What sets marketers apart

Marketing has always been the cost centre and dare I say - the discussion centre. Everyone else has their defined area of 'expertise', it is marketing that is everyone's favourite punching bag. No one messes with the finance because numbers is always a big mess. No one messes with the operations because stock management is a big headache. What about marketing, then? That's everyone's playground!

Marketing needs to be at the heart of decisions impacting both your buyers and customers - no second thought about it. The strong internal pressure leads even the marketing team to look at ROI metrics or even increase 'stakeholder response rate'. However, I always had the same lingering doubt - What exactly is the unique core competency of marketers?

It's pretty easy for other streams and professional roles to list specialized competencies - but what about marketers? What is our unique competency? What is that one thing that stands us out from the rest of the streams?

Great communication skills? - Nope, everyone requires it

Strategic Thinking? - Nope again

Creative ability? - Not really

Ability to innovate and marry the long term and short term plan? - Not exactly

All these are something that non-marketers are also supposed to have. Then what is it that we should possess?

It is up for discussion and debate but personally I believe that the answer for this is Meaningful engagement with buyers and customers

How often have we seen strategy meetings talking about a complete engagement model with buyers and customers? Am not saying that the buyers' needs are not discussed - far from it. Needs are discussed but only partially and in line with the other departments. How should we take care of our operations? What should be our stocking positions? What should be the finances to be put for branding purposes? How should we carry out our advertising plan?

There certainly is a need to speak to the complete market of buyers. There definitely is a need to think beyond the usual and make decisions that will be market driven. There is a need to gain non-obvious insights of customer buying patterns. Companies do tend to get these insights by outsourcing but the presence of 'buyer experts' to judge the trends and patterns of buying is invaluable to any company.

So, what do I want to be? I would want to be a hard worker; I would want to be a pro-active problem solver; I would want to be a relationship builder....but on top of all the above, I would want to be a buyer expert decoding the expert buyers!

Happy marketing!

Are 4Ps still relevant?

They form the very basis of modern day marketing. I think life of a marketer starts with these 4 little words. Ask any marketing professional and they would agree the importance of these 4 words all through their life. Ever since Jerome McCarthy proposed the marketing mix, Product, Price, Promotion and Place have become the essence of every marketer.

How relevant is the 4Ps still? Are we leaving to chance if we are not updating as per the market requirements? As a marketing professional, I would definitely vouch that we need to change with changing times. Will that principle also apply to the seemingly untouchable marketing mix?

Whatever I'm writing below is from consolidation of readings across various marketing fora. I found it compelling to post because it is so true to the marketing mix. Here it goes!

The 4Ps should be modified slightly to be in tune with changing times and what we get is 4Es

Experience

People are now looking beyond a product. They are looking for experience. When you buy a TV now, you are looking for that wholesome experience. When you are buying a razor, you are looking for that defining experience. When you buy a movie ticket you are not looking at movie as a product but to give you that experience which encompasses various things. Bottom line, people have moved from looking at products as products and are looking at experiencing products. So, is it time to modify the marketing mix to reflect this?

Exchange

What is it that I get of experiencing this product? Has this been at the top of your mind behind every purchase? I wouldn't blame you. On the contrary, you are on the track that most of us are. We have moved beyond the concept of price. What we look now when we experience a product is the outcome of it..what's in it for me...or to put it more precisely...what am I getting in Exchange. The consumers have moved out of the comfort zone of price into the zone of exchange. They are willing to pay a higher price if in exchange they experience and get more benefits. Will I pay more to buy an Apple phone? What am I getting in exchange - operationally, socially and financially? Time for a change to kick out Price from the marketing mix?

Every Place

Where are products being sold these days? What are the channels for sales? The Place of Marketing Mix has become Every Place because that's where we practically see the products - every place! Someone having a physical shop and not having an online shop? He's missing on web visitors. Someone not present on facebook and/or twitter? They are missing out on social presence. You are expected to be physically present, use all the older channels (direct selling, B2B selling, indirect selling - all those still hold true) and yet use the modern channels - online, social. This makes you to be in every place

Evangelism

You saw a Bollywood hero bulging his muscles, removing his shirt and picking up a sandal...you ended up buying it. This was the story till yesterday.

