes, as
well as IPL and other sports leagues.

5.2 Action plan as a Digital Marketing Manager to reap higher dividends: -

To achieve your brand's goals, you'll need a digital marketing strategy. It's a tool that will
help you with all of your marketing and day-to-day tasks. Most company and marketing
executives understand the need of incorporating digital marketing into their growth
strategies, such as blogging, email marketing, social media, paid advertising, and website
building. As a result, they frequently perform parts and pieces of it, depending on the
skills, resources, and budget available to complete the task, but gaps in the strategy might
result in a fragmented approach that reduces the potential return on investment.

Each company's digital marketing strategy is tailored to its own aims and objectives. To
achieve its objectives, the firm will employ digital marketing strategies, with a particular
emphasis on digital content. The material will be utilised for both marketing and sales,
with the goal of increasing awareness and engagement and guiding buyers through the
decision-making process, resulting in net new customers.

One of the advantages of digital marketing is that you can quickly test alternative
techniques and modify your strategy based on what is and is not working. The phrase
"digital marketing" is commonly used to cover a wide range of activities. A digital
marketing strategy might include anything from marketing automation and research to
tactical actions like pay-per-click advertisements.

Being a marketing manager, I will invest in following strategies to reap higher dividends:

 Strategy and Consulting: To distribute information and keep the project going
ahead, I will spend time examining analytics and data, formulating strategic plans,
and engaging with key stakeholders on a regular basis. In order to maintain my

56
 website up to date with the latest and most popular terms, which will result in
more website follow-ups. Regular meetings will be done to ensure complete
transparency in the company's operations with all key stakeholders, allowing any
required steps for improvement to be performed.
 Designing a Website for Growth: All sales and marketing operations are
coordinated through the website. It's not something you can put on hold and forget
about. I'll work on one web page every month to improve and enhance their site,
either by building a new page or upgrading a current page's design, text, or
function.
 Set Objective: Set SMART goals for the organization, which stand for Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely objectives. This will guarantee
that the company continues to meet minor goals and eventually achieves larger
ones. It may be anything from extending the firm into new areas to increasing
earnings.
 Blog campaign and define keywords: To establish brand reputation and trust,
create high-quality content by identifying keywords. Create blogs that include
these keywords. This would aid the website's SEO score and position on search
engine results pages. Blog posts are critical for increasing website traffic,
enhancing SEO, and engaging prospects with your brand. Every week, I will
suggest the firm to publish one new optimized instructional or industry news
piece. This will assist organization in contacting potential customers and driving
traffic to your website.
 Email Marketing: Building connections requires regular communication with
your consumers and prospects. As we know that Out of sight, out of mind. As
sales and marketers can nurture leads, I will take actions to keep customers
engaged, uncover new possibilities, and complete transactions faster by sending
weekly emails to target audiences.
 Social Media: Being active on social media may help salespeople and marketers
access a wider audience, increase website traffic, and locate and engage with new
consumers. My next strategy will be to post daily on social media to promote
various marketing initiatives. I will design engagement techniques to track down
and interact with leads, customers, and prospects.

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 Paid advertising: Sellers and marketers may easily expand their reach to new
prospective consumers and improve website traffic by targeting segmented groups
with paid advertising that supports great content. We will run various
advertisements every month to promote various lead generating strategies.
 Sales Enablement: For a strong ROI, sales and marketing alignment is critical.
Assisting sellers with developing sales scripts and templates that fit with
marketing efforts, lead scoring, and list development are all part of the strategy.
 SEO: It's all about finding what you're looking for! So, a Search engine
optimization strategy will have an On-page, off-page, and technical SEO,
directories and citations, and link building are all part of the strategy to guarantee
that the firm ranks for its target keywords and phrases.
 Co-marketing: Partnering with firms that are not your direct competitors but
have the same audience is one of the fastest methods to get in front of new
potential consumers and convert them to leads. Finding influencers, cultivating
connections with them, and developing synergistic co-marketing campaigns will
all take time.

Fig 26: Digital Marketing Plan

So as your online store is similar to your physical store. It's a location where clients
can "walk in" and learn about you and your products. It's where the majority of your
consumers will look for you initially. It's also the only way for people to locate you if
you don't have a real business! That's why having a digital presence that's easy to
locate, informative, valuable, and simple to use is critical.

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5.3 Social Media Marketing of Exide and Amaron: -

SMM (social media marketing) is a type of internet marketing that entails generating and
distributing content on social media networks to meet marketing and branding objectives.
Regularly updating text, images photos and post encourages audience interaction, as well
as paid social media advertising, are all examples of social media marketing.

