Business Strategies and Trends

Green Business

2012-03-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

A “green” business strives to have a positive impact on the environment and community. It develops and practices business strategies that go beyond regulation and demonstrate commitment to a healthy and sustainable future. A green business adopts principles, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life for its customers and employees. Going green makes business sense. Natural resources are becoming more scarce and costly, while customers, employees and investors are increasingly environmentally-conscious.

Customers admire green business practices and the demand for environmentally-friendly products is high and rising. According to a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in January 2009, the trend toward buying green continues. More consumers purchased green products in 2008 than in 2007, and more consumers were willing to pay a higher price for green products if they were considered to be of higher quality [1].

Companies are today taking steps to become environment-friendly and are hiring green professionals, who can help them reduce energy consumption. The demand for environmental professionals is expected to go up by 55-60 per cent in 2012, as firms are raising their spending on creating clean technology, reducing emissions and wastage and regulating use of natural resources. Green jobs can either be white or blue-collar in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, R&D, administration and service activities like IT and finance. With growing demand for green buildings, the real estate sector is likely to emerge as one of the biggest recruiters of green professionals. In 2012, hiring is likely to increase by 30-40 percent for green professionals and this growth is likely to remain consistent for next five years. The power, oil and gas, chemical sectors are the traditional employers for the environmental professionals, however, with the growing concern towards the ecology, the trend is also visible in FMCG and IT [2]. A "green shift" could save mankind up to $2 trillion (Dh7.3 trillion) by 2030 through resource-efficient measures across just three sectors — carbon, steel and iron — in the major economies alone, according to a new World Economic Forum report[3].

Ruling JD(U) in Bihar has a green idea – plant trees to enter the party fold. Any person wanting to join the party needs to plant a sapling and furnish photographic evidence of it. It is a noble idea to ensure that Bihar’s green cover increases. A country's sustainability also increases its competitive advantage. India, the US and China fell more than 10 places last year, while Brazil, Kenya and the Philippines rose over 10 places on the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Competitiveness Index, which ranks the impact of natural and social wealth on a country's competitiveness. [4]

2011 has been a rocky year for Japan and its auto sector. But the Tokyo Motor Show didn't disappoint. There were 176 exhibitors from 12 countries. That's more than last year. And the theme of the show was green technology. Japan's auto industry has taken a triple hit from the global downturn, strong yen and a catastrophic quake, but it's all about the green tech at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show in Japan where all Japanese car makers are showcasing green technology.

Global leading electric vehicle (EV) maker Nissan unveiled its PIVO-3 EV commuter vehicle at the show. It's a three-seater compact. Toyota Motor Corporation exhibited five cars. Most of them are based on alternative fuel technology [5].

Can companies afford to Go Green in present day context when everyone want to reap heavy profits. Most companies know sustainability is important for future success, but few manage to make it an integral part of their business. To do so, it has to be worth it. For many small businesses, turning customers into participants may be as simple as asking them for reusable shopping bags to the store or to sign up for electronic delivery of newsletters or billing statements. But the most effective campaigns often take it a step further and get a little more creative: They come up with a unique initiative that inspires customers to want to do more to help the planet and feel really good about it.

Green initiatives have to take their place under a kind of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for businesses. Maslow’s theory says that the most basic needs have to be met first, before higher needs can be considered:

At the lowest level of the pyramid are survival needs. In business terms, that is price. A small business needs an affordable price from a vendor. Cash flow is usually at a premium and small businesses operate on narrow expense budgets.

A second survival need is service: The difference between good service and poor service can prevent a small business from in turn properly serving its own customers. In extreme cases, disruptions in service from a vendor can put the small business out of business.

Only when those two needs are satisfied and survival ensured, is it rational to turn attention to whether a vendor is socially responsible. Idealists and environmentalists may wish this were not true. But for most small businesses it’s just a practical matter of meeting one’s survival needs.

Just like Maslow’s hierarchy, once the survival needs are met, then the business can start to realize the higher level needs that are based on emotion and esteem (i.e., being held in high regard by society). That includes acting on values that are socially desirable, such as green principles. That’s why adopting green values and principles in your business matters to customers — but only after the customer’s basic needs are met [6].

Customers are no longer just passive witnesses to businesses’ green efforts – They’re joining in. Many companies are moving away from conventional cause marketing – just donating dollars to charity — and creating their own environmentally focused campaigns that encourage customers to be part of the solution. Retailer Old Navy, for instance, collected used flip-flops this past spring in a partnership with Terracycle so they could be recycled into playground equipment donated to schools and community groups. Best Buy recently dropped its $10 electronics recycling fee, Reuters reports, to encourage customers to recycle more old computers and monitors through its stores [7].

