Consumer Insight # 4 : Fish Rots From The Tail

There is a book titled " Fish Rots from the Head ", written by Bob Garratt, talks about the role of Board of Directors and the crisis in the boardroom. As the title of the book indicates, Bob feels that the decay of the company often starts with the passive attitude of the Board of Directors.


But I have a different opinion.

Yesterday I went to my bank which is India's largest private sector bank. I have limited my visits to the bank owing to the horrendous customer experience and has been relying on the passive but decent ATMs.

I have been banking with this bank for last five years and I must say that none of the officials including the Branch manager whom I have interacted during the opening of account works here now. It seems that people here changes every week.

I would say that its a clear sign of decay and decay starts with the tail . If Board of Directors are Head, then the front office ( customer service) will be the tail isn't it ?

In a classic article titled " Best Face Forward " in HBR December 2004, the authors Rayport & Jawroski clearly states that in this competitive world, customer service or rather customer experience is the only available competitive advantage.

But we can see that many companies turning a blind spot when it comes to customer service. Your company loses its competitive advantage the moment you outsource customer service. Firms spent lot of money bringing the customer to the company. But when the customer reaches out to the company, it gives a raw deal.

Why do companies do this kind of basic business stupidity ? There is only one reason - cost.

Customer service is a costly business. Its costly because it involves people. And most businesses look at human resource as a cost center . So for a business , it makes perfect sense to avail cheap labor through outsourcing its customer service. If China offers a cheap customer call center service, I bet most of the Indian companies will outsource from China.

So firms reduce the number of their customer service staffs . The existing staffs are given double workload. Often these guys forget how to smile . These people are under severe emotional labor. They have to give their best face forward irrespective of their emotional situation. These guys/gals may have their personal/professional problems but cannot afford to show it to the consumer. So their stress level will be equal or higher than those in the sales field.

How many companies are sensitive to these issues ? To add to this issue, some firms give sales target to the customer service executives.

But for a customer, what is lost is the experience . In most of the new generation banks , customers are just numbers. In a rush to reduce the human interaction ( which is costly) companies invest in technology believing that technology can replace human interaction.

Its true that when comparing to rude staff, machines are better . But not always.

What the companies need is a judicious mix of people and technology. We are forgetting that we are living in an experiential economy. Customers - whether small or big, are looking for experience especially in the service sector.

When the market is growing, all these customer service issues are set aside . Firms look at break-neck growth . The key focus is customer acquisition. But market does not grow indefinitely. At some point of time, growth will stop and what you have will be the existing customers whom you have forgotten.

When you go back to these customers who was given a raw deal, you get back what you have given them.

Brand Update : Yamaha

In an interview with CNBC TV18, Rajiv Bajaj was asked about competition. His reply was he get jitters with the new launch of Yamaha R15. What Pulsar done to the motorcycles, R15 may repeat it.

I did not believe that statement. I viewed the launch of R15 with cynicism because of the price tag.

Can anyone think of buying a bike for Rs 100,000..

But a conversation with my journalist friend who handles the automobile-column in a leading newspaper changed my perception. According to him, R-15 is selling like hotcakes.

In my last post on the brand Yamaha, I had suggested that the brand needs was a statement. And it did make a statement with R15

R 15 is a stunner interms of looks. Auto reviews say that it doesn't disappoint interms of the performance.

More than that ,Yamaha got the timing correct. The market was evolving and there was a need for a motorcycle which made a statement. Two factors paved the way for the wide acceptance of R 15.

First was the emergence of a new set of customers who wanted a bike and was willing to pay the price to look different. R15 gave that fillip to this segment. These guys liked fast bikes and wanted something that suited the Indian conditions.

Second was the dealer support. Price wars among the bike marketers had significantly eroded the margins. R15 gave the dealers their required margin and they gave enough support for this bike.

Pulsar was too popular to be exclusive so the bike had to be exclusive and the higher price ensured that not everyone could afford this bike.

Whether R 15 will deliver volumes or not, it has given a new lease of life to Yamaha. The brand which was once an icon now have a chance to regain its lost status.

Related Post
Yamaha

Himalaya Herbals : Himalaya First

Corporate brand : Himalaya
Agency : Meridian

Brand Analysis Count : 348

Himalaya is a leading player in the highly fragmented Indian ayurvedic industry. Himalaya was born in 1930. The founder of this group is Mr M Minal who sighted an opportunity in tapping the abundant ayurvedic resources available in our country.

The branded ayurvedic OTC drugs market in India is worth around Rs 19000 crores. But much of these is being shared by many localized players .
Himalaya is famous for its liver supplement brand Liv.52. This brand is promoted through the ethical route and at one point it was the third best selling drug in Indian market.

Himalaya shot into limelight with the high profile launch of its OTC brand Ayurvedic Concepts. Ayurvedic Concepts was launched in 1999. The brand was launched with much hype and was successful in getting the initial mindshare.

