New Poster Boys of India, Bansals of Flipkart

'If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it' - Ward, Williams

Since the inception of mankind, human being have evolved; right from Stone Age till date (we can also term this age as a Digital Age).Today the world has become more like a cluster of digitally connected networks than anything else.Since Y2K the Computer Age has taken over the world by storm,especially the emerging economies like India.Some individuals and firms have been able to reap most out of it while others have just wondered about how the world around them has changed within the blink of an eye.

Two such individuals envisioned the Digital Age approaching India well in advance, they realised the need to establish a strong E-Commerce platform that can serve as many as 45.3 Million active Internet Users in India (Figures suggested by an IMRB International Survey Report, Sep 2008.Although the figure today is considerably higher than it was in 2008 with almost 164.81 million active internet users by March,2013) 

These two gentlemen were pass-outs from one the most prestigious institute in India, the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.They worked with one of the leading e-commerce company, Amazon and then ventured into the world of e-commerce with a website named 'www.FLIPKART.com' which initially focused only on selling of books.Later they diversified their business by venturing into sales of consumer durables like Electronic goods, Apparel for men & women, Home and Kitchen Appliances etc. and helped the company to become India's most preferred online shopping destination.

Their names are Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (not related by blood though).

Flipkart Online Services Private Limited was formally incorporated in October 2008, the time when most of the countries in the world were suffering from Economic slowdown.'Where others saw risk, they saw opportunity',an opportunity to grow, to expand, to use the potential of an emerging economy, to empower hundreds and thousands with a robust e-commerce platform to shop.

There is an old saying that 'The road to Success never runs Straight', this holds true in the case of Flipkart as well,remember this was the era when so called Mall Culture peaked in the minds of Indian consumers.Yes India was an emerging economy, yes there was a sharp increase in the number of Internet users across the country, yes the owners were IITians (assumed to be the sharpest of the whole lot) and had a past experience of working in a company with more or less similar Business Model but what they didn't have was adequate funds to purchase inventory and run their business without many financial hurdle.There was a stiff challenge to convert this huge number of active internet users into customers(may be not all but most of them), to make an Indian customer imbibe the online shopping model, to replace the Brick and Mortar structure with Click and Order and most importantly to make the customer believe in online purchase. 

All these problems were addressed one after the other.Accel India and Tiger Global - the venture capitalist firms invested heavily in Flipkart in its early years and ensured financial stability. Now with finances in place the next task was to make the people of India believe that online purchases can be trusted.Due to the absence of the actual physical appearance of the product before purchase, the customers are highly sceptical about the products moreover the payment of their purchase was another big question mark for the customers as till date, there are a considerable number of credit and debit card users who refrain from using their details for an online purchase.These problems were resolved by bringing about the Cash On Delivery model.Though this kind of mode of payment had its own challenges, Flipkart somehow has been able to find their way through it by innovating their business.

Now comes yet another important aspect of Flipkart's success,their Marketing Mix.The Virtual to Real connect that Flipkart was able to establish was noteworthy.The advertisements and the promotional activities of Flipkart not only amused the customers but they also conveyed the relevant messages with tag lines and phrases like 'Shopping ka naya address' (which in english translates to,'The new address of your shopping Destination').These advertisements and promotions helped Flipkart to establish trust amongst its existing and potential audiences. Flipkart have also ensured that their prices remain as low as possible in comparison to most of their competitors across various segments so as to attract more number of customers.Also, being a website it is available to all individuals 24x7, thus ensuring maximum possible reach and availability.

With timely and strategically important acquisitions Flipkart continued to expand its business in best possible manner.With acquisition of Letsbuy.com in 2012 Flipkart also established strong roots in the Electronic Goods section.

Today Flipkart is a giant in Indian e-commerce industry with sales of over  1 Billion U.S Dollars.But back in 2007-2008 it was only an idea, a thought, a vision foreseen by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. The rise and glory of Flipkart teaches numerous lessons of management and life.The Bansals of Flipkart have now become role models for hundreds of budding Entrepreneurs with their success story and with Economic Times (a popular Business Daily) bestowing Sachin Bansal as 'The Entrepreneur of the Year', 2012-13 has set the bench mark  for all the aspiring entrepreneurs.

References:
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/india-is-now-worlds-third-largest-internet-user-after-us-china/article5053115.ece

http://www.imrbint.com/old/media/45..pdf

http://www.iamwire.com/2011/07/sachin-bansal-flipkart-ceo-interview/
http://m.economictimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/retail/flipkart-hits-1-billion-in-sales-a-year-ahead-of-schedule/articleshow/31549992.cms

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-26/news/42426999_1_business-model-tiger-global-accel-partners

First Instagram, now Whatsapp; Facebook's dominance in Social Networking knows no bound...

' If you can't beat them in their core competencies then simply buy them ', has been mantra for Facebook in their quest to dominate the social media, across the globe. Facebook, by far the best ever social networking venture the world has ever seen, has been bullish in their approach to capitalize on everything that is trending in the world of social media.



