A Dissertation Report

On

MARKETING STRATEGY OF TIMES

OF INDIA GROUP

DISSERTATION; PAPER 407

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE
OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

PREPARED BY:

SUSMITA BANERJEE

VU ROLL No: PG/VUOAP02/MBA-IVS/421

VU REGISTRATION No: 00727 of the year 2020-2022
Year of Registration: 2022
Major Specialization: Marketing
Name of Institute: EIILM, Kolkata

UNDER THE GUIDANCE

OF

(ARATRIKA ROY CHOWDHURY)

FACULTY, EIILM

SUBMITTED TO

EIILM,KOLKATA

affiliated to VIDYASAGAR UNIVERSITY

APRIL, 2022
 PREFACE

The times of India newspaper was founded before 178 years ago, it is the largest English newspaper
in India with a daily circulation of 3184727 number of copies. It was first published in Mumbai with
a name “The Bombay Times” which was edited by J.E Brenan under the orders of Raobahadur
Narayan. Now it has expanded into every other type of median (TV, radio, internet, mobile phones)
with an estimated revenue of US $ 1.4 billion in 2015 generated from audience spread across the
globe. 70 percent of the money generated in the business comes from the advertisements.

Print media is the cheapest and most effective form to deliver information and data, it is growing in India at a
very good rate the reason being, it is easy to distribute and reach the targeted audience. India is the largest
distributor of newspaper in the world, it includes 70,000 newspapers and number of magazines.
James Hicky launched first newspaper in India with the title “Bengal Gazette” in year 1780. The most widely
available and having strongest command in English newspaper is “Times Of India” with a circulation of
3,184,727 as on Dec 2016. As someone have rightly said that this century belongs to those who have
knowledge or information and one of the most used and well balanced source of information is printed media.
CERTIFICATE OF INTERNAL GUIDE
 DECLARATION

I DO HEREBY DECLARE THAT THIS DISSERTATION ENTITLED “MARKETING

STRATEGY OF TIMES OF INDIA GROUP” HAS BEEN DONE BY ME AND ALL THE
INFORMATION PROVIDED IS CORRECT AND TRUE TO MY KNOWLEDGE.

THIS DISSERTATION IS SUBMITTED BY ME FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE AWARD OF DEGREE IN ‘MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION’.

THE DISSERTATION IS EXCLUSIVELY PREPARED BY ME AND HAS NOT BEEN

SUBMITTED TO ANY OTHER INSTITUTIONS OR PUBLISHED ANYWHERE BEFORE.

DATE:

VU ROLL No: PG/VUOAP02/MBA-IVS/421

VU REGISTRATION No: 00727 of the year 2020-2022

MBA, 4th SEMESTER

EIILM, Kolkata
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude to ARATRIKA ROY CHOWDHURY, Faculty, EIILM who has
sincerely provided me with critical suggestions and valuable insights which enabled me to complete this
project and bring out this report in the best way possible.

I would take this opportunity to thank Dr. R.P Banerjee (Director, EIILM) and other faculty members for
their cooperation and support.

I am also thankful to my colleagues for their motivation and to all those persons who directly or
indirectly helped me during developing this dissertation.

Signature: Name:

Date:
 TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction of TIMES OF INDIA 1
GROUP

Print Media 3

Company profile 4

CHANNEL MEMBERS OF THE TIMES OF 6

INDIA
PRINTING PRESS

RESEARCH OBJETIVES 8

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 9

Marketing Mix of TIMES OF INDIA GROUP 10

Sales Promotional Strategy of TIMES 11

OF INDIA GROUP

Promotion Strategy 14

15
Sale promotion from the retailer’s point
of view
SWOT Analysis OF TIMES OF INDIA GROUP 17

FINDINGS 19

CONCLUSION 20

REFERENCE 22
 1

Introduction

For any business organization to meetup their sales target and to fight the competition in the market strong
strategies must be developed, these strategies are developed much before the introduction of the actual
product in the market, for better management and planning and increase the sales, to boost the visibility of
the product in the market promotion strategies should be designed and implemented on time. Promotion
creates the urge to buy the product, many big companies spend millions on promotion activities, as we all
have seen the amount of money spent by movie makers on promotion just to make their product more
appealing, this surely increases their sales.
It is human nature that our brain is more attracted to things which we see more and others have it , In this
globalized environment to make your product standout and have an impact on customers mind the sales
manager has to come up with a very unique kind of promotion strategies that will help the product to gain
more visibility in the market,
Their maybe many soft drink companies like Pepsi and coca cola but no one has sales figures like these two
have, they spend millions of dollars just to promote their product, This is one of the reason why no one has
ever overcome them ,
It is very much obvious that experience is one of the best teacher out there, any sales person who is smart
enough can make out whether the person is attracted to the product or not and what strategy can be used on
the person to bring his attention towards the product. The promotion strategies are designed by keeping in
mind the type of customer we would be dealing with, for example; there is a magazine designed specifically
for teens and there is one more magazine which Is specially designed for saloons and spas, the target market
in above magazine is completely different to each other, therefore the sales person should design a sales
strategy in accordance to the type of segment the product would be served to.
Strategies are nothing but long-term planning to achieve your goals, it is very hard for any business to
achieve their goals without prior planning, it also includes considering all the other factors which directly or
indirectly effects the business.
The best and most profitable strategy which the heads of Times Of India came out with was the brand capital,
they were the first to introduce this concept in India into print media business, this enabled them to buy
shares of number of companies not for money but for the space they provided them in their newspapers and
magazines, it is like a barter system, this also turned them into an investment company and help them
increase their turnover at a faster speed, this strategy is said to be good for both TOI and as well as the client.
 2

