Chapter 1 Executive summary: Customer relationship management (CRM) gained recognition in the mid1990s, primarily driven by its perception

as information technology (IT). CRM has been growing steadily for the last few years and marketers have started promoting close relationships with customers. Management Information System plays a very crucial role in retaining your customer back and enhancing a better customer relationship with them. The project report includes my contribution to NewsWire18 Limited, where I was working under the expert guidance of Ms. Deepa Tanna, Head Strategic Planning. The job profile comprised of organizing a proper Management Information System for the company which would further help them in enhancing a better Customer Relationship Management with their Clients. The project also gave an opportunity to set many processes in place which were unorganized earlier. The team helped to standardize the overall process and enabled clear & precise information about all the available details like revenue collection, employee appraisal, customer loyalty etc. The idea was to come up with the hassle free and precise solution for recording and analyzing respective Companys subscription form and accordingly incorporating the same in the excel sheet. Recently CRM has taken a center stage in the business world with businesses concentrating on saving money and increasing profits by redefining internal processes and procedures. It costs a company dramatically less to retain and grow an existing client, than it does to count new ones. It is said that It is

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seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one, therefore the value of customer information and management information system should never be underestimated.

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Chapter 2 2.1 Introduction to MIS

A management information system (MIS) is a system that provides information needed to manage organizations effectively. It involves three primary resources: technology, information, and people. It's important to recognize that while all three resources are key components when studying management information systems, the most important resource is people. Management information systems are regarded as a subset of the overall internal controls procedures in a business, which cover the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures used by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Management information systems are distinct from regular information systems in that they are used to analyze other information systems applied in operational activities in the organization. Academically, the term is commonly used to refer to the group of information management methods tied to the automation or support of human decision making, e.g. Decision Support Systems, Expert systems, and Executive information systems etc.

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At present, MIS of enterprises has been the main resort to reform technology and improve the management level. The office and management of an enterprise will be towards an effective, rapid and paperless direction. MIS is generally used for system decision-making. For instance, enterprise employee can make use of MIS to find out problems that need to be solved urgently and feedback in time to the upper managers in order to make them understand the current progress and its shortages.

Objectives of MIS
Managers play a key role in any organization. They are responsible for taking decisions appropriate to the need of the market. Information systems have become the main tool used by managers in decision making. Managers perceive information as the driving force to achieve success in any business. Hence there is a need for MIS as:

Support of its business process and operations

Support of decision making by its employees and managers

Support of its strategies for competitive advantage-Gaining a strategic advantage

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The major roles of the business applications of a Management Information System may be represented in the pyramid form as shown below:

Functions of MIS
MIS must perform the following functions in order to meet its objectives.

Data Capturing: MIS captures data from various internal and external sources of an organization. Data capturing may BE manual or through computer terminals. End users typically, record data about transactions on some physical medium, such as a paper form, or enter it directly into a computer system.

Processing of Data: The captured data is processed to convert it into the required management information. Processing of data is done by such activities as calculating, comparing, sorting, classifying and summarizing. These activities organize, analyze, and manipulate data using various statistical, mathematical, operations research and other business models.

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Storage of Information: MIS stores processed or unprocessed data for future use. If any information is not immediately required, it is saved as an organizational record. In this activity, data and information are retained in an organized manner for later use. Stored data is commonly organized into fields, records, files and databases.

Retrieval of Information: MIS retrieves information from its stores as and when required by various users. As per the requirements of management users, the retrieved information is either disseminated as such or it is processed again to meet the exact MI demands.

Dissemination of MI: Management Information, which is a finished product of MIS, is disseminated to the users in the organization.

Characteristics of MIS:
MIS is mainly designed to take care of the needs of the managers in the organization. MIS aids in integrating the information generated by various departments of the organization. MIS helps in identifying a proper mechanism of storage of data. MIS also helps in establishing mechanism to eliminate redundancies in data. MIS as a system can be broken down into sub systems.

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Introduction to CRM
CRM is the acronym for the term "customer relationship management". CRM is a business strategy to select and manage customers to optimize a long-term value. It requires a customer centric business philosophy and culture to support effective marketing, sales and service processes. CRM applications can enable effective customer relationship management, provided that an enterprise has the right leadership, strategy and culture.

