On Trust
“The more things change, the more they remain the same”. This proverb originally in French was attributed to the novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849. It also appeared in GB Shaw’s Revolutionist’s Handbook in 1903. It makes me salute these wonderful writers who had a deep insight into human relationships and perhaps a lesson for all of us in business.
Trust has long been touted as the bedrock of all relationships. It is no different in business. Gaining and keeping the Customer’s trust today, this has become the most sought after virtue by corporates. More so after the turbulence that the global economy has been rocked by. Those corporates who managed to hold the customer’s trust were not abandoned and they were able to ride out the rough patch better that those who did not carry a large ‘trust’ deposit.
The key bit to understand is that trust is an elusive quality. It is intangible and it stands to reason that trust can’t be measured. Trust is a dynamic, organic value that never exists from the beginning. It is not something we can assume or take for granted. Therefore, it is not a static quality or ‘social glue’ that is available to draw upon. Trust is an emotional skill, an active cache in our lives that we build and sustain with our promises and commitments, our emotions and integrity and above all our actions.
Looking backwards, the most trusted brands were ones that were either big or had existed for a long period of time. It would not be wrong to see 2 very obvious pillars that trusted brands rested on – scale and lineage. These two important virtues seemed sufficient elements for success and eventually set up a virtuous cycle for being trusted. These were 2 cushions that were a tremendous source of comfort for firms to succeed with customers. Simplistic as it may sound, if you are big and had been there long enough, you can be trusted. It was called experience.
These companies built large trust deposits by keeping promises made to customers. They continuously were conscious of their credibility and accountability. That was the key to acceptance for new customers and for existing customers to continue their patronage. Trust was an importance constituent of loyalty.
The citadel of trust works when it is not challenged. Surprisingly, one could blame the most liberating of words for that erosion – choice. There is an all round erosion of trust across businesses and categories as consumers become flooded with choice and a variety of promises, some of which one finds hard to ‘trust’. Companies are struggling with new ways and means of regaining trust. Meanwhile, trust has acquired a new definition with the new age customer.
These new dimensions that have got added to the determinants of trust. The value of time, shortening business cycles and ever-thinning buffers in the business process has brought a new word in the trust lexicon – promise. Just keeping promises made to customers is not enough to today’s consumers. Keeping promises made to customers on time is the new requirement. There are numerous categories that are using that as an anchor. They cry out – consider me, for I deliver on time. In most cases, on time means fast. One can understand food and package deliveries but hospital services! There are a few hospitals in US that offer quid pro quo for your time. A city hospital has started offering cinema passes to patients who have to wait 30 minutes for emergency room services.
Transparency is another word that has joined ranks with credibility and reliability as a trust determinant. Credibility has to do with words we speak and reliability has to do with actions. But both words and actions have to become transparent and visible to consumers now.
In an environment, where all information is available in open and 24 hours through multiple sources, customer is seeking complete transparency in his dealings with the company. Transparency has the great virtue of helping recall who said what to whom. The key to creating such trust, they show, is communication, a willingness to bring an uncomfortable subject into the open. At one level, the customer seeks disclosure and hates to be surprised with a piece of information which tells him or her that there was a gap in the decision process. Nobody like to be taken for a ride!
If ‘size’ for a corporation is no longer a guarantee for trust, then what is? Perhaps, being a “Connected Corporation” is the answer. A Connected Corporation with its permeable boundaries and complex web of links to other people and organizations, places great emphasis on establishment of relationships and of a highly collaborative approach to business. People trust companies they perceive to be part of local community and culture. The key would be for corporates to widen the river-bed of the reality they operate in. Narrow profit-taking and focus may be good for building up momentum and creating a growth trajectory. Let us not forget that the most fertile and productive regions are where the river overflows its banks and creates flood plains.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ambush marketing does not really help brands
Ambush marketing always causes many chuckles down the aisles, very often its pure self flagellation, in most of the cases its one marketing team taking potshots at another, the consumer doesn’t necessarily a strong focus. Building a brand on the other hand is a full time continuous, long term journey. Let’s look at some of the main parameters that are important in building a brand and evaluate how ambush marketing stacks up.
Consumer at the core: Ambush marketing usually builds on environmental context or a marketing initiative of competition. An insight which needs to be at the core of any communication very often suffers. The cola wars have been in existence for a fairly long period of time but the juggernaut of Coke continues to move on. If its not environment then it’s the executional idea that is the spring board.
Brand consistency: The linkages with the brand idea therefore become very difficult and opportunistic. The messaging a brand imparts usually radiates from its essence – the heart and soul of the brand. It stays consistent over a long period of time to cement the relationship with consumers. When a brand ambushes – the otherwise well preached theorems of marketing take a back seat. Every brand ideally has a different make-up, Vis a Vis its competition. If we indulge in pot-shots at another the signals sort of merge. (Realism one thought was at the core of Dove, pray, what is the link with Mystery?)
Long term: Building a brand requires a long term vision with relevant short-term milestones. There are big variable factors like changing consumer habits, product changes, and regulatory changes to name a few. These are complex variables by themselves. Ambush marketing creates diversions that can put drive a plan awry. It can undo the concerted planned efforts of your own brand and also divert large sums of investments.