By getting this chance I am able to find out what customers want and what publishers are willing to give in
terms of quality and the price of the product, Times Of India is one of the leaders among the magazines
sector in India, they were only able to achieve this by developing their sales and promotion strategies in
such a way that no one was able to compete them in Indian market, They covered all the segments from
magazines which talk about science to automobiles and from latest fashion to latest business trend .

This study focusses on what’s missing and what’s the gap between supply and demand, there is still an
untapped market which can be turned into potential customer this could be only possible by understanding
their needs and what are they willing to pay as a price, the publisher must come up with a product which is
affordable and eliminates their need.
 3

Print Media

Print media is the cheapest and most effective form to deliver information and data, it is growing in
India at a very good rate the reason being, it is easy to distribute and reach the targeted audience.
India is the largest distributor of newspaper in the world, it includes 70,000 newspapers and number
of magazines.
James Hicky launched first newspaper in India with the title “Bengal Gazette” in year 1780. The
most widely available and having strongest command in English newspaper is “Times Of India” with
a circulation of 3,184,727 as on Dec 2016. As someone have rightly said that this century belongs to
those who have knowledge or information and one of the most used and well balanced source of
information is printed media.
India is also world’s fastest growing economy and most of its population is under the age of 35
making it the hot market for the print media, As Mr.Sanjay Sharma the ASST. general manager at
Times Group said India’s demand for printed media is growing faster than ever, there is still scope
for new business and growth, the only thing required is new strategies to fight the competition and be
on top of the pyramid
Arc gate the business data management company said that the readers behavior has changed with the
change in technology, the introduction of smart phones and globalization in current situation are
playing high effect on print media. The individuals are presently reading news and data from web
through PCs or smart phones, the fame of print media is blurring. To avoid the effect of internet on
printed media the managers should use high quality of material and crisp printing to attract and retain
the customer, creating client and holding readership can be an enormous test for the distributors.
There are gigantic choices accessible to followers now. Therefore, the distributors are required to
come up with a sales promotion strategy that fulfills the readers need and have the ability to attract
them towards the product eventually. The print media is rapidly going towards mobile which is
hurting the physical print media
The trends are different from other countries, in other democratic countries there is decline in
circulation or negative growth but in India there is still growth at a decreasing rate.
Most of the revenue earned by the print media comes from the advertisement that are given by
different companies and individual in the newspaper circulation and magazines, for any printing
business in the world the main source of income is through the advertisement that are printed in these
newspaper, the price of advertisement differs on the basis of the size it will acquire and the page it
would be placed on. These advertisement’s play an important role in keeping these newspaper
companies alive.
 4

Company profile

The times of India newspaper was founded before 178 years ago, it is the largest English newspaper in India
with a daily circulation of 3184727 number of copies. It was first published in Mumbai with a name “The
Bombay Times” which was edited by J.E Brenan under the orders of Raobahadur Narayan. Now it has
expanded into every other type of median (TV, radio, internet, mobile phones) with an estimated revenue of
US $ 1.4 billion in 2015 generated from audience spread across the globe. 70 percent of the money
generated in the business comes from the advertisements.

NAME OF THE COMPANY: TIMES OF INDIA (TOI)

ADDERESS: The Times of India RMD Magazine cell ,10, Darya Ganj, New Delhi -110002
TYPE OF ORGANIZATION: Newspaper and Magazine
FREQUENCY: Daily Circulation
TELEPHONE NUMBER: +91 11 23302000
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
HEADQUARTERS: 7 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi, Delhi 110002
CIRCULATION: 3,184,727 Daily
SISTER NEWSPAPERS: The Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Ei Samay,
Mumbai Mirror
POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Conservative
OWNER AND PUBLISHER: The Times Group
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jaideep Bose

Key Businesses: -

 News paper
 Magazines
 Tv channels
 Advertisements
 Investments
 Mobile apps

Newspaper and magazines: -

 With 13 newspapers and 18 magazines, it is India’s largest publisher having twenty-six printing
centers across India
 The Times of India English edition is world largest circulated newspaper.
 The Economics Times is well known newspaper among the business readers, it is number one
Business newspaper in India.
 With collaboration with BBC they have some of the best magazines available in India. Film fare is
India’s top selling magazine.
 5

