Viral Marketing - The Reason & Nxt Kolaveri

The latest rage on social networking sites is the song sung by Dhanush ,son-in law of Tamil Superstar Rajnikath ,called "Why this Kolaveri Di" which has generated more than 11 million views on Youtube ,1.5 million downloads  & innumerable tweets & retweets on Twitter .It is in vogue all across the world from Night clubs in Birmingham to Social get-togethers in New Jersey.

The underlying reason for this hysterical sucess is a marketing technique called Viral Marketing.

Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence.

It also refers  to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses.

It can be delivered by word of mouth or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames,  ebooks , brandable software, images, or text messages.

Elements of a Viral Marketing Strategy

1.     Gives away products or services

2.     Provides for effortless transfer to others

3.     Scales easily from small to very large

4.     Exploits common motivations and behaviors

5.     Utilizes existing communication networks

6.     Takes advantage of others' resources.

The ultimate goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to create viral messages that appeal to individuals with high social networking potential (SNP) and that have a high probability of being presented and spread by these individuals and their competitors in their communications with others in a short period of time.

Taking cue from the above description & strategy of  Viral marketing ,I did a generic level of  Viral Marketing Campaign for my personal blogs “ Veracity is Sublime”  using  Social  Networks  ( Twitter , Facebook & LinkedIn )  and  I feel i am fairly successful in my efforts.

I felt this mini viral marketing campaign( 3 days ) was successful  due to following reasons :

1)     I got  audiences( Total hits -812 views)  from 17 countries ,mostly from India ,USA ,United Kingdom ,Canada & Germany , of which 73 % (573 people) were first- timers i.e people from I had no acquaintances & communication before & 13 % ( 97 people) gave feedback & comments on my blog.

2)    It could help me to understand the behaviour & preferences of audiences( tech-savvy ,business oriented etc) by the technology ( web browsers( total- 9 ) they use & Operating Systems (total – 12 ) ,17 categories of gadgets & the content they preferred.

3)    Also ,I realized that buzz –words &  headlines are paramount in captivating audiences online. ( Facebook – cheesy ,wacky words,Twitter – concise &surprising words, LinkedIN -  formal words with brevity) did wonders.

Market Analytics of my blog is given below:

BRAND-ISHING YOUR LOGO

Today i came across news article on brand and importance of brand for a company.It tells that the logos and taglines are a part of the bigger picture,which businesses can't do without-branding.Branding is defined as a means of creating an identityfor a product or service by a manufacturer.Branding makes the consumer think if it will suit the customer even before he has tried it.
There is a battle for occupying the potential consumer's mindspace-to tell the customer why and how it is what will fit the bill.For some it could be about the ease of availibility,for some the image it denotes,and for some the aspirations it meets.
World is full of competition and it has become imperative for each manufacturer to try and stand apart from the clutterso that the potential consumer is pulled by it makes that purchase.For repeat customers it gives a sense of belonging.Different kinds of media are print,TV and even the internet.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING
The companies today are putting in a significant part of their annual budgets into marketing,advertising and creating brand value of their products and services.Three statges involved are creating,building and then managing a company's brand equity.Consumer relate to the brands,they choose whatever suits their own association with a particular brand and what meets their aspirations.
THE ASSOCIATIONS AND ALIENATION
While some brands have understood how times have changed and have changed accordingly-or not,thus creating the lineage value,others have failed to keep their ear to the ground and found that they have alienated the consumer.As a result,the association with consumer fell short and the customer has shifted their loyalties to another brand that has wooed them and assured them that their aspirations and expectations will be met.
Brand differentiation plays a significant role here.It runs the risk of alienating a section of society,it makes sure that the consumer's aspirations and demands are addressed.Examples are soft drinks,automobiles,etc,talk about evrything that is peppy,current affordable and impressive.
ITS NOT JUST THE LOGO
It's the image of your productthat is potrayed through a logo.Experts point out that the business name is equally important.The company as a whole,the byline makes equal difference in the marketing programme.To conclude,brand is more than a logo,a name and a byline.It's like an orchestra singing the same note,making the same music you hope will be heard by the consumer.It's a corporate identity.

