.

A project report
On
Customer satisfaction survey on MINT (HT Media)
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT FOR THE DEGREE
OF
POST GRADUATION DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT 0
UNDER GUIDANCE OF
Prof. Rahath Fatima
BY
SANDEEP KUMAR
Department of marketing
(Roll no. 14/108)

(2014-2016)
INSTITUTE OF COMPUTERS AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENTSCHOOL OF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
HYDERABAD-500048

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
Certified that this project report Customer satisfaction survey on MINT
(HT Media). Is the bonafide work of Sandeep kumar who has carried
out the project work under my supervision.

Prof .Rahath Fatima

Prof. S.Zarar

SIGNATURE

SIGNATURE

Acknowledgement
This project has been a great learning experience for me & I would like to
express my sincere gratitude to all the people who guide me through the
project and without the valuable guidance and suggestions of these people
this project would not have been completely successful.
I owe enormous intellectual debt towards my Industry Mentor Mr. Khadir
pasha, Senior Sales Manager, HT Media Lt., & Faculty Mentor Prof. Rahat
fatima, Asst. Professor ICBM-SBE, for their continuous support &
cooperation throughout my project without which the present work would
not have been possible.
I would like to thank all the respondents whom I interacted during my
project & all the retailers for their cooperation without this I may not able
to complete it successfully.

Students Declaration

I do hereby declare that this project report on Customer satisfaction

survey on MINT(HT Media) submitted by me to the Department of
Business Management, ICBM-School of Business Excellence Hyderabad,
is a bonafide work undertaken by me under the guidance of Prof .Rahath
Fatima and it is not submitted to any other University or Institution for the
award of any degree diploma/certificate or published any time before. The
report is based on the project work done entirely by me and not copied from
any other source.

Signature:Students Name : - Sandeep Kumar

Batch : -

PGDM (2014-2016)

Date: -

LIST OF CONTENT
4

S.NO
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

TOPIC
INTRODUCTION
EXCUTIVE
SUMMARY
HISTORY OF
COMPANY
DETAIL OF
COMPANY
CHAIRPERSON
VISION & MISSION
PRODUCT PROFILE
PARTNERS
SALES
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNEL
PRICING CHART
SWOT ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION
CONCLUSION
RECOMMADATION

PAGE NO
11
15-17
17-18
19
20-22
23
29-30
31-32
34
35-36
37
39-48
52-54
51-52

CHAPTER-1

Objectives of the study.

1. To study of customer satisfaction survey on MINT news paper and its
supplement and acknowledge corporate customer about business news
paper and their benefits.

Research methodology
The basic types of research are as follows;
A. Descriptive v/s Analytical
Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different
kinds. In analytical research, the researcher has to use facts or information
already available, and analyze that to make a critical evaluation of the
material.
B. Applied v/s Fundamental
Applied research aims at finding a solution or an immediate problem facing
a society or an industrial/business organization. While, fundamental
research is mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation
of a theory.
C. Quantitative v/s Qualitative
Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It
is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. On
the other hand, Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative
phenomenon relating to or involving quality or kind.
Conceptual research is that related to some abstract ideas or theory. It is
generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to
7

reinterpret existing ones. Empirical research relies on experience or

observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory.

D. Conceptual vs. Empirical

Research design is only the frame work. It is like a blue print that of a
house designed by an architect. Out of all the above research design. In
research Descriptive Research is considered as, it only includes survey
of people & by such research we know about the feedback and response of
the customers. This method of research will help to know about the
perception of customers of MINT news paper.

Sampling Design
It is impossible to do the research with the whole universe. As we know
that it is not feasible to go for population survey because of the
numerous customers and their scattered location (H.T.MEDIA is widely
spread in different parts of India) so for this purpose sample size has to
be determined well in advance and selection of sample also must be
scientific so that it represents the whole universe.
> Target the population
Target population for my research is corporate customers of
business newspaper.
> Sampling Frame
companies, hotels, hospitals and banks in hitech city, banjara
hills, jublee hills, medhipathanm, etc of hyderabad are
8

visited.For the research the list of companies areas given by

my Team Leader Mr. khadir pasha.
> Sampling Techniques
A structured questionnaire was design for executing the sampling
process.
> Sample Size
For this research the sample size was 100 because it is tough
to take response from corporate customers during office hour.

> Executing of sampling process

For this process the response was taken by respondent on a
structured questionnaire.
> Validate the sample
For the validation of data the SPSS 20 was used and apply
necessary test

Data Analysis:
This will be collected through face to face interview and through
questionnaire through a structured questionnaire comprising of both open
and closed questions.
Primary data that are collected by two Instruments.
1. Questionnaire
2. Personal interaction

Secondary data:
It was collected through different websites, company brochures and
manual of the company.
9

Reserch instrument
A structured questionnaire has been prepared for conducting research. It
has been kept in a proper framework to make it clear to the
questionnaires. The questionnaires comprises of both open ended and
close ended questions. A simple questionnaire has been attached in the
report

Reserch tools
Many statistical tools

Kmo & Bartletts test

Median
Mode
Factor analysis and other spss tools

Other diagrammatic and pictorial representation was applied in this

research in order to drive conclusion

. Reserch plan
To visit the Corporate offices at the areas allotted
Ask them are they aware of mint newspaper and if they are
aware then whether they purchase it or not.
Next is to find out whether customer would want to get involved in
reading business newspaper in future if they are not aware yet.
Then explain them about the product and make them aware about the
brand and its products.
10

And finally convince them to get into a contract with Ht mint for
reading purpose or purchased

CHAPTER-2

11

Review of literature.

