Get your taxi receipt via cell phone SMS in Hyderabad, India – Happy 2011 !

In Hyderabad, India we had gone to see the great sound and light show at Golconda fort and needed to hire a cab which brings me to what turns out to an amazing “Happy New Year 2011” glimpse of on the ground cell phone technology application and adoption in India.

I called two cab companies – just to compare rates and called back the better deal to finalize the cab. Very politely I was asked my cell phone (mobile) no. No one considers giving out their cell phone number as an “invasion of privacy” – given the ubiquitous nature of cell phone adoption. 

We assumed that the driver would call when he arrived. But I got more :  a prompt SMS text message arrived to outline the basic rental deal  in about 3-4 lines of text. Then the cab driver called and again called to announce that he was waiting outside at  the agreed time  (4 pm). The same was also texted to me. This repeated confirmations and re-confirmations gave me the sense that the cab company perhaps wants to avoid customer dissatisfaction and arguments. After all,cab driver arguments are a global phenomenon and the very low cost of cell phones really makes it worthwhile for the cab company to re-confirm stuff.

Anyway after a great evening where had to just call the waiting cab driver to get picked up from the rather crowded street infront of the Golconda Fort, we  returned back. When we started the driver had shown me the digital meter that kept track of time in minutes and distance in kilometers, Now we paid the driver and upon asking for a receipt the cab driver had a slightly surprised look but anyway gave us a printout right from the taxi-cab. Just then I heard a beep from my cell phone….

One of the highlight events of 2010 was happening as I  looked at the text message. The cab receipt was an SMS. When I congratulated the cab driver Mr Chenna Reddy with a genuine “wow” he gave me what I suspected to be a sympathetic smile communicating “which planet are you from?” ….

The great moment was not only getting that receipt by SMS but the nonchalance of the cab driver to this major tech leap in Hyderabad,India.

Wish a Very Happy New Year 2011 to blog readers !

Why are Tata Nano sales down in India? Re-positioning needed as lower middle class do not want to be seen as “Cheapskates”

// <![CDATA[
// &lt;![CDATA[
// &amp;lt;![CDATA[
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push([&amp;#39;_setAccount&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;UA-857684-6&amp;#39;]);
_gaq.push([&amp;#39;_trackPageview&amp;#39;]);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement(&amp;#39;script&amp;#39;); ga.type = &amp;#39;text/javascript&amp;#39;; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (&amp;#39;https:&amp;#39; == document.location.protocol ? &amp;#39;https://ssl&amp;#39; : &amp;#39;http://www&amp;#39;) + &amp;#39;.google-analytics.com/ga.js&amp;#39;;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(&amp;#39;script&amp;#39;)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
// ]]&amp;gt;
// ]]&gt;
// ]]>

Tata Nano initial sales are down in India and one reason is positioning. Meant to convert 2 wheeler (scooter, motorcycle) owning families the car is positioned as what it is- the “world’s cheapest car.”

The problem is that even the target market lower middle class does not want to be seen as a “Cheapskates” in their own milieu. This is a culture where those with non-air-conditioned cars prefer to sweat it out in summer as neighbors watch rolled up windows and enviously assume that the Indian version of “Joneses” have moved up ! The family car is a highly visible thing, particularly in tightly packed urban neighborhoods. Here some people have pricier cars and a new Nano needs to be seen as a step up through better marketing and positioning.

Who would have thought that the Tata Nano would need marketing in a booming India? Well it does…

Wikileaks is the third cusp in the information age- nothing is confidential and execution is the critical skill!

// <![CDATA[
// &lt;![CDATA[
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-857684-6']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl&#039; : 'http://www&#039;) + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
// ]]&gt;
// ]]>

With Wikileaks we are at the third cusp of the information age (with Google and search being the first and large social networks like Facebook the second).

Imagine that you could look at every document you wanted on the Internet via some sort of Wikileaks. These include your customers’ internal data, suppliers’ data and competitor data. Not impossible in today’s post-Wikileak world, nothing is confidential. Just like every game changing innovation like from horse carriage to auto, from mail to telegraph to email and so on Wikileaks changes a fundamental presumption of “information asymmetry” in strategy. Let’s say everyone in a value chain had access to all information. What would remain as a competitive skill?

It would be the ability to deliver or execute. The organizational ability to deliver or execute sounds boring but is the only critical skill in a post Wikileaks world.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in India soon after Sarkozy of France as both economies surge after 2000 years

// <![CDATA[
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-857684-6']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl&#039; : 'http://www&#039;) + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
// ]]>

Leading a team of 400 Chinese businesspeople the popular "people's premier" Wen Jiabao  is in India for 3 days starting today. This is soon after a visit by President Sarkozy and Carla Bruni of France.  But between the US Obama,French Sarkozy and Chinese Jiabao visits the Chinese visit is without much hoopla but serious business is expected to result.

