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Dear readers,
In Conversation with Prof Vasant Cavale Education in Marketing Raymonds Tribute to Teachers Whats in a Name? An insight into Heros Rebranding Niche Marketing
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Welcome XIME.
to
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pation is a key ingredient in the success of our newsletter. We, at MarkMantra continuously strive to bring to you the best information in marketing field. This newsletter would help the people who are interested in marketing to get an insight into the field and also be abreast with current happenings. This particular issue of MarkMantra is a Teachers Day special and is dedicated to all the teachers who have taught and inspired us at every step. We look forward to some great articles and case studies from you as well. Happy Reading!!!
MarkMantra brings to you, every fortnight, a variety of articles, cases and trivia in marketing. The purpose of this newsletter is to bring to you the current trends and the fundamentals in marketing. Each issue of MarkMantra would consist of a case study, a quiz, a few articles an interview of a distinguished person, and lots more. It will also highlight the events of MarkXIME, the marketing club of XIME. We also invite solutions to the case studies.
Case Study
The best solution will be printed in the subsequent issue of the newsletter. So, your partici-
A professionals point of
view about the world ofSales
Importance of a name in
marketing.
have for their teacher. The sequel to the advertisement had the same person (Bomi Dotiwala) cast as the teacher as in the previous ad.
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thought that Prof Cavale (PC) would be the ideal person to interact with, for this Teachers Day issue of MarkMantra
Prof Vasant M Cavale
all sales people and know that a vast majority of them can do good business by fair means only. TM: Have you ever faced a situation in your experience, where you had to make a choice between manipulating facts to sell a product and being completely honest with the possibility of losing the customer? What was the choice that you made? PC: I could recollect several instances but will confine myself to one illustrative example. At one
stage when I was the head of sales, and commodity prices shot up, the blenders of the products, with the consent of CEO, dropped the quality of a major brand in order to protect its profitability. This resulted in immediate reaction started consumer and sales I
I strongly believe that the only way to do any business is by ethical means
a hue and cry about the presence/absence of ethics in the marketing and sales industry. Do you think companies and sales persons can justify compromising their values and ethics in order to sell their products? PC: Unethical practices providing short term gains should never be allowed. I strongly believe that the only way to do any business is by ethical means only and keeping integrity intact. I have great regard for
TM: How do you view the changes of the current trends in the sales/ business development department in every industry? PC: Major trends include a global presence, use of technology extensively and increasing challenges of providing customer service.
slipping.
brought this to the notice of the CEO and other directors in a profit-centred review
meeting. The CEO told me that I should not teach him his job but instead I should stick to
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my
job
which
was
TM: Many students these days are not willing to opt for sales jobs. Why do you think a sales job has such a negative connotation even though it may be one of the highest paying jobs? PC: Sales jobs are not preferred as it is a tough job dealing with new customers, problems situations, every day.
the best strategy for approaching a customer to make a sale? PC: Intimate understanding of the products/services you are selling, the benefits to the customer and how your proposition is superior to what competition has to offer would be adequate for a selling approach. TM: What are three most important skills that a sales have? PC: The basic skills required are: Managing abilities, Interpersonal Technical Communication acumen. skills, skills, abilities, person should
from everyone you are required to interact with both within the company and in the market place. Be always honest with yourself and with everyone you deal with.
achieving sales targets. I was proved right when the market reaction started hurting the company and the CEO had to ensure a return to the original quality. We could have saved a lot of pain if action had been taken on time.
TM: Most people are still unclear about the relationship between marketing and sales. How integrated do you think the work profiles of these two departments are? PC: Marketing and Sales functions are closely linked and need to be well integrated. Sales is a part of Marketing and is the only income generating function in any company. It is the face of the company in front of the customers/ Broadly, is about and consumers. Marketing
Customers demand immediate answers/relief and do not have the patience to wait. However, no marketing job can be done without having done a sales stint interacting with market/ customers and competition. TM: After having dealt with a number of customers, and after having been a customer yourself, what do you think the customer values most while making a buying decision? PC: A customer wants you to promise what is possible and deliver what is promised. TM: What do you think is
A customer wants you to promise what is possible and deliver what is promised
TM: How do you view your transition from being in the corporate sector for more than three decades to now being in the education sector? PC: In the corporate sector you deal with people who listen to you most of the times because you are the boss. It has been ten years since I started teaching. I enjoy interacting with the younger, smarter generation. TM: On this teacher's special issue, would you
TM: Would you like to offer any advice to people wanting to get into the field of sales and marketing? PC: Make up your mind clearly that a Sales/ Marketing for. career is the what you are looking Understand challenges involved.
products/brands ers/people.
