NEW MARKETING CONCEPT – RAZORBLADE BUSINESS MODEL

The Razor/Razorblade business model owes its name to one King Gillette, founder of the eponymous razorblade company. The story goes that Gillette's idea for creating disposable razors stemmed - usually at little or no cost (see loss leader) - that is complemented by another product for which the consumer is required to make repeated purchases. Perhaps the most recent contemporary example of this practice involves cable companies giving away DVR devices to customers and then charging those customers monthly subscription fees to use the DVRs.

However, a company need not give away products to adhere to the Razor/Razorblade model. For example, during the first few years of manufacturing from his personal experience with a straight razor so worn it was rendered useless. Gillette reasoned - and rightly so - that if he could offer consumers a sturdy, permanent razor supplemented by cheap, easily replaceable blades, he could corner the men's facial grooming market and create a massive, repeat customer base.

In modern times, the Razor/Razorblade model has evolved to mean any business practice in which a company offers a one-time product "Next Generation" video game consoles, both Sony and Microsoft would sell their products at a significant loss. They then would make up for these losses by offering online gaming subscriptions and software licensing agreements. In this way, the two companies still managed to exploit the Razor/Razorblade model - generating profits from loyal, repeat consumers.

$$LOVE LETTER IN ACCOUNTING TERMS $$

My dear GAAP

Darling this is my first business transaction with you, and I want you to know the level of consideration I have. Your account is open in the books of my heart. I feel we have some matching concept between us. You looked just like a Balance Sheet whose both sides are equal. I want you to glance at my trial balance from which the financial statements of our love have been prepared. Please, give a debit balance to my request in your books and see me as soon as you can. You will find that my financial statement shows a true and fair view. It has been prepared according to the provisions of the law of love and follows the principal of going concern. I eagerly wait for your acceptance to my offer. Trust me that my cost of goods sold statement would be appropriate for you and my income is more than my expenditure. According to the best of my knowledge and faith I feel that I can debit your account of love with zero bad debts. So just discount my bill of love in your love bank.
With all due diligence to my $LOVE$

Only Yours

IFRS

7 occasions for shopping

Indian market have changed a lot since 1991 that is after LPG, after this major turnaround in the Indian economy the mind set of Indian customer have also changed mostly the behavioural aspect of the shopper. The shopper are not exposed to modern trend , western world , new technology and a much more competitive world or environment. And since we belong to ZAP86 category that is we are born after 1986 so the key thing about ZAP86 is that they are less loyal that is they are more switcher they flit from subject to subject and they are very much away from old social values. And these shoppers influence all age group, drive fashion trend and they want to be classy and dress differently for different occasions.
Now with such a scenario when nothing is fixed but still the marketer has to survive I will share a real situation of a famous brand name – ALLEN SOLLY , it is a well know brand now almost everyone must be knowing mostly all the ZAP86 like this brand.
Initially Allen Solly was placed as a formal, middle management brand for the age of 35+ groups. So such an image was the reason for falling sales and they lack the youth pull that was must now to be in the market. So they set their new objective as to make their brand famous in the age group 23-28 without losing current shopper. It was a great challenge ahead for them. So they appointed an consulting agency to do a research on Indian Retail how to tap ZAP86. The conclusion was very interesting one to know.
They came up with the idea that there are 7 key occasion when young shopper plan to buy clothes and they strength was that they were the first one to know that. So the next step what ALLEN SOLLY took was expected they introduce seven occasion of wear that are perceived as fashion that command the trend and price. So Allen Solly has change the whole look of the store into 7 occasions of Tees, semi-formal, casuals, formals, corporate, party and festive with each occasion having different varieties in terms of cut design and colours.
As the zapping mentality of ZAP86 generation is obsessed with the desire for choice, apparel for 7 occasions will give them alternative for different purposes, and break the monotony of being perceived a mono brand store. The ZAP86 influence will pull in the 30+ generation who look for multiple occasion garments too. They have even given a very trendy and youthful look to the store , a mix of different cost effective materials were used such has copper wood but all of them were of high quality and high aspiration. Even when I have gone with my friend to Allen solly store in Bangalore it was clearly been observed how they display the occasion based dressing the best thing was my friend got her formal there only that gave her the best fit. Just because of different variety of sizes that they have with them.
So what they did in marketing terms can be simply called as positioning based o occasion. They have not applied very high funda logics but they simply tried to get the answer of the question what make people buy cloth what is that drive them to a store, and Allen Solly got the answer the 7 occasion that drive any person to the store to shop and they positioned there product range on that basis that is occasion based positioning. Since the Indian fashion market is highly unstructured with shoppers preferring variety for different occasion so Allen Solly became the best destination for people.
They started to think differently about the customer, they were not selling a product to a customer but they were selling an ideal self to a person that vary based upon the occasion they focus on the simple thing how an individual want to look like in a particular occasion that is not actual self but his ideal self what he want to be. They started to think differently about design and also about brand experience that we can easily identify based upon the store look and its experience.
And thus by doing this they have repositioned themselves as a brand for all occasion. Thus the secret of marketing or selling anything lies in answering one simple question – what make you to go for shopping? Thus marketing is all about that one unique skill of learning how to walk inside the minds of the customer and getting answer to such question and there is no shortcut to it but its ones experience that teaches all this.