1. According to Drucker (1954), the principle purpose of the business is

to create satisfied customers. Increasing customer satisfaction has to
been found to lead to higher future profitability (Anderson, Fornell,
and Rust 1997), increased buyer willingness to pay price premiums,
provide referrals, and use more of the product (Reichheld1996;
Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Bolton 1998). Increased loyalty, in turn,
has been found to lead to increases in future revenue (Fornell 1992;
Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994) and reduction in the cost of
future transaction (Reichheld 1996; Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey
1998). All of this empirical evidence suggests that customer
satisfaction is valuable from both a customer goodwill perspective
and an organizations financial perspective.
2. John O Shaughnessy (1987) marketing strategic is a broad
conception of how resource to be Delhi to achieve market success.
The content for a marketing strategy shows how the proposed key
12

features of the films offering (products, price, promotion and

distribution) are intended to achieve the firm objectives.

A firms future profitability depends on satisfying customers in the present

retained customers should be viewed as revenue producing assets for the
firm (Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal
2000).
Empirical studies have found evidence that 6 improved customer
satisfaction need not entail higher costs, in fact, improved customer
satisfaction may lower costs due to a reduction in defective goods, product
re-work, etc. (Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997). However,
the key to building longterm customer satisfaction and retention and reaping the benefits these
efforts can offer is to focus on the development of high quality products and
services.

3. Customer satisfaction and retention that are bought through price

promotions, rebates, switching barriers, and other such means are
unlikely to have the same long-run impact on profitability as when
13

such attitudes and behaviors are won through superior products and
services (Anderson and Mittal 2000). Thus, squeezing additional
reliability out of a manufacturing or service delivery process may not
increase perceived quality and customer satisfaction as much as
tailoring goods and services to meet customer needs (Fornell,
Johnson, Anderson, Cha, and Everitt 1996).
4. NarasimhaRaoP.V.L.NationalConsumership survey (2005) press
continues to grow from time to time. Press adds 34 million consumers
in the last 2years over the last 3 years the number of consumers of
dailies and magazines put together among those aged 15 years and
above has grown from 179mn to 200mna growth of 4% every years.

5. Chrystal Szetoand Luis Jimenez (2005), new media offer

consumers a wide array of choices to access, disseminate and display
all forms of information. Historically, new media complemented
rather than eliminated the older media. Is this pattern changing with
the more recent introduction of digital media/ what does market
research tell us about the preferences of todays consumers for
electronic vs. paper media.

Rebekah (2006) Wade has remarked that the newspaper success would
probably depend more on free CDs and DVDs than on it journalists.
Newspapers particularly hope that CDs and DVDs will appeal to the
young
14

1. Newspapers particularly hope that CDs and DVDs will appeal to the
young who are increasingly getting their news online.
2. Kathleen and Collins, The consumption of paid newspapers in the
United States and most other mature print news markets has been in
slow but general decline throughout
3. the last four decades. Much of this decline has been precipitated by a
variety of (usually) free electronic news and information sources most
notably radio, television and now the internet. A recent addition to
these sources is free newspapers, some introduced as competitors to
paid newspapers, others designed to encourage newspaper reading
among current non-readers. The impact of free newspapers on the
market for paid print dailies in four major United States markets is
analyzed in terms of whether these two sorts of products are
competitors or complements.

15

CHAPTER-3

16

HT Media
HT MEDIA LIMITED
HistoryHindustan Times was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1924.
Since then, the newspaper has established its presence as a
newspaper with editorial excellence and integrity. One of India's
leading and most respected English dailies, HT have always prided
itself in spotting emerging trends and reflecting the same through
its unmatched editorial prowess. Today, Hindustan Times-Delhi
edition has the unique distinction of being the largest selling single
edition English newspaper in India.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF HISTORY

The Hindustan Times was the brainchild of the Akalis who felt that
a newspaper in English would enable them to reach an audience
other than the Punjabi-reading one. This was in the year 1922.
From the outset the newspaper was set up to oppose the British.
The Hindustan Times finally came into being on September 1924
and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. The newspaper was to
17

become a premier nationalist newspaper of the capital in the

turbulent years preceding independence. From a humble beginning
in a three-storey building, the company has expanded its operations
from print to other media channels like radio, internet, events and
marketing, and strategic partnerships, as part of its endeavour to
establish itself as a giant media conglomerate in the present times.
September 26, 1924
This date marked the august beginnings of Hindustan Times with
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation inaugurating the
newspaper.
1927
Hindustan Times was reborn as Hindustan Times Ltd., a limited
liability company.
1936
The Hindi daily Hindustan was launched, which remains the
dominant newspaper in the Core Hindi belt of northern India.
1937
Devdas Gandhi was appointed the Managing Editor of the
newspaper and remained the managing editor till his death in 1957.
1942
The Hindustan Times was one of the few newspapers that stopped
publishing the newspaper for four and a half months as it refused to
accept the British imposition of censorship on all newspaper
1947
The year India gained its freedom was also the year Hindustan Times
attained the status of being the dominant newspaper in Delhi.
1957
The newspaper circulation grew from 58,693 copies to 144,287 in
1970 after KK Birla took over the mantle from GD Birla.
1960
The Hindi literary magazine Kadambini was launched.
18

1964
The group started actively targeting the youth of India and launched
the Nandan magazine.
1991
At the start of liberalization of India, Hindustan Times moved to
becoming an autonomous power centre in a mature democracy.
1999
The Hindustan Times celebrated its platinum anniversary.
2001
With a focus on localization, five new editions for Calcutta, Bhopal,
Ranchi, Chandigarh and Jaipur were launched.
2003
The media business of was de-merged and incorporated under HT
Media Ltd.
2004
HT Media Ltd was listed as a public company and attracted external
funding.
2005
Hindustan Times successfully entered the Mumbai market with a
refreshingly new product and content mix.
2006
Fever 104 FM is launched, in technical collaboration with the Virgin
Group.
Hindustan was relaunched re-establishing the
company's prominent presence in the regional news space
2007
Mint, the business paper in partnership with The Wall Street
Journal was launched in Delhi and Mumbai. In the internet space,
19

