How Mobile friendly is your corporate website?

As an increasing number of folks are using their mobile phones and portable devices as the convenient first option to access the net on the move, be it for their emails, social networking or just searching for info, its critical that websites go mobile friendly . Most websites when accessed via mobile or portable devices are unfriendly to navigate and view. So don't you think its about time you asked the above question?

The brand imperative for start-ups

The Indian economy is abuzz with a lot of entrepreneurial activity in the ‘for profit’ as well as ‘social entrepreneurship’ domains.  It’s great to see much activity and the intention of entrepreneurs to redefine value creation and development by venturing out to explore new opportunities and market niches.

All successful businesses have at their core a unique long lasting proposition for their customers and have successfully managed to communicate it and deliver on this proposition, which in the brand consulting circles is  referred to as the Brand Promise or the brand’s essence or its reason to exist, etc.

Most businesses that have the first mover advantage tend to be successful and also have a greater chance of being the leader. Yet how does one be the first or find a niche or differentiate themselves in a crowded market and position themselves as the first or only choice? 

Most entrepreneurs like to believe they have a great and unique idea on hand and that it’s a game changer, and jump into it without thinking it through, and end up failing because

• they have overlooked a few fundamental aspects of the business strategy or
• were too lost in the grand scheme of things or
• they lost the plot by not being consumer centric. 

It’s important to have control over aspects that are within the start-ups purview, chief amongst them is brand development and marketing. 

The greatest founders and CEOs have understood the power of brands and seen the immense value they create by imbibing a brand oriented culture.No matter how great the idea is, unless it’s marketed well, the chances of success are slim. An ordinary product when marketed well stands a better chance of success than a great product that has not been marketed. This is the crux of the problem.

Many start-ups seem to neglect marketing and more importantly brand strategy and it’s the last thing on their agenda, while according to me it should be the first task they should address when building a strategy and venturing into entrepreneurship.  This does not mean one spends months on end getting the strategy right, its about getting a  fundamentally strong blue print in place.

In an ever flattening world where access to technology and expertise is not a constraint, the only thing that can set a business apart is the brand and its value proposition. Please remember a brand is not a logo or a tag line. It’s a lot deeper. They are just external expressions of a brand and its promise, a means to identify. Mind you they are important but come in at a later stage of brand development.  

So what is the brand imperative for a start up?  Well, it’s about developing a unique, relevantly differentiated concept – an idea that can stand the test of changing technology or competition and about developing trust or anything else it promises, that no one else can satisfy quite like it and develops into a relationship with the consumer based on trust, comfort or anything else.

 It’s about developing and communicating the promise of your brand to the relevant set of people. Does it end there? No, it actually begins by developing a business strategy around the brand concept. What’s the point in communicating a hollow promise if you cannot deliver on it? Sooner or later your customers will find out and will then desert you for someone who can or for someone cheaper.

Just having a good business strategy is not enough, nor is it enough to only invest in an illusionary exercise of brand creation and development(read logo, tag line, colours). It’s important to bridge them and one begins by developing the brand and what it will stand for, what it will do and how it will ‘wow’ its customers. If one gets these aspects right by investing a little in consumer research and a brand consultant, one would have at least laid a strong foundation or got he ball rolling for success.

Building and marketing a brand is not as expensive as it is made out to be. Marketing and promoting a brand is not about investing loads of money into main stream advertising. There are a lot of affordable, inexpensive and free platforms which startups can tap into or utilise to promote and advertise their venture. 

Another aspect is that a strong brand orientation allows start-ups to attract like minded talent who are keen on joining and contributing to the organisation’s success and objectives. A strong brand orientation is reassuring to potential candidates as they are aware that it can only improve their career prospects in the near future.

In conclusion, a good brand strategy has the power of bringing in focus and tremendously aids in decision making and in streamlining operations, by identifying activities that feed into delivering on the brand's promise or those that don’t.

Is there an insight or opportunity?

I pass by this bus stand almost everyday and if I have to wait at the red light I tend to observe the coomuters and what they are doing and wonder if there's an opportunity for a brand to meaningfully connect with them? I am sure there are quite a few and I don't mean OOH advertising.
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Thoughts on Social Media Marketing

There’s a lot of buzz around  Social Media Marketing and the opportunities Social Networking Sites such as Facebook and Linkedin provide to market brands, as there should be, as today’s youth seem to spend more  time online and are keen on 'staying connected' and 'express' more than ever, be it from their PCs or mobile phones.  In today’s fast paced world wonder how many of them even have time to watch ads on TV like I did?