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you like to share some of your most memorable instances as a professor? PC: Again, several instances come to my mind. I will recollect just two of them: I keep getting mails from my students of how their job interviews they were asked ques-
tions relating to Sales management and their answers many times have surprised the interviewers as to how they can give such practical answers. I feel glad when they write to me to tell me that they answered just as they had learnt in my classes and were successful.
On some occasions, I have taken small batches of students to meet practicing sales managers and distributors and told the students they could ask them any questions they wanted. Again they come up and give me a feedback that for the first time they got an-
swers to their questions exactly as they had learnt in my class. Instances such as these make the teaching assignments handled by me purposeful and give me tremendous satisfaction. As told to Prerna Kakkar Batch 16
Education in Marketing
uses falsehoods to deceive the public while ethical marcation and marketing are platforms for creativity and innovation. Education gives structure to thoughts and ideas making them a concrete and robust framework. Education, in the right sense, is combining knowledge from diverse fields to create new models or bring about radical changes in the existing ones for the growth of the society at large. Marketing gives firms the opportunity to creatively promote themselves as unique and value generating. Marketing is all about finding new techniques and channels to reach out to the customers. Finally, marketing in itself is educating customers about the firm, and its products and services. To sum up in the words of Robert G. Allen, No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you, trained to use your products more effectively, and taught how to make never-ending improvement in their lives. By Prerna Kakkar Batch 16
keting uses truth to deceive the public. Yet, both education and marketing are related and have many commonalities. The first important common characteristic between the two is that they are means of achieving differentiation. Education is the means by which people differentiate through the themselves degree of
Education is often equated to feelings of liberty and growth, whereas marketing is many a time equated to a campaign Vilhjalmur for generating profits as can be reflected in Stefanssons the humorous statement:
knowledge gained. Marketing is the means by which firms differentiate by their products imparting
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change stances and end up losing brand properties in the quest for change. Thankfully it was not the case with Raymonds. Using teacher as a model in its advertisements, the purpose of Raymonds becomes not only to entertain or catch
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Whats in a Name?
When one comes across names like golden sun, pepper yellow, monster green, mysterious red, what products are these associated with? Well these names and much more figure in the vocabulary ucts of marketers from icearound the globe for prodranging creams, paints, nail enamels and even food and beverages in dining places. This phenreby enhancing the probability of purchase decisions by consumers. This field, researched by Barbara Kahn and Elizabeth Miller, positively correlates surprising flavour or colour label and consumers response. These researchers classify the names as Common (i.e. typical and specific- light blue, dark brown), Common Descriptive (i.e. typical, specific- lemon yellow), Unexpected Descriptive (i.e. atypical, specific- Tweety know the name of the dish. The style of non-descriptive naming is however extending to the students art class colour box as well with Crayola boasting of 120 different colours in their crayon box. The fact that puzzles one the most is, how come the world is burgeoning with a plethora of colours suddenly and how to distinguish the different shades of the same colour. It is fortunate that one went to kindergarten when the crayon box was limited to 14 colours at most, else the mind-numbing names for crayons that exist today would be a reason enough to bunk school. Marketers in all industries are trying to differentiate their products with this ploy. Some of the sectors where this tactic is commonly seen are paints, cosmetics, restaurants. Women consumers do not hesitate in picking up the most absurd sounding nail paints like Moody Blue or Bitches Brew! Cafe Coffee Days menu boasts of innovative names like Devils Own, Cool Blue, Dark Passion that can boggle first timers at the place had they not been classified under the food or beverage categories that they belong to. BoxMaster, Toasted Twister, Zing Kong Box, Game Box, though may be hard to believe, are in fact the offerings of KFC in India. Since competition is huge, the marketers feel that any strategy that can differentiate their products from that of the competitors is worth giving a shot. However, whether this trend is scalable to all kinds of products cannot be guaranteed. Whether the Indian consumer Razzmatazz accept Rice or
The effectiveness of this concept is explained by the way human emotions work
yellow) and Ambiguous (i.e. atypical, unspecific- girly pink, adventurous red) and infer the reasons for human receptiveness to this phenomenon. The reason for such a correlation lies in the increased cognitive effort undertaken to process an atypical, ambiguous colour or flavour name that causes preference. This is not a recent development and often in restaurants consumers get fascinated by a dish being served to another table by the waiter and end up ordering it, oblivious to the fact that they may not
Glitterati Bread as easily as they can accept Manhattan Mania or Death by Chocolate ice creams flavors remains to be seen. The marketers should therefore tread with caution in naming necessity products or services like groceries, insurance products etc. lest the consumers may not have credibility in using the product.
