A Study on Customer Satisfication- The New Indian Express-Vizag

INTRODUCTION

Communication and transportation has made the earth a very

small planet to live in. The process of social change produced societies

that are highly dependent on mass communication. It is natural that mass

communication is possible only through mass media. Newspaper is one

among the mass media available and probably the most distinct and

important achievement for the society. The newspaper acts as the agency

of “information and education”. It is also an instrument of democracy.

The role of newspaper during the independence struggle was

significant. The newspaper has not lost its importance with the rapid

development of the other media which can be seen from the increasing

circulation if various newspapers. Newspapers have become the food for

upgrading knowledge. Overcoming fear and gaining information about

current affairs around the world nation, region etc. This is the same for a

student, business man, government or private employee or a housewife

who has the important task if educating and bringing up tomorrow’s

citizens of the world.

THE ORIGIN OF NEWSPAPERS IN INDIA

The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the

human experience going back some five centuries. In Renaissance

Europe handwritten newsletters circulated privately among merchants,

passing along information about everything from wars and economic

conditions to social customs and "human interest" features. The first

printed forerunners of the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late

1400's in the form of news pamphlets or broadsides, often highly

sensationalized in content. Some of the most famous of these report the

atrocities against Germans in Transylvania perpetrated by a sadistic

veovod named Vlad Tsepes Drakul, who became the Count Dracula of

later folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the

newspaper were corantos, small news pamphlets produced only when

some event worthy of notice occurred. The first successively published

title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the 1640's and

1650's by a plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook format. The

first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a

generation it was the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many

periodical titles were in print by the century's end.

Beginnings in America:

In America the first newspaper appeared in Boston in 1690, entitled

Publick Occurrences. Published without authority, it was immediately

suppressed, its publisher arrested, and all copies were destroyed. Indeed,

it remained forgotten until 1845 when the only known surviving example

was discovered in the British Library. The first successful newspaper was

the Boston News-Letter, begun by postmaster John Campbell in 1704.

Although it was heavily subsidized by the colonial government the

experiment was a near-failure, with very limited circulation. Two more

papers made their appearance in the 1720's, in Philadelphia and New

York, and the Fourth Estate slowly became established on the new

continent. By the eve of the Revolutionary War, some two dozen papers

were issued at all the colonies, although Massachusetts, New York, and

Pennsylvania would remain the centers of American printing for many

years.

Articles in colonial papers, brilliantly conceived by revolutionary

propagandists, were a major force that influenced public opinion in

America from reconciliation with England to full political independence.

At war's end in 1783 there were forty-three newspapers in print. The

press played a vital role in the affairs of the new nation; many more

newspapers were started, representing all shades of political opinion. The

no holds barred style of early journalism, much of it libelous by modern

standards, reflected the rough and tumble political life of the republic as

rival factions jostled for power. The ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791

at last guaranteed of freedom of the press, and America's newspapers

began to take on a central role in national affairs. Growth continued in

every state. By 1814 there were 346 newspapers. In the Jacksonian

populist 1830's, advances in printing and papermaking technology led to

an explosion of newspaper growth, the emergence of the "Penny Press"; it

was now possible to produce a newspaper that could be sold for just a

cent a copy. Previously, newspapers were the province of the wealthy,

literate minority. The price of a year's subscription, usually over a full

week's pay for a laborer, had to be paid in full and "invariably in advance."

This sudden availability of cheap, interesting reading material was a

significant stimulus to the achievement of the nearly universal literacy now

taken for granted in America.

The Industrial Revolution:

The industrial revolution, as it transformed all aspects of American

life and society, dramatically affected newspapers. Both the numbers of

papers and their paid circulations continued to rise. The 1850 census

catalogued 2,526 titles. In the 1850's powerful, giant presses appeared,

able to print ten thousand complete papers per hour. At this time the first

"pictorial" weekly newspapers emerged; they featured for the first time

extensive illustrations of events in the news, as woodcut engravings made

from correspondents' sketches or taken from that new invention, the

photograph. During the Civil War the unprecedented demand for timely,

accurate news reporting transformed American journalism into a dynamic,

hardhitting force in the national life. Reporters, called "specials," became

the darlings of the public and the idols of youngsters everywhere. Many

accounts of battles turned in by these intrepid adventurers stand today as

the definitive histories of their subjects.

Newspaper growth continued unabated in the postwar years. An

astounding 11,314 different papers were recorded in the 1880 census. By

the 1890's the first circulation figures of a million copies per issue were

recorded (ironically, these newspapers are now quite rare due to the

atrocious quality of cheap paper then in use, and to great losses in World

War II era paper drives) At this period appeared the features of the

modern newspaper, bold "banner" headlines, extensive use of illustrations,

"funny pages," plus expanded coverage of organized sporting events. The

rise of "yellow journalism" also marks this era. Hearst could truthfully boast

that his newspapers manufactured the public clamor for war on Spain in

1898. This is also the age of media consolidation, as many independent

newspapers were swallowed up into powerful "chains"; with regrettable

consequences for a once fearless and incorruptible press, many were

reduced to vehicles for the distribution of the particular views of their

owners, and so remained, without competing papers to challenge their

viewpoints. By the 1910's, all the essential features of the recognizably

modern newspaper had emerged. In our time, radio and television have

gradually supplanted newspapers as the nation's primary information

sources, so it may be difficult initially to appreciate the role that

newspapers have played in our history.

IMPORTANCE OF NEWSPAPERS

The news and features are recorded on the newspaper. So they can

be accesed whenever necessary and can be discussed elaborately.

Newspapers reach remote areas where the other media is not

accessible.

The local news and information locally can cover more properly in

the news papers.

The items like application formats, examinations results etc. can be

given only through the newspapers.

Newspapers are the cheapest medium for advertisers to reach a

large number of people.

The newspaper can be expended in terms of pages to

accommodate more news, give extra supplements and other

feature.

The newspaper can give news, information and advertisements at

the same time on the same page. This enables different people to

access different item or features at the same time.

NEED FOR THE STUDY

The newspaper has been one of the oldest media for mass

communication. Due to technological development there has been a

tremendous raise in the number of newspapers being published.

Complication has also increased not only among the newspaper but also

from the organization has to survive and rule over the rest the organization

has to survive and rule over the rest the organization has to adopt to

change and formulate strategies. Indian Express is an organization which

publishes newspapers in English language. In the present study the focus

is on the perception and awareness and satisfaction of the public and

readers, which will help to improve the product and services.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The news and features are recorded on the newspaper. So they can

be accesed whenever necessary and can be discussed elaborately.