Tv Channels: -
 MN+ HD
 Romedy Now
 Romedy Now HD
 Movies Now
 Movies Now HD
 MNX
 MNX HD
 ET Now
 Zoom
 Times Now
 Times Now HD
 Mirror Now

Advertisements: -
 Newspaper and magazines are the best source of offline advertising, I know people who have done
advertising in newspaper or magazines and had success, as it is the best way to reach large number of
audience, thousands of adds are given in newspaper every day, people who want to grow their
business faster usually uses this kind of paid advertising
 Times of India have advertising contracts with most of the major companies in India and even
airports

Mobile Apps: -
 Cricbuzz: - very popular among cricket fans who are just interested in scores and highlights, it has
millions of users in India.

 MensXP: - all about men’s regarding health and fitness, and diets all relating to men

 Gaana.com: - Famous among youngsters who are fond of songs

Other Activities: -
 Sponsoring music and movies

 Sponsoring games

 Cotching

 Event Management

 Financial Services
 6

CHANNEL MEMBERS OF THE TIMES OF

INDIA
PRINTING PRESS

 It takes the content from the editorial team and prints using high
capacity advanced press machines that deliver the product in packaged
condition

 Situated in Kolkata for W.B region.

 Capacity to print over 10 lac copies.

 Printing starts around 1-1:30 am usually

 After Printing, stacking is done before dispatching newspapers to

depots

 Labeling done to match stacks with destination

 Usually stocks for depots situated the farthest are dispatched earliest.

Depots

* The distribution centre receives the copies from the transporter and
stocks it for a short duration

* Close to numbers of depots in KOLKATA

* Keep publications (newspaper + magazines) for various companies

* Serviced by salespersons who are company employees

* Unorganized - keep newspapers / magazines scattered on pavements

or on steps of some malls etc
 7

AGENTS

* Employed where distribution is not organized

* Exclusive agents of TOI
* Work on commission, themselves act as salesmen
* Lucknow Market- Working with depot
* Lucknow- Working with agency system

VENDORS

* Like retailers. Link between depot and end consumer

* Go to nearest depot everyday. Pick out publications they want
* They sell via: door-to-door beat boys/single point newspaper stands
* MDI vendor serve in areas. He collects newspapers from Old Bus
Stand Agents.

BEAT BOYS

*The delivery boys have demarcated regions/housing societies, which they

serve. Hawkers are individuals who do not have established customers and
sell at road sides, bus stands etc. They make small quantity purchases
* Deliver required publications to proper destinations.
* Have route-wise list of addresses and their required
newspaper/publications .
* 3-4beatboys cover an area via their routes.

INFORMATION FLOW

* New consumer/Existing consumer taking or terminating subscription

* Inform their Vendor( increase/decrease his order by one )
* Vendor Informs the distributor
* Distributor informs the company.

CHANNEL MARGIN

* Margin given by TOI to channel members is around 30%

* More or less uniform rate across the industry
* Agents get 5-10%, salesmen on payroll get fixed salary
* Vendor receives 20-25%, to cover the costs incurred due to travel, beat
boys etc. It depends on the type and language of newspaper. (Hindi - 25%;
English - 20%)

TRADE SCHEMES
* Offered to channel members
* Incentive to increase sales
* Challenge for channel member: Balance reader interest while trying to
increase sales to avail benefits of the scheme
* Discounts for purchase of larger volumes by vendor
* Bonus of 50 paise for each new account generation by vendor
 8

DISCOUNTS

* Mainly for institutional sales

* Eg. Bulk sale at schools at discount rates

READER SCHEMES

*Directed at final consumer/reader. Mainly to draw in new customers

* Varies depending on location & demography
* Could include trials, discounts, freebies, combo offers etc

SUBSCRIPTION SALES

* Offer choice of publication for a certain amount of time at a lump sum

discount price

* Purpose- gaining new customers and making customer switch

RESEARCH OBJETIVES

The following are the research objectives of the study

 To analyse the marketing strategy of TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

 To analyse of the sales promotion strategy
 To study the strength weakness opp of TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

Research methodology

Research methodology is the specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze
information about a topic. In a research paper, the methodology section allows the reader to critically
evaluate a study's overall validity and reliability.This study is descriptive in nature.Secondary data are data
that have been previously collected or gathered for other purposes than the aim of the academic article's
study. This type of data is already available, in different forms, from a variety of sources. Secondary data
collection could lead to Internal or External secondary data research.Secondary data is used for this study.
The source of secondary data are collected from Times Group . About BBC Knowledge.ePaper
(timesgroup.com)
 9

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

The marketing strategies for The Times of India are:

1. To improve quality of product and extend variety of product range

2. The marketing strategies for The Times of India are

3. To improve quality of product and extend variety of product range.

4. To launch new editions in English and regional languages for

3. students and online newspaper i.¢. e-paper or mobile paper and increase readership and circulation of newspaper.