A sound marketing plan needs to and will build in probable competitive activity. It needs to factor in multiple scenarios. When you have a response factored in the response (ambush) doesn’t bother. So it’s possible to plan in advance.
As in warfare ambush/ guerilla warfare is the recourse of the upstart. Not the ruler. The ruler always has a plan. At best Ambush can be a tactical initiative. A series of tactical initiatives cannot be a full-blown strategy. In the end there is no replacement to sticking to a plan.
Ambush marketing always causes many chuckles down the aisles, very often its pure self flagellation, in most of the cases its one marketing team taking potshots at another, the consumer doesn’t necessarily a strong focus. Building a brand on the other hand is a full time continuous, long term journey. Let’s look at some of the main parameters that are important in building a brand and evaluate how ambush marketing stacks up.
Consumer at the core: Ambush marketing usually builds on environmental context or a marketing initiative of competition. An insight which needs to be at the core of any communication very often suffers. The cola wars have been in existence for a fairly long period of time but the juggernaut of Coke continues to move on. If its not environment then it’s the executional idea that is the spring board.
Brand consistency: The linkages with the brand idea therefore become very difficult and opportunistic. The messaging a brand imparts usually radiates from its essence – the heart and soul of the brand. It stays consistent over a long period of time to cement the relationship with consumers. When a brand ambushes – the otherwise well preached theorems of marketing take a back seat. Every brand ideally has a different make-up, Vis a Vis its competition. If we indulge in pot-shots at another the signals sort of merge. (Realism one thought was at the core of Dove, pray, what is the link with Mystery?)
Long term: Building a brand requires a long term vision with relevant short-term milestones. There are big variable factors like changing consumer habits, product changes, and regulatory changes to name a few. These are complex variables by themselves. Ambush marketing creates diversions that can put drive a plan awry. It can undo the concerted planned efforts of your own brand and also divert large sums of investments.
A sound marketing plan needs to and will build in probable competitive activity. It needs to factor in multiple scenarios. When you have a response factored in the response (ambush) doesn’t bother. So it’s possible to plan in advance.
As in warfare ambush/ guerilla warfare is the recourse of the upstart. Not the ruler. The ruler always has a plan. At best Ambush can be a tactical initiative. A series of tactical initiatives cannot be a full-blown strategy. In the end there is no replacement to sticking to a plan.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The 3Fs of Marketing
It’s not a cuss word.
Ps have existed in the lexicon of marketers of our generation. Even though through the years the numerical have increased, the last number I remember proposed by a venerable writer was 7! What’s the fixation with the alphabet P!
Today’s environment is questioning all known tenets of marketing principles. Whether it’s the ever-changing consumer or ever-changing environment. The internet has been a significant inflection point as it enables the rapid dissemination of ideas and development of products around the globe. In effect, it acts to shorten the life cycle in many categories. Products emerge, surge, diffuse and are purged. With changing consumer tastes and preferences, some products become popular relatively quickly but are also loosing popularity dramatically and are replaced by the next best promise.
All this has led to the product lifecycle curve becoming steeper today than ever before, indicating that an increasingly large proportion of sale occurs soon after the launch of the product. A narrow window of opportunity occurs to earn profits on a new product before competition catches up and margins begin to shrink.
But with technological advances, the quality of products is improving greatly, resulting in an interesting paradox for marketers- while the products are lasting longer, the time in which they are outmoded is growing shorter.
And this brings us to the topic
In these times of fast change, it is important that we accept the relevance of the new paradigms of Marketing. The first step towards understanding the change is to rethink the rules of marketing. And it all begins with symbolism which in this case is nomenclature. Hence the Fs in Marketing.
The 3Fs of Marketing : Form, Function and Flexibility.
Form
The fact is that quantum change in technology and innovation is not as frequent a success as marketers would want it to be. However, the manner in which we invite consumers to consume categories is very important. The ipod is not just another mp3 player, notice the simple difference the colour of the earphone wires makes to the perception of the category! The car industry is perhaps one of the most prominent examples of the criticality of form. One base gives birth to many models. And in case you thought its just limited to physical products, it is true even for services and “formless” products such as life insurance. Ergo: the child plan category; at the base of this is an endowment or ULIP based product but the form in which it is served is what makes the difference. Form drives desire. A focused investigation into the form that we serve our product in or service is a critical initiative.
Function
Consumer expectations of a product category and use of a category is fast changing. The application and use of a product can serve, changes. Just about a decade ago those bulky mobile instruments could only be used for phone calls and SMSs. Today’s sleek mobile phone is an enabler of life on move – phone, sms, e-mails, music, photographs, videos, address book and even networking. This change in ‘Function’ has not only changed the way mobile instruments brands are being positioned but will also change the ways digital cameras, computers and brands in many other categories need to look at their life cycle.
The consumer is normally pretty clever in discovering the true function a product or service has in his or her life.
Flexibility
Expectations, objectives and goals have a contrarian occurrence. Long term vs. Quarter term. Immediate benefit vs. long term goodness. Efficacy vs. harshness. Environments can change extremely fast. Add to this a consumer who today has a point of view. And he expects his view to be taken seriously and impact the fortunes of the brand. There is a me within we waiting to be discovered. The digital explosion has transformed the great digital highway! A single view has the ability to multiply super –fast in a matter of hours if not minutes. Any plans that do not have the flexibility to promptly build on consumer feedback face the risk of being consigned to the past era.