Recap of the LAST session-MM-II (29th Nov,'11)

ADVERTISING :

Advertisement objectives/Types of advertisements :-
Informative advertisements
Persuasive advertisements
Reminder advertisements
Spoof advertisements
Surrogate advertisements
Ambush advertisements
Subliminal advertisements
Internet advertisements : Banner ads, Pop-ups, Flash advertisements, Intrusive advertisements. Advertising Strategies :-
Creating advertisement messages.
Selecting advertising media

PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION :

Traditional Channel of Distribution :
Company-->Distributor-->Wholesale-->Sub Dealer-->Retailer-->Customer
Retail is a $12 million industry.

FDI in :
Cash and Carry=100%
Single Brand Retail=51%. Proposed to be 100%
Multi Brand Retail=Proposed to be 51%

Benefits : One stop solution, Quality products, Affordability, Convinience, Infrastructure development, Efficiency, Price Reduction, CRM.

Disadvantages : Shortening of the supply chain will affect the intermediaries.

Theory of constraints

Cash & Carry- Modern Wholesale

Yesterday I read an article "A whole new opportunity" in Business Standard.It said that the cash and carry business in India is on a growth path,because of high level of expectation around FDI being allowed in multi-brand retail.

Some facts :-
No FDI restriction in cash & carry business.

Cash and Carry in India is worth around $ 140 billion, out of the $ 350 billion retail business.
Typical investment per store is around Rs 40 crore to Rs 60 crore, depending on the size of the market.

Proportion of Indian items on the shelves of foreign cash and carry majors operating in India is anything between 90 and 95 per cent.

How the players stack up :-

Cash and Carry Company	India launch	Stores in India	Expansion Plans
Metro Cash & Carry	2003	8	50 stores in 4 to 5 years and 8 to 10 annually
Bharti- Walmart	2009	14	10 to 12 stores next year and 20 in 2 years
Carrefour	2010	1	Ready with India expansion plan
Reliance Retail	2011	1	Data unavailable

Refer : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/a-whole-new-opportunity/456808/

FDI Retail in India - A Boon or Bane !!!

 

Dear Participants,

Before we delve deep into present raging issue of  FDI retail that has stalled Indian parliament for days and has gained undue political mileage all across the country , we will discuss the retail formats & CoS (Company of Secretaries) proposal for allowing FDI in retail sector.

Retail Formats in India-

1.  Cash & Carry format -Businesses accept only cash for their product or services .Company has no Credit & Recievables .This format affects the Wholesale dealers in the supply chain of retail .

     2.   Single Brand FDI - Proposal to raise it from present 51 % to 100 %

.

      3. Multi Brand FDI - To raise to 51 %.   

CoS ( Company of Secretaries) criteria for allowing FDI in Retail Sector of India :

1)  Stores should be opened in the cities with population of over 1 million. As per 2011 Census ,45 

Cities in India satisfy this condition.

2) Minimum capital required for FDI is $100 million out of which 50% should go for back-end infrastructure development.Thus ,Thus, the retail chain will have minimum $50 million for core business, i.e. to set up retail chain across India.

3) 30% of goods and commodities should be purchased from local suppliers.Presently,our current retail chains purchase around 65%-70% of their supplies from local suppliers.

Advantages :

1)  Efficiency -Improves Supply chain efficiency by introduction of modern & globally competitive supply chain in Indian retail sector ,therby reducing wastages & inefficiencies from Producer end to Consumer end.

2)  Pricing -   Retailers will provide competitively lower priced products of higher quality in market.

3) CRM - It will improve the customer relationship & feedback network with retailers which in turn will help to better profile customers .It enables companies to  launch future  products & services in alignment with consumer behaviour.

4) Economies of Scale - Reductions in average costs attributable to production volume increases resulting in overall cost advantages & operational efficiencies  of businesses.

5) Assortment -  It ensures the right product in the right store at the right time and at the right price. It implies anticipating what your customers are looking for and building a product mix that attracts the customers. 

Disadvantages :

1) Small traders and store owners (called Kiranas in India) don’t have enough capital and expertise to compete with big retail chains like Wal-Mart and Carrefour.They will not able to buy goods and commodities at lower price from vendors and suppliers contrast to big retail chains who have strong supply chain network all across the world thus have a high bargaining power to buy goods at lowest price.

