Competitive Analysis Amongst The Business Dailies of India (Reader’s Point of View) by Satya for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan IMS under WBUT

1. A Project Report On
“Competitive Analysis Amongst The
Business Dailies of India
(Reader’s Point of View)”
Submitted By:
SATYABRATA GHOSH
12900912027
Under the Guidance
(Mr.Swarup Mondal)
INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
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2. DECLARATION
I am SATYABRATA GHOSH, student of MBA (Marketing) from
BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
SCIENCE, KOLKATA, for the session 2012-14, hereby declare that this project
report prepared in lieu of a compulsory paper for the partial fulfillment of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION (Marketing) is my original
work which I have submitted in BUSINESS STANDARD LIMITED, Kolkata
to my guide Mr. Swarup Mondal (Officer Market Development).
All the information and data in my project are authentic to the best of my
knowledge and taken from reliable sources.
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3. CONTENTS
SL. No
TOPIC
Page No.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
5
1
INTRODUCTION
6
2
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
8
3
BUSINESS STANDARD LIMITED - COMPANY PROFILE
15
4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
32
S
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
36
6
FINDINGS
43
7
SUGGESTIONS
44
8
LIMITATIONS
45
9
CONCLUSION
46
10
REFERENCES
46
ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE
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4
47

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Words are inadequate to express the overwhelming sense of gratitude towards
Business Standard Limited, Kolkata, for giving me the opportunity to carry
out this project in the company & extending me full co-operation enabling me
to complete this project report successfully.
I am highly indebted to Mr. Swarup Mondal (Officer Market
Development), and whole Marketing Development Department of
Business Standard Limited, Kolkata for providing me opportunity to work
under their kind supervision and for their continuous support & valuable
suggestions from time to time, which helped me enhance the features of my
project.
I express my deep sense of gratitude to my project guide Mr. S Mukherjee
and all faculty member of department of Marketing from Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan Institute Of Management Science (Kolkata) who have provided
me the theoretical background, theoretical methodology, noble suggestions,
constant encouragement and brilliant guidance which made me able to
present this project report, for which I am grateful.
Lastly, I pay my sincere regards to my parents, relatives, friends and wellwishers who encouraged me to complete this project report.
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5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
India is one of the few countries in the world to have many business newspapers,
which not only reflects the vitality and vibrancy of the media, but also the new
vitality of our economy. The large readership for these business newspapers
transcends from the rapidly growing corporate sector, it also illustrates the growing
interest that the general public now evinces in economic matters which reflect the
growing importance of business and economy in our national discourse.
Business newspapers focus mainly on business news, insightful views on significant
issues and comprehensive coverage of the stock market. They have the ability to carry
the message in greater detail and clarity, more in-depth information and analysis,
which helps companies and their business.
There is a huge scope of growth for Business newspapers in coming years as only a
paltry 0.1% of the population is reading business newspapers at present.
Newspapers reach only 35 per cent of our adult population even though the adult
literacy is about 65 per cent. To build this gap between readership and literacy and
also to remain competitive the publications have kept their prices low and depended
entirely on advertisers to subsidize the reader and to increase the sales. They are
using different strategies to attract the customers of different sectors.
In this report, a comparative study of various newspaper brands was done with
special reference to Business Standard on the basis of the following parameters:
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Brand Awareness
Brand Preference
Editorial Quality
Customer Service Quality
Reliability
Quality of content analysis
Layout and Design
News Coverage
Writing Style
Supplements

6. 1 INTRODUCTION
Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings
relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company. With the growing competition and easy
accessibility of products has made even more important for the marketers to keep on updating
themselves about the latest trends in marketing and keep coming up with innovative ideas, to survive in
the industry. For this purpose marketing research has become an important tool these days.
The study is aimed at providing vital information to Business Standard regarding steps to take to increase
readership against its competitors. The project involved creating awareness among public about Business
Standard, collecting information about Business Standard and its competitors based on certain
parameters and analysing the same to make suggestions on the possible steps that could be taken for
increasing the client base of business standard and promote loyalty among the customers towards this
daily.
The target customers for BS can be categorized into two broad categories: Individual buyers and
Institutional sector which includes colleges, B-schools, insurance companies, hotels, financial
institutions, IT companies, brokerage firms, manufacturing sector etc.
1.1
Rationale of the Study
The project report on Business Standard is made keeping in view the changing need of customers and
ever increasing awareness. As the number of newspapers being published in Indian market is increasing,
the competition is huge. When we talk about business newspapers, there are six prominent business
dailies being published in India. Among these The Economic Times is clearly in the lead in terms of AIR
by a huge margin. Under such circumstances and with no strong background unlike ET, it is very
difficult for newspapers like Business Standard to compete. But with a sound understanding of the
country demographics and emerging market trends it is possible to develop brand loyalty among the
target customers as shown by HT's business daily Mint which stands at no. 2 in terms of AIR. BB
stands at the third position as far as readership is concerned. But there is still a lot of scope of
improving its position.
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7. This project is a detailed research of the target customers of business dailies, their perception about the
prominent dailies, the attributes which they find the most attractive to have in a business daily, market
share of different dailies, SWOT analysis and potential growth opportunities of Business Standard. So in
this project I have done a research analysis where in I have analyzed how company offers great deal of
its products and what is the satisfaction level of customers which ultimately helps finding market
potential for Business Standard.
1.2
Objectives of the Study

To identify the target market for business dailies

To estimate the newspaper brand preference among the target customers

To study different business dailies on the basis on certain attributes

To suggest steps for Business Standard to increase its share in the newspaper market
1.3
Importance of the Study
The study involves a comparative analysis between Business Standard and other prominent business
dailies in Delhi. The study will help BSL know the readers' opinion about Business Standard and what
they expect from a business daily. It will help Business Standard Ltd to find out its weak points in
comparison to other prominent business dailies and implement the necessary steps to improve its market
share, especially in Delhi.
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8. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1
Overview of the Print Industry
Printing Industry encompasses numerous fields of every economy. Printing Industry generates a wide
range of products which require in every step of our everyday life. Starting from Newspapers,
Magazines, Books, Post Cards to Memo Pads and Business Order Forms each are the products of
Printing Industry. Other than the direct contributions, there are many indirect influences of Printing
Industry up on the economy. This is because, all the activities like Binding, Embossing which generate
considerable amount of income and employment are related closely with the Printing Industry.
Packaging industry and Advertising Industry in many ways depend on the Printing Industry.
In the Printing Industry, the main Printing Techniques that are used are:





Lithography - This technique emphasizes on economical use of color.
Flexography - This technique produces vibrant colors and is used for printing newspapers and books.
Gravure - This technique is famous for Print Quality and Print Formats and is mainly used for product
printing to be used in Packaging industry.
Letterpress - This technique is used when printing is done on raised surfaces.
Screen Printing - This technique is mainly used to print designs on fabrics.
2.2
History of Indian print industry
Indian print media is at a massive business in the media world and its newspapers are said to offer
majority of national and international news. The history of newspaper in India began in 1780, with the
publication of the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta,
James Augustus Hickey is considered as the "father of Indian press" as he started the first Indian
newspaper from Calcutta, the Calcutta General Advertise or the Bengal Gazette in January, 1780. In
1789, the first newspaper from Bombay, the Bombay Herald appeared, followed by the Bombay
Courier next year (this newspaper was later amalgamated with the Times of India in 1861).
The first newspaper in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali. The first issue of this
daily was published from the Serampore Mission Press on May 23, 1818.
The first Hindi newspaper, the Oodunt Marchand began in 1826. Since then, the prominent Indian
languages in which papers have grown over the years are Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil,
Telugu, Urdu and Bengali.
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9. 2.3
Printing Industry in India
Print industry in India is the world's second largest with over 90 million copies in circulation daily after
China with 130 million copies in circulation daily. Most newspaper has an online presence and a
growing view counts on their portals. Much of the entertainment and media segments are now focusing
on growth in regional areas and smaller towns. Year 2009, a year when there was a slowdown, the
regional print showed growth in local to local advertisement. In 2010, (regional print further increased
its share in overall print advertisement revenue pie. Regional papers give advertisers access to localized
populations and their niche target audience, difficult to do via national broadcast media. Newspapers
have realized value and have gone one step further and have launched area specific newspapers.
Magazines have not been at their best performance in past few years. However, niche magazine are
doing well and is expected to show positive growth. The major challenge faced by this segment of
media and entertainment industry is newsprint which continues to threaten profitability. Newsprint
forms a major component of the cost of publishing a newspaper. It is roughly 40 -50 percent of the total
cost.
The Indian language papers have taken over the English press as per the latest NRS survey of
newspapers; the main reason being the marketing strategy followed by the regional papers, beginning
with Eenadu, a Telugu daily started by Ramoji Rao and the second being the growing literacy rate.
Increase in the literacy rate has direct positive effect on the rise of circulation of the regional papers.
The people are fiat educated in their mother tongue as per their state in which they live for e.g. students
in Maharashtra are compulsory taught Marathi language and hence they are educated in their state
language and the first thing a literate person does is read papers and gain knowledge and hence higher
the literacy rate in a state the sales of the dominating regional paper in that state rises.
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10. Newspaper Categories
While most newspapers are aimed at a broad spectrum of readers, usually geographically defined, some
focus on groups of readers defined more by their interests than their location: for example, there are
daily and weekly business newspapers and sports newspapers. More specialists still are some weekly
newspapers, usually free and distributed within limited areas; these may serve communities as specific
as certain immigrant populations, or the local gay community.
o
Daily
A daily newspaper is issued every day, sometimes with the exception of Sundays and some
national holidays. Saturday and, where they exist, Sunday editions of daily newspapers tend to be
larger, include more specialized sections and advertising inserts, and cost more. Typically, the
majority of these newspapers' staff work Monday to Friday, so the Sunday and Monday editions
largely depend on content done in advance or content that is syndicated. Most daily newspapers
are published in the morning. Afternoon or evening papers are aimed more at commuters and
office workers.
o
Weekly
Weekly newspapers are common and tend to be smaller than daily papers. In some cases, there
also are newspapers that are published twice or the times a week. In the United States, such
newspapers are generally still classified as weeklies.
o
National
Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the whole country: a national
newspaper, as contrasted with a local newspaper serving a city or region. In the United Kingdom,
there are numerous national newspapers, including The Independent, The Times, The Daily
Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Express and The
Daily Mirror. In the United States and Canada, there are few national newspapers. Almost every
market has one or two newspapers that dominate the area. Certain newspapers, notably The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today in the US, and The Globe and Mail and The
National Post in Canada are available throughout the country. In India, newspapers like the Times
of India, The Hindu, and the Hindustan Times are extremely popular and have large reader bases.
Large metropolitan newspapers have also expanded distribution networks and with effort can be
found outside their normal area
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11. o
International
There is also a small group of newspapers which may be characterized as international newspapers.
Some, such as The International Herald Tribune, have always had that focus, while others are
repackaged national newspapers or "international editions" of national-scale or large metropolitan
newspapers. Often these international editions are scaled down to remove articles that might not
interest the wider range of readers.
As English became the international language of business and technology, many newspapers
formerly published only in non-English languages have also developed English-language editions. In
places as varied as Jerusalem and Mumbai, newspapers are printed to a local and international
English-speaking public. The advent of the Internet has also allowed the non-English newspapers to
put out a scaled-down English version to give their newspaper a global outreach.
Some of the National Newspapers of India:
English Dailies
 The Times of India
 Hindustan Times
 The Hindu
 The Deccan Chronicle
 The Telegraph
 The Statesman
 Daily News and Analysis
 The Pioneer
 The Economic Times
 The Tribune
 The Indian Express
 Deccan Herald
 The New Indian Express
 Asian Age
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12. Business Dailies
 Business Standard
 Economic Times
 The Financial Express
 Mint
 The Hindu Business Line
Hindi Dailies
 Dainik Jagran
 Dainik Bhaskar
 Hindustan
 Prabhat khabar
Newspapers in India are measured on two parameters:
 Circulation
Circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations which is an industry body. It
audits the paid-for circulation of the member newspaper companies
 Readership
Readership is estimated) by two different surveys, The Indian Readership Survey (IRS)
and the National Readership Survey (NRS).
Supplements
Apart from the most obvious gains in terms of being able to have access to local, national and
international products and services via advertisements, supplements play a very crucial role in
fostering a spirit of in depth probing amongst the reading populace. In contrast to the main paper,
which pre-dominantly enlists hard facts and figures, a supplement allows the reader to pursue newer
perspectives for it provides the space for a more detailed analysis. The delightfully eclectic mix of
