I love this Market

Do's and Dont's in Twitter

2010-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I was reading some articles from enthusiasts and consultants on how they perceive Twitter and its effectiveness.Interestingly every body wants twitter to take over from them the job which they were doing for years.’Marketing ‘ Be it personal branding or its Corporate dossier every body wants Twitter to make a revolution just by their presence or the brand’s presence in social media.Some are even worse in making a one sided advertisement about their service and solutions ,interestingly I noted those accounts never interact nor Acknowledge for RTs.The basic concept of being in Twitter gets a different face when users start using it for a purpose which it is not meant for!

For example Dell runs its Customer support through Twitter ,it resolves or escalates the services rendered through Twitter,that’s an interesting process which Dell follows and it emulates the market to follow it too.Imagine if a PC manufacturer doesn’t respond to the issues and only markets about his new Model of Notebooks,The customer will evidently decide about the after sales support even before entering in to the family.The impact of Twitter for Marketing is impeccable and its enormous when it takes a perfect foreseen model and when its closely Monitored .I have tried to bring certain aspects of Dos and Donts in Twitter which as a customer/Consumer/User Would and wouldn’t prefer brands to do it.

1.First understand how Twitter works,Dont take it for granted about the options available with Twitter.

2.Gone are the days of Authoritative marketing/One sided Marketing.Understand the new generation.Dont get in to an argument.

3.Participate and listen the customers.Critics are omnipresent and never ignore them.

4.Dont aim at Followers,Followers will reach you if your presence is felt.

5.Acknowledge your followers and people who Retweets your contents.

6.Never give a sales pitch in the Twitter,Don’t try to sell your product.

7.Understand Sales is different from Marketing.Customer is just trying to know your product ,he hasn’t decided to buy it.

8 .Do not look like a Fake account,Give importance to your home page.

9.Bring your employees to Twitter and make them know the relevance and importance of the presence.

10.Twitter is for networking,if your not networking then your goal is not working.

Read about Jef Raskin

2010-04-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

One of the Pioneers in silicon Valley,known as the father of Macintosh project Jef Raskin was with apple Inc till he moved after a indifference with Maverick Steve Jobs

Click Jef Raskin

Ignite Chennai Edition II

2010-04-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I had an oppurtunity to attend Ignite Chennai Edition II which belongs to O'Reilly event organised by Thought works Inc .The agenda is to spread ideas and through presentations and they have screened 150 entries and selected 20.20 presentations 5 mins each ,strictly 5 mins ( some try to work on their Elapsed minutes but audience ignored) .Your idea can be any thing be it love,Media,Marketing,NGO or your personal branding .Kiruba was a guest speaker who spoke about Unconferences.My brother Shivaram had a serious topic to present about Marketing.

Interestingly the thoughtworks people had enormous amount of energy to organise this event and it was astounding to note their involvement as an organisation to promote the idea generation and presentation.Just that I noted that the refining of the presentations were needed because that 5 mins were key and many left the grip in first two mins and they started rushing in the last minute.

All along it was good to be at a place where some team work is happening

Indian retail business -Social media marketing

2010-01-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

Its very difficult to see a retail business in India using a social media effectively.Media Houses use their Editors and news anchors to increase their TRPs and hitrates,but apart from them the retail business have been very dormant in using social media sales strategies.Indian corporate budget for 09-10 will have almost no scope for social media .I hope Retail companies bring up bucks for social media in 10-11 which is not very far.

Shoppers stop use their analytics for online reviews and feedbacks but for I don’t see any Indian brand bring up their presence in social media.Shoppers stop integrate Twitter and facebook for promoting their ownbrands and other brands.They bring up photos in facebook column to make it a visiual ad.Adidas use their multi name twitter accounts to bring up the products and events they participate and tips.Future group who are very agressively expanding has almost no presence in social media.Its all user formed groups which are yet to be validated.

Twitter.Facebook allows lots of features which these companies can use up in bringing a effective way to reach out to consumers.For example the new brands of Pantaloons and their display can be brought in Facebook and the Big Bazaar offers can be messaged,Brand Factory price slashes can be informed.What ultimately the companies get is the way to make the consumers get used with Online Shopping which is in a very very infant stage.The main reason for this is reliability on the brand.Consumer wants to buy known and proven brands through online in India.The touch and feel factor has effected the buying experience here.

How effective it will be to have consumers informed about the Levis jeans 50% discount sales in Lifestyle and what if they have the option to buy online during the end of seasons sale.There is online purchase through their websites.But do we visit their websites like Amazon or Ebay .The problem these companies don’t succeed in online shopping till these days is because of lack of information.Lack of two way communication,lack of presence in a clutter.