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It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. It is as a process that will help bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends. It is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a companys interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. CRM extends the concept of selling from a discreet act performed by a sales person to continual process involving every person in the company. It is the art/science of gathering and using information about your customers to build customer service expectations. CRM is about developing and implementing business strategies and supporting technologies that close gap between an organizations current and potential performance in customer acquisition, growth and retention. The traditional approach to marketing, which emphasized managing elements such as product, price, promotion and place, has been increasingly questioned in recent years. CRM recognises that marketing continues after the sale is over. Whilst recognizing the above key elements till need to be addressed, it emphasizes keeping, as well as winning customers. Its focus is on customer retention as well as customer acquisition, with time, money and managerial resources at both resources. In many companies there is still confusion as to what CRM is all about. Some companies think it means a loyalty scheme, others think a help desk fulfills CRM requirements. CRM is about finding better ways to enhance the customer experience.

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Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is also often known as one-toone marketing, because it is based on the idea that every customer is an individual with different needs and different preferences. Therefore companies need to engage in a learning relationship with their customers to recognize and respond to these needs.

Origin of Customer Relationship Management:

It is very hard to trace back the actual origin of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Many researchers state that the origin of (CRM) is found in early eighties and according to others in late eighties. The concept was originally developed by US marketing strategy consultants, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, and first published in the Harvard Business Review almost five years ago. The more customers teach the company, they explained, the better it gets at providing exactly what the customer wants exactly how they want it and the more difficult it will be for a competitor to entice them away. (Peppers & Rogers Group, 2001) According to Davies (2001) the term was first coined in the early eighties by academics at various business schools. One of the first on the scene was Dr. Jagdish Sheth who was at the Goizeta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta. However, the actual term CRM, according to Lee (2001), was the outcome of a contest sponsored by conference-holder DCI in 1988.

Why is CRM Necessary?

Several companies are turning to customer-relationship management systems and strategies to gain a better understanding of their customers wants and needs. Used in association with data warehousing, data mining, call centres and other intelligence based application, CRM allows companies to gather and access information about customers buying histories, preferences, complaints, and other data so they can better anticipate what customers will want. The goal is to instill greater customer loyalty.

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Benefits of Customer Relationship Management:

Shared or distributed data As companies realize that customer relationships are happening on many levels (not just through customer service or a web presence); they start to understand the need for sharing all available data throughout the organization. A CRM system is an enabler for making informed decisions and follow-up, on all the different levels. Cost reduction A strong point in Customer Relationship Management is that it is making the customer a partner in your business, not just a subject. As customers are doing their own order entry, and are empowered to find the info they need to come to a buy decision, less order entry and customer support staff is needed. Better Customer Service All data concerning interactions with customers is centralized. The customer service department can greatly benefit from this, because they have all the information they need at their fingertips. No need to guess, no need to ask the customer for the n-th time. And through the use of push-technology, customer service reps can lead the customer towards the information they need. And, most of the time, the customer can do this on their own, as the CRM system (remember, the 3 P's) is more and more able to anticipate the need of the customer. The customer experience is greatly enhanced. Increased Customer Satisfaction The customer feels that he is more "part of the team" instead of just a subject for sales and marketing (the proverbial number), customer service is better, his needs are anticipated. There is no doubt that customer satisfaction will go up. If the products sold exceed the customers expectation, of course, no CRM system can help you with shoddy products. In my opinion, the term satisfaction is a contaminated. Many companies think that if customers are satisfied that this is a good predictor for repeat business. However, this is not the case. Only delighted customers have a great level of loyalty.

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 Better Customer Retention If a CRM system can help to enchant customers, this will increase customer loyalty, and they will keep coming back to buy again and again, hence customer retention. More repeat business The repeat business is coming from the delighted customers, who are turned from doubting clients into loyal advocates. More new business If you are delivering the ultimate customer experience, this will seed the word-of-mouth buzz, which will spawn more new business. More Profit! More business at lower cost equals more profit. Loyal customers A proper CRM further helps the Company to create a Loyalty Program for the customers.

CRM Implementation Strategy:

For successful CRM, it is very important for the organizations to have a good CRM strategy as they plan to implement it within their organizations. As CRM is about creating a competitive advantage by being the best at understanding, communicating, delivering and developing existing customer relationships in addition to creating and keeping new customers, similarly customers have changing needs as their lifestyles alter, the development and provision of products or services that continuously seek to satisfy those needs is good CRM.