High level of adaptability, in fact a proactive desire for constant change, is driving today’s consumers. Brands can be no different and they need to have flexibility in form and function to constantly meet changing consumer needs. To build a brand, marketers have to constantly peep into the minds of consumers and change the form that could bring the functionality consumers are looking for.
Gone are the days of sticking to the line! Today is the day of having a small consistent core and values which invite engagement, and consumer co-creation. And this is a monster that marketeers need to tame. Given this if not Plan Z at-least Plan F is a reality.
It’s not a cuss word.
Ps have existed in the lexicon of marketers of our generation. Even though through the years the numerical have increased, the last number I remember proposed by a venerable writer was 7! What’s the fixation with the alphabet P!
Today’s environment is questioning all known tenets of marketing principles. Whether it’s the ever-changing consumer or ever-changing environment. The internet has been a significant inflection point as it enables the rapid dissemination of ideas and development of products around the globe. In effect, it acts to shorten the life cycle in many categories. Products emerge, surge, diffuse and are purged. With changing consumer tastes and preferences, some products become popular relatively quickly but are also loosing popularity dramatically and are replaced by the next best promise.
All this has led to the product lifecycle curve becoming steeper today than ever before, indicating that an increasingly large proportion of sale occurs soon after the launch of the product. A narrow window of opportunity occurs to earn profits on a new product before competition catches up and margins begin to shrink.
But with technological advances, the quality of products is improving greatly, resulting in an interesting paradox for marketers- while the products are lasting longer, the time in which they are outmoded is growing shorter.
And this brings us to the topic
In these times of fast change, it is important that we accept the relevance of the new paradigms of Marketing. The first step towards understanding the change is to rethink the rules of marketing. And it all begins with symbolism which in this case is nomenclature. Hence the Fs in Marketing.
The 3Fs of Marketing : Form, Function and Flexibility.
Form
The fact is that quantum change in technology and innovation is not as frequent a success as marketers would want it to be. However, the manner in which we invite consumers to consume categories is very important. The ipod is not just another mp3 player, notice the simple difference the colour of the earphone wires makes to the perception of the category! The car industry is perhaps one of the most prominent examples of the criticality of form. One base gives birth to many models. And in case you thought its just limited to physical products, it is true even for services and “formless” products such as life insurance. Ergo: the child plan category; at the base of this is an endowment or ULIP based product but the form in which it is served is what makes the difference. Form drives desire. A focused investigation into the form that we serve our product in or service is a critical initiative.
Function
Consumer expectations of a product category and use of a category is fast changing. The application and use of a product can serve, changes. Just about a decade ago those bulky mobile instruments could only be used for phone calls and SMSs. Today’s sleek mobile phone is an enabler of life on move – phone, sms, e-mails, music, photographs, videos, address book and even networking. This change in ‘Function’ has not only changed the way mobile instruments brands are being positioned but will also change the ways digital cameras, computers and brands in many other categories need to look at their life cycle.
The consumer is normally pretty clever in discovering the true function a product or service has in his or her life.
Flexibility
Expectations, objectives and goals have a contrarian occurrence. Long term vs. Quarter term. Immediate benefit vs. long term goodness. Efficacy vs. harshness. Environments can change extremely fast. Add to this a consumer who today has a point of view. And he expects his view to be taken seriously and impact the fortunes of the brand. There is a me within we waiting to be discovered. The digital explosion has transformed the great digital highway! A single view has the ability to multiply super –fast in a matter of hours if not minutes. Any plans that do not have the flexibility to promptly build on consumer feedback face the risk of being consigned to the past era.
High level of adaptability, in fact a proactive desire for constant change, is driving today’s consumers. Brands can be no different and they need to have flexibility in form and function to constantly meet changing consumer needs. To build a brand, marketers have to constantly peep into the minds of consumers and change the form that could bring the functionality consumers are looking for.
Gone are the days of sticking to the line! Today is the day of having a small consistent core and values which invite engagement, and consumer co-creation. And this is a monster that marketeers need to tame. Given this if not Plan Z at-least Plan F is a reality.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
An ode to moms.
Mom vs. best friend: A fine balance
So, have you walked on any tightropes recently? Without any balancing aids? Without a safety net? With the whole world watching your every step, and giving you free and unsolicited advice on that step and the next that you are about to take?
There is one person who goes through this daily: Mom. Especially when she has a pre-teen / teen-aged daughter. And especially of this generation. The previous generation mother was one who got married really early in life, too busy watching her kids grow up to realize she was growing old, fast. The next generation, in contrast, is one where women are not marrying until well into their late-20s and sometimes not until their 30s. And, in try trying not to grow up themselves, they will end up being old by the time their kid(s) enter(s) teenage.
That’s why the meeting of this Gen M(om) and Gen Y daughters is filled with situations and standards that are very unique. No other generation of daughters has been born and brought up in “fully” liberalized India as has the one born after 1990. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh (and not just Nehru and Gandhi) are as much a part of the history books to them as ATMs, the internet, mobile phones, IM, FB, Twitter, KFC and pubs are an integral part of their contemporary socio-cultural fabric (and not some futuristic Asimovian scenarios).
In the smaller towns and cities, an archetype such as “Vijaya from Vizag” is trying to balance conflict between tradition and modernity, between small-town-mindedness and the globalization of opportunity.