4. To increase the advertising in paper and thus sales revenue.More advertisement through the medium of TV, Radio,
Internet and social campaigns.

7. To Launch new social campaign ‘Young India’ basically focusing youth of the county.

Another keystone for the India marketing strategy is promotion :

It is important to get the promotional balance right. Combo offers with regional language newspapers. Combo offer for
both newspaper buyer and advertiser. TOI come up at lower subscription rate at 250Rs per year. It also allowed the
brand to build and maintain a consistent dialogue with vendors, which helps to drive sales. Also Times of India in
collaboration with HDFC launched the Times Card.

Promotions will be used to attract new customers. These promotions will help build up brand awareness and consumer
familiarity which will reinforce the Times of India brand presence.

Times of India have other brands like Economic Times, Mumbai mirror, Maharashtra Times, Film fare etc. so as to
cover needs of all classes of consumer. The price of one copy TOI newspaper is 3 Rs which competitive price as
compared to HT, The Hindu & DNA.
 10

Marketing Mix of TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

Marketing Strategy of Times Of India analyses the brand with the marketing mix framework which covers the 4Ps
(Product, Price, Place, Promotion). There are several marketing strategies like product innovation, pricing approach,
promotion planning etc. These business strategies, based on Times Of India marketing mix, help the brand succeed.
Times Of India marketing strategy helps the brand/company to position itself competitively in the market and achieve
its business goals & objectives.
Let us start the Times Of India Marketing Strategy & Mix to understand its product, pricing, advertising & distribution
strategies:

Times Of India Product Strategy:

The product strategy and mix in Times Of India marketing strategy can be explained as follows:

Times Of India is one of the leading English newspapers in India. Times Of India has an excellent news and media
coverage and has become one of the most prominent english print and online news platforms. Under its marketing mix
product portfolio offering lies the newspaper, the printed version that is circulated across the country. To add to this, it
also provides e-newspaper to cater to the tech-savvy millennials and professionals. Times Of India has launched its
own app too for catering to this brewing segment of news readers across different platforms like iOS and Android.

Times Of India Price/Pricing Strategy:

Below is the pricing strategy in Times Of India marketing strategy:

The Times Of India faces stiff competition from the Hindu and hence it always adopts a competitive pricing strategy
to be ahead in the race.
They follow a marketing strategy called the Pincer Movement Strategy that asks it to go for audacious pricing. To
retain the competitive advantage especially in the south Indian market, it has targeted the readers of its competitors
and lowered their subscription rates. Times Of India is one of the leaders as far as media advertising through news
platforms are concerned.

Times Of India Place & Distribution Strategy:

Following is the distribution strategy in the Times Of India marketing mix:

The Times Of India newspaper is found in almost all the cities and towns in India and it has succeeded in penetrating
deep into the country targeting a huge segment of readers on a daily basis. They are sold door to door through vendors
or are found at newspaper and book stalls in almost all the crowded touch points in a city. Times Of India is by far the
most read and circulated english newspaper in India. The excellent distribution ensures the newspapers are widely
available at newspaper outlets, railway stations and individually delivered at homes.The Times Of India website can
be accessed everywhere through laptops or mobile devices.

Times Of India Promotion & Advertising Strategy:

The promotional and advertising strategy in the Times Of India marketing strategy is as follows:

Previously, the promotional strategy of The Times of India was directed to the functionality of the newspaper. But
with changing times and increased competition, they are trying to project themselves as chronicle aspirations of the
Indians. In terms of promotion, it always gets involved in banter with its competitor the Hindu and hence comes up
with innovative promotional strategies in advertisements, digital promotions like banner ads. To maintain a
competitive advantage Times Of India go for the door to door selling and features videos on their websites as well as
television media to promote their product. The Times Of India is one of the forerunners of viral marketing strategies
and has successfully covered all the possible touch points in a city beginning from shops, tea stalls, malls and even
billboards in buses, road dividers and across prominent locations in the roads. Apart from this, it organizes events like
Mega Trade Fair and TOIFA to increase its nationwide presence. Hence this completes the Times Of India marketing
mix.
 11

Sales Promotional Strategy of TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

Sales are the reason for the existence of any business which exists to generate profit, without sales it I not possible for
any business to function; This is the reason why business if needs to prosper have to have sales, to keep your sales up
to the mark and achieve the target keep the sales strategy in mind while preparing a plan. The main objective of sales
strategy is to understand the needs and want of the customer and understand their buying behavior, study sales trend
and then work accordingly so that there are enough sales

Sales promotion helps retain old customer and at same time make new customer, it keeps the balance between new and
old which will then help understand what is needed to attract more customer. Business can use a variety of sales
promotion strategy, it is the sales manager duty to understand the market and make a strategy that is most suitable for
the situation to come, first of all we should know what does the term sales strategy means, and how does it work to
achieve the target.