You now see a man-next-door endorsing a car that he uses; you see a girl-next-door endorsing a soap that she uses. You think strongly of using these products. This is how it is today.

Gone are the days when a specific promotional campaign is targeted at enticing your senses and appealing to you. Now, it's more about adoption...more about Evangelism. We don't just get swayed by a promotional campaign - it may get eye balls but not conversions. We are looking at adopters now...someone who can 'walk the talk'. We are not just looking at hearing from someone who's not even using that product. May be we are moving towards Evangelism

Is it really the time to modify the 1970's 'Marketing Mix' to sync with modern times? May be yes....may be not....but one thing's for sure - marketers are always the trend catchers and the trend setters.

The new Wagon R

Maruti and the Indian market go a long way! From the time being Indian market's monopolist to vying for the market share with all the big guns, Maruti has come a long way. Traditionalists still give it a thumbs-up (did some one say oldies?)

Wagon R has been the darling of the masses - for no reason it is the 2nd best selling car in India. However, everyone keep saying that the design could be a lot better. Not so flashy not so elegant, the Wagon R still sold. But, 6 years is a long time and Maruti decided to come up with a variant.

I'm not an expert on cars which meant I badly needed one - to get an opinion. The one I spoke to was very impressed by the new variant. He opined that Maruti addressed what it had to in the old model - front end looks!

With its competitors Santro, Figo, Beat in the range 3.4 L to 3.6 L, Maruti priced Wagon R between 3.28 - 3.8 for the variants. Maruti is expecting its blue-eyed boy to give it an edge over the competition. Will it?

It's my fortune to see this pioneer in person. It's my misfortune to see him leave all of us in tears.

For all those who viewed marketing and products as only a strata-specific activity, Prahalad was a refreshing change. Coming up with his radical but inspiring view that there indeed is fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, Prahalad made all the marketers sit up and notice.

If there is a change not just in the strategy but also in the balance sheets of HUL (and many others) they got to thank this visionary. No words would be enough to revisit the legendary that is Prahalad.

It certainly is a huge loss to all the marketers around the world. Let's all pray for his soul. Of course, I bet he must now be sitting with the TOP management to improve the living out there. We miss you Sir!

Indian market and the lemon juice

When was it that Parle Agro decided to come up with LMN? At that time, when it wanted to make its mark in the Indian beverages market. Surprisingly, that was one untapped segment. No one thought of it before!

Lemon juice is tailor-made for Indian environment. Summers...holidays...cricket...all that ends up with a lovely chilled glass of lemon juice. And it is in-house which makes it sweeter than ever. Even now, when I have a glass of lemon juice, it reminds me of my childhood, cricket and lovely little home!

This is what caught up with the biggies. After LMN, it is the turn of Nimbooz and Minute Maid. The usual bragging in the ad world kept aside, both are trying to vouch for greater attention. And having tasted all the three products (LMN, Nimbooz and Minute Maid) apart from talking to people who have been drinking them, there seems to be some interesting observations which might help the strategists.

For starters, every one is wondering why it took so long for the companies to eye this segment. Was it because this was supposed to be an in-house drink? Was it because there are apprehensions on the market perception? Whatever it is, these are uncalled for; at least going by the receptions from my sample.

Then of course is a bigger question from all of them. Why are they coming up with pet bottles and not the economically viable 1 or 1.5 ltr bottles? Simple...companies would like to test the waters before they get knee deep. It always is good if you can come out unscratched in case of adversity. To put simple, cut your losses and don't commit early. (Yeah, the same mistake committed by poor Shoaib with Ayesha...ahem..ahem)

Surprisingly enough, going by the perception and the reception, I strongly believe there is enough mandate to go for bigger bottles. Again, Parle took the first step...but who will be the last one standing?

Come out of the clutches

It always is a pain to commute on a bike. Though am not the correct person to comment (I've always been a free-rider aka pillion for most of my life), there certainly is an equal amount of risk involved along with the joy. There have been attempts to make it more friendly with automatic scooters, mopeds etc. However, the consumer behavior is something which plays a major role here. Who would want to drive a gear-less scooter considered more feminine? How many of you have seen a guy driving a Scooty pep?