For the affluent, big city archetype, such as Sarika from South Delhi, the job is no more enviable. Her most challenging conflict is the one between the immense freedom (and money) she easily allows her daughter and the lack of time to pay closer attention to her parenting duties.
Both Vijaya and Sarika are constantly trying to straddle the roles of best friend and mom, albeit in different ways, in completely different socio-economic strata.
In this, they’re up against a few odds. Today’s mom has to deal with her own 40-going-on-14 mindset, where she’s trying to turn the clock back on the years both for herself and to be closer to her daughter. Then there’s her daughter who’s smack in the middle of creating her own identity, shaking off constraining ties, and is especially wary of parents who want to know too much about what she’s up to.
For all this though, sometimes the lines do start to blur for those watching about which ones are friends and which ones are mother and daughter.
Together they might go to the same gym, occasionally enjoy swooning over Shahid Kapur, go to the Body Shop, shun the imported creams, preferring instead the Himalaya range of herbals and organics. They might even wear the same kind of short kurtis from Fab India or t-shirts from Bennetton (size: Medium). On holiday together, sometimes the daughter will tell Mom the importance of a certain heritage temple to India and her own identity. Other times, Mom will help the daughter unearth the fashion find of the year in the by-lanes of Coimbatore.
The thing is, this is not so much the norm as it’s probably the exception. Both of them would like to firmly draw a Laxman Rekha between the roles of mom and daughter. Because there are plenty of metaphorical Ravans on either side.
It’s highly unlikely that daughters will “friend” their mom on Facebook. Equally, a real amma would probably not be okay with a dragon tattoo on the small of her daughter’s back.
Questions abound. How short can a skirt be before it becomes too short? When does a t-shirt caption stop being funny and start being too saucy for public consumption? When does “space” become too small to be private and too large to be public? How long can Mom hold onto her (now imaginary) umbilical cord and yet not lose her daughter to the world?
Just as Mom is not going to find any gharelu nuskhe to help her out here, daughters won’t find easy answers in the latest issue of Cosmo Girl.
One thing is for sure: today’s Indian Mom is a great example of one of the toughest balancing acts. Sure, it’s not perfect. She’s swaying on the rope sometimes. She may appear to wobble occasionally. But she’s willing to tough it out. And whether she knows it now or not, her daughter, her occasional best friend, is waiting at journey’s end with this message: “My mom is my hero.
So, have you walked on any tightropes recently? Without any balancing aids? Without a safety net? With the whole world watching your every step, and giving you free and unsolicited advice on that step and the next that you are about to take?
There is one person who goes through this daily: Mom. Especially when she has a pre-teen / teen-aged daughter. And especially of this generation. The previous generation mother was one who got married really early in life, too busy watching her kids grow up to realize she was growing old, fast. The next generation, in contrast, is one where women are not marrying until well into their late-20s and sometimes not until their 30s. And, in try trying not to grow up themselves, they will end up being old by the time their kid(s) enter(s) teenage.
That’s why the meeting of this Gen M(om) and Gen Y daughters is filled with situations and standards that are very unique. No other generation of daughters has been born and brought up in “fully” liberalized India as has the one born after 1990. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh (and not just Nehru and Gandhi) are as much a part of the history books to them as ATMs, the internet, mobile phones, IM, FB, Twitter, KFC and pubs are an integral part of their contemporary socio-cultural fabric (and not some futuristic Asimovian scenarios).
In the smaller towns and cities, an archetype such as “Vijaya from Vizag” is trying to balance conflict between tradition and modernity, between small-town-mindedness and the globalization of opportunity.
For the affluent, big city archetype, such as Sarika from South Delhi, the job is no more enviable. Her most challenging conflict is the one between the immense freedom (and money) she easily allows her daughter and the lack of time to pay closer attention to her parenting duties.
Both Vijaya and Sarika are constantly trying to straddle the roles of best friend and mom, albeit in different ways, in completely different socio-economic strata.
In this, they’re up against a few odds. Today’s mom has to deal with her own 40-going-on-14 mindset, where she’s trying to turn the clock back on the years both for herself and to be closer to her daughter. Then there’s her daughter who’s smack in the middle of creating her own identity, shaking off constraining ties, and is especially wary of parents who want to know too much about what she’s up to.
For all this though, sometimes the lines do start to blur for those watching about which ones are friends and which ones are mother and daughter.
Together they might go to the same gym, occasionally enjoy swooning over Shahid Kapur, go to the Body Shop, shun the imported creams, preferring instead the Himalaya range of herbals and organics. They might even wear the same kind of short kurtis from Fab India or t-shirts from Bennetton (size: Medium). On holiday together, sometimes the daughter will tell Mom the importance of a certain heritage temple to India and her own identity. Other times, Mom will help the daughter unearth the fashion find of the year in the by-lanes of Coimbatore.
The thing is, this is not so much the norm as it’s probably the exception. Both of them would like to firmly draw a Laxman Rekha between the roles of mom and daughter. Because there are plenty of metaphorical Ravans on either side.
It’s highly unlikely that daughters will “friend” their mom on Facebook. Equally, a real amma would probably not be okay with a dragon tattoo on the small of her daughter’s back.
