SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT ON

A STUDY ON CONSUMER SATISFACTION OF

OUTLOOK MAGZINE SUBSCRIBERS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Award of
Degree of Master of Business Administration

2015-2017

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

MR. ANOOP KUMAR GUPTA
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)

SUBMITTED BY:
ASHISH KUMAR
02318403915
MBA 3A

MAHARAJA AGRASEN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Approved by AICTE, HRD Ministry, Govt of India
Affiliated to G.G.S.I.P. University, Delhi
PSP Area, Plot No. 1, Sector 22, Rohini, Delhi 110086
1

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this Project Report titled A Study On Consumer Satisfaction Of Outlook
Magazine Subscriber submitted by me to Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of Technology is a
bonafide work undertaken during the period from May-June 2016 by me and has not been
submitted to any other University or Institution for the award of and degree diploma / certificate
or published any time before.
Ashish kumar
02314803915

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that as per best of my belief the project work done on A Study On Consumer
Satisfaction Of Outlook Magazine Subscriber is a bonafide research work carried out by
Ashish kumar student of MBA, MAIT, Rohini, New Delhi June-July 2016 in partial fulfillment
of the requirement for the Summer Training Project of the Degree of degree of Master Of
Business Administration.
He has worked under my guidance.

Mr. Anoop kumar gupta

(Assistant professor )
Date:

Counter signed by:

Director
Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With profound sense of gratitude and regard, I express my sincere thanks to my guide and
mentor, for his valuable guidance and the confidence she instilled in me, that helped me in the
successful completion of this project report. Without his help, this project would have been a
distant affair.
His thorough understanding of the subject and professional guidance was indeed of immense
help to me.
I am also greatly thankful to the faculty members of our institute who co-operated with me and
gave me their valuable time. Acknowledgement

Ashish kumar

Table of Contents
CHAPTERS

TOPIC

Plan of the Research

Introduction
Objective of the study

Literature Review

PG.NO

Company Profile (with its SWOT Analysis)

Research Methodology

Universe & Sources of data

Sample size

Methods of data collection- testing of questionnaire

Tools and techniques of analysis

Instrument used

Data collection and Analysis

Findings and Conclusion

Suggestions/ Recommendation

Bibliography, Glossary

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Executive Summary
Overview as a whole.
Industry Profile.

PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Origin of the organization

Management team.
History of the organization
Magazines names
Media services
Competitors
Product Portfolio
Advertising Rates

DISCUSSION ON TRAINING

Work profile.
Key learning.

STUDY OF SELECTED RESEARCH

PROBLEM

Research methodology
Approach to the problem
Research questions and hypothesis

ANALYSIS

SWOT Analysis
Analysis of data and findings

PROCESS

Sales Process

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Marketing is very necessary for every organization. It helps organizations in determining what
product and services may interest customers and also strategies for use in product development,
sales and promotions.
The Project STUDY OF OUTLOOK SUBSCRIBERS SATISFACTION is an attempt to find
out the factors and causes which affect the degree of satisfaction among the customers of
Outlook Magazines. In this tough time of competition magazines industry is going a long way in
developing, formulating and implementing promotional strategies to cope up with this tough
competition. Though there are many aspects which can be improvised in the services of Outlook
magazine. Strategies are formulated not only keep up with cut throat competition but also to
meet the highly volatile consumer preferences.
There are several factors which influences the purchase. These factors may be internal and
external as well. Internal factors include perception towards the thing, knowledge about product,
purchasers attitude, lifestyle, motivational status etc. Motivation is the driving force which
comes into play when customer has better experience with the product. This leads to the
repurchase decision of the customer. Whereas external factors include culture, group or peer
influence, the situation in which purchase is made etc.
Questionnaires were prepared and market survey was conducted and then evaluation of primary
data is done.
The analysis revealed that there are some factors e.g. the customer perceived value and value
preposition when meets leads to customer satisfaction .If that is consistent then leads to customer
loyalty. That is the key factor of customer retention etc. which affect the purchase of magazines
of Outlook group.
It also revealed the fact that there is a small opportunity of improvement in the area of quality of
content and promotional schemes. The customers agreed upon the fact that gifts are good in
quality but they added that these promotional schemes can be more attractive.

VISION AND MISSION

Vision:
Leadership through empowering individual thought.

Mission:
To be the largest and the most profitable magazine publisher in India.

INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY
There are the two main sources of obtaining data to determine readership of any publication:

National Readership Survey NRS

Indian Readership Survey IRS

Here we have some surveys on the basis of market segmentation on all media include newspaper
buyers.

National Readership Survey is a survey on all media, but especially the print medium,
conducted by the National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) - supported by Audit
Bureau of Circulation (ABC), Advertising Agencies association of India (AAAI) &
Indian Newspapers Society.

It investigates the readership of about 80 major Indian publications-dailies, weeklies, bi-weeklies

and monthlies-in over 475 towns of 57 regions across the length and breadth of the country. The
towns, selected, however are publication centres of dailies. By process of systematic sampling.
It claimed to be the most thorough readership survey in the country. It provides exhaustive data
(available to its clients on computer disks) readership, radio listener ship profile-the socio
economic characteristics of the readers of various publications, of cinema and TV viewers, and
of listeners to radio, as well as the degree of duplication among publications and between media.
Research agencies involved are: IMRB, TNS Software Mode, AC Nielsen in collaboration with
ORG.
9

Indian Readership Survey is conducted by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC). IRS
2007 is the largest continuous media survey ever conducted (sample size of 229,000 individuals)
providing a single-source database for demographics, media habits and product / brand usage
across 986 towns and 2858 villages in India. The survey was conducted over two rounds with the
field work between November 2007 and November 2008.
This all-India survey conducted jointly with the Media Research Users' Council (MRUC) also
provides product / brand penetration information for over 50 different products allowing one to
link media habits and product usage data for adults and children from the age of 12 years.
Both NRS & IRS
Gives media consumption habits, product ownership & consumption, lifestyle indicators
information on Psychographic, macro demographic & geographic parameters.
Population coverage: 12 years & above
Sample size: over 500
Geographic coverage: Delhi region

According to NRS 2015,

Press adds 34 million readers in the last 2 years,
Press continues to grow, adding 21 million readers between 2012 and 2015,
Over the last 3 years the number of readers of dailies and magazines put together among those
aged 15 years and above has grown from 179 mm to 200 mm - a growth of 4% every
year. (Note: Recently the scope of NRS has been expanded to include those aged 12 years and
above but the 15 years age cut-off has been applied for the sake of comparison with NRS 2002.)