Newspapers reach remote areas where the other media is not

accessible.

The local news and information locally can cover more properly in

the news papers.

The items like application formats, examinations results etc. can be

given only through the newspapers.

Newspapers are the cheapest medium for advertisers to reach a

large number of people.

The newspaper can be expended in terms of pages to

accommodate more news, give extra supplements and other

feature.

The newspaper can give news, information and advertisements at

the same time on the same page. This enables different people to

access different item or features at the same time.

PRESENT SCENARIO OF NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

The industry has achieved a point where the public feels that

newspaper is must for the society and the welfare of the society and not

for profits. The industry is affected by two main sections. The government

and its working and paper industry through which it gets the necessary

input resources i.e. the newsprint. The Government controls the price and

quota of newsprint given to the respective newspaper organizations.

The competition both from other players in the market but also from

the other media. The economic and social factors that affect the industry

are the literary rate the peer capita income, the average time spent on

reading attitude of the public about particular newspaper. In the present

day the industry is at a very sloe growth with the individual organizations

reaching maturity in their business life cycles. The newsprint produced in

the country is costlier because of which most of newsprint is imported.

Hence an increase or decrease in the import tariffs would also affect the

newspaper industry.

In order to study the present scenario of the NIE the activities of

production, Finance, Human Resource and Marketing have been

considered.

PRODUCTION PROCESS:

The production of the newspaper is carried out at the greatest

speed when all production stops at the most of the other industries. The

hectic activity starts at about 9:30 PM and ends at 3:30 AM, Coordination

play an important role in the newspaper industry. The various departments

that co-ordinate in bringing out the product are as follows:

FINANCE DEPARTMENT:

There are not much of activities with respect to finance that takes

place. In the various units spread out in the state most of the decisions the

executive who reside at the corporate. The NIE at Vishakapatnam was set

up by the corporate officer with all the machinery and its structure. The

price of the newspaper is less than the cost of its production. This gap is

filled in fro the revenue that the organization gets in the form of

advertisements.

The agents collect the actual circulation revenue and submit to the

marketing department. In turn it is passed over to the accounts

department. Billing activities are carried out by the marketing department.

Since the inflow of advertisements is seasonal and the profits are

calculated yearly.

HUMAN RESOURCE:

NIE unit at VSP has a work force of 96 of which 6 of them are in

management levels. The regular working staff is divided into clerical,

marketing and editing staff. The general working hours for the clerical staff

is 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The editorial staff start their work at about 6:30 PM

and finishes at about 3:00 AM the next day. There are about members in

the NIE editorial section.

The sales organization is headed by the sales manger (marketing).

Under him are the circulation inspectors. They are two in number one

sales officers. They are followed by the field sales promoters. The sales

promoters are both promoters and temporary. There are about 10 sales

promoters. The sales promoters work in teams. The average working

hours per day is 5 hours. The sales promoters are two in number one as

sales officer and other as asst sales officer, they are followed.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT:

In this department they mainly concentrate on the Marketing Mix like

the Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

PRODUCT:

The product from the newspaper industry is the newspaper which in

itself carries features like news, information, advertisements and

entertainment. Each the paper covers these four important aspects in

varying proportions. The NIE at Visakhapatnam publishes English

newspaper.

PRICE:

The sales of any product are based on price compared to other

factors it plays a major role in buying a product.

The prices were reduced in paper industry in Oct 2000 when will

“India” reduced its price to Rs. 1.50p with this all English newspapers, in

the industry were forced to cut down their prices in order to survive in the

competition.

Even though the prices were reduced all the papers were

maintaining the same number of pages and supplements for the same

reduced price. With the reduction in prices all the paper’s circulation has

also increased tremendously.

When compared with last two decades, readership percentage

increases abnormally within a time span of 5 months. Even though the

company had spent lots of money on publicity earlier, growth percentage

increased just above 10%. After the price slash, even without publicity, the

market has seen a tremendous growth rate of 4000 in its circulation.

In 1980 the price of the paper in weekdays was Rs.0.30p and for

Sunday it is Rs.0.40p. In Jan 2000, price of the paper in weekdays is

Rs.1.00 and for Sundays it is Rs2.50. From March these prices are

increased to Rs.2.50 for weekdays and 3.00 for Sunday.

After the reduction of price by Times of India, NIE this is also found

in the survey that the circulation of the paper has increased because

readers were subscribing only one paper before the press cut. After

reducing the price people are subscribing for more than one paper.

PROMOTION:

Newspaper is a media that promotes other business. Naturally it

does not for excessive promotion of itself. NIE Vishakapatnam, promotion

is done by marker into urban and rural semi-urban, market the

sponsorship. In the rural areas the slides are used which are show in the

theatres. The use of stockers are painting is also used for promotion.

CLASSIFICATION OF NEWSPAPER :

Newspapers can be defined as a tangible media that is used in mass

communication through which the receiver is made aware of the latest

news, information and the related topic perceived as important by the

editorial personnel of the newspaper. The newspapers can be classified

on the basis of ownership, on the basis of circulation, on the basis of

frequency of editions, on the basis of subjects dealt.

On the basis of Ownership:

Chains: More than one newspaper under common ownership from more than one common centre. Examples Indian Express.

Groups: More than one news papers under common ownership from same centre.

Multiple Units:

More than one news paper having the same title, language and periodicity and under common ownership. Example THE HINDU.

On the Basis of Circulation:

Big

Newspaper:

Newspaper with a circulation of more than 50,000 copies

per publishing day from centre.

Medium

Newspapers:

Newspapers with a circulation of more than 15,000 copies

and less than 50,000copies per day.

Small

Newspaper:

Newspapers with a circulation of less than 15,000 copies

per day a single centre.

On the basis of Ownership:

Local News

Papers:

News papers that generally give news about the

happening locally. Ex: Vizag Reporter.

Regional News

Papers:

News papers that give news mostly at the state level Ex:

Enadu, Deccan Chronicle. Reporter.

Regional News

Papers:

News papers that give news regionally and also from all

over the country Ex: THE HINDU.

On the basis of frequency of editions:

Daily : A news paper appearing at least four times a week.

Weekly : A news paper being published once in a week.

On the basis of subjects dealt:

General: News papers that deal with the news from all corners cater to all

sections of the society, provide information etc. Ex. Deccan Chronicle,

THE HINDU, THE INDIAN EXPRESS.

Business: News papers that generally are mostly give importance the

news from the business environment Ex: Economic Times, Business line,

Financial express.

