INDRODUCTION

The information age: The age we live in has been described variously as the post industrial age , the age of individualism , the Capitalist age etc. while all these definition contain an element of truth , the most complete definition of the age we live in is the term, the information age . Never before in the history of human civilization has information been so important and central . Today , in business , commerce , commerce and every walk of life , information is power. Information in order to be useful Has to be accurate Should reach the right person Should reach in time Should be unbiased

Information can change the outlook or the perspective of the people receiving it , as many people take their decisions on thebasis of the i nformation provided to them . Thus the information has to be true and factual i.e. it should represent the facts. In this information age , the various sources of information are the radio , the television , the newspaper , magazine and now more rec ently the computers (internet).

The invention of computers and the internet on the computers have changed the scenario and brought a radial change in the way people looked at sources of information . Computers entered the indian market with BIG BANG and now with the internet facility , they are all ready to take over the other sources of information in terms of its market share etc . The invention of new technology every other day is providing a real threat to the sources of information with the comin g of the internet technology , the access to information has become a lot more easy and quicker. So , there is a kind of flight prevailing between varios sources of information to capture the market . But the main deterrent to people ( usually middle class & below middle class ) accepting computer or the internet facility available on the computer is the high price of computer being expensive cannot be afforded by all and sundry and hence newspaper are still the most popular source of information . So, all the newspaper are gering up for any future competition from internet etc. and are making all efforts to provide quality service to the consumers. In the business newspaper industry the two most important newspaper , both among the masses , bo th providing accurate information & both having good sales making efforts to increase their target market . This recently led to a war between THE BUSINESS STANDARD &THE ECONOMIC TIMESstudying the preference of the consumers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It includes introduction to the project high lighting its objective and sub objective which is to have an idea of the present standingof business standard in market in relation to customer internal satisfaction and also finding the fields in which business standard is lagging and what improvements are required in which field also watch the effect of schemes to the readers. This covers the scope and importance of the project and also the areasthat have been covered under the survey. After defining newspaper in details and comparing it to the other business newspaper for describing relative customer satisfaction. It also describes the marketing mix i.e. how the newspaper can be described in terms of various ps. It then give the gives the company profile of the Business Standard , its origin , its evolution , its functioning and some other services provided apart from the BUSINESS STANDARD . It also gives an outline of other newspaper for comparing their services and point of differences (PODs) . Then it includes the research methodology giving the samploing methods and the various analytical procedures used. It also gives the data collection methods used for the research . SWOT analysis of business standard is also done. After that readers feedba ck , recommendation& suggestion are taken. At the end we have bibliography and then lastly the appendix which includes the questionnaires and the diagrams.

LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

Though full efforts are made to provide all the infor mation required in the project, still there are the following limitation s of the project:

1). Project report is limited to making a throughout study of BUSINESS STANDARD and other business newspaper for determining customers satisfaction. 2). Information that has been gathered through the questionnaire explains only about a limited number of readers. Thus, enough samples/respondents have not been taken into account for analysis. This was due to time constraints. 3). Project is limited in Delhi only. 4). Project is limited in certain categories only. 5). Consumers attitude may change in future. 6).Respondents were sometimes unable to spend much time for filling up the, questionnaire. So, the changes for bias in the respondents answer were on the higher side.

A COMPARISION BETWEEN NEWSPAPER AND OTHER CONSUMER GOODS

Though newspaper is considered a product, yet it is very different from the normal consumers goods. As in the case of process of production, the fundamental purpose of newspaper is als o totally different from that of other consumer products like soap, cigarette and perfume etc. Newspaper has a limited shelf -time due to that the buyer behavior is quite similar to the one experienced in case of fast moving consumer goods. The marketing practices adopted for getting more readers or for retaining the existing readers are quite similar to what is practiced by fast moving consumer goods.

But, the speed required to react to the ever changing needs of readers is many times faster than what is required in case of other products e.g. a newspaper has to capture a new events just in time, otherwise it loses it relevance. This type of immediate response to the buyers ned in not witnessed in case of most of the other consumer product ca tegories.

