EXEMPLAR

Innovators & Followers!

2010-05-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

There are companies that innovate and others that strive to launch a better product than the innovator did in the same segment. You will find them especially in the automobile industry. The entire value chain of such companies is geared around innovation within a given framework. The product development engineers work backwards constantly looking at the competition product and figuring out how they can make a better similar product by being more cost effective, using alternative materials, better sourcing, "jugaad" engineering in Indian context etc.

Within these companies such products are termed as XYZ (the competition brand) killers. These companies are usually followers in the market and find themselves continuosly busy in a loop of following the most successful market innovator of their times.

It is quite likely that by the time they finish one assignment of answering a successful product, the competition might have already innovated in some other segment and these companies are gain forced into the 'catch them if you can' mode.

The Mahindra Maxximo is one such product that aims to be an answer to the Tata Ace. It was Tata Ace that changed the game of last mile connectivity in load segment of the automobile industry. 5 years back there was nothing significant between the auto rickshaw and the Mahindra Pick Up/ Tata 207. Tata just occupied that vacuum so intelligently with a product that was aesthetically pleasing too & far superior in terms of interior cabin comfort. Now Maxximo is trying to win that market from Ace. The Mahindra Xylo is another such product that probably aims to provide an answer to the Toyota Innova.

Does that mean that the original product concept is always successful or performs better in the market then the competitor who copies or tries to provide an alternative? Look at the two wheelers market. Hero Honda CBZ was the first sports oriented two wheeler launched in early 1999 by Hero Honda. However it was Bajaj Pulsar launched in 2001 that leads the market today.

The Tata Safari came much ealier in 1998, however the Mahindra Scorpio that came in 2002 turned out to be a much successful product which is now exported to many countries across the world and just about to be launched in US too.

However if a company keeps an eye on the changing trends in the society it might be better able to develop and launch products that would catch the customers fancy. The timing of the product should be right and the product should be error free. Looking at the number of women car drivers on Indian roads I feel its time to launch a car specifically for women. It could have features that are specially designed around the Indian women. for e.g. keeping in mind the average height of Indian women the height of the seat, the distance between the seat and the accelerator or brake pedals could be adjusted to make it more friendly to them. With many women still wearing sarees and chudidars, the doors could come with ajars / alarms for pallus/dupattas. There could be a space made for the handbag/ purse to be kept neatly and so on.

Packaged Nimbu pani - Great Concept not so great product!

2010-05-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

The recent developments in the packaged beverage industry suggest that the big Cola Companies have finally realised the big potential of the good old traditional Nimbu pani or limbu sarbat as we call it in this part of India. Everyone has joined the bandwagon in launching packaged alternatives to fresh lemon juice.

The launch of LMN, Nimbooz and Minute Made Nimbu Fresh are indicative of the efforts of an industry that is striving to find new growth opportunities. The process of converting large sections of the Indian consumers to packaged drinks, a job that started in the 70s but is still largely unfinished is now come to an important milestone.

Four decades gone and we still have a number of traditional ‘fresh make and serve drinks’ that are easily available in Indian households & streets such as nimbu pani, aam panna, lassi, thandai, curd, chaas (butter milk), nariyal pani (coconut water), cocum sharbat, badam milk, falooda, malai wala dudh (cream milk), ganne ka ras (sugarcane juice) and other fruit juices. These are standing their ground against the onslaught of the mighty fizz drinks. Being linked to the weather and the native food habits, they are deeply ingrained into the psyche of the Indian consumers as healthy drinks compared to the bottled products. To replace these drinks which are also available at home and just across the street has been difficult. The problems of refrigeration and logistics in India are a nightmare that adds to further complexities. The result is a substantial market that has still remained untouched and unconquered.

The Indian consumer is different and unlike many East Asian countries which blindly aped the US, thus picking up almost anything that was thrown at them with the US tag on it, the Indian consumer is more measured. It is interesting to note how Indian consumers adopt western trends. In the case of jeans, Indian youth have not taken it the way US has prescribed. It has been mixed with the short kurtas and kurtis and the traditional Indian kamiz to create a unique fashion style of their own rather than blindly aping the US or the West.

Do you remember the hallmark Coke campaign ‘thanda matlab coca cola’? It was an effort to equate the traditional thanda in the psyche of Indians to Coca Cola. However, that seems to be a more prolonged process and would take decades more to happen or eventually never happen. The cola companies seem to have now realised that they need some new tricks to grow the market.

Although they have hit the nail on its head when it comes to the concept of the lemon juice based packaged drinks, if the initial performance of these drinks are anything to suggest, they have failed miserably in translating the concept into a winning product. Taste any of these drinks and you might not want to drink the entire bottle all alone. Some of them claim to be free of any preservatives and added colour, however the taste does not justify these claims.

Only time will tell whether this execllent product concept would win the market or be killed due to sub-standard product execution!

Watch out! the competition is beyond your category.