Political: News papers that generally are run by individual for their

political interest Ex: PrajaSakthi, Visalandhra.

LIMITATIONS OF NEWS PAPERS

The market has to be literate and able to understand difficult

sentences.

The subscription is a regular expense i.e. the customer has to pay

for every month.

The time of delivery and its value becomes more as the day goes

by.

The price of the newspaper is less than the cost of production.

Hot news cannot be given immediately and the readers have to wait

till the next morning.

Effort has to be put in by the reader to read the news paper.

The newspaper is geographically oriented.

Journalism is not literature and is short lived.

The interference of the press into the private lives of individuals,

both high and low is criticized.

In places where here is no freedom of press the newspapers

becomes mere tools of the government.

INDUSTRY VISION STATEMENT

Newspapers serve our democratic society by vigilantly protecting

the people’s right to know. Newspapers are leaders in providing news,

editorial comment, information and advertising. Newspapers will remain

vital and sustain their vigilance by “Investing energy and resources to

strengthen their value to readers and advertisers Continuing to be the

most comprehensive source of gathering, organizing and presenting news

and information Pioneering businesses that anticipate and meet the

changing needs and desires of consumers and marketers Attracting,

retaining and advancing a talented, creative and diverse workforce”.

VISION STATEMENT OF NEW INDIAN EXPRESS:

Create a Vibrant organisation

Perfect the functioning of all the parts

Focus on the success of the whole company

Release the enthusiasm of our people

Tune-in to the live ends of the evolving society

Convert every challenge into an opportunity

MISSION STATEMENT:

Reader’s Friendly

Trade Partners Friendly

Employees Friendly

Systems Friendly

Employees Family Friendly

Society Friendly

NIE- SALIENT FEATURES

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO:

1. Focused News

2. All Muscle, No Fat

3. Bold but not brash

4. Analytical

5. Always Investigative

STRATEGIC GROWTH INITIATIVES (S.G.I) VALUES:

1. Cleanliness & Orderliness

2. Speed & Punctuality

3. Communication & Co-ordination

4. Product Quality

5. Cost saving

6. Soft speech

7. Streamline systems

8. Customer Satisfaction

9. Productivity & Development of Employees

10. Maintenance & Maximum utilization of equipment

SALES MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (SMIS):

OBJECTIVES:

1. Activities

2. Measurement of the Activities

3. Market Intelligence

4. Identification of Problems

5. Feedback on Performance

6. Identification of Potential Segments

7. Decision Makings

AREAS COVERD UNDER SMIS:

1. Reporting

2. Agency Management

3. Focused Segments

REPORTING FORMAT:

1. Daily Call Report

2. Daily Activity Report

3. Circulation Report

4. Monthly report Call Analysis

5. Monthly report Agency Print Order Status

OBJECTIVES OF REPORTING:

1. Minimum number of daily visits.

2. Generate database

3. Analyze Productivity of calls in each segment

AGENCY MANAGEMENT FORMAT:

1. New agency development plan

2. Agency bifurcation plan

3. Agency distribution management

FOCUSSED SEGMENT FORMAT:

1. Stall Segment

2. School Segment

3. Hospital Segment

4. Hotel Segment

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OF THE NEW INDIAN

EXPRESS

Express publications (Madurai) Limited, (formerly Indian express

(Madurai) Limited) was founded by Late Shri Ramnath Goenka, along with

other companies in the Indian Express Group. The company was

incorporated on 11th April 1959 under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 and

has its registered office at Express Estates, Anna Salai, and Chennai

600002.

The company now forms part of Express (Madurai) Group owned

and managed by Shri Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, the grand son of Late Shri

Ramnath Goenka.

Express (Madurai) Group is an independent Group, publishing

Newspapers and periodicals in the states of Tamilnadu, Andhrapradesh,

Karnataka, Kerala, orissa ,Union Territories of Pondicherry, Andaman and

Nicobar islands, Enam and Lakshdweep. It brings out its publication of

Newspapers and periodicals from 14 centers Viz., Bangalore,

Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mangalore,

Belagam, Kochi, Kozhikode, Shimoga, Trivendrum, Vishakapatnam,

Madurai, Tiruvananthapuram, and Vijayawada.

The company’s publications include Dailies viz.The Indian Express

in English (the southern editions of the New Indian Express renamed as

The New Indian Express, effective from 28-12-98), Dinamani in Tamil,

Andhra prabha in Telugu and Kannada prabha in Kannada. In addition to

dailies, the company also brings out magazines viz., Cinema Express in

Tamil a fortnightly, Tamilian Express a weekly in Tamil, Samakalika

Malayalam Varika, a weekly in Malayalam, Andhra praba illustrated

weekly in Telugu.

The Company is professionally managed with well qualified and

experienced people holding charge of different departments.

The various departments in the organization are:

1. Editorial department.

2. Advertisement department.

3. Electronics &communications department.

4. Camera section.

5. Retouching section.

6. Page making section.

7. Plate making section.

8. Packing section.

9. Dispatch section.

10. Marketing department.

11. Accounts department.

12. Security department.

THE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT:

The news is gathered by reporters residing in and around

Visakhapatnam region. The news is composed and screened by the

reporters and sub-editors respectively. The stories are set aside

respectively by allocating them to a certain page. The entering work is

done by the sub-editors for NIE the paper composing and only the local

edition composed at Visakhapatnam.

THE ADVERTISEMENT DEPARTMENT:

The advertisement department is responsible for collection of

advertisements and publishing them in the news paper. The respective

pages are also fixed. This is further intimated to the editorial section which

fills in the news material in the space left out in the respective pages.

The advertisements are divided into commercial, financial, notices,

appointments and classifieds respectively and the tariffs are also imposed

accordingly. Full page and half page and quarter page advertisements are

also accepted. The advertisements are also received from the

advertisements agencies which are given 15% commission. The direct

advertisements are also accepted. There 15% also a small percentage of

advertisement coming from the Indian Newspaper society. The

organization also employees field staff for procuring the advertisements.

The advertisement department is headed by the assistant of the

Advertising Manager. There are both field staff and office staff. The office

staff is headed by sectional head. The office staff handles the scheduling

billing, accounting and typing works respectively.

ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT:

Different information is collected in the different faces by the

communication software developers exclusively by the NIE. NIE has got

highly automated communication software which has no need of any man

power to send the information from one center to another. They are

sending and receiving new items, photo advertisements, and pager

messages from one centre to another as files.

The various centers are connected to each other via the leased

lines, hence the collected information will send to next sections.