Sales promotion is implemented to attract new customers, to hold present customers, to counteract competition, and to
take advantage of opportunities that are revealed by market research. It is made up of activities, both outside and
inside activities, to enhance company sales. Outside sales promotion activities include advertising, publicity, public
relations activities, and special sales events. Inside sales promotion activities include window displays, product and
promotional material display and promotional programs such as premium awards and contests

To boost the out flow of product to the potential customer, this needs a well-planned sales strategy that works as a
conveyor for the sales. T t can be achieved by giving free coupons with magazines subscription, giving free movie
tickets, or by giving free gifts, sending mails to existing customers, providing them passes, open up a lucky draw,
discount on renewal, offers to customers as well as distributors, organizing competitions and doing entertaining
activities , tickets for amusement parks Sales promotion strategy cannot be ignored due to its importance in increasing
the sales figure, special care is given when designing a sales strategy

Sales Promotion Tools

Many tools can be used to accomplish sales promotion objectives. Descriptions of the ‘main promotional
tools are as follows;
Consumer Promotion Tools:
The main consumer promotion tools are as follows:
* Samples:
They are offers of a trial amount of a product. It consists of inviting prospective purchasers to try the product
without cost or at a lower cost in the hope that they will buy the product. Samples may be free or discounted.
* Coupons:
Coupons are certificates that give buyers a saving when they purchase a specified product. Coupons can be
mailed, placed in advertisements or included with other products.

* Rebates:
Rebate is also known as cash refund offers. Rebates are offers to refund part of the purchase price of a
product to its customers who send a proof of purchase to the manufacturer. These are like coupons except
that the price reduction occurs after the purchase and not at the point of sale.

* Price Packs:
Cents-off deals or price packs offer consumers savings by way of reducing prices that are marked by the
producer directly on the package.
 12

These are the goods offered either free or at a low cost as an incentive to buy a product. Premiums may be
in-pack or on-pack (outside the pack).

* Prizes:
They are offers of chance to win something such as cash, trips or goods — by luck or through extra efforts.
Contests of talent and sweepstakes or draws the most popular

prize offering promotions:

* Tic-in Promotions:
Tie-in promotions involve two or more brands or companies that team up on coupons,
refunds or contests to increase their pulling powers.

* Cross Promotions:
Cross promotions involve using one brand to advertise non-competing brand.

*Advertising Specialties:
These are useful articles imprinted with an advertiser’s name, given as gifts to consumers.

* Patronage Rewards:
They are cash o other awards for the regular use of company’s products or services. They are values (in cash
otherwise) that are proportional to one’s patronage of a one certain vendor or a group of vendors. They aim
at building brand loyalty.

* POP Promotions:
Point of purchase (POP) includes displays and demonstrations that take place at the
point of purchase or sale.

Trade Promotion Tools

More money is spent by companies on trade promotion than on consumer Promotions.
The major trade promotion tools are as follows:
* Discounts: ‘
It is also known as price-off or off-invoice or off-list. Discounts price cut off the list price on a particular
quantity purchased during a stated time.
* Allowances:
They are the amount offered in return for an agreement by the retailer to feature the manufacturer’s products
in some way; displays, advertising or otherwise.
*Free Goods:
Free goods are the extra merchandise offered to middlemen who buy a specific amount of a product.
Companies also offer push money and specialty advertising items to the middlemen.

Business Promotion Tools

Companies spend huge amount on promotions focused on industrial consumers. The ‘major business
promotion tools are as follows;
o Trade Shows and Conventions.
o Sales Contests.
Clearly, sales promotions play an important role in the total promotion mix. To use it well, the marketer
must define the sales promotion objectives, select the best tools, design the sales promotion program, pretest
and implement the program and evaluate its results.The importance of consumer sales promotion in the
marketing mix of the soft drink category throughout the world has increased. Companies spend considerable
time in planning such activities. However, in order to enhance the effectiveness of these activities,
manufacturers should understand consumer and retailer interpretations of their promotional activities. The
study here pertains to consumer’s perceptions regarding sales promotion. Some past researches have
suggested that promotion itself has an effect on the perceived value of the brand. This is because promotions
provide utilitarian benefits such as monetary savings, added value, increased quality and convenience as well
as hedonistic benefits such as entertainment, exploration and self-expression.
 13
Promotion:

Promotion stands for various activities the company undertakes to communicate and promote its products to the target
market. It involves communication programs i.e. direct ‘marketing, advertising, sales promotions, public relations and
motivation of sales force.
To the customer this tool provides knowledge and information.The Promotion Mix of a company includes the
following tools;

Advertising:

It is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.

Direct Marketing:

It refers 1o the use of mail, telephone and other non-personal contact tools to communicate with or solicit a response
from specific customers and prospects.

Personal Selling:

Face to face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of ‘making a sale refers to personal
selling.