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Mission statement will focus greater attention on how to deliver customer satisfaction and organizations will begin to structure themselves around customer segments and not product lines. A good CRM strategy will take the business vision and apply it to customer base by asking the questions: What products and services are we offering now and in the future? The products that we are offering are in what market? What are the customer groups for these product and services? Which of these are of most value to the organization? In terms of spend? In terms of reliability? In terms of profitability? In terms of growth potential? What additional needs do the most valuable customer group have? Additional products? Additional services? What different ways can we be doing business to deliver to our customers better?

CRM requires a new management mindset:

CRM depends on management commitment to customer care. In the past a day without customers calling was a good thing, it meant nobody had a problem. Whereas at present not receiving any customer complaint calls, raises the alarm bells of the company. Complaining customers shows their expectation and loyalty towards the company, and if the management dont hear from their customers, it must ring their bells asking them self if their customers are still with them or have changed their loyalty with them.

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Designing a CRM strategy:

A successful customer relationship strategy will address four key areas of the business: Strategy, people, technology and process. CRM (UK) Ltd. Call the combination of these elements the COG Wheel process. The handle of the process is the driver of the corporate strategy that gives the direction to the company in turn, the strategic direction moves the two enables: people and technology. The interaction of those elements in the business process that sit behind the successful customer relationship management. The D4 Company Analysis: In order to ensure that the four aspects of strategy, People, Technology and processes are taken into consideration in the design of CRM strategy, CRM (UK) Ltd. has developed the D4 Company Analysis TH. The D4 company analysis TH is an audit tool that takes an interactive approach to strategy design and has 4 main steps. Step1: Define the existing customer relationship management processes within the company. Step2: Determine the perceptions of how the company manages the customer relationships both internally and externally.

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Step 3: Design the ideal customer relationship management solutions relative to the company of the industry. Step4: Deliver the strategy for the implementation of recommendation based on the findings. The principle outcome of the D4 Company Analysis is the development of a tailored and specific strategy that builds on the organizations existing CRM practices and position in the market place. It allows the organization to prioritize the action to be taken for placing customer relationship management activities at the heart of the business. One of the significant outcomes of the D4 Company Analysis is to revile who or what is driving the organizations current strategy or, in this case, holding the handle. In a company that is placing CRM at the heart of their business, the handle of strategy should be in the hands of customers. The objective of the audit is to direct the organizations towards successfully managing integrated processes that lead to the establishment of an ongoing dialog with their customers that delivers mutual value to both the customers and company.

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Customer Loyalty Program: Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior behavior which is potentially beneficial to the firm.

Various loyalty cards In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, advantage card, or club card is a plastic or paper card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card that identifies the card holder as a member in a loyalty program. Loyalty cards are a system of the loyalty business model. In the United Kingdom it is typically called a loyalty card, in Canada a rewards card or a points card, and in the United States either a discount card, a club card or a rewards card. Cards typically have a barcode or magstripe that can be easily scanned, and some are even chip cards. A retail establishment or a retail group may issue a loyalty card to a consumer who can then use it as a form of identification when dealing with that retailer. By presenting the card, the purchaser is typically entitled to either a discount on the current purchase, or an allotment of points that can be used for future purchases. Retail loyalty programs evolved when progressive retailers recognized that without a "customer identification tool," they were unable to recognize

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individual customers and reward them for desired behavior. This was in obvious contrast to banking and telecommunications industries, among others, that have a customer database as part of their regular service offering.

Both businesses and consumers have recognized the value of loyalty programs. Only 12% - 15% of customers are loyal to a single retailer, according to the Center for Retail Management at Northwestern University. But that small cadre of shoppers generate between 55% - 70% of company sales. Some food retailers find that as much as 65% - 95% of their sales go to members of loyalty programs (53% of food retailers offer loyalty programs with 3/4 of program customers using their loyalty cards at least weekly and 88% at least once a month).

In general, loyalty programs are often developed with good intentions but unclear objectives. While retail loyalty programs have many purposes, the greatest value that is created for retailers is the ability to identify individual customers and to measure and understand their individual behaviors. This consumer behavior data far outweighs the "currency" value of providing consumers the opportunity to build a reward opportunity by shopping at one particular retail banner. This opportunity is often misunderstood by retailers and consumers alike.