PLATE MAKING SECTION:

In the plate making section the page size negatives are subject to

high ultra violet rays. The image rails on aluminum plates are of high

quality and the high quality sensitizer developer and finisher are used in

making the plate.

MACHINE SECTION:

Machine section can be called as the heart of the production

process. The plates from the plate making section are in to the news web

offset press machine. It is a semi automatic machine. The capacity is

30000maximum per hour. There are two such set of machines having the

capability of printing pages at a time NIE newspaper.

PACKING AND DISPATCH SECTIONS:

The newspapers from the machine section are sent for the packing

and dispatching purposes. The packing is done according to the invoices

received from the respective agents. The packing is done with the help of

waste newsprint.

TRANSPORT SECTION:

The transport function is handled by the respective night

supervisors. The vehicles are owned by private parties.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS

The New Indian express has been best Identified and appreciated

for being investigative. It is awarded as the Best Investigative news paper

in the year 2003-2004 by All India Print Media Association(AIPMA). The

New Indian express is also awarded for its highest growth rate in

Circulation.

IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN

INDUSTRY

Consumer satisfaction is important to the marketer because it is a

determinant of repeat sales and consumer loyalty. Satisfaction is also

important to the individual consumer because it reflects a positive outcome

from the fulfillment of unmet needs (Spreng et al., 1996; Oliver and

DeSarbo, 1988; and Day and Landon 1977). This research will help

marketers seeking to sell their products in other countries and striving to

maintain a high level of customer satisfaction compared to the

competition. This goal cannot be obtained without a clear understanding of

factors contributing to the generation of high satisfaction and the process

by which customer satisfaction evolves following a product consumption

experience. Customer satisfaction is an important determinant of post-

purchase attitude and product choice. The growing amount of international

business has increased the need to understand customer satisfaction from

a cross-national perspective.

Culture

Culture can be defined as a system of values in order to study

culture as a determinant of consumer behavior (Hofstede, 1980b, 1983).

Members of a particular culture transform their experiences with their

physical and social surroundings to an abstract level of belief about what

is desirable and what is not. Such encoded beliefs, called values, act as a

general guide for day-to-day behaviors, including those pertaining to

buying and consumption. Cultural values differ among nations along

Hofstede’s four dimensions of national character (Hofstede, 1980, 1983).

Behavior

The growing amount of international business has increased the

need to understand consumer behavior from a cross-national perspective.

Because competition has been increasing in international markets,

management focuses on protecting its customer base from switching to

competitors (Lowenstein, 1995) by making consumers more satisfied than

they are with competing products (Hofstede, 1980b). A number of

satisfaction models have been accepted by researchers and practitioners,

but these models explain this phenomenon at the individual level,

independent of the cultural environment of the consumers Hofstede,

1980b). Rsearchers need to understand social values, cultural beliefs, and

norms to use these models.

According to existing research, valued benefits have impact on

satisfaction responses following consumption (Westbrook and Reilly,

1983). Therefore, satisfaction is the function of the congruency between

perceived performance and valued benefits derived from consumer

personal values, and the formation of consumer values is influenced by

central cultural values.

Meaning of consumer satisfaction

The expectations-disconfirmation paradigm provides the most

popular explanation of consumer satisfaction. However, and as is

occasionally noted, if a customer experiences disconfirmation after

consuming a product, future expectations regarding the product should be

revised toward the performance perceived by the customer. If

expectations do not change in the face of disconfirmation, the implication

would be that the customer did not learn from their consumption

experience.Assuming that a customer will learn from experience, then

decreasing levels of disconfirmation should affect customer satisfaction.

For example, if a customer is surprised by an excellent service experience

he or she will be satisfied. Yet the customer now has higher expectations

for the service the next time it is purchased. If product performance is

consistent, the degree of disconfirmation will diminish regardless of

whether the revised expectations are exceeded or just met. If

disconfirmation is the best predictor of satisfaction, then satisfaction

should vary directly with disconfirmation to a steady state level, despite

increasing expectations. A longitudinal approach to the antecedents of

consumer satisfaction logically implies the hypothesis of systematically

varying consumer satisfaction.

Literature related to consumer satisfaction, repurchase behavior,

switching barriers, and consumer information updating is reviewed in order

to fashion a model that integrates these concepts. A longitudinal study of

the antecedents of satisfaction and their consequence over time could not

be found, although several articles study satisfaction in a dynamic setting.

The review also reveals the following three important conceptual

relationships: 1) satisfaction is a function of expectations, perceived

performance, and disconfirmation; 2) intention to repurchase is a function

of consumer satisfaction and switching barriers; and 3) choice is a function

of expectations and intention to repurchase. These relationships are

integrated in a conceptual model called the satisfaction-Based Repeat

Purchase Behavior model. The model is dynamic and emphasizes

satisfaction as a primary determinant of repurchase behavior. It also

incorporates the antecedents of satisfaction, and allows their effect to vary

with time.

A combination of the model and the notion of systematically varying

consumer satisfaction makes it possible to formulate some interesting

predictions that have many implications for marketing. Specifically, the

hypothesis of systematically varying consumer satisfaction provides a

rationale for continuous improvement, yet reinforces the notion that there

is no substitute for high quality and good value. This follows because

customers will adapt their expectations as improvements are made, until

no disconfirmation exists. When this occurs, satisfaction is based solely on

expectations (or performance). The higher the expectations that are met,

the higher the customer satisfaction and probability of repurchase.

If satisfaction is assumed to be a significant predictor of repurchase

and switching behavior, another implication is that if satisfaction varies

with disconfirmation to a steady state or equilibrium level, the probability of

repurchase and switching will be affected in a predictable way. Moreover,

the positive disconfirmation created by a surprise factor and its effect on

consumer satisfaction and repurchase probabilities will dissipate over

time, which implies that switching behavior becomes more probable as

satisfaction decreases. Another implication is that the hypothesis of

systematically varying consumer satisfaction may offer an alternative

explanation to the variety-seeking phenomenon, or it may even offer a

rationale for variety seeking. Both the variety seeking literature and the

hypothesis of systematically varying consumer satisfaction predict—in the

typical case—a decreasing marginal utility of product consumption.

Diminished satisfaction with one product is a good reason to try an

alternative, and it might be difficult to discern whether variety seeking or a

desire to increase satisfaction is the goal.

TO STUDY THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF VARIOUS

TOPICS COVERED IN THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

In marketing, customer is very often referred to as a “King”.