2)With high working capital in big retail chains .They do have a capacity to sustain losses for a longer period therefore able to undercut prices of goods and commodities which eventually lead to desertion of small stores and traders at initial stages.

3) Multibrand is customer-centric  rather than vendor centric . As a retailer you have to first decide your business strategy .

In the bottomline,taking all factors into consideration , the benefits associated with Multibrand retail outweighs the disadvantages attached to it if implemented & regulated in a standard synchronised manner.

Sales Promotion

What is sales promotion?

Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organisation to promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service (i.e. initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of the marketing communications or promotions mix). Sales promotions are varied.
Often they are original and creative, and hence a comprehensive list of all available techniques is virtually impossible (since original sales promotions are launched daily!). Here are some examples of popular sales promotions activities:

(a) Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGOF) - which is an example of a self-liquidating promotion. For example if a loaf of bread is priced at $1, and cost 10 cents to manufacture, if you sell two for $1, you are still in profit - especially if there is a corresponding increase in sales. This is known as a PREMIUM sales promotion tactic.

(b) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) incentives such as bonus points or money off coupons. There are many examples of CRM, from banks to supermarkets.

(c) New media - Websites and mobile phones that support a sales promotion. For example, in the United Kingdom, Nestle printed individual codes on KIT-KAT packaging, whereby a consumer would enter the code into a dynamic website to see if they had won a prize. Consumers could also text codes via their mobile phones to the same effect.

(d) Merchandising additions such as dump bins, point-of-sale materials and product demonstrations.

(e) Free gifts e.g. Subway gave away a card with six spaces for stickers with each sandwich purchase. Once the card was full the consumer was given a free sandwich.

(f) Discounted prices e.g. Budget airline such as EasyJet and Ryanair, e-mail their customers with the latest low-price deals once new flights are released, or additional destinations are announced.

(g) Joint promotions between brands owned by a company, or with another company's brands. For example fast food restaurants often run sales promotions where toys, relating to a specific movie release, are given away with promoted meals.

(h)  Free samples (aka. sampling) e.g. tasting of food and drink at sampling points in supermarkets. For example Red Bull (a caffeinated fizzy drink) was given away to potential consumers at supermarkets, in high streets and at petrol stations (by a promotions team).

(i) Vouchers and coupons, often seen in newspapers and magazines, on packs.

(j) Competitions and prize draws, in newspapers, magazines, on the TV and radio, on The Internet, and on packs.

(k) Cause-related and fair-trade products that raise money for charities, and the less well off farmers and producers, are becoming more popular.

(l) Finance deals - for example, 0% finance over 3 years on selected vehicles.

Many of the examples above are focused upon consumers. Don't forget that promotions can be aimed at wholesales and distributors as well. These are known as Trade Sales Promotions. Examples here might include joint promotions between a manufacturer and a distributor, sales promotion leaflets and other materials (such as T-shirts), and incentives for distributor sales people and their retail clients.

The Loyalty Ladder

The Loyalty Ladder

The loyalty ladder is a tool for marketing communicators. The idea is that consumers can be moved along a scale of loyalty using a number of integrated marketing communications techniques (it is also referred to as a branding ladder).

Essentially, consumers become loyal to a brand which has meaning to them in relation to a product, service, solution or experience.

As with continuums of behavior such as

UACCA - Unawareness, Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction, Action,

or

AIDA - Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action,

The loyalty ladder begins from a point where the consumer has Not Yet Purchased, then he or she buys the product for the first time (Trialist), if the trial has been a success he or she returns to buy again and again (Repeat Purchaser) and finally the consumer buys no other brand (Brand Insistent). At the Not Yet Purchased Stage the consumer is merely a Prospect. As he or she trials they become a Customer. The Repeat Purchaser is a Client since he or she is becoming loyal. Finally, the consumer becomes an Advocate (i.e. activist or campaigner) since he or she is Brand Insistent. At this point the brand is difficult to dislodge since it has so much meaning to the consumer. Great brands such as Nike, BMW, Boss, and iPod are in this highly desirable position.

The marketing manager needs to decide or select integrated marketing communications that move the consumer from Not Yet purchased to Brand Insistent (i.e. from Prospect to Advocate). Once at Brand Insistent, the marketing manager should attempt to keep the level of customer loyalty at this point, again by using integrated marketing communications