Exide industries ltd. and Amararaja Batteries ltd. are both companies use social media
marketing to engage with and reach their target audience. They utilise these social media
channels to keep their target audiences informed about product modifications, new
launches, and advances in existing items. This social media platform has given an
unofficial means to keep in touch with the target audience and function as a trigger for
making a purchase decision when the time comes. These are the numerous social media
accounts that these competitors manage.

1. Facebook: Facebook as a medium for social media marketing, with Exide having
415502 followers and Amaron having 45786 followers. Both of these companies
have maintained themselves up to date on social media by regularly publishing
photos, videos, and marketing campaigns, as well as keeping prospects informed
about the products and services they provide.

Fig 27: Facebook Account of Exide and Amaron

2. Twitter: Twitter is a social media marketing platform that allows you to share
your updates with the rest of the world. Follow people in your business or
disciplines that are connected to yours, and you'll get a constant supply of
followers in return. Both firms strive to attract followers in the most effective way
possible. Amaron's pinned recyclable battery ad, which highlights the company's
distinctiveness.

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 Fig 28: Twitter Account of Exide and Amaron

Exide Care has 4384 followers on Twitter and was founded in August 2014, while
Amaron has 1526 followers on Twitter and was founded in January 2016.

3. Instagram: Over time, Instagram has become one of the most popular social
networking platforms. This platform has evolved into a major social media force
in less than a decade. Instagram has recently competed exceptionally successfully
with the top four social media sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and
Pinterest. Instagram has a user base of over 500 million people.

Fig 29: Instagram Account of Exide and Amaron

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Exide Care has 8629 followers and has posted 246 times on Instagram, including
advertisements, infographics, and other material that catches the attention of its prospects,
whereas Amaron has 6208 followers and has posted over 1375 times on Instagram.

Summary: Social media optimization is nothing but the use of social media networks to
manage and increase an organization's message and online presence (SMO). Both of the
companies listed above have created social media handles on various social media
platforms and have done an excellent job with social media optimization, which can be
utilised as a digital marketing strategy to promote awareness of new goods and services,
connect with customers, and neutralise any bad news.

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 CHAPTER 07

PRODUCT AND BRAND

MANAGEMENT

62
 PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT

6.1 PBM: - Exide Industries Limited: -

Parent Company: Raheja group company

Sector: Automobile

Tagline/Slogan: India runs on Exide

USP: Superior customer service warranty

Fig 30: Exide Industries Limited

 Brand Possitioning:

Exide has positioned itself as batteries built to be rugged and reliable with lifetime
warranties. It is India's largest battery brand, always innovating and delivering unmatched
performance.

Exide is the only brand that supplies a battery for every type of car on Indian roads, and
it is the preferred battery for all major automobile makers in India.

 Brand Repositioning:

Exide Inverter Batteries has released a new commercial called Humse Roshan Hindustan,
which positioned the company as one that empowers people and brightens their lives.

Exide Inverter Batteries is energising and re-energizes the brand, positioning it to

collaborate with the next generation.

 Logo:

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 Jingles / Ad campaigns:
Excide produced some excellent jingles and ad campaigns in order to raise brand
recognition and provide a message that would stick in the listener's head and
attract consumers. They're a funny, memorable jingle that creates an emotional
connection with the listener, causing her to connect with your brand, products,
and services. If your jingle is enjoyable to listen to and provides vital information
that listeners want to know, it may help consumers quickly build a new client base
with a few simple lines of song.

o Exide's new ad film lights up the little everyday moments of life

Look within yourself to discover the light, and where there is light, there is life,
says the ad, which brings to life a slice of life mkoment of personalities from many
countries and diverse storylines linked together with the melodic uplifting theme.
The film depicts how big brands, such as Exide inverter battery, stand by even
small neighbourhood store startups and families, igniting aspirations and big
dreams by exemplifying the credo of warmness, happiness, caring, and emotions,
and Showcasing Exide inverter battery as a brand that spreads happiness.

o "We'll be there," says Exide's latest ad campaign for its app.

The ‘Exide Care App' is a full battery supervision system that consist of
everything from purchase and warranty registration to servicing and spare
support.
Rediffusion Y&R devised a campaign to help Exide communicate the Apps' key
features, including the ability to buy a new battery, have it delivered and fitted
wherever you want, register for warranty without the hassle of paperwork, receive
service alerts and reminders, and receive emergency on-road assistance in over 90
cities across the country. The videos emphasise the App's simplicity and how even
a child can use it with ease. The “We'll be there” sign off on the campaign
reinforces this idea.

 Brand Personality: Ruggedness, Competence.

