The greatest marketing strategy is not all about advertising. It’s true the customer will want to buy the product he sees and knows about and advertising plays a role there, but as we learn more about consumer behavior we realize even the best advertisements do not convert into a sale.
In a country like India where owning a particular ‘brand’ is still a luxury afforded by only 10-15% of consumers, what makes a consumer buy a particular product is still unanswered to large extent. In this article I want to talk about an unused marketing team which every company has and which can help you sell your product in ways better than any advertisement campaign you plan. I am talking about the retailers. The retailers are your best salesman. They are at the end of your product supply chain and hold a distinct advantage as they are the ones dealing directly to your customers. They have a unique advantage over any of your marketing teams as they are the ones who finally sell your product. These are your best friends and will serve you good in business if you take their proper care.
I remember when I was a kid helping dad with his business; my job was to sell watches. I would say 8 in every 10 customers came in to buy a watch and 2 came in to buy a particular brand of a watch. And out of all the brands I had with me, for those 8, I decided what I want to sell based on what will be my margin. I am not saying I was always able to convince but the potential I had to make that sale was used by some companies better than others. The first 2 got sold for their advertisement, for the brand, but from the rest 8 who just wanted watches, I could sell to 4 the brand which took proper care of me. A 2% increased margin and the company had me fighting for their product. And margins were just one of the ways of their appreciation they gave me to fight their case.
It will still take time for the retail industry to give us the malls and the power (sometimes forced) to choose what we buy. But in majority of Indian households it is still the grocery store owner who decides what brand of toothpaste and soap that is used. I agree it is not applicable for all products but you can’t undermine the potential he has in convincing the customer buy a particular car, a particular washing machine, a particular soap, toothpaste, watch and so on.
So the next time you review the salary structure of your sales team or budgeting for your marketing strategies, do include a thought about this unused sales force and how much you want them to be on your side.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
chatting with extremes
It was a rather exciting weekend as far as my online chat avatar is concerned. I had couple of very amusing discussions with two people who really were at two different extremes in their respective lives right now.
On one hand was this smart ass friend who was busy, in fact tired of, chasing girls away. This was after months of making them feel like a princess and sincere efforts to charm them to fall for him. But even with being sure of repeating this process again in future, he was totally confused on the reasons of his actions.
On the other extreme was this guy, who was leaving no stones unturned to allow someone make a fool of him after falling madly in love with her. He was really sure that she is the one for him. As sure as she was that he was not the one for her.
The irony is with both the fellas, the one who is sure about things is in a mess and the one who is as confused as any could be is...in a mess too :)....so where do one stand, which path is the sane one. What happened to the good old concept of vanilla love?? How many are into that anymore..?? I chatted with both hearing them out for hours...and couldn’t help wonder how come all this reaches this level. How come you not know that someone doesn’t love you the way you do and back off before it hits you so hard that you can’t act sane? And how can you play everything around you like a game where you first run and touch and then run in opposite direction. First drawing the 'subject' and testing whether they run towards you so that if they do not you run some more to touch them. It's like all trophies will be won but not kept.
Now that the weekend is over...and when I look back to these conversations…it occurs to me that i may have been laughing at the foolishness but it was no joke and things were serious...these are real people and how much ever i say that "dude, its not that complicated"...i think it is... I think I don’t have the ability to comprehend why people do insane things for love...or why people put themselves in situations which have no logical explanations…(oh me and my love for logics J)
It’s getting difficult day by day to keep believing “life is not as complicated as you think it is”, it might just be as complicated as you think. Love might just be as complicated as they say.
On one hand was this smart ass friend who was busy, in fact tired of, chasing girls away. This was after months of making them feel like a princess and sincere efforts to charm them to fall for him. But even with being sure of repeating this process again in future, he was totally confused on the reasons of his actions.
On the other extreme was this guy, who was leaving no stones unturned to allow someone make a fool of him after falling madly in love with her. He was really sure that she is the one for him. As sure as she was that he was not the one for her.
The irony is with both the fellas, the one who is sure about things is in a mess and the one who is as confused as any could be is...in a mess too :)....so where do one stand, which path is the sane one. What happened to the good old concept of vanilla love?? How many are into that anymore..?? I chatted with both hearing them out for hours...and couldn’t help wonder how come all this reaches this level. How come you not know that someone doesn’t love you the way you do and back off before it hits you so hard that you can’t act sane? And how can you play everything around you like a game where you first run and touch and then run in opposite direction. First drawing the 'subject' and testing whether they run towards you so that if they do not you run some more to touch them. It's like all trophies will be won but not kept.
Now that the weekend is over...and when I look back to these conversations…it occurs to me that i may have been laughing at the foolishness but it was no joke and things were serious...these are real people and how much ever i say that "dude, its not that complicated"...i think it is... I think I don’t have the ability to comprehend why people do insane things for love...or why people put themselves in situations which have no logical explanations…(oh me and my love for logics J)
It’s getting difficult day by day to keep believing “life is not as complicated as you think it is”, it might just be as complicated as you think. Love might just be as complicated as they say.
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