I am not sure when Indian retail business will wake up for social media strategy.

Request

2010-01-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

If any one has suggestions /Presentation/ebooks on Social Media for Technology/Consulting business kindly email @kkarthikmail@gmail.com.This would be greatly helpful for a project .

Study: Inc. 500 Companies Fast Adopters of Social Media

2009-12-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

The nation's fastest-growing private companies are making use of social media -- including blogs, social networking and podcasts -- at a rate more than twice that of Fortune 500 companies, according to a new study.
The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth's Center for Marketing Research surveyed companies from the 2006 Inc. 500 list, to gauge the level of familiarity and usage of six forms of social media -- blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking and wikis. Out of 121 respondents, generally managers and other senior-level executives, 42 percent claimed to be "very familiar" with social networking, followed by 38 percent with message boards and 31 percent with blogging.
Across the board, respondents were familiar with all types of social media, including 16 percent being very familiar with wikis, which are typically a lesser-known type of social media on average.Companies were also asked about their actual usage of the various types of social media, and message boards had the highest adoption rate at 33 percent, followed closely by social networking at 27 percent. Blogging had a lower percentage of usage among respondents at 19 percent, and podcasting was the type of social media with the lowest adoption rate at 11 percent.

"These responses are surprising and will likely shock even the most fervent believer in social media," Nora Ganim Barnes, director of the Center for Marketing Research and a leader of the study, said in a statement. "They indicate that corporate familiarity and usage of social media is racing far ahead of what many have predicted."
These results contrast with previous research that found only 8 percent of Fortune 500 companies have a public blog. The purpose of the study, which was not conducted at the request or on behalf of Inc. magazine or Inc.com, was to see if there was a difference in the knowledge and usage of social media in companies selected by growth rather than revenue. The respondents represented a wide range of the Inc. 500 and were diverse in terms of industry, size, and location. Four respondents were in the top 10 of the list, seven were in the top 25 and 22 held one of the top 100 spots.
Additionally, a majority of the Inc. 500 companies acknowledged the critical role that social media plays for their future success, with two out of three respondents indicating that it is "very important" or "somewhat important" to their business and marketing strategies. A breakdown of the results shows that 26 percent deemed it "very important" while 40 percent thought it was "somewhat important."
"For those of us who have been following fast-growth companies for years, it's no surprise that they would be at the forefront of using innovative technologies to enhance their visibility, marketing, and interaction with other companies," said Edward Sussman, senior vice president of Mansueto Ventures, the publisher of Inc. and Inc.com.
Inc. will expand the list 10-fold this year, to become the first-ever Inc. 5,000, ranking the nation's 5,000 fastest-growing private companies.

Source: http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200702/social.html

Top 5 Blogging Misconceptions

2009-12-02T11:36:00.001-08:00

Top 5 Blogging Misconceptions

This is a post by Bob Bessette.

Source :http://www.dailyblogtips.com

1. If you write it they will come…

No, not really. It’s more like, If you promote it they might come. You could be writing the most fantastic blog on earth but if no one knows about it why bother? It’s almost like the old saying, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?” You simply have to get the word out there that you are living and breathing amid the blogosphere. I’m doing that through this guest post. I am not doing this out of the goodness of my heart or because I like Daniel. I am writing this guest post because Daniel has something that I want; a HUGE readership.

2. People will read because of my great writing

Don’t get me wrong, I think that great writing is a prerequisite of a successful blogger but your readers aren’t reading your blog because you write well. There are bookshelves filled with books at any Barnes and Noble or Borders written by great writers. The most important lesson that a blogger has to learn is that you MUST deliver value to your readers. The reason Daily Blog Tips is successful is that Daniel delivers value to the reader and has done this consistently through the years. When you write a blog you must have your audience in mind. That is why it is very important to get to know your readers which can be done through interaction in the comments. Responding directly to the comments of your readers is very powerful. It builds a relationship and trust that can be nurtured with time. You will also begin to understand the profile of your readers which can go a long way to developing posts which are helpful to them. If that reader likes what you have to say, he or she may tell someone else or maybe even link to you in their blog if they have one.

3. Other bloggers will always be willing to help

To be totally honest, I have found that about 90% of fellow bloggers are very helpful. But there are some out there who feel you are the competition or maybe they don’t feel you are worthy of being helped. I could never understand that. If someone asks for my help I would gladly give it to them when it comes to blogging. I will never look at this as a competitive endeavor, but a nurturing one.