Hindustantimes.com was relaunched and Livemint.com was

introduced.
2008
Firefly e-Ventures, an HT Media Company launched its first portal for
job seekers, Shine.com
Details of the company
HT Media Limited found its beginning in 1924 when its flagship
newspaper, Hindustan Times was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi.
HT Media (BSE, NSE) has today grown to become one of India's
largest media companies. Produced by an editorial team known for
its quality, innovation and integrity, Hindustan Times (English) and
Hindustan (Hindi), have a combined daily circulation of 2.25
million copies and a readership base of 12.4 million readers to their
credit. Both dailies enjoy strong brand recognition among readers
as well as advertisers.
large readership base, HT Media Limited operates 19 printing
facilities across India with an installed capacity of 1.5 million
copies per hour.
In addition to Hindustan Times and Hindustan, HT Media Limited
also publishes a national business newspaper, Mint. Mint is a oneof-its-kind newspaper in the sense that the company has an
exclusive agreement with the Wall Street Journal to publish
Journal-branded news and information in India. Mint is today the
second-largest business newspaper in India with presence in the
key markets of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore
.
HT Media Limited, through its subsidiary HT Music and
Entertainment Company Ltd., has made its foray into electronic
media. Diversifying its ambit of operations, the company in a
consulting partnership with Virgin Radio, has launched the FM
radio channel - Fever 104. Currently available in Delhi and
Mumbai, Fever 104 has established a strong presence as being one
of the most vibrant channels on air. In a short span of two years, the
20

channel's rise has been meteoric considering its position in Delhi as

the No. 2 station on the popularity charts.
Internet businesses of HT Media Limited, incorporated under
Firefly e-ventures, operate leading web portals Hindustantimes.com
and livemint.com in the general and business news categories
respectively. The company has recently launched Shine.com, a job
portal which has received high appreciation from consumers and
industry for its innovative design and usability.

21

HT Media Limited reported FY 2014 annual revenue of Rs. 23,630

million. FOR the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, the company
reported a 12% increase in revenue to Rs. 5,859 million and a 22%
increase EBITDA to 1,175 million from the year-ago quarter.
The Board of Directors and Management of HT Media Limited
comprises eminent persons from diverse professional fields, who
bring with them vast professional experience to the company.
A rich mix of veterans in media and top leaders from non-media
sectors, from both India and abroad, HT Media Limited
Management team reflects the company's desire to be the best by
leveraging diverse strengths. The management team comprises
people from varied verticals such as media, FMCG, telecom,
automobiles, each of whom add fresh perspective to the rich
experience of media industry stalwarts. This rich talent pool is ably
assisted by our Global Think Tank.

Board of Directors:> Chairperson

- Shobhna Bhartiya

> Chief Executive Officer

> Directors

- Rajiv Verma
- KN Memani, NK Singh, Ajay Relan, Mukesh
Aghi
- Priyavrat Singh, Shamit Bhartiya

> Whole time Directors

22

CHAIRPERSON

Mrs. Shobhana Bhartia, who has been associated with the

company since its inception, has taken over as the Chairperson
on September 18, 2008. She has spearheaded the company's
long-term vision and strategy. Mrs. Bhartia is in charge of
formulating and directing the editorial policies of the company
and has more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper
industry
Mrs. Bhartia is a graduate from Calcutta University and is a
recipient of the Padma Shri Award by the Government of India
in 2005. Mrs. Bhartia has received several other awards,
including the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year (2001) by
PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Global Leader for
Tomorrow (1996) by the World Economic Forum, Davos and the
National Press India Award (1992). She has been on the board of
Indian Airlines Limited and on the North Regional Board of the
Reserve Bank of India.

23

VISION & MISSION.

VISION
1.To stand at a respectful position in this competitive
marathon and also to keep up the pace of the changing needs
of their value readers.
2.To win more and more readers to their cause.

MISSION
1. The mission is to create space for the market share of MINT by
tapping uncovered market and by taking bites from competitors bit
from market share.
2 .Getting the benefits of the paper to be known to the market.
They endeavor to improve the quality of peoples lives by
empowering them through information entertainment & education.

24

1.
2.
3.

The values personified by HT Media are:

Courage
To encourage the ability that meets opposition with
skill, competence and fortitude.
Responsibility
Be accountable for results in line with the companys objectives,
Strategies and values.
Empowerment
Support our people and give them the freedom to
perform and to provide our readers with information to
influence their environment.
Continuous Self Renewal
Determination to constantly re-examine and re-invent
ourselves for further innovation and creativity.
People Centric
People are our greatest asset. We invest in them expect a lot and know
that the rest will follow.

25

PRODUCT PROFILE

..

26

PRINT
>

EnglishHindustan Times
Mint
Brunch

>

HindiHindustan
Nandan
Kadambini

INTERNETWith brands like HindustanTimes.com, Livemint, Desimartini and

Shine.com, Firefly spearheads Hindustan Media Ventures Limited
foray into the Internet media space.
Firefly e-Ventures Ltd., a 100% Hindustan Media Ventures
subsidiary, focuses on creating and building brands and businesses
in the Internet media space. Firefly aims to combine Hindustan
Medias 84-year old legacy as one of Indias largest and most
respected names in the media industry, with the innovation and
energy that characterize the Internet space.
Compelling product ideas, creative use of design and intuitive user
interface, backed by a knowledgeable sales force and customer
service are the hallmarks of Firefly products. With brands like
Hindustantimes.com,
Livemint.com,
Desimartini.com
and
Shine.com in its portfolio, Firefly promises to be an exciting
addition to the Hindustan Media family.