What has intrigued me is the ineffective manner these sites are used to build brands.  I am sure most of the stuff written here is nothing new, yet brand marketers and brand mangers seem to forget to apply thought, and don't approach it as an INTERACTIVE medium.

Let’s look at Facebook – Almost everyone is on Facebook and its mostly free!

It’s a great place to reach out to the consumer.It offers one the invaluable opportunity to interact with consumers. The fact that customers ‘likes’ your (marketeer) brand is a good starting point. It reflects their willingness to associate with the brand and to express this fact amongst their social group. The dialogue process has begun.

It’s a great place to disseminate information and seek feedback.  Brands that can initiate a dialogue will fare better at leveraging the benefits of SN sites such as Facebook or Twitter.  

It’s not just enough to talk about special offers or discounts.  Used as a platform to disseminate information that is line with the brand’s personality/brand creates a lot of traction and recall and becomes a great place for those seeking to spend a few minutes of their free time. For eg: if the brand is a lifestyle brand, focus on posting links about lifestyle choices, activities or trends that are line with your brand’s personality and attitude. Don’t restrict yourself just to promotional offers or pushing your products.  Be informative. Be a guide, a friend, a guru.

I have observed that smaller brands seem to do much better at leveraging the benefits that FB offers than large national brands.  A restaurant brand even accepts table reservations via wall posts on its FB page.

Even while advertising, remember you are not restricted by the 30 sec spot. Leverage upon YouTube to post longer videos. Add presentations, photos, conduct quizzes, contests and in general connect and communicate with your fan base.

Do respond to queries, comments and seek suggestions and ideas. It’s another destination to gauge your brand’s health and how it’s doing in the mind of the consumer. Use it for insight mining. 

If your brand has connected with the consumer at a deeper level, more often than not the consumer himself would initiate the dialogue. Be open to feedback, be willing to communicate and interact at a different level. Remember in the information age the brand is owned by the consumer, as much as we like to believe the opposite. They are in control and they have the power to make or break a brand with what they have to say. 

Thus it’s important for brands to get involved and to go where the discussions tend to happen, and keep their eyes and ears open and think hard about how they can leverage the power of SNS in starting a dialogue and involving the consumer in building their brands.    

Discount Sales, Discounting Brands

I recently met a retailer friend and as usual I chewed his brains on the importance of having a strategic brand vision in place for his family controlled chain of stores, for its long term survival and to avoid falling into the trap of 'Discount Sales' that seem to have plagued the retail sector, where the leader will be the one who can offer the lowest price.

During our interaction he had a few valid points about how the entire mid segment retail sector and specifically the category he is in is plagued by discount sales and he has no choice but to follow suit as competitors have been doing it and customers who walk in, walk out because they can get  the same item on sale at another store.
 
The category he is in fortunately DOES give him the opportunity  for his brand to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack.  So how does one get out of this rut? A common denominator for this is FOCUS!

Bollywood stars here , there, everywhere....stop bombarding my TV experience

Seems like most of our top Bollywood stars are keen on turning into to advertising stars, and are competing with each other for the title of who endorses the most. They appear in more commercials than they do in films.

The Two Khans , AB, The Kumar and the  rest of the flock seem to be intent on endorsing any brand that they can lay their hands on from gold loans to paint! Who cares a dam about brand fit?! Who can blame them if they make some easy money and insulate themselves from being at the mercy of the box office or the producer.

The big question is, what are the marketeers doing? Every one seems to want to follow the herd and get a celebrity to endorse their brand. Why? Would it be an achievement on the resume or keep the Boss's wife happy?

There's such a  bombardment  of it on TV and Print that its getting harder to associate or recall (top of mind)  a brand that a celebrity endorses or is a great fit. Gone are the days when one could associate an Amir Khan with Titan, a Shah Rukh with Hyundai and Amitabh with Cadbury. I still recall the Colgate Palmolive -Kapil association from years ago because it was such a good fit and because of its memorable tag line.