But, there has always been something that is behind your mind when you drive through the rush streets...clutch, gear, clutch-gear change....isn't it all cumbersome? Can I not take all these off and still retain the basic features of a bike? Yes, says TVS with its new bike Jive

Jive is the latest entrant into the 110 CC bike middle-income target, but with a change. Jive has auto-clutch mechanism featuring an innovative patent-pending technology. Then there are the usuals that come with a bike and TVS has done well to retain all of them.

Hero Honda Street came flashing to my mind hearing about Jive. Being someone who drove Street for a good 2 years, I always felt it is a bike suited for the Indian market. However, because of the wrong packaging (yeah, it looked a moped than a bike) and the not-so-good marketing, Street went out of the market as soon as it came.

Will Jive drastically change the market? Tough but not impossible. Shrewd marketing and positioning can do wonders for the brand. However, there are certain things that might prove obstacles to them.

For one, the bike doesn't look stylish enough to attract the masses. TVS could be factoring on the comfort and ease factors but will they be enough to drive sales?

More importantly, customers in this segment look at the sales and the resale value of the bikes. Splendor has always been the darling of the masses because of the resale record of Hero Honda. Will this stop Jive from claiming the market position?

It still is early to comment on the success or otherwise of Jive. But, what it triggered is a frenzy activity in the market. We could be in for a revolutionary market changing concept. Jive along!

Ad-war is here again!

The heroics of Sachin not withstanding, the last week was a pleasant surprise for me. After a long time, we got to see an ad-war. Of course, the Nutralie-Amul and the others were trying to heat up the scene but what better than the two best FMCG companies jostling for attention in ads.

It would be difficult to recreate the ad here (you need to understand and appreciate my limited expertise at translation) but it goes something like this...a proud woman flaunting her Tide gets her ego busted with another woman showcasing the seemingly-better credentials of Rin . The whole point of the exercise is to establish that Rin is much better at providing whiteness to clothes than Tide.

Before we look at the nuances, is it permitted? It certainly is, if you are not leaving ambiguous things at the disposal of the consumer by comparison. To put more simply, 'whiteness' isn't a criterion that is universal or easy to comprehend. This might put a spanner in the work of HUL.

But why the fuss? Well, it is common knowledge that FMCG companies wouldn't like to lose share. Especially in these times, when value is the new volume. Emphasize better value and retain your customers, if not poach your competitors'. More over, there isn't a doubt in the marketing circles that Tide is making Rin run all the way for every inch of its share with its variants.

What will happen next? HUL is running a slippery ground with the inadvertent usage of 'whiteness'. If P&G takes up the issue with the Advertising Council of India, HUL might face the ignominy of reneging its claims. Then of course is the legal angle which could well be the way for P&G.

However, there is an interesting catch in this. If HUL has at least been partially successful in its ad, will this be the advent of a new ad war? Are we going to see the breach of new records ala Sachin? I can't wait to see...

The pyramid and its dynamics

I love pyramids...They are a wonderful portrayal of how life is; busy at the bottom lonely at the top. The various spectra of earnings and livings are beautifully signified by one Dr. C.K. Prahalad which of course became our bible!

And how! Everyone started looking at the actual untapped market at the BOP (bottom of the pyramid). It may not make sense to a BMW or a Toyota but it definitely makes sense to a HUL or a Godrej to tap the markets. If not with a specialized product definitely with a modified version.

Look at Godrej now. They wanted the Vinod khanna-era-stuck Cinthol's image to be modified. So...kaboom...off went the old Cinthol and in came the new re-branded Hrithik's Cinthol. Did they gain mileage? Well, a little. They at least got eye balls and got the minds tickling with the whole exercise. (They got me hooked too, thanks to Hrithik!)

But what did they realise now? That the too-costly-for-rural Cinthol soap might not make it to the bottom of the pyramid. So in comes the new lesser price models. A recent report states that Godrej is looking at penetrating the market with Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 packets to tap the huge market.