The green building concept is swiftly catching up in the country partly because of government sops and partly because of the marketing strategy of real estate developers to get customers -- and everyone is now busy linking it to climate change. According to figures available with the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Godrej Green Building Council, in 2008 India had only 18 certified green buildings and 328 projects in the pipeline.In 2009, the figure of certified green buildings rose to 52. The number of future projects also went up to 436. IGBC has representation from corporate, government, architects, product manufacturers and other institutions. A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy use, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants [8].

Husk, an Oscar, but for developing sustainable source of energy. Honored for contributing clean methods for producing new avenues of energy, two Indian firms were being awarded with 'Green Oscar', for generating biomass pellets from crop waste to provide energy to Gujarat's industries and subsequently, offering farmers a fruitful opportunity by exploiting waste farm products [9].

Amul has been rated as the Top Indian Green Brand by the Global Green Brands Study which reveals current consumers’ attitudes and perceptions towards green issues. The team behind the public opinion research Cohn and Wolfe, Esty Environmental Partners and Penn Schoen Berland polled over 9,000 people in eight countries from April 2–May 3, 2011 ranking more than 370 brands and determined which companies have the greenest reputation across the world. 1101 respondents from top metros of India were surveyed. As per the research, India is the only country to chose deforestation and air pollution as the most important green issue. India is also the only country in which more consumers say it should be developing countries that should focus on green innovation versus developed countries. Amul’s initiative of planting 8-9 million saplings by its 3 million members on a single day (15th August) in 15000 villages since last 4 years has been recognized by the consumers. The milk producers plant saplings on their own at pre-identified locations like their farm, near their homes, on farm bunds etc. to help improve the forest cover. A total of 24 million saplings have been planted so far and another 10 million will be planted on 15th August 2011. The International Dairy Federation has also awarded Amul Green movement as the Best Environment Initiative in the “Sustainability category” in 2010. It has also been awarded Srishti’s Good Green Governance Award for four consecutive years since 2007.
The 2011 findings emphasize that brands must not only develop environmental strategies to address their environmental impact, but they must also connect with consumers in a compelling and relevant way on a market-by-market basis. Today, being only eco-friendly is not enough—brands should be both green and consumer-friendly, and only this can help them win big. The Amul model has demonstrated that it cares for the consumers, producers and also the environment on a sustainable basis [10].

Indian Companies are feeling the pressure to go green, as many of their Western counterparts are building environmental sustainability into their business practices. For example, Wal-Mart, which annually imports over $3 billion in goods from Indian suppliers, recently asked them to adopt green practices or risk losing the retail giant as a customer. For Indian companies, there are other compelling reasons to develop environmentally conscious practices. As leading companies know, going green, if done right, helps companies bolster their fortunes. Here are a few instances:

When mounting electricity costs were eating into the profits of Tulsi Tanti’s textile business, he developed a wind energy system. Today, his company, Suzlon Energy, is one of the largest wind-turbine makers in the world.
Sensing a need in the market, the Maini Group launched Reva, an electric car that has an increasing customer adoption in India today. Reva has had a good response in Europe too.
Rahul Bajaj set up a wind-power generation system that today provides 90% of his plants’ energy needs, while realising savings of $5 million annually [11].

India’s Green Industry is still in a nascent state compared to the massive solar and wind industries in countries like China and Germany. However attracted by the massive potential a number of companies small and large have entered the fray. Most of India’s large energy groups, utilities have already established a small presence or are in process of doing so. While Wind Energy is the largest Renewable Energy Industry in India after Hydro Electricity, Geothermal Energy is non-existent without a single large commercial plant. Biomass Energy is quite well developed and Solar Energy is the fastest growing Green Industry [12].

Dell has introduced two new initiatives designed to promote a green approach towards technology adoption for consumers in India – discount coupons and the Dell Go Green Challenge. These initiatives are the latest in Dell’s mission to make “being green” easy and cost-effective for customers. Recycling Discount Coupon - To encourage PC recycling among its consumers, consumers in India who send their old systems to Dell for free recycling will be eligible for special discount coupons toward the purchase of their next Dell system. This coupon, offering a discount of Rs. 1000, may be used toward the purchase of any Dell system purchased directly from Dell for any of its product lines. Available globally, Dell has now extended its free recycling program for consumers in India to accept computers from any vendor.
Dell Go Green Challenge – Dell has launched the ‘Dell Go Green Challenge’ in an effort to raise awareness and community involvement in green initiatives in India [13].