THE MARKETING MIX OF NEWSPAPER

THE FIRST P-PRODUCT

We do not describe newspaper as a product or an object but as benefits which are offered to the target market. Thus there are two important things to note. 1). Newspaper is a bundle or features and benefits . 2). These benefits and features have a relevance for a specific target market.

Hence while developing newspapers it is important that the package of benefits must have a consumers perspective. A newspaper is a product with very low shelf-life and negligible options for attractive packaging.

For developing newspaper we have to access customer benefits. It is said that people dont buy products because of their attributes rather they buy their benefits.

THE SECOND P-PRICING

Newspaper, nowadays follow competitive pricing strategy is such as to cope up with the competition. In setting price, several factors in relation to the overall marketing strategy should be considered.

THE THIRD P-PLACE or DISTRIBUTION

The distribution channel in case of newspaper is very short and direct.

THE FOURTH P-PROMOTION

Consumers of newspaper prefer over impersonal sources over impersonal sources of information. Promotion of newspaper is done basically to make a strong impression of competency and to manage and maintain a fine image by positive word of mouth.

THE FIFTH P-PEOPLE or INTERNAL MARKET

In a newspaperindustry if the employees are not given training in how to go about face to face customer contact the entire marketing effort may not prove to be effective. Here. In newspaper organization employees are the contact personnel with the customer and they play and important role in the marketing operation of an organization. So, it becomes essential to develop motivated and customer conscious employee.

THE SIXTH P-PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The physical evidences shapes the perception of the customer on the basis which he makes his purchase decision. Thus managing physical evidence is integral to the marketing mix.

THE SEVENTH P-PROCESS MANAGEMENT

Process management will ensure availability and c onsistent quality of newspapers. Without sound process management, balancing service demand with service supply is extremely difficult.

FEATURES OF THE BUSINESS STANDARD AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

COVER NEWS :The data given shows that on the whole the readers feel that the coverage of news on the cover page is better in case of B.S. as compared to E.T. readers feel that the cover page of B.S. has good presentation of news which created good image among the r eaders. Secondly, there is also good understanding of the news on front page which further makes it popular. But as for as headings are considered people feel that E.T. has more catchy headlines.

NATIONAL NEWS:In the category E.T. has an edgeb over B.S. due to its wide coverage of news E.T. has more diverse and in depth coverage and hence among E.T. readers 24% feel that it is excellent and 48% feel that it is good, where as in case of B.S. only 18% percent fee l that it is excellent and 47% feel that it is good. The readers also feel that the national news in E.T. is factual and is delivered on time whereas B.S. sometimes delivers the news late. The B.S. also has comprehensive view. Further classification shows the similar trends by students, servicemen as well as businessmen i.e. they all feel that as compared to B.S., E.T. gives better coverage of national news.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
In international section B.S. far excel E.T. due to its interestin g and diverse coverage. The B.S. covers all the major events in the international arena and is considered the best newspaper for accurate international news. The readers feel that E.T. far lagging behind B.S. in case of coverage of international n ews in case of E.T. The data shows that in case of B.S. 22% of B.S. readers feel that international news extremely good but only 9% E.T. readers feel that coverage of international news is extremely good.

EDITORIAL
B.S. has carved a niche for itself in the editorial section. It has interesting articles and good editorial sections. In E.T. the educational sectional section is good enough with the section letters to the editor but still it is lagging behind B.S. in case of educaetional section. The editorial in B.S. is adored by all its readers for the quality of language and the contents. Further classification on the basis of occupation shows that through all the segments favours B.S. for editorial but it is seen that businessmen are biased towards E.T. and servicemen are biased towards B.S.

ENTERTAINMENT SECTION

In the entertainment section through B.S. is better than E.T. but the differences is not very perceptible as the performance of both the newspaper in case of entertainment section is similar.