Questions abound. How short can a skirt be before it becomes too short? When does a t-shirt caption stop being funny and start being too saucy for public consumption? When does “space” become too small to be private and too large to be public? How long can Mom hold onto her (now imaginary) umbilical cord and yet not lose her daughter to the world?
Just as Mom is not going to find any gharelu nuskhe to help her out here, daughters won’t find easy answers in the latest issue of Cosmo Girl.
One thing is for sure: today’s Indian Mom is a great example of one of the toughest balancing acts. Sure, it’s not perfect. She’s swaying on the rope sometimes. She may appear to wobble occasionally. But she’s willing to tough it out. And whether she knows it now or not, her daughter, her occasional best friend, is waiting at journey’s end with this message: “My mom is my hero.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
India is the land of ‘jugaad’!
Jugaad retail!
In a bygone era, this was the land of Aryabhatta with the discovery of zero, satellites and Sushruta, the father of medicine and surgery. But today, put it down to the lack of time or whatever you may – it is the land of incremental improvements on the existing.
This is post-modernist reality catching up with India, I guess. Everything that had to be invented has been. But that should not deter us from exploring a bit more. One never knows what good may come of it.
Coping with need for indigenous transport solutions where none existed, rural India combined a steering wheel with 4 tyres, a diesel engine of a water pump and some used parts to fabricate the MRTS - mass rural transportation service....which when not transporting people, works like a water pump!
But the omnipresence of jugaad in our daily lives makes it inconspicuous. Modern business practices where everything is perfected to a science ends up completely missing this trick.
Take ‘Retailing’ – the word throws up pretty pictures of modern trade and swanky new shops but the thrust of this rambling is to uncover some interesting build-ons or ‘jugaad’ if you may call them on existing vending systems. The lettered world will call it ‘mash-ups’. So be it!
Calling it a vending system may be a bit of a give-away.
Take your sabzi wallah. With unerring regularity, day after day the man makes the trip from the local wholesaler to does the round of a locality. He is the ultimate CRM program front end. Knows what you like. Knows what you bought yesterday. And has brought what you asked for today. Marry the world of CDs and is there a business model lurking in the wings. Smarten the cart. Make a provision for a water-proof compartment (remember the tendency of the man to splash water on the veggies to make them look fresh) and here is a good thing going.
One has often wondered, why a powerful person like the barber is not used more often. After all, the man holds a razor to your throat ever so often. Imagine the persuasion power that he wields! Jokes apart, a barber’s shop is ideal for receiving messages. The audience is captive. Waits patiently for its turn and has nothing much to do except leaf through some magazines or watch a small TV placed high in the corner for all to have a bird’s eye view of. The radio is the substitute. Can it be the place for a non-disruptive, subliminal delivery of a brand or a social message. Let us not forget the power of the ‘nai’ in the days of yore as a carrier of messages.
What about the 3 other people who have access to your house every day? The newspaper-wallah, milk-man (dhoodh-wallah) and the dhobhi. The door opens to them willingly. Sure, they are critical to our appearance in manner of speaking. One ensures that we look right. The other ensures that we talk right and are well informed. Can they be distribution extensions for fabric care and detergents. The dhoodh-wallah is the last kilometer of a cold-chain. Distributes in a fixed time when the sun is not blazing down. Can cold chain products look at this man? Other milk products can be the first natural extension. Products packed in PET bottles, soft-drink concentrates and there could be others.
Then there is the favourite haunt of men and college kids – the chai-wallah! Idealogical and heated exchanges aside – the tea-stall remains the place where men sit and exchange views on life and the world in general. But there one sees evidence of evolution. The chai-wallah becomes the first outpost of retail / vending expansion. The counter or the shelf across which money changes hands, holds a variety of packaged products from edibles to personal care to tobacco. More often than not, the stove finds a tava which finds an egg and a parantha and is born instant food. May hold interest to the many ready to eat or heat and eat or instant food preparations. Micro mini-restaurants – are these the next wave in the foods business?
This ‘Jugaad’ spirit can find a role in the supply chain of many a business. But to do that, businesses will need to think true to the meanings of this word Jugaad. Improvisation. Inventiveness, Ingenuity. Cleverness. And taking it literally, it seems a leading soft drink company has started using ‘jugaad’ – the vehicle to spread its distribution to rural areas!
Closer home, the Samaan Foundation seems to have taken a step in this direction. Working with rickshaw pullers who now get an opportunity to increase their income by carrying advertising on the vehicles, also stocking them bottled mineral water, fruit juices, mobile phone top-ups, newspapers and magazines. The rickshaw puller gets a certain commission on the sale of every item!
It’s only a matter of time when some enterprising mind will come along and amaze us with the simplicity of his quintessential Indian ‘Jugaad’ tactic and show us a business model that always existed, right here in front of our own eyes.
Jugaad retail!
In a bygone era, this was the land of Aryabhatta with the discovery of zero, satellites and Sushruta, the father of medicine and surgery. But today, put it down to the lack of time or whatever you may – it is the land of incremental improvements on the existing.
This is post-modernist reality catching up with India, I guess. Everything that had to be invented has been. But that should not deter us from exploring a bit more. One never knows what good may come of it.
Coping with need for indigenous transport solutions where none existed, rural India combined a steering wheel with 4 tyres, a diesel engine of a water pump and some used parts to fabricate the MRTS - mass rural transportation service....which when not transporting people, works like a water pump!