Public Relations and Publicity:

It refers to the variety of programs designed to promote and or protect a company’s image or its individual products.

Sales Promotions:

‘The short-term incentive 1o encourage trial or purchase of a product or service refers to sales promotion. Whereas
advertising offers a reason to buy; sales promotion offers an incentive to buy. Since sales promotion directly push up
the sales, increasing number of
Sales promotion refers to the short-term incentives to encourage sales of a product or service. It consists of a diverse
collection of incentive tools, mostly short-term, designed stimulate quicker and greater purchase of products or
services by consumers.

Purpose of Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion tools vary in their specific objectives. They may be used to attract new customers, to reward loyal
customers and 1o increase the repurchase rates of occasional users. Sales promotion usually targets brand switchers
because non-users and users of other brands do not always notice a promotion, Sales promotions are thus also
seen as a tool for breaking down loyalty to other products. Sales promotions also let manufacturers adjust 10 short
term changes in supply and demand and differences in customer segments. They also let manufacturers to experiment
by varying prices. Sales promotions also lead to greater consumer awareness of prices.

To use sales promotion, a company must set objectives, select the right tools, develop the best program and implement
it and evaluate the result.
 14
Promotion Strategy

Sales are the reason for the existence of any business which exists to generate profit, without sales it is not possible for
any business to function; This is the reason why business if needs to prosper have to have sales, to keep your sales up
to the mark and achieve the target keep the sales strategy in mind while preparing a plan. The main objective of sales
strategy is to understand the needs and want of the customer and understand their buying behavior, study sales trend
and then work accordingly so that are the enough sales.

Sales promotion helps retain old customer and at same time make new customer, it keeps the balance between new and
old which will then help understand what is needed to attract more customer. Business can use a variety of sales
promotion strategy, it is the sales manager duty to understand the market and make a strategy that is most suitable for
the situation to come, first of all we should know what does the term sales strategy means, and how does it work to
achieve the target Sales promotion is implemented to attract new customers, to hold present customers, to counteract
competition, and to take advantage of opportunities that are revealed by market research. It is made up of activities,
both outside and inside activities, to enhance company sales. Outside sales promotion activities include advertising,
publicity, public relations activities, and special sales events. Inside sales promotion activities include window
displays, product and promotional material display and promotional programs such as premium awards and contests to
boost the out flow of product to the potential customer, this needs a well-planned sales strategy that works as a convey
er for the sales. I t can be achieved by giving free coupons with magazines subscription, giving free movie tickets, or
by giving free gifts, sending mails to existing customers, providing them passes, open up a lucky draw, discount on
renewal, offers to customers as well as distributors, organizing competitions and doing entertaining activities , tickets
for amusement parks Sales promotion strategy cannot be ignored due to its importance in increasing the sales figure,
special care is given when designing a sales strategy

When developing a sales strategy following points have to betaken into consideration to avoid less sales: -

 Customer taste and preference



 Future sales forecast



 Financial condition of company



 Past demand


 Future demand


 Advertising
 15

Sale promotion from the retailer’s point of views

Perceptions on Scheme Preference

It was found that retailer perceived price offs as a better form of sales promotion activity.
Price offs in their opinion had relatively a greater impact compared to any other form of
sales promotion activity like Bonus packs, Premium, Contests etc. Retailers preferred
price offs the most, then bonus pack, premium, contests, in order of importance.

Perceptions about Buying Roles

Retailers viewed that the person who came to the shop (who may be a maid, son, daughter, daughter-in-law
and child) was the decider of a toilet soap brand and not the Income provider (e.g. head of the family). It
could be inferred that visibility of information about the sales promotion activity at the point of purchase
could result into the purchase of a promoted brand.

Perceptions about their role in decision-making

Retailer had relatively very low influence in affecting choice. It could be inferred that visibility and
awareness about the scheme were the critical success factors so that pull could be created.

Perceptions about Response to Sales Promotion Offers

They believed that younger age-groups were more experimental in nature, amenable to trying new brands,
and sought/looked for or asked whether there were any) sales promotion schemes running on any toilet soap
at the time of purchase.

Perceptions about Communications of Sales Promotion Schemes

Retailers perceived that role of word of mouth and television advertising played an important part in
providing information inputs to consumers regarding sales promotion Dealer-Retailer Dynamics At the time
of sales promotion activities, dealers had tendency to push unwanted stocks onto the smaller retailers. In fact
these retailers preferred to stock variety of brands and wanted payment for shelf and window display to
increase traffic into their store. ‘However, supermarkets and big retailers were pampered and given special
services and given better margins and better allowances.

Margins

1t was found that in sales promotion schemes margins varied from 6 to15% depending of the size of the
retail outlet, bargaining power of a retailer, quantity ordered by him etc.Mostly margins were linked to size
of the volumes that were ordered.