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 Co-Branding & Brand association:

o Exide is more than a brand to millions of people in India. It guarantees a

better and a brighter life, for a wishful society.
o Exide has acquired a unique position in the market by becoming nearly
generic to the category and having extremely high unaided recall among
the target population.

 Product type:

Fig 31: Exide Battery type

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6.2 Compairison Exide vs Amaron: -

Parameters Exide Amaron

Category Automobile batteries Automobile batteries
Parent company Exide industries ltd. Amara Raja Batteries ltd.
Sector Automobile Automobile
Tagline/Slogan India runs on Exide Lasts Long, Really Long
USP Superior cutomer service and Quality batteries that last for
warranty long duration
Segmentation Automobile owners Automobile owners
Target Market Vehicl owners wanting reliable Vehicle owner wanting a long
batteries withy a supperior lasting, high performance
service battery
Positioning Batteries built to be rugged and Go-to choice for batteries, no
reliable with lifetime matter the type of automobile
warranties
Logo

Brand Personality Ruggedness, Competence. Excitement, Reliable.

Outcome of the sound PBM strategies implemented by these companies: -

Excide Industries can adopt good PBM strategies because it has used the appropriate
tactics and procedures to analyse and plan how its brand is perceived in the market. Its
performance over the years demonstrates how the company's initiatives have paid off.
The success of Excide batteries can be explained by the fact that they have become almost
generic in the category. And this implies that via good associations, Excide Industries has
built a strong and devoted client base, And contribute to the company's excellent word-
of-mouth promotion. This PBM strategy has aided the firm in developing, measuring, and
controlling brand equity, allowing the brand to have its own worth. However, Amaron
refreshes its posts on a frequent basis, which helps to improve its brand visibility where
as Exide Industries, has been seen to be less active on social media than its competitor
Amaron.

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6.3 Suggested Action Plan pertaining to PBM for the company: -

Marketing management includes product and brand management. It is concerned with the
whole evolution of a brand from its inception to its eventual demise.

The goal of strategic brand management is to create, measure, and govern brand equity,
this process entails planning, executing, and controlling marketing and branding
strategies and activities.

Step 1: Identifying and creating brand positioning and values: A brand manager must
discover a vacuum in the market, take the required steps to fill it, solve the problem in the
market, and create a long-term brand image. This may be accomplished by position
mapping.

Step 2: Develop and Implement a Brand Marketing Strategy: Here, the brand
manager must really develop and implement startegies in order to properly position the
brand.

a. Selecting brand elements (name, logo, symbols, etc.)

b. Selecting marketing activities and programmes

c. Taking use of secondary affiliations

Step 3 : Measuring and Interpreting Brand Performance: It is critical for a manager

to have the following data in order to assess and analyse brand performance:

a. Conducting brand audits

b. Creating brand tracing

c. Setting up a brand and equity management system

Step 4: Developing and Maintaining Brand equity: It is the value of a company's

brand. Following the establishment of brand equity, the next stage will be to ensure that
the brand continues to expand.

a. Managing brand equity over time

b. Reinforcing and revitalising the brand

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 CHAPTER 08
ADVERTISEMENT

68
 ADVERTISEMENT

7.1 Launch of Premium Fashion Magazine : - Outlook Spurge

To launch a new product in a market requires a concrete plan, to make the launch a great
success generating the buzz around it is a primary need. Because nothing is more
frustrating than spending countless hours on a product only to find that the launch fails.
So it is very important the launch becomes a super hit.

 Bring on the Buzz:

o Because the magazine is connected to the fashion business, we need to
bring on a core group of promoters who are working feverishly in the field
and try to connect them even before the magazine launches.
o We'd like to bring thought leaders on board as soon as possible because
they'll be spreading the news about our Spurge magazine through word of
mouth.
o To keep these thought leaders updated about our magazine, we'll send
them all of the pre-launch information as well as a quick overview of the
fashion magazine.
o We'll send pre-launch information to top-tier press and internet
influencers, as well as solicit client testimonials.
o Using ads, posters, and social media marketing strategies to generate
excitement for the magazine's premiere.

Fig 32: Poster to be used for creating Buzz about the launch of Spurge Magazine.

