EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

Marketing is a very necessary for every organization. It helps organization in determining

that product and services may interest customers and also strategies for use in product

development, sales and promotions.

Business magazines in India are one of the best ways of getting all the information

regarding the current events taken place in the business world in India. Business

magazines in India provide all the information that is required to quench the thirst and

curiosity of the general mass. The market of business India magazine is vast. The top

business magazines of India are sold in huge numbers all over the India.

Some of the top business magazines of India are: business world, outlook business,

business today, business barons and business India. These are the few business magazines

in India that have an excellent market.

Ever since India started riding high on the economic boom after liberalization in 1991,

countless business magazines have come into existences in the country and have opened

shops as well. The last few years have seen innumerable business magazines in India

hitting the market and it will not be an overstatement to say that their number would

easily touch scores.

Outlook has a group of 6 magazines; they have 2 business magazines, outlook business

and outlook money. The business magazine markets have become competitive and the

customer purchasing patterns are highly volatile and hence effective consumer

promotions have a much greater significance in publisher planning. In order to tackle the

1
 tough competition from its competitors most of the magazines need to formulate effective

promotions so that the consumers are motivated for the subscription purchase.

Business magazine industry has gone a long way in formulating and implementing the

promotional strategies. Promotions strategies formulated by different publishers have

been to produce good result. All the promotion types- advertising, sales promotion,

personal selling, online marketing and direct marketing are being used effectively to

increase the sales as well as market share. Sales promotion is the area where most of the

organizations are given more importance because of its contribution towards the total

sales. Effective and attractive promotional schemes are to be formulated for successful

promotion subscription sales.

Most of the people know about the outlook business but they are unaware about outlook

money (personal finance guide). These magazines cater to niche segment of business.

Even after having no competitors in magazine industry they are not doing well.

Company believes that the reason is that most of the people are unaware about them or if

they know about it, they confuse it with general business magazine.

This study of consumer prospective aimed at evaluating the customer perspective about

business magazine to find out potential causes, educating people about magazine and

suggesting some strategies that company can adopt and do well.

2
 CHAPTER-1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

OUTLOOK
OUTLOOK: In October 1995, Group Company Hatchway Investments Private Limited

entered the print media. OUTLOOK, a weekly newsmagazine headed by Mr. Vinod

Mehta, galvanized a sluggish market reeling under the impact of satellite TV.

OUTLOOK quickly carved a reasonable space for itself in short span of time among

discerning readers who value its in-depth, investigate reporting as well as its stylish

visual format. Known to be fiercely independent, OUTLOOK has shaken the

establishment on the events from Kargil to Kashmir to cricket, sensitized the reading

public to important issues like big dams, education and gender, and provided an

unremitting focus on South Asian geopolitics Today, OUTLOOK is preferred magazine

of 1.5 million readers in India, and sells more than 11.2 million copies over the year.

OUTLOOK is one of India’s four top selling English weekly newsmagazines. Like many

other Indian magazines it is reluctant to reveal its circulation, but the 2007 national

readership survey suggested 1.5 million copies.

3
 OUTLOOK’s competitors are INDIA TODAY& THE WEEK. Currently it has several

magazines like OUTLOOK MONEY, OUTLOOK BUSINESS, OUTLOOK HINDI,

OUTLOOK TRAVELLER, and OUTLOOK TRAVELLER LUXE.

1.2 ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY

Mr. Rajan Raheja

PRESIDENT

Mr. Indranil Roy

VICE PRESIDENTS

Mr. Johnson D’silva,

Mr. Shishir Saxena

Ms. Vidya Menon

SENIOR GENERAL MANAGER

Ms. Uma Srinivasan

GENERAL MANAGERS

Mr. Kabir Khattar

Mr. Mohan Singh Bisht

Ms. Rashmi Lata Swarup

ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER

4
 Mr. Amit Vaz

Mr. Manoj Nair

Mr. Sushil K. Menon

NATIONAL HEAD

Mr Vipul Jain

CHIEF MANAGERS

Mr. Anuj Gopal Mathur

Mr. Shashank Dixit

SENIOR MANAGERS

Nikhil Tanawade

Mr. Shekhar Kumar Pandey

EDITORIAL CHAIRMAN

Mr. Vinod Mehta

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mr. Krishna Prasad

ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR

Mr. Sunit Arora

5
 1.3 OUTLOOK & ITS OTHER BRAND MAGZINES

6
 OUTLOOK WEEKLY

It’s a weekly magazine. It covers international affairs; this magazine was honored by best

magazine award at International level in 2005. It is truly a magazine, which fuels the

global perspective.

7
 OUTLOOK TRAVELLER LUXE

OUTLOOK TRAVELLER LUXE provides privileged access to a world of luxury travel

for well-heeled travellers who like to savour the finest globe-trotting experiences. it is the

ultimate luxury companion you’ll need to make your holidays exceptionally extravagant

– whether you’re looking for spa getaways, exotic beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, desert

safaris or mountain hide ways. OUTLOOK Traveller Luxe - your passport to the most

enchanting and enriching journeys at home and abroad!