But the omnipresence of jugaad in our daily lives makes it inconspicuous. Modern business practices where everything is perfected to a science ends up completely missing this trick.
Take ‘Retailing’ – the word throws up pretty pictures of modern trade and swanky new shops but the thrust of this rambling is to uncover some interesting build-ons or ‘jugaad’ if you may call them on existing vending systems. The lettered world will call it ‘mash-ups’. So be it!
Calling it a vending system may be a bit of a give-away.
Take your sabzi wallah. With unerring regularity, day after day the man makes the trip from the local wholesaler to does the round of a locality. He is the ultimate CRM program front end. Knows what you like. Knows what you bought yesterday. And has brought what you asked for today. Marry the world of CDs and is there a business model lurking in the wings. Smarten the cart. Make a provision for a water-proof compartment (remember the tendency of the man to splash water on the veggies to make them look fresh) and here is a good thing going.
One has often wondered, why a powerful person like the barber is not used more often. After all, the man holds a razor to your throat ever so often. Imagine the persuasion power that he wields! Jokes apart, a barber’s shop is ideal for receiving messages. The audience is captive. Waits patiently for its turn and has nothing much to do except leaf through some magazines or watch a small TV placed high in the corner for all to have a bird’s eye view of. The radio is the substitute. Can it be the place for a non-disruptive, subliminal delivery of a brand or a social message. Let us not forget the power of the ‘nai’ in the days of yore as a carrier of messages.
What about the 3 other people who have access to your house every day? The newspaper-wallah, milk-man (dhoodh-wallah) and the dhobhi. The door opens to them willingly. Sure, they are critical to our appearance in manner of speaking. One ensures that we look right. The other ensures that we talk right and are well informed. Can they be distribution extensions for fabric care and detergents. The dhoodh-wallah is the last kilometer of a cold-chain. Distributes in a fixed time when the sun is not blazing down. Can cold chain products look at this man? Other milk products can be the first natural extension. Products packed in PET bottles, soft-drink concentrates and there could be others.
Then there is the favourite haunt of men and college kids – the chai-wallah! Idealogical and heated exchanges aside – the tea-stall remains the place where men sit and exchange views on life and the world in general. But there one sees evidence of evolution. The chai-wallah becomes the first outpost of retail / vending expansion. The counter or the shelf across which money changes hands, holds a variety of packaged products from edibles to personal care to tobacco. More often than not, the stove finds a tava which finds an egg and a parantha and is born instant food. May hold interest to the many ready to eat or heat and eat or instant food preparations. Micro mini-restaurants – are these the next wave in the foods business?
This ‘Jugaad’ spirit can find a role in the supply chain of many a business. But to do that, businesses will need to think true to the meanings of this word Jugaad. Improvisation. Inventiveness, Ingenuity. Cleverness. And taking it literally, it seems a leading soft drink company has started using ‘jugaad’ – the vehicle to spread its distribution to rural areas!
Closer home, the Samaan Foundation seems to have taken a step in this direction. Working with rickshaw pullers who now get an opportunity to increase their income by carrying advertising on the vehicles, also stocking them bottled mineral water, fruit juices, mobile phone top-ups, newspapers and magazines. The rickshaw puller gets a certain commission on the sale of every item!
It’s only a matter of time when some enterprising mind will come along and amaze us with the simplicity of his quintessential Indian ‘Jugaad’ tactic and show us a business model that always existed, right here in front of our own eyes.
Friday, March 12, 2010
You've come a long way baby!
You’ve come a long way, baby!
In the early part of the 18th century, a Tamil official Tryambakayajvan compiled a formal treatise on the role of women in Indian society called Stridharmapaddhati, based on strictures dating back to the 4th century BCE. The opening verse was:
“The primary duty of women is enjoined to be of service to one's husband.”
Statistically speaking, this is probably still true of a number of Indian women, especially in rural India. But that’s to disregard not only the enormous progress She has made in all walks of life, but also disrespect the foundation of egalitarianism visible in our nation’s rich tapestry of history and heritage. The RigVeda, among other ancient texts, accords that respect to women, mentioning in many places the positions of authority and acclaim women held in politics, arts, literature and philosophy.
Fast forward to the 21st century. And whether you peel away all of its materialistic trappings or see life in its spiritual + bodily entirety, this is what you’ll hear:
“I’m woman. Hear me roar.”
Mother India may never have roared. Nor was she anything but demure, self-effacing, self-sacrificing and all about family and community. But today’s Indian woman is definitely making her voice heard, her presence felt, and her influence magnified across the country, and the world.
Indian history glitters with the names of many a great woman: Ashoka’s daughter Sanghamitra, one of the foremost evangelists of Buddhism; Razia Sultan, the only woman monarch of Delhi; Jijabai, the mother of Chatrapati Shivaji, and the foremost influence in his life; Mirabai, the greatest ever poet-saint of the Bhakti movement; the Rani of Kittur; Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi; and more recently, such greats as Bhikaji Cama, Dr. Annie Besant, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and Durgabai Deshmukh.
What’s so special then, you ask, about today’s Indian woman? Her specialness lies not so much in the storied and the famous as it does in EveryWoman. Progress is usually measured by accomplishments. But when cultural change is rapid as it is today, achievements are mere pit stops along this journey. Pit stops that today’s woman doesn’t even feel the need to take some times.