Customers are value maximizers. Consumer satisfaction is defined by

Webster’s dictionary as: “Fulfillment of a need or want. “Satisfaction is a

person’s feeling of pleasure or disappointment, resulting from comparison

of a product’s perceived and actual performance in relation to his or her

expectations. So, consumer’s satisfaction is a function of the product’s

perceived performance and the consumer’s expectation.

Satisfaction is often a subjective phenomenon and depends on the

consumer’s state of mind both at the time of purchase and more

importantly at the time of consumption. It is important because in a large

number of case, some degree of post purchase dissonance is evident

among consumers.

Many companies are aiming at high satisfaction because customers

who are just satisfied find easy to switch when a better offer comes along.

Those who are highly satisfied are much less ready to switch. In fact,

emphasis has shifted from more satisfaction to delight of customers. High

satisfaction or delight creates an emotional affinity with the brand and the

supplier, not just a rational preference. The result is high customer loyalty.

Some of today’s most successful companies are raising

expectations and delivering performances to match. These companies are

aiming for Total.

Customer Satisfaction (TCS). Xerox, for example, guarantees “total”

satisfaction” and well replace at its expense any dissatisfied customer’s

equipment for a period of three years after purchase. Cigna advertises

“well never be 100% satisfied until you are, too”. And one of Honda’s

advertisements says, “One reason our customers are so satisfied is that

we aren’t. “Nissan invites potential infinite buyers to drop by for a “guest

drive” (not a “test drive”), since the Japanese word for a customer is

“honoured guest”.

PROFIT VERSUS CONSUMER SATISFACTION:

Some writers think that the businessman’s operational interpretation

orientation has not approached the philosophical meaning of promising

customer satisfaction as the ultimate goal of marketing. According to one

of them, “One apparent reason is that the attempt to provide customer

satisfaction may conflict directly with the most basic operational goal of

business – to earn a satisfaction rate of return on its shareholders’

investment”.

Although consumer satisfaction is the basis tenet of the

marketing concept, in practice, the firms do not tend to ‘maximize’

consumer satisfaction. “If that was the case, “as Kotler has very succinctly

said,” Company would simply putout the best product and service in the

world and price it below cost. There by it would create substantial

customer satisfaction but it would also be out of business”. As such, it

should be very clear to every corporate management, weather operating in

the public or the private sector, that profit is the basic condition of ,as

distinct from motive and apart from profiteering ,the corporate existence,

stability and growth, not withstanding any suggestions to the country. If

profit as a condition of business is scarified at the alter of ‘maximum’

customer satisfaction the very existence of business and, thereby, even

‘minimum’ customer satisfaction, will be threatened.

customer satisfaction expectations are often reflected in their

sacrifice preparedness in terms or money against their products. This may

be known by a care fully planned consumer price expectation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A CONSUMER_OREANTED ORGANISATION:

A written consumer-based mission statement.

Consumers are always put in front.

Through market and consumer service planning.

Integrate approach and people’s involvement.

Commitment to quality of service.

Customer research and feedback

Setting and monitoring service standards.

THE COMMITMENT TO CONSUMER SATISFACTION:

Consumer satisfaction research is neither quick nor easy. Six

months time lapse from developing a request for a proposal to receiving

the first consumer satisfaction rating is not uncommon. A significant

commitment of company personnel is necessary, even if an outside

research company manages the interviewing and analyse phases in

consumer satisfaction.

Research is only the beginning of the process dedicated to

improving consumers’ satisfaction. The generates among consumers an

expectation for improvement that must be satisfied. An effort of this

magnitude should be undertaken only if management’s desire to learn is

strong and its commitment to making changes is substantial.

The results, however, are invariably worth the effort. Here are

examples of how consumers view the importance of service and

satisfaction.

The ball is in their court. If they do right by me, they can have my

business.

We are happy with the way they do business, so we give them more

business.

They think they will be around when everyone else is gone, when in

fact the other companies are going to put them out of business with

consumer service.

They like to tell me how good are but a competitor came in and

showed me how good they were.

They want the business buy they can’t give us the service.

The immediate consequence of this phenomenon is the exposure of

even the farthest corners of the world to the rapidly unfolding events

elsewhere in the world.

Almost all parts of the inhabited world have taken to, though in

varying degree, newer ways of thinking and doing business necessitated

mostly by the intense competitive spirit that has merged in the

international as well as the domestic market place.

A recent study of the corporate world clearly establishes the fact

that only such of those corporations, which have given the consumers

maximum value for their money, have survived and further. Only such of

those companies that have gone beyond the stage of satisfying the

consumers in to delighting their consumers by exceeding their

expectations, have really grown beyond one’ wildest dreams.

A scrutiny of the latest list of Fortune 500 clearly proves this point.

Nearly a third of the companies are new entrants to the Fortune 500 list

and they were not there earlier and good number of companies that

dominated the list in the 50’s and 60’s are conspicuous by their absence in

their list today. The lesson that all big corporations of the developed world

have learnt in the recent past is that their activity has to be geared towards

achieving one goes that is in “delighting the consumer” and nothing else.

TO STUDY THE CUSTOMER LOYALTY AT THE NEW

INDIAN EXPRESS

THE LOYAL CONSUMER AS AN ASSET:

The delighted consumer can have a significantly the impact. The

delighted customer tells many others and will have some degree of

influence over them. Therefore, delighted consumers are sound

investment and some companies clearly under stand their impact.

Making consumer satisfaction happen has significant organizational

implementations because of strategic nature. Stratigic issues are

marketing owned and therefore, marketing plays a critical role in making

customer satisfaction. Happen. The marketing has three basic owner ship

roles in consumer delight ness. The first is to make a customer satisfaction

a straighten focus of the organization. The second is to structure the

organization to make it more responsive to the voice of the consumer. The

third is to align the organization reward and recognition system with its

consumer focus.

SOME CAUTIONS IN MEASURING CUSTOMER LOYALTY:

When customer rate their satisfaction with an element of the

company’s performance-say, delivery-the company needs to recognize

that customer vary in how they define good delivery. It could mean early

delivery, on –time delivery, order completeness, and so on. Yet, if the

company had to spell out every element in detail, customers would face a

huge questionnaire.

Companies should also note that managers and sales people could

manipulate their ratings on customer satisfaction. Another danger is that if

consumer knows that the company will go out of its way to please

consumers, some consumers may express high dissatisfaction (even if

satisfied) in order to receive more concessions.

It is not sufficient if a product enjoys a good market share. If the

company sits back, one fine day it might find that the market share

enjoyed by it was only a mirage created by artificial market conditions. It is

essential for companies to periodically assess consumer satisfaction

levels and take remedial action if needed. Some indicators of a

satisfaction levels and take remedial action if needed. Some indicators of

a satisfied consumer base are explained in fig.

