Signal Bites

Traffic Signal !!!
The word itself brings a kind of irritation and restlessness in mind.

I used to obey the traffic rules with utmost unwillingness and my stare was always fixed at the signal…. Scolding it, cursing it for having turned red …. and willing for it to turn green immediately. But alas it never happened and I ended up spending odd 3 mins staring at the unyielding signal.

It dawned upon me one day that I spent 180 secs at regular intervals staring at a signal doing nothing productive except getting myself worked up unnecessarily. Well I might as well use the short span of time to relax and collect my thought and get ready for another round of maneuvering between vehicles, people and animals on the road.

The thought was no less than enlightenment for me…it was like I had discovered some mantra to peaceful living :) .. a bit or rather exaggerated but yes.. I started seeing the world around the traffic signal and came across quite a few interesting things.

I saw a man picking his nose…. eeewww ……. A child inside a car playing with his balloon offering me to catch it, a newly married couple stealing glances at each other.. a lady fixing up her make up.. . a father looking back to check on his child sitting on the scooter holding onto him tightly with both hands…

And between the array of vehicles there were a group of small children.. begging, selling some toys, cloth, glasses, balloons, earbuds etc. No one was buying from them.. which is quite natural.. there’s no guarantee on the products, no packaging, and you never know whether you are over paying or not. After watching Traffic signal, Slumdog Millionaire and listening to stories of billionaire beggars I personally have lost faith in charity at signals.

Amidst all this a small child caught my attention. He did something different. I don’t know if it is followed elsewhere but it was my first experience in Bangalore. He took a small cloth and started wiping the dirty two wheelers… the rider was taken aback.. he did not know what to do. The child cleaned the scooter. Though he did not do a thorough job yet there was a smile on the face of the rider and he took out some money and gave it to the child. I don’t know whether it was knowingly or unknowingly the child ignored the car beside the scooter and went on to the next bike.. and the same result followed.. I could not follow him again.. after all the signal was for only 2 mins not the whole day :)

But the incident left me thinking.

Even a small child realized that to earn money he needed to do something different. Something other than what his peers were doing. He did not crib about limited resources but made the full use of what he had. He used the small piece of cloth innovatively to provide a service (cleaning) of use to his customer and in turn earned his money rather than simply begging and failing.
Another point which I found amazing was the power of direct contact. While cleaning a two wheeler he came in direct contact with the owner and could touch and talk to him…and cajole him to roll out some coins but in case of a car with the closed windows he could never get in direct contact with the user.

His acute sense of time management also impressed me. The time required to clean a car would be more than a two wheeler. So the number of vehicles covered would be less if he went for the cars whereas the amount he would get from the owners would be more or less the same as the scooters. Hence his income was directly proportional to the number of vehicles than the number of wheels in the vehicle. So two wheelers were his ideal target and he concentrated only on them.

A small child who never went to school and I doubt whether he could afford a proper meal a day exhibited some of the most important aspects of marketing

1. Customize / Package your product to suit the requirement of your consumer
2. Innovate
3. Maintain customer relationship. Direct contact and interaction is the best way to build customer loyalty and satisfaction
4. Identifying your target audience correctly
5. Time management to ensure proper service to your customers


Inspirations / ideas are all around us… we just need to keep our eyes and minds open… even amidst traffic jams / signals :)


Signing off for now...
Sony
http://www.adwize.in

Getting your Breakfast Egg right

Marketing can be as easy as boiling an egg and can be as tricky as making the perfect sunny side up. There can be no written rules in marketing. Each product each service each company is different. There can be guidelines but as I always say marketing is dynamic.. what worked 1 month ago may not work now or if a company reaped profits due to a particular marketing strategy its competitor may not get the same results.
Marketing has to be unique just like the choice of your breakfast egg.

1. Sunny side up – This looks like the easiest to prepare and is yet the most tricky preparation of egg. Practice makes you perfect. How many times have you started with a sunny side up and ended up having scrambled egg ?? :D
Sunny side up marketing is the most direct form of marketing. It is the most basic form of communicating the core services of the company. You present the facts as it is with a pinch of salt. This technique uses upto two techniques of marketing. The strategy is based on falling in the market the right way to avoid a mess. A lot of thought process goes behind the study of the marketing environment. Since you do not have many flavors supporting you, there should be a clear understanding of the current scenario and how you need to launch your strategy.
This strategy would be ideal for the B2B segment as there the TG is narrowed down extensively and the approach is more direct emphasizing mostly on the core services of the company

2. Omlette – Cheese omlette ….. yummy !! The perfect blend of different vehicles of marketing. An integrated marketing architecture is constructed. The core message remaining the same other ingredients are added to spice up the message. Flavors are added to suit the consumer’s taste.
The marketing strategy is a mix of various techniques of marketing. Depending on the season the ratio is decided. It includes print, web, electronic, Direct marketing and many more techniques. The factor which sets each company apart is the proportion and the ability to innovate.It is that secret ingredient which differentiates between a successful strategy and a lukewarm strategy. I believe no strategy can be a failure.
While designing the marketing strategy one should never loose sight of the core message ie the egg. None of the marketing techniques or message should ever override the basic profile of the product or service under question. Else the whole perception of the dish changes it no longer remain an omlette or for that matter any preparation of an egg.
This technique is ideally suited for the B2C segment where the target audience is huge, more varied, substitutes are available and the choice of the consumers is different base don their personal opinion and taste.

3. Boiled Egg – The tried and tested techniques of marketing. With time they become more solid. The time you dedicate towards your marketing strategy is very crucial. A proper research and ground work is necessary. In case your strategy has not been thought through it might create a negative impact upon the consumers, it might just fall apart.
This is ideal for companies which have been in the business for a long time. They have ample time and resources to experiment, to ponder over the strategy, less fear of being late to the market as everybody already knows about them ( but should nt be as late as Nokia )

A famous saying goes ” Do not put all your eggs in the same basket “, similarly do not put all your messages in the same basket. It might lead to confusion and may break the impact of each.
Apart from the technique the presentation is also very crucial. You ve got your strategy right but if you are not able to present it in front of your customers it is of no value. It will not be received or valued by the customer and your message remains unheard. A good strategy should always be backed up by a good presentation.

Garnish your breakfast egg and serve it for a delectable and memorable breakfast.

Signing off for now...
Sony
http://www.adwize.in