OUTLOOK HINDI

Outlook has rewritten the way news and general interest magazines are presented in

India. It is comprehensive yet concise and crisp, investigative and bold in its approach.

Outlook covers an array of topics ranging from current affairs, socio-economic issues,

politics, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, international features, etc. Outlook reaches out to

over 16 lakh up market, urban focused readers. Outlook has won a myriad of awards

8
 including the prestigious "International Press Institute" Award for Excellence in

Journalism in 2007. Outlook encourages little known people who speak out loud against

oppression, corrupt systems and social issues by instituting “Speak out Awards”. Outlook

also triggers young minds through an all India School debate called ‘Speak out Debate”

by reaching out to over 300 schools in 18 cities in India. Students who win the Indian

round are sponsored by Outlook for international debates held in Korea, South Africa,

etc.

OUTLOOK MONEY

In July 1998, the group launched “Intelligent Investor” re-christened as “OUTLOOK

MONEY” as on 30th November 2002, India’s first personal finance magazine, which

offers sound strategies for the lay investor, especially the growing segment of salaried

middle and upper middle-class and self-employed professionals. Its message is clear and

simple:”Invest Well, Borrow Wisely, and Spend Smartly”. Evidently, that message has

9
 gone down well: the magazine sold upwards of 1, 00,000 copies a fortnight within a year.

One of its distinguish characteristics is that about 93 percent of readers retain all past

issues of outlook.

OUTLOOK TRAVELLER

OUTLOOK Traveller is a monthly magazine from the stable of OUTLOOK Publishing

India Pvt. Limited and only significant magazine aimed at the travel reader. Since June

2001 OUTLOOK TRAVELLER has introduced readers to the wonders of unknown

destinations while also encouraging travelers to take a fresh look at familiar places.

Whether people are planning a holiday, or simply dreaming of one, OUTLOOK Traveller

continues to take them closer.

10
 OUTLOOK BUSINESS

Outlook business in the true tradition of the outlook group has as its aim no less an

objective than the complete rewrite of what has been tried by the way of business

journalism in the magazine space. Targeted at decision makers, the product focuses on

the important business issues and developments with a view to providing clear takeaways

– impact and implications for decision making. A holistic approach ensures all influences

on business: economic, political, and markets driven are explained.

1.4 PRODUCT DETAILS

S.NO MAGAZINES PRICE ISSUES/YEAR

1 OUTLOOK WEEKLY Rs.40/- 51 Issues/year

2 OUTLOOK HINDI Rs.25/- 24 Issues/year

3 OUTLOOK TRAVELLER Rs.100/- 12 Issues/year

11
 4 OUTLOOK MONEY Rs.50/- 12 Issues/year

5 OUTLOOK BUSINESS Rs.50/- 26 Issues/year

6 OUTLOOK TRAVELLER Rs.150/- 4 Issues /year

LUXE

These are 6 magazines which I have promoted during my Internship with well designed

Subscription Offers. OUTLOOK TRAVELER AND OUTLOOK WEEKLY was the best

selling magazines.

1.5 OBJECTIVES

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

To conduct a market study for Outlook Magazine in Delhi-NCR.

To assess he consumer perspective of Magazine with respect to price, content, and brand.

To understand the important factors and training procedures in the company.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES

Competitive analysis of Outlook Magazine and identification of probable destinations

where Outlook Magazines can be targeted.(generation of sales)

To suggest feasible and visible strategies to increase the sales of Outlook Magazines.

To improve the communication skills with the customers.

To study the overview of the marketing strategies and consumer satisfaction.

12
 1.7 OUTLOOK WEBSITES

 Outlookindia.com

 Outlookmoney.com

 Outlooktraveller.com

1. Outlookindia.com: In 1998, outlook went online as outlookindia.com; outlookindia.com

is both outlook magazines’ home on the internet and an online publication. Apart from

outlook’s print edition in its entirety-supplemented with links to related articles on its

own site. Outlookindia.com also offers an array of original web-only columns and news

updates every day with a very lively interactive section.

2. Outlooktraveller.com: Inaugurated as web resource in 2000, this travel website has since

come a long way. Outlook traveler began by opening up new vistas in web-driven

vacation planning, with its highly focused editorial features on an array of destinations;

from selecting your destination, to choosing our mode of transport, finding your way

around the map selecting a place o stay to catching the local festivities, plus feinting out

the nearest ATM, fuel stop or cybercafé. Here there is something for everyone; themed

vacation ideas from ‘A for adventure’ to W for wildlife’, honeymooners dream

destinations.

3. Outlookmoney.com: outlookmoney.com takes forward the philosophy and beliefs usher

in by intelligent investor (the personal finance magazine that was launched in the mid-

1998, now known as OUTLOOK MONEY). The site has six channels – Stocks, Mutual

13
 Funds, Loans Retirement Planning, Taxation and Insurance – that address broad areas of

the personal finance spectrum. Outlookmoney.com comes with many interactive tools.