With both the Chinese and Indian economies growing fast both countries need to work together. There is a lack of trust between the two countries that goes back only to the mid – twentieth century. Both countries realize that they are neighbors and can't really change that. So China is looking for access to the Indian financial services sector while India is looking for access to the Chinese pharmaceutical and software markets.

Indians love Chinese food and have their own Indo-Chinese version. There are large Chinese communities (Chinatowns) in different major cities in India who feel welcomed. Many manufactured goods in India come from China and the people-to-people link is good. It is expected that Wen Jiabao's India visit will further the goodwill between the two peoples apart from strengthening business links.

The Jiabao visit is also the first time in two thousand years (since the time of Buddha) that sees both India and China prospering and becoming leading economies in the world.

 

Delivering cell phones to a billion customers- the doorman doubles as front receptionist

// <![CDATA[
// &lt;![CDATA[
// &amp;lt;![CDATA[
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push([&amp;#39;_setAccount&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;UA-857684-6&amp;#39;]);
_gaq.push([&amp;#39;_trackPageview&amp;#39;]);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement(&amp;#39;script&amp;#39;); ga.type = &amp;#39;text/javascript&amp;#39;; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (&amp;#39;https:&amp;#39; == document.location.protocol ? &amp;#39;https://ssl&amp;#39; : &amp;#39;http://www&amp;#39;) + &amp;#39;.google-analytics.com/ga.js&amp;#39;;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(&amp;#39;script&amp;#39;)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
// ]]&amp;gt;
// ]]&gt;
// ]]>

When you are trying to serve a billion customers your wireless retail model needs to change. And that is what I found as I was getting my laptop wireless connect USB stick activated in India. In the US unless there is an iPhone4 getting launched there are very few customers at the cell phone store. But in India, despite several strong wireless players in the market there  could be 20 people on an average waiting to sort out issues ranging from plan questions to billing issues which seems to be as mysterious for the consumer as in other world markets.

I walked in to the store with my laptop hoping to get the thing connected immediately but was quickly stopped by a businesslike doorman in uniform who had a high tech console on the wall. I had to answer a set of rapid questions and the doorman went on punching some buttons on the console to log the purpose of my visit. Since the doorman seemed more on top of  customer issues and FAQ's (he was unfazed at my laptop connect card request) than the usual call center person, I meekly took the printout he handed me with my wait number and issues mentioned. Soon thereafter, my number was called and everything went smoothly. The laptop connection would need a physical address verification in keeping with India's efforts at security and would start up within 48 hours and it actually did.

The doubling of the doorman as initial receptionist sort of amazed me because here is an individual who is normally not put on marketing and customer facing tasks. But I guess if you have to deal with a billion customers – you need all hands on deck!

Jobless rate in US climbs by 0.2 % and the DOW climbs by almost same rate!

Today (December 2010) as the US jobless rate climbed by 0.2% to a dismal 9.8% the stock market actually went up by 0.17% which when rounded is a 0.2% rise!

Experts on the stock market say that the market believes that the Government actions will increase as will be the bipartisan moves in the US to fix things. Today at a business group holiday party I found the mood better (is it the holidays?) despite the slight uptick in the unemployment rate. Everyone seems to realize that more action is needed and not just by the Government or legislature but by individuals. Everyone needs to take action and the sense of urgency is palpable in the US.

Employers and potential employees are both taking steps forward. These are baby steps but these are  steps in the right direction. In the genre of good news is the November report from ISM which reports the PMI  at 56.6%  indicating a 16th straight month of manufacturing growth and 19th month of economic growth.

2011 should be a year that will see US unemployment coming down.

About StratoServe.

Internet “do not track” FTC policy is great for consumers and great for marketing

As  this blog reported earlier (this post from December 2010)- it is spooky when ads follow you around on the Internet. Imagine  if you changed TV channels and ads followed you around the channels! Seen in  this context the FTC ‘do not track” proposal is really welcome. The consumer privacy at stake here is just huge as is the stake of the entire field of marketing research.

Marketing research in the consumer media behavior context tries to predict viewing behaviors based on samples and statistics. Statistics exists because you could not  economically track media consumption behavior of the entire population in a target market. Let’s say that you wanted to track the TV media behavior of all toothpaste buyers.  In doing so a population study would involve recruiting and paying an entire “population” of all  toothpaste buyers. Even covering a small geography of the market would involve huge expenditure- just to track the TV media behavior.