topics covered in supplements, written in a more florid but fluid language, with the accompaniment
of visually appealing graphics, manages to sustain a reader's attention for a longer period of time. It
works more on the lines of infotainment, where readers are bombarded with colossal amount of
information on gadgets, books, music, movies, theatre, automobiles, shopping and real estate, local
news and celebrity gossip, food and health and much more in a more engaging and relaxed mode.
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13. All the upcoming events and workshops can easily be listed in a supplement for a reader's quick
perusal. Supplements are more interactive in the sense that it always invites the reader to participate
in niche subject-specific crosswords, Sudoku, amusing quizzes, quirky sms polls and other enjoyable
contests with attractive gift vouchers. It is not an exaggeration to state that a lot of consumers buy
specific newspapers only to get hold of their favourite supplement for the latest book or movie
review by their much loved columnists or to read tips on how nurse a break-up or how fix a hair-loss
disorder by some expert. By their inherently local nature, readers feel much closer to newspaper
supplements which serve the purpose of an all-encompassing guide to all their daily necessities,
business and pleasure. They also possess a certain literary merit and hone a reader's aesthetic
sensibilities. Some newspapers supplements, by virtue of their smart design and content have
become larger than the main newspaper they are affiliated to and have replaced the need of a book in
times of tedium. Pull outs like t2 in The telegraph {Kolkata), Brunch in Hindustan Times, Expresso
and Zeitgeist in The New Indian Express, Metroplus in The Hindu and Education times and Times
life of The Times of India are supplements readers swear by.
2.4
Growth Scenario of the Print Industry
About 5,000 newspapers, 150 of them major publications, are published daily in nearly 100
languages. Over 40,000 periodicals are also published in India. The periodicals specialize in various
subjects but the majority of them deal with subjects of general interest. During the 1950s, 214 daily
newspapers were published in the country. Out of these, 44 were English language dailies while the
rest were published in various regional languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with
209 English dailies. The total number of newspapers published in the country reached 35,595
newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies). In 2007, newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22%.
By 2007, 62 of the world's bestselling newspaper dailies were published in countries like China,
Japan, and India. India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007, making it the second
largest market in the world for newspapers.
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14. The Indian print media industry is expected to grow by 9.6 per cent over the period 2010-15. The
print industry is expected to grow from Rs 128 bn in 2006 to Rs 232 bn by 2011, at 12.6% CAGR,
While the newspaper industry is estimated at Rs 112 bn, the magazine segment is valued at Rs 16 bn.
The newspaper industry is also projected to perform well for the next five years growing at a CAGR
of 10.1 per cent according to a report titled "India Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011" by
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Indian print industry is growing strong and is expected to grow similarly
while the global print industry is moving towards digitalization and showing a negative growth rate
year on year.
The bright future and the immense scope of the Indian print media have also aroused the interest of
foreign investors and recently the government has opened up the sector to foreign investment.
Foreign media has also shown interest in investing in Indian publications. The revenues for India's
newspaper market are generated from advertising and circulation. India's growth rate in this segment
is poised to be higher than the average rate of growth in the Asia-Pacific region over the next four
years.
2.5
Trends in the Prim Industry
Printing Industry Trends has been very significant over the years. This trend is actually the force that
is determining the future of Printing Industry. The digital technologies and their innovative
applications have changed the entertainment sector considerably, especially the content production
and its quality. Internet has also emerged as the latest revenue stream and has become one of the
fastest growing advertising medium and has made a significant impression on the entertainment
industry.
The increasing use of Internet in the publishing world has brought a revolution in the Printing
Industry. Remote Distribution of Data and Variable Data Printing has been possible by the use of
Internet. The special ability of Internet of distributing large quantities of data to diverse locations
bridged the gaps of Printing Industry. Earlier, almost all printing work was used to be done through
press. But, in today's world of technological advancement, many printing work is done from
customer's home printer.
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15. Internet publications have opened a new horizon for printing industry. The Publishing Companies
are realizing that it is better to distribute data through Internet in the first step and to print them in the
second step. This is because if they carry out the traditional process of firstly printing and then
distributing then it may generate much more costs. So, in this context, the biggest challenge faced by
the companies which operate through Printing Press is of lowering costs.
The pressure of lowering costs has risen more because of the recent technological advancements
which have invented the concept of e-commerce. E-Commerce has lowered administration costs and
the proofing time. To keep pace with these emerging technologies, the Printing Industry has now
concentrated on Digital Printing. But this advent of technology in the field of printing is killing the
Cottage Print Industry, According to survey, the number of companies in the cottage print industry is
going to decline sharply within 2010. But as a whole we can say that Printing Industry has already
ridden a growth wave through technological innovations and further growth can come only through
new innovations and high level of productivity.
In many developed countries newspaper circulation is falling due to social and technological
changes such as the availability of news on the internet. On the other hand, in some developing
countries circulation is increasing as these factors are more than cancelled out by rising incomes,
population, and literacy.
2.6
Government Initiatives
The Government has initiated the following measures:
 The government has allotted 4J5$ 50.13 million in the current Five-Year Plan (2007-2012)
for various development projects for the film industry. The funds will be utilised to set up a
centre for excellence in animation, gaming and visual effects
 To offer better audio quality and sharper picture to millions of its viewers, public broadcaster
Doordarshan plans to go completely digital by 2017.
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16. According to the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy document released by the
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Government of India, foreign investment, including foreign direct investments (FDI) and investment
by non-resident Indians (NRIs)/person of Indian origin (PIG)/foreign institutional investor (FII), up
to 26 per cent, is permitted for publishing of newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and
current affairs under the Government route.
The Consolidated FDI Policy document brings forth the following guidelines for the M&E
industry:
 Terrestrial Broadcasting FM (FM Radio): Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and
PIO investments and portfolio investments are permitted up to 20 per cent equity for FM
Radio's Broadcasting Services with prior approval of the Government subject to such
terms and conditions as specified from time to time by Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting for grant of permission for setting up of FM radio stations,