27

Livehindustan.com
Livehindustan.com is the online edition of the Hindi newspaper
Hindustan. It offers browsers a multimedia news experience that
brings news to life. It offers instant business updates, ball by ball
cricket coverage, and special online-only features.
Livemint.com
Livemint.com is the online version of the business daily Mint. It
offers online global news, breaking news, current news, along with
financial, technological and economic news.
Shine.com
Shine.com is a job portal that helps the candidates to get
the right job. It enables job seekers and employers to
reach out to each other in novel ways. Shine.com now
offers social media hiring through tie-up with MyParichay.

With an ever increasing database of job seekers and employers, it is

one of the leading job portals of India.Shine Jobs, a weekly
supplement in association with Shine.com, offers readers a cross
platform access to jobs on a recruitment platform that spans both
the print and online mediums. This offers job seekers and
employers a combined platform to reach out to and engage with
each other.
Shine Jobs was re-launched with a brand new look and feel, with
the promise of a variety of jobs for its readers. It now carries top
jobs from leading companies in the country, showcasing the best
jobs available on Shine.com across managerial levels, industries
and cities. It offers the most valuable content on overall career
28

development, interview tips, HR trends, hot hiring sectors and

many more useful career related.
DesiMartini.com
Desimartini.com is an online movie review platform that offers
information, updates and reviews about new as well as upcoming
movies. It is Indias one of the most popular movies review &
rating site with its viewership growing from 3 Million page views a
month to 7 Million page views a month. Its primary proposition
and differentiation is Public Reviews and Ratings.

Hindustan Times
With multiple new initiatives to build business and editorial excellence,
the Companys flagship newspaper Hindustan Times (HT) achieved
new milestones of success during the year. It remained the leading
English daily in Delhi for the 13th Indian Readership Survey (IRS)
round in a row, and was the second largest newspaper (broadsheet) by
readership in Mumbai. With a steadily growing reader base at the
national level, the newspaper has a readership of 4.34 Million, as per
the IRS results for 2013.Amongst one of the widely-read English
dailies in the country, Hindustan Times is published from Delhi,
Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Mohali, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Kanpur,
Allahabad, Varanasi, Bhopal, Indore, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and
Kolkata.HT continued to be ahead of competition in Delhi and NCR. It
registered a daily readership (Average Issue Readership or AIR) of
2.27 Million. In NCR alone, HT registered a healthy 11 percent growth
in readership over the year.
HT Mumbai continued to be a strong growth centre in terms of
readership. The newspaper consolidated its No. 2 position in the city,
with an AIR of 1.36 Million. It has remained the No. 2 English
broadsheet in the city for the last 10 IRS rounds.
Punjab also added the maximum number of readers among all English
newspapers in the state. In addition to growing its readership in
29

Chandigarh, the newspaper has also made major inroads into the top
cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.

HT City & Brunch

Hindustan
Times
supplements, HT City and
Brunch, continued to gain popularity among readers during the year.
Research shows that about 75 percent of all Hindustan Times readers
read HT City, which offers them the best in Entertainment, City &
Campus, Art & Lifestyle. As part of its special focus on City &
Campus, a special series on Women Safety called Safe in the City
was launched in the wake of the tragic December 16 incident. Other
initiatives included Campus Calling, Fresh on Campus and Youth
Nexus, which focused on the new session of Delhi University.
Brunch, HTs weekly Sunday magazine, is the largest read English
lifestyle magazine in India with a ustan times

30

Mint
Mint, the vibrant business daily of HT Media, continued on its exciting
journey of growth and expansion during the year. While retaining its
No.
2 position in the niche business newspaper segment in the country, it
expanded globally with the launch of its Singapore edition.
Maintaining a steady position, it has emerged as the preferred choice of
the discerning reader.
Mint has maintained its dominant presence in metros with the best
readership profile among business dailies. It commands a combined
readership share of 28 percent in key markets of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai,
Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai & Ahmadabad put together. It has a
readership (AIR) of 0.31 Million (IRS 2013), and an exclusive
readership of 90 percent.
In a first for an Indian media company, Mint went global on April 5,
2013. With the launch of its Singapore edition, it took a major step
forward in its goal of becoming a regional media brand. MintAsia will
be published every Friday in Singapore, presenting clear-minded
weekly in-depth analysis and sharp insights that will keep the global
audience abreast of developments shaping the Indian economy and
markets.
Mint, which reaches the whos who of corporate India, achieved a
milestone in its journey of excellence during the year by winning the
glorious Media Tenors Best Business Media Award, 2012. The award
holds great prestige globally and honors diverse, informative and
balanced business coverage. Mint has already won two SOPA (Society
of Publishers in Asia) awards for its journalistic initiatives on the
changing role of people and on the status of women in India.

31

SUPPLEMENTS OF MINT
1. MINT LOUNGE Lounge is the weekend edition of Mint. Every
Saturday, Lounge presents a visually engaging look at the "Business
of Life". With articles on Travel, Gadgets, Fashion, Books, Culture,
Parenting and Food, the editors and columnists of Lounge bring the
perfect work-life balance to the week.

2. MINT MONEY Mint Money is a daily section on Markets &

Personal Finance that comes inside Mint. Through its researched and
analyzed content, Mint Money helps its readers develop an
understanding of how various financial products and markets work.
It provides clear and credible coverage across the entire gamut of
investment products - Equities, Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real
Estate and Insurance, which helps its readers, become smart money
managers.