4. You will start making money right away

This could be true if you already have a following from either another blog or a NY Times bestseller book that you just wrote. There are two schools of thought on monetizing your blog. Some say to wait until you have a decent readership before you add any Adsense or advertising on your blog. Others say it’s OK to start the blog off with advertising. My take is to wait until you have a following before you monetize your blog. It may just turn people off early on and that is the last thing you want to do. Either way, it will take a while before you have a large following and with that you may be able to make some money through advertising. But, the majority of bloggers don’t make money. So if you started blogging to make money instead of having a real passion for your writing, you may want to reconsider.

5. It’s easy to blog

Actually it requires a lot of work. If you have a full-time job and are blogging on the side, finding the time to write is tough. And, if you don’t put in the time, it will show in your content. I enjoy the process immensely but that still doesn’t mean it’s easy. To build a following you also have to be consistent in your writing. You can’t just post a blog at random intervals. That’s the quickest way to lose any readers that you may have. If your readers like your posts then they expect them to be there on a regular basis. Try to stick with a regular posting interval. If you state your posting interval in your “About” page, then make sure you meet your deadlines.

Blogging can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Being able to communicate with a diverse group of people from anywhere in the world is truly mind-boggling. Understanding some of the misconceptions out there related to blogging can help you get off to the right start. Knowing what to expect ahead of time may save you a lot of wasted time and energy.

Good luck in your blogging endeavors!

Bob Bessette writes a blog called Totally Unique Life. His blog is geared toward practical advice and strategies for life, work, and play.

Deepak Khaitan And His Magic Lamp

2009-12-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

Source : Business world

The metal road leading up to village Rani Purva is the brighter side of the discordant showcase of its development. On the seamier side, this village — located just 40 km from Lucknow and almost 14 km off the nearest highway connecting Sitapur with Lucknow — does not have power even 19 years after it was shown that dream. The lines laid to supply power to the village were stolen in 1990.

So, every evening when the Sun went down on Rani Purva, Mahku Lal Bhargav’s 15-member family’s life revolved around kerosene lamps. But that was until a few months ago when a grocer in a neighbouring village convinced him to buy Eveready’s LED (light-emitting diode) lantern that runs on batteries. It is 9.30 at night and the family’s nine grand children (four granddaughters and five grandsons) are huddled with their books around the lantern that Eveready branded as Home Lite (it was recently changed to Nu LITE after a trademark dispute) HL 08.

The eldest, 18-year-old Amit Kumar, is a first-year student of political science, sociology and Hindi at the prestigious Christian Degree College in Lucknow. He wants to be a lawyer. His 17-year-old sister Mamta Devi is in Class 12. Eight-year-old Suraj is in Class IV and wants to be a doctor. Each one of them is clinging to the lantern’s milky white light as opposed to the kerosene lamp’s dull yellow rays, smoke and soot. Amit complains that he is not sure how long his grandfather will be able to afford the batteries from the average Rs 20-50 he earns daily from the village’s only grocery shop and the family’s four bighas of land. Last time, the lantern ran only as long as the free batteries that came with it lasted. Convincing Bhargav to buy three more was not easy.

Click here to view enlarged image

Bhargav’s family is precisely the customer Deepak Khaitan, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Rs 925-crore Eveready Industries, India’s largest battery maker — had in mind when he introduced the LED lanterns as a substitute to kerosene lanterns in April this year. He thought he was filling a void in the market. But he had no idea how big a void that was. Built on the philosophy of giving better light at a lower monthly cost than running kerosene lanterns — Eveready has plastered front pages of regional dailies with this message — the LED lanterns have sold 2 million since April this year, gaining significant traction in power deficient states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. In the first month Eveready sold 20,000 units. In May it sold 40,000 and in June 60,000. But as soon as ads broke on 8 July, sales shot up to 278,000 and the company was out of stock. In the three months since then, sales have averaged 350,000-450,000 units a month, largely constrained by manufacturing capacity. Company revenues have gone up nearly 19 per cent. “I can sell 500,000 a month if I could produce them,” says Khaitan who has set a stiffer target to sell 1 million units a month beginning fiscal 2010-11 when his capacity would be in place.

Rarely does a consumer product catch such a customer fancy in such a short span of time. Remember only an estimated 6 million radio transistors are sold in India every year. The total installed base of the seven-year-old DTH (direct-to-home) industry, some of whose offerings are priced at Rs 499, is just 17 million.

At the heart of the LED lanterns business is Eveready’s philosophy: “You can live in darkness. But once you are used to light, you will never go back to darkness”. Banking on this, Eveready hopes to tap nearly 100,000 villages that are still not on India’s power map. There are at least twice that much which have power but the supply is too erratic to call it a supply.