10

There is still significant scope for growth, as 314 million people who can read and understand
any language do not read any publication. It is not just affordability that is a constraint, since 21
million of these literate non-readers belong to the upscale SEC A and B segments.
According to IRS 2015,
Just when it seemed the print media was booming once again, the Indian Readership Survey
2015 Round 1 has pricked the bubble. There are few newsmagazines that have seen any growth
most see erosion in readership Retains its No 1 position among newspapers with 19.07 million
readers it separates Danik Jagran from others just because of its different market segmentation
among customers, Danik Bhaskar follows second with 14.57 million, and Daily Thanthi is third
with a readership of 10.23 million. Amar Ujala is still at four with 9.89 million readers.
Malayala Manorama (9.35 million) and Hindustan (9.72 million) have interchanged positions at
number five and six. Lokmat, Eenadu, Mathrubhumi and Times of India take the seventh, eighth,
ninth and tenth spots with 8.10 million, 7.94 million, 7.65 million, and 7.08 million readers,
respectively. TOI is the only English daily to find a place in the top 10. Except for Amar Ujala
and Hindustan, every other publication in the top ten list has experienced a marginal decline in
readership.
For the IRS 2006 R1 an annual sample size of 2.4 Lakh was covered spread equally over two
rounds. A total of 1,178 towns and 2,894 villages were surveyed. The data represents fieldwork
during the full year Jan-Dec 2005. The mid-point of the survey is June 1, 2005. Being a
continuous survey, the reporting takes place every six months based on a Moving Annual Total.
Among magazines, Saras Salil (Hindi) leads the pack with a readership of 7.36 million. A distant
second is Kungumam (Tamil) with 3.76 million, followed by Vanitha with 3.52 million readers.
India Today English is fourth with a readership of 3.51 million. Grihashobha (Hindi) has moved
up a notch to number five, and is followed by Tamil weekly Kumudam, India Today Hindi,
Malayala Manorama, Tamil weekly Anand Vikatan, and Hindi monthly Meri Saheli.
Kungumam , Anand Vikatan , and Meri Saheli and newcomers in the top ten list.

11

Most English dailies have seen a fall in readership, though on the whole any English daily
readership has shown an increase from the 17,396,000 in IRS 2005 R2 to 17,435,000 in IRS
2006 R1. Both the top two ? the Times of India and Hindustan Times have seen a decline with
the former dropping from 72.87 lakh to 70.84 lakh and the latter from 35.21 lakh to 35.08 lakh.
Third-placed Hindu has increased its readership marginally from 27.87 lakh to 27.97 lakh.
Deccan Chronicles too has growth from 10.14 lakh to its current 11.32 lakh. The Telegraph
(10.82 lakh), Mid Day (7.37 lakh), Deccan Herald (6.04 lakh), the Indian Express (5.65 lakh),
the Tribune (4.83 lakh), the Statesman (4.22 lakh), the Assam Tribune (3.45 lakh) all have seen
fall in readership.
Among English magazines, number one India Today has dropped by 10 per cent from 38.99 lakh
to 35.09 lakh. Sister concern Readers Digest too has seen a 12 per cent fall and is at 23.06 lakh
from 26.37 lakh. Filmfare has seen one the steepest falls its readership fell 21 per cent to 16.71
lakh. Outlook has dropped by 11 per cent and is at 11.44 lakh. Stardust, too, has dropped and is
currently at 10.95 lakh in comparison to the 13.11 lakh in the previous round.
From womens magazines , Femina , Womens Era, Cosmopolitan, New Woman, Elle and Savvy
to special interest titles like The Sport star , Auto India, Overdrive, Outlook Traveler, Capital
Market, Living Digital, all have seen a dip in readership, with some titles like PC Quest and
Junior Science Refresher dropping by almost 23 per cent.
According to the survey, the number of households has grown by 1.4 per cent over 2005 to reach
210 million. Individual growth rate has been slightly lower than household growth rate at 0.85
taking the total 12 yrs + population to 784 million. With single age-breaks now available from
the Census, the age group data has been realigned. The proportion of the total share of 20-29 age
group has declined from 25 per cent to 23.6 per cent.
The data shows that the reach of mass media has stagnated in the last three years. Press reach has
been hovering around at 24 per cent, TV at 55 per cent, radio at 21 per cent, and Internet at 1.5
per cent at the all India level. In urban India, press and TV have declined. The press reach
declined from 42.9 per cent in 2004 to 41.7 per cent in 2006. Though TV declined from 80.2 per
12