Consumers are seeking to bridge the gap between information and

understanding so that they can take the right calls in todays changing
market scenario. With its clear and analyzed content, Mint Money
seeks to aid the consumer in bridging this gap.

32

3.MINT INDULGE

Mint Indulge is the Luxury and

Lifestyle quarterly publication.

Tlio
* nuikinuor
\JT7tyv

A complimentary read for Mints readers across India, Mint Indulge

focuses on the passions & indulgences of India's top business leaders
and serve as their best buying guide for the season. Mint Indulge
showcases the most inspirational international brands which look at
India as a promising market to drive the next growth wave for them.

MINT as your Business paper:

> The Berliner size, refreshing printing & easy language just adds to the
pleasure of reading financial news.
> Get yourself updated with the Current Affairs in the Financial &
Political arena of the country
> MINT Leisure section can be used a perfect weekend planner
> MINT Money - Provides deep insights on the Stock Market & other
financial products, from its News to its Performance.
> Get updated with the World financial news with The Wall Street
Journal section
> MINT Lounge - the weekend magazine, gives information about
Entertainment/ Travel/ Health/ Lifestyle/ Technology

Maintaining pace with the growing Hindi readership, Hindustan

retained its No. 2 position at national level in the IRS (2015) results.
With a Total Readership (TR) of 39.1 Million and an AIR at 14.25
Million, the daily continued to consolidate its position during CY 2014.
Hindustan continues to reap the benefits of completing its expansion
process in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) & Uttarakhand. The most impressive
33

gains for the newspaper came in U.P. - 16 percent over the last 2 years
- to post 14.8 Million readers.
Hindustan has established a pan-U.P. presence, with 12 editions and
1.1 Million copies distributed daily across the state. Hindustan now has
7.63 Million AIR in U.P. & Uttarakhand.
Hindustan continues to post robust growth in relative market share
across all key cities of U.P. It retains its No. 1 position in Bareilly
while continuing gains from new launches in Aligarh & Moradabad.
Hindustan continues to dominate Bihar and Jharkhand as the single
largest daily. It has an AIR of 4.27 Million readers and a readership
share of 68 percent in Bihar. Similarly, it has a 1.40 Million AIR, with
a reader share of 46 percent in Jharkhand.

34

partners

Partners of Hindustan Times Media Limited

Burda
Redmatch
The Wall Street Journal
Velti
Virgin

Burda
Burda has interests in publishing, radio, event management and the
internet. Apart from staging the largest premium annual digital
conference in Europe, Burda also publishes and prints several
hundred magazines including local editions of Elle, Playboy and
Focus, and catalogs. In June 2008, Dr Burda was conferred with the
"Hall of Fame 2008" award in Germany by the Manager magazine
earlier this week for his outstanding contribution to the economic,
social and political development of Germany.

Redmatch
Redmatch is a world leader in online recruitment solutions. Using
unique Real-Time Job Matching technology, Redmatch enables
recruiters to find and hire the best people, faster and more cost
effectively. Thousands of satisfied users are already using the
Redmatch products. Redmatch provides a variety of products
including:- Job portals solutions, newspaper online employment
advertising solutions, corporate Applicant Tracking Systems,
staffing companies solutions and more.

35

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones &
Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowiones.com), is the world's leading
business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has
a print and online circulation of nearly 2.1 million, reaching the
nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors
across the country. Holding 31 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding
journalism, the Journal seeks to help its readers succeed by
providing essential and relevant information, presented accurately
and fairly, from an authoritative and trusted source. The Wall

36

Street Journal print franchise has more than 600 journalists worldwide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and
financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall
Street Journal franchise, with total circulation of 2.7 million,
include The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street Journal
Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest
paid subscription news site on the Web. In 2006, the Journal was
ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the seventh consecutive
year.

Velti
Veltis market-leading mobile marketing technology platform,
coupled with its experience in the mobile advertising industry,
enables clients around the world to deliver an extensive range of
highly targeted marketing campaigns. With operations in 25
countries, and a mobile marketing joint venture with the Interpublic
group, a top global holding group of advertising agencies, Velti has
the ability to reach through its platform an estimated 1.4 billion
consumers. Veltis unique Mobile Marketing and Advertising
Platform manages the full cycle of planning, execution and
monitoring of multiple campaigns across differing mobile formats
and channels, offering customers more than 70 mobile marketing
and advertising templates, which can be managed from one user
interface.

Virgin
One of the most respected brands in Britain - is involved in a
variety of businesses including airlines, trains, finance, soft drinks,
mobile phones, holidays, cars, wines, publishing, fashion and of
course Music. What tie all these businesses together are the values
37

of the brand and the vision and ambition of its founder Sir Richard
Branson. Virgin Radio went on-air in London at 12.15pm on 30
April 1993 - promising to play classic album tracks and today's best
music. It has since been sold to Ginger Media (which was
subsequently bought by SMG plc). Virgin also currently broadcasts
on DAB across England, Scotland and Wales, on digital TV and
cable.

Print Works
Print Works a one stop shop for space selling in any of the
publications in HT, has remarkably maintained the tradition of ours
as the first Indian media company to have organized this expo,
much to the chagrin of other media houses. Held for five days in
April end-May, it fetched huge ad
revenues to the company. The novel concept, undoubtedly, set our
company in the league of top notch organisations which are always
in the lookout of avenues to widen their clientele. Moreover, it took
place barely a few months after the media marketing departments
of Hindustan Times, Hindustan and Mint were integrated. It wont
be wrong to say that Print Works reaped the harvest, seeds of which
were sown during this integration. To woo the advertisers, a mega
prize of Volvo S80 will also be given after a lucky draw to be taken
place in April 2009.