India : Top 10 Green brands
1. Amul
2. Dabur
3. Infosys
4. Taj hotels
5. Britannia
6. Suzlon
7. Hindustan Unilever
8. Wipro
9. Maruti
10. Godrej Consumer Products

Source: Amul rated Top Indian Green brand in the 2011 Green Brands Global Survey, http://www.businesswireindia.com, June 25, 2011

Idea cellular's creative ad campaigns

2012-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

What an Idea "sirjii"!

Ideas cellular brand campaign

Old idea, new idea. - Idea 3G Smartfone TVC

Idea launched a new handset, which is 3G capable and cost Rs 5,850 and the service operator too offer free bundled services along with the purchase of the handset.

The idea behind new campaign is apart from that the company want to make its 3G handsets accessible to people. The only intent behind the campaign is not to just to sell phones. The intent is to get more people onto 3G because of the fantastic experience that it can offer to subscribers.

There is an old way of living and there is the new way of living. With 3G today on smartphones, there would be a whole generation that would skip computers completely and get on to the Internet straight from their phones. Hence this was a new way of positioning 3G as “the new way of living” and how with 3G one can have new ideas.

It is this idea that has been deployed in the three TVCs for the campaign. The first one has a modern-day mother struggling to meet the pressures of her work life and raising her toddler. Then enters Abhishek Bachchan who shows her how she can use her handset to keep checking on her little one while being in the office using 3G.

The second TVC has the Junior Bachchan playing a sales executive in a consumer electronics showroom. A couple comes in and inquires for the best price for an electronic item. They are about to leave to find out the prices offered by other stores around but are stopped by Abhishek who demonstrates how with Idea Cellular 3G they can find out the best prices of the product through their handset and help save them the cost of travelling and time.

The third TVC shows Abhishek standing next to a middle-aged fellow passenger outside the airport. He requests the gentleman for his mobile. The person reluctantly parts with his handset and comments that he can use his handset “only” to make calls. To which the Junior Bachchan comments that using handsets for just making calls is an old idea. The new idea is to use handsets for search, mail, shopping, Facebook, etc. This is how he brings out the benefits of using the new Idea handsets with Idea 3G services.

The Idea campaign once again backed up by a complete 360-degree campaign comprising digital, outdoor, radio and print.

Idea 3G Pe BG

Brand Idea’s this ad campaign suggests a simple and effective solution to population problem, through seamless and non-stop entertainment with Idea’s 3G services!

Idea’s brand campaign, based on a social theme, highlights the country’s challenge of Population inflation and suggests a simple telephony solution.

Lack of entertainment in the lives of ordinary citizens could have often resulted in couples falling prey to unplanned family extensions which has added to the population of the country.Brand Ambassador Abhishek Bachchan in this ad campaign explains to a friend that the root cause of over population in our country is the unavailability of entertainment options for people. He suggests Idea 3G and its many innovative applications such as – Mobile TV, Gaming, Video Calling, Social Networking on Super Fast Internet – that offer non-stop entertainment to help people stay connected and entertained.

Idea brand campaigns have always celebrated Champion ideas which have the power to change the society and the way we live. This time, the Champion idea is 3G which has a strong entertainment appeal, and has been designed to resonate with the larger audience, on a critical subject that looms large on the country. On the other hand, it also promotes some of our 3G based mobile applications. The idea was backed by 360 degree communication program to promote the campaign and drive awareness.

The new ad is yet another addition in the long-running series of Idea campaigns with the popular tag line – What an Idea, Sirji!.

Let's keep cricket clean!

Idea not being one of the official sponsors of World Cup tournament came out with the never-before-like concept has seen six legendary cricketers coming together under the title ‘Idea Champions of the World’. A series of television advertisements features six World Champions – Kapil Dev, Allan Border, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Steve Waugh and Arjuna Ranatunga – who are shown talking about ways to ‘Keep Cricket Clean’.

The Idea Keep Cricket Clean campaign was launched in the second half of February 2011, coinciding with the World Cup 2011. The campaign was a result of a two-pronged strategy to promote the message of ‘Keep Cricket Clean’ when the World Cup is being played in the Cub-continent, where cricket is a passion and millions of fans like to enjoy the sport in its utmost purity and true spirit.

The Hat-trick

Enveloping three aims in one initiative, the strategic campaign cashes in on World Cup’s popularity, attempts to attract potential, non-potential Idea users, and spreads the message of keeping the game of cricket away from unspirited ways.

The campaign, which was scheduled to run on television till the end of the World Cup, also in a way supported Mobile Number Portability (MNP) and informed the consumer that he can change the service provider without changing his number.

Earlier campaign ‘No Idea, Get Idea’ campaign, which did very well for the brand. Adding to which, the subsequent ads showed these six World Cup winning captains suggesting the callers to take ‘Idea’ and drop their service providers. As part of the campaign, Idea has also given a chance to fans to connect with these cricket legends and be a part of this unique initiative.