- SHANKAR

THE POWER OF IDEAS

Let us start with what Bill Gates think an entrepreneur is he says like this –
“We were young, but we had good advice and good ideas and lots of enthusiasm."
- Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation
Is there any minimum qualification that we required to become an entrepreneur, no will be the answer to this and I also stick to this point only because it is rightly said in one of the Hindi movie Badmaash Company that “a business is not big because of money but it’s the idea that make it big.”
Now let us know which section of the people submit the maximum business ideas that are successful and it’s very interesting to see that it is not the post graduate or even the professionals who have great ideas of a successful business but the non graduate are the people who are always with some idea and this comes to 70% . So this it’s self says that an entrepreneur is not the person who is qualified but a simple man but with a great idea can do the task. And a Great Idea can come from anyone.
Now the next thing that always comes in our mind is to become an entrepreneur we need to be in some metros or near to metros cities people says that there is no scope in small cities but it’s again a myth the statistics says that most of the aspiring entrepreneur belongs to small cities not the metros and its number is 52%. So the end logic is as long as you belong to your idea nobody can stop you to achieve your dream.
Now let’s talk about another myth it’s always say that we should have some experience to become an entrepreneur ya its true because people use to follow this earlier but it’s wrong to assume what may be right in olden days will be right now too experience of something is always good but if you have good idea and a self believe than any age you are in it hardly matters. Because it’s your idea and hard work that speaks not the age. And its interesting to know that mostly ideas are given by the people of the Age group 18-25 and it comes to 43% here.
Thus the ultimate picture is that if you have a good idea in your mind just try to fulfil that and forget all the talks that other people do just go for implementing it in real life. And also it hardly matter what age group you are in, if we believe in all this principle then there would not be any young entrepreneurs so just believe your idea and have trust on your own hard work and give a kick start to things and you will be right there on top, don’t be afraid to hit the road take risk in your life it will be fun.
Thus an entrepreneur is a person who just keeps a track of what history says but develops his own new path and thus changes the things as per his ways.
"I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!"
-SHANKAR

;-) Frnds ;-)

Being a good friend is a skill we can learn and improve upon. Here, eight ways to be a better friend.

1. Number One: Like yourself
The first step in having a good relationship with a friend is to have a good relationship with yourself. When we genuinely like ourselves, we become more attractive to other people. We have more to offer others because we are not constantly focused on our own image and reputation.

We become better friends because we don't cling. We are secure enough to spend time with a friend because we want to, not because we need to.

2. Number Two: Choose wisely
Relationships among true friends take a steady dose of time and energy--two resources in limited supply for all of us. Identify the friends with whom you wish to create a closer bond. It's perfectly okay if not all of your acquaintances make the list. The closeness of your connections is far more important than the length of your guest lists.

3. Number Three: Make the time
Friends are important in many ways--so much so that these relationships often take on a life of their own. You owe it to yourself (and to your friends) to make these relationships a priority. Carve out some quality time for one another.

4. Number Four: Make the first move
If you want to improve your relationships, put your fear of rejection aside and start taking more risks. Invite your friends to lunch. Organize a new playgroup. Invite them over for dinner.

Too often, we fail to follow up with our friends. Don’t miss out-just make the first phone call. Your friends are just as anxious to get together as you are.

5. Number Five: The Golden Rule
Treat your friends as you wish to be treated. Stated another way: "To have a friend, be a friend." Focus more on being interested than on being interesting. Be enthusiastic and energetic. Avoid complaining, gossiping, and criticizing.

6. Number Six: Sweat the Small Stuff
Make your friends feel significant by remembering small kindnesses. Notice her new haircut. Remember to ask about her mother-in-law's surgery. Send flowers or a simple email when you know she needs it most.

7. Number Seven: Listen
Good listeners are hard to find, and honing your skills can be a long-term project.

8. Number Eight: Be loyal
we all need someone in our corner. If your friend isn't there to defend herself against gossip or criticism, speak up, and know she would do the same for you.