Repeat orders in a competitive market

A positive work of mouth reference about the product to likely users in

the industry response the product receives to any new launch

Interest shown by visitors to the stall in industrial exhibitions

Brand awareness and recall. If the customer is loyal / satisfied, the

product will be on the top of his mind.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis

and reporting of data and finding of data and findings relevant to a specific

marketing situation facing the company.

Research Process:

Data for the proposed study on market potential for the milk

products through a mix of data source like.

1. Primary Source

2. Secondary Sources.

Primary Source:

The primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the

first time and thus happens to be original in characters.

It is obtained either through observation or through direct

communication with the respondents.

Define the Problem & Research Activities

Develop the research Plan

Collection of Information

Analyze the Information

Present the findings

Thus marketing data base is an organized collection of

comprehensive data about individual customer, prospects or suspects that

is current, accessible and actionable for marketing purpose such as lead

generations, lead qualification, sale of a product or service or maintenance

of relationship.

Survey Research:

Surveys are best suited for research. Companies undertake

surveys to learn about people’s knowledge, beliefs, preferences,

satisfaction, and so on, and to measure these magnitudes in the general

population.

Research Instruments:

Questionnaires:

Entire data collected through questionnaires. A questionnaire

consists of a set of questions presented to respondents for their answers.

Because of questionnaire flexibility, the questionnaire is by far the

most common instrument used to collect primary data, questionnaires

need to be carefully developed, tested and debugged before they are

administered on a large scale.

Finally questionnaire should be simple, direct, unbiased wording

and should be tested with a sample of respondents.

Secondary Sources:

The secondary data means data that is already available i.e., they

refer to the data, which has already been collected and analyzed by some

one else.

It includes periodically, magazines, newspapers, company

newsletters, reports and broachers etc., through liabilities and previous

projects for guidance.

Sampling:

It is an act of drawing samples from a batch on random basis,

Sampling may be as the process of obtaining information about an entire

population by examining only a part of it.

The selected respondents constitute the sample and survey so

conducted is sample survey.

Sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given

population.

Inside Company

Outside Company

Secondary data Source

Primary Data Source

Data Source

Newsletters, Documents, etc.

Libraries, Magazines, etc.

In conducting the market survey, it is always a line problem to

collect the various data and problem analysis.

The data may be collected from the whole population of a specified

area or if an area is too wide, samples representing whole population, may

be chosen for and used for analysis.

In this survey sample of 50 customers were met and are presented

with questionnaires, to find out how far they are satisfied with the dealer

service.

The information collected by both primary and secondary data.

1. Meeting the customers directly collected information.

2. Through magazines and newspapers.

STATISTICAL INFORMATION OF NIE

Advertisement Revenue -10 Crores per annum

Circulation -3 ½ lakhs per day in south

Turnover - 12.5 Crores per month

Turnover for 2002 -120 crores



COMMUNICATION INPUTS

OUT DOOR ELECTRONIC OTHERS

Posters SMS Leaf lets

Hoardings FM Radio Home Ads

Cinema slides TV scroll

Call Taxi’s Internet Cafes

Stall pop’s

Banners

TECHNOLOGY

The new Indian express is using a very sophisticated technology

and recently they have introduced “STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY”

printing machine being erected with the help of latest technology from

Germany.

Sales figures of past 4 years

Brief description of The New Indian Express:

The New Indian Express is probably the newspaper that does not

enjoy a high readership 01 circulation but found all over-India. In one way

it can be called a newspaper that is national having the regional touch

which is an added advantage; the paper is popular for its promotions in

delivering frank, sensational flash news. Also in many cases it is

responsible for the investigators reports of scams and other including

paper gives color editions all through out the week. The number of pages

also less than the other papers. The marketing activities are team oriented

and the generally customers are people who have migrated from the other

states.

The constituents of the newspaper are in the following percentage.

NEWS 57.97

INFORMATION 04.63

ADVERTISEMENTS 35.36

ENTERTAINMENT 02.02

The newspaper has an awareness of 40% according to the statistics.

Profile of The New Indian Express

Name : The New Indian Express.

Language : English

Established : 1949, Mumbai

Status of Newspaper : National

Head office : Express Estate,

Mount road

Chennai -600 002

Local office : 39-21-40. S.No. 25/1

Madhavadhara

Vishakapatnam -530007

The Editor : Vivek Goenka

The publisher : K. Ranganadham

Number of pages (avg) : 18

Price : Mon, Thu, Sat ---- 1/-Re

Tue, Wed, Fri ---- 1.50/-

Sunday ---- 5.00/-Rs

Local Circulation : 22,340

Other publishing centers : Ahmedabad, Bangalore, New

Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Pune,

Chandigarh,

Chennai,Mumbai,

Coimbatore, Hyderabad,

Vadodara, Kochi, Kozhikode,

Madurai, Tiruvananthapuram,

VijayaWada.

LAYOUT OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEW’S PAPER.

NIE carries a variety of features every day and there are special

items in store for each day of the week in order to study the features the

study can be divided into the study of features that are covered daily and

the other for the features that comes on a specific day.

The topics covered by the news paper for all days of the week are

as follows.

Page 01

In the first page of any news paper news that is of greatest interest

is published i.e., latest news, flash news etc. appears in the first page. The

first page covers the news in the national, international, regional levels

depending on the importance.

Weather Report:

Weather is important factor to be considered before starting any

important work for the day. Hence report is given in the first page.

Advertisements:

An advertisement is given in the right side bottom cover of the first

page. This advertisement is generally pertaining to the local units and

published respectively from the covers pending units.

In Brief:

In the left corner of the first page the different news are given in

brief.

Page 02

In the page 2 the newspaper leisure’s and listings have been given.

Spirituality-prosperity:

This part deals with different aspects of the spirituality and

prosperity.

On your screen today:

In this time enable at the various media channels are given like

entertainment, sports, movies etc.

Page 03 & 04

City /Regional news:

The news from the city and local areas in and around

vishakapatnam is covered in this page. The news pertaining to politics,

infrastructure, reports of regional festival functions etc are given

importance. The topics like city notes and crime beat news are also

printed in this page.

Advertisements:

The advertisements pertaining to the local edition and local

appointment classifieds etc are printed in this page.

Page 05

State:

The news pertaining to the state as a whole are printed in this page

Page 06, 07 & 10

Nation:

The news from the national levels as a whole are printed. News

pertaining to the various parts of the world as a whole is printed here.