The idiot box is swarming with so many celebrity endorsements across channels that I wonder if there are any more brands or products that have not  undergone the celebrity touch. There's so much celebrity clutter and uninspired advertising, that they (brands) are lost in the plot and seems like the ad guy's job has just got easier -  sign on a celeb , put together an insipid creative, and keep the client happy!

 A lot of these ads seem to be more intent on pushing the celebrity than the brands themselves thus over shadowing the original intent of driving awareness for the brand/product. Its just getting more tiring to see such ads.

The stars seem to be intent on diluting their brand image, and  the brands seem to be intent on spending their precious advertising rupees on weak celebrity associations and advertising.


The more I see such bland advertising the more I believe in the dearth of creative and strategic BRAND thinking amongst our branders and marketeers. Its hard to digest the utter waste of such precious marketing rupees on such advertising!

Why is it happening? It could  boil down to the lack of belief in one's product or offering. In essence, if you have a weak (just another me too) product which has nothing going for it in terms of relevantly differentiating itself  from the competitive set OR in satisfying an untapped consumer need born out of insight, it would be a perfect fit for a celebrity push.

This trend while it lasts is like shooting an arrow in the dark hoping it would hit the target.
 Would I buy an Airtel DTH because of Saif or Kareena or whoever else endorses it? Naah,.. buy you may very well say the objective is served since you can recall the Airtel Brand, but I would instead opt for Tata Sky cause it spoke out to me with its creative new ad of 999* no conditions apply, and the fact that I can skip those unwanted language channels and not simply because of an earlier Amir Khan association....

Seasons' greetings

Denizen by...... Levis????

While walking around a mall saw a lot of marketing collateral announcing the launch of the Denizen brand with a youth icon Bollywood actor as its brand ambassador (seems like it’s the defacto norm these days).

 From the collateral and communication Denizen comes across as just another apparel brand with a generic youth focus, till I heard a radio jingle that caught my attention to the fact that it was a sub-brand launched by Levis!!  Just like the Signature brand a few years ago, positioned as an affordable alternative for the youth to drive growth and market share.  

Seems like brand Denizen’s focus and idea will be about fit and affordability (very functional and basic differentiators) at least that's what the ads communicate. It is banking big time on leveraging the equity of the brand - Levis to gain attention and traction.How very uninspiring and unimaginative is that? The very fact that the Levis suffix is being beaten aloud just reinforces my belief that the marketers are not very sure of the brand concept with Denizen and are in some way hoping that the Levis association will attract the youth.   

Will this strategy that was tried earlier and failed work again for Levis? Only time will tell but my gut tells me it will not. Hope Levis India has got its research and brand strategy right. It has the potential of diluting Levis’s brand equity.

The way I look at it, the brand Levis in a sense is the gold standard when it comes to premium Jeans/denim wear for India’s aspiration driven and brand conscious youth. It’s the original denim brand with a powerful story that lends authenticity. 

 As a brand conscious and aware undergraduate, I always looked forward to being able to afford my first pair. Nothing else could substitute it. The very fact that I could not afford it added to its appeal and longed for the day I’d own one or be gifted one.  I am pretty sure it still evokes the same emotional appeal from today’s youth. So why would one want to be seen in what is considered a poorer and functional child of the gold standard? Would it evoke the same aspirations and premium feel that a pair of Levis would? 

Fastrack

It’s one Indian retail brand that I admire for its focus and brand communication effort. It has so far successfully stuck to extending its product line from watches to other product lines that resonate with its core TG, the college going youth who aspires for a brand that screams out hip, international, and is in sync with the fast and active urban lifestyle of today. 

The idea of getting into eye wear and the timing of it was brilliant and the communication was right on target  because there wasn’t any national or international brand of repute that offered affordable yet stylish eyewear targeting the middle class college going youth, who was keen on exhibiting a young, stylish, and international side of him.  Most eyewear brands and watch brands that focussed on the TG were international brands such as Swatch and Ray Ban which were out of reach of the pocket money dependent middle class teenager.

I just hope they continue with their focus without over extending their product lines or over stretching their communication theme or over doing their discount sales.

