India on Sale!!!

There is just such an influx of fashion in our country. And do not misunderstand fashion as only fashion in its true sense but instead lifestyle, as everything that you do wear, eat, dress, sleep, feel has to be coated with fashion or rather has to have fashion connotations. Tell me if it doesn’t?
India seats itself on the hot seat for everything now. The country that’s basks in the sunlight of brand attention be it in fashion, technology, service. India is the place to be. Everybody seems to find their niche among the 1.2 bn population that this country has to offer.

We see the latest auto cars which may be affordable by a handful of Indians make its presence felt in the country. Last 2 years we’ve seen the Rolls Royce, Porsche all pumping enough money to ensure they capitalize on the Indian boom.

We have magazines from the Condenast group trying to offer luxury reading to a select few who probably can read it but can’t understand it. I mean I read these magazines but in the most complicated formats and with pages galore that there is an information overdose.
The information is irrelevant and indigestible. First it was the great Vogue… synonymous with the bible of fashion and now it’s the GQ which is the ultimate luxury lifestyle magazine for men. It’s great but complicated. It can take you days to read through it. A great title to have either on your desk or your coffee table.

I understand the context of it being niche and luxury but the relevance to the Indian consumer is my question. There is just so much of it for the consumer to even fathom. Where are we even concerned of customizing anything for him? Be it in any genre of lifestyle.
The information that he receives is not customized, the product he receives does not appeal to him in totality either. The brands just believe that the consumer is a genius and will understand and comprehend all the information that brands have to offer. Do you think any human can sieve through 200 pages of fashion. Not me for sure. It’s impossible for any magazine to hold on a consumers attention for more than an hour and even more difficult for you to expect him to pick it up again after he’s gone through it once. I mean try and think hard when was the last time you went through a magazine for more than an hour and any content that induced you to pick it up again, please exclude the business & current affairs magazine. There is information loss due to lack of simplicity.

In the attempt to maintain the international appeal do not forget that the offering is irrelevant to him. Cool summer cardigans do not work in tropical Indian weathers, wearing dull pastel shades in the festive season never does work in this country where bright colours form a backdrop to everything in life. Black will never attain status of being an auspicious colour or Indian women will not suddenly grow tall to wear long flowy Gucci gowns.

Unlike in most countries where one city maybe a representative of the entire country, India is different & diverse and one needs to respect it. Bombay & Delhi are not representative of India.

I think what most brands forget to offer is simplicity. If they really understood India and its potential everything that the brands did would not be so superfluous.
There is such a small population that the brands believe that they need to address that they often leave out a huge potential. Actually the potential that you came chasing. The potential that you showcased in your presentations that helped your management decide that India is now ready as a market for my brand.

Simplify everything for your consumer, its not like he doesn’t understand it but he is so worn off time that he needs you to do it for him. Never under estimate the potential or over estimate your consumer.

India does have tremendous consumption capacity only if you have the right offering.

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Global brands in globalization of emerging economies

India is the hot focus of many brands. Last year we had so many brands come in, in all genres of life like food, lifestyle, services, etc. Each year we keep on adding to the brands and the hungama that happens around it.
All international brands claim that they translate the best consumer experience for you from across the globe. But the truth is that brands still haven't been able to do it.

Do Indian brands service better? I remember when Hyundai first entered India while everybody loved the car, the service and availability of spare parts was still an issue to ponder. Maruti beat all the other players on account of best service and its accessibility & availability in the remotest areas in the country.

I am not here to generalize or make statements but the fact is that most of my experiences with global brands have made me believe and translate my beliefs into words. A recent experience that shook me and only strengthened my belief was Mac. Donald's. Promises smiles, fun a great family experience moving away from the platform of great yummy food as that has become a hygiene factor for them. Everybody probably knows what Mac food tastes like. But my smiles at Mac soon vanished when I found a living worm in my burger. I complained at the outlet, wrote to their customer service email address, but nobody heard me or even bothered to write back.

I was so disappointed that it just completely shook me and I narrated my experience to atleast 10 other friends. What amazed me was obviously the hygiene level that a chain of this magnitude operates at and secondly that they didn't even have the audacity to write back. Do they believe that Indians who want a burger for 20 Rs have no right to demand for quality products?

There are a lot of other brands that haven't particularly impressed me in their customer service one of them is the world's favourite Mac. A Mac customer is so passionate that he anyways knows his product and brand well but the store staff can still be atleast a little bit useful instead of being arrogant and having minimal product knowledge. All the customer expects him to do is share his passion

I’m sure all of us can think of lots of instances when we felt that global brands service standards vary from city to city, country to country and continent to continent. I would like to leave you with a question:

Is it because it's India that it doesn't matter?

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Tech Infidelity

Before you get judgemental and think I'm suffereing from it, take a step back and think aren't you? Technology has just made life so easy and everything and everybody so accessible for us. Until yesterday we yearned to be connected today we switch off our cell phones to be disconnected. Ya and these days its not one but 2 cell phones that you are dealing with. I know people who dread that one phone and are already struggling with the second one. Do we want to be connected all the time? Are we insecure if we are not connected? Probably yes, if I am not around someone else will do it... ya proabably someone else will... but thats the choice one makes that how much do you want to let go off? This connectivity syndrome is what is leading to more and more couples stretching themselves over time zones trying to accomodate all that they can, to ensure they are " Connected". Over a cup of chai and the daily tabloid i read these interesting celeb Q&A's where they ask you, things you won't leave your house without and most of them say my cell phone. Some say my Ipod, there has to be technology... Some questions go if you were marooned on an island who would you be with? And the answer goes my Ipod. The role that these techie things play in peoples lives is amazing.
People earlier struggled with people then came work and now its technology. Its amazing how we dont realize how gradually from a balanced life we gradually changed our preferences. Earlier one of the spouse was working and the other created the balance. Gradually our greed and the need ensured that both the partners work. So we sliced those 12 hours of togetherness further to 8 hours of togetherness. Then came technology where those 8 hours of togetherness are also sliced and has come down to probably 6. Earlier we dreaded that if we as a couple do not spend enough time together he/she might look outside the relationship and be involved with someone else, then came the extended working hours where people distinctly spent less time together and hence proximities at work started to rise. But now that's passe, today probably there is no time for the first two but i make time for the third.
Often wonder what is that lends people to tech infidelity, probably the need to be updated, cause today every interaction is an opportunity to cast an impression, the more abreast & updated you are the cooler you are perceived to be... Or is it the need to 'fit in' or technology gives me the space I need... ya the battle for space... or is just so informative & accessible that I want it... Ya may be it is. Today everything is a click away so all my acts are probably governed by what Googles top 10 search results are...Why do we wake up and want to see the news like the world collapsed while we were asleep, or we need our IPODS' on, while we are at our morning walk. Probably Google sends me more sms's than my husband does.
And ofcourse i cant forget the Blackberry...its like the world at your fingertips... a spy gaurd your bosses installed in you in the name of seniority and a must for managers. I check my blackberry when i wake up, while I'm brushing, while I'm in the loo... just when i finished my bath(how some people would wish it was water proof) while i'm driving... over lunch... during meetings... while fetching my children from school... while playing with them in the garden... over a family dinner... in the midlle of a dance... the list doesnt end.
Our lives are governed by ringtones and sms tones... ha ha ha ha... never thoght it would get here... So my friends its not another person who is eating into your spouses time... its that ringtone thats the intruder.
Technology is great... I love it but if you really love it learn from it...
Learn to switch on and off...


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