Is it going to work? If the conventional wisdom is anything to go by, Cinthol has a decent shot at the market. It isn't rocket science to tap the rural market. You just need to be approachable - on all 4Ps. Get your product in a feasible model reaching every nook and corner (you are targeting) and then make it affordable.

Cinthol might not receive an instant thumbs up from the market. It would take probably little longer before the market embraces Godrej. And if it does, they might try the same technique on other products. However, beware of competition...ITC already has the strength of its operational backbone and might use it (which they are actually doing) to push its products.

But one thing is sure...the next few months are going to be wonderful for the market. Let's sit back and enjoy

Royal way to earn!

It will not be long before cricket fans will forget the adage...answer your critics on the cricket field! IPL has become the new rocking star on the horizon and how!!! Those who get to play even a small part keep flaunting IPL on their resumes(remember Kalyan Krishna from AP who played in Deccan Chargers?? forget it...I guess he must have lost count of that as well!) And those who are shunned quickly do the forgiving act! (Kamran Akmal has forgiven IPL for the snub and is ready to play IPL IV...aah, so many thanks Mr. Akmal for 'dropping' this hint)

But look at it from behind the scenes. Right from the drum rolls till now, Rajasthan Royals have went about their PR in the best way possible! Answer your critics with the moolah. Give them 100 rupees to spend on players, they will spend 10 rupees and give the rest as credit to SRK. Then they spend the interest on their PR.

Look at their marketing strategy! Who would have thought about the global consortium. What are you achieving by this? Nothing but money! I mean, who cares if Cobras would be Royals tomorrow or Hampshire would be Royals the day after. All that matters for the administrators is money. And how to get it? Just make sure you get an innovative way of marketing!

Not to say that they are doing badly on the field (in fact far away from that...they are doing real good. Consider my poor friend SRK; he just keeps beaten everywhere - on the posters, on the ground, off the ground....) but kudos to them now everyone is looking at marketing their global team consortia and eating into our pockets...after all Answer your critics with marketing!

Economotion

Okay...I just got out of my extra-long hibernation flexing my muscles to write something. And what better than my usual favorite SRK!

Why on earth would you want to tickle the tiger when you can't tame it? Well...the perennial question that has no answer but what fascinates me more is why people keep asking What is all this fuss about? Excuse me....you don't understand what this fuss is about???

There are two types of decisions that we take in our life:

1. Decisions related to money (Which job to take, Which restaurant to take your date to, etc). These are what I call Economic decisions
2. Decisions related to your emotions (Whom to marry, Which team to support, etc) These are what I call Emotional decisions

There, however, is a considerable overlap of some of these decisions. If you ask Preity which team she would support in IPL III, you wouldn't hear Deccan Chargers! More than the emotion it is the economics that determine her decision in this.

As I see it, this overlap is growing by the day. There are more decisions that are being determined by a combination of factors...which movie to go (am a fan of Aamir but SRK movie comes cheap), which team to support (my heart is with India but I bet on South Africa!)... These are what I call the new trend decisions.

I label them Economotion decisions...welcome to the world of Economics and Emotion in no particular order. Most of the new-world decisions are, if you ask me, economotive decisions. SRK wouldn't mind an extra dose of publicity for his movie, even if it comes from the Thackerays. And Thackerays know where to pinch SRK to get their message through.

Don't mix politics and arts....don't mix politics and sports....we keep hearing them often, ain't it? Conventional wisdom says that we should not mix these. But Economotion wisdom says that we should! After all, if IPL doesn't snub Pakistan players, will they get the emotional message? If his movies are not blocked, will SRK get the Thackerays' message?

Sorry Mr. Gandhi (now don't ask if it is Rahul...am talking about our dear old Mahatma) but this is not the age of Satyagraha. These are the days of Econograha...show your anger on the economics...hail the new order!

Politics and Marketing

This is the season for it...ain't it? I came back home to be greeted by the campaigns. Nothing new? Right...this is nothing new. Every time we are supposed to make an educated decision on who should be our representatives, the decibel levels just shoot up. I guess the PR managers and the marketing managers of the candidates would be at their best in this season.