1.8 PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES- CURRENT PRACTICES IN MAGAZINE

INDUSTRY

1. MEDIA AND MESSAGE STRATEGIES

An effective communication campaign should comprise of a well thought out message

strategy. What message are you trying to put across to your target audience? How will

you deliver that message? Will it be through the appropriate use of branding? Logos and

slogan design? The message will reinforce the benefit of the product and should also help

the company in the developing the positioning strategy of the product. Most of the

magazines convey their message to consumers by effective message strategies.

Media strategy refers to how the organization going to deliver their message. What

aspects of the promotional mix will the company use to deliver their message strategy.

Where will they promote? Clearly the company must take into account the relationship

and general behavior of their target audience before they select their media strategy.

What newspapers do they target market reads? What TV programs do they watch?

Effective targeting of their media campaign could save the company on valuable financial

resources. Media strategies are limited in case of magazines since most of them make use

of print media to convey their messages to their potential customers.

2. PUSH AND PULL STRATEGIES

A push strategy is where the manufacturer concentrates some of their marketing effort on

promoting their product to retailers to convince them to stock the product. A combination

14
 of promotional mix strategies are used at this stage aimed at the retailer including

personal selling, and direct mail. The product is pushed onto the retailer, hence the name.

A pull strategy is based around the manufacturer promoting their products amongst the

target market to create demand. Consumer pull the product through the distribution

channel forcing the whole seller and retailer to stock it, hence the name pull strategy.

Organizations tend to use both push and pull strategies to create demands for retailers and

consumers.

Magazines publishers and circulation managers make use of these strategies effectively to

increase their sales by means of incentives to the various distributors both the wholesalers

and retailers. They also try to maximize their customer satisfaction so as to create

voluntary sales. Public relations and media partnership are also used to improve customer

relationship and awareness which in turn can be converted into sales.

3. SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES – DIVERSIFYING AND MANAGING A

SALES PORTFOLIO

Sales promotion strategies are the most important and effective promotional strategies as

far as magazines sale and circulation are concerned. The magazine publisher use effective

use sales, forces and sources to increase their sales. In the ways, the sale sources are like

the stock portfolio. If we want to achieve the proper balance or blend to produce the best

return on your investment, we should not overspend in any one area, periodically,

weekly, monthly or quarterly we should revisit our portfolio to ensure that we are

achieving the desired results. And like a portfolio we will want to maximize our scarce

15
 resources by analyzing each sales channel to determine its cost per annual ABC unit and

the contribution of our average net paid circulation.

Of course another advantage to sales diversification is the ability to ‘pump up the

volume’ in a given sales channel to make up for a short fall in another. Another reason to

diversify: other order sources could become subject to restrictions- including door to door

sales and some internet sales effects. Products that have a broad mix of order sources are

positioned well for viability with least volatility.

The various sales channels available for our overall sales portfolio are:

i. CARRIER SALES:

While once thought of as only a sales source with youth carriers, adults now do much of

the selling in this channel. Rewards in the form of cash /gift cards (gas, oil changes) have

encourage this group to participate in sales efforts. High end contest with big-ticket items

like television, computer and trips also encourage participation.

ii. DOOR TO DOOR SALES:

Four to eight individuals go door to door and solicit subscriptions in a specified area or

neighborhood. One key is to ensure that the money is collected at the door. This increases

retention and reduces charge backs and potential abuses from crew team member. To

increase the odd success, use this sale channel after samples have been delivered to a

specific area. Crews come in many varieties, from traditional youth crews to more

polished, smaller crews made up of young adult’s dresses in business attire. This

approach may reduce the apprehension that people have in dealing with a stranger at the

16
 door. Because is sale source is used less in recent year, the tactics and approaches are

getting a makeover in the new era.

iii. DIRECT MAIL:

There are many variations but in most cases a creative mail piece, generally with a mail

back card, is produced and distributed to a large audience during a specific time frame.

This sale channel provides markers for chance to be creative and promote the benefits of

their product. Direct mail is generally a passive sales channel because it requires the

prospect to complete the call to action. There is a little sales pressure, so retention is

generally improved because a direct mail order is similar to a volunteer subscription start.

It is common to only get 1% response, however the high retention rate can make this a

valuable sales channel in our marketing mix.

iv. DIRECT RESPONSE BROADCAST (DRB):

Radio, TV and billboard campaigns can play the role in our marketing mix. These are

generally best used in the form of branding campaigns and will affect single- copy

purchases as well as subscriptions sales.

v. AREA SALES MANAGERS:

ASMs are often given a sales goal to acquire new subscribers, either by the week or by

the month. Sometimes carriers start as part of their goal as well.

vi. E-MAIL:

A list can be purchased through a list broker that has e-mail addresses and the demos you

want. The magazine will be able to target a particular audience with a tailored message.