Ayurvedic Concepts was promoted by heavy load of television commercials featuring an English speaking Dadima ( old lady). But then the brand did the unthinkable. After spending a truck load of money in promoting Ayurvedic Concepts, the company decided to create another Umbrella Brand . Thus corporate name Himalaya became the umbrella brand and Ayurvedic Concept brand was killed in the process.

I think its the dilemma faced by most of the Ayurvedic drug marketers. The sheer size of the brand portfolio makes it impossible for a marketer to think about individual brands. Most of the ayurvedic medicine marketers have an ethical line of products that they sell through prescriptions. Then they have another line of OTC products. Again the complexity of ayurvedic treatments makes the number of medicines in the list very large.

So the challenge is more than marketing. Firstly the company has to provide a full range of products. Otherwise the doctors will not support the company. Secondly it has to find the resources to support the OTC venture. So in a way , allocation of marketing resources becomes a complex decision process. So the company decision for a unified brand identity is logical but the lesson learned was little costly.

In an interview in Express pharma online, the company CEO Mr Raviprasad cites an important consumer behavior regarding the purchase of Himalaya products. According to him. customers of this brand first will have a single positive experience and then he moves to other products from the brand.

That means that a customer will try out Himalaya product because of some urgency/prescription or referral and out of that experience, he will try other products.

This insight has prompted the company to launch a campaign Himalaya First . The campaign was intended to bring in the first time users to the brand.

Himalaya is also credited with its initiative to launch the first ayurvedic boutique shops for the brand. I was amused when I first saw an exclusive Himalaya store in my city. I wondered whether it makes sense to launch an exclusive branded shop for an ayurvedic brand.

I personally feel that Himalaya thinks a little ahead of times. Perhaps the brand wanted to be a Body Shop in the wellness segment. The company has opened more than 225 stores across India.

But the task is to make the customers to use these wellness products. The brand should be thinking about tapping some celebrities to attract the consumers. The key is to link Himalaya brand to wellness. Even today, consumer associate ayurveda with remedial action rather than as preventive solutions. The task is to make the consumer use this products as a preventive solution that will provide wellness. Someone like Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan can give a heavy boost to this brand.

Western Union Money Transfer : Money and More

Corporate Brand : Western Union
Company : First Data Corporation

Brand Analysis Count : 347

Western Union Money Transfer is world's largest money transfer company . The company has its operation in over 200 countries . Western Union has a rich tradition of over 150 years.

Western Union came into existence in 1851 as Newyork & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph company. As the name suggests, the company was in the telegraph business. In 1856 the company changed its name to Western Union .

Western Union started its money transfer business only in 1871. It was only in 198o that the company's revenue from money transfer exceeded revenue from telegraph business.

Western Union is a pioneer in introducing many firsts . It was the company that invented Stock Ticker. Western Union also invented the electronic money transfer and in 1914 the company invented the credit card.

Now Western Union is a key player in the global money transfer industry. The company generates majority of the revenue through the consumer to consumer ( c2c ) money transfers. Western Union is now a part of First Data Corporation which is a Forune 500 company.

The business model works something like this :
The company has a network of agents for receiving and sending money across various geographies. When the sender of the money contacts the agent, the information is fed into a common data processing system. The sender has to pay a transfer fee for sending the money. Within minutes, the money is transferred to the receiver.

Western Union gets revenue from the transfer fee and also from the difference in the exchange rate spread.

Although Western Union was in India from mid nineties, the company began to aggressively market only from 2000. India is a big market for money transfer agencies. The target market for these companies are the migrant workers .
According to reports, Indian diaspora is earning around $ 160 bn annually. The money that is transferred to India is roughly $15 Bn annually .

Western Union has been adopting a unique way of marketing especially in India. The brand has been investing heavily in brand promotion. Along with the brand promotion ,Western Union has been expanding its reach by opening agency offices across the length and breadth of India.

Watch the commercial here : Western Union

Earlier in money transfers, it was the sender who would chose the money transfer agency. Now through extensive networking and building brand, receivers tell the senders to opt for Western Union. So the brand has changed the consumer behavior in its favor. The brand give customers confidence and the reach give the customers convenience.

The brand building of Western Union has been highly localised. I never thought that this was an international giant because the ads were very Indian and very local. The company started its campaign highlighting its key differentiator i.e time. It takes ten minutes to transfer your money .
Now the brand has moved to a more emotional platform in line with the global positioning. Globally the brand talks about " Money and More. " .Now the brand talks about how it enables customers to realise their dreams and wishes bridging the time and distance.

Western Union is a classic example of a global brand with local strategy.

Brand Update : TVS Scooty

Scooty never ceases to innovate. That is one quality that makes this brand my favorite. Being the market leader has never made this brand laid back. When customers began to look at electric scooters, TVS responded by launching an electric variant of Scooty- Scooty Teenz Electric.