38

HT Media Limited is a mammoth player in the print media in India.

The extent of its presence is undisputed in that it is the top leader in
the English newspaper market in North India and occupies second
place in the Hindi newspaper market in North India and East India.
The group now intends to further consolidate its already established
position as a vibrant and modern media powerhous

SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

A sale is a transaction, dealing, trade or what? Sale can have
different meanings but what is the most important thing in it, is to
understand the importance of it. Without sale no revenue can be
generated but just earning revenue is not to sale, it is the right type
selling to the right customer with the right attitude. Customer
relationship is most important, maintaining the brand image is also
important. Delivering on the brand promises becomes a moment of
truth in any customer relationship.
This moment of truth can be either positive or with negative impact
on the customers perception about your brand. There might be
great marketing communication and a highly superior product, but
the buying experience always stands between the seller and the
customer. If the customer has a negative impact about the product
then it is a direct deterioration of the brand equity. Hence, sales and
distribution is a vital activity. Sales hence comprises of the outcome
of what all which was done to manufacture that product. Success of
selling department is the success of the company.
MINT is the product where the maximum demand would be in the
early morning. It is highly perishable product. The product should
reach the customer in due time otherwise the importance is lost.
Hence time management is something very vital for the sales and
distribution people. Hence I can mainly divide the supply of the
newspaper in two main categorie
39

It involves all the editorial departments work where they have to collect
the news
and it has to be given to the production department in a prescribed limit.
This time limit is said as the
cut off time or releasing time.

POST-PRESS ACTIVITY
It is the distribution. MINT has divided Gujarat in two main sections, i.e.
Ahmadabad and upcountry market. This upcountry market has about 7
centres.

MINT gets involved in many kinds of sale activity. They are:

Subscription Sale
A one year subscription by paying fixed
amount is sale by subscription Cash Sales
Customers when paying the amount to purchase a newspaper
directly to the book stall in cash then the sale is said to be a cash
sales.

Line Sales
Line sale is the in which it is post paid billing. When the customer
gets the MINT copy through the vendor and pays in the end of
month, it is line sale

40

Institutional Sales
Few corporate, hotels and colleges take copy in bulk, which is said to
be as institutional sale.
MINT has the responsibility till the delivery at their doorstep and
further distribution is on the Company or the institution concerned
Corporate Sales
In corporate sales, executives have to do cold calling or they have
to take appointment from the concerned person and then after meet,
executive must convince the client. If it is big corporate and staff
are such that, they read financial daily at their home, then for bulk
subscription they have to try.

41

HT Media

DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Distribution is exactly for maintaining the brand equity in the
market. The promises which were made to the customers can be
fulfilled by the proper channel and the right time delivery of the
newspaper.

42

HT Media
PRICING CHART OF MINT WITH OTHER FINANCIAL
NEWSPAPER
WEEKDA
YS
MINT
ECONO
MIC
TIMES
BUSINES
S
STANDA
RD
BUSINES
S LINE
FINANCI
AL
EXPRESS

MO
N
Rs.
4.00

TUES

THU

FRI

SAT

Rs.
4.00

WE
D
Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
10.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.00

Rs.
3.50

Rs.
3.50

Rs.
3.50

Rs.
3.50

Rs.
3.50

Rs.
8.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
4.00

Rs.
6.00

SUN

Rs.
10.00

Rs. 3.00
Rs. 8.00

The annual cover Price of MINT is Rs. 1564. It provide subscription

scheme at Rs 699/- for 12 months from Monday to Friday & in Rs 899/Monday to Saturday.

43

EFFECT ON VENDORS
Businesses benefit because they are assured a predictable and constant
revenue stream from subscribed individuals for the duration of the
subscriber's agreement. Not only does this greatly reduce uncertainty and
the riskiness of the enterprise, but it often provides payment in advance (as
with magazines, Newspapers), while allowing customers to become greatly
attached to using the service and, therefore, more likely to extend by
signing an agreement for the next period close to when the current
agreement expires.

EFEECTS ON READERS
Consumers may find subscriptions convenient if they believe that they will
buy a product on a regular basis and that they might save money. For
repeated delivery of the product or service, the customer also saves time.
Subscription pricing can make it easier to pay for expensive items, since it
can often be paid for over a period of time and thus can make the product
seem more affordable. On the other hand, most newspaper and magazinetype subscriptions are paid up front, and this might actually prevent some
customers from signing u

44

Swot analysis

STRENGTH
> Wide coverage especially in Northern India.
> Part of a huge media conglomerate means excellent reach.
> Has a good pool of supplements covering education,
entertainment, Sunday lifestyle magazine.
> Separate Money & Market section with 4 pages.
> Exclusive partnership with The Wall Street Journal.
> Over view of the whole week is given in weekend.
> Provide general awareness in terms of investment.

WEAKNESS
> Lack of brand awareness.
> Cover only large and mid cap entities.
> Limited pan-India presence and penetration as compared to
market leaders.
> Tough competition means market share is not growing.

45

OPPORTUNITY
> Being part of a large conglomerate means they have resources
to expand in other parts of the country.
> Can use its strong network of supplements to build on its
readership base.
> . Maximize involvement of people through online
interaction and tie-ups with institutions and companies.
> Can give an extra page on DELHI related news
> Can introduce a new segment on Sunday
> Potential Market Availability
> Can have tie-ups with renowned brands for ads.
THREAT
> On line news medium means reduced circulation.
> Increased competition from other business dailies.
Toughest competition from The Economic Times.