17
vii. FREE STANDING INSERTS (FSIs):

FSIs utilize single sheets fed into-single copy and sample magazines with an attractive

offer and promotional design. This is similar to direct mail with the call-to-action in the

form of mail-back card. Many magazines insert once a week and will vary the day to

appeal to different readers. Be sure to track the results by offer as well as day of the week

to identify the best type and timing of inserts.

viii. FUNDRAISERS:

Many newspapers and magazines contract with a group, school or organization and have

them to sell subscriptions and renewals to their constituents and members to increase

funding for their project. The money you donate for each subscription sold is the

equivalent of a commission that you would pay to another source.

ix. KIOSK/INTERCEPT:

Kiosk/booths are set up outside or inside grocery stores, mass merchandisers,

convenience stores, department stores and events(wherever people gather), and a sales

presentation is made. In an effort to encourage people to stop, giveaways or raffles are

performed, or a sample newspaper or magazine is placed in the hands of prospects.

x. NEW MOVER PROGRAMS:

There are many ways to implement a new-mover program. All generally focus on

reaching out to movers within your market. This can be done through a third party and

involve other sales channels such as direct mail or telemarketing on a weekly basis, but

this will miss renters, and the information is not always timely.

18
 xi. ONLINE/INTERNET:

Subscription sales are made through banner ads, pop-up, text links and promotions to

people who visit the magazine website. Website serves as a great introduction to an area

for new movers- some who may not be in your market- thus providing the chance to lock

in a subscription before the customer moves into the market. This sales channel is gaining

speed as the world continues to move digital.

xii. RETENTION/CONVERSIONS:

Retention is not considered as a sales source, but it should be. That’s because the

retention operation within a magazine aids the acquisition process through verification of

orders, billing conversions, loyalty programs, upgrades, billing market pieces (gifts

subscriptions) ,billing reminder calls/letters/e-mails and stop-saver programs. In some

operations, retention staff may sell specialized promotions such as new mover orders.

They may also follow-up on samples. Unless 100% of your subscribers are on paid-in-

advance, lifetime subscriptions, the retention team should be considered whenever you

evaluate sales channel because of their ability to up sell.

xiii. TELEMARKETING:

Sales are made over the telephone through the use of call centers, both internal and

external. Telemarketing’s share of the mix is shrinking, due to many factors, including

the poor rate of retention associated with telemarketing orders, as well as regulatory

restrictions related to consumer privacy.

19
xiv. SAMPLING-THIRD PARTY WITH FSIs

Sampling is a sales channel that has gained popularity over the course of the past few

years. Sample copies of newspapers or magazines are paid for by the third party and then

distributed to non-subscribers in a targeted area or venue. The newspapers or magazines

have an acknowledgment insert or sticker notifying the consumer who paid for

newspapers. In addition, a free standing insert is delivered along with the newspaper or

subscription with a subscription offer.

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 CHAPTER-2

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In everyday life human being ha to face many problems viz, social, economical, financial

problems. These problems in life call for acceptable and effective solutions and for this

purpose, research is required and a methodology applied for the solutions can be found

out.

Research was carried out at Outlook Group to find out the “Customers preference

towards outlook business magazine on the basis of price, brand and content.”

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION:

a) PRIMARY DATA: Primary data basically consist of questionnaire. The following are

the steps which were used:

• For collecting the primary data a survey was done through questionnaire, which was

personally given to the customers and was filled through interacting with different

people.

• Studying the different types of products being offered.

• Finally analyzing the responses of various the respondents.

b) SAMPLE SIZE: The sampling is a process of selecting an adequate no. of elements from the

populations.

21
 In this project I used 2 sampling methods:

a. JUDGMENTAL SAMPLING:

It is a form of convenience sampling in which the population elements are selected based on the

judgment of the researcher.

b. RANDOM SAMPLING:

In this each element in the population has a known and equal chance of selection.

SAMPLING UNITS:

The customers/respondents who were asked to fill out the questionnaires are the sampling

units. They are total 40 respondents.

c) SECONDARY DATA: is data collected by someone other than the user. Common

sources of secondary data for social include censuses, organizational records and data

collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research.

Secondary data analysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and,

particularly in the case of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-

quality databases that would be unfeasible for any individual researcher to collect on their

own. In addition, analysts of social and economic change consider secondary data

essential, since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past

change and/or developments.

Secondary data was collected from following sources:

22
 • Magazines

• Newspapers

• Internet, etc.

23
 CHAPTER-3

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

3.1 MARKETING STRATEGY:-

A Marketing Strategy is composed of several interrelated components called the

marketing mix: the marketing mix consists of answers to a series of product and customer

related questions.

Marketing is a strategy used by companies to communicate with consumers and make

him knowledgeable about the various features of their products and services. It is an

essential part of attracting the target buyers to a particular product and companies use

various innovative or tried and tested techniques to Stay ahead of their competitors and

make their place in the market.

SALES:

OUTLOOK’S sales figures since 2010 are as follows:

2010-2011: Rs.136000

2011-2012: Rs.197000

2012-2013: Rs.280000

2013-2014:Rs.267000

24
 There was a decrease in sales in 2014 by 8%. This decrease in sales is due to the increase

in information boom i.e. there are approximately 25 news channels across the nations

which provide the same news and within a few minutes. For e.g. when there were bomb

blasts all the news channels provided the same news with videos clippings in no time and

so there was no pint in printing the same report after a week. People started losing

interest in reading and hence the sales started declining.