No Idea Get Idea Campaign

Idea Cellular another campaign woos new customers with the roll out of ‘Switch to Idea’ campaign, IDEA Cellular, the pan-India mobile operator, has affirmed that it is ready to enable Mobile Number Portability (MNP) on its network. Idea has taken the lead to make mobile consumers aware of the upcoming mobile portability service, through its campaign.

The advertisement from Idea shows Idea’s Brand Ambassador, Abhishek Bachchan proposing a new idea to unhappy mobile users to switch to a network that offers better services, better products & tariffs, and better network, through the message – ‘No Idea, Get Idea’.

The new campaign gives a direct message to mobile consumers to ‘Switch to Idea’ as it highlights Idea’s service superiority over others. The series of four ads highlight Idea’s strong Network connectivity even inside lifts and buildings; Customized tariff plans to ensure affordable mobile communication; Transparent balance notification; Accessible and Humane customer care where one doesn’t need to wait for long to talk to an agent – each echoing the plight of mobile consumers and urging them to Switch to Idea.

In the TVCs, created by Lowe Lintas, brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan encounters people who are experiencing difficulties with their mobile service providers like poor customer care, limited network and a bad tariff plan. When asked why they have such problems, they all respond, "No idea", to which Bachchan advises, "Get Idea".

The ads were designed to demonstrate Idea’s strengths in being a pan-India network offering seamless connectivity across the length and breadth of the country; affordable and relevant products and service offerings; accessible and humane customer care; accurate billing systems; voice clarity and no call drops.

Idea Language

India is a land of a billion people talking in 22 recognized languages, 850 mother tongues and 22,000 dialects; it is also a land of opportunities for the young Indians who are ambitious , go-getters , and have dreams in their eyes. However , this diversity and vastness, at times, poses a hurdle in the growth of the youth of this country.

Taking note of this growing concern of the society , IDEA Cellular set out to demonstrate how a simple solution can build bridges between people speaking different languages.

Idea Cellular launched India’s first ‘Language Helpline’ a complete out of the box innovative value added service which will offer conversational support to callers, in as many as 16 languages.

IDEA Cellular launched a new campaign dubbed as “Break the language barrier with an Idea!‘

The new ad from leading mobile brand will unravel an idea which will help millions of Indians – who move out of their homes for Career , Education , Travel and other prospects in life; or need to communicate with people talking different languages in their own surroundings – to easily adapt to the change in environment and communicate smoothly.

The new Idea campaign offers a Champion idea to address this concern of our society , through the power of mobile telephony. Brand Idea’s new theme campaign is targeted at the youth and the creative will have a young and modern look , portraying real-life situations faced by the Gen-Next.

The ad has been designed to also demonstrate Idea’s pan-India network which offers seamless mobile connectivity across the length and breadth of the country , and affordability of its products and services. Idea rolled out a 360 degree campaign to reach out to the audience , utilizing all traditional and emerging media platforms.

The Ad Starts with 4 Friends visiting Tea Shop for the Last time before they leave for their respective new work places. Abhishek Observes the Sadness reflecting on their faces and comes to know that all were facing the Language problem as these 4 friends were posted on 4 different locations where they have no clue on how to communicate with people out there!! Sirji gets a Brilliant IDEA solution for this. Abhishek Suggests How IDEA mobile could be a good Filler for their Communication deficiency in their so called Unknown Places.

A Marathi guy going to Kolkata, Malayalee going to Haryana, Bengali going to Kerala and Haryani going to Mumbai…The Challenge is one and Only “Language” and here is How Sirji’s Idea of having Mobile with these friends could make the Difference.

The Haryaani who has been stuck up in a Strike-hit Train in Mumbai, finds a way to escape by asking an Excuse for Toilet.. seeks the Help of his Marathi friend for Translation… The Bengali Girl’s Challenge to find a place for living solved by his Keralite friend who Teaches her to Say “Boorne and Broot Up in kolktaaaaaa” with a typical Malyalam accent. Marathi Guy managing to get a Seat in Bengali Bus by Singing A Bengali song aloud.. and how a Malayalee manages to Grab a Cup of Lassi in Haryana.

The Best Part of the Ad is Simplicity the Tea Shop Guy ( Sirji ) shows and says No Language is Necessary to Communicate.. !

The Advertisement is a winner as it brings India together and brings a kind of spark in us spreading how Rich our culture is and how language and culture is exchanged and diversified and how we manage to live in this beautiful country! A Nice Blend of Friendship Values, Culture and the Mobile Technology!