Look at Advani. The way he has brought up his own site and tried to endear him to the youth of the country isn't a decision taken in a jiffy or an idea out of the blue. A well-thought and a well planned initiative that is being well served by an MBA (oh yeah! there we go again...the Management grads!!!) behind the scenes is nothing short of a sensation this season.

Then there are various candidates who are utilizing the blogs, websites, placement advertisements etc etc. The bottom line is simple - Do anything to market you! Then there's this candidate in a constituency in Visakhapatnam who has endeared himself to the voters with a laptop. He went around toed with his laptop and goes door-to-door trying to engage the voters explaining them the need to vote and the status of their voter-id cards. In case of any help, he engages activists of his party to help them. At the end of it all, he asks them to look at his candidature. He knows that his election is a distant dream but he at least understood the essence of marketing in high-tech age!!!

Where's the limit...

Marketing always fascinates; to the extent that it makes you wonder if you really are buying something because you needed it or because you were marketed to. Take my example...I get into a retail store having a set list in my hand ably supported by the limited cash in my wallet (thanks to my dad and my bank!). Then I see this wonderful red color wrapped choclate which has been doing rounds in the tv ads for a week now. Next frame...it's in my basket.

Okay...you may try looking at this from the angle of impulse and non-impulse purchases but seriously saying, I never would have bought it had I not seen that ad. I still don't buy that 4-PM crunchy snack (Sorry Sir, I don't remember the name) because I didn't think it was well sold. The very fact that the general store near my hostel puts a discount on this snack and not on the red-color one tells me that the latter has been marketed.

But, can you sell anything and everything to any one and everyone? May be not. As famously protrayed in an advertisement in the past, you can't make women shave every day. Come on, if a bright marketer can do that, imagine the amount of opportunities for shaving companies. Pealitte can come up with a razor that is dual purpose (the reverse side for the gals). You may argue that there are razors being sold even now but they are for different 'location'. I wish to see the day when a bright marketer can make women shave their (non-existent)beard every day.

People say that marketing is the art of selling a comb to a DevaGowda. Yeah, you can go ahead and sell it to a Kirmani as well but there always is a limit to what marketing can do. It can't make you wear a watch on each of your wrists. Or can it?

GOD of the market

Way back in my 4th class

My dad took me to an electronics shop to buy me a watch. I was fascinated by one piece; so much so, that I insisted on its presence in my room the very same day. Dad had to oblige. But as with all flashy things, this one showed its class for just an hour refusing to function beyond that. We went back to the shop. Dad insisted on my watch being replaced to which the owner grudgingly acceeded.

Circa 2009....things have pretty much changed and I'm no longer attracted to those little items that glow on your wrist, but one thing didn't change. My dad still knows how to get the best for the money he spends. He puts it simply - I pay for my products and I need my pay back for every penny. He knows that he rules...

And yeah I changed too. I was worried about the shop owner cursing me for coming back to him demanding a replacement. I always thought that I owed him something by buying. Hold on...I was ignorant; it's the other way round - he owes me service for buying it from him. Customer is always the GOD!!!

It's an interesting phenomena to observe - the customers' feedback. The more the repeat sales the more is the satisfaction levels. And the more the number of agitators (read, angry customers) the better your chances of getting back to home to replace your maid! Long live the customer...he defines the product, he demands the product, he gets the product and he gets the service. Agreed that there are shrewd marketers who manipulate the customers' perspectives and play around but more often than not the GOD rules...and customer is the GOD!!!

P.S. 1: If ever I used a 'he' anywhere, I meant 'she' in an equal, if not more, proportions. Same applies to any occurence of 'she' (which is as remote as Sehwag scoring a 50 of 80 balls)

The sweeteners that do the trick

I was reading an article on marketing which reminded me of my professional-laze days (days when I was paid to laze around...hmm...I was a software engineer). A regional relationship manager from a big bank (not in size, but in revenues; though I do not know whether to put that in a sheet or balance it out) used to pester me. 

Take this card sir, it will be with you free for the rest of your life. 

Free!!! I would give my life for anything that comes free of cost. Just show me where to sign!

Sure sir! I will come with the papers tomorrow. 

Least did I know that I'm about to be a value addition to the bank!