To overcome this loss the price of the magazine was increased from Rs.10 to Rs. 15. The

logic behind increasing the price even when the sales were declining was that fewer

copies sold at a higher price helped them to cope up with the losses.

COST COPIES SALES

10 100 1000

15 90 1350

The price was increased to Rs. 15 in the issue dated 15 th April 2003, and from then the

sales have established. According to Mr. Anand as far as it does not hamper the image of

the magazine’s image they don’t mind making changes in the price and quality.

DISTRIBUTION

The main distributor of outlook is India Book House (IBH) through which 746 agents are

directly tapped all over the country. Dadar is the main market in Mumbai, from where the

magazines are distributed to other parts of Maharashtra. Apart from Dadar the other

markets in Mumbai are: Andheri, Borivali, Navi Mumbai, Churchgate. 30% discount is

25
 given to the distributors and 20% discount to the news stand. If the distributor can sell the

magazines with a little return back they are given 5% return protection and if the

magazines are not sold, they are given 15% return protection.

3.2 MARKET SHARE AND POSITION OF THE COMPANY IN THE INDUSTRY

Print media in India is more than a century old and a well-establishment industry. The

print industry mainly comprises of newspaper and magazine publishing. Book publishing

is smaller but significant in terms of revenue. Even though it’s a mature industry, new

magazines are being launched every year. India has been one of the fastest growing world

economies since the past three years. Robust consumption and rising income levels have

helped the growth of print media. New titles that focus on niche topics continue to launch

in the market. The revenue sources for a magazine are subscription, single copy sales and

advertisement. Approximately 73% of revenue comes from advertising and 27% from

circulation.

3.3NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Understanding consumer behavior and knowing customers” is never simple. Customers

may say one thing but do another. They may not be in touch with their deeper

motivations.

“Consumers have more power than ever before”.

“Consumers have access more information than ever before”.

PROCEDURE ADOPTED

o Data Collection

o Data Processing

26
 o Data Analysis

o Conclusion

o Recommendation

DATA COLLECTION

a) Prepare a comprehensive list of prospective clients.

b) After the segments have been identified, a list of prospective clients is made in each

segment with the help of internet and telephone directory services. The list would consist

of all details of the clients including name, address, telephone number etc.

c) Gather information about a client and the key decision maker

d) This step consists of gathering information about the clients as to whether it is currently

taking any magazines and at what prices. Also the key decision maker in the company is

determined and his/her details are found out.

e) Take appointment.

f) The next step involves calling up the decision maker in the client organization and make

him interested in the product and taking an appointment with him/her.

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Q1. Have you ever renewed the subscription of Outlook Magazine?

Ans.

YES-27%

NO- 73%

27
 Subscriptions

27%

YES
NO

73%

FINDING:

Only 27% subscribers renewed their subscription, rest 73% has never renewed their

subscription, which means that somewhere there is less motivation for the re-buying

behavior.

Q2. Have you ever used the customer care service of outlook?

Ans.

YES-81%

NO-19%

28
 Customer Care Service
YES NO
19%

81%

FINDING:

81% consumers or subscribers have used the customer care service. It means that huge

number of customers have some or the other query. That gives an insight that the service

delivery is at question and certainly needs some improvement.

Q3. Which of the following magazines have you read?

MAGAZINES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Outlook Weekly 15 30%

Outlook Money 4 8%

Outlook Business 6 15%

Outlook Traveller 14 25%

29
 Outlook Traveller Luxe 1 2%

Outlook Hindi 10 20%

Sales
8%

30% 15% Outlook Money

Outlook Business
Outlook Traveller
Outlook Traveller Luxe
Outlook Hindi
Outlook Weekly

25%
20%

2%

FINDING:

50 Persons were surveyed on the basis of reading Outlook Magazines. In this above pie

diagram 15 persons read Outlook Weekly and out of 100 percent, 30% read Outlook

Business Magazine. This means that more persons are interested in Outlook Weekly

Magazines as compared to other Magazines.

Q4. How would you rate the experience of Query solution of customer care service

of Outlook?

30
 Ans.

Excellent-43%

Good-21%

Satisfactory-21%

Poor-10%

Very Poor-5%

Experience of customer care sevice

5%
10% EXCELLENT
GOOD
SATISFACTORY
43%
POOR
21% VERY POOR

21%

FINDING:

The Customer Care Service is excellent for only 43% subscribers. Almost 20% said good

and satisfactory. This gives an insight that up to some extent services are good, but when

carefully observed it came out that few queries solution need some time to get solved

which also become a reason for dissatisfaction among the customers who find this service

poor or very poor.

31
 Q5. Which magazine are you currently reading of Outlook?

Ans.

MAGAZINES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Outlook Weekly 14 25%

Outlook Money 5 10%

Outlook Business 16 35%

Outlook Traveller 5 10%

Outlook Traveller Luxe 5 10%

Outlook Hindi 5 10%

OUTLOOK MAGAZINES

10% 10% 25%

Outlook Weekly

10% Outlook Money

Outlook Business
10% Outlook Traveller

Outlook Traveller Luxe

35%
Outlook Hindi

32
 FINDING:

50 Persons were surveyed on the basis of reading Outlook Magazines. In this above pie

diagram 16 persons read Outlook Business and out of 100 percent, 35% read Outlook

Business Magazine. This means that more persons are interested in Business Magazines

as compared to other Magazines.