Use Mobile Save Paper

With the growing hazards of global warming and amid intense debate over ways to save the Earth, Idea Cellular’s Sirji! suggested a simple solution, ‘Use Mobile, Save Paper’ for a green planet. A new campaign developed by Idea’s creative agency Lowe brings out this message in an innovative way. The premise of the new TVC is that the world over, millions of trees are cut everyday to produce paper, leading to alarming rates of deforestation. The TVC showcases how the mobile phone can be used as an efficient tool to read daily newspapers, generate e-bills, make payments and transactions, issue e-tickets and boarding passes – thereby saving tonnes of paper everyday.

Bachchan Junior plays the role of an agonised ‘Tree’ this time and strikes the idea of using mobile phone to save paper and bring back the greenery around him. As more and more people switch to their mobile screens, from everyday usage of paper, the tree regains life and leaves the audience with a simple message – ‘Use Mobile, Save Paper’.

With Go green as the mantra of this ad Idea Cellular moved one step ahead exhorting consumers to go green by using the mobile phone instead of paper.

Idea Cellular has always been known for its hard hitting, socially relevant advertisements and this ad is a testimonial to that. Developed by Lowe, Idea’s creative agency, the new ad advocates the use of a mobile phone’s value-added services to save paper and consequently protect the Earth. The new campaign abides by Idea’s brand promise of providing a simple, fresh and imaginative solution to a complex problem.

The new campaign was extensively seen across TV, print, digital and outdoor media space.

Talk For India, Idea Cellular

IDEA Cellulars Talk For India Campaign came up with a innovative movement , which urged Indian citizens to rise up in the cause of National Internal Security, as India and the rest of the world commemorate the anniversary of 26/11.

The campaign was designed to raise funds to aid the internal security forces of India , by mobilizing millions of Indians on Thursday, November 26th, 2009.

Idea cellular quoted on 26th November 2009, for one hour between 8:36 pm and 9:36 pm, over 53 million mobile users of Idea cellular in India will have the opportunity to make their contribution by simply making a phone call.

The net income of all voice calls made within India , during this ‘Talk for India Hour’, will be donated to the Government of India in support of its initiative to strengthen the national security of the country.

The initiative will benefit the thousands of valiant men who risk their lives for the safety of Indian citizens. To ensure that these brave men are well equipped to fight those who attempt to disturb and destruct the country’s national integrity and peace, every one of the select 53 million mobile subscribers is urged to pick up the phone and make a call.

Walk when you talk...What an Idea!

IDEA Cellular the leading GSM service provider launched a campaign Walk & Talk, to bring forward people across different walks of life, age-groups and societies and get them to walk for fitness. IDEA plans to initiate a countrywide movement on Walking & Talking, and expects that ‘Ek Idea pe chal padega India’ .

In its commercial Abhishek Bachchan is playing a Doctor, who quotes how people can get fit by simply Walking while Talking and provoke this idea to the general public.

The new campaign has developed by IDEA’s creative agency Lowe.

In addition to Promo buzz “Walk When You Talk” Idea one up step to popularize the commercial, they gave a privilege to the customers by unleashing a web-space for it which contains a “CALORIE CHECK meter” where one can check how much calories they burnt while walking during their talk.

Also they have given a free ring tone depicting “Walk When You Talk – Theme”.

It also set another freaky buzz in its WALK WHEN YOU TALK CAMPAIGN by reminding to friends for walking when on a call and was just quite simple to do by logging on to www.walkwhenyoutalk.co.in .

For the People, By the People

People of the world’s largest democracy, India, witnessed a new dimension of the proverbial ‘Government Of the People, For the People, and By the People’ while watching the newly launched media campaign of IDEA Cellular, a leading telecom services provider. The new campaign gives the idea of ‘Participative Management’ for Governance where two-way communication is encouraged between government and public.

The brand tagline “What an Idea Sirji!” is the message given by Brand Ambassador, Abhishek Bachchan, which is echoed by the public at large in the story, and even viewers of the new imaginative ad. The ad explores the idea of Government(s) using mobile service as an efficient tool to gather public opinion and support, while taking vital decisions impacting people’s lives.

The ad aimed at conveying a socially relevant message in an easy-to-understand form to our target audience, which mainly comprises of mobile users and intenders in rural India, and the youth. The campaign highlighted the need for Governance through active public involvement, while promoting the usage of mobile phone.

The theme is relevant to the current times where political campaigns across the world are relying on reaching the voters through mobile and internet. This ad highlight citizen’s empowerment by making the individual’s opinion count.