Whether these lanterns will change the lives of the power-starved is still to be seen, but they are making a difference to the image of what is perceived as a rather unadventurous company. “These are trendy. I don’t need it because I have an invertor at home, but I am tempted to buy one,” says 32-year-old Rakshita, examining Eveready’s first LED lantern HL 08 stacked up at the entrance of Spencer’s store at Pacific Mall in Ghaziabad. Rakshita’s bigger temptation was the six D-size batteries (worth Rs 90) offered free with the Rs 350 product.

Lanterns have ushered the company into its most disruptive phase since the Kolkata-based B.M. Khaitan group took over Eveready Industries from Union Carbide in 1994. The LED lanterns portfolio has grown to seven since April, priced between Rs 150 and Rs 450. But Khaitan is now desperate to prevent competition from capitalising on his success. The range will be bolstered to 20 by February, plugging any conceivable gaps in the portfolio. New offerings include mass-market products such as a detachable lamp that can be fixed on a bicycle and niche products such as a headlamp for miners, doctors or hikers. Khaitan, who has been with his suppliers in China and Taiwan for the past one month, travels there every two weeks to keep tabs on the progress.

Click here to view enlarged image

If Khaitan manages to sell the 12 million units, he would have expanded his company’s revenues by one-third in a year. He estimates that the total households to whom he can sell at least one LED lantern could be as high as 350 million. Theoretically, that is business worth Rs 10,500 crore (around $2.2 billion or nearly 11 times his company’s current turnover) up for grabs. Practically, he is laying the grounds for large volumes too. In anticipation of an even larger portfolio, Eveready has stopped naming its products Jumbo, Stylo or Mylite as it did. Instead, it has adopted the cellphone nomenclatures—HL 01, HL 05 and HL 02 (the Home Lite legacy in the HL prefix clearly evident there).

Necessity: The Mother Of Invention
Incidentally, Eveready’s LED lanterns are an advent of adversity. In 2006 and 2007, the Indian market got flooded with Chinese LED torches, which consumed one-sixth battery power compared to the incandescent bulb torches sold by Indian manufacturers, including Eveready. As batteries began to last longer, it jolted Eveready, which commanded nearly 60 per cent of the market then. Sales of its highest selling battery — the biggest D-size one — collapsed from 600 million units a year to 300 million units.

Making up for the shortfall with exports in very large numbers was not an option for two reasons. One, Eveready does not have the licence to sell under the Eveready brand anywhere except India, Nepal and Bhutan (the brand is owned by Energizer elsewhere in the world). Second, though Eveready exports small numbers under the Lava brand, demand for carbon-zinc batteries is dead in most parts of the world. Alkaline batteries account for at least 90 per cent of the entire developed world demand (in India their share is about 2 per cent).

When Khaitan began looking for ways to perk up battery sales, he found cues in Eveready’s history. The 104-year-old Eveready began operations in India as National Carbon Company, a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation of the US by importing dry cell batteries into India. It set up battery plants in Kolkata and Chennai. But to boost battery sales Eveready was forced to diversify into torch manufacturing with a plant at Lucknow in 1958.

Fifty years later, in 2008, history repeated itself at the same plant. This time, by entering yet another new business of assembling battery-based LED lanterns to prop up D-size battery sales. “We copied LED for torches initially. (They) made us learn more about LED,” admits Khaitan candidly. “We said why can’t we come up with a light which lasts for a month and is cheaper than kerosene. That’s how the LED lantern was conceived.” At two-three hours of usage every day, the LED lanterns cost 50 paise an hour, marginally lower than kerosene lanterns. Khaitan and his team went to China and located the first product they would introduce as the HL 08.

To be fair, local players discovered the power of LED lanterns well before Eveready — a few priced between Rs 50 and Rs 200 are still available in the market. But nobody could capitalise on it the way Khaitan did, for two reasons. One, nobody scaled up manufacturing capacity. Second, Eveready has significant distribution might. Fifty years ago it pioneered the concept of carrying products right up to the retailers with ‘Upcountry vans’ and ‘Local vans’. Today, Eveready’s salesmen touch nearly 3.2 million of India’s 12 million retailers at least once a fortnight. “Anybody can get a product from China. Distribution is the key to Eveready. Their distribution is as strong as that of FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies,” says Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner and national leader, retail and consumer products practice at consulting firm Ernst & Young. Analysts such as Mishra believe distribution is also Eveready’s competitive barrier against imports. Battery-based LED lanterns sell on Amazon.com in the price range of $10 (Rs 480) for the smallest to $25 (Rs 1,200) for the type Eveready sells as Jumbo (Rs 450).