46

CHAPTER-4

Data Analysis
47

Table 1- Representing Overall satisfaction rate towards mint

(HT Media) news paper.
variable
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor
dissatisfied
Somewhat
dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Total

No. of
respondent
9
34
47
9
1
100

Percentage
9%
34%
47%
9%
1%
100%

Source: - questionnaire
Interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%, 47%
are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 34% are somewhat
48

satisfied,9% are very satisfied,9% are also somewhat

dissatisfied and 1% is very dissatisfied

Table 2- Representing the customer through the following

words would use to describe mint (HT Media) news paper.
Options
Useful
Unique
Good Value for
money
Ineffective
poor quality
Total

Number
12
32
46
8
2
100

Source: - questionnaire

49

Percentage
12%
32%
46%
8%
2%
100%

interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,46% are

said its a good value for money,32% are said its a unique
news paper,12% are said its a useful,8% are said its a
ineffective and 2% are said its poor quality.

Table 3- Representing overall mint (HT media) news paper

meet customer needs.
Options
Extremely well
Very well
Somewhat
well
Not so well
Not at all well
Total

Number
0
32
50

Percentage
0%
32%
50%

18
0
100

18%
0%
100%

Source: - questionnaire
50

interpretation- according to my survey out of 100% 50% are

said its a somewhat well, 32% are said its a very well news
paper,18% are said its a not so well and no one is said its a
not at all well.
Table 4- Representing customer satisfaction rate towards
quality of mint news paper.
Options
Very high quality
High quality
Neither high nor low
quality
Low quality
Very low quality
Total

Number
7
42
36
13
2
100

Source: - questionnaire
51

Percentage
7%
42%
36%
13%
2%
100%

interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,42% are

said its a high quality news paper,36%are said neither high
nor low quality,13% are said its a very high quality,7% are
said its a very high quality and only 2% are said its a very
low quality news paper
Table 5- Representing customer satisfaction towards value
for money of mint news paper.

Options
Excellent
Above average
Average
Below average
Poor
Total

Number
18
19
50
10
3
100

Percentage
18%
19%
50%
10%
3%
100%

52

Source: - questionnaire

Interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,50% are

said its a average, 19% are said its a above average,18%
are said its a excellent, 10% are said its a below average
and only 3%
Table 6- Representing customer responsiveness questions
towards the mint.
Options
Extremely responsive
Very responsive
Moderately responsive
Not at all responsive
Not applicable
Total

Number
4
20
71
5
0
100

53

Percentage
4%
20%
71%
5%
0%
100%

Source: - questionnaire
interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,71% are
said that its a moderately responsive,20% are said its a
very responsive,5% are said its a not at all responsive and
only 4% are said its extremely responsive news paper.

Table 7- Representing the customer association with mint

news paper.
Options
Number
This is my first
20
purchase
Less then six month
36
Six months to a
40
year
1-2 Year
4
3 or more year
0
Total
100

Percentage
20%
36%
40%
4%
0%
100%

54

Source: - questionnaire
interpretation- according to my survey ot of 100%,40% are
said I am the customer of mint six month to year,36% are
said less then six month,20% are said this is my first
purchase,4% are said 1-2 year and no one are said more
then 3 year.
Table 8- Representing customer willingness for repeat
purchase.
Options
Extremely likely
Very likely
Somewhat likely
Not at all likely
Not at all likely
Extremely likely
Total

Number
7
40
48
5
0
100

55

Percentage
7%
40%
48%
5%
0%
100%

Source: - questionnaire
interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,48% are
said its a somewhat likely,40% are said its a very likely 7%
are said its a extremely likely,5% are said its a not at all
likely and no one said its a not at all likely extremely likely.
Table 9-Representing customer recommends to a friend or
colleague.
Options
0
1
2
3
4
5
Total

Number
0
7
13
20
33
27
100

Percentage
0%
7%
13%
20%
33%
27%
100%

56

Source: - questionnaire

interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%,33% are

recommend 4, 20% are recommend 3, 13% are recommend
2, 7% are recommend 1 and no one recommend 0.

Table 10-Representing people have other comments,

questions,or concerns.
Options
Yes
No
Total

Number
4
96
100

Percentage
4%
96%
100%

57

Source: - questionnaire

Interpretation- according to my survey out of 100%, 96%

are said no comments and only 4% are given comment that
in this news paper the should give gov. notification also and

58

CHAPTER-5

Finding
70.6% people prefer to read economic times than other business
newspaper.
56.86% of the people are satisfied with the current newspaper they
read.
35.3% people like MINT because of its paper size.
The supplements of MINT are fairly popular amongst the target
audience which is good for the brand.
47.1% of the people are more focussed on the information about
business article and it is analysed as first attribute while selecting
any business newspaper in comparison to price and other attribute.
59

During the research it was observed that News channels and

Internet media had adversely affected the reading pattern of the
readers up to a considerable extent.
75.5% of the people want sports and political news from the business
daily.
During the research it was found that most of the people want to
change the traditional yellow colour pages of business daily as
47% people agrees that the colour of Mint is different from other
newspaper.
It was found during research that most of people subscribe
newspaper through their Local Vendors, to whom they can trust
easily.
Large percentage of people were not ready to switch over to other
business daily. As 80% people thought that only their newspaper
can give them a maximum satisfaction or they like the content of
the newspaper they currently subscribe to.