2010-04-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Today for a digital camera company like Nikon or Canon, the real threat in the mass market is not from each other but from mobile handset companies like Sony Ericsson, Nokia etc. These companies are selling more digital cameras through their mobile phones than the Nikons and Canons.

In the last decade Apple outclassed Sony in the mobile music player category by launching the iPod. Sony would have not imagined that a computer manufacturer would displace it in the handheld music players category.

The number of greeting cards sold today are probably much lower than those sold 10-15 years back. Today people prefer to wish via email, social community websites like facebook, send sms/mms etc.

This year a large number of people watched the IPL coverage on youtube at workplace or outside home rather than disturb the folks at home. Also movies which occupied the multiplex screens had a new competitor in the form of IPL.

Wrist watch was one of the most prized possessions a few years back for a working individual or student. Now thanks to the mobile it is not so mandatory.

Earlier buildings had to be built with bricks and cement. Today the alternative is not a better brick or better cement. It is materials like FRPs, ACPs etc. have relegated cement to the columns alone.

The convergence of technology is leading to a different set of competitive challenges for many companies. This will only get more complex as we move forward.

For courier companies the real competition would be online file/data transfer technologies like email etc. which would significantly reduce the amount of documents that are physically shipped from one location to another.

It would be futile to resist these changes. However an organisation can avoid getting obsolete by being alert to these changes and making the necessary course corrections in its strategy for the future. Exemplar's (www.exemplarss.com) 'trendwatch' - a unique process is one such way of diving into the society and understanding and anticipating these changes.

Strategic Framework for organisations in developing countries

2009-06-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

What will make successful business organisations in developing countries? Here is a strategic framework which can guide you into the future.

There are 3 layers - Self, Environment & Customer with each layer having two dimensions.

1. Self - a. Organisational vision and b. Organisational competencies
2. Environment - a. Global & home trends mapping and b. Competitive evaluation
3. Customer - a. Emotional needs addressed and b.functional needs addressed.

If each of teh dimensions of the 3 layers are monitored, developed & controlled by an organisation the chances of its success would be higher.

5 Ps of Services Marketing

2009-06-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

From my years of experience as a market researcher and a consultant to different companies on their marketing, branding & corporate strategies, I have put together a 5 P's model for Services Marketing. This will be particularly significant for IT services companies who are trying to create a differentiation in a competitive market.
Services marketing in comparison to product marketing could be more challenging. Especially for technology services companies who are often marketing to customers across boundaries in a virtual world, it could be time and effort consuming. Thinking about how to add that zing to your services marketing efforts? Here are 5 essentials that you need to consider.

PROMISE ORIENTATION: Since services usually cannot be experienced in totality before they are bought and consumed, it is necessary that any services organization has a Promise Orientation, by which it is able to capture the mindshare of the prospective customers. The willingness to consider a service increases if there is an upfront promise that the organization commits to deliver on. The positioning statement of the organization should ideally communicate the promise or the benefit of the promise delivery to the customers and also to other stakeholders like partners, employees, shareholders etc.

PEOPLE PRESENTATION: In case of products it is relatively easy for customers to evaluate one vis-à-vis another by comparing the features and functioning of the two. However, in case of services it is the people who deliver those services that make the real difference and can be compared by customers. Hence, the way these people are presented to the customers becomes extremely crucial. Services organizations have to give more time and attention in presenting their human capital in the right way. The expertise and exclusivity of the people needs to get highlighted in every way. The way they speak, dress, interact with and handle their customers and issues at hand needs to be predefined and followed as a practice.

PROCESS PRODUCTISATION: After you have made a pitch presentation to a prospective client it is not very uncommon to face the following difficult question from your prospective client. “I more or less understand what you guys do but could you tell me specifically how you will do it for us and what exactly we will get for the dollars we spend?” It is very critical to package the process that a service organization follows for its clients, in such a manner that the customer clearly understands what are the exact stages, activities involved at each stage, who would be responsible, what would be the outcome of each activity and each stage and when each will be completed. Packaging the entire service delivery process as if it were a product gives tremendous comfort to the customer.

PROMISE DELIVERY: The people who sign a services contract and the people who actually use the services or evaluate the delivery of the services are not the same in most cases. Both these parties must know what they are getting from you as a service provider. A matrix for service delivery & performance evaluation has to be laid down in advance and the actual performance delivery be measured and communicated at regular intervals to these parties involved. The representation of this delivery performance should be customized for the understanding of the two parties. Do not leave his important aspect of the delivery process in the hands of any of the customer member to do.

PARTNER RECOGNITION: The best way to sell your services is to make your existing customers talk about them to your prospective customers. If one customer is satisfied partnering with you then let a senior manager of the customer rather than you talk about your strengths. Communicate client testimonials clearly in all marketing collaterals. For specific customers, industries and domains develop crisp case studies of previous successes. Once your performance delivery matches or exceeds your promise, let partner recognition market your services rather than additional efforts and spends on business development. Looking forward to comments & suggestions!
For more details write to datta@exemplarss.com or call at +91-9922990240 or visit www.exemplarss.com