Facebook initially started as a portal to share pictures and posts and was available only for students of Harvard University to begin with and then went onto become the most popular social networking destination and has grown by leaps and bounds since it's inception i.e 4th of February 2004. It has been the most popular website for several years now, only after Google and there is no doubt in their success as they have precisely bridged the gap in the society by linking people over the virtual network.

Facebook has made as many as 45 mergers and acquisitions since 2005, with Whatsapp - the instant messaging app for smart cell phones being the latest entrant in the list, this is a clear evidence of Facebook's hunger and appetite to dominate the world of social network. Currently with almost 2 billion active users of FB, Instagram and Whatsapp put together, the company and its products are the most used or talked about across the world. 



The most interesting part of Facebook's journey has been their strategic acquisitions with the course of time. Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman & CEO of Facebook INC. and his team have been very particular about each and every 
M & A that they have inked as every deal
 of their's has not only added a value to
 Facebook's business model but has also 
been a fruitful venture in terms of 
monetary benefits that it has added to 
the company's bottom line. Especially 
the apps like Face.com made by an Israeli company that helps Facebook users to recognize people by their face and tag them have been some landmark achievement by Facebook in terms of mapping the real world with virtual world .Now with Instagram - the picture sharing app being named as the most trending and frequently downloaded app on Google's Play Store for Android phones and Whatsapp  out smarting the BBM as the most used messaging app on smart phones, Facebook couldn't have asked for anything better to be in their kitty.

From getting themselves listed in NASDAQ and releasing the largest IPO ever in the history of the world to buying of  most unheard start up from a metropolitan city of India, Facebook INC. has always taken Big - Bold decisions and has been effectively able to write off the speculations of reaching the saturation point and has timely sent out a strong message that they are here for a Marathon run. 

As an MBA in making, what interests me more is not just the journey that Facebook has embarked so far but analysing the next move that they make in terms of expanding their business. As the buzz of Whatsapp merger sinks in the minds of people I wouldn't really be surprised if Facebook comes out with yet another giant leap by acquiring Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest or Snapcha or by enabling these features in their website to further strengthen their dominance in the world of Social Networking.



Reference Links:

http://static1.businessinsider.com/

http://www.alexa.com/topsites

http://newsroom.fb.com/news

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/9269601/The-biggest-IPOs-in-US-history-in-pictures.html

Marketing - A sly tool in Inidian Politics

Marketing has been an effective tool for many organizations to promote their goods, services, ideas etc. for centuries now. In my previous post I tried to shed some light on how the world is utilising the digital platform for marketing and reaching the target audience effectively.
Marketing these days has become a mandate for a unique section of the society, viz. our politicians. With an eye on Indian General Election 2014, many political parties and renowned politicians have upped the ante to promote themselves as the next Superman or Spiderman, projecting themselves as the only saviours of this doomed nation.

The recent triumph of Shri. Arvind Kejrival and Aam Admi Party in Delhi assembly polls is a perfect example of 'striking the rod when hot', here the rod was the bruised and ill governed state of Delhi and the hammer was their marketing technique which helped them promote their ideas and thoughts amongst the masses using various marketing tools. Largely the credit of their victory goes to the marketing stint that they pulled for about a year to lure the voters of Delhi, as they hardly had any political experience to showcase. Although it’s been over a month now that Shri Kejriwal has come to power but the fulfilment of the promises that he made in his manifesto seem to be a far fetched dream for Delhi-ites for obvious reasons moreover his anarchist approach and disrespect towards the democracy has been out rightly condemned by citizens of Delhi itself.  

On the other hand we have a strong contender (most of my readers probably consider him as our next Prime Minister), Shri. Narendra Modi. One of the credible News Daily quoted that Shri. Modi has roped a global PR firm APCO in order to promote him and his work not only in India but all across the globe. Not to forget that the state of Gujrat administered by Shri Modi for over 11 years, ranks 11th  in Human Development Index in India, which is below 5-6 states governed by their arch rivals INC.

Not too far is the Indian National Congress,one of the oldest political parties of India which boasts to have governed our nation for the maximum period of time. The INC has recently hired a PR agency for a price of whooping INR 500 Crores to create a buzz for Shri Rahul Gandhi (Head of Election Campaign) on social media. Considering the amount being invested, it appears that we are all set to face yet another scam on the lines of Coalgate and 2G spectrum, how else do you think a political party can afford to pay such a huge sum as advertising expenses.

In my personal opinion there is nothing wrong in promoting oneself or one's political party or its ideology amongst the masses. In fact as a marketer it cheers me up to see a new set of customer base being built in the form of our politicians who have resorted to non conventional ways of marketing and are exploring different platforms and tools, willing to spend huge amounts of money. Although this provides a marketer with an opportunity to earn more, what concerns me as a citizen of India is whether we are going to judge or choose our next generation leaders based on their promotion.I still believe that as citizens of this nation we need to make our choices based on the developmental and constructive work done by our leaders and not merely based on the lip service they offer. Choosing a correct leader to govern the nation is equally important as choosing a job for ourselves, because it has a direct impact on our lives.