Service problem is the main problem with newspaper, because in

my survey I personally met so many people who were facing the
problem of not getting newspaper regularly.
The font size of stock market related news is very
small which creates a negative perception for the
readers of MINT.
During research, most of the people complained that mint provides
improper list of companies from BSE OR NSE.
60

After making sales it was found that company took lots of time to
start subscription. It will take almost 1 month to start a copy to the
customer after booking date of subscription.
People also prefer Economic Times and other business newspapers
because the
price of Mint is higher than others. 41.2% people have query
related to price

Recommendations
1. The price of MINT is higher than other business daily. So reduce
some price or offer some gifts for the customers, because the
research shows that 47.1% people have query about price as they
thought that price of MINT is high as compared to the market
leader economic times.
2. During the period of research it was found that MINT positioned
itself as a casual business newspaper and trying to sale that
newspaper in corporate houses whereas most of the corporate
61

prefer reading hardcore business newspaper. So, MINT should try

to sell the newspaper to the casual readers like students,
management graduates and other professionals who would not
prefer to read hardcore business news.
3. Focus more on the content and articles rather than on the paper &
print quality of MINT because many customers have complained
about the content of newspaper. Even some vendors also told us to
improve the content of MINT.
4. Number of centers should be increased from where the newspaper
is available because availability of MINT on street shops is very
less.
5. The corporate awareness and brand promotion is very low about
the MINT because 76.4% people have never subscribed to MINT.
So, company should have to focus on it.
6. Company should grab some creative advertisement for its
newspaper so that the customer could easily connect with the
brand identity, as 45.1% people have never read MINT.
7. MINT should clear its perception and USP towards its readers so
that the proper positioning of the business newspaper can be done.
8. Provide small vouchers package at the time of Diwali or any other
festivals.
9. Service check calls at regular intervals.
10.In order to develop the touch points with its readers and create a
brand association, MINT should participate & sponsor corporate
events.
11.Made collaboration with the B-schools and provide daily copies
to the students at their door steps.
12. MINT should increase number of supplements on
upcoming brands and corporate strategies.
13. Mint Business Daily Newspaper must promote its offering
during Business functions, National Conferences, Trade Fair,
Business School Events, Induction Program, and MBA
62

coaching centers to achieve the target as early as possible in

their life stage.

Conclusion
To the best of my knowledge Mint business newspaper is very good for
readers. These readers are satisfied with the quality of news, price &
service according to survey but very less market share is there in
Hyderabad (5%)&this market share capture only financial institution area
such as Banjarahills, punjagutta, secunderabad, and hitech city etc. This
area are various financial institution (HDFC Bank, ICICI security, karvy
center,karvy house, global exchange etc.) Banks (Andhra bank, hdfcbank,
63

verdhman bank, pnb, sbi etc.),colleges(auroras Business school, amzad

khan management college, ethemes management college haindevi degree
college, Priyanka degree college, vani degree college etc.) easily increase to
share & other competitors are very good market capture in Hyderabad like
Economics times, financial chronical& business line. My survey area are
Himayatnager, banjarahills, punjagutta, bashirbagh, secunderabad, kingkoti,
koti,uppal, mehadipatnem, attapur, upperpali, hyderguda and ghachiboli in
hyderabad

References
1. HT media Wikipedia web page.
2. Slide share mint project report.
a) Books
1. Encyclopedia, The world book, volume 14
2. Encyclopedia, Britannica, Napoleon Ozonolysis, volume 16
3. Gupta, s.p., Statistical methods, s.chand& sons, New Delhi
64

4. Kothari, C.R, Research methodology, methods and Techniques

5. Pillai& Bhagavathi R. S.N. Modern marketing New
Delhi, RamNager, S.Chand & company Ltd, 2001.
WEB REFERENCES:> www.livemint.com
> http://www.htmedia.in/Section.aspx?Page=Page-HTMedia-AboutUs
> www.tribuneindia.com
> www.allindianewspaper.com
> www.economictimes.com
> http://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/media-andentertainment/2307-hindustan- times.html
> http://www.htmedia.in/Vision.aspx?Page=Page-HTMediaVision
> http://www.htmedia.in/History.aspx?Page=Page-HTMediaHistory
> Info@BestMediaInfo.com
http://www.htmedia.in/investorrelations.aspx?Page=PageHTMedia-Investor

65

Annexure 1

Name:
Mobile:
Email id:

Media Ltd)

Customer Satisfaction Survey on mint (HT

66

1. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with mint

(HT Media)
o Very satisfied
o Somewhat satisfied
o Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
o Somewhat dissatisfied
o Very dissatisfied
2. Which of the following words would you use to describe
our mint (HT Media Ltd)?
o Useful
o Unique
o Good value for money
o Ineffective
o Poor quality
3. How well do mint (HT Media Ltd) meet your needs?
o Extremely well
o Very well
o Somewhat well
o Not so well
o Not at all well

4. How would you rate the quality of mint (HT Media Ltd)?
o Very high quality
o High quality
o Neither high nor low quality
o Low quality
o Very low quality
67

5. How would you rate the value for money of mint (HT
Media Ltd)?
o Excellent
o Above average
o Average
o Below average
o Poor
6. How responsive have we been to your questions or
concerns about our mint (HT Media Ltd)?
o Extremely responsive
o Very responsive
o Moderately responsive
o Not at all responsive
o Not applicable
7. How long have you been a customer of our mint (HT
Media Ltd)?
o This is my first purchase
o Less than six months
o Six months to a year
o 1 - 2 years
o 3 or more years

8. How likely are you to purchase any of our newspaper

again?
o Extremely likely
o Very likely
o Somewhat likely
o Not at all likely
o Not at all likely Extremely likely
68

9. How likely is it that you would recommend mint (HT

Media Ltd) to a friend or colleague?
o 0
o 1
o 2
o 3
o 4
o 5
10. Do you have any other comments, questions, or
concerns?

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

HT Media

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

NAI

96

97

98

99