cent to 78.9 per cent in the last three years, C&S has shown some growth, from 53.5 per cent in
2004 to 54.4 per cent in 2006
The main source of revenue for any publishing group is advertising. An advertiser would like to
know the facts and figures before investing his money in advertising. And before investing the
money, the advertiser ought to know how many people buy which publication in which area. The
ABC gives all these vital facts every six months. The ABC figures are not the outcome of
opinions, claims or guesswork, but they are the result of rigid, in-depth and impartial audits of
paid circulations of member publications by independent and leading firms of Chartered
Accountants working in accordance with the rules/procedures set by the Bureau.
With more than 30 years of experience, Outlook Group provides a range of packaging products
and direct marketing solutions for commercial and industrial clients. Its products include
stickers, postcards, coupons, game pieces, puzzles, labels, cartons, blisters and mailers. The
company's products are used for packing DVDs, CDs, electronic appliances, and coffee and food
items. It offers foil stamping, embossing, die cutting, folding, gluing, shrink wrapping, hand
assembling, contract manufacturing, pouch making, digital printing and sampling services. The
company additionally provides design consultation, engineering, project management, product
fulfillment, Web portal design, warehousing, distribution and transportation services. It offers
packaging solutions under the Micro Liner brand. The company serves the foodservice,
entertainment, health care and beverage industries. Outlook Group is a member of the Contract
Packaging Association and the Wisconsin Manufacturer Association.
In a recent survey conducted by the outlook Company the Delhis leading provider of
marketing information and audience measurement Living Digital is perceived to be a very
interesting magazine providing the latest news and reviews.
Content wise, the magazine is seen to have excellent product reviews.

INTERESTING

96%

LATEST INFORMATION

96%

GOOD PRODUCT REVIEWS

98%
13

RELEVANT INFORMATION

88%

COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT -

91%

EASY TO UNDERSTAND

91%

VALUE FOR MONEY

92%

COVERS VARIETY OF TOPICS -

94%

EXPERT OPINIONS

90%

HELPS IN PERSONAL
-

84%.

DECISION MAKING

According to IRS 2015 Q1, Topline Findings ,outlook magazines came under top 10 english
magazines in 2014-15,and it got 5th position in it.

14

Objective of the study

To study the satisfaction of subscribers of Outlook magazine.

To study delivery service of outlook magazine.

To understand the concept of customer satisfaction.

To identify new segments and listing out potential customers.

15

HISTORY

Outlook is an Indian weekly and monthly newsmagazine in publication since October 1995.
Mr. Vinod Mehta has been the founding editor-in-chief. Since its inception, investigative
16

reporting has been the forte of the magazine. Outlook has also spawned the specialized
magazines Outlook Traveler, Outlook Money, and the Hindi Outlook .
Outlook has been famous for many of its sensational stories like the "Kargil Bungle" and the
"Match Fixing controversy" but many view its editorial tilt as being against the right like the
RSS, often highlighting opposing sections in negative light.

Achievements
Dept. Of Tourism, Government of India Award, National Tourism Award 2001-2002
awarded to Outlook Traveller for excellence in publication.
Outlook Traveller 100 Holidays in The Hills won the 2004, PATA Gold Award.
Weekend breaks from Mumbai was in the Bestsellers list in Top Three for 8 consecutive
weeks in West India.

INTRODUCTION OF THE ORGANISATION

Outlook is an independent weekly general interest English News magazine published in India.[It
features contents from politics, sports, cinema, and stories of broad interests. It was first issue in
October, 1995 with Vinod Mehta as the Editor in Chief
Mr. Rajan Raheja is the owner of Outlook group .The headquarter of outlook is situated in New
Delhi. Other branches of outlook are in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Krishna Prasad is an Indian journalist and Editor-in-Chief of the national news
magazine Outlook. He also publishes the popular blog , Churumuri. He is known for having
exposed match-fixing in Indian Cricket along with Aniruddha Bahal.

17

MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT TEAM

Here is the list of management team members of OutlookNAME

DESIGNATION

SURESH SELVRAJ

VICE PRESIDENT

INDRANIL ROY

VICEPRESIDENT

ALOK MATHUR
ANUP DWIVEDI
SYSTEM

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT

GENERAL MANAGER, PRODUCTION AND

VIDYA MENON
MANAGER,ADVERTISING

GENERAL

GAURAV VASHISHT

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER

HIMANSHU PANDEY
DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL HEAD, BUSINESS

ALEX JOSEPH

NATIONAL HEAD, RETAIL

GITANJALI SINGH

NATIONAL HEAD, MARKETING

18

COMPETITORS OF OUTLOOK MAGZINE

Here are the list of Outlook competitors-

HOME MAGAZINE

COMPETITORS

OUTLOOK MONEY

MONEY TODAY

OUTLOOK BUSINESS

BUSINESS ECONOMY,BUSINESS
TODAY

OUTLOOK TRAVELLER

TRAVEL TODAY

OUTLOOK HINDI

SAPTAHIK

OUTLOOK PROFIT

NO COMPETITORS

MARIE CLAIRE

COSMO,FEMINA,NEW
WOMAN,VOGUE

NEWS WEEK

TIMES (Worlds leading international

news magazine)

OUTLOOK (ENGLISH)

INDIA TODAY

BREIF ABOUT OUTLOOK MAGAZINES

19

Outlook have different magazines according to the segment of customers,they are as follows:

Outlook business

Outlook money
20

Outlook geo

Outlook people

Career 360

Marie Claire

Outlook

Outlook Hindi

OUTLOOK BUSINESSIt is a fortnight magazine, and it having news about business as a whole.
OUTLOOK MONEY
Outlook money is a fortnight magazine. Outlook money basically quotes how to manage
money. It includes report on stock market, investment, financing, spending and earning
,retirement schemes etc ,in short it has topic related to personal finance,
OUTLOOK GEO
It is monthly magazine of outlook and includes all about knowledge and history.
OUTLOOK TRAVELER
Outlook traveler is one of Indias best travel magazines. Is provides details about the various
destinations and tourist points of the country. This magazine is a real treat for real adventurers. It
also features on the various courses one can do while adventuring. It provides a good shopping
guide and also provides information about the various hotels throughout the country