 Cable Network: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO investments and
portfolio investments are permitted up to 49 per cent for cable networks under
Government route subject to Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 and other
conditions as specified from time to time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(I&B).
 Direct-to-Home: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO investments and
portfolio investments are permitted up to 49 per cent for Direct to Home under
Government route, within the limit of 49 per cent, FDI will not exceed 20 per cent. This
will be subject to such guidelines/terms and conditions as specified from time to time by
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B)
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17.  The total direct and indirect foreign investment including portfolio and foreign direct
investment in Head end-In-The-Sky (HITS) Broadcasting Service shall not exceed 74
per cent. FDI upto 49 per cent would be on automatic route and beyond that under
government route. This will be subject to such guidelines/terms and conditions as
specified from time to time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) FDI
policy in the Up-linking of T~1 Channels is as under.
 Foreign investment of FDI and FII up to 49 per cent would be permitted under the
Government route for setting up Up-linking HUB/ Teleports. FDI up to 100 per cent
would be allowed under the Government route for lip linking a Non-News & Current
Affairs TV Channel; Foreign investment of FDI and HI up to 26 per cent would be
permitted under the Government route for Up-linking a News & Current Affairs TV
Channel subject to the condition that 48 the portfolio investment from FII/ NRI shall not
be "persons acting in concert" with FDI investors, as defined in the SEBI(Substantial
Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997
2.7
Market Share of Business Dailies
Source: Indian readership Survey 2011
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18. 2.8
Prices of Business Dailies
Business Dailies
Economic Times
Price
Mon-Fri : Rs. 3
Sat & Sun : Rs. 10
Mon-Thurs : Rs 3
Mint
Fri & Sat : Rs. 4
Business Standard
Mon-Fri : Rs. 4
Sat & Sun : Rs.8
Mon-Fri : Rs. 4
The Financial Express
Sat : Rs. 6
Sun : Rs. 8
Business Line
Mon-Sat : Rs. 4
Sun : Rs. 5
Source: Interacting with newspaper vendor
3. BUSINESS STANDARD LIMITED - COMPANY PROFILE
3.1
History
Started in 1975 by the Ananda Bazar group in Calcutta, Business Standard hived off as a separate
company in 1995. Business Standard is the second largest read among Business Dailies, a position
which has been reconfirmed by the DM54 and 5 studies, According to the syndicated study
conducted by AC Neilson-ORG¬MARG, Business Standard has emerged as the second most
preferred amongst Business Dailies.
This rapid expansion phase of Business Standard started after it was bought by a Mumbai-based
financial investor who launched a new edition. The Financial Times of London took 13,85% equity
stake in Business Standard limited in the year 2004 but sold it back to Kotak group in 2008.
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19. Mr. T. N. Ninan was editor from 1993 to 2009 who's one of the India’s best-known and most
respected business journalists, who was earlier editor of he Economic Times. In January 2010, Ninan
became chairman and editorial director of BSL and was succeeded as editor of Business Standard by
Sanjaya Baru.
The regular panel of columnist consists of
 Bimal Jalan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India
 Shankar Acharya, former chief economic advisor to the Government of India
 Deepak Lai, professor of economics, UCLA
 Suman Bery, director-general. National Council of Applied Economic Research
 Abheek Barua, chief economist of HDFC Bank
 Nitin Desai, former chief economic advisor and former under-secretary general at the United
Nations
 Surjit Bhalla, chairman of OXUS
 Arvind Subramanian, professor at the Peterson Institute for International Economics
 Nl, Govinda Rao, director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
 AV Rajwade, foreign exchange consultant
 Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors
3.2
Background
Business Standard is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by Business Standard Ltd (BSL)
in two languages, English and Hindi. Started in 1975 in Kolkata by the Ananda Publishers group,
Business Standard was hived off as a separate company in 1996.
It was then bought by Mumbai-based financial investors led by the Kotak Mahindra Bank, after
which began a phase of rapid expansion with the launch of new editions.
It is published from 12 centers - Murnbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmadabad,
Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi and Bhubaneswar.
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20. 3.3
Mission and Vision
Vision
“Providing information that creates wealth and enriches lives,”
Mission
“To deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees and society at large”
3.4
Content
 Comprehensive and in-depth analysis of business news.
 BS 200- Covering the most traded stocks with evaluation across 22 parameters.
 4 full pages focusing totally on stocks and mutual funds.
 4 pages everyday of finance and commodity news, providing insights you can act on for half
the BS 200 companies.
 2 pages of investment advice and articles to manage personal finance every weekday.
 Thought provoking editorial opinion that is highly regarded for its unbiased viewpoint and
refreshing originality.
 BS is published Monday to Saturday in all locations.
 On Sundays, the paper is published from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata & Bangalore.
 Extensive coverage of the markets has been BS's forte and is eagerly consumed by investors big and small. To cater to needs of the retail investor, special focus has been provided in the
form of extensive coverage on Personal Finance and a dedicated page on investing (The
Smart Investor).
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21. Content Overview:
Content
Editorial Property
Frequency
International News
Financial Times Page
Daily
Lifestyle, Luxury &
Gizmos
Corporate News
Business Life
Daily
Companies
Daily
Policy & Analysis
Issues & Insights
Daily
Regional News
Accent
Daily
Social enterprises
Every Monday
Logistics
Every Monday
Business Education
Every Monday &
Thursday
ICE World
Every Tuesday
SME World
Every Wednesday
Power Zone
Every Wednesday
Real Estate
Every Friday
BS Motoring
Every Saturday
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Transportation
Business & Logistics
Management Education
& Training Avenues
Initiative By Business
Schools
It, Telecom &
Entertainment
SME Business
Human Relation
Real Estate-Market
Scenario &
Opportunities
Automobiles &
Ancillary Segment
3.5
Editorial Quality
BS boasts of some of the best economic journalists and counts contributions from internationally
acclaimed columnists.
Mr. T. N. Ninan, India's best known economic journalist is the Chairman and Editorial Director
The Editorial team is lead by Dr. Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to the prime minister. Mr. A.
K. Bhattacharya, Group Managing Editor is a former editor of The Pioneer and associate editor of
Economic Times.
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22. Regular columnists include many reputed names such as:
Pranab Bardhan
Professor of economics at university of California
Surjit Bhalla
Chairman, Oxus Investments Economics, Politics &Cricket
Bimal jalan
Ex- Gov RBI.
Nitin Desai
Ex UN under secretary General
Gurucharan Das
Author
Indira Rajaraman
Member of Finance Commission
Ajit Ranade
Aditya Birla group chief economist
3.6
Reader Profile
 Business Standard is read by the decision makers & policy makers.
 A premium product read by the Creme de la creme of corporate India.
 The reader is upscale, influential and mobile.
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23. 3.7
Shareholders of Business Standard
3.8
Production Chain
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24. 3.9
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Circulation Chain