The new campaign is a milestone in the journey of IDEA’s brand building as it demonstrates the power of an ‘Idea’ by looking at mobile telephony and its benefits in a fresh, imaginative and elevating way. IDEA intends to create brand equity by continuously achieving excellence through individual insights that connect with the end consumer thus nurturing a culture of positive discussion and empathy.

IDEA connects with consumers beyond transactional offers by looking at mobile telephony as more than a mere communication device. IDEA aims to convey the message that ‘Mobile is a life-transforming tool for millions. It changes lives!.

Idea new ad on 'Education for all'

Idea Cellular unveiled its new campaign called ‘Education for all’. The campaign has been created by Lowe Lintas. The theme of the campaign is based on the idea that the mobile phone can be one of the means of providing education in rural areas. The campaign carries forward the brand’s positioning, ‘What an idea!’

Brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan plays the role of the head of an educational institution. When he is challenged by the physically bound classrooms in schools that prevent providing education to many more children who are in need of education, he uses mobile phones to spread education in villages.

It is a 360 degree campaign including various on-ground initiatives like mobile tutorials, online education help as well as support with admission. Idea has also collaborated with NDTV Networks and Nanhi Kali, an NGO for the education of the girl child to launch an initiative.

Idea Caste War Campaign

The Idea Cellular 60-second TV ad and half-page print ads featuring Abhishek Bachchan as a sarpanch boldly takes on the politics of caste and religion to arrive at mobile number replacements for people’s names.

ABHISHEK BACHCHAN, a Bollywood star, filmed a series of ads in 2007 and 2008 for a telecoms operator based on the premise that India's challenges in education, democracy and tourism can be overcome with an idea. "Idea", is, of course, also the name of the operator. And the mobile phone, says Idea, can solve the caste problem as well.

To avoid a caste riot, villagers hold an open court. Mr Bachchan, playing a sarpanch (village head).

Henceforth, no one in this village will be addressed by their first or last names. Everyone will be known by their cell numbers. This should automatically ensure equality.

The villagers change the signs on their doors to carry phone numbers instead of names. A politician campaigns with his number on a banner. 9820935247 weds 9930468194. In the West it has become a cliche that a man must be more than a number; in India, where a name indicates caste, the number equalises.

Rural India may not be literate, but it is numerate. All mobile phones come equipped with a phone book, but many Indians, rather than store a number with a name, search through call records. They are recognising a number, rather than a name. Bachchan's sarpanch is not too far off.

Be it the ‘close aide’ of the political leader in our Democracy campaign; or the ‘Sarpanch’ trying to get rid of caste wars; or the ‘Tourist Guide’ with a foreigner at Taj; or even the ‘Priest’ who has the vision of Educating One and All—each time the character has sprung up with an innovative ‘Idea’ which provides a simple yet effective solution to a problem, by using the mobile phone.

kolaveri di..............go viral................

2012-01-30T02:53:00.000-08:00

Social Media and Viral Marketing Intelligent Mix

In 2006, Unilever launched a campaign titled 'Evolution' for its brand Dove. The campaign was at the core of the brand's 'Real Beauty' initiative to promote the Dove Self-esteem Fund and expose distorted perceptions of beauty. Quite a lofty goal but the film went viral and emerged as a telly commercial. It was written about extensively and won plenty of awards.

In 2007 Dove Evolution bagged one of the most keenly contested gongs in the business; the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions festival. Around the same time, another commercial, of Indian origin, was turning heads. It was heavily favoured in the run-up to Cannes Lions for at least a gold. Today, six years later, Dove's commercial is still clocking hits on YouTube - last count: over 14 million - and is case-study material. The Happydent commercial in the meantime hasn't quite breached the 300,000 mark, though it remains the best work for the brand in the country to date. Online advertising, social media, (facebook, YouTube and the like), viral marketing, microsites and PR via blogs and tweets can help extend the life of a campaign. For the past three years Indian audiences have been in a love affair with wiry creatures with swollen bellies and cackles that could drown out the sound of war horns. This year might witness the fourth avatar of the Vodafone Zoozoos when the next season of the Indian Premier League kicks off. Similarly, in 2008, Jaago Re, Tata Tea's campaign to stir up the youth, began with a simple idea[1].

The Internet has created a whole new strata of stars: those who find fame and fortune through YouTube. Every day millions of videos, often featuring the most inane things, like hit song covers and jumping cats are uploaded on to the video sharing site. A few of them manage to really capture the collective imagination of the Internet. These get shared, reshared, highlighted, picked up by mainstream media and lo and behold! More often than not, a star is born. India had its own viral video sensation in 2011 with Dhanush’s Kolaveri di in November, and of course there was the Govind Tiwari phenomenon that took over Indian social media real estate in July. [2].