From Gimme Red To Gimme LED
During peak afternoon rush, we make our way into the crowded Aminabad market — the nub of kerosene lantern sales — in central Lucknow. It caters to retailers from 18-20 neighbouring districts, some from as far away as Delhi (500 km from Lucknow). Elahi-family owned Sansar Lights is among the region’s oldest and biggest distributors of kerosene lanterns. Abid Elahi of the family’s second generation says he sells between 150-180 kerosene lanterns per day at Rs 100-125 each, but these sales are half of what they were before the advent of LED lanterns. Elahi, who also distributes Eveready products, says local and unbranded LED lanterns first hit the market for as low as Rs 50. At that time, Eveready’s LED lantern sales were less than
5 per cent of total sales but in the past five months it has risen to 95 per cent.

MASS PRODUCT: Print Ads like the one above in local dailies have helped Eveready increase sales manifold; (top) Mahku Lal Bhargav’s grandchildren (BW pic by Sanjya Sakaria)

Another dealer in the vicinity, Anil Chawla of Punjab Lights, says 60 per cent of his sales are still kerosene lamps while the rest are LEDs. Chawla says, while a year ago, nearly all LED lanterns were local, today 70-80 per cent of his lantern sales are Eveready’s. “Their sales and market share are up because they have the highest range.” Chawla, however, says his customers have encountered niggling quality issues such as a missing switch in a lantern or a missing spring in the battery compartment.

Right in the middle of this demand spurt, the celebration party has been interrupted by a trademark violation dispute. A Delhi-based company told Eveready that it has been using the ‘Home Lite’ brand for lanterns long before Eveready introduced LED lanterns. As a result, earlier in November, Eveready began shipping its products under a new brand Nu LITE.

An Endearing Need
Eveready’s exploits in the lantern market have woken up some stockmarket denizens. Among the equity analyst community, Eveready mostly passes off as a rather unglamorous company that rarely creates excitement. To most analysts, it is a competent battery maker. No more, no less. “Historically, it has not been tracked by us. We track companies on the basis of market capitalisation, float and investor interest. It does not qualify for us,” says Enam Securities’ FMCG and retail analyst Akhil Kejriwal.

But, Eveready’s company secretary Tehnaz Punwani says, fund managers are enquiring a lot more of late. Eveready’s stock has shot up 475 per cent from a 52-week low of Rs 11.51 on 4 December 2008 to Rs 66.25 as of 26 November on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Sensex has gained 82 per cent during the same period.

Yet, institutional investor interest seems moderate, at best. In the past six months since its LED lanterns hit the market, three of the eight mutual funds invested in the company have exited. These included Birla SunLife Dividend yield fund, HDFC MIP-LTP and Tata Contra Fund. HDFC Prudence, the biggest investor holding 1.26 million shares, has reduced its holdings by two-thirds. ICICI Pru’s FMCG fund has made a very marginal reduction in its holding while UTI Master Value, Birla SunLife’s Long Term Advantage fund and DBS Chola’s Multi-Cap fund have increased holdings. The head of one of Eveready’s largest mutual fund investors, says, “The company has a lot of potential. It is up to the management to deliver on what they have been promising for the past two years.”

Analysts say the company will need to improve its financials significantly for greater investor interest. In fiscal 2008-09, for instance, Eveready reported a net profit of Rs 19.40 crore on sales turnover of Rs 925.31 crore (see ‘Gimme LED’). In comparison, its nearest rival Nippo Batteries posted a net profit of Rs 16 crore on a turnover of Rs 307.51 crore. Eveready’s earning per share of Rs 2.67 was lower than Nippo’s Rs 42.76 as was book value of Rs 66.48 versus Nippo’s Rs 339.71. “Our EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margins are moving up. Last quarter we were about 13 per cent. Our objective is to take it to at least 17-18 per cent of turnover,” says Khaitan. At least Eveready’s bottom line appears rosier in the past two quarters, even though the topline has seen only a marginal improvement. While quarterly net ranged from Rs 2 crore to Rs 8.5 crore in the preceding three quarters, it has more than doubled the net profit to Rs 16.05 crore and Rs 17.54 crore in June and September quarters of 2009. In comparison, the topline has moved up just 19 per cent since the quarter of September 2008.
Damned If I Do, Doomed If I Don’t...

…At least, that is how Khaitan will explain his double dilemma of whether to introduce rechargeable lanterns, which is a perceived threat to its LED lanterns business. “Consumers want rechargeable lanterns,” says Sansar Lights’ Elahi. Lantern distributors echo Elahi’s voice. But the industry, as much as Eveready, is still double-guessing whether the rechargeable lantern market will ever be as strong as single-life battery lanterns. If Khaitan does introduce them, they defeat the very purpose for which he set up his lanterns business — to prop up D-size battery sales. If he does not — and a rival introduces a better value proposition —Eveready’s nascent lanterns business could be smothered. “The market is there. I can get into it but at the moment I have so much opportunity to expand this,” says Khaitan.