25. 3.10
Product profile
The sections in a Business Standard daily are broadly divided into 2 sections:
 Section I
 Companies
 Economy
 Finance
 Rest of the news
 Take Two
 Issues and Insights
 Opinion
 Brand World
 World
 Section II - The Smart Investor





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The Smart Investor
Commodities
Personal Finance
Stocks
BS200

26. Business Standard Supplements:
 The Smart Investor (Every Monday)
 The strategist (Every Tuesday)

A sought after weekly supplement, the strategist appears every Monday.

Covers issues on management & marketing. Analyses critical issues through case studies.

Rich in content, the strategist relies heavily on highly researched articles so that the reader
gets a complete understanding of the subject.
 Weekend (Every Saturday)

"BS Weekend" Covers the topics of lifestyle, Art, Travel, Portraits of wealthy people, Real
Estate, Golf, Book reviews among others.

A perfect way to start your weekend knowing the leisure's of life.
Business Standard Magazines (Annual):
 The Fund Manager - Covers the high points and performances of Mutual Funds. An annual
guide to smartly invest in mutual funds. Includes profiles of top fund managers.
 Banking Annual - Performances of the banking sector. Annual ranking of banks, exploring the
mantras adopted by top-rated banks to succeed.
 BS 1000 - A guide to India's top 1000 companies. An annual reference book on corporate
performance. Analyses and rates top 1000 listed companies.
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27. Marquee: A Lifestyle Product

The tabloid theme is devoted to luxury and lifestyle as a general principle; Luxuriant
lifestyles, Premium real estate and holidays, Luxury cruises and Watches, Fashion, Cars,
Hotels and Spas, Jewellery, golf, accessories, imported furniture, exotic cuisines, quality
spirits, office equipment, Home Interiors & home entertainment systems.

The magazine targets the super-rich & the affluent who make a style statement with the
luxury buys is circulated quarterly with Business Standard in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore.
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28. 3.11
Competitors' Profiles
3.11.1 The Economic Times
The Economic Times is published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was
started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than
8,00,000 people, The Economic Times is published simultaneously from 11 cities-Mumbai,
Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahemeda bad, Nagpur, Chandigarh, and
Rune.
The Economic Times has its offices in Mumbai at THE TIMES OF INDIA building, Dr. D. N. Road.
Its main content is based on the Indian economy, International finance, share prices, prices of
commodities as well as other matters related to finance. The founder- editor of the paper when it was
launched in 1961 was P.S. Hariharan. The current Editorial Director of The Economic Times and ET
Now is Rahul Joshi.
The Economic Times is characterized by its salmon-pink paper. It is sold in all major cities in India,
In June 2009; it also launched a television channel called ET Now.
Editors






1960s and 1970s: PS Hariharan (1961-1964), DK Rangnekar (1964-1979)
1980s: Hannan Ezekiel, Manu Shroff (1985-1990)
Early to mid-1990s: T. N. Ninan, Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar
Late 1990s: Jaideep Bose
2004: Rajrishi Singhal and Rahul Joshi
2010 to present: Rahul Joshi and Rohit Saran
Supplements
 Brand Equity (Weekly): a weekly colour supplement that appears every Wednesday, which
covers marketing, advertising, media and market research. Edited by Ravi Balalarishnan and
Vinod Mahanta.
 Corporate Dossier is a supplement that appears every Friday along with The Economic
Times, aimed at the CEOs of corporate India, with a special focus on management and
strategy. Edited by Vinod Mahanta.
 ET Travel is a weekly all-colour supplement which covers travel and tourism aimed at the
burgeoning band of Indians who want to see and know about their country and the rest of the
world, through Indian eyes.
 ZigWheels is a weekly all-colour supplement covering all aspects from the auto industry
from new launches and trends to ancillaries and personalities.
 ET Realty: a real estate supplement
 ET Wealth: a personal finance weekly newspaper.
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29. Special Edition
The Economic Times on Sunday was revamped and now dons a new format, style and regular
features on great personal content in 2011. The fresher edition hosts a variety of material not found
during the weekdays. The special edition on all Sundays contains, namely: "what's news", "news in
numbers", "behind the news", "spotlight", "cover story", "expert view", "economy", "centerspread",
"travel guider', "food & drink", "recommended" and finally "feel smart''. "Feel smart" generally
hosts a "Cocktail Conversations" article which describes a definite difference between terms,
objects, persons and abstract views which are normally considered to be the same. It also contains
"Behind the Lines" which gives a brief crisis that had occurred in the past, explains the crisis and the
solution derived and finally gives an overview in the form of a lesson.
3.11.2 HT Mint
Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with The Wall Street
Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news publication aimed at decision makers and
policy makers of the country and it is the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner
format, the current Editor of the newspaper is R. Sukumar.
Stance and editorial Opinion
Mint's editorial stance and opinion emphasizes both the left-liberal and center-right outlook. Its
editorial sections have been left-liberal on social and political issues with unconditional support for
minorities over uniform application of the law. On economic matters its opinions have expressed
faith in free markets and economic liberalization in general but have fallen short of the libertarian
ideals. On free-speech matters, the paper has lent qualified support for freedom and has generally
taken the position of the Congress Party.
Mint carries a short and crisp editorial piece on the front page titled "Quick Edit" while the longer
opinion pieces titled "Our View" and guest opinion pieces titled "My view" or "Their Views" are
carried by back pages.
Style
The design of the Mint newspaper is geared towards presenting business and financial information in
a compact format. The format itself was designed by Mario R. Garcia, who has also been associated
with the re-design of the Wall Street Journal.
Features
Along with the print edition, Mint also has specialized online and mobile editions which can be
accessed at "www,livemint,com". Livemint,com is among the fastest growing news websites in India
and it attracts more than 1.5 million readers every month, majority of whom are decision makers in
29 | P a g e

