Over the past years there were a lot of experts who spent a lot of time thinking over strategy and how it impact businesses and makes them successful. They came up with many theories to explain these phenomenon. I think that these strategies are going to slowly fade away to give way to design as a the new strategy.
You don't need to do a set of things and think in a certain way to do better business, you just need to be able to come up with great design that is the thing that people really respond to. Look at the iPod as a great example. It is not the best product that is available there, but it is the best design that is available out there and it is successful.
Even if one looks at retailers, in order to be successful in the market you do not need to be the best retailer. You need to be the best designed store, which meets the requirement of the shoppers in a manner that suites them the most and you will manage to be successful. An example of this kind of a success is the Big Bazaar in India, its designed in a manner that suites the requirement of the Indian consumer so well that it is successful. It also happens to be a discounter but the main reason for its success over all other has been the way it is designed.
Not only in fields where designs are very much applicable but also as far as organizations are concerned, design plays a very important role in their success. If the design is rigid, it often breaks or gets destroyed over the course of time. The classic example of such destruction is the car companies of America. They will not get better till they change the design of their organizations and change the way they have been accustomed to think.
Design is going to play a very important role in the coming years and there is a need for organizations to prepare for this change.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Mobile Number - The New Address
About 15 years back, having a cell phone was considered a luxury and times have changed a lot since. In todays date, the first thing that you ask a person is their mobile phone number. Think how ubiquitous this device has become and how much it has managed to pervade our lives. The day is not far away when, the mobile phone will become the only means of finding a person.
In recent instances I have heard of cops being able to pin point the location of a person using the signal of the cell phone. It has also been used to track the whereabouts of nefarious elements at times. The mobile is becoming the new address. Since the user carries along with them everywhere that they go, it has become a better way of keeping track of people than an address.
The mobile phone is becoming the new address, the day is not far when it would replace all other identifications.
In recent instances I have heard of cops being able to pin point the location of a person using the signal of the cell phone. It has also been used to track the whereabouts of nefarious elements at times. The mobile is becoming the new address. Since the user carries along with them everywhere that they go, it has become a better way of keeping track of people than an address.
The mobile phone is becoming the new address, the day is not far when it would replace all other identifications.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Driving to Bankruptcy
The car companies in US have been crying about the losses that they have been making over the past few years. All their strategies have been failing and the inevitable happens to coincide with the financial crisis that has currently engulfed the entire world. So do you think that they should be bailed out of bankruptcy.
It is not a question of jobs being lost but more a question of how much American people value their tax money. How constructively would they want it used.
The American car companies have done a horrible job as far as their strategies are concerned. They knew the situation with oil, they knew the situation with the world market. I am sure that Honda and Toyota entered the American market only after the big three. How come they are not filing for bankruptcy?
Sometime back in the 1990's Honda and Toyota realised that making large cars and gas guzzlers was not the right thing to be doing, especially keeping the oil demand and the prices in mind. They also realised that soon there would be the requirement of alternate technology. In the meantime 'The Big Three' were building larger and less efficient vehicles. They pursued the plan with a vengeance (both sides).
Hence the companies that made the right strategic choice came out on top, whereas the ones with the wrong strategic choices have gone belly up. The amazing thing is that they are still not correcting their mistakes.
Under these circumstances, does a nation want to afford, flushing another few billion dollars on these horrible businessmen. They are only going to take all that money and light it up on fire. I understand thousands would be jobless...
Why doesn't the US start a new car company with all of that money and put the cash to good use. (I understand that the plan is to throw in $25 Billions into the hands of these three companies. Is that not enough to start a revolutionary new company?) The thousands would still find employment. They would be working for what is going to sell. They will help America grow back towards the automotive supremacy it once held.
No no... instead they will just burn it up... give it to those who don't understand strategy...
It is not a question of jobs being lost but more a question of how much American people value their tax money. How constructively would they want it used.
The American car companies have done a horrible job as far as their strategies are concerned. They knew the situation with oil, they knew the situation with the world market. I am sure that Honda and Toyota entered the American market only after the big three. How come they are not filing for bankruptcy?
Sometime back in the 1990's Honda and Toyota realised that making large cars and gas guzzlers was not the right thing to be doing, especially keeping the oil demand and the prices in mind. They also realised that soon there would be the requirement of alternate technology. In the meantime 'The Big Three' were building larger and less efficient vehicles. They pursued the plan with a vengeance (both sides).
Hence the companies that made the right strategic choice came out on top, whereas the ones with the wrong strategic choices have gone belly up. The amazing thing is that they are still not correcting their mistakes.
Under these circumstances, does a nation want to afford, flushing another few billion dollars on these horrible businessmen. They are only going to take all that money and light it up on fire. I understand thousands would be jobless...
Why doesn't the US start a new car company with all of that money and put the cash to good use. (I understand that the plan is to throw in $25 Billions into the hands of these three companies. Is that not enough to start a revolutionary new company?) The thousands would still find employment. They would be working for what is going to sell. They will help America grow back towards the automotive supremacy it once held.