21

MEDIA SERVICES

Print Media

Web Media

Outlook is part of the Rajan Raheja Group which made its beginning in the construction business
and after building a huge presence in the realty market, the Group diversified laterally into
manufacturing, financial services and media. The magazine division of Outlook consists of
Outlook, Outlook Money, Outlook Traveler, Outlook Sapthahik, Outlook Business and Delhi
City Limits. It has recently taken over the Sales & marketing of Newsweek, an international
newsmagazine and Marie Claire, an international womens magazine.
Outlook, a weekly newsmagazine has been instrumental in providing wide range of news and
information. It also has magazines including Outlook Money, Outlook Traveller and Outlook
Saptahik under its umbrella. As a part of web media, it has launched websites like
outlookindia.com, outlooktraveller.com and outlookmoney.com. It caters to a base of 1.5 million
readers in India and sells more than 11.2 million copies annually.
The observations of the Markets studied for the sale of Newsweek was that Time and Newsweek
have a similar sales pattern and the POP display was maximum from the Outlook Group.
The major segments identified for the market segmentation of Outlook buyers

Hotels

Coaching institutes

Corporate offices

PVR Cinemas

Premium Clubs

22

For the coaching Institutions which prepare students for MBA, the idea proposed by Outlook
was that the copies of Outlook English ,and Outlook Bussines as their Interest happens only with
these two magazines, with the advertisement of the institution with the cover-on-cover option
would be distributed to prospective students who are aspiring to clear CAT and other MBA
entrances in various DU and Engineering colleges in Delhi and NCRs. This idea appealed as in
this way the institution would be able to communicate with its prospective students.
For the premium clubs, the proposed selling strategy was similar to that adopted for golf courses
with the monthly bill being sent with the magazine by Outlook .
The idea proposed to corporate offices that their Interest only towards Outlook Money , Outlook
Profit because it resembles with their Business.
Hotels keep magazines in the following places: Rooms, Business Centers Lounges, Public
Places and cars. Their more focus towards Outlook Traveler Magazines, and Fashion magazine
like Marie Claire, this type of Interest bys hotels shows their psychographic segmentation.
The concept given was that initially Outlook was as follows: Outlook would distribute free
copies of the magazine on a weekend when the business is high. And take the details of the
customers. In the next step, the PVR Cinemas to these cinemagoers who had come to watch a
movie on weekend would send the magazine with a flap containing the discount coupon for a
weekday. Hence, on receiving a discount coupon, there is a high probability that the cinemagoers will come to watch the movie.
PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Outlook (Core Magazine) = Cover Price: Rs 35 (51 issues/year) Weekly

Outlook Money

= Cover Price: Rs 30 (26 issues/year) Fortnightly

Outlook Business

= Cover Price: Rs 40 (26 issues/year) Fortnightly

Outlook traveler

= Cover Price: Rs 100 (12 issues/year) Monthly

Marie Claire

= Cover Price: Rs 100 (12 issues/year) Monthly

23

Geo

Outlook Hindi

= Cover Price: Rs 20 (12 issues/year) Monthly

Career 360

= Cover Price: Rs 50 (12 issues/year) Monthly

People

= Cover Price: Rs 50 (26 issues/year) Fortnightly

= Cover Price: Rs 100 (12 issues/year) Monthly

PRINT MEDIA

OUTLOOK: In October 1995 ,group company hath way investment private limited
entered in the print media. Outlook, a weekly newsmagazine headed by Vinod Mehta,
galvanised a sluggish market reeling under the impact of satellite TV. Outlook quickly
carved a significant niche for itself among discerning readers who value its in-depth,
investigative reporting as well as its stylish visual format. Known to be fiercely
independent, Outlook has shaken the establishment on events ranging from Kargil to
Kashmir to cricket, sensitised the reading public to important issues like big dams,
education and gender, and provided an unremitting focus on South Asian geopolitics.
Today, Outlook is the preferred magazine of 1.5 million readers in India, and sells more
than 11.2 million copies over the year.

OUTLOOK MONEY: In July 1998, the Group launched "Intelligent Investor" rechristened as "OUTLOOK MONEY" as of 30-Nov-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, spend smartly'. Evidently, that
message has gone down well: the magazine sold upwards of 1,00,000 copies a fortnight
within a year. One of its distinguishing characteristics is that about 93 per cent of readers
retain all past issues of Outlook Money.

24

OUTLOOK TRAVELER: Outlook Traveler is a monthly magazine from the stable of

Outlook Publishing India Pvt. Limited and the only significant magazine aimed at the
travel reader. Every month since June 2001 OT 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
Traveler continues to take them closer.

OUTLOOK SAPTAHIK: Outlook Saptahik, a weekly newsmagazine, was launched in

October 2002 to establish significant presence amongst the vast Hindi reading audience.
The product targets the evolved Hindi reader keeping their interests, realities &
aspirations in mind. Outlook Saptahik retains the core strengths of Outlook with
objective, fiercely impartial and bold journalism, while brandishing its own identity
through a strong paral .

WEB MEDIA

OUTLOOKINDIA.COM: In

1998,

drawing

the

into

its

fold

Outlook
vast,

went

nascent

online

as outlookindia.com,

readership

of

expatriate

Indians . Outlookindia.com is both Outlook magazine's 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 and elsewhere on the Web - outlookindia.com also
offers an array of original Web-only columns and and news updates every day with a very
lively interactive section.