30. leading business organizations across the world. It is widely considered to be the most
comprehensive and technically evolved news portal in the country that has introduced many
multimedia enabled engagement platforms which give its readers the opportunity to express their
point of view and interact with Mint's editors and columnists.
The weekend edition of the publication is called "Lounge" and it features columns on travel, fashion,
arts, personal technology, parenting, and health.
Mint Supplements
 Mint Lounge
Lounge is the weekend edition of Mint. Every Saturday, Lounge presents a visually engaging
look at the "Business of Life". With articles on Travel, Gadgets, Fashion, Books, Culture,
Parenting and Food, the editors and columnists of Lounge bring the perfect work-life balance to
the week.
 Mint Money
Mint Money is a daily section on Markets & Personal Finance that comes inside Mint. Through
its researched and analysed content, Mint Money helps its readers develop an understanding of
how various financial products and markets work. It provides clear and credible coverage across
the entire gamut of investment products - Equities, Mutual Funds, smart money managers.
 Mint Indulge
Mint Indulge is the Luxury and Lifestyle quarterly publication. A complimentary read for Mint's
readers across India, Mint Indulge focuses on the passions & indulgences of India's top business
leaders and serve as their best buying guide for the season. Mint Indulge showcases the most
aspirational international brands which look at India as a promising market to drive the next
growth wave for them.
3.11.3 The Business Line
The Hindu Business Line is published by Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of the newspaper The
Hindu located in Chennai.
History
Business Line started publishing in 1994. Published as a broadsheet, it has a circulation of around
185,000 copies. Circulation of Business Line on Sunday is higher than other days. Business Line is
published from 14 locations: Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata,
30 | P a g e

31. Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai,Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.
Its Editor-in-Chief is Mr. N. Ram and the Joint Editor is Mr. K. Venugopal. Its staff consists of
reporters and researchers. It is the only paper having a research bureau.
Pricing
It is priced at Indian Rupees 4 on weekdays and Saturdays and Indian Rupees 5 on Sundays. While
other newspapers like The Economic Times and The Financial Express price their Saturday and
Sunday editions at Rs. 8 to Rs.10, Business Line has traditionally priced the paper same throughout
the week. Other Business newspapers like Mint and Business Standard don't publish on Sundays.
3.11.4 The Financial Express
The Financial Express is published by the Indian Express group since 1961. The FE specializes in
India and international business and financial news.
Launched in 1961, India's oldest financial daily, The Financial Express, is today one of the leading
newspapers in the country. Part of The Indian Express Group, the newspaper publishes eleven
editions in English from leading cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Murnbai and Pune. It also has an edition in Gujarati,
published from Ahmedabad. The newspaper has offices across the country and is headquartered in
Delhi.
Content
The Financial Express has supported the eventual breakdown of the arbitrary control-based system
that characterized the Indian economy to its emergence as a free market enterprise with accent on
merit. The paper espouses the same position in its coverage of international developments. The
position is based on a careful observation of the way economies have evolved in the past few
decades. This is also known as a championing of the free market position. The FE columns and
editorials articulate this opinion succinctly, The FE edit page columns are therefore the most widely
read pieces among all business publications in India. Besides, the newspaper has an exclusive tie-up
with The Financial Times and The Economist of London to carry its articles all days of the week on
an exclusive co-branded page and the op-ed page.
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32. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research, how it proceeds, how to measure
progress and what constitute success with respect to the objectives determined for carrying out the
research study. Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may
be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various
steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic
behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques but
also the methodology. Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices or tests,
how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard deviation or chi-square, how to
apply particular research techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods these
methods or techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate and
why.
Steps in Market Research:
1. Planning and Research.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Defining the problem
Sampling the plan.
Preparing questionnaire.
Deciding the area of research
2. Field Work.
a) Asking question to sample selected.
b) Data collection.
3. Planning Report.
a) Analyzing the data collected.
b) Report preparation.
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33. 4.1
Research Design
Research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection of and analysis of data in a manner
that aims to combine relevance to research purpose with economy of procedure.
Research designs are of the following types:





Descriptive
Diagnostic
Causal
Experimental
Exploratory
In this project, descriptive type of research design has been used.
4.2
Research Objectives
The research objectives for the project involve identifying the target market for business dailies in
India; estimating the newspaper brand preference among the target customers; identifying the critical
success factors for business dailies in India and finally suggesting a strategy for Business Standard to
increase its share in the Indian newspaper market by rating Business Standard on the identified
critical success factors.
4.3
Research Approach
Qualitative as well as Quantitative approach has been used for this research. But the stress was
basically on the quantitative approach.
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34. Quantitative approach
Quantitative data involves the generation of data in a quantitative form which can be subjected to
analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.
Qualitative approach
It is concerned with subjective assessment of opinions and behavior.
4.4
Sources of Data
The research has been carried out using a combination of primary and secondary data.
Secondary Data
When first considering how to answer their research questions or meet their objectives few
researchers consider initially the possibility of reanalyzing data that have already been collected for
some other purpose. Such data are known as secondary data. Secondary data include both
quantitative and qualitative data, and they are used principally in both descriptive and explanatory
research. Secondary data has been collected through Articles, Reports, Journals, Magazines,
Newspapers and Internet.
Primary Data
Information which is generated the first time and is fresh is called "primary data" and it is generated
by four main methods viz. observation, experimentation, interviewing and estimation. The primary
data can be collected through telephone, interviews, group interviews, mail surveys and self
administered questionnaire. What is the need for collecting the Primary data after collecting the
secondary data? If, after seeking all reasonable secondary data sources, research questions are still
not adequately answered, the researcher may question the target respondents to get appropriate
information.
 Primary Data Source - Questionnaire, Observations and formal interaction with customers.
 Secondary Data Source - From magazines and websites.
4.5
Sampling Method
Sample Unit
The sample unit is management student & professors, corporate professionals, chartered accountants,
investors (stock brokers), businessmen and retired professionals.
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35. B-School Students and Professors – 30
CA-5
Investor (Stock Broker) - 13
Other salaried professionals – 30
Businessmen - 19
Retired - 3
Sample Size
The sample size for the survey is 100. The sample was stratified according to the above mentioned
sampling unit.
Sample Area
Various regions within Kolkata.
Sampling Technique
The process employed to select the sample was simple random sampling. Simple random sampling
refers to that sampling technique in which each and every unit of the population has an equal and
same opportunity of being on the sample. In simple random sampling, which item gets selected is
just a matter of chance.
4.6
Limitations
 The study was completed in 45 days which is not sufficient time to do an exhaustive survey.
 As the market being very huge it was not possible to cover each and every area.
 The sample size chosen is limited to 100 respondents; the study may not be applicable to the
entire market.
 There is a possibility of biased answers from the respondents; hence the information
collected might not be accurate.
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36. 5. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
5.1
Descriptive Statistics
5.1.1
Gender
Q. What is your gender?
Out of the 100 respondents, 61 were male and 39 were female.
5.1.2 Age groups
Q. What is your age group?
The respondents chosen for the survey were mostly young, 57 falling in the age group 20-30.
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37. 5.1.3
Occupation
Q. What is your current occupation?
5.1.4 Have you ever read Business Standard?
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38. 5.2
Business Daily Mind Share
Q. When we talk about business newspapers, which one comes to your
We can clearly make out that Economic Times has the highest mind share among the respondents.
Business Standard comes at no. 2 followed by Mint. The margin between ET and Business
Standard's mind share is quite large i.e. 44 respondents.
Interpretation: This data shows that Business Standard needs to create more brand awareness
through promotional offers and events. They can also have advertisements placed on websites and
blogs related to business, finance, economy etc. Creaking more brand awareness through promotion,
innovation, schemes and events would lead to increase in customer base and proper customer service
would increase customer loyalty. This is a long term process which would lead to increase in mind
share among the target customers.
5.3
Readership
Q. Which business newspaper(s) do you read?
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39. *One respondent may read more than 1 newspaper so the total no. of readers might be greater than
100 (the total no. of respondents)
In temps of readership, among the sample, ET has the highest no. of readers which is 60 followed by
Mint which has 35 readers. Business Standard comes at no. 3 with 29 readers.
Interpretation: ET has a huge share of readership owing to the already well established base of TOI
(Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) in India while Mint is a newspaper from HT Media's stable. This
well established distribution network and popularity is where newspapers like Business Standard
lack out. But still BS is at third position and by following a proper marketing strategy they can target
overcoming Mint's market share in the shorter run and ET's market share in the longer run.
5.4
Online/Offline preference
Q. Which form of the newspaper do you prefer?
Out of the 100 respondents, 76 prefer the traditional paper form of the newspaper while 24 prefer the
online form.
Interpretation: Though the no. of online readers appears to be much less in comparison to the
traditional paper-form readers, it must be noted that this result has come from the survey of just 100
respondents. If we take 24% of the total no. of business daily readers in India,, then that would be a
large number. Though the market of people who read the paper form or will read the paper form in
the future is quite large in India, the no. of people reading dailies on the internet is bound to increase
with growing household incomes and increasing adaptation to the mobile platform. Thus, it is
imperative to maintain and enhance online presence to cater to readers who prefer the online form.
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40. 5.5
brand
The Relationship between time since reading newspaper and preferred newspaper
Q. For how long have you been reading the selected newspaper?
In the following chart, we have divided each duration newspaper wise:
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41. 5.6
What readers read
Q. Which section of a business daily does you like the most?
Interpretation: From the above data, we find that most of the readers in the sample prefer to read
news on stock market, personal finance and economy. As Business Standard has a separate section
on stock market and personal finance, it is at an advantage here. There is also a fair no. of reader for
International Business, personal finance, editorial and corporate news.
5.7
Most liked Section in BS Daily
Q. Which section(s) of Business Standard do you like the most?
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42. 5.8
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the
objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are
favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective.
 Strengths: characteristics of the business, or project team that give it an advantage over
others
 Weaknesses: are characteristics that place the team at a disadvantage relative to others
 Opportunities: external chances to improve performance (e.g. make greater profits) in the
environment
 Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or
project
STRENGTHS
 Top notch editorial quality - the content is compiled by highly reputed economic journalists
and internationally acclaimed columnists.
 Reach - Published from 12 regional centers across the country
 Rated the best in terms of quality of content and in-depth analysis by most of the readers
 High Reliability of news
 Wide variety and coverage of news
 The Smart Investor - special section for news on the stock market, finance and investment
advice
 Wide collection of periodicals - weekly, monthly and annual supplements including
magazines dedicated to management - Indian Management and Asian Management Review
WEAKNESSES