Page 08 & 09

Articles:

Articles are published in the center pages of any newspaper. This

facilitates easy reading. The articles written by prominent authors from the

concerned field is selected for publishing activity, the activity that pertain to

the present scenario is taken for printing.

Letters to the editor:

Corresponding is where any citizen or reader can express their

views about the articles and editorials published in the newspapers.

Editorials:

The editorial for any newspaper is like the heart and voice of it. It is

the editorial where the editor expresses his views and ideas.

Voices of today & yesterdays:

The voices of well known people like politicians etc and

comparisons of their words at present and previous.

India vartha internet poll:

The readers will be given whether queries to poll their way whether

they agree or not to the particular ideas and questions.

Page 11

World

The news from the international level as a whole are printed in the

page the news pertaining to the international from various parts as a whole

are printed in this page.

Page 12

The information regarding different market and their market valves

have been given in this page.

Page 13

Business Express

The news from all the business sector is published in these pages

and also the stock market news s given due importance.

On shore & of shore

The information regarding national and international business.

Page 14, 15, 16

Sports:

National: The sports news at the national level and the reviews are

printed in this page.

International: The late night sports, other international sports events

etc. are printed in the upper half of the page.

Advertisements:

The last page is all allocated to advertisements as in the case of the

first page.

SUPPLIMENTS

Sunday:

Sunday the NIE called as the Sunday Express and the features will

remain the same as ordinary day.

Classified reader services:

Classifieds are advertisements that are changed according to the

words in the advertisements in the classified advertisements there are

general employment, real estate, automotive, rental business offers,

finance and education advertisements.

Life mates

The advertisements regarding the matrimonial are given in this

page.

Magazines

The interesting news regarding the insight (news &information

regarding the well known persons) books literature personal finance and

science/colony

Monday : Excel

Tuesday : Woman’s life &health

Wednesday : Vibes

Thursday : Sports &leisure

Friday : Youth express

Saturday : Weekend

1.BASED ON OCCUPATION

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

Table No: 5.1

s.no Occupation THE

HINDU

THE NEW

INDIAN

EXPRESS

DECCAN

CHRONICLE

Total

In

No.

% In No. % In No. I% In

No.

%

1 Employee 13 13 06 06 05 05 24 24

2 Student 23 23 11 11 15 15 49 49

3 Business 10 10 04 04 06 06 20 20

4 Profession 03 03 02 02 02 02 07 07

TOTAL 49 49 23 23 28 28 100 100

1. BASED ON OCCUPATION

Figure No: 5.1

From the table and figure 5.1. can interpret that the majority of the

subscribers when classified on the basis of occupation or students

concluding 49% of the total sample then comes employees with

24%,businessmen with 20% and professionals with 07% respectively

2.Based On Readership

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

Table No: 5.2

.S No

Name of the paperNo. of

subscribers

In%

1 The Hindu 48 48%

2 The New Indian Express 24 24%

3 Deccan Chronicle 28 28%

Total 100 100%

2.Based On Readership

Figure No: 5.2

From the table and fig. 5.2. can interpret that the largest readership

in the sample is contributing by Hindu subscribers with 48% then Deccan

Chronicle with 28% and The New Indian Express with 24% respectively

3.Based On Loyalty

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

Table No: 5.3

S

No

Name of the paper <2years 2-5years >5 years

1. The Hindu 10 14 24

2. The New Indian

Express

06 12 07

3. Deccan Chronicle 08 10 10

3.Based On Loyalty

Figure No: 5.3

From the table and fig. 5.3, can interpret that the loyalty of The Hindu

subscribers are high as the largest part they are contributing in above 5

years area and then deccan chronicle with 35% of their subscribers in

above 5 years area and The New Indian Express is now gaining its boom

now respectively

4.What do you prefer most in the newspaper?

Table No: 5.4

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

S

No

Name of the Article The Hindu NIE D.C total

In No. % In

No.

% In

No.

% In

No.

%

1. News 24 24 08 08 08 08 40 40

2. Entertainment 13 13 10 10 12 12 35 35

3. Sports 11 11 06 06 08 08 25 25

Total 100

4.What do you prefer most in the newspaper?

Figure No: 5.4

From the table and figure 5.4 can interpret that the more no. of

subscribers are reading deccan chronicle and The New Indian Express for

entertainment and sports purposes and reading hindu for news purpose

respectively

5.How do you rate the following news papers based on

Table No: 5.5

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

Name

of the

paper

Quality Packing Availability Price

good Avg bad Good avg bad Good avg bad costly Value

for

the

cost

Economical

Hindu 40 06 02 38 08 02 36 10 02 10 20 18

Nie 08 10 06 12 08 04 13 07 04 06 12 06

d.c 09 10 09 10 12 06 12 12 04 08 10 10

5. Based on Quality, Packing, Availability

Fig. No: 5.5

Based on quality:

From the table and figure 5.5 can interpret that the no. of subscribers

expressing good about quality are more in hindu and then deccan

chronicle and The New Indian Express respectively

Based on Packing:

From the table and fig. 5.5 can interpret that the no. of expressing

good about packing are more in hindu contributing 70% of the total of

hindu and deccanchronicle with 60% and The New Indian Express with

50% respectively.

Based on Availability:

From the table and fig. 5.5. can interpret that the no.of expressing

good about availability are more in Hindu contributing 82% of the total of

The Hindu and The New Indian Express 45% and Deccan Chronicle with

56% respectively.

5.5.a. Based on Price:

Fig. No: 5.5.a

Based on Price:

From the table and fig. 5.5.a. can interpret that the no.of

Respondents expressing value for the cost about price are more in Hindu

contributing 41% of the total of Hindu and Deccan Chronicle with 38% and

The New Indian Express with 36% respectively.

6.Based on Modes of communication:

Table No: 5.6

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

S No Modes of Communication

The Hindu The New Indian

Express

Deccan Chronicle

1. Advertisement 30 37 33

2. Hoardings 39 32 29

3. Personal Selling 28 39 33

4. Sales Promotion 30 36 35

Based on Modes of communication:

Fig. No: 5.6

Modes of Communication:

From the table and fig. 5.6. can interpret that the modes of

communication are very effective in New Indian Express with more effort

on personal selling and sales promotion contributing above 72%, then

Hindu is effective in hoardings with above 52% and Deccan Chronicle is

contributing all the modes of communication evenly respectively.