Q6. How would you rate the delivery service of Outlook magazines at your place?

Ans.

Excellent-20%

Good-25%

Satisfactory-20%

Poor-19%

Very Poor-16%

33
 Delivery Rate
30%

25%

20%
Delivery Rate
15%

10%

5%

0%
Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Very Poor

FINDING:

Product delivery service has got mixed response. Those customers who got their

magazines and gifts at time are satisfied or given the rating good or excellent. But the

customers who got the magazines or gift item one day late also has given the rating as

poor and very poor for thise who didn’t get any magazine or sometimes encountered no

gifts.

Q7. How would you rate the quality content of the outlook magazine?

Ans.

Excellent-41%

Good-35%

Satisfactory-22%

Poor-2%

Very Poor-0%
34
 100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50% Column1
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
EXCELLENT GOOD SATISFACTORY POOR VERY POOR

FINDING:

Outlook is a very big brand in itself. Any brand becomes popular for its Quality and

fulfillment of the perceived value of the brand. As there are so many competitors in the

media sector, this response for Outlook is really appreciative. 41% of respondents

responded as the Quality of Outlook is Excellent. It means still Outlook is giving great

competition to its competitors.

Q8. How would you rate the quality Competitiveness of our Outlook Magazine with

other Magazines, in the sense do they represent the best value for the total cost of

your subscription ownership?

Ans.

Excellent-35%

Good-39%

35
 Satisfactory-15%

Poor-10%

Very Poor-1%

RATE OF COMPETITIVENESS
1%

10%

EXCELLENT
35% GOOD
15%
SATISFACTORY
POOR
VERY POOR

39%

FINDING:

When surveyed most of the magazine readers suggested that the Performance of Outlook

is Excellent or Good or Satisfactory because the problems like Query solution or delayed

product delivery is the issue with all the known and reknowned magazines or newspaper.

It means with all the above covered issues. Outlook has maintained its position because it

give and satisfies the content need of the readers.

36
 Q9.How would you rate Outlook’s total Quality and Service Management to ensure

complete customer satisfaction Magazine?

Ans.

Excellent-16%

Good-39%

Satisfactory-31%

Poor-10%

Very Poor-4%

Sales

4%
10% 16%

Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Very Poor

31%

39%

FINDING:

This data provides the conclusion that still there is a lot of scope to improvise for Outlook

though it is performing well in the market and penetrating very rapidly. It could be a

market leader if it concentrates few aspects of customer satisfaction. Still 39% of

respondents responding it as good are not bad at all.

37
 Q10. What is the means of purchase for the magazine of your Interest?

Ans.

S.NO Frequency Percentage

News Paper Vendor 20 40%

Book Shop 25 50%

Subscription 5 10%

Total 50 100%

Sales
25%

News Paper Vendor

50% Book Shop
Subscription
4th Qtr

20%
5%

FINDING:

38
 According to above diagram 50 persons who were surveyed ,out of that 50 persons 25

persons have purchased from Book shop and 20 from News Paper Vendor and rest

through Subscription. From this it is clear that due to poor service people have not

purchase magazine through Subscription.

Q11. How would you rate overall Outlook Magazine?

Ans.

Excellent-10%

Good-40%

Satisfactory-35%

Poor-10%

Very Poor-5%

Overall Rate
40%

35%

30%

25% Overall Rate

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Very Poor

FINDING:

39
Outlook is a very big brand in itself. Any brand becomes popular for its Overall Rate. As there

are many other brands also for comparison.40% of respondents feel Good for its overall rate in

the business industry.

ON THE BASIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC RESPONDENTS

A) ON THE BASIS OF GENDER

FEMALE

MALE

MALE 41 79%

FEMALE 10 19%

CONCLUSION:

40
From the above pie chart we determined that 79% makes and 19% females read outlook

magazines. Males are more interested in reading outlook magazines as compared to females.

B) ON THE BASIS OF AGE

35-60
2%

25-35 19-25
39% 25-35
35-60
19-25
59% 60 above

AGES NUMBER PERCENTAGE

19-25 30 58%

25-35 20 38%

35-60 1 2%

60 AND 0 0%

ABOV

CONCLUSION:

41
 From the above graph we conclude that people who are in the age of 19_25 years are

more interested in reading outlook magazines.

C) ON THE BASIS OF OCCUPATION :

45%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
17%
15% 8%
10%
10% 12%
5%
6%
0%
TS
EN SS
UD IN
E CE
ST US
N ER
B RA NE O R
S
SU GI CT R
/ IN EN DO HE
NK OT
BA

OCCUPATION PERCENTAGE

STUDENT 8%

BUSINESS 45%

BANK/INSURANCE 10%

ENGINEER 17%

DOCTOR 12%

OTHER 6%

42
CONCLUSION:

From the above graph we conclude that people who are more interested in reading outlook

magazines have an occupation of business.