Black and white with shades of grey – Newsprint, Brand Opportunity

While the Times of India remains the most circulated English daily paper in India, it is essentially a tabloid and contains more pages dedicated to advertisements and glamour than to news, objective analysis and opinion. Most other major newspapers seem to be gravitating to the TOI formula. I don’t think such a strategy will increase circulation as the leader strongly holds the relevant mind-space for such an offering.

I am sick and tired of looking at front pages of newspapers that headline tweets made by Bollywood stars or starlets to promote their latest releases, courting controversy as a PR stunt, or which local socialite celebrated his or her birthday and who ate what or wore what,.... copy filled with spelling mistakes and typos, or full page cover ads for brands that papers have financial interests in.

It’s very frustrating to have the media acting as the judge, jury and executioner on sensitive issues without a sense of fair-play or pulling their sleeves up and getting their research and home work right or investigating issues as journos should (with a sense of responsibility).

In a country with an English readership base as large as ours and growing as the aspiration to learn English makes further inroads into the rural Indian hinterland , there’s tremendous opportunity for a large player to position itself as an alternative that is focussed at the segment that seeks  a NEWS paper, that at its core addresses the need for objective news and opinion, factually correct and responsible investigative journalism, and presents both sides of the story, ultimately allowing the reader to make his or her own judgement and aids in objectively shaping the minds and attitudes of its readers on issues that deserve to be on the front page and in the editorial columns.

 Such a positioning exercise or opportunity would definitely have to be backed by a competent and passionate team of editors and journalists who are yearning to align themselves with such a brand idea. What say?

Worth the wait!

Was strolling around Mantri Mall one busy weekday evening and this experiential marketing kiosk got my attention.There's an insight in it somewhere I guess.

People were lining up unmindful of having to wait at least of 10 minutes to get a chance to experience 3D on TV, whereas waiting in a line at a super market or ticketing counter for more than 5 minutes gets them impatient and irritated.

Boy is that good for any brand? I sure would say so... As a brand manager I would give an arm, if folks would take ten minutes off their busy weekday evenings to check out my latest product.

30 second spots to drive in awareness, and 10 mins of experiential could land you a customer or convert! Not bad at all is it?

Guess people are always on the look out to experience something new and if its worth it, they will give you their time without any hesitation.

Services Brading - It's all about the experience and moments

A decade or  more ago while still in college, debit cards had just appeared on the scene and were making inroads into the urban  banking space in India. I wanted to be an early adaptor (B'lore and New York were the first cities that the Debit card was being trialled out in) and try out the whole Any time money aspect of Banking.

The promise of not having to wait long lines at banks, deal with unfriendly clerks,specific timings, was good enough for me.I got myself a citibank card  and put it the princely savings of Rs.500 into it.  If I recall correctly a few years later apart from citi the only other bank that was aggressively expanding its ATM network across B'lore was Corporation Bank. It had its ATMs at  key locations across the city and I decided getting a debit card from Corpn Bank would be a good idea.

However the thought of transacting with a 'PSU' bank and aspects such as indifferent officers, unfriendly attitudes,never ending procedures,etc  did give me second thoughts. In any case I decided to to give it a shot. As I walked in, the place it didn't actually feel like a PSU bank! There was a positive buzz, the staff were courteous, attentive, and for the most part they all had smiles on their faces as they interacted with colleagues or customers alike. Was I in the right place? Was this a PSU bank. The procedure was hassle free, the service experience was unexpectedly great and I was happy. Here was a brand that actually functioning like a Pvt. Sector Bank.

A few days back, I walked into the same Branch after five years (my second or third visit ever) and was eager to see if the environment was still the same as it was in those days. The staff had changed, so had the interiors and the equipment, but what had not changed was the friendly attitude and efficient  service.

A lady customer was being attended to like she was a relative or close friend, there was friendly banter and smiles, another clerk happily asked me if I needed any assistance and willingly obliged with a smile when I told her my pass book needs to be updated. It was all done in a matter of two minutes and a very pleasant two minutes I must say.I headed back with a positive impression and told myself that I need to bank more often with this Bank and Branch!!

It was such a sea change from UCO bank that I regularly bank with where the staff are indifferent and seem to be functioning in a different era. 