No no... instead they will just burn it up... give it to those who don't understand strategy...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Markets are Emotional
The news over the past few days:
'Markets down on global crisis'
'Markets up on global cues'
'Crisis to last 6 months: markets down'
'Markets up on Fed Rate cuts'
The bottom-line, the stock market is an emotional animal, just as Warren Buffet puts it. It does not known what to do and where to go. It just acts on impulses provided by the outside world. There is no rhyme or reason for most of the fluctuations, they are just a result of how the "Market' is feeling. There are those who try to comment on what is going to happen at the stock market everyday, my question is does it really matter?
Markets are best when looked at from a long term basis and understood. Focusing on daily news and making your bets in the markets, is not the best thing to be doing. There is no point trying to explain everyday movement, it probably is a result of some emotions, rather than solid reasoning.
The best thing to do at such times is to concentrate on fundamental strength of the economy and the company to make decisions.
'Markets down on global crisis'
'Markets up on global cues'
'Crisis to last 6 months: markets down'
'Markets up on Fed Rate cuts'
The bottom-line, the stock market is an emotional animal, just as Warren Buffet puts it. It does not known what to do and where to go. It just acts on impulses provided by the outside world. There is no rhyme or reason for most of the fluctuations, they are just a result of how the "Market' is feeling. There are those who try to comment on what is going to happen at the stock market everyday, my question is does it really matter?
Markets are best when looked at from a long term basis and understood. Focusing on daily news and making your bets in the markets, is not the best thing to be doing. There is no point trying to explain everyday movement, it probably is a result of some emotions, rather than solid reasoning.
The best thing to do at such times is to concentrate on fundamental strength of the economy and the company to make decisions.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Internet and Globalization - II
The industries which sold digital content of any sort, be it software, music, movies, etc.; have all woken up to the challenges and opportunities that internet has to offer. Many of them are taking advantage of this fact and making the most of it as well. There are still other industries whose marketing efforts put them in a place where internet has been able to play a large part in their success as well as their demise.
I will take the case of Apple. Apple has a very strange way of marketing their products. They usually do not stick to a lot of TV ads, at least not in India. They are very regular at releasing updates and also make a very public show of it. They are also one of the companies that is so closed to the outside world that their product can be considered a niche product (even though it is so ubiquitous).
Apple learnt somethings about marketing the hard way when it launched iPhone in India.
About a year back when Apple released the iPhone in the US, it was an instant rage. Everyone, including the presidential candidate was talking about the iPhone. It was a phenomenon like nobody had seen before and the mobile handset companies were all shivering. Fast forward 8 months...
iPhone was launched in India. A phone that had sold more than a million pieces a month and was stocked out across US, entered India with 2 operators unlike other countries, where it was distributed by only one operator. It failed MISERABLY! Although the company would not give details, according to certain estimates only 10,000 iPhones have been sold in India 3 months after launch.
What hit them? In one word the Internet (also the piraters to a certain extent).
8 months was long enough for Apple haters to figure out every negative thing about the iPhone and publicise it sufficiently. Also, there was a lot of information available about the phone on the internet and people were immediately able to see what were the shortcomings of this phone; that was touted as the best. The internet had transferred the initial US launch hype across the world, even though the company did not put in any effort a lot of marketing happened on the net; and though the phone was not launched in India, the excitement regarding the launch was the same.
Then through the piraters and smugglers, iPhones made their way into the market. Within about 2 months of the US launch, the die-hard Apple lovers had already acquired their beloved phones through wrongful means. These were the missing phones that Apple and AT&T kept reporting. Also, the internet has made sure that the pricing is extremely transparent. Knowing that, launching iPhone at almost double the price as that of US did not make any sense, but Apple did.
All in all, the Internet alone is to be blamed for the demise of the iPhone in India. The demise occurred even before the birth. Will Apple learn its lesson?
I will take the case of Apple. Apple has a very strange way of marketing their products. They usually do not stick to a lot of TV ads, at least not in India. They are very regular at releasing updates and also make a very public show of it. They are also one of the companies that is so closed to the outside world that their product can be considered a niche product (even though it is so ubiquitous).
Apple learnt somethings about marketing the hard way when it launched iPhone in India.
About a year back when Apple released the iPhone in the US, it was an instant rage. Everyone, including the presidential candidate was talking about the iPhone. It was a phenomenon like nobody had seen before and the mobile handset companies were all shivering. Fast forward 8 months...
iPhone was launched in India. A phone that had sold more than a million pieces a month and was stocked out across US, entered India with 2 operators unlike other countries, where it was distributed by only one operator. It failed MISERABLY! Although the company would not give details, according to certain estimates only 10,000 iPhones have been sold in India 3 months after launch.
What hit them? In one word the Internet (also the piraters to a certain extent).
8 months was long enough for Apple haters to figure out every negative thing about the iPhone and publicise it sufficiently. Also, there was a lot of information available about the phone on the internet and people were immediately able to see what were the shortcomings of this phone; that was touted as the best. The internet had transferred the initial US launch hype across the world, even though the company did not put in any effort a lot of marketing happened on the net; and though the phone was not launched in India, the excitement regarding the launch was the same.