omenon of coining unusual and non-descriptive names for products is a trend catching up as quickly as forest fire. The effectiveness of this concept is explained by the way human emotions work. Colour and flavour labels evoke positive emotions the-
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The consumer wants the products to be of reliable quality and long lasting irrespective of the frills and fancies of having an atypical name associated with it. The consumer of today is rational and may accept the
non-descriptive naming gimmick once but would definitely not indulge in repeat purchase if the product lacks quality. On the other hand, the consumers may be repelled by the fancy naming due to their conservative
nature seeking value products.Will the array of oranges and blues ranging from Outrageous Orange, Sunset Orange to Atomic Tangerine continue to cast their spell on the consumers or will the consumers make
a rational choice by affirming quality before making a purchase, only time will tell. By Malvika Kumar Batch 16
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differentiate them from others. This is a critical category on which Hero has to focus upon if it has to tap the western markets. In their TV campaigns they associate themselves with confident and hardworking people treated as underdogs who win at last. Its a master stroke as each and every person would have come across such situations in their life so they can associate themselves with this He-
ro campaign. Hum mein hai Hero which is a very good tag line that sends a strong message that how Hero celebrates its customers as a HERO. Also having a world class icon like A R Rahman as the brand ambassador boosts the brand image and also the reliability of the product. Hero has been a great success with the aging generations but now it has created a brand appeal in the hearts
of the younger generation as well by coming up with a new logo which symbolizes the youth of the country and gives a younger image to the company. But they have to strike a right balance in their campaigns to convince their aging generation customers that their brand is not going away from them, and their younger generation customers that their brand lives up to all the expectation of the market.
Hero is positioning its brand is a very impressive way to the people across ages. The new look, the new logo, the new style and the truly touching theme have already received a thumbs up from the masses. But its an initial stage as their brand architecture is not known completely and in a few weeks a big decision awaits them. By Abhinav.V & Abhishek Ghai Batch 17
Niche Marketing
marketers. In niche marketing efforts are concentrated pond. What does an attractive The customers have a distinct set of needs. They will pay a premium to the firm that best satisfies them. The niche is fairly small but has size, profit, and growth potential and is unlikely to attract many other companies. Examples of niche marketing in India: Revolution clothing Pvt. Ltd. When every company in India was classifying the womens clothing into L,XL, and XXL sizes, it was Revolution clothing Pvt. Ltd. That pioneered the con-
on a small but specific and well defined segment of the population. Niches do not 'exist' but are 'created' by identifying needs, wants, and requirements that are being addressed poorly or not at all by other firms, and developing and delivering goods or services to satisfy them. As a strategy, niche marketing is aimed at being a big fish in a small pond instead of being a small fish in a big
niche looks like? Market niches can be geographic areas, a specialty industry, ethnic or age groups, or any other particular group of people. Sometimes a niche product can be a variation of a common product that is not produced and marketed by the main marketing firms. But in the core every market niche has following characteristics:
The word niche comes from a French word that means to nest. Niche marketing is target-ing a product or service to a small portion of a market that is not being readily served by the mainstream product or service
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cept of plus-sized fashion in India. The idea not only forced the established players to follow suit, but also help Revolution notch up millions in revenues. Crack an ointment from Paras Pharmaceuticals is primarily targeted at the female segment for prevention and treat-
ment of cracks in the feet that develop due to inadequate and care. Itchguard, another product from Paras Pharmaceuticals focuses on the niche requirement oftreating itching sensation caused by perspiration during summer. protection
Several television channels today are niche focused, and spirituality. such as Aastha in India , and QTV in Pakistan, that focuses on religion In todays globalized cut throat competitive market where the companies are fighting for a larger share of the pie, a little innovation and creativity to segment a niche market from a big
market can help a company or an entrepreneur to earn profit as well as to establish themselves in the market. Because in the end in this corporate jungle, one who understand of survival. By Abhishek Thakur Batch 16 the customers well, has the better chances
counted for 20-50% of all sales in their product categories in individual countries. In June 2008, Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International estimated that over 7.5 million producers and their families were benefiting from Fair Trade funded infrastructure, technical assistance and community development projects.
