Organic Sales v/s Modern Syntheticisms

Some Scots catch their fish by hand. They wiggle their fingers slowly in the ice-cold water until a fish gets inquisitive and thereby closer. It then enjoys a gentle (read sadistic) massage on its belly and before it could even feel things well, plop! A Quick scoop out of the water and into the basket.Charlie Murphy described it as a "sensuous and extraordinary technique for catching fish that involves hypnotic predation by seduction." I love this technique, the Scottish rendition of Halal.

It is a beautiful technique that bears scary resemblance to the sales technique in the so-called ultra-premium lifestyle retail concept. Its interesting how subliminally persuasive salesmanship can actually corner the consumer at range point-blank, and without the use of any obvious force (mental or physical) create a buyer out of an otherwise casual window shopper. Think of it, how many times have you entered a store and bought something awful just to compliment the beautiful smile of the sales-woman? How many times have you been compelled into buying a product by the mere act of having browsed through the store looking for something interesting? How many times have you ordered for that least-expensive espresso on the menu while waiting for your friend at the café ?

What is it that gets people to make that million-dollar decision –whether or not to buy ? I do not even know if the floor executives of most branded stores have been trained to execute these clairvoyant assassin techniques or are it the nature of the job that forces us to buy. Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that many of us buy for reasons unknown and slightly discomforting. It is not just the human element that gets into the hospitality mode, the setting, furniture, lights, sound, the display, and the plush trial rooms everything silently conspires the flattery that most of us fall for and then the decision to be made is only about which one of the selected. The fundamental is forgotten and we start to operate on the tomorrow-the-apocalypse/on-my-way-to-be-Bill-Gates mode. Our rational brain has been assassinated cleverly by the seductive luxuries one can experience (but never take away).

Yes, thanks to the internet, we now know that most of these techniques were intentionally planted to do just what they did to you. The color of the store, the music being played, the mechanical smiles and “sir and madam”s, everything is there to play a specific individual role in a collective responsibility.

But is this the right way to sell?

Would you want a “billed” customer with a bad after taste or an “unbilled” window shopper with an aspiration still alive in him. Instant gratification is the mantra of this fast world. We would like everything to happen just as it is being dreamt of. There is absolutely no space or the time for the techniques developing organic relationships. We have developed a more “competitive, potent and durable” mutant. Synthetic feelings can be injected via unimaginable channels without even making the patient (read consumer) feel like he’s just been poked.

It is a nice way of conducting business indeed, lot of science employed and heroic formulae drawn to conjure up the magic consumption-inducing potion. It certainly makes all of us feel good.

But, for how long? Is the question.

Black suits and Shiny Shoes !

We do chat, We do mail

We do all on the move …

We’re the Blackberry boys

Oh yeah ! ...

I like the new Blackberry commercial for more reasons than one. It is fresh, entertaining and compelling. For once, it has found a seemingly perfect blend of elements that make a good Ad. There is the humor underlined with a strong message, there is visual chaos unified by uniformities of music, there is action throughout which maintains a healthy engagement with consumers. Above all, it is the take-away for a consumer that does the entire metabolism – The music. Agreed that there are plenty of commercials that have given us memorable tunes, but this one stands out quite confidently with the quintessential Vodafone touch. But is it a good strategy to stand up and be loud disregarding the consumer-attributed conventionality to the product?

Blackberry, although quite unintentionally, grew up to build a “professional” aura around it. Its architecture, embedded features and the whole user experience was, to put it bluntly, monotonous in a world that was increasingly looking towards innovative technology that catered to our fancies. This was a no-frills phone in a sense that it catered to the basic needs of its user-base. More like if-you-want-music-buy-an-iPod kind of a philosophy. Hence, its popularity was limited to the ever-concerned, “Black-suit and shiny shoes” corporate honchos. They were not playful and did not have the time to experience the luxury of features that other phones provided. At least the conversations of common man conveyed such perceptions about the product.

Shattering all such conventions surrounding the product, this Ad was refreshing .Refreshing because the message was crisp and brilliantly executed. It endeared a whole new segment of consumers and at the same time made sure not to estrange its existing users. A conscious effort to dispel myths around the phone that this was, it played out the intelligent card of brotherhood. It was very important for someone to break the ice and shout it loud and clear - Why stereotype people or products? This almost brahminical image built around “professional” is so outdated. The new age corporate is young, trendy and uber-cool.

Another thing I found extremely interesting about the Ad is the confidence with which the Young guns enter the screen space. Although the “Black-suits and shiny shoes” seemed perturbed, it really didn’t bother the new entrants. They came in, all of them, bringing their own moods and colors into the space and not for a second intending to intimidate the ruling party. At the end it was a good ecosystem where everyone found their reason for their Blackberry.

The campaign is also an interesting extension of the widely quoted “Blue-Ocean strategy” where the value innovation was in identifying a whole new customer base. Re-engineer the product slightly to fit the needs of these new consumers (which in this case was cost consciousness) and reinvent it for their convenience. I think this could do for Blackberry what Air Deccan did for Aviation or 1100 did for Nokia.

Indeed, you don’t need to do things differently as long as you can find ways of doing them differently !

Of Indians and their Miss-Calls.....