References:

• (ref: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rahul-gandhi-pr-firm-lok-sabha-elections/1/334891.html

• (ref. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rahulgandhitakingthelead/new-pr-ninjas-hired-to-bolster-rahul-gandhi-s-image/article1-1170098.aspx )

Paradigm Shift in the World of Marketing to Digital

The saying that change is the only constant holds true in all aspects of life. It is evident from the past that he who fails to respond to change, also fails to make it big. Consider doctors for example, the diseases that they have to treat are not always the ones they learnt about, in med school. If they fail to upgrade their knowledge and skills with time, they would find themselves catching flies in their own dispensaries (provided they can afford any!)

The corporate sector is no exception to this inevitable phenomenon.The organisations that have lasted for long are the ones who changed their approach with time. Post World War II and the Industrial Revolution, our society has changed remarkably. The companies which were product or production oriented shifted their focus on marketing orientation and are now trying to understand and respond to the needs of their customers better than ever.

With organizations showing keen interest in the

marketing approach to increase their profit margins, the role of a robust marketing strategy and planning has become paramount. The marketer’s approach to lure his/her target audience has changed. The world is going digital and so is the potential customer. Gone are those days when the prime time slot 'allocated' or in other words 'earned by you' for advertising your product defined your reach to the audience. With the advent of smart phones and tablet computers, complimented by Wi-Fi and easy access to a data connection, the potential customer can be reached anywhere, any time.

The reach of digital media has crossed the confines of geographical, cultural and social boundaries. The Apparel and FMCG industries are thriving on their digital marketing campaigns to garner more customers than by any other stereotype method of print advertising. A research shows that over 93% of the marketers now prefer digital media for their business growth (ref. www.jessicadraws.com). A recent survey done by StrongView indicates that  9 out of 10 'Business Leaders' from a mix of B2B and B2C in the North American continent have planned to increase their digital marketing budgets by alarming numbers. A statistical report below depicts the percentage increase in budget by these companies in various marketing medium.

Now even politicians have harnessed the digital marketing platform to gain their political grounds, increase their popularity and build an image by roping in the advertisement and image building agencies. Barak Obama (President, The US) being the trend setter and Narendra Modi (CM, State of Guj,India) being the torch bearer of such marketing strategies are fine examples (I also consider them to be the best marketed products during their respective election campaigns).

All said and done the question that still haunts me is, for how long will this new gimmick of Digital Marketing sustain? Is it here to stay or is it just like any other passing fad? Well undoubtedly these changing trends in the marketing and promotional strategies of various organizations across the globe are a result of changing consumer behaviour. Being a marketing student I’m curious to know how far this Paradigm Shift can go. Not to forget that these newly discovered strategies firmly challenge the ‘Kotlers’ and ‘Poters‘ of the marketing world (who have ruled it for ages) on certain grounds and have still sustained for fairly good time now and continue to do so. Time has come for the world to look beyond the 4 Ps of conventional marketing and learn the 4 Cs of digital marketing so as to stay upbeat with the pace of this changing world.

'What Next?' is now an interesting question. As I quoted in the beginning, change is inevitable and we as marketers will have to keep this in our minds at all times.

My First Blog

For years I have been wondering, what these blogs are all about? What do they contain? What is all this buzz about the blogs for several years now? What is it that Big B writes in his blogs that creates such a sensation on the media front? Why is it recommended to read blogs of eminent writers,thinkers and personalities? What value does it add to an individual? Aren't they supposed to be a forum for expressing thoughts and nothing beyond that? If yes, then there are so many other social media portals as well that do the same job, then why is it that in spite of so many years the blogs and bloggers are still acknowledged and given importance in certain section of social and corporate society? With a series of questions in my mind I decided to sign in with Blogger.com considering, may be this will be of some help to know what bloggers write.

Initially I was clueless about what is to be done next after signing in, all that i could really see is ' create your new blog ' so after pondering upon the various tabs on this website for sometime and not really finding any material worth reading I decided to write my first blog. Interestingly to my surprise I find out that even as I am writing this blog on the Blogger.com somehow the word BLOG in itself is not being identified as a correct English word  in their inbuilt dictionary and on the similar lines words like Bloggers, Blogs are also being highlighted by the red curvy underlines..!! This triggered a doubt in my mind that whether or not the word BLOG in itself a correct English word which otherwise is present in most of the English Dictionaries only to find it is a truncation of words Web Log ;)

As part of a learning exercise to know 'How to write a blog' and being an amateur blogger myself I simply chose to restrict to 500 words. Only reason being that you never really know if you yourself would be willing to read it again if it is beyond 500 words, possibly one of the primary reasons that until grade 10 we often were asked to write an essay in less than 500 words, because even the professor might loose his/her interest beyond a certain threshold limit of reading crazy stuff written on the answer sheets of students ;)

To surprise of the readers (I doubt if there would be any) I conclude my first blog (although I haven't really written anything worthy to be read), with an aspiration to write more and try and deliver a better quality and content in my blogs to come by sharing experiences of my life, my opinion on Sports, Films, Music, Politics, Society etc.

God Bless.