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Types of Loyalty Programs:

Some of the most common types of loyalty programs are Appreciations Giving customers more of a company's product/service. Rewards Giving customers rewards unrelated to a company's product/service Partnership Marketing to another company's database and allowing loyal customers to choose their rewards from either company. Rebate Giving customers money back when they buy more. Affinity Building a lifetime value relationship with a customer based on mutual interests and not on the use of rewards. Coalition Teaming up with different companies to share customer data to jointly target a customer demographic.

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2.2 Overview of the Financial Media Industry

The media plays an important role in how investors look at current market information and their opinions are shaped based on the information media provides. Information constantly streams into homes, offices and even cell phones via television, newspapers, magazines and the internet. The information can be overwhelming and hard to understand, and determining whom to trust can be confusing. When taking in the financial news, it's important to be able to decipher and distinguish fact from opinion, determine any potential conflict of interest from those reporting the information, and know where to get the best information. The Indian Financial Media Industry consists of players like Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg & NewsWire18. These companies apart from providing financial news also service with real time market data to their Clients. Hence they are also termed as Financial Data Vendors. Burton-Taylor International Consulting LLC, a leading market research, strategy and business consulting organization, released results from their survey of 76 market data vendor executives, users and consultants indicating that demand for financial information will grow slightly in 2010 and accelerate in 2011. Weighted average survey responses also suggest that China, India and Asia (ex Japan) will lead demand for market data and news in 2010 and 2011, with the US and Western Europe showing increased spend in 2011. "Changing

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regulations, increased sophistication of instruments, technological advances and the recent global recession have impacted the types of information and tools demanded in the industry, as well as the available spend," says Douglas B. Taylor, Managing Partner of Burton-Taylor. "Market data executives and users indicate to us that the recent downturn has bottomed and that spending is increasing in selected segments and across targeted products."

Financial Data Vendors:

A financial data vendor provides data to financial firms, traders, and investors. The data distributed is collected from sources such as a stock exchange feeds, brokers and dealer desks or regulatory filings. Financial data vendors have been in existence as long as financial data has been available. Financial data includes "pre-trade" such as bid/ask data necessary to price a financial instrument and post-trade data such as the last trade price and other transaction data. Because of the financial investment needed to provide the services needed, the industry had become ever more consolidated, but in 2004 it was forecast that the industry was beginning to fragment. From ticker tapes to television cameras, from databases to websites this multi billion dollar industry provides data to the trading rooms and consumers.

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Global Scenario:
Major Companies: Bloomberg L.P.: It is a privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P. was founded by Michael Bloomberg with the help of Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, and Charles Zegar in 1981 and a 30% ownership investment by Merrill Lynch. The company provides financial software tools such as analytics and equity trading platform, data services and news to financial companies and organizations around the world through the Bloomberg Terminal (via its Bloomberg Professional Service), its core money-generating product. Bloomberg L.P. has grown to include a global news service, including television, radio, the Internet and printed publications. Thomson Reuters (TRI) Thomson Reuters provides data, information, and analysis products to businesses and professionals in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science, and media markets. These products are mostly distributed as electronic content and on a subscription basis. Thomson Reuters is comprised of two segments: Markets, which consists of its financial and media businesses, and Professional, which consists of its legal, tax and accounting, healthcare, and science businesses. The Markets segment specializes in news media distribution and integrates its technology into the workflows of professionals across the financial services sector, resulting in customized analytics for its clients.

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The segment's main competitor is Bloomberg L.P. Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people, including more than 2,500 journalists, in over 90 countries In 2009, 86% of Thomson Reuters's revenues were derived from subscriptions or similar contractual arrangements, which result in recurring revenues. Revenues are supported by a relatively fixed cost base that is generally not impacted by fluctuations in revenues. Other Companies:

SunGard CarryQuote Factset Interactive Data Corporation Markit Moody's Analytics SIX Telekurs SNL Financial Standard & Poor's

Industry size: According to the 2009 Burton-Taylor report, the Market Data industry exited 2009 at US$22.68 billion after closing 2008 at US$23.01 billion. In 2009, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg market share were virtually even, at 29.4% and 29.2% respectively. The largest four financial data vendors represent the USD 15.222 billion tip of an enormous global market (2008 Annual figures) and employ tens of thousands of people.

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Indian Scenario:
NewsWire18 Limited: NewsWire18 Ltd. has come a long way since October 2001 when it started operations as CRISIL MarketWire. NewsWire18 Ltd. is Indias first and fastest growing real-time news and market data platform company. It provides finance professionals the most relevant news, views, market intelligence, data and tools in a single workstation that helps them to stay ahead. It brings expert coverage of India with over 100 well-connected journalists at nine bureaux across the country who file well-crafted stories everyday on government policies, current and emerging market trends, scoops and exclusive interviews.