CRM AND CUSTOMER WOW

Initially there was the concept of customer service to deliver customer satisfaction. Then came the concept of customer delight and today everyone talks of customer WOW. So what is this Customer WOW?
At a fundamental level the end objective remains the same which is to create a strong rapport and bond with the customer to ensure long-term loyalty and repeat purchases. The customer has no switching cost between the stores and therefore the role of emotional bonding become very crucial.
Now I am just trying to explain the concept of customer wow by relating it with CRM concept i.e. Customer Relationship Management. I will take a very simple and practical example that every one of us has sometime or the other either seen it or realized it.
What is the service that the kirana delivers that constitutes value?? He caters to our whim and fancy; literally and figuratively. By sending even a small item to our homes, taking orders even at 9.30pm and so on. And also by remembering the exams of our children, remembering to ask how your backache is, being contrite when something is not good and so on.
And what enables him to do that? CRM. Not the customer relationship management that one usually reads about. His CRM is Care, Respect and therefore the motivation to shop with him.
There is two parts to this: his ability to recognize you and your family members remember your shopping habits and more importantly your monthly spending. Then his brain analyses and generate business intelligence in the form of your lifetime value to him.
Several Corporate Retail chains have tried to duplicate this through loyalty programmes and membership cards. However these are again dependent on the store staff to be efficient. Whether I have a loyalty card or not I will develop a high relationship quotient and therefore loyalty to a store which understands my needs and works towards building a relationship with me. In the absence of that customer would have loyalty cards from different chains and just accumulate points which end up being an added cost for the Retailers.
The core to a successful programme is a one-to-one orientation versus a one-to-many orientation.
This is where most Retailers have an issue. Because Retail is by nature a mass business it becomes very difficult for Retailers to manage these two divergent thought processes. However, once this conflict has been resolved, the CRM programme is bound to be an unqualified success. A lifestyle Retailer in India runs a very effective programme by effectively mining sales data, understanding customer’s needs and expectations and meeting them. The reward is that such loyal customer generates more than 40% of their sales.
This is because they have clearly understood what their core customers expect and they deliver the same consistently to deliver customer WOW. This could be in the form of preview sales, special billing counter, special offers, etc. The underlying theme is to recognise and reward loyalty and thereby further reinforce this and create a virtuous cycle.
So this how small things that a person does lead to the objective of CRM and thereby creating Customer WOW. It is a new concept that has come in Retail Sector but very important to know all these because somewhere in future we need to follow these.

ENTERING INDIAN MARKET- RETAILING

In this article I want to keep my focus on young people who want to make there career in the Retail sector and want to do business in country like India.
Now entering the Indian Retail sector is not easy, my thinking says that if we see now days whatever the trend is going, opening a cash and carry route is very effective because by so there would be strategic advantage. Instead of trying to compete in already crowded urban market place, starting cash & carry store or venturing into rural market/Retail space would help build significant competitive advantage.
If Retail stores are the passion the operators should consider other categories apart from food and grocery. Several other products categories have not even been explored one of its type could be home improvement segment since housing being key aspirations for Indians. And in this segment we can even expect a lot of boom in coming two to three years.
Now let us talk about which form of Retail would be suitable to enter into the Indian Market.
According to me conventional stores are the best way to go for it. These are easily owned and managed by individuals. The best example of such a thing in the current scenario would be a pharmacy stores. They work on the same principle and performing so well.
Now what make me to say that conventional stores would be the best for Indian market, firstly all these stores require less area space this is a very big and key point because now days the land values are rising like anything. And these stores also generate higher sales per Sq ft because of their smaller size. So it requires lesser sales too in order to achieve their breakeven point. And they can also offer higher discount level as compared to any other corporate stores. So this is how just because of small size whatever money been saved is so effective to reduce the competition.
And also these stores develop better and effective customer satisfaction 24/7 mostly now days in places that are near to metro like Bangalore were mostly both the couple are working thus these stores are the key destination to all these people they want convenient only so these stores provide them because all these are located near to their house. And also some of the stores even provide home delivery facility too.
And doing all such thing will lead to the development of good customer relationship. So its work in a chain that creates one another. And thus all this thing lead to a thing for which all marketer works his whole life – Emotional pull this when created automatically attract customer towards them. Customer won’t get satisfaction any were else just because of Emotional touch. And this is good enough to beat any corporate store.
And this type stores also gives us opportunity to diversify into various activities. Like I have seen a pharmacy store it started with medicine then when his business was successful he made little investment and bought a refrigerator and started keeping cold drinks and various items like bread etc then after some time they are even planning to make it a medical and general store too. So this might be looking simple and small but means a lot not all are able to do such thing.
So in country like India Retailing is not so easy we have to create good customer relationship so that it will create Emotional Pull and one of the best and the easy way according me would be a convenient store.
- SHANKAR