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are treating the popular song Kolaveri Di from an upcoming Tamil film '3' as a classic example of viral marketing.
IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A), for instance, plans to dedicate a session to Kolaveri Di as part of its course on Contemporary Film Industry: A business perspective. Bharathan Kandaswamy, faculty and co-ordinator of the course, says, "I will discuss Kolaveri Di as part of a session on social media and online tools when my class starts in December. Kolaveri Di is a perfect case of viral marketing, which has created a huge difference in the world of publicity."[3]

The soup song from the Tamil film 3 starring Dhanush and Shruti Haasan has not only crossed 30 million hits online, but has also become a subject of academic research at premier institutes. The buzz began when the rough version of the song leaked online. The composer of Kolaveri, Anirudh Ravichander, and Dhanush decided to cash in on the opportunity and release an official video of the making of the song on November 16. It surpassed many previous records, including those set by chartbusters like Munni Badnaam Hui and Sheila Ki Jawaani, and made Dhanush the darling of the nation. Dhanush is also making the Hindi version of Kolaveri, as well as remixed and jazz versions [4].

Sony Music Entertainment India, which recorded the Tamil-English song that has become an international YouTube hit, filed for trademark registration of "Why this kolaveri di".Trademark registration under Class 9 and Class 41 will allow Sony to launch products such as compact disks, cassettes and SD cards as well as film and non-film entertainment content and talent discovery programmes branded "why this kolaveri di" and, more importantly, restrict others from doing it.

While the original song has received a never-before 20 million hits on YouTube, tens of different versions of the song in several languages are coming up everyday from across the globe. "This song cuts across demographics and psychographics--from the rickshaw wallahs on the street to CEOs, all find the product entertaining [5].

Adding to this, Bharti Airtel is extending its ‘Har Friend Zaroori Hai, Yaar' (HFZ) campaign by launching an all-new online viral initiative at its YouTube channel. Created by Taproot, these 20 videos are inspired by interesting ‘friend types' or tags created in a brand activity on Facebook[6].

Many impressive social marketing happenings took place in 2011[7]. There is a marked rise in use of social media by businesses worldwide as a tool to win new business, a recent study has found. An increasing number of Indian companies are using social media as an effective business tool, the study said, adding that 83 per cent firms in India agree that without social media activity, marketing strategies cannot hope to be successful [8]. While 83 per cent of Indian firms feel they cannot do without social media activity, the global figure for the same finds 74 per cent of companies around the world in agreement with it. In India, 67 per cent of firms encourage their employees to join social networks such as Linkedin, Xing and Video, compared to 53 per cent globally [9]. “From supply chain management, to leaner working practices, to cloud computing, to increased use of video communications and mobile working, no area of business is being overlooked. Particularly in India, where Nielsen has reported that three out of four social media users visit a social networking site at least once a day, and a discussion forum once a week; more and more companies are leveraging this channel to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tool,”[10].

The global Regus survey findings are based on the responses of over 17,000 managers and business owners across 80 countries. According to the survey, the last year has seen a rise in Indian companies using social networks, blogs, micro-blogs and forums to win new business. In 2010 Regus found that 52 per cent of Indian firms were successfully winning new customers through business social networking activity. A year later, the proportion has risen to 61 per cent. The research also reveals that globally more firms are also using social media to connect and engage with existing customers than a year ago.

The study observed that there is a rise of 7 per cent in the proportion of businesses successfully recruiting new customers through social networks such as Facebook, while 52 percent of businesses globally and 64 per cent in India use websites such as Twitter and Weibo to engage, connect with and inform existing customers. In India 67 per cent firms encourage their employees to join social networks such as Linkedin, Xing and Video, compared to 53 per cent globally.

The phenomenon of Social Media Marketing is reaping benefits for Indian Brands in both Branding and Customer Acquisition perspectives. The Marketing Chiefs are excited to include Social Media Marketing into their Mainstream marketing Campaigns. Majority of Indian Brands has a presence in Facebook and Twitter. Social Media Marketing in India should blend Indian Culture in their creative mix, while engaging with their customers in Facebook or Twitter. This would enable the brand to cater to the localized preferences and tastes of their customers with whom they are engaging.

Source: http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-data-point/finding-new-customers-via-social-media-regus.jpg

Source: http://regusonline.net/social_media_imagery/Blogs/2011/06_jun/regus.jpg

Source: http://i.marketingprofs.com/assets/images/daily-data-point/profit-increases-among-social-media-users-regus-new.jpg

Employee Retention

2012-01-29T23:52:00.001-08:00

Retaining Key Talents

A number of factors have been put forward as important in affecting employee retention, namely financial rewards, career development opportunities, job content, social atmosphere and work life balance.Competitive financial packages can signal a strong commitment on the part of the company and therefore can elicit a strong reciprocal commitment on the part of the employees.
Compensation expert Edward Lawler in his 1990 book Strategic Pay maintains that “organisations that have high levels of compensation have lower turnover rates and larger numbers of individuals applying to work in them”. Besides economic security, financial rewards also have a social meaning, with one’s salary level providing an indication of his or her status the organization and in society.