India V/s Global:

In India there are currently 3 big players, namely Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg L.P & NewsWire18 Limited. Apart from them there are also small local companies who provide market data. Out of the above 3 players NewsWire18 has a competitive advantage for its pricing & local market data. Since the other two are global players their fees against their services are higher than NewsWire18 which is the biggest domestic player. In terms of market share NewsWire18 is 5 times larger than its major competitors. It has the best of the services at most reasonable pricing.

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Services offered by a Financial Data vendor:

Most of the market differentiation between competitors is based on some combination of the following:

Delivery frequency - Data can be updated in Real-Time, Delayed, or End of Day Delivery method - Data is delivered either in a streaming format, or as snapshot files of streamed data, or as "end of day" files showing the position at the close of business of a certain market or region Delivery transportation - Data can be delivered via Broadcast, Satellite, Private Line, VPN, or Internet Delivery format - Data can be encoded heavily to optimize performance, or can be left in simple formats to simplifying databasing Normalisation - The benefit of receiving data from a vendor is normalisation. A vendor collects from sources all around the world and then translates all of those formats into a single format (by vendor or by product) for consumption by either a financial data processor or by the end user. Reliability - High availability of data is a primary concern in the financial markets Value Added Services - Data value can be improved by adding on related services such as listing information, share data, fundamental data, etc. Local experience - Larger data vendors have sales and service offices and data centres worldwide in major financial centres in the US, Europe and Asia. This allows their customers to access local expertise without having to have a local presence.

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2.4 Introduction - NewsWire18 Ltd.

NewsWire18 Limited is Indias first and fastest growing real-time news and market data platform company. NewsWire18 provides finance professionals the most relevant news, views, market intelligence, data and tools in a single workstation that helps you to stay ahead. News is a key offering of their product, through its four wires, money wire, equity wire, commodity wire and fund wire. NewsWire18 files more than 1000 news items on an average each day which is by far the most in the real time news space in the country. At least five times more than the main competing workstation companies. Each of the Newswire18 newswire is designed to meet the varied needs of finance professionals in each distinct market segment while ensuring readers of each wire get adequate coverage even of the areas that are not of direct interest. Newswire18 brings to you expert coverage of India with over 100 well connected journalist at nine bureaus across the country to file well-crafted stories everyday on government policies, current and emerging market trend scoops and exclusive, interviews one would not like to miss.

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NewsWire18 is known for its market moving exclusive, breaking news and analytical stories and market comments apart from interviews, forecast, calendar, statistic and summaries. The core values of news service are authenticity, accuracy, objectivity, integrity and independence. It relies on authentic primary source and strives to benefit customers by being first with the news. NewsWire18 publishes detailed report on Indias financial market and on all factor and events that may have a bearing on financial markets. NewsWire18 covers a central government and all regulatory agencies and policy making bodies in detail. It also has in-depth coverage of Indian companies and mutual funds. NewsWire18 has broken several nation ad market moving stories since October 2001 when it started operation as Crisil Market wire. NewsWire18 publishes several summaries of its reports, events, and data release daily. These capsules serve as a ready reckoner of news items for a quick update and notable for their topicality presentation and attempt to explain what and why of events. They have time and again proved to be the best in real-time journalism and have set high standards for accuracy speed, exclusivity and insight.

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About NewsWire18 Workstation: Utilities

The Newswire18 workstation is intuitive, extremely easy to use, and is based on Windows functionalities of click, right click and drag-and drop. All utilities and windows are completely customizable for user-view for colour, font, type and size. The NW18 workstation has all the features & functionalities of a standard market data platform including customizable views and several analytical tools. It allows you to create customized Workspaces. It has a market watch function called Multi screen which can be used to watch a plethora of market data for any instrument cross markets and asset classes. The utility allows you to customize views across instruments and template fields and has 9 preset screens for viewing different types of datasets. The Portfolio Screens allows users to maintain a portfolio and view gain/losses at scrip level and at total portfolio level on a real-time basis. It can be in any currency of your choice. Incorporate Alerts on stocks for a pop-up, customized message when any stock reaches the desired level or when it moves up or down by certain value or percentage. The Time and sales function provides tick-by-tick data as also displays open, high, low, close and volume data on a minute, 5 minute, daily or weekly basis. The VWAP Calculator displays current volume weighted Average Price and shows a custom VWAP based on time interval of your choice. The BOND CALCULATOR calculates current yield, yield-to-maturity and the residual duration of any bond.