D) ON THE BASIS OF ANNUAL INCOME

ANNUAL INCOME

13%
less than 3 lacs
39%
18% 3-5 lacs

3-8 lacs

>8 lacs

30%

ANNUAL NUMBER PERCENTAGE

INCOME

Less than 20 39%

3 lacs

3-5 lacs 15 30%

5-8 lacs 9 18%

>8 lacs 7 13%

CONCLUSION:

From the above graph we conclude that who have the annual income less than 3 lacs are

more interested in reading outlook magazines.

43
 A good mix of different demographic segments is surveyed in order to maintain unbiased

results for the survey. It is also necessary to achieve desired level of result accuracy with

the given set of constraint (time, small sample size, resource etc)

PARAMETERS FOR SEGMENT IDENTIFICATION

PRICE OF THE PRODUCT

PRODUCT PROFILE

BENEFIT TO THE CLIENT

REQUIREMENT OF THE CLIENTS

PRICE OF THE PRODUCT

The price of the product determines in which segment that product will be sold

successfully. Therefore, it is the most important parameter.

PRODUCT PROFILE

The product profile determines the profile of its readers. Therefore for every magazine,

segments are identified based on its content as to whether the contents as to whether the

readers will be businessman, corporate people, students or housewives. Outlook being a

44
 business magazine targeted towards businessmen and people working in the corporate

world.

BENEFIT TO THE CLIENT

The segment should also be benefited based on the benefit that they will bring to the

client to strengthen their relationship with their customers. Hence, the segments that

should be targeted should be those organizations that are in a competitive field and look

forward for new and unique ways in which to communicate with their customers.

REQUIREMENTS OF THE CLIENTS

Outlook has certain company policies and the requirements of the client should be in sync

with those company policies.

For e.g.: Outlook does not take a bulk order for the number of copies less than 50.

Another is that the cover-on-cover option is not offered if the number of copies is less

than 1000.

ANALYSIS OF THE MARKET SURVEY THROUGH QUESTIONNAIRE

Awareness of the Outlook group magazines in the various segments targeted was found

to be 75% while rest 25% business client did not have any idea about the outlook group.

Most of the cover on cover magazines is sold to hospitality sector while the retail sector

showed the least interest as they have budget constraints and most of retail corporate

offices were outside NCR.

45
 Sale of the Outlook general magazine(Outlook English was found to be 4% on the PAN

India basis while India Today was leading by occupying around 14% sale of the

magazine.

Most of the cover on cover magazines were delivered to the people belonging to upper

middle income group(52%). While 27% of the magazines were delivered to the upper

class income group people.

Marketing budget of the business clients, 79% of the business clients who went for

promotion through cover on cover concept had the marketing budget between 1 to 5 lacs.

64% of the business clients went for multiple promotional tools at a time.(Hoarding,

Emails, Print media, etc.) while only 4% went for Hoarding, 10% went for only e-mailers

and rest 22% used only the print media.

Around 68% of the business clients either had an inbuilt ad agency in their company or

they hired the outside while 32% did not hire any ad agency.

46
 CHAPTER-4

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

4.1 CONCLUSION

Outlook company has been into business of selling magazines for years. It has been one

of the most popular magazines at some time during its year of existence. But of late its

market share has been showing the consistent fall. Market experts believe that the key

reason for the fall and market share is the fully supply chain management system of

Outlook. The order are not delivered on time and the promotional material are delivered

very that decreases the interest in the product which spread the negative attitude towards

the company. In marketing terminology this volatility in demand in market terminology

is called “BULL WHIP EFFECT”

4.2 BULLWHIP EFFECT

The bullwhip effect is an observed phenomenon in forecast-driven distribution channels. It refers

to a trend of larger and larger swings in inventory in response to changes in customer demand, as
one looks at firm’s further back in the supply chain for a product. The concept first appeared in
Jay Forrester's Industrial Dynamics (1961) and thus it is also known as the Forrester effect.
Since the oscillating demand magnification upstream of a supply chain is reminiscent of a
cracking whip, it became known as the bullwhip effect.

Because customer demand is rarely perfectly stable, businesses must forecast demand to properly
position inventory and other resources. Forecasts are based on statistics, and they are rarely
perfectly accurate. Because forecast errors are given, companies often carry an inventory buffer
called "safety stock".

Moving up the supply chain from end-consumer to raw materials supplier, each supply chain
participant has greater observed variation in demand and thus greater need for safety stock. In
periods of rising demand, down-stream participants increase orders. In periods of falling
demand, orders fall or stop, thereby not reducing inventory. The effect is that variations are
47
amplified as one move upstream in the supply chain (further from the customer). This sequence
of events is well simulated by the beer distribution game which was developed by MIT Sloan
School of Management in the 1960s.

4.3 CAUSES OF BULL WHIP EFFECT

The causes are divided into Behavioral and Operational causes.