OUTLOOKTRAVELLER.COM: Inaugurated as a 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
25

destinations. Still a highlight of the website, these are supported by tools and resources
that make putting together your holiday a breeze? from selecting your destination, to
choosing your mode of transport, finding your way around the map, selecting a place to
stay to catching the local festivities, plus ferreting out the nearest ATM, fuel stop or cyber
cafe. Here there is something for everyone; themed vacation ideas from 'A for adventure'
to 'W for wildlife', honeymooners dream destinations, foodies delights, first-person
travelogues, a message room where you can exchange notes or ask us for more info that
you want? And don't forget to book your copies of our international award-winning
bestsellers from Outlook Traveler Getaways, available at a special price when you order
on the website. If you want a sneak preview, there're excerpts from the guide books by
renowned authors, including the likes of Prabhu Ghate, Ruskin Bond and Jug Suraiya.

Outlookmoney.Com: outlookmoney.com takes forward the philosophy and beliefs

ushered in by Intelligent Investor (the personal finance magazine that was launched in
mid-1998, now known as Outlook Money). The site has six channels -- Stocks, Mutual
Funds, Loans, Retirement Planning, Taxation and Insurance -- that address broad areas of
the personal finance spectrum. Outlookmoney.com comes with many interactive tools.
The Loans channel alone sports calculators that do all the number crunching a visitor may
want on home, car, personal or equity loans. outlookmoney.com seeks to provide total
solutions to personal finance issues -- from disseminating information to providing
avenues for e-commerce transactions.

26

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATION

STRENGTHS:
Well organized and experienced staff

Innovative and customer oriented products

Direct approach to the customer

Customer satisfaction

Strong distribution network

Efficient and fast delivery system

WEAKNESS

Price of some magazines is high

Customer perception that outlook serves to a political party.

OPPORTUNITIES:
It has many products capturing all sectors information so it has an opportunity to become a
market leader.

THREATS:

Number of competitors in the market.

India today has already captured the big market share

27

HR POLICIES OF THE ORGANISATION

HR POLICIES
At Outlook every department is individual. There is no HR department especially for each
department (Marketing and sales department, Subscription department, Advertisement
department) . CEO takes care of HR related issues. There is a team of 2 persons from
Administrative department which acts as a helping hand of CEO in HR related issues.
Department review is done in every 4-5 months.

Recruitment and selection:

Recruitment at outlook at upper level is taken care by its CEO Maheshwar Peri itself.
Department wise selection and recruitment is taken care by department heads. After selection the
employee is kept on 1year probation period. Performance is monitored closely and then decision
on continuation is taken.

Training:
Selected employees go through Employee orientation in which new employees are provided with
basic background information about the company. After that they go for 30 days training which
includes

Management games

Simulation exercises

Skill development sessions

Time-to time motivation

28

Motivation:
For motivating its employees Outlook gives Monetary and non-Monetary incentives.
Monetary incentives include cash incentives based upon performance. Whereas Non-monetary
incentives includes

Recognition

Award ceremony

Prizes

Travel and tours

Performance appraisal:

Performance appraisal serves a useful career planning purpose. They provide an opportunity to
review the employees career plans in light of his or her exhibited strengths and weaknesses. It
does little good to translate the employers strategic goals into specific employees. At Outlook
the criteria for performance appraisal is that Employees must have worked at least 1 year on that
designation. After that the designation is changed and new responsibilities are handed over to
that particular employee.

29

COMPETITION
FOR NEWSWEEK
TIME
Time is the worlds leading international newsmagazine published by media conglomerate AOLTIME-Warner is exclusively marketed and distributed in India by the India Today Group. TIME
demands the best, and we are able to provide the best through an unmatched marketing and
distribution network that seamlessly operates in line with international best practices, which
includes comprehensive handling of advertising sales, subscription activities and customer
fulfillment, News Week is now digitalized.

FOR OUTLOOK BUSINESS

BUSINESS TODAY
Business Today is the largest-circulated business fortnightly in India. Its the best report of the
business topography of the newly liberalised India. As the wave of change sweeps business,
economy and society like never before, BUSINESS TODAY has ensured that its readers have all

30

the necessary upgrades to challenge tomorrow. It takes its readers deeper to give a complete
understanding of the world of business.
Ever since its inception in 1992, it has set one benchmark after another in business reporting. It
was the first to do serious reporting on management theories. And then again, its the first to
bring a whole new genre of business journalismmore upclose and more incisive. Today,
BUSINESS TODAY commands the Bus.

BUSINESS WORLD
Business world is part of the ABP Group, one of India's largest media groups and the brand
leader in eastern India. ABP also publishes Ananda Bazar Patrika , a widely popular Bengali
daily, and The Telegraph, the largest read English daily in the eastern region. It also co-owns Star
News television channel along with Rupert Murdoch's Star Group. Businessworld is the largest
selling Indian business magazine, and the only business weekly in the country. Over a period of
two decades, Businessworld has established itself as a magazine that offers incisive and highquality reportage on economic and business affairs. In the past few years, it has focused strongly
on understanding the meaning of Global India -- its emerging sectors, emerging leaders and
emerging concerns. Its team of journalists and domain experts cover extensively trends and
movements in markets such as telecom, IT, biotech, media and pharma and provide exclusive
analysis on infrastructure, economy and the stock markets. Leveraging on its brand leadership,
Business world has now moved into other media platforms like publishing and events. Its recent
publications include Doing Business in Asia , The Marketing White book , Understanding
Behavior , and Business world Mega B-School Guide . The Business world Roundtables and
Great Place to Work seminars, which attract the best minds from the corporate and economic
world, have become important forums to set agendas and address crucial issues. Indian corporate
considers the magazines Most Respected Companies Awards and the BW-NID Design Award as
benchmarks of corporate excellence
BUSINESS WEEK INDIA
31

