SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT

RUSHALI TRIVEDI (BBA, ISBM)

MARKETING AND CLIENT MANAGEMENT IN START-UPS

INTRODUCTION

 This is a report that would underline the most important learning insights achieved from the internship carried
out in Summer of 2018
 The internship was carried out in a start-up organization based in Jaipur, Rajasthan
 The duration of the internship was 45 days
 The company where the internship was carried out was: Elite Writers Private Limited
 The internship helped in understanding the work culture of the start-ups
 Various theories and principles which were mere textbook lessons were virtually implemented in the working
procedures
ABOUT THE COMPANY AND MENTOR

 The company where the internship carried out is a content development organization based at Jaipur
 The company has a wide range of clients in the US, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and Canada
 The company undertakes content development project including blog writing, website content development,
preparation of minutes of meetings, transcripts, and content marketing
 The business model is based on the strength of the nation as a major service outsourcer
 My mentor was a lady named Rachna Sharma who is a young entrepreneur and has been working in the field for
the past five years
 It was my first organizational experience
LITERATURE REVIEW

 Literature Review refers to the critical assessment of theories and ideas proposed by authors and researchers.
 In context of completing the report, a variety of theories proposed by various authors have been taken into
consideration
 The literature review is generally used in a dissertation where a new theory has to be proposed (in addition to
the theories and ideas already proposed by the authors and researchers)
 In this case, the usage of literature review has been largely restricted to understanding the work processes
delegated during the internship
 Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and Client Communication were the three areas which were
taken into consideration during the literature review procedure
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 In completion of the project, the research methodology had an important role

 Desk research (Secondary Research) made up the crucial part of the overall report as the theories and ideas have
been referred from journal and thesis
 Desk research also included online databases and books
 Besides the secondary research methods, primary data collection methods have also been deployed
 The primary data collection methods included interviews and interactions with the office staffs and colleagues
 The primary data also included a comprehensive interaction through questionnaires and other tools with the
company’s directors
OBJECTIVES

 To understand the helpful difference between classroom theories and practical learning.
 To understand the importance of Customer Relationship Management.
 Being a marketing person it is important to understand the work process of start-ups in India.
 Analysis the work process of marketing in an organisation.
 To learn the managerial and marketing skills.
SCOPE

 The experience gained during the internship helped me to grow and enhance my marketing skills.
 It will be beneficial for the new opportunities in the future.
 My major area during internship was dealing with the clients so it gave me a great and immense
knowledge about how to communicate professionally and deal with the clients.
 It gave me a great approach for the betterment of my work profile.
 The learnings during the internship would probably get me positive outcomes in the future.
 It is largely a summary of the experiences gained and new factors of working in the start-up.
UNDERSTANDING CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS

 The first job allocated to me was client communications

 I was given the task of managing the client communications with the existing consumers of the services
 Since the services were provided to the international clients, the margin for error was literally zero
 I had faced numerous issues during the first couple of days as I was hesitant to interact with the clients
 I had generally favored to interact via email and other indirect communication tools
 However, due to the insistence of the seniors, I had to take up the communication through calls and Skype in
order to have a direct communication process set up with the clients
 The issues of the clients were jotted down and transferred to the relative team
 At this point, I worked only with the existing clients
CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS TIPS LEARNED

 Establish Business Rules

 Stay Relevant
 Schedule Routine Client Communications
 Consider Their Comfort Zone
 Add a Personal Touch to Your Client Communications
 Understanding the importance of self-correction
 Bridging the gaps
 Be empathetic
MARKETING AND BUSINESS EXPANSION

 The next department where I had worked was marketing and business expansion
 I was provided cold links through website enquiries and social media messages
 I had to follow-up with the potential clients about their requirements
 The requirements of the clients was then communicated to the service team
 If the projects were feasible, I communicated the acceptance to the clients
 In the first two weeks, the top management kept me away from the pricing processes
 Later on, I was the part of the pricing negotiation team which was a very interesting phase
IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING AND PRICE NEGOTIATIONS

 I learned that the clients would always want to have the best quality services at the lowest possible prices
 Every industry has a large number of agents who could disrupt the communication between the company and the
clients
 The communications idea was to eliminate the agents and have a word directly with the client for transparent
pricing processes.
 Negotiations helped in reaching a zone of potential agreement
 It was important to Invent Options for Mutual Gain
 The pricing negotiations were closed with the consent of the top management
 At a few instances, I closed the negotiations at my own
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IMPORTANCE

 Whilst starting the internship, I was impressed by the average floor experience and professionalism of the
colleagues
 I had assumed that the total number of unsatisfied clients would be low
 However, I found out that irrespective of the nature, size, and the professionalism of the staff, the clients could be
unsatisfied on a number of occasions
 This is where having a well-defined CRM processes is important for the organizational growth
IMPORTANCE OF CRM

 Increased sales through better timing due to anticipating needs based on historic trends
 Identifying needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements
 Cross-selling of other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements
 Identifying which of your customers are profitable and which are not
 Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention, ensuring that your good reputation in the marketplace continues
to grow
 Increased value from your existing customers and reduced cost associated with supporting and servicing them,
increasing your overall efficiency and reducing total cost of sales
 Improved profitability by focusing on the most profitable customers and dealing with the unprofitable in more
cost effective ways
DIFFERENCE IN CLASSROOM LEARNING AND PRACTICAL
LEARNING

 Practical Learning Expedites Learning

 Links Theory with Practice
 Enables personalized Learning
 Increases Engagement
 Inculcates Soft & Behavioural Skills in The Interns
FINDINGS AND KEYTAKEWAYS

 I learned the organizational culture

 I understood the difference between classroom learning and practical learning
 I understood the importance of client communication and prompt replies
 I was able to work with some of the best minds in the industry
 I ensured that I took every opportunity to learn
 I took only 3 leaves during the stint including Sundays
 My time management skills improved
 I improved on confidence and soft skills
 I started to understand the psyche of entrepreneurs
 It gave a definite direction to my career
RECOMMENDATIONS

 The company should give more chance to freshers as the are keen learners.
 The company should give a proper corporate environment to an employee to work and adjust in a
better way.
 There has to be a report system on daily or weekly basis in order to know the work progress.
 There has to be a proper balance in the company between work and personnel management.
 The company needs to focus over the better CRM process.
 They should use integrated softwares to keep the data of clients.
 The current CRM process is quite manual.
CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude my report by saying that the company helped me to grow individually and
changed my insight towards start-ups. I had worked in various fields such as CRM,client communication
and marketing segments. My guide helped me in gaining insights about various theoretical processes. The
motivation factor was also important. I experienced and studied difference between how to use
theoretical knowledge into practical tasks.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 To the staff and friends at ISBM

 To the colleagues and interns at Elite Writers Private Limited
 My personal guide: CS Richa Saluja
 My mentor at the company: Ms. Rachna Sharma
 The Principal of ISBM, SGVU
 My mentor at ISBM: Dr. Swati Mishra
THANK YOU..