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The in-built Charting Tool allows you to chart up to 10 instruments in one window. With a total of 44 studies, you can view MACD Histogram, RSI, Moving Averages, Stochastic and many more. You can also plot trend lines including Fibonacci. The SINGLE SCREEN provides user with a quick snapshot of predefined market data for the selected instrument. It is completely customizable. The COMPOSITE SCREEN enables user to view, in a single screen, prices of a single instrument listed across exchanges and even countries. The RANKING SCREEN lists, at a single click, the ten most active traded instruments on any one exchange. The OPTION SCREEN allows users to view all the listed options across preset fields. Excel Linking via the DYNAMIC DATA EXCHANGE allows users to link live prices to excel files for auto updates. You can also export the data to Excel. Yield Curve: Plot your own yield curve. Analyze bond by using yield curves to understand markets and to identify trading opportunities. There are three interpolation options available Linear, Cubic Spline, and the Nelson Siegal Curve method with Svenson. The FOREX CALCULATOR allows users to calculate forwards rates for broken periods, for any given date. It can also calculate LIBOR rates for broken periods. For a quick, snapshot view of real time rates of preset currencies across each other, use the FOREX CROSS RATES utility.

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The TICKER function can put a running ticker across the screen for any exchange of instrument. QUICK QUOTE allows user to view, at all times, a single chosen instrument at the top of the view screen. The DATABASE utility provides easy accesses to all instruments under one roof. No more remembering complicated symbols. Plus, see real time prices and snapshot data in the same Lookup window even while looking up the symbol. The DERIVATIVE PRICER is available for the FOREX and INTERST RATES market. The newly launched MARKET WATCH and STOCKSCREENER has made the NewsWire18 WorkStation much more powerful a tool. The Market Watch allows you to view data across 350 fields, both captured and calculated, including implied Volatility. The ultra-powerful Stock Screener allows you to analyze the stock market live, on parameters and matrix of your own choice! Mining the stock market data was never so easy. The Fundamental Wire option provides balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, quarterly earnings and financial ratios for more than 2000 top listed companies. The New Wires workstation also covers 51 Indian ECONOMIC INDICATORS along with 822 sub constituents with years of histories to let you know exactly whats happening in the economy and markets, and to help you to make sense of these events. NewsWire18 is a part of Network18 Group, Indias top media network that operates in the print, television and internet space and is a subsidiary of listed company Television Eighteen (TV18)

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The NewsWire18 work station also brings to you synergies across the group Network18 and in particular, CNBC TV18 is a proven force in business and stock market news. The NewsWire18 workstations bring you all the exclusive stories and corporate interviews of CNBC TV18. NewsWire18 workstation also provides real time data feeds from several dozen local and global exchanges and real time updates on more than 180 currencies.NewsWire18 workstation, your all inclusive one stop answer for all your information needs, has been sourced from Tenfore System Ltd., now Morningstar. Our main overseas partner is our technology provider and also primary source for global datasets. NewsWire18 is among the few companies globally which have a proprietary real time market data platform and a proprietary news service. Within a short period NewsWire18 has made a mark with its innovation, sincerity, dedication and responsiveness in servicing clients. In a short span of 2 years from its launch, the NewsWire18 work station has found ready acceptance among hundreds of users across all banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, corporate houses, brokerage firms, government, regulators and even individual investors. (For more products & Services from NewsWire18 Please refer to Annexure attached below.)

2.5 Introduction to the Project:-

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The sole purpose of the project was to study and analyze the Subscription Management System for NewsWire18 Limited. The company already had their Management Information System in existence but it was unorganized. Organizing their MIS would help the company in enhancing a better Customer Relationship Management with their Clients. The idea was to come up with the hassle free and precise solution for recording and analyzing respective Client companys subscription form and accordingly incorporating the same in the excel sheet. The team went for standardization of overall process to get clear & precise information about all the available details like revenue collection, customer loyalty etc.

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Chapter 3 3.1 Project Objectives:-

1.

The objective of the project was to study and assess the effectiveness of the existing Management Information System at NewsWire18 To design a program to enable NewsWire18 offer better standards of Customer Relationship Management

2.