Business Week is the largest business magazine published in the world and has licensed Cyber
Media for publishing Business Week India (permission from Ministry of I&B awaited). The
content of this magazine will be focused on money, technology and people, and will provide
relevant blend of global and Indian content. It will be the only international business magazine to
give readers a global perspective for India.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Customer Satisfaction
Over the last four decades, the marketing literature has defined and measured customer
satisfaction in many different ways. Oliver (1997) specifies customer satisfaction as pleasurable
fulfillment; as such, the consumer views consumption as satisfying some need, desire, goal, etc.,
in which its fulfillment is pleasurable. In spite of many definitions of customer satisfaction in the
literature, a common way to define customer satisfaction is to follow the approach of the
expectancy-confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm (Anderson 1994; Anderson and Sullivan
1993;Kotler 1991; Oliver 1980; Oliver and DeSarbo 1988; Oliver and Swan 1989; Yi 1991).
In this perspective, customer satisfaction is delineated as the consumers evaluation that products
or services meet or fall to meet the customers expectations (Oliver and Swan1989; Yi 1991).
Out differently, customer satisfaction consists of post-consumption judgment concerning product
or service quality, given pre-consumption expectations (Kotler 1991). From this expectancy32

confirmation/disconfirmation point-of-view, customer satisfaction happens in the case of a

buyers post-evaluation of a specific purchase experience (or experiences), contingent upon the
buyers quality perceptions and expectations, and confirmation/disconfirmation the
discrepancy between actual and expected quality (Yi, 1991).Customer satisfaction has generally
been suggested to contain two such different dimensions as a transaction-specific evaluation
approach and an overall, cumulative valuation approach. That is, there exist two general
conceptualizations of customer satisfaction in the literature (Anderson and Fornell 1993;
Boulding et al. 1993; Yi, 1991).
Prior research has portrayed customer satisfaction as transaction-specific. Using this framework,
customer satisfaction is seen as a post-consumption evaluative judgment of a particular purchase
experience or activity (Bearden and Teel 1983; Cronin and Taylor 1992; Oliver 1980, 1993;
Oliver and DeSarbo 1988). The theoretical rationale behind this fra0mework is a variation of the
expectancy-confirmation/disconfirmation paradigm (Prakash1984; Oliver and Swan 1989).
Another formulation to measure customer satisfaction, widely used in recent studies, including
studies utilizing the satisfaction metric in the ACSI data, is overall or cumulative satisfaction,
which is, in other words, relationship-specific. With this formulation, overall satisfaction can be
viewed as a customers overall satisfaction experiences (Olsen 2002), and is gauged as the
cumulative post-purchase evaluative judgment of a group of discrete purchase activities or
transactions for a particular brandor firm over duration of time (Fornell et al. 1996; Johnson and
Fornell 1991; Oliver1997; Rust and Oliver 1994).
Of these two formulations of customer satisfaction, overall or cumulative satisfaction has been
widely used with regard to the association between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
On one hand, transaction-specific satisfaction conceptualizes customer satisfaction as the
outcome of a single transaction. Thus, this transaction-specific satisfaction formulation may be
too restrictive i.e., the transaction-specific satisfaction approach has a very limited predictive
power (Anderson and Narus1990; Fornell et al. 1996; Ganesan 1994). Oliver (1999) maintains
that overall satisfaction is more appropriate for ananalysisis of the satisfaction-loyalty
relationship, inasmuch as the cumulative satisfaction, construct is capable of aggregating or
33

blending individual satisfaction episodes. Likewise, the overall satisfaction formulation is better
at predicting consequent behaviors and economic outcomes (Johnson et al. 2001).One of the
most important recent aspects of this customer satisfaction metric isthat academics (Anderson
1994; Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Bryant and Cha 1996;Fornell 1992; Fornell and Johnson
1993; Fornell et al. 1996; Homburg and Giering 2001;Johnson and Fornell 1991; Mittal and
Kamakura 2001) identify differences in customer, satisfaction across individual customers and
competitive settings (product or service categories and firms). For example, Bryant and Cha
(1996) highlight the effects of such customer characteristics as age, gender, income, and
education on levels of customer satisfaction. In addition to customer characteristics, industry
characteristics (industry or category concentration and industry type) are shown to affect
customer satisfaction levels.
Customer satisfaction is one of the most important metrics in marketing, since firms regard
customer satisfaction as one of the key business goals for evaluating the effectiveness of their
business operations. In addition, customer satisfaction is a starting metric of the value chain
between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, firm product -marketplace performance and
financial performance, and shareholder wealth, as demonstrated by recent studies. Marketing
academics and managers have been increasingly interested in the effects of an increase in
customer satisfaction levels on firm, financial performance since the 1990s. For instance,
customer satisfaction has been shownto positively impact operating margins (Bolton 1998; Rust
et al. 1996), accounting returns (Ittner and Larcker 1998), returns on investment (Anderson et al.
1994), and cash flow and shareholder value (Anderson et al. 2004; Gruca and Rego
2005).Indeed, firms have invested a great amount of money on this metric, as customer
satisfaction investments represent the number one marketing research expenditure item for most
firms.
Customer satisfaction can be seen as an essential measure used to oversee business outcomes,
decide on limited resource allocation, and provide rewards to management (Anderson 1994). For
the majority of firms, the pursuit of customer satisfaction is illustrated in their communications,
including advertisements, public relations releases, and mission statements (Peterson and Wilson
1992). With regard to this importance, a variety of marketing academics and practitioners have
studied customer satisfaction for the past forty years

34

35

RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY
Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define research as
a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. In fact, research is
an art of scientific investigation. Most research projects are used for descriptive studies in which
the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences
of people, or similar data.

ANALYTICAL MODEL

TOTAL CUSTOMER
BENEFITS
CUSTOMER PERCIEVED VALUE
+

CUSTOMER
TOTAL CUSTOMER
COSTS

SATISFACTI-ON

CUSTOMER
LOYALTY

VALUE
PREPOSITION

CONSISTENCY

Total Customer Benefits plus Total Customer Cost is equal to Customer Perceived Value .When
Customer Perceived Value meets the Value Preposition of the product promised by the company
leads to customer satisfaction .If company keeps on satisfying its customers consistently, leads to
Customer Loyalty. All the above mentioned variables have been explained in the Literature
Review.
36

RESEARCH DESIGN

This research is an attempt to describe the satisfaction level of Outlook subscribers. So, here
we use Descriptive Research Design.