7. Based on modes of Purchase

Table No: 5.7

SAMPLE SIZE N=100

S No Modes of Purchase The Hindu The New Indian

Express

Deccan Chronicle

1. Door Delivery 43 21 22

2. Daily Purchase 05 03 06

Based on modes of Purchase

Fig. No: 5.7

Modes of Purchase:

From the table and fig. 5.7. can interpret that the main modes of

purchase of all the papers are door delivery contributing a major % of 94%

in Hindu, 91% in New Indian Express and 87% in Deccan Chronicle

respectively.

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS

SUMMARY:

The significance of Advertising and Communication in today’s

scenario cannot be overlooked. Marketing Mix includes the four Ps like the

Product, Price, Place, and Promotion which plays a major role in the

market. Marketing Mix decisions must be made for influencing the trade

channels as well as the final consumers.

In the present study it is observed that the subscribers rating of

New Indian Express in comparison with the competitors was satisfactory.

The company has followed the procedure which included all the four Ps in

accordance with the rules and regulations. Awareness of the people was

traced through informal interviews. The scope of growth of the employees

is through a combination of experience and merit which is a challenging

phase for the company. It was also found that the newspaper has not lost

its importance with the rapid development of other media and many

responded that newspapers have become the food for upgrading

knowledge.

SUGGESTIONS:

1. Frequent surveys can be conducted to know the levels of

awareness in people in opinion and about the company position in

the market.

2. Hot news can be given immediately which can make the company

stand out.

3. The content and quality of the paper has to be enhanced.

4. Reader’s prefer variety, so care must be taken to drive out

Monotony.

5. New technology has to be adopted in order to have competitive

edge.

6. Distribution channels have to be monitored thoroughly.

7. Safety provisions are maintained well and flexibility to make

changes with the timely requirements is being suggested.

BIBILOGRAPHY

1. PHILIP KOTLER

“MARKETING MANAGEMENT” 1994

PRENTICE HALLS OF INDIA Pvt. Ltd., NEWDELHI.

2. CHATTERJEE B.K.

“MARKETING MANAGEMENT” 1984

JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE, NEW DELHI.

3. GANDHI J.C.

“MARKETING–A MANAGERIAL INTRODUCTION” 1991

TATA MC.GRAWHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY Ltd.

NEW DELHI.

4. LATIFF TA.A.

“PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES OF MARKET IN INDIA” 1968

KITBAG MAHAN, ALLAHABAD.

5. PHILIP KOTLER & GRAY ARMSTRONG

“PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING” 1992

PRENTICE HALL OF INDIA Pvt. Ltd., NEWDELHI.

6. RAMASWAMI V.S & NAMA KUMARI.S.

CONTENTSPage No.

CHAPTER – 1 1-16INTRODUCTION

Introduction to newspapers Origin of newspapers Importance of news papers Need for the study Scope of the study Present scenario of the newspaper industry Limitations

CHAPTER - 2 17-27COMPANY PROFILE OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Organisation chart of the new indian express Vision and mission of the new indian express The new indian express sailent features Industry structure of the new indian express Achievements and awards of the new indian express

CHAPTER – 3 28-38OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Importance of customer satisfaction in newspaper industry To study the customer satisfaction of Various topics covered in the new indian express To study the customer loyality at the new indian express

CHAPTER – 4 39-42

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER – 5 43-53

STATISTICAL INFORMATION OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

CHAPTER – 6 54-72

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

CHAPTER – 7 73-80

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONSBIBILOGRAPHYQUESTIONNAIRE

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

With special reference toTHE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, VISAKHAPATNAM

A project Report submitted to the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam In

partial fulfillment for the Award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION

Submitted By

S. RAMA SEKHARA RAO(REGD. No. 2035421034)

Under the guidance of

Mr.A.V. NAGESWARA RAO, M.B.A., P.G.D.I.B.,

Faculty Member

SRI SRINIVASA VIDYA PARISHADCOLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

(Affiliated to Andhra University & Approved by A.I.C.T.E)

VISAKHAPATNAM2003-2005

C E R T I F I C A T E

This is to certify that the project work entitled, “A STUDY ON

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION” with special reference to THE NEW

INDIAN EXPRESS is a bonafied work done by Mr. S. RAMA

SEKHARA RAO Under my guidance and submitted the same to the

SRI SRINIVASA VIDYAPARISHAD COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT

STUDIES, in Partial fulfillment for the award of MASTER OF

BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION DEGREE.

Place : Visakhapatnam Mr.A.V. NAGESWARA RAO, M.B.A., P.G.D.I.B.,

Date : Faculty Member S.S.V.P College of Management Studies

D E C L A R A T I O N

I, here by declare that the Project work entitled, “A STUDY

ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION” with special reference to THE

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, VISAKHAPATNAM submitted by me to

the SRI SRINIVASA VIDYA PARISHAD COLLEGE OF

MANAGEMENT STUDIES, VISAKHAPATNAM is my own and it is

not been submitted to any other institute / University for the award of

degree / Diploma / Fellowship or other any similar title.

Place: Visakhapatnam S. RAMA SEKHARA RAO

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to express my sincere thanks to Sri S.P. Ravindra

correspondent and Sri Haragopal, director, S.S.V.P. college of

management studies for giving me permission to do project work at

The New Indian Express, Visakhapatnam.

I also express my sincere gratitude to Mr. A.V.Nageswara

Rao, who inspired me during my extensive research in this area and

extended her constructive guidance and constant supervision which

is of immense help to me in the successful completion of the study.

I am very much grateful to Mr. JACOB, Marketing Manager,

The New Indian Express, Visakhapatnam for giving me opportunity

to do project work at The New Indian Express.

Words would never be adequate to express my gratitude to my

parents and friends because whatever I am and whatever I do is a

result of their perseverance in moulding me.

Place: Visakhapatnam

Date: S. RAMA SEKHARA RAO

CHAPTER – 1INTRODUCTION

Introduction to newspapers Origin of newspapers Importance of news papers Need for the study Scope of the study Present scenario of the newspaper

industry Limitations

CHAPTER - 2COMPANY PROFILE OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

o Organisation chart of the new indian expresso Vision and mission of the new indian expresso The new indian express sailent featureso Industry structure of the new indian expresso Achievements and awards of the new indian

express

CHAPTER - 3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Importance of customer satisfaction in newspaper industry

To study the customer satisfaction of Various topics covered in the new Indian Express

To study the customer loyality at the new indian express

CHAPTER - 4RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER - 5STATISTICAL INFORMATION OF THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

CHAPTER - 6ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

CHAPTER - 7

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS

BIBILOGRAPHY

REFERENCES

Bibliography