The management and staff at Corporation Bank definitely deserve appreciation for doing the simple things so well, for ensuring a positive and customer focussed service environment is established and is consistently delivered upon, which sets the Band apart from the rest who only tend to refer to friendly service in their ads.

Corp Identity Design - DY Uppar

A major government contractor of turnkey irrigation projects. The shade of Blue and the waves signify their interest and expertise in Irrigation and water related projects such as dams and canals. The symmetrical wave like pattern is symbolic of dams as well as canals that they build and it is integrated into a  U form shield. The three discs on top stand for the three values that guide the organisation in its operations. The identity was designed keeping in mind the fact that the logo mark would have to appear on not just their corporate stationery but also on their construction machinery and equipment.

Corporate Identity Design - Aditya Builders and developers

When a website's down, can you still be positively memorable?

How often do you come across a site that has something so memorable, quirky and endearing to say, about it being down? Not to often I guess...most times all one gets is a the "requested URL cannot be retrieved"or "our site is down or being upgraded and we will be back soon". How annoying and boring...


Came across one that made me smile and created a positive association and got me to blog about it. Here it is...

Rajni Brand Phenomena - a mass brand and a peoples icon

Photos of a theatre where Rajni's latest film was released. The congregation of fans on Sunday held up traffic on a busy road for an hour or so celebrating the release, by bursting crackers, offering pooja and garlanding  his larger than life size cut outs. Happens only in India

Differentiating in retail

Can an entrepreneur, setting up another retail store that would retail multiple product brands (consumer durables) differentiate himself from the rest of the pack? Yes, he or she can! Here are a few :

• Customer Service Experience and Engagement

In a market that is short of retail brands that focus their energies on servicing the customer,  pricing  is often viewed as the only 'Reason to Buy'. Customers will seek out those retailers who offer the best deals or the lowest prices. While this is great for the customer, a new entrant will find it difficult to compete against the bigger chains on the pricing front because of a multiple of reasons, chief amongst them, the economies of scale versus a startup's need to recoup the costs of starting up. It requires one to then focus on other aspects of the buying experience to differentiate oneself. The 'focus' must be on delivering an experience that overcomes the pain points that a potential customer experiences at your competitor's, from the moment a customer interacts with your Brand to post purchase or visit.

• Focus on a Segment of customers or categories that are not catered to by the big boys

Could be the bottom of the pyramid or the top of it.These segments of the pyramid may have their own unique needs and aspirations that have not been catered to by the mainstream. Be attentive to these needs that can be as simple as getting rid of a barrier in access,(finance) to satisfying an aspiration for a certain lifestyle

• Geographical Focus

Be present in smaller towns or cities where the big boys have not yet set shop.Be the first mover and learn faster than the big boys.

Service, a key differentiator, even for PRODUCT brands

Recently, I went furniture hunting for an apartment and zeroed in on a reputed retail brand that I felt offered  value for money in terms of pricing,quality and aesthetics. It is promoted by one of India's oldest business groups and I feel they surely have hit a sweet spot and big opportunity for reasonably priced, quality and contemporary furniture with the brand.

The brand experience up to the point of selecting the furniture and paying for it was satisfactory, and in line with most brands in the segment.

However, the delivery experience was nothing to write home about. I am sure most of you have experienced this often, being kept waiting for hours on end, constantly postponing meetings and other appointments in the fear that the elusive delivery man would drop in any moment and if I miss it, meant another day of the same! On contacting the store was given the number of the transporter and requested to contact him directly (another Indian practice). On enquiring his whereabouts,I got a response that he was at the Airport,doing an urgent delivery, and would be at my place in an hour and a half!! This is after having waited for more than two hours and countless assurances from the store that they were on their way and should reach any moment!

Isn't it about customer's time valued as much as his money? Such an experience seems to plague  almost every retailer that offers delivery as part of its value proposition. Would it not be a better customer and brand experience, if deliveries were made on time and efficiently? Delivery is the second last touch point of the brand with the customer, the last being the assembly.

It may seem a SMALL matter but there are plenty of small stuff  that add up to creating a BIG impression and brand experience. Some of them include

• Politeness and Motivation
• Body language and Attitude
• Focus and alertness
• Product knowledge

Remember, SERVICE can be a big differentiator even for predominantly product brands.