But the biggest reason why Khaitan is not introducing rechargeable lanterns is that it would require getting into an unchartered territory of a nationwide service centre network. Right now, Eveready’s products travel on a one-way street from plants to consumers. Their disposable nature does not require servicing. But rechargeable lanterns will. Elahi insists the rechargeable lanterns business cannot do well unless, “the company sets up service centres”. Khaitan is not convinced yet. “It requires specialised selling, it requires servicing. It does not suit my distribution so it doesn’t make sense to me,” says Khaitan.

CASH OUTLETS: Sansar Lights’ Abid Elahi says kerosene lanterns sales have halved

Moreover, rechargeables push up product price to Rs 1,200-1,300, which is three to four times Eveready’s existing range. In fact, Eveready has attacked the ‘costly’ rechargeable lanterns in a campaign suggesting consumers must buy four of single-life battery lanterns for the price of a rechargeable lantern. “In many parts of rural India, there is no power. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh go through power cuts of
12-15 hours (a day). How will you recharge?” Khaitan questions.

But what about solar lanterns? “As a company, why would I encourage selling solar? It will cut down my battery consumption,” says Khaitan. Besides, Eveready sees itself as a mass products FMCG company. Khaitan believes it must not market any products that sell volumes of less than 100,000-200,000 units a month. “At the price points of rechargeables you can’t get those volumes,” says Khaitan. “For us, it is very difficult to sell 5,000 or 10,000 pieces a month.”

Even as competition intensifies and winter sets in, Eveready is faced with a peculiar challenge: kerosene lamp sales shoot up in north India during winters because families use them as a source of heat as much as light. Khaitan’s biggest challenge now is to ensure that he generates enough heat with his offerings to keep his portfolio trendy and relevant. “We think the moment we hit the correct price point, the market will explode,” says Khaitan. But the irony is that even he does not know what that break-out point is. As for the back-current of LED lanterns on D-size battery sales — that is still to show up. Though the decline has got arrested. Eveready expects the ripple effect sometime in the January-March quarter. Largely, because two rounds of battery changes have gone free with the first 2 million lanterns Khaitan has sold.

(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 07-12-2009)

People not the technology.

2009-11-12T09:33:00.001-08:00

My brother tweeted

"What makes a successful 2.0 Community? Its not Technology, its people. Eg: Google Wave, Less ppl u cant Play around the pool happily now"

How true it is.Its not the technology but the people who make this web 2.0 more interesting.Think of twitter when there is no followers or when no body reads your tweet.Think of Facebook when you have no friends.Think of a blog which no body reads.It becomes personal ,when its personal its limited.It has a defined boundries.Technology always has limitations but the exploration of technology doesnt have.Thats why these tools have become so successful.

For example my friends doesnt have Google wave invite and they dont use it .Its as simple.Many arent aware of it also.But I log in to Wave and end up doing almost nothing because there is no people (My contact list people) .Because these are beta stages for Wave ,I find very difficult to spend time with out people.There are many times I have really felt irritated of not knowing how to do even.Let me wait for some people who can play with me.That will make this technology work.

Check out the Google labs application which have resulted due to exploration of users of Google.GMAIIL actually provides these application to be added in your Inbox/Compose screen as an option.You can explore and suggest changes to it also.

Thanks Siva for the tweet ,Its the people who make the happy Technology not the technology itself.

How IOC became the world's 18th largest oil company

2009-10-25T02:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/how-ioc-becameworlds-18th-largest-oil-company_420274.html

Price of loyalty: Is it the end of loyalty cards?

2009-09-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

I read this interesting article in ET.

From Marks & Spencer’s ‘Dine in for two for £10’ deal to the resurgence of cut-price basic brands, discounts and promotions have become the centrepoint of many brands’ marketing strategies during the downturn. In contrast, loyalty programmes, which require that both consumers and brands invest in longterm rewards, are facing challenging times. Many schemes are relaunching their cards as cash-strapped shoppers rein in spending. The supermarket price wars are moving battlegrounds as grocers use their loyalty cards to attract new customers and retain their existing ones. This summer, Tesco backed the relaunch of its Clubcard with a £150m push, and is offering double points in several non-food areas. It claims this is the most significant change to the scheme in its 14-year history. Meanwhile, the Nectar card scheme, which counts Sainsbury’s among its partici-pating retailers, has launched its first TV campaign in five years to promote its new partner, DIY and garden-centre chain Homebase. Airmiles also relaunched at the beginning of the year with a fresh TV campaign. In contrast, Asda, which has long eschewed the use of loyalty cards, has hit out at rivals in a TV ad, with a shop worker telling viewers: ‘I don’t think you need loyalty cards, not if you’ve got low prices.’ The absence of a loyalty card does not appear to have damaged the supermarket’s appeal to its shoppers. Consumer interest Some observers believe the public has become less responsive to the lure of earning and spending points, as their wallets are bulging with cards from the multitude of schemes. The initial excitement such programmes may offer, such as the appeal of being a member of an ‘exclusive’ club, has waned. Sceptics claim that over the years, points have lost their lustre and many shoppers now take them for granted. However, the operators themselves say people are signing up for the cards in greater numbers in the recession as they seek to take advantage of discounts and find alternative ways of paying for treats.