Then through the piraters and smugglers, iPhones made their way into the market. Within about 2 months of the US launch, the die-hard Apple lovers had already acquired their beloved phones through wrongful means. These were the missing phones that Apple and AT&T kept reporting. Also, the internet has made sure that the pricing is extremely transparent. Knowing that, launching iPhone at almost double the price as that of US did not make any sense, but Apple did.
All in all, the Internet alone is to be blamed for the demise of the iPhone in India. The demise occurred even before the birth. Will Apple learn its lesson?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Internet and Globalization - I
Globalization and internet has introduced a new set of problems for the marketers. No longer is it just enough to make a good product and create the right hype. It also becomes important to release the product simultaneously. In the following blogs I will look at how this has fundamentally affected the way marketers are forced to look at their markets and some mistakes that they still make.
Let us look of the paradigm shifts. In the past, the Hollywood production houses used to release the movie first in US, then in Europe and later on in Asia. This worked well for them, since they were able to use the earnings from one continent to market the movie in another.
In todays scenario, marketing does not happen in one continent alone, whether they like it not. They create the hype in America and people in India anticipate it. To make matters worse, after the introduction of the internet, they started noticing that pirated versions of the movies started becoming available soon enough in the other continents and waiting for a month before the release of the movie in the other continent meant that they lost out on a sizable chunk of box office revenues.
Matrix Reloaded was the first movie to be released on the same day world-wide. I attribute a large amount of the credit for the box office earnings that this movie had to this one fact.
In this day and age of internet and blogs, it does not take a lot of effort for a marketer to spread word about a product (be it movies or computer or whatever). The hype gets communicated across the globe quite quickly once the information gets onto the internet. The saying 'Word spreads like fire', has become quite literal in the internet age; in fact it spread faster and wider, than any fire ever can. This makes timing the launch and doing it simultaneously, very important. Marketers are waking up to this fact. This has also resulted in a lot of pressure being put on the financial requirements for marketing. Though there are those who manage to find synergies in this as well.
It is important to realise the reality that is internet and how it affects businesses.
Let us look of the paradigm shifts. In the past, the Hollywood production houses used to release the movie first in US, then in Europe and later on in Asia. This worked well for them, since they were able to use the earnings from one continent to market the movie in another.
In todays scenario, marketing does not happen in one continent alone, whether they like it not. They create the hype in America and people in India anticipate it. To make matters worse, after the introduction of the internet, they started noticing that pirated versions of the movies started becoming available soon enough in the other continents and waiting for a month before the release of the movie in the other continent meant that they lost out on a sizable chunk of box office revenues.
Matrix Reloaded was the first movie to be released on the same day world-wide. I attribute a large amount of the credit for the box office earnings that this movie had to this one fact.
In this day and age of internet and blogs, it does not take a lot of effort for a marketer to spread word about a product (be it movies or computer or whatever). The hype gets communicated across the globe quite quickly once the information gets onto the internet. The saying 'Word spreads like fire', has become quite literal in the internet age; in fact it spread faster and wider, than any fire ever can. This makes timing the launch and doing it simultaneously, very important. Marketers are waking up to this fact. This has also resulted in a lot of pressure being put on the financial requirements for marketing. Though there are those who manage to find synergies in this as well.
It is important to realise the reality that is internet and how it affects businesses.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Creativity and a Slowing Economy
Right now is the time that most of the companies, especially the marketing teams in most companies should be looking at innovative ways of pulling customers. They can think up totally whacky ideas and rest assured that the higher powers will second it as well, in the hope that sales would pick up.
It is often in times when the economy is slowing that one gets to be at their creative best. When the going is good, most often companies, as well as executives do not wish to take any risk. Its easy to do fine by playing safe. Most companies play it safe and some out of the box idea which might be risky will not get the same kind of support for the fear of failure.
In a failing economy, failure is imminent. Therefore, risking failure becomes a lot more easier for the top executives. The way a risk is seen is different. Maybe this will avert the inevitable. Therefore the decision to go ahead with a plan that maybe seen as a creative risk, comes much more easily.
All sort of things get done! New business verticals are launched; new ad campaigns are designed; products that have been on the shelf for years are given a go-ahead! Is it the right approach? Who cares! You get to be creative!
It is often in times when the economy is slowing that one gets to be at their creative best. When the going is good, most often companies, as well as executives do not wish to take any risk. Its easy to do fine by playing safe. Most companies play it safe and some out of the box idea which might be risky will not get the same kind of support for the fear of failure.
In a failing economy, failure is imminent. Therefore, risking failure becomes a lot more easier for the top executives. The way a risk is seen is different. Maybe this will avert the inevitable. Therefore the decision to go ahead with a plan that maybe seen as a creative risk, comes much more easily.
All sort of things get done! New business verticals are launched; new ad campaigns are designed; products that have been on the shelf for years are given a go-ahead! Is it the right approach? Who cares! You get to be creative!
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