Nature of POP

Retailers indicated that most of the POP (Point of Purchase) materials were meant for brand advertisement
and not for giving information regarding the schemes. Thus it could be inferred that company’s follow up
was not adequate.
 16

Servicing during duration of Scheme

In stock-out situation during the running of the sales promotion schemes, smaller retailers had to wait for
replenishment of stocks till the next scheduled weekly visit by the dealer salesman but big retailers were
serviced on telephonic request for replenishment of stocks. This clearly indicated the disparity in treatment.

Handling Problems

Many a time’s retailers had to handle various sales promotion offers simultaneously in a category and also
across categories and there was no formal communication planning either from the dealer or the company.
Remembering each offer and handling was a problem especially for a small retailer which was often an as
one-man show.

There are three mechanisms behind these facts. It is Purchase quantity, Brand switching and Category
expansion. First, consumer can increase the quantity they buy just because the product is on sale. Second,
consumers are inducing to purchase another brand different from the one they
would have purchased when there is no promotional incentive. Finally, consumer’s total consumption of the
product category is increased by the promotion. However, in the long term this positive effect may be diluted
because a promotional campaign has no permanent effect in the sales of the firm.
 17
Sales Promotion from the Consumers point of view
Long-term impact

In order to understand ability of the promotions to increase long-term sales, respondents were asked about
continuity of purchase of a brand after the withdrawal of promotion.
Majority of the respondents indicated that they would not continue. But some of said they would. Thus, it
could be inferred that promotions in this category (low involvement products) might encourage trial and
brand switching but not long term loyalty.

Preference of Schemes:

Price off was the most preferred type of scheme. Maximum customers ranked price-offs as number one or
two.

Perceived Quality:

Majority of respondents had a perception that the quality of the promoted brands remained the same during
promotion, while some of them felt that it was inferior to before. It can be inferred that promotions were not
leading to negative brand quality perceptions. It is found that some customer strongly preferred to buy their
regular brand and said that sales promotion would not weaken their loyalty towards the brand

SWOT Analysis OF TIMES OF INDIA GROUP

Every industry in the world has its weaknesses and strengths, opportunities and threats. The only who knows
how to identify them on time is the one who survives the test of the time. SWOT analysis is a set of four
elements which helps the organization to better understand it self and function smoothly with a balanced
financial conditions.,It works as a tool for business to complete the analysis of their objectives of a particular
organization ,The company has to do a research to find out their SWOT, It varies from internal to external,
internal are those which lies within the organization and can be easily evaluated, external are hard to change
and may take time to change them they can be anything like government policies, laws and rules and
regulations which are hampering the interest of the business.

Strength: -
These are the things which a company is good at or has competitive advantage over them,It may wary from
business to business.With more than 3.5 million copies in circulation makes it stand out of the crowd, it Is
widely available across the country.It is easy for Times Group to start any business under the parent
company as the image they have made in the market is very positive Enjoys very good brand loyalty, which
is essential for any business to function smoothly By sponsoring movies and music they have increased the
visibility of the company.With its very old age it is now seems like a necessity and is embedded into our
culture. Largest infrastructure for advertising and circulation sales.

1. Widely available daily present across many regions with a circulation average of over 3.5 million per day
2. Can leverage Parent Company’s presence in Television, Radio etc. to reach out to a wider audience
especially for a Sustained Campaign on a particular issue for eg. Campaign against corruption etc.
3. Easy Brand Recall useful in a competitive markets with numerous dailies; high brand loyalty
4. Bombay Times, Delhi Times etc has a glamorous daily that is useful for news about movies, glamour,
fashion etc.

5. Weekly paper called Ascent is widely regarded as excellent platform and also a must read for potential
recruiters and job seekers.
6. Has got a city-wise edition publication for major Indian cities
7. Campaigns like Teach India and other events/initiatives are beneficial for the brand
 18

Weaknesses: -
weaknesses are something which no business wants but still they do exist, it may rise due to large number of
employees from different background or poor management by the top-level managers.
Some people have made a perception that they do paid Journalism.Many of readers have problem from their
excessive involvement into celebrities and Bollywood. Huge competition from 1,05,443 registered
newspaper in India. Not able to circulate the newspaper in rural areas. The average time it remains on shelf
is very short.

1. Some people have the perception that TOI publishing more celebrity/entertainment news
2. Tough competition means limited scope for increasing market share

Opportunities: -
Opportunities are external to the company which means the company has very low or no control over them,
it’s up to the company to open their eyes and recognize these opportunities and get benefit from them, it is
all about catching up new opportunities to keep your business strong and profitable.

1. Has a limited presence in Southern India as compared to the rest of India

2. Huge opportunity in Regional Languages space
3. Better usage and interaction with online and mobile mediums

Threats: -
Opportunities and threats are very much interlinked, most of the time threats are from external environment,
they must be taken care by top level managers at a very initial stage or they may cause major loss to the
business and can force it to shut down the operations. Ever increasing competition from large number of
publishers in India Printing business is growing at a decreasing rate in India due to globalization and
introduction of mobile phones and internet.