Lower brand awareness and mind share among target customers
Strictly traditional format which might be less appealing to the youth
No dedicated supplement on Realty
Customer Service issues like delayed delivery of newspaper in some cases
Sunday Edition published only from 4 centres
No parent brand unlike the case of ET (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) and HT Mint (HT
Media Ltd.)
 Financial constraints
 Distribution network issues
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43. OPPORTUNITIES
 Expanding online presence - The Business Standard website receives 1.5 million unique
users per month, the highest for any "stand alone" newspaper website in India. In January
2010, BSL launched smartinvestor.in, an information-cum-trading website for those
interested in the stock market.
 ET's editorial quality was criticized by some reader. This provides an opportunity to Business
Standard provided it continues to maintain the high standard of its editorial quality.
 Sponsoring of events in B-schools, trade shows
 Local news coverage, zonal supplements and reader specific supplements
 Insurance, investors, brokers, IT companies
THREATS
 Competitors - Strong establishment of Economic Times, backed by the Times Group and
growing popularity of HTs Mint, especially among the new generation of business news
enthusiasts. Close competitors like The Financial Express and The Hindu Business Line are
also a threat
 Presence of other media like television, radio, internet
6. FINDINGS
 The survey data shows that Business Standard is one of the best in terms of quality of
content, analysis, insights, editorial quality and supplements.
 Business Standard's supplements are one of its main strengths as they cover a wide range of
subjects. But there is still scope for improvement.
 Most of the chartered accountants and stock market investors/brokers consult Business
Standard for its news on the stock market and personal finance which it provides through its
special section - the Smart Investor.
 Business Standard is more popular among the higher age group of readers. But its popularity
among the youth is also increasing.
 Business standard is lagging behind in terms of brand awareness and service quality in some
areas.
 Majority of the respondents read ET. Economic Times has the benefit of Times of India's
vast distribution channel because of which it is able to save more distribution expenses.
 It was pointed out by some ET readers that ET's editorial quality has gone down. Errors can
be found in some articles. Also, the ad content is more than it should ideally be.
 Apart from Economic Times, a large no. of young respondents prefer to read Mint because of
its unique format (Berliner format) combined with high quality of analysis in a compact
form.
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44. 7. SUGGESTIONS
After completing the study I have some humble suggestions for the company which may help in
future:
 Newspaper Format/Appearance: Business Standard has probably the best quality of
content and analysis which is a must for building customer loyalty among serious business
news readers. But the newspaper's appearance is strictly traditional. The rising popularity of
His Mint can be credited in part to its unique format which provides news in a compact form
and with a different writing style. So. Business Standard could try restructuring its format so
as to appear different from other newspapers and attract younger readers.
 Redesigning of Supplements: Supplements in Indian newspapers are fast moving towards
assuming a tabloid format in terms of shape and design citing portability as the biggest
factor. People tend to carry around their papers as they rush out for work on mornings. A
broadsheet is not exactly what one can open up without elbowing out the passenger in the
seat beside. The Mint is probably the first Indian newspaper to adopt the Berliner format as a
standard look for the main paper as well as the supplement, combined with great editorial
content. Newspaper supplements or newspapers on the whole are becoming more
"magazineified."
 Zonal Supplements: Business Standard could launch zonal level supplements to absorb
zonal level ad content and attract more customers. The zone specific supplements would
offer more response to relevant ads at a lower price over national papers.
 Reader Specific Supplements: Amongst so many choices of newspapers and supplements,
readers would prefer the newspaper brand which provides them with content-rich, reader
specific supplements. E.g. supplements on IT, Realty etc.
 More Brand Awareness: Business Standard Ltd. should focus on improving their marketing
strategy to create more brand awareness. There should be more emphasis on advertising and
promotional programs like business quizzes, B-School Promotion etc. at management
institutions located in the city.
 Writing Style: Business news by its very nature is dry and serious most of the times. But this
is where ET and Mint have taken advantage by making news interesting to read. So, BSL
might try modifying their writing style to attract more readers from the younger age groups.
 Customer Retention: The Company should focus on retention of customers because getting
a new customer is more costly. Feedback should be taken from existing customers on an
ongoing basis and the changes suggested should be incorporated.
 More Advertising: BSL should intensify its advertising and promotional campaigns to
spread more brand awareness among the target customers as it is relatively newer to the
market and doesn't have a strong background unlike ET and Mint.
 Sunday Edition: Business Standard should start its Sunday edition with some better
strategies than its competitors who is charging more on the Sunday edition.
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45.  Quality of Service: The Company should improve quality of service. They can start a
customer care department to deal with the service issues faced by the readers.
 Quality Control Equipment should be in place to ensure highest quality of printing and in
order to stand up to the international players which might consider entering the Indian
market.
 Distribution: Business Standard uses Eenadu's distribution channel for distributing
newspaper to its customers but still there are cases where subscribers either do not receive
their copy or start receiving their copy late after completing the subscription process. So, they
should concentrate on the optimization of the distribution channel of the newspaper so that
the newspaper reaches the customer door-step early. They can increase the number of centers
from where the newspaper is available and improve the distribution system. The Sunday
edition should be printed at more centers to meet the requirements of readers who want to
have a Sunday edition.
 Corporate Tie-ups: As most of the readers of Business Dailies are in corporate Business
Standard can go for corporate tie-ups with public and private sector units.
 Co-branded Content: Business Standard can have tie-ups with its competitors and
international news agencies. More co-branded news content would increase the reliability
and market value of the BS brand. E.g. The Financial Express has an exclusive tie-up with
The Financial Times and The Economist of London to carry its articles all days of the week
on an exclusive co-branded page and the op-ed page.
 Promotional Offers & Schemes: The promotion offers and schemes that are introduced by
Business Standard are not enough to motivate the agents to sell the newspaper. Attractive
schemes should be launched to attract new customers. E.g.: Formation of Business Standard
club for brand loyalty, subscription schemes for 3 & 6 month durations and cheaper combo
schemes like both Hindi and English editions at a reasonable subscription price.
 Relationship with Vendors: The management can design a Vendor Relationship
Management Program and should come up with some motivational offers and scheme for the
vendors, so that they feel motivated to push Business Standard from their side and help in
increasing the sale.
8. LIMITATIONS





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Limitation of time - the project was done over a period of around 45 days.
Limitation of sample size - only 100 respondents.
Geographical constraints - only certain regions within Delhi, NCR were covered.
Lack of co-operation from some respondents.
While filing the questionnaire the readers may not have provided 100% accurate information
because of their personal biases.

46. 9. CONCLUSION
After analysing the market and conducting the survey, I came to know that Business Standard is a
highly reputed reliable business newspaper which has the potential to become the leader in terms of
market share. It is the choice of serious business news readers who admire it for its high quality of
content and in-depth analysis. It is also growing in popularity among the youth.
Most of the readers rated Business Standard the best in terms of parameters like quality of content &
analysis, reliability, supplements and editorial quality. But still, changing a customer's choice is a
difficult job. Also, BS doesn't have an already established sister brand, unlike the case of ET (TOI)
and Mint (HT), which have the advantage of a well-built brand awareness.
HT's Mint is the only newspaper in India which has adopted the Berliner format. It provides its
readers with in-depth analysis in an easy to read form. This is why it is becoming increasingly
popular among the young readers.
Quality of service is indispensible for retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Here,
Business Standard is found to be lacking behind its competitors.
The newspaper is asking people to invest most precious commodity - their time. Therefore they have
to create an image that there is something important inside the newspaper. Business Standard has
built such an image through its unshakeable quality but what is needed is to continuously listen to
the customers' grievances and work towards building a better product.
10. REFERENCES

http://www.google.com/

http:// www.wikipedia.com/

http://www.business-standard.com/

http://www.economictimes.com

http://www.livemint.com/

http://www.financialexpress.com/

http://www.businessline.in/

http://www.bestmediainfn.com/2011/10/irs-q2-2011-top-business¬dailies/

http://www.economywatch.com/world-industries/printing/
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47. QUESTIONNAIRE:
NAME
:
GENDER
:
AGE
:
OCCUPATION :
CONTACT NO :
When we talk about business newspapers, which one comes to your mind first?






Economic Times
Business Standard
Mint
Financial Express
The Hindu Business Line
Other
Which business newspaper(s) do you read?






Economic Times
Business Standard
Mint
Financial Express
The Hindu Business Line
Other
Which form of the newspaper do you prefer?


offline (Paper form)
Online (e-paper)
For how long have you been reading the selected newspaper?




47 | P a g e
Upto 3 months
3-6 months
Upto 1 year
More than 1 year

48. Have you ever read Business Standard?


Yes
No
Which section(s) of business standard do you like the most?












Companies
Economy
Finance
Take Two
Issues and Insights
Opinion
Brand World
World
Smart Investor
Personal Finance
Commodities
Stocks
Where do you think Business Standard needs improvement?
Please specify……………………………………………..
Thanking You…………………..
48 | P a g e