The other big distinction of today’s woman is that, unlike man through the ages, her driving need is not an overt establishment of either equality or superiority over the opposite gender. Feminism is neither rabid nor martial. It’s a quiet but exponential progression through time, through culture, across barriers and ceilings imaginary and real.
She does not celebrate with a whoop that times have changed so much from when men used to wear skirts where now women wear the pants in the family (literally and figuratively).
She does not point a laughing finger at the men who now hunker after the fairness creams while they themselves revel in their inner beauty.
She doesn’t bask in the smugness that she literally calls the shots in the nation—in its Panchayats, in the nation’s largest state, in the nation’s capital, and at the helm of the nation’s ruling political party itself.
She doesn’t smirk with self-righteousness that men adopt her fashion sensibilities in the name of metrosexuality and other such euphemisms.
But whether she’s gently liberating her man’s straight-jacketed worldview, enabling her children’s expanded worldview, charting India Inc.’s rocketing growth path for the world to view, or just balancing it all effortlessly, there’s one other thing in her mind she’s keeping front and centre
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.
In the early part of the 18th century, a Tamil official Tryambakayajvan compiled a formal treatise on the role of women in Indian society called Stridharmapaddhati, based on strictures dating back to the 4th century BCE. The opening verse was:
“The primary duty of women is enjoined to be of service to one's husband.”
Statistically speaking, this is probably still true of a number of Indian women, especially in rural India. But that’s to disregard not only the enormous progress She has made in all walks of life, but also disrespect the foundation of egalitarianism visible in our nation’s rich tapestry of history and heritage. The RigVeda, among other ancient texts, accords that respect to women, mentioning in many places the positions of authority and acclaim women held in politics, arts, literature and philosophy.
Fast forward to the 21st century. And whether you peel away all of its materialistic trappings or see life in its spiritual + bodily entirety, this is what you’ll hear:
“I’m woman. Hear me roar.”
Mother India may never have roared. Nor was she anything but demure, self-effacing, self-sacrificing and all about family and community. But today’s Indian woman is definitely making her voice heard, her presence felt, and her influence magnified across the country, and the world.
Indian history glitters with the names of many a great woman: Ashoka’s daughter Sanghamitra, one of the foremost evangelists of Buddhism; Razia Sultan, the only woman monarch of Delhi; Jijabai, the mother of Chatrapati Shivaji, and the foremost influence in his life; Mirabai, the greatest ever poet-saint of the Bhakti movement; the Rani of Kittur; Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi; and more recently, such greats as Bhikaji Cama, Dr. Annie Besant, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sucheta Kriplani, Kasturba Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu and Durgabai Deshmukh.
What’s so special then, you ask, about today’s Indian woman? Her specialness lies not so much in the storied and the famous as it does in EveryWoman. Progress is usually measured by accomplishments. But when cultural change is rapid as it is today, achievements are mere pit stops along this journey. Pit stops that today’s woman doesn’t even feel the need to take some times.
The other big distinction of today’s woman is that, unlike man through the ages, her driving need is not an overt establishment of either equality or superiority over the opposite gender. Feminism is neither rabid nor martial. It’s a quiet but exponential progression through time, through culture, across barriers and ceilings imaginary and real.
She does not celebrate with a whoop that times have changed so much from when men used to wear skirts where now women wear the pants in the family (literally and figuratively).
She does not point a laughing finger at the men who now hunker after the fairness creams while they themselves revel in their inner beauty.
She doesn’t bask in the smugness that she literally calls the shots in the nation—in its Panchayats, in the nation’s largest state, in the nation’s capital, and at the helm of the nation’s ruling political party itself.
She doesn’t smirk with self-righteousness that men adopt her fashion sensibilities in the name of metrosexuality and other such euphemisms.
But whether she’s gently liberating her man’s straight-jacketed worldview, enabling her children’s expanded worldview, charting India Inc.’s rocketing growth path for the world to view, or just balancing it all effortlessly, there’s one other thing in her mind she’s keeping front and centre
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.
Today's Indian Women Consumer
Straddling Samajhdari and style: Today’s Indian women consumers
To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the moron isn’t the consumer. It’s her husband, usually. At least, when you stop and think about today’s Indian consumer landscape, that’s what you’d see. While men are counted in the Census and other studies of note as Heads of Households, the truth is that households would be like headless chicken without the women being in charge. The man surely wins the bread and brings it home. It’s the woman who decides how to slice it, how to toast it, what jam and butter to spread on it, and just how and how much to serve, and when.
But this facet of the Indian woman consumer only reflects her “dutiful” side. And the fact of the matter is that she is, in equal parts, Lalitaji and Lolita. Samajhdari she has in spades, alright. Add to that a suave and discerning eye for style. And you easily realize that as hard as Lalitaji is to fool, Lolita is that much harder to please.
And that’s the evolutionary truth that marketers have to grasp very quickly. Where Lalitaji is all about respecting traditions and discharging duty, Lolita isn’t afraid to indulge her individual self, without cost or damage to others around her. And in doing so, she’s fine-tuning her balancing act into an art that few of her contemporaries around the world can match.