It is certainly true that fear of unemployment has led shoppers to re-evaluate their buying habits and ruthlessly cut unneces-sary expenditure . Consumers are now much more likely to shop around for the lowest prices. The question is whether loyalty cards can minimise such behaviour.The Tesco Clubcard relaunch has shifted the battle away from simple price-cutting to promoting value. However, it may also signal that the scheme has lost some allure. ‘The relaunch of Clubcard suggests that Tesco may have come to the conclusion that shoppers see points as a right rather than a privilege,’ says Duncan Woolston, head of business development at loyalty specialist The Continuity Company . ‘By doubling-up on points, Tesco can provide shoppers with a better deal. It has enabled them to shift from price wars with Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons and put the emphasis on value, which is where it wants to be.’ Woolston also believes that Nectar benefits from its cross-promotions with different partners , but adds: ‘It is a more passive form of loyalty and is less rewarding and generous than other programmes .’ Others agree that loyalty schemes need to offer more than simple price-discounting , which does not create much engagement with shoppers.‘Customers want to see a bit of effort by organisations to retain their custom,’ says Chris Whitson, planning partner at direct marketing agency Stephens Francis Whitson. ‘In a downturn, people are more ready to investigate schemes and do the maths. The emotional benefits become more important, as the cold benefits of extra points often don’t work out.’ Although a Tesco spokesman insists that it does not share individual Clubcard data with any third party, Whitson claims that it has made significant profits from selling its customer data to suppliers. This, he believes, caused the retailer to lose sight of the emotional side of the equation. ‘Because of the money and power [Clubcard] was generating , it forgot the core part of custo-mer loyalty, and it has gone back to that,’ Whitson adds.

Source :http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5044997.cms?flstry=1

Twitter for Business

2009-09-27T11:26:00.001-07:00

Twitter for Business

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Five things during your demo

2009-09-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Five things which you can avoid during demos

There is some thing about shoppers stop again!!!

2009-09-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Next day after my post on shoppers stop ,I received a mail from Shoppers stop thanking for the feedback and they wanted to meet to know about my buying experience.I replied them back that I would meet them during end of the week.I kept guessing how it was possible for them to track my post though it was from a three days old blog.Next thing was I didn’t have a clue what made my experience so different with shoppers stop and I had to visit them again to prepare for the meeting.
I didn’t want to sound like a dumb fellow who posted a write up on his experience.I wanted to give credible feedback about their structure.I know it would definitely be taken seriously by them.

When I met the unit head of Shoppers stop on that particular day I had noticed some changes in the displays which it was very routine changes as they were on the last day of the sale.I wanted to learn about the design from shoppers stop from a customer point of view and he was there to explain in a very brief manner .We discussed lots of things about the time of sale in a year ,EOSS structure,Point of sale structures,Design of discount schema,Stockist and logistics comparing with Exclusive showroom.Lots of things keep changing YoY and I was able to understand.For example Collections and the brands which came last year for trial run were one of highly picked brand.Second thing how the customers are aware about the price tags comparing the fresh collections and outdated models.

Now to the important thing.How these WEB 2.0 tools reach the corporates.I would definitely give a thumbs up for the market Intelligence team of Shoppers stop which reached out a feedback of a customer who lives no where for them.They were ready to study my buying experience and on the factors of which contributed my feedback.As a factor feedback is always important for a customer to put forth his expectations to a brand.This might be a candid feedback not in favour of them ,I would definitely visit shoppers stop for this events.Because this brand has a great customer followup and Market Intelligence which wants to study the buyer behaviour.Atleast one change would definitely have a greater impact on the sales.After all willing to adopt change is one of the greater quality in Marketing.

What makes a great marketer

2009-09-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

One of the qualities which a marketer should posses is mentioned below in the presentation.

What Makes A Great Marketer

View more presentations from Siva Ram.