69
 Influencer Marketing Management:
o We’d be bringing in influencers to help promote the debut of our
magazine. While it isn't a free approach to advertise your goods, it may
be a viable option as we don't have any relationships with industry
influencers.
o Influencer marketing works because social influencers have a high level
of trust with their followers, and their recommendations act as a kind of
social proof to your brand's potential customers.
o We will collaborate with numerous Tiktokers, Instareel makers, and
youtubers, among others, who have a large following and will promote the
launch of our magazine to their audiences.
o Influencer marketing is one of the best way in recent times to spread the
buzz more quickly rather than the tarditional methods.
 PR Management:
o One of the most essential things to accomplish before the debut of the
magazine Spourge will be to complete this task. This is where we'll
compile a list of prospective leads.
o This list will include persons with an interest in the fashion business,
potential purchasers, and even friends who have shown an interest in the
magazine.
o These enrolled candidates will be approached as early adopters once the
launch is complete.
 Corporate Advertising:
o We will engage in advertising aimed at establishing a brand, addressing a
problem, or communicating with specific audiences, including corporate
workers, about Spurge.

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Using various methods to target diverse audiences might assist to attract more potential
customers to the launch location. The table below depicts various content types and the
channels via which they will be targeted.

Stage Content type Channels

Awareness Infographics Website/blog
Presentation Slideshare
Graphic Linkedin
Video Twitter
Advertisement Facebook/Youtube/Instagram
Press release Press releasesyndication

Other means of creating buzz and making the launch of Spurge a super hit are as follows:

 Tease with suspense: This is a fantastic method to generate excitement and

customer enthusiasm without giving away your ideas and allowing competitors to
get a foothold.
o By providing a behind-the-scenes look into Spurge's creation,
o By handing out gift vouchers to the lucky guests who attend the event.
 Content marketing: Content marketing is one of the best way to launch the
Spurge marketing. It can be done in a variety of ways.
o Writing a blog and anouncing the date of release
o Hold a webinar related to fashion industry
o Creating a supershareable infofraphics about Spurge.
o Creating an Event: Nothing can draw a buzz like an event, As Spurge is related
to a fashion industry, so a fashion show afollowed by a great launch will create
huge buzz for the interested candidates.

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7.2 Consumer Market Sales Promotion Technique: -

Consumer promotions are strategies or approaches used by a company to attract new

consumers or reward existing ones. The most frequent consumer promotions attempt to
increase the value of your product by lowering the price or providing additional value to
the normal price. Consumer promotions, on the other hand, may be used to achieve a
variety of other goals, and different promotions perform better for different purposes.
Some of the Consumer market sales promotion technique are as follows:

o Sales/Promotional pricing: In this scheme whoever attends the launch of

Spourge magazine launch will get a direct 10% off on the purchase of
subscription of a Spourge magazine.
o Coupons: 10 of the lucky customers will be provided with lucky coupons with a
discount offer of 40% off on purchase of subscription of Spourge magazine.
o Contest & Sweepstakes: Sweepstakes pay out based on luck alone, whereas
contests pay out based on talent . Contests and sweepstakes do not need a purchase
to enter and provide an opportunity for your customers or potential consumers to
win prizes.
o Premiums: Outlook can undergo partnership with a famous fashion clothing
industry during the launch and provide some of the customers with a lucky
premium cards wherein few of the lucky customers will get a chance to win a
special edityion cloth.
o Trade-ins: Existing cutomer of outlook magazines who prior have a subscriptions
of other magazine who so ever is interested will get an aditional 20% off on the
purchase of new product.

7.3 Use of Integrated Brand Promotional Tools in Degital Media: -

Advertising, internet marketing, public relations, direct marketing, and sales

promotion are all examples of integrated marketing communications. When
promotional products operate together rather than alone, they are more effective.
IMC's aim is to provide consumers with a seamless experience. Promotion entails not
only raising public awareness about the product, but also disseminating information
about it.

The various tools of IMC are as follows:

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1. Advertising: Sourge can engage in advertising, which is a non-personal kind of
communication. Advertising may assist a firm raise product awareness and
simultaneously educate a large number of people. Advertising has the ability to
reach a large number of people while also providing a high return on investment.
Marketers must ensure that the appropriate message is conveyed to the target
audience. Tv advertising, social media ads, and other types of advertisements will
be included.
2. Personal selling: By interning MBA grads, Outlook may continue its push blend
ways to reach out to potential consumers. It is the most essential and effective toll
since the salesperson interacts directly with the client and persuades him to
purchase the goods.
3. Direct Marketing: Spourg magazine may be directly marketed to prospects by
email, text message, phone calls, and promotional letters, among other methods.
4. Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways for
Outlook spourge to reach out to the people. It will be able to break into the Indian
market in a short period of time.
5. Social Methods Marketing (SMM): SMM is one of the most effective media for
promoting Spourge magazine through various social media channels. It is the most
cost-effective approach, because it can reach a large number of individuals at
once.
6. Sales Promotion: As indicated in the first part of task4, Spourge can engage in a
variety of sales promotion strategies. These incentives can assist businesses in
increasing their sales.
7. Sponsorships: Outlook might sponsor a variety of television reality shows that
serve as a marketing tool for numerous businesses.