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3.2 Research Methodology:Descriptive Research online data was primarily audited using conventional records Sample Size 2000 companies PLEASE ELABORATE WORKFLOW: A team of four people were given the task under the expert guidance of Ms. Deepa Tanna, Head - Strategic Planning.

The team first sorted all the required documents relating to the respective companies into separate files and arranged it in alphabetic order.

Once the sorting of file was done, the various documents in the files of the respective companies were then arranged chronologically.

The team was then provided with the database in two different excel sheets which were later merged into one document.

After all the arrangements were made the team started with auditing process by personally checking the details entered in the excel sheet with the respective companys documents in file.

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 The team was then asked to flag the major differences between excel and the documents available. All the flagged queries were verified and corrected.

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3.3 Analysis and findings:After analyzing the data the Team found the following:
Absence of standard format:

Some subscription forms were typed where as some were hand written. At some places regional sales was mentioned instead of AM sales. That would create confusion. There was difference in the date format used in the subscription forms, for instance at some places DD/MM/YY format was used whereas at some places MM/DD/YY format was used. There was no specific format where the following details could be feed: Citrix Charges Security Deposit Complimentary Period In absence of a proper format, these details could be left out from being entered in the excel sheet. Double entries of the following details in the subscription form: Username Designation Contract date These double entries would create confusion while filling details in excel.

i. ii. iii.

iv. v. vi.

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 Mismatch of details between subscription form and the excel sheet provided, the following were the mismatched items: Installation charges and Citrix charges.

Client ids were not organized and mismatched for most of the companies. Contract dates & start bill dates would differ from subscription forms. Username & designation were mismatching and were not available for many companies. Status (subscribed or disconnected), packages, billing cycle, currency conversion rate etc.

Incomplete Information: It was found that there were details not completely filled in the subscription forms. About AM sales & support details were missing in subscription forms against the format given.

Many times the concerned person would forget filling the vital dates like start bill, contract, stop bill, change bill etc. There were many companies whose segment column was left blank in the excel sheet. Missing documents in the file: Subscription forms Stop bills Start bills Change bills Organization name change documents (if any)

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 Miscellaneous Observations: Few INR & USD annual billings were charged for 15 months instead of usual 12 months.

The terms and conditions were never in line or order, for instance in one form the 1st term or condition would be 3rd or 6th condition in another form. This could lead to confusion to the person feeding data into the system. If a client was charged for one or two months subscription charges as security deposit then the calculated figure was not mentioned in the subscription form. There were many files of whose complete information were not mentioned in the excel sheet. It was observed that Clients left the organization due to the following reasons:

Recession Period, bad markets etc. Competitive Pricing, better package etc. Hence a Loyalty Program was designed to enable the Company offer better standards of Customer Relationship Management.

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Following is the designed NewsWire18 Limited:

Segmenting of Customer:

Loyalty

Program

for

It was observed that the companys Clientele comprises of the following: Big Corporate Houses Banks & Financial Institutions Individuals & Small Business houses Big Corporate houses: They comprise of big multinationals, domestic companies, insurance companies and more. They normally give bulk business and hence have the tendency to bargain in terms of price and packages offered. They are likely to be more loyal than individual investors and do not hesitate in expressing their discomfort. Banks & Financial Institutions: These comprise of large banks, asset management companies, big brokerage firms, financial consultants, government regulators and more. They too provide bulk business and hence have the tendency to bargain in terms of price and packages offered. They are likely to be more loyal than individual investors and do not hesitate in expressing their discomfort. Individuals & Small Business houses: These comprise of individual investors and small businessmen. They are less loyal as compared to the other two as they have a tendency to switch to competitors offering better price and packages.

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Program Design:
The Loyalty Program would be based on the following: Basis on loyalty: Here the loyalty of the Client would be judged on the basis of the number of year they have been with the organization. Basis on revenue: Here the loyalty of the Client would be judged on the basis of the amount of business provided by them. Card system: Each customer completing one year and less than three years is entitled for a Silver Card Each customer completing Three years and less than Five years is entitled for a Gold Card

Each customer completing Five years and above is entitled for a Platinum Card

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The card will contain all the required details like: User Name & Designation User ID Contract date Start Bill date Package Information , charges Change of package if any Each card holder will be entitled reward points. The reward points will be earned on the following parameters:

Regular Payment: The Client who make their payments regularly on time. Advance Payment: The Clients who make their payment in advance. For instance if a Client makes 3 months subscription payment in advance then they are entitled for some points. Subscription Period: The Clients who subscribe on a half- yearly, yearly or 2 yearly basis.