No security No answer

2009-09-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

For some things which happens for you have no answers .Customer complaints sometimes might be meaningless when nothing cant be done.Last week I accessed Punjab National Bank ATM with my Citibank .First thing was the ATM had no security though it was attached to a bank.Second thing my card had got struck in the ATM.I had no clue what to do since there was no security neither a phone banking service inside the ATM.I called PNB customer care and after exactly 30 mins they attended the call and they gave you can collect the card when the bank opens.I wasn’t able to go to the bank since it’s a place which is totally unrelated and out of my routine access.

I had to block my card with Citibank and they were spontaneous to react to reissue my card.But for next ten days I had to live with out plastic card and with out money.I wasn’t able to understand why there was no security though the bank was located in a prime area of chennai and I learnt that there were nearly three cards which had struck in three days yet to be collected from the ATM .

Harley Davidson in India

2009-08-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

The unofficial news in the web is that Harley Davidson the iconic motor bike manufacturer is making a entry in to India in 2010.Guess the price ?? Its 6-10 lakhs in INR.They are planning a assembly line in India after Singapore and Thailand.It will be interesting to hear from them about their strategic plans and road map in India.Indian Bike market is more into value and economy more than the iconic status.I guess they wouldnot be looking for numbers in India as target .

Where are the Marketers?

2009-08-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

There are lots of difference in tapping the market and tapping a situation.Market is always there for the marketers,its the demand which varies accordingly,But the situations when there is a need and when the market is not fed with proper information to make it a demand there lies the oppurtunity for the marketers to tap.This does not occur so often.This arises during crisis in the society.Social marketing is an activity to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good.When crisis arrives maketers rarely use this social marketing .

The recent panic about swine flu left the people scary when there was no proper information about the prevention.Use mask ? Use Handwash ? Not every body are aware about the specifics of those things.I remember when one of my friend asked me " what hand wash should i use ?".I promptly used my Dettol handwash .But the brands which got sold in this crisis never used this oppurtunity until Lifebuoy did it.Yesterday I saw the advertisement of "Healthy Hindusthan" Lifebuoy mentioning how to prevent Swine flu by using their product.The ad emphasised about the measures to act against swine flu.It was interesting and intelligent moreover it was aimed at a social cause too. It just acted to get their slice of results using Swineflu.I was actually waiting for some brands like Dettol,J&J,Dettol to come up with their ads since the panic about swine flu spread.Now people wouldnt have a much confusion after watching this advertisement.

This is tapping the market when there is a need and I think brands should have tapped this situation even before than now.

This is interesting

2009-08-30T01:47:00.000-07:00

You can not avoid the premium which gets attached to a brand when its so popular.The challenge comes for the marketer when he needs to convince the market ! There are some brands where market understands its premium and they want to own it.One such product whose premium has multiplied in the recent times is Levis.Levis has always been a premium brand.Every body wants to wear Levis jeans but a cool trendy jean in Levis cost more than 2500 .It doesnt stop the market to segment it as a luxurious brand.It remains as a most wanted premium brand.Now Levis marketing has got a interesting way to tackle this .EMI's first of its kind in the world .This is actually a pilot run in Chennai and Bangalore.
http://www.retailangle.com/Newsdetail.asp?Newsid=2340&Newstitle=Levi%E2%80%99s_jeans_available_on_EMI

I will stop going to Shoppers stop

2009-08-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I was in shoppers stop for the sale which is going on.Was surprised to see how poor their discount sale structure is going on! There was no factor which could grab the customer ! No proper design boards,no proper display of brands,It was actually a mess . Not a surprise their sales were down last few Quaters.The regime of Govind Shrikhande as CEO starts of very bad display and shelf spacing I would say.SS wants to make 1000 crore by 2011-2012 and they want to bring the luxury brands to India which they claim to make as their selling point.I am surprised with their strategy! Luxury brands make a very niche market and I dont see a great market unless you penetrate the working community as Pantaloons and Lifestyle does.Pantaloons does their season sale in style with a great promotion and astounding shelf display.

I was confused about the display in shoppers stop which reads " 51% " and it doesnt have any of the great brands for sale.Its a main season for discount in south India and I was not able to trust on the pricing tag too.

Thats one reason I tell my friends to avoid Shoppers stop for apparels.

I Love this market

2009-08-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have never tried writing my own posts on brands,market,trend or web2.0 .I would say my brother and some of other people inspired me to start writing,Infact its not a bad idea to start typing about what I see and what I think about what I see.I was in this market as a customer and also as a seller ,I have sensed the pulses in both form .I know what happens when you are a customer and was equally tensed when you are marketer.

Things can go wrong either way ,things can be a win win some times,but great deals are grabbed and not given!I love this space and its consumer behaviour breaking lots of marketing rules.Indian consumer index is gripping towards a phenomenol rate which is interesting and challenging for the brands to bring up their shelves to beat the competetion.I feel excited to be a part of it !!!