7.4 Detail Media Plan: -

o The process through which marketers choose where, when, and how frequently
they will run an advertising in order to optimise engagement and return on
investment is known as media planning.
o The media strategy may distribute advertising expenditure and resources across a
variety of online and offline platforms, including broadcast, print, paid
advertisements, video ads, and native content.

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 An successful media strategy will produce a collection of advertising possibilities
that are tailored to a certain audience and fit within the marketing budget of the
company.
o The media planner needs to assess the brand and target demographic to identify
the best messaging and media mix to use in order to reach customers in a
favourable and impactful manner.
o Market segmentation of SPourge will be : Modern and progressive men/women
o Target Market will be Men/Women belonging to upper middle class and higher
economic class
o Reach & Frequency: The term "reach" refers to how many individuals the
campaign will reach over a given period of time. The number of times a customer
will be exposed to an advertisement over the course of a campaign is referred to
as frequency. It can be done on continuity/ fighting/pulsing basis.
o The next task will be to continuously monitoring, tracking, and analysing
performance in developing a media planning strategy.
o For Spourge the right media channels will be newspaper, social media platforms
likeIinstagram, Facebook, Youtube, etc.

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 CHAPTER 09

FINDING RECOMMENDATION
AND CONCLUSION

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FINDING, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

8.1 Findings: -

 According to our study, the Print Media business in India has a large market
potential.
 Respondents' various purchasing habits have provided insight into their various
areas of interest.
 According to the survey, the majority of individuals have a basic understanding
of Outlook Magazine.
 India Today, a direct rival of the Outlook Group, has been discovered to be the
magazine of choice among subscribers.
 Although the quality and content of Outlook magazine are excellent, the company
is presently facing stiff competition from India, whose distribution services are
considerably superior to Outlook's.
 In coming years a good promotional plan might assist Outlook grow their market
share and product portfolio.
 In the market, Outlook has a positive brand image.
 During the research session, I learned about the reader's various requirements and
preferences.

8.2 Recommendations: -

 Outlook has delivered remarkable achievements since its start. The best thing
about Outlook is that it has a great brand recognition, but it has to strengthen its
distribution network in order to grow sales. During my internship, I saw that
individuals are hesitant to invest in something and when it comes to acquiring
online subscriptions, security is usually a top priority. As a result, the focus should
be on shorter delivery times and safer modes of transportation.
 Incorporating strong delivery network will help outlook to penetrate deep into the
Indian market. As majority of people leave in rural India.
 Customers may be disappointed as a result of the company's post-purchase
behavior, late delivery, and false promises. Outlook must incorporate customer

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 success into the company's culture, from the bottom up so that everyone will give
their 100% when it comes to serving customer.
 Another key factor is post-purchase behavior; many businesses fail to recognize
their customers' needs and do not respond appropriately to consumer inquiries that
arise after the sale, resulting in customer churn and dissatisfaction. As a result, a
robust customer enquiry network and hotline should be established to assist
customers in resolving their problems.
 The company's price skimming needs improve in order for it to compete in the
market. Instead of pursuing a high tail strategy, a firm could pursue a mix of high
and long tail strategies in order to grow its market share in terms of volume and
revenue.
 Client acquisition is wonderful, but customer retention is even better. This is
because a client maintained is equivalent to five new customers since the cost of
gaining a customer is five times the cost of keeping a customer. As a result, the
post-purchase services should be prioritized.
 Online Referral marketing is a powerful tool for increasing subscription revenue.
Existing customers can be tempted to recommend friends, family, and others to
subscribe to the magazine by offering interesting and pleasing rewards.

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8.3 Conclusion: -

The assignment I was given was to evaluate the market potential for the print media
sector, and I gave it my all to finish it in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
The Outlook Group is a well-known name in the magazine business and one of India's
top four print companies. Its national average readership is rising, but it must be wary of
its competition. India Today is its main rival in the market. The primary issue with
Outlook's promotion approach is that it depends too heavily on its sales team to increase
magazine readership. Except for the special discounts, Outlook should create a marketing
strategy to accomplish this. These discounts are paying off with a significant rise in sales.
The most common sales channels are newsstands and sales representatives and because
of the reason they don’t advertise much. These days, the main issue is Covid. Outloook
may be able to expand if it takes adequate safety precautions during delivery and has a
well-managed supply chain.

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CHAPTER 10
REFERENCES

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