The latest innovation in TVS Scooty is the balancing wheels. Now Scooty comes with two small balancing wheels that will help the users to learn riding scooters by themselves. Balancing wheels are common in bicycles but its the first time a scooter brand is trying out this.

I think its one of the best consumer centric innovation I have seen in recent times. One of the biggest stumbling block in marketing of scooterette is inhibition of customers to learn riding scooters.

Most of the ladies often feel lazy in going through the entire process of learning to ride and then appearing for licence test . This has severely affected the growth of this market. While most of the girls/ladies agree that using scooters will significantly enhance their lifestyle and offer them freedom, the thought of investing time in learning to ride puts them off.

To tide over this obstacle, TVS Scooty had initiated a program ' women on wheels ' . The brand had started a chain of driving schools for ladies where the brand guarantees that the ladies will be taught how to ride a Scooty in one week.

The latest innovation is a direction in this regard. I think its a cool idea to have balancing wheels in Scooty. First it will encourage the TG to take the vehicle on road with confidence and also they need not beg their dad/brother/husband to help them learn riding. So this small innovation will go a long way in empowering the TG to learn riding by themselves.

More importantly this will help break the hesitation for first- time users to buy Scooty. From my own experience, my wife sometimes tell me about buying a scooter but then dismisses the thought by saying " oh I now have to go to a driving school and learn riding, don't have time ".

Ofcourse balancing wheels alone can help one to learn riding but it will instill confidence in ladies to think about Scooty as a serious option.

Kudos to the brand.

Suguna Poultry : Younger Tender Better

Brand :Suguna
Company : Suguna Poultry
Agency : R K Swamy BBDO

Brand Analysis Count : 346

Suguna Poultry is one of the major players in the fragmented poultry industry in India. Suguna is a classic case of commodity branding . Suguna Poultry started its operations in 1984. The company is based in Coimbatore in Tamilnadu.

The story of Suguna is interesting to a marketer for two reasons. First is obvious in that Suguna is branding poultry products which is a hardcore commodity business. Second is its unique business model.

India is the third largest egg producer and fifth largest poultry meat producer in the world. Indian poultry market is huge with an estimated market size of Rs 20,000 crore ( Business line) . According to Business Standard ( July 08), the size is estimated to be around Rs 12,000 crore.

The market is highly fragmented and dominated by local players. It is in this context that Suguna 's story becomes relevant.

Suguna came into a difficult market with a difficult idea. Branding chicken ! But through heavy investment in the media, Suguna was able to create a mind space for itself .
In the poultry market , the frozen meat market was around Rs 7500 crore. It was in this market where some amount of branding activity was seen.

The market further expanded with Godrej Agrovet entering the market with their brand Real Good.Suguna was promoting itself on quality and tenderness. I remember seeing lot of ads of Suguna during mid nineties. But in Indian market, consumers prefer live birds to frozen meat because of the easy availability of live birds. Suguna was able to make its brand prominent in this market also.

Suguna has sold live birds and eggs worth Rs 2020 crore in 2007 without owning a single poultry farm. That makes their business model interesting. The company pioneered contract farming in the poultry industry in India. The company source their produce through 12000 contract farmers across different states.

According to reports , Suguna owns the day -old-chickens , feed and feed medicine and the contract farmer is responsible for the day to day management of the farm. The farmer gets the assured income while the company takes care of the risk . In that way Suguna can channel its valuable resources to marketing and distribution.

Then the company entered into another lucrative market of selling branded egg. Each year India produces around 47 billion eggs worth Rs 10,000 crore.The market is growing at a rate of 15 % in an year ( Economic Times ).

Suguna has four egg brands and sells over one million eggs a month. Suguna launched these value added egg which is fortified with vitamins. This is done by feeding the laying hen with specialized nutrient feed.I am a regular customer of Suguna eggs.
The brands are
Suguna Pro
Suguna Active
Suguna Heart
Suguna Shakthi

Infact my wife started buying this brand of eggs for my child since she was impressed by the packaging which made the eggs look more hygienic and healthy. Priced almost 50% more than the usual eggs, Suguna had to show some differentiation in the product to justify the premium.

I closely looked at this simple product ( egg) for differentiation and it was evident. The eggs were clean , more shining and uniform in terms of size and shape. Another differentiation was in the packaging. In branding commodity, a marketer should be able to justify the premium and Suguna was able to do just that.

Suguna also has expensive range of eggs under the variant Suguna Heart which contains less cholesterol and rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Buoyed by the success of these businesses, Suguna has entered into front end retail by launching Suguna Daily Fresh retail outlets. Reports also say that the company is launching Ready To Eat Chicken products also.

Suguna is a case which proves that its possible to brand any commodity.