Sources of Data collection

The research is based on both
Primary data
o For collecting the primary data the survey was done through questionnaire, which was
personally given to customers and was filled through interacting with different age groups,
sex, monthly income and occupation.
o Studying the degree of customer satisfaction on objective needed to be work on.
o Finally analyzing the data of various areas and trying to study about various influence
factors.
Secondary data
o For theoretical overview, secondary data was collected from magazines, newspaper and
different website.
o The source of data collection for the observation is Primary data which is collected from the
Questionnaire .Primary data are originated by a researcher for the specific purpose of
addressing the problem at hand.

37

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Data Analysis and findings (All data as per the daily online selling)

1. No. of respondents who read magazines

No; 35; 35%

Yes; 65; 65%

Yes
No

From the analysis of 100 respondents 65% of people used to read magazine while 35% does
not read.
2. Types of magazines preferred by the reader?

Others; 10; 11%

Saptahik; 5; 5%

Outlook; 30; 32%

Frontline; 10; 11%

Outlook

India Today

Frontline

India Today; 40; 42%

38

Saptahik

Others

From the above data we can say that from 100 respondents 42% are of India today, 32% of
Outlook, 11% of Frontline, 10% of Saptahik and remaining 5% others.
3. Gender preferences for English magazines:

Preference
Males
Females

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that out of total readers of English
magazines there are 47% females and 63% males.
4. Respondents having internet connection
Respondents having internet connection
120

113

100
80
60
40

25

20

82%

18%

yes

no

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that 82% have internet connection.

39

5. Internet usage preference

Internet usage
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

46%

21%

33%

0
Reading Articles

Reading news

Reading magazine

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that 46% read news, 21% read
articles and 33% read magazine on internet.

6. Type of magazine according to preferences by respondents:

40

100%

90%

80%

70%
Business

60%

Political
Fashion

50%

Tech savvy
Movies

40%

Women
Others

30%

20%

10%

0%
Average of ranking of respondents according to their preference for types of magazines

From the survey of 100 respondents 85% preferred to read business magazines, 46%
preferred political magazines, 60% preferred fashion magazine, 72%

tech savvy

magazines, 48% preferred movies magazines, 39% preferred womens magazines and
20%preferred other sort of magazines.

7. Analysis of the reading habit of the respondents:

41

Reading Habit

Regularly

5% 8%

Whenever getting bored

30%

While waiting
45%

For information
Others

12%

From the survey, analysis of the reading habit of the respondents showed that 8% regularly
readers, 45% whenever getting bored, 12% while waiting, 30% to get information, 5% read
other magazines.

8. Places from where magazines are purchased:

42

Purchasing medium of the magazines

14%

23%

7%
News stand

Book Stall

Subscription

Second hand purchase

8%

Online

47%

From the results of 100 respondents 46% had subscription for the magazine, 23% from the
news stand, 8% from book stall, 7% second hand purchase and 14% buy online.

9. Motivational factor for magazine subscription:

43

Motivation for magazine subscription

7%

14%

Ease of purchase
Discounted prices
26%

Gifts
Sugested by friend
Others

43%

From the survey of 100 respondents the factors that motivated subscribers to subscribe for
any magazine were that 43% got motivated due to gifts with them, 26% got motivated due to
discounts they were getting, 14% due to ease of purchase, 7% were motivated by their friends,
and 10% due to other factors.

10. Gift evaluation parameters:

44

Gift Evaluation Parameters

90%
80%
70%
60%
Gift Evaluation Parameters

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Utility

Brand Value

Attractiveness

Price

Others

From the Analysis to evaluate gift parameters, 80% prefer brand value in a gift, 64% prefer
the utility of the product, 55% prefer attractive gifts, 48% go for the price of gift and 20%
went for other parameters.

11. Analysis of Outlook magazines on the basis of attributes:

45

Evaluation of Outlook magazine on the basis of attributes

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Evaluation of Outlook magazine on the basis of attributes
30%
20%
10%
0%

46

From the analysis 75% liked schemes of the Outlook magazine offered, 66% went for the
value of money, 65% for unbiased reporting, 56% for overall presentation, 42% for coverage,
38% went for paper quality, only 35% liked the quality of content and 33% for coverage.

12. Perception of customers about Outlook magazine:

Perception about Outlook

Very good

4% 6%

Good

28%

Fair
62%

Not good

From the survey of 100 respondents 6% regarded it as a very good magazine, 62% regarded it
as a good magazine, 28% as fair magazine to read, 4% did not like the magazine.

47

13. Purchase behaviour of consumer

From the survey of 100 respondents 32% agree to buy magazine online, while only 12%
strongly disagree
14. Respondents would like to buy magazines online because

From the survey of 100 respondents 53% would like to go for e magazine because of timely
delivery problem of subscriptions. 39% see e magazine as no storage issue.

48

15. Areas over which Outlook needs improvement:

Areas of Improvement
11%

Quality of content

21%

Print Quality
Coverage

68%

From 100 respondents 68% wanted improvement in quality of content, 21% in print quality and
11% in coverage.