The 'why' factor in marketing communication

A wonderful insight into how one can effectively  communicate and advertise. I am sure this sounds simple but most of us tend to forget the 'why' and focus on the 'what' and 'how'..

Charities and cold calling

In the last two days I have strangely received a couple of marketing calls from some well known NGO brands. 

Anyway,the purpose of this post is to express my displeasure with such cold calls that subtly want to remind individuals of their social responsibility. I understand their pressures to raise donations, but I don't really agree with the concept of cold calling, insensitivity and  stating a  minimum amount that can be contributed apart from  subtly trying to induce a certain amount of guilt when rejected,hoping it can be converted to a financial commitment.

No doubt their causes are admirable, but their approach is something that has left a bad taste for me.Am sure there are better and classier ways to market their brands and solicit contributions for their noble pursuits rather than imitating our credit card companies and their tele callers.

Opportunities a plenty

India's cultural and social diversity as well vast diaspora offer tremendous opportunities for marketeers. There are plenty of markets within markets that can be tapped. Its about finding the perfect balance between the common thread that holds things together (National), as well as the unique strands that make up the thread (Regional)

Second could yet win the race

Wonder in general why brands especially in the consumer electronic business are always in a hurry to be the first to introduce a product into the market just for the sake of being the 'First' hoping they could be market leaders, without thoroughly testing their launches for glitches and problems.

A customer is keen to get his hands on the snazzily marketed new 'first' that promises the best specs, game changing user experiences ,cutting edge design, etc and then ...once its out and, after the initial euphoria he notices that there are quite a few glitches that just dampen the ownership experience. Its no more a special feeling. It does affect one's trust with the brand and, in some cases could lead to brand rejection.The potential fall out of which is negative word of mouth publicity with his peer group.

At times its better to be patient,sort out the chinks in the armour and offer a robust,stable and memorable brand experience that builds not only trust but brand affection.Second could be first!

E book pricing

Wonder why electronic versions of books cost the same as the paper versions. Shouldn't the e-versions cost lesser as there's no need for printing, packaging, transportation, shipping, and other associated costs ?

What is branding?

Often I meet potential clients who think they understand branding and most of them limit their understanding to a Brand Identity (logo), a tagline and well advertising. Their understanding is right to an extent.

My take - "A brand is best described as the sum of perceptions and feelings it evokes in a consumer's mind It's the mental picture they have about the business, what it means or says to them and what kind of value it does or does not offer.It's about the perceptions they have about its products, services, people and functioning.Its about how the brand will make things easier for them or about creating trust"

"Branding is about all the activities that the business undertakes both intrinsically and extrinsically that is focussed towards communicating, expressing and allowing the consumer to experience the brand"

Lower prices don't always pay

I recently met a friend who was getting into a new venture and I got curious.

Me - "Wow that's great. Have you given branding a thought? "
Him -"yes, I already have a NAME for it..its called..............."
Me - "Great!! So what's so different about your band from so many others out there in the same sector?"
him - "We will be cheaper than the other options?"
Me - "How will you be cheaper?"
Him - "Our prices will be lower cause we will keep lower margins, lower input costs,lower......"

There ended our brief meeting as we both had to go our separate ways.

 Why did I want to write about this? Well because I think there is a great lesson in this for those interested in setting up a business or venture.

If low prices and better quality and value, are going to be your USP in a business that is highly competitive both on pricing and supply, you better have a Walmart like market share that can be leveraged to arm twist suppliers for lower input prices.

The second aspect of lowering one's margin to provide value in terms of lower pricing is beneficial in the short term but in the long term can be killing. One may attract a lot of bookings and initial excitement but, pursuing such a strategy can be killing especially in the reality sector and in the long term. Why ? Competitors who already have ready to occupy inventory and better brand equity would then just reduce their prices and effectively neutralise the startup's strategy.

Secondly in such a scenario your brand would then have to lower its prices further to keep up and that's not a great feeling when you don't, have deep pockets and a considerable pricing/profit margin!

So what does one do? Well a cluttered, crowded, monotonous  market always offers immense opportunity for differentiation and value through creating a niche offering or tapping a segment that has not been catered to, that would offer better margins and help build a reputation and differentiation in a crowded market

After a long time

Back to my blog after a long break. Hope to post regularly.