India specializes in "Indianizing" its imported alien habits. We are a tradition most hospitable to newer cultures and social habits, but everything passes through the make-it-for-India shower that renders a quintessential Indian flavor to the whole experience of the import. So, we have conveniently and quite unapologetically "indianized" the infusion-based tea drinking habits of Englishmen to our own desi version of boil-to-broth ceremonial slurps. Another import – Nightie-the-night-gown has comfortably found space in wardrobes of Indian women, only difference is that it has now been ripped off its post-sunset and bedtime exclusivity and reinvented as the household uniform (occasionally slipping out for a buy at the market). It wonderful how we competitive we are at finding appropriate and befitting usage for anything that comes in and I haven’t yet spoken about our classical Chettinad Pizza or even the alleged “Chinese” dishes of the Indian cuisine.

What is most remarkable about the Indian mindset is that our operational framework is infinitely accommodative of newer inclusions but at the same time is intricately choreographed by an underpinning Indian way of thinking about and working with these things. In most cases, this reflects the kind of culture we have grown up in and speaks of the strong value system that is embedded within our subconscious. Now, to understand where we derive these values from requires a rather complex socio-politico-economic analysis of the Indian society and is an entirely different ballgame altogether. But the objective of this essay is to highlight some of such syndromes and for reasons understood, I would stick to my o

bjective.

One wonderful trait that, in my belief, qualifies to be India’s greatest gift to the world of mobile telephony is our home-grown conservationist communication solution of “Missed Calls”. For chauvinistic reasons, I would take the liberty of calling it “The Great Indian ‘Miss.Calls’ ”. More often than not you would find the Indian child advised to give his parents a “miss-call” once he reaches where he set out for. If you’re heading to pick someone up for dinner, in the Indian context, you would most likely give a “miss-call” once you reach their place. The barber gives a “miss-call” to his next door chaiwallah to place an order for his daily dose of post-meal tea. The ‘istriwallah’ is just a “miss-call” away.

“Miss-Call” is Indian for what we know as “missed calls” in the mobility lingo. There are certain fundamental differences though. For instance, in the non-Indian parts of the world, missed calls are chance-based. One just happens to miss a call for a variety of reasons. But in the Indian context “miss-calls” are choice-driven. One intends to “give” a “miss-call” for some pre-

decided reason. The result – intention has efficiently been conveyed. Missed calls are past tenses while “miss-calls” are present or as in some cases even future tenses. Miss-calls unlike their non-Indian sibling are source (caller) centric. The receiver does not have much to do here and sometimes could be expected to disconnect the call.

Now, there are two important types of “miss-calling” in India. The first one is more of a message delivery service system. This is a monologue whose sole purpose is to convey a message (content pre-decided). For instance, your friend says “Give me a miss-call when you leave home, Ill leave accordingly”. Monologue miss-calls are often a one-time message or questions with the interlocutor playing no active role in the conversation. Rather this isn’t a conversation at all.

On the other hand, the conversationalist dialogue miss-calls are mostly questions with a binary set of answers. This type of miss-calling accommodates for the receiver’s answer as well. For instance, you can give a miss-call when you reach a friend’s place and if he actively disconnects the call it means you head upstairs to see him/her(mind you – not many of us have voice mails activated. So this is still a free service). Passivity implies that they are heading downstairs. The rules of this conversation are pre-decided. One makes it clear as to what means what before indulging in the conversation.

I am reminded of a funny incident narrated by a friend who runs an Indian restaurant in Edinburgh. His Chef, who was to arrive in the city from India, was making his first trip outside country and did not have a local (UK) number. Fortunately (or unfortunately) he arrived in Edinburgh an hour in advance and wanted to phone his employer to convey his arrival. He frantically went around the airport asking the suspicious Scots if he could borrow their cellphone and give a miss-call to his boss. Naturally, no one obliged. I think no one even understood what he was trying to say and his Indian mannerisms made things worse ! When the boss finally arrived, the chef was in full mind to head back home as he found the people rude and unhelpful which wasn’t actually the case !

We still have great laugh thinking about the incident. !

Innovations and adaptations are always driven either by necessities or by embedded-in-subconscious mentalities. So, what is it that drove Indians to innovate this new way of exploiting the technology. Or should I say – Making better use of it? It is a rather complex question that has several answers but the most evident and contributing of them all comes from a fundamental principle of Indian culture – Conservation. Indians are a conservationist race. Be it our habit of preserving plastic water bottles for “that fateful day in future when the bottle could be a matter of life and death” or our penchant for repairing our dead and broken mobile television set. Nothing goes out of the Indian household without going through the rigorous filtration process and in most cases there is no distillate. We would have found appropriate place for every broken plastic in our households. Although this might come across as a provokingly humorous take on Indian way of living, it is most certainly not what I Intend. On the contrary, I think this is one of the most efficient lifestyle ideology.

Indians are perhaps the most organic of beings. Our household vegetable discards are promptly placed outside on the street where a holy cow would feast on it happily. The previous nights Dal is mixed with some rice and flour to turn it into a sumptuous “pudi” for next-day’s breakfast. Old television sets, nevermind their state of utter uselessness, would always find a buyer and take-away plastic boxes of fancy restaurants would always find space on the kitchen shelves. Unconsciously, we are contributing to a greener tomorrow. There is a ubiquitous sense of eco-friendliness that exists in our acts.

What does a simple miss-call have to tell about us? It speaks of our respect for technology and our strong desire to hold control over its usage.Mind over matter, they say. We wouldn’t earn a double-digit growth by saving meager pennies on our telephone calls and nor do we intend to do so. It is just that we have learnt to live in a need-based consumption space. We do not necessitate spending that can otherwise be avoided.

Our ingenuity with finding cost-effective solutions does not speak just of our intelligence. To me it symbolizes a rather innocent and foolish ignorance. Stay Hungry and Stay Foolish, someone said. It is that foolishness that I am talking about !

PS : Give me a “Miss-Call” if you liked what you read