Lolita takes the traditional and contemporizes it. Lalitaji takes the new into the pallu of her sari easily. And she’s able to do this because of a few unique things about her generation. She’s the first to grow up without the baggage of the Raj era. She’s grown up grooming the internet generation, and has seen all the advances first hand along the way. And she’s grown up without bottling up her own aspirations.
Most importantly, whether she’s elite class in South Delhi or by-and-large mass class in Bhatinda, there’s a mindset that unifies them all. Call her the Affluential Indian woman. She will not settle for anything less than the best that her money and time can get her. And she populate her home and her life with not just one or two but multiple things along the spectrum from traditional to contemporary. After all, she plays out multiple roles daily. Why shouldn’t her choices reflect all these roles?
From classy Kanjeevarams and Benarasi silks and the ubiquitous salwar kameez to the casually chic jeans and t-shirt, her wardrobe straddles her myriad moods and roles.
From hair oils to conditioners, from henna to streaks, from chandan and haldi to moisturizers, she grooms and preens as the occasion demands.
From whipping up dosa batter to serving up steaming pancakes with maple syrup on the side; from navratan korma to fettucini alfredo; kitchen shelves where sambar powder and garam masala rub shoulders with oregano and vinegar; from crafting exotic dishes at home to being at home in new restaurants around town. Nowhere is reverse-McDonaldization more visible than the effect that Lalitaji / Lolita have on what we eat. There’s a reason why Haldiram is as popular as Pizza Hut. It’s the same reason global food giant Frito-Lay (a PepsiCo company) proudly proclaims rajma, dal and chawal as its ingredients, alongside flavors like sour cream, jalapenos and French onion.
From upholding traditions such as Karwa Chauth and Diwali to celebrating new ones like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, she has embraced diverse ways to indulge herself and the ones she loves.
And as much as non-urban women are taking to “Western” products like shampoos and fairness creams, urban women are discovering the joys of going back to the basics with organics.
The truth in all of this clearly underlines what was said at the beginning of this piece. The Indian woman consumer isn’t a moron. If anything, she’s an oxymoron. And one who is completely at peace with the many paradoxes that are her life. Lalitaji and Lolita both reside in the same person. Happily.
To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the moron isn’t the consumer. It’s her husband, usually. At least, when you stop and think about today’s Indian consumer landscape, that’s what you’d see. While men are counted in the Census and other studies of note as Heads of Households, the truth is that households would be like headless chicken without the women being in charge. The man surely wins the bread and brings it home. It’s the woman who decides how to slice it, how to toast it, what jam and butter to spread on it, and just how and how much to serve, and when.
But this facet of the Indian woman consumer only reflects her “dutiful” side. And the fact of the matter is that she is, in equal parts, Lalitaji and Lolita. Samajhdari she has in spades, alright. Add to that a suave and discerning eye for style. And you easily realize that as hard as Lalitaji is to fool, Lolita is that much harder to please.
And that’s the evolutionary truth that marketers have to grasp very quickly. Where Lalitaji is all about respecting traditions and discharging duty, Lolita isn’t afraid to indulge her individual self, without cost or damage to others around her. And in doing so, she’s fine-tuning her balancing act into an art that few of her contemporaries around the world can match.
Lolita takes the traditional and contemporizes it. Lalitaji takes the new into the pallu of her sari easily. And she’s able to do this because of a few unique things about her generation. She’s the first to grow up without the baggage of the Raj era. She’s grown up grooming the internet generation, and has seen all the advances first hand along the way. And she’s grown up without bottling up her own aspirations.
Most importantly, whether she’s elite class in South Delhi or by-and-large mass class in Bhatinda, there’s a mindset that unifies them all. Call her the Affluential Indian woman. She will not settle for anything less than the best that her money and time can get her. And she populate her home and her life with not just one or two but multiple things along the spectrum from traditional to contemporary. After all, she plays out multiple roles daily. Why shouldn’t her choices reflect all these roles?
From classy Kanjeevarams and Benarasi silks and the ubiquitous salwar kameez to the casually chic jeans and t-shirt, her wardrobe straddles her myriad moods and roles.
From hair oils to conditioners, from henna to streaks, from chandan and haldi to moisturizers, she grooms and preens as the occasion demands.
From whipping up dosa batter to serving up steaming pancakes with maple syrup on the side; from navratan korma to fettucini alfredo; kitchen shelves where sambar powder and garam masala rub shoulders with oregano and vinegar; from crafting exotic dishes at home to being at home in new restaurants around town. Nowhere is reverse-McDonaldization more visible than the effect that Lalitaji / Lolita have on what we eat. There’s a reason why Haldiram is as popular as Pizza Hut. It’s the same reason global food giant Frito-Lay (a PepsiCo company) proudly proclaims rajma, dal and chawal as its ingredients, alongside flavors like sour cream, jalapenos and French onion.
From upholding traditions such as Karwa Chauth and Diwali to celebrating new ones like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, she has embraced diverse ways to indulge herself and the ones she loves.
And as much as non-urban women are taking to “Western” products like shampoos and fairness creams, urban women are discovering the joys of going back to the basics with organics.
The truth in all of this clearly underlines what was said at the beginning of this piece. The Indian woman consumer isn’t a moron. If anything, she’s an oxymoron. And one who is completely at peace with the many paradoxes that are her life. Lalitaji and Lolita both reside in the same person. Happily.
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