The next day he gifted me a life-time free credit card...and some add-on cards which were almost free(At just 200 per year, Sir, it's almost free) and some other stuff which did not see the light of the day (I don't even remember using my petrol pump card; I forgot that I didn't have a bike or a car or anything remote that requires petrol, when I took that). It's pretty evident...I was smoothly mainpulated into buying all these!

I didn't know that all this had a name to go by - cross-selling. You can sell ice-cream for a customer coming for a coffee; you sell bank loan to a guy who comes to buy a car and who with his money can buy you off the shop.  It's an interesting phenomena. The sweetener that makes the transaction possible puts you in a tricky position. You do not realise the aftermaths until you are lured into it.

Cross-selling is a wonderful phenomena which probably is the undercurrent in all the Coffee days and the like. And even the best of minds fall prey for this small trick. Why? Think of it next time you make an unwarranted purchase.

Sir, would you like to try our new special item called rib-ticklers? Eat one and you get 20% discount on the next purchase on the shelf. And Sir, it's completely oil-free, cholesterol-free and...

Get sold and enjoy it!!!

Why???

But why???

This is one question that's haunting me since I-don't-remember-when. 

Why do you hate Maths - because it is...it is...it is....forget it

Why do you like Bipasha - because she is...she is...she is...ahhh leave her

Then comes the big question why marketing

Flashback 2006:

Those were days when I thought that selling is marketing. When someone in the family used to say that he is in marketing, I used to pity him - He must be selling encyclopaedias in public parks or socks near public urinals. Little did I know then that I would one day get interested in this selling job and would wait patiently for attention.

Circa 2009:

Life has come a full circle. Kareena has lost her weight and gone from size 'I-don't-even-remember' to size-0. Bipasha has gone into wilderness and a bit conservative too (yeah, her dresses have lengthened by a huge 0.1 mm). And with them all, I have changed too. I learnt my lessons in marketing (thanks to Kotler, again) and with a bit of common sense understood that it just doesn't mean selling only.

Would you daze at a blue arch for hours together? If you do, then you need to visit Agra (not for the Taj Mahal, of course). But, you would certainly daze at colors arching together, going by the name Rainbow. The amalgamation of colours makes a rainbow beautiful and eye-catching. None of the seven colours (let me count and be sure; V..I..B..G..Y..O..R..yippee, 7) make the rainbow dazzling. It's the combo-pack.

The beauty of marketing, for me, is the same. The raibow of activities with challenges and attractions at every stage makes it interesting for me. A rainbow has only 7 colors (will I have to count again? No, my 15-minute Ghazini alarm hasn't struck yet) but marketing has many. Celebrate your holi with the colors of life called marketing 

What is marketing?

Okay...am not taking your interview. But think of it, isn't this the first question that's put to any one remotely associated to marketing? Thanks to the American associations and the Kotlers and Kellers of the world, we have umpteen definitions of marketing. With all due regards to them, I have a problem with all those definitions. I do not conform to any of them.

Before you get all set to sue me or abandon me, spare a thought. Did you not feel that marketing is such a huge thing to be fit into a small definition? Well, I for one, felt so. It's definitely the process that starts from conceptualizing your product to working on the attributes to developing your channels to getting it to the customer....(phew). The beauty of marketing is much more than that.

Marketing for me is everywhere. You wake up in the morning and decide to cajole your mom to get a cup of coffee though it's half past 11. You need to sell your point why you wake up late. You then realise that it's getting late for that lunch date with your loyal girl friend. You need to increase the customer satisfaction (okk...that's a very rude word to be substituted for a girl, but by no means am an MCP - male chauvinistic pig) by promoting the loyality benefits - trip to Imax with a dinner at Taj thrown in the mix.

You prepare for a meeting with your manager deciding on how to sell your points and market your thoughts. You come out of the meeting extremely pissed off with the attitude of some of the channel members (read, project mates etc)  and decide to strategise your plan. You work on an alternative channel strategy to tackle the monster at hand. You get a call from your marriage bureau and you realise that it's time to update your product portofolio.

Marketing is ubiquitous...we don the hat of a marketer every minute and we master most of the tasks. And still we look into books to understand what marketing is...