Behavioral causes

 Misuse of base-stock policies

 Misperceptions of feedback and time delays
 Panic ordering reactions after unmet demand
 Perceived risk of other players' bounded rationality

Human factors influencing the behavior in supply chains are largely unexplored. However,
studies suggest that people with increased need for safety and security seem to perform worse
than risk-takers in a simulated supply chain environment. People with high self-efficacy
experience less trouble handling the bullwhip-effect in the supply chain.

Operational causes

 Dependent demand processing

o Forecast errors
o Adjustment of inventory control parameters with each demand observation
 Lead time variability (forecast error during replenishment lead time)
 Lot-sizing/order synchronization
o Consolidation of demands
o Transaction motive
o Quantity discount
 Trade promotion and forward buying
 Anticipation of shortages
o Allocation rule of suppliers
o Shortage gaming
o Lean and JIT style management of inventories and a chase production strategy

4.4 LESSONS LEARNT

Consequences
48
In addition to greater safety stocks, the described effect can lead to either inefficient production
or excessive inventory, as each producer needs to fulfill the demand of its customers in the
supply chain. This also leads to a low utilization of the distribution channel.

In spite of having safety stocks there is still the hazard of stock-outs which result in poor
customer service and lost sales. In addition to the (financially) hard measurable consequences of
poor customer services and the damage to public image and loyalty, an organization has to cope
with the ramifications of failed fulfillment which may include contractual penalties. Moreover,
repeated hiring and dismissal of employees to manage the demand variability induces further
costs due to training and possible lay-offs.

Countermeasures
In theory, the bullwhip effect does not occur if all orders exactly meet the demand of each
period. This is consistent with findings of supply chain experts who have recognized that the
bullwhip effect is a problem in forecast-driven supply chains, and careful management of the
effect is an important goal for supply chain managers. Therefore it is necessary to extend the
visibility of customer demand as far as possible.

One way to achieve this is to establish a demand-driven supply chain which reacts to actual
customer orders. In manufacturing, this concept is called kanban. This model has been
successfully implemented in Wal-Mart's distribution system. Individual Wal-Mart stores transmit
point-of-sale (POS) data from the cash register back to corporate headquarters several times a
day. This demand information is used to queue shipments from the Wal-Mart distribution center
to the store and from the supplier to the Wal-Mart distribution center. The result is near-perfect
visibility of customer demand and inventory movement throughout the supply chain. Better
information leads to better inventory positioning and lower costs throughout the supply chain

4.4 SUGGESTIONS

The group has its strong brand image but people are not aware of the magazines which

come under OUTLOOK GROUP should promote following brands:

a) OUTLOOK BUSINESS

b) OUTLOOK TRAVELLER

c) OUTLOOK WEEKLY

Group should design new systems to increase the efficiency of sales executive.

Group should promote its magazine at international level.

49
QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Which of the following magazines have you read?

 Outlook general

 Outlook business

 Outlook traveler

 Outlook traveler luxe

 Outlook hindi

 Outlook money

2. Which magazine are you currently reading of Outlook?

 Outlook general

 Outlook business

 Outlook traveler

 Outlook traveler luxe

 Outlook hindi

 Outlook money

3. which other magazine do you read?

ANS……….

4. Which is you favorite magazine of Outlook?

ANS…..

5. Which is your most favorite magazine of all the magazines you know or you have

read yet? Why? (describe briefly)

50
 ANS…..

6. What is the means of purchase for the magazine of your internet?

 News paper vendor

 Book shop

 Subscription

7. Does newspaper vendor give you any concessions on buying magazines from

him?

 Yes

 No

8. If your answer of Q no. 7 is Yes, then is that confession is more than or equal to

or less than the subscription chargers of the magazines?

 More

 Equal

 Less

9. Have you ever subscribed any of the Outlook magazines?

 Yes

 No

10. If your answer of Qno. 9 are Yes, then how many times you have renewed the

subscription?

 Never

 ….. specify the counts of renewal

Please tick the appropriate box to indicate you degree of satisfaction.

Where

51
  Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

11. You subscribed any of the outlook magazine through

 Online

 Relationship executive of outlook

 Directly filling up the form given in one of the outlook magazine.

12. If the answer ofQno.11 is option no.3 then,

When our relationship executives went to you, how would you rate their dealing

with you?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

13. Have you ever used the customer care service of outlook magazine?

 Yes

 No

14. If the answer of Q no. 13 is Yes, then how would you rate your experience of

query solution of customer care service of outlook magazine?

 Excellent

52
  Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

15. How would you rate the efficiency of your query solution related to outlook

magazine?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

16. How would you rate the delivery of the outlook magazine to your address which

would you have ever subscribed?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

17. How would you rate the quality of content of any of the outlook magazine which

you have ever subscribed?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

53
  Poor

 Very poor

18. How would you rate the competitiveness of our outlook magazines with other

magazines, in the sense do they represent the best value for the total cost of your

subscription ownership?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

19. How would you rate outlook total quality and service management to ensure

complete customer satisfaction?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

20. How would you rate overall outlook magazine?

 Excellent

 Good

 satisfactory

 Poor

 Very poor

54
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