Now consder the same market and and how the  Internet  can now track visits to any dental, white teeth, oral hygeine and related websites. A toothpaste ad just follows consumers around the Internet as they go to a few toothpaste related websites and then anywhere else they go to on the web after they meet some initial qualifying criteria ( like visited 3 websites related to toothpaste in the last one week).

You really don’t need marketing research and statistics over a random sample or paid panel because you are tracking the entire target market population- for free !  Market research and statistics are  not as perfect as tracking software but they do protect  consumer privacy.

About StratoServe.

Pfeffer on power in organizations- the”just world” hypothesis in B2B and Supply Chains

Jeffrey Pfeffer has a new book (2010) out on Power  and you tend to listen to Pfeffer given his huge eminence in the field of power in organizations. This blog’s  interest in Pfeffer really goes back to how power works in B2B,Distribution Channels and Supply Chain relationships.In this latest book, the most fascinating point to me was the “just world” hypothesis. We tend to believe that if you do your job well, are fair in your dealings – the system will take care of you- and you’ll be all right i.e. you’ll get promoted, keep getting business or supplies  etc. etc.

Pfeffer argues that this “just world” hypothesis is simply wrong. But let us consider what this means first for the B2B marketer and then the buy side Supply Chain manager in these two scenarios:

  • A B2B marketer may be just doing a great job- great quality,great price, on time delivery when one day he/she receives the thunderbolt news that the whole assembly will be sourced from China/Mexico  for the usual low cost reasons. Doing a great and reliable job was simply not enough – perhaps some heads up on the client’s plans might have allowed the marketer to at least try and set up a joint venture in China/Mexico. So did the marketer expect a “just world” heads up from the buyer ? Perhaps, but even the buyer did not know till last week ! If only the marketer firm developed the JV enquiry from China last year…
  • The supply chain side seems powerful in the US during a slow economy for US suppliers. Not necessarily for example  when the supply chain manager is completely blindsided by a strike in the sole (only) suppliers factory. Should the marketer have told the supply manager ahead of time? Perhaps the  salesperson,being on the road did not know that the union negotiations  at the factory was  breaking down. If only the supply chain manager had revved up the second supplier in time….

Both the above scenarios have one party trusting the “just world.”  So how would you resolve the B2B “just world” false hypotheses problem?  Probably you need to be more proactive, watch the world around you and address potential issues well before they become a real problem.

In other words try to shape the “just world” from your point of view in the B2B or Supply Chain!

About StratoServe.

WikiLeaks on Cyber Monday – adding value when all information is available

The latest round of WikiLeaks on Cyber Monday (November 2010) is ironic. Cyber Monday got its name from early days of the Internet when folks would go to work on the weekend after Thanksgiving and use the high speed office broadband for Internet shopping for Christmas and the holidays.Now the Cyber Monday deals start on Sunday night,and in any case, since most people have broadband at home no one really shops from the office computer.

As earlier mentioned on this blog it is the scalable nature of digital information on the Internet that allows this huge quarter million documents to be actually be put out. In fact, perhaps all this material did not have paper copies to begin with.

Now that we live in a world where all information and opinions may be available and searchable online we need to reassess the value we bring to our professions. This value is not information but the ability of combining it to highly relevant knowledge that adds value  to the next point in your value chain.

Merely being “diplomatic” as diplomats is sort of difficult if what you really think is put out on the web !   And so it goes for all professions from  teachers  (materials are available on the web- so what value does the teacher bring to the student?),doctors (patients read up all kinds of unnecessary medical stuff before coming in to see the doctor- so what is the doctor’s value add? ), marketers (customers read all kinds of reviews – does  your value add service  come out supporting the positive reviews?),     supply chain managers  (suppliers grade their customers  from information available on the web- so if the supplier deals with you will they give your organization the “prefered customer” status?).

Something to reflect on this Cyber Monday as you evaluate and weigh many  alternative purchase options for the same product on the web.

About StratoServe.

Americans put security first: ignore “opt-out” protest to celebrate Thanksgiving

From the water cooler to late night comedy there was great hoopla around the privacy invading enhanced pat-downs at US airports.  A  civil disobedience movement “opt-out day” was launched which would involve mass “opt-out” from the invasive security checks today the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day in the US.

Initial reports suggest that the US traveller does care more for security and less for privacy. Some credit for this public response should go to the TSA and the excellent “on message” job done by its head John Pistole. Mr Pistole apologized for mistakes but stayed on message on the purpose of the pat-downs and despite intense media scrutiny  remained polite but firm.

Happily the public responded and folks prefered to reach the airport ahead of time and it seems that the public has chosen to “opt-in” according to the TSA blog. In a matter of days the public has co-operated with invasive security pat-downs  that no one likes or wants but which is necessary for ensuring passenger safety. Wish all readers a Happy Thanksgiving!

About StratoServe.