49

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Effective promotional scheme.
It is important to motivate the consumer to subscribe for the magazine for boosting the sales and
its obvious that most of the consumers will not get motivated unless and until they get what they
want. From the market survey it was able to identify that the motivating factors are the gifts
provided along with the subscriptions and according to most of the consumers a good gifts are
one which have good brand value associated with it and those which offer better utility.
2. Offline referral marketing.
Referral marketing can be effectively used to improve the subscription sales. The existing
customer can be motivated to refer to their friends, relatives etc. to subscribe for the magazine by
means of exciting and attractive gifts as incentives. The magazine should provide Business reply
cards exclusive for existing subscriber along with subscribers copies during the magazine
delivery so that they can refer their friends and relatives for magazine subscription. The business
reply card should offer the facility to be filled with at least ten references. Subscribers should be
able to send them free of cost. Now these subscribers can be provided with attractive gifts.
3. Customer retention.
It is a normal saying that customer acquisition is good, retention is better. This is because a
customer retained is equal to five new customers as the money spent for acquiring a customer is
calculated to be five times the money spent to retain a customer. From the information obtained
from Outlook, if was identified that Outlook does nothing for customer retention. Outlook needs
to formulate and implement customer retention and loyalty programs to retain the customers.
Greet the customers with exciting gifts during special occasions.
Sell the subscription renewal at discount.
Auto renewal of subscription.
Allow grace period for subscription expiry.
50

 Send loyalty gifts.

Organize entertainment events for subscribers.
Organize get together.
Offer free Medical claim/Insurance Policy.
4. Improved magazine for customer satisfaction.
From the market survey it was revealed that the strengths of Outlook Magazine are Promotional
Schemes and unbiased reporting. Its weaknesses are its Content quality, Paper quality and Print
quality so it should work on it to increase the customers satisfaction. If the product is able to
satisfy customers in its core product attributes, then the customer will be tend to be loyal as their
expectations are fulfilled.
So to improve customer loyalty and thereby increase voluntary sales outlook magazine has
to work on its weaknesses as expected by the customers of the magazine Since the quality
of content and coverage are subjective in nature, Outlook needs to identify what are
weaknesses of the current contents and coverage of the magazine as well as the customers
expectations about them. For thisOutlook should go for detailed survey and customers
feedback so that it can understand the customers expectations as far as content and
coverage of the magazine are concerned. Once the customer expectation is identified
Outlook need to restructure the magazine by implementing the customer requirements and
demands in order to improve their satisfaction level which will in turn boost the magazine
as well as subscription sales.

51

CONCLUSION
From the study it is been concluded 75% liked schemes of the Outlook magazine offered,
66% went for the value of money, 65% for unbiased reporting, 56% for overall presentation,
42% for coverage, 38% went for paper quality, only 35% liked the quality of content and
33% for coverage.
Overall the outlooks magazines have been rated as good as majority of the customers rated it as
good.
The quality and content of the outlook magazine is rated as excellent but somehow the company
is facing stiff competition from the India today as delivering services of India today is very good
as compared to Outlook.
Customer service, like any aspect of business, is a practiced art that takes time and effort to
master. All you need to do to achieve this is to stop and switch roles with the customer. What
would you want from your business if you were the client? How would you want to be treated?
Treat your customers like your friends and they'll always come back.

52

MAGAZINES
Customer Name: .. Date:..
Sex: .

Customer contact:

Age: ..
Profession: .
Qualification:..
We would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete this Customer
Satisfaction Questionnaire to help us ensure that our standard of customer care
exceeds expectations wherever possible.
NOTE: This test is taken for the purpose of research and the information given by
you will be kept confidential. Hence give your answer without hesitation

53

QUESTIONNAIRE
PERSONAL DETAILS:
Name.............................

Gender: M ( ), F ( )

Occupation......................

Email address....................

Phone No.........................

Correspondence Address..

1. Do you read magazines?

YES ( )
NO ( )
2. Which magazines do you read?
Outlook ( ) India Today ( ) Frontline (

Pratiyogita darpan (

3. Do you have internet connection?

YES ( )
NO ( )
4. You spend time on internet for
Reading Articles

Reading news

Reading magazine

Others

5. What type of magazines do you like to read?

Rank them according to your higher preference to lower between 1 to 7:
Business magazines

54

Political magazines

Fashion

Technical savvy

Movies

Womens magazines

Others

6. How often you read magazines?

Regularly

____

Whenever getting bored

_____

While waiting

_____

For information

_____

Others

_____

7. How you want to purchase or receive your magazines?

News stands

______

Book stalls

______

Subscriptions

______

55

Online

______

Vendors/News Paper

______

8. What made you subscribe for the magazine?

Content

( )

Low Price

( )

Gifts

( )

Suggested by a friend/ relative

( )

Others

( )

9. On what basis you evaluate a magazine?

Price

Utility

Durability

Branded

Necessity

Others

10 From the attributes mentioned, tick those which are best suited for outlook magazines?

Quality of content

Coverage

)
56

Print quality

Value for money

Promotional schemes

Unbiased reporting

11. What do you feel about the outlook magazine?

Very good

( )

Good

( )

Fair

( )

Not good

( )

12. Are you satisfied with outlook delivery service?

YES (

NO (

13. You prefer magazines online?

Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree

57

Strongly disagree
14. You would like to buy e-magazine because?
Timely delivered
Easy access
Fresh Content

15. Would you like to continue reading the outlook magazines?

Yes ( )
No ( )
16. Mention any feature in which you think outlook magazine should improve on:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________

58

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Referred Books:
1. Solomon, Michael R., Consumer Behavior-Buying, Having and Being, 2009 Pearson
Education Inc.
2. Malhotra, Naresh K., Dash, Satyabhusan, Marketing Research, An applied
orientation, 2010, Pearson Education Inc.
3. Cooper & Schindler, Business Research.
4. Belch George, Belch Michael, Advertising and promotion.
5.

Kotler Phillip, Marketing Management

Websites:www.outlookgroup.com
www.outlookindia.com
www.outlook magazines.com
www.Delhioutlook magazines.com
www.outlooktraveler.com
www.outlookbussiness.com

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