These reward points can be redeemed against:

Add On Packages: Here the Client can redeem their points by taking an Add on Package free of cost for particular period. Complimentary Period: Here the Client is entitled to receive complimentary period against points earned. Annual Subscription Discounts: The points here can be redeemed against discounts on annual subscription.

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Hardware Charges: Hardware charges can be waved off against points earned. Installation & Citrix Charges: These charges too can be waved off against points earned by the Client. Additional Data: Additional data from international markets can be provided against points earned.

A customer can earn extra points if they bring in more business. (Specially for Individual investors if they give reference to someone). NewsWire18 can also tie up with a Bank, if a corporate house or an individual customer uses that bank credit card to make the payment; they are entitled for extra points. Appreciation:

The Company can send a Thank You card and a bunch of flowers on some of the vital dates like contract date or start bill date. This would make the Client feel special. The Company can host an annual dinner for their elite Clients.

Limitations to the Program: Implementing the loyalty program would be time consuming and expensive. Once a loyalty program would be made it would be for a long term.

There is always a risk of the program being a failure.

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3.4 Limitations to the Project :-

I. II. III.

The database provided was extensive in nature. Information was not properly standardized and formatted. This was a qualitative analysis and not a quantitative analysis because the data was confidential in nature and not provided for external use.

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Chapter 4 4.1 Conclusion & Recommendations:After analyzing the data provided, the Team concluded that the following recommendations need to be strongly implemented at the earliest for best ramifications:
A process needs to be setup in the sales team to fill the subscription

forms in a particular discipline.

Standardization of subscription form:

All documents should be hand written in capital letters at first and later a printed copy needs to be duly signed for systematic documentation purpose.

i. ii. iii. iv.

The following details should be included in the format of subscription form: Original AM sales & support. Contract and bill Dates need to be mentioned in UK date format (e.g. 26th Jan 2009). In one time installation charge section, there should be an addition of row for citrix charge and security deposit respectively. A separate row of complimentary period needs to be added. Double entries of few items need to be removed to avoid future confusion. For instance if the contract date is mentioned at the top as well as at the bottom of the form, which can be mentioned at once i.e. at bottom of the form.

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The forms needs to be of different colors for easy and simple identifications, for instance: i. Start bill can be of white color. ii. Change bill can be of yellow color. iii. Stop bill can be of red color.

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4.2 Suggestions:-

Two standard dates should be formed (15th and 30th of month), if the

actual date is close to 15th then 15th should be fed in the system and vice-versa. This would assist in easy and simple billing calculations.
If a full time employee could be hired to check all the forms personally

and then fill the data in the system.

If the AM sales and support are getting changed then their name and

start date information needs to be updated on the backside of subscription form. For the same a column can be added and it needs to be updated in the latest subscription form.
There should be a separate row for segment of companies in the

subscription form along with the organization name.

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4.3 Annexure I

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4.4 Bibliography

1. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/09/media-influence-oninvestments.asp#axzz1T2XmYsOT 2. http://www.1888pressrelease.com/financial-market-data-vendors-andusers-forecast-demand-grow-pr-208070.html 3. http://sales.about.com/od/glossaryofsalesterms/g/whatiscrm.htm 4. http://crm.knowledgehills.com/ 5. Customer Relationship Management by Mr. Subhasish Das (First Edition, New Delhi 2007) Page No 3 to 7 6. http://www.customerservicepoint.com/crm-system.html 7. http://www.scribd.com/doc/49340434/CRM-PROJECT 8. http://www.meqa.org/pdf/CRM%20Implementation.pdf 9. http://www.optimaitconsulting.com/menu/CRM/Successful_CRM_Tur ning%20Customer%20Loyalty%20Into%20Profitability.pdf 10. http://www.crmtrends.com/loyalty.html 11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_program 12. http://www.loyaltycard.in/content/view/34/46/ 13. http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/the-functions-of-mis889656.html 14. http://mbaassignment.blogspot.com/2009/11/mis-and-characteristics-ofmanagement.html 15. http://lecture-notes-forstudents.blogspot.com/2010/03/misfunctions.html 16. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_information_system

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17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P. 18. http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Thomson_Reuters_%28TRI%29

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