1. Increased competition from other dailies
2. On line news medium means reduced circulation
3.Unstable government policies

The Times of India Competitors

Below are the top 3 competitors of The Times of India:
1. Hindustan Times
2. The Hindu
3. The Indian Express
 19

FINDINGS

 Some people have the perception that TOI publishing more celebrity/entertainment news.

 Tough competition means limited scope for increasing market share.

 Schemes with gift are playing a good role in increasing readership as there are a lot of customers who
have subscribed only for gift.

 There are a big number of boutiques and designers in some region and most of them deals with Indian
traditions. That's why the contents should specific customer eccentric.

 Peoples are highly interested in magazines but low awareness about the schemes.

 Increased competition from other dailies is really a threat to TIMES OF INDIA GROUP.

 On line news medium means reduced circulation

 Unstable government policies.

 20

CONCLUSION

This project of summer training plays a crucial role in Master of Business Administration, with the help of
summer internship students get a golden chance to apply his theoretical learning into an actual scenario. The
Summer Internship Program also helps in acquiring knowledge and developing the confidence level in actual
business situation. I understood how the classroom knowledge works in field and how to use it in
organizations to create positive impact on clients, it also helped me to overcome my fear of interacting with
new people and being more comfortable around clients.Most of the subscribers are the owner of saloons and
clinics who have waiting areas, these clinics and saloon should be the priority of sales person and be treated
with extra care.South ext., Shanti Niketan, defense colony,these are some of the areas where most of Delhi’s
good crowd is situated and the rate of literacy is also height creating good market for magazines Most of the
readers are of English language but still there is scope for Hindi and other regional languages. people of
Delhi are less aware about the magazines of times of India, they only know about the newspaper, this also
signifies that there is still a gap in promotional activities, and if they know about the magazines they don’t
know about types of offer or how to subscribe for the magazines the customer shows great interest when
they come to know about the offers and types schemes available for different magazines.Most of the
customer are satisfied by the service, there are only few who are dissatisfied because of lack of connectivity
between the vendor and the customer, the customer has complained regarding the renewal system, this
should be improved at priority basis so that no customer leaves times of India in future.

TOI is not able to provide accurate service to all customers. There are some other reasons also, but if TOI
works on improving services of delivery or customer relationship or improving the quality of responding
towards the customers’ problems with better solutions, than obviously no reader will leave TOI.

people prefer English magazines rather than Hindi or Gujarati. But maximum areas still prefer to read a
Gujarati or Hindi magazine.There is high demand and high awareness about TOI newspaper in Lucknow.But
less people are aware that TOI has magazines also. And there are some people who are aware about it but
they are not aware about the subscription schemes. They are interested in subscribing. When they came to
know about the schemes, they immediately bought subscriptions. But still there are some areas where
awareness about these magazines is very low. Customer loyalty towards TOI magazines is very high. Survey
shows that only 26% of the
customers don’t renew their subscription. But this is only happening mainly
because of service problems. TOI is not able to provide accurate service to all customers. There are some
other reasons also, but if TOI works on improving services of delivery or customer relationship or improving
the quality of responding towards the customers’ problems with better solutions, than obviously no reader
will leave TOI.

 Improvement of Services: The first and foremost recommendation that can be suggested from the
findings of the research is the improvement in services. As there are high demand of the magazines of
WWNM. The customers now have huge options for selecting a magazine, as there are so many
producers of magazines in different language and increased usage of internet. Therefore a small problem
faced by a customer may lead to losing that one.

 A better distribution channel: I would also like to recommend that by implementing a better distribution
channel, TOI can increase its market share.

 A better renewal reminder system: A better renewal reminder system can also be implemented. There is
a system of reminder but customers are complaining that they are not getting the reminder alarm.

 Appointment of new staff; TOI can also improve their services by appointing new staff as ‘Customer
care Executive’ by giving well training so that they will be able to respond the customers well who have
problems. Because currently customers are not well responded.
 21

 A Hindi version of Femina: There is also a demand from the target group in Lucknow is a Hindi version
of Femina. By doing this they can Get readers from others magazines like Gruhsubha etc.

 Improvement in services: After going through findings, there is still a scope for improvement in services,
for example the delivery time taken by the magazine to complete the order is 4 to 6 weeks to reach the
customer from the date first he placed the order, it is clear that the time taken is quite very long, some
customers get frustrated by the long time and may cancel their order or search for other alternative.

 Stronger distribution channel: There is still large number of unattended market which can be used to
generate new customer base

 Better CRM system: Many customers are not happy with the reminder system, or they are not getting
notified before the expiration of their services

 Cheaper business magazine alternative: The only business magazine which is available is economic
times, it is the costliest magazine available from Times of India in circulation, there should be an
alternative for the business magazine so that low income customer can also afford a business magazine.
 22

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