Over 7.5 million producers and their families were benefiting from Fair Trade
facilitate the work of Fair Trade organizations. The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), The European Fair Trade Association W o r ld s ho p s and The Fair (EFTA), The Network of E u ro p e a n (NEWS!),
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(FTF), and The Fair Trade Action Network are the international federations to which the Fair Trade organizations are affiliated. Fair Trade movement in India International Resources for Fairer Trade, India (IRFT) is a non-profit organisation registered as a Public Charitable Trust under the Bombay Public Charitable
as their core values. IRFT works with both ends of the supply chain by representing the producer as well as the consumer. IRFT participates in the market economy and works closely with farmers and artisans to develop in them the skills to sell their products. Thus giving them access to a sustainable and stable livelihood. Through its approach to ethical standards in factories and farms that represent producers, IRFT conducts ethical au-
long-term Training.
process
Steering all efforts to mainstream Fair Trade in India and help further build partnerships of a wider fraternity in the larger interests of a unified, credible Fair Trade movement in India and beyond. Developing Communication strategies different to address forums/ buy, bordering on a fad or whim, but a long-term commitment to Fair Trade products. Continuously evolve simple acceptable and credible messaging to ensure a common man understanding of Fairness in Trade and what it represents and how it affects his decision to make a change in buying. IRFT wants to ensure that its Community Business Programme (CBP) and Ethical Business Programme (EBP) will be woven into the Fair Trade principles and its propagation at every step of the way, thereby addressing wider areas of awareness, through each of their stakeholders. Working harmoniously organizations with to
events/fraternity meets on Fair Trade, working in partnership with Fair Trade networks like FTF-I, and its partners as a Group/Body, unified as Fair Trade change agents. Taking a lead role in Fair Trade awareness at all forums and representing all Fair Trade partners, equally and fairly in the interest of a unified Fair Trade India. movement IRFT in assumes
dits, provides code of conduct training and verifier training on remediation and continuous improvement; which are a few of its sources of income . Some of their leading brand partners are Levis Strauss, Nike, Marks and Spencer, Reebok and Burberry. The objectives of IRFT Playing a stewardship role in propagating the principles of Fair Trade. Promoting the principles of Fair Trade among all stakeholders along the supply chain through Capacity Building and
Trust Act. It was founded by Kirit Dave and Jan Simmonds in October 1995. IRFT gives farmers and artisans access to mainstream markets worldwide, by partnering wi t h (in W.F.T.Organizations
responsibility for creating plausible messaging with conviction, aimed at consumers to ensure that Fair Trade buying is not just an emotional
U.K., U.S.A., Netherlands & Germany). Large corporates are encouraged to inculcate social responsibility and ethical working
funding
ensure clear cut roles, responsibilities and deliveries as committed and meet deadlines set by the projects.
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European Union for the project and it will start by mid 2012. The specific objective of the Pro-Sustain project is to create a consumer market for Fair Trade products in India that measurably contributes Pro-Sustain, is an initiative by Hivos (Netherlands), IRFT India, FTF-I, and associate Shop For Change to contribute to building environmentally sustainable production and consumption that helps reduce poverty amongst poor farmers and handicraft producers in India. Pro-Sustain has received a three-year grant from the to the improvement of rural livelihoods and provides farmers and artisans with the resources necessary to follow environmentally sustainable tices. Following on the premise laid out in the rationale for the overall objective, the project is built on the belief that the market forces, which have in many cases excluded production prac-
the needs of poor farmers and handicraft artisans, can actually be harnessed to create inclusive growth and environmentally sustainable production by creating consumer demand for sustainably produced, Fair Trade products. How should IRFT go about Questions How can IRFT create its PRO-SUSTAIN initiative and create a market for FAIR TRADE products in India? Source: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/International sources for Fairer written by Aditya Jain, Batch 16. ReTrade
awareness among the masses about the concept of FAIR TRADE? (Given that it has an annual budget of mar keting ` 5,00,000
5) Appy Fizz is a brand of which company? 6) What do the four rings of Audi signify? 7) Name another mascot that 7up used except for Fido.
8) Zapak.com is a subsidiary of which entertainment company? 9) Name the country which gave world. 10) Expand FIAT, the Italian auto maker. Adidas to the
he
wrote
in
Team MarkXime Varun Aggarwal (President) Bithal Anshuman (Core Club Member) Gurdeepak Singh Juttla (Core Club Member) Sonam Sharma (Core Club Member)
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