However, there are challenges in using financial rewards as a recruitment tool. For example, a 1987 study by the Institute of Employment Studies revealed that only 10% of people who had left their employer gave dissatisfaction with pay as the main reason for leaving. Another compensation expert Greg Smith in Here Today, Here Tomorrow asserts that “money gets employees in the door, but it doesn’t keep them there”.

Money is therefore a necessary, but not sufficient condition for employee retention. The problem with using financial rewards as the key retention tool is that one will always be vulnerable to the possibility that their competitors will be able to offer a better package and thus lure away the best employees!

Training and career development opportunities are also considered as one of the most important factors affecting employee retention. An organisation that seeks to strengthen its bond with its employees must invest in the development of these employees. This not only involves the creation of opportunities for promotion within the organisation, but there should also be opportunities for training and skills development that enhance employability internally and even in the external labour market. Another important category of retention factors relates to job content, more specifically the provision of challenging and meaningful work. It has always been argued that people do not just work for the money, but also to create purpose and satisfaction in their life. If work mainly consists of routine-based performance of tasks, the likelihood of demotivation or turnover will be relatively high.

Organisations that think carefully about how to structure jobs and related tasks in a meaningful way will certainly affect their retention rates positively. Initiatives aimed at enhancing the intrinsic qualities of a job are the most popular type of retention practices for knowledge organisations of today.

The work environment and the social ties within this environment is another key retention factor to be considered by employers. Loyalty to the organisation is fast becoming a thing of the past, being replaced by loyalty to one’s colleagues. Enhancing social networks for staff is an effective means of retention. Social contacts between colleagues and departments are an important factor for retaining talent. If an employee decides to leave your organisation, make him or her feel that they have lost a social network! This can be achieved through the creation of a positive social atmosphere by stimulating interaction and mutual co-operation among colleagues through long service award ceremonies, employee-of-the-month awards, company-sponsored sports teams, company parties and many other initiatives.

Organisations that allow employees to strike a meaningful balance between obligations at work and obligations at home are more likely to “lock” these employees than those organisations that believe work-family conflict is an illusion. Human resources departments must therefore be innovative and come up with policies that improve the work-life balance [1].

Retention has a direct and causal relationship with employee needs and motivation. Applying a motivation theory model, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, is an effective way of identifying effective retention protocol. Each of the five tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relates to optimal retention strategy. Since Maslow’s introduction of his motivation model, organizations have been employing strategies attempting to stimulate each of the five humanitarian needs described above to optimize retention rates. When applied to the organizational model, meeting the self-actualization and esteem needs of an employee tend to correlate to better retention. Physiological, safety, and social needs are important as well, however, and must be addressed to better the work environment. While implementing a retention strategy is ideal, successful satisfying all five needs of employees is not only difficult, but also expensive. That being said, managers who attempt to maximize employee need coverage tend to be more concerned with employee satisfaction.

Homegrown firm Marico, which makes Parachute coconut oil, does not keep a muster to monitor employee walk-ins at work. If an employee takes a day off, he or she is not marked absent. Nor is the employee required to file a leave application. Like Marico, many other companies have struck out the system of casual leave (CL) and sick leave (SL) from their leave calendars. Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Jyothy Laboratories are some of the other companies which do not follow a CL/SL system and believe in empowering employees to manage their work schedules to meet their targets. This trend can be observed in industries like FMCG and financial sector, where employers are concerned about the end result and perhaps it helps in employee retention as well. Such initiatives have a positive impact on the productivity of employees who can manage their work schedules better in addition to attending to family needs[2].

A sense of belonging is an internal push that is predicated upon the ability of the organization to provide an employee with job satisfaction and a friendly working environment. Management should create a work environment in which employees feel free and are treated with dignity in order for them to be affectively attached to the organization. People who identify with and are more committed to the mission and values of the organization are likely to stay even when better job opportunities exist elsewhere. Managers should create a friendly work environment, a good public image and an organizational culture with a sound financial base that will hold them out as one of the best organizations to work for. Such a corporate image presents an effective tool in attracting and retaining talent.

Indian organisations are exposed to three critical talent risks, according to a recent Ernst & Young survey. The first is employability risk, or attracting the right talent for the right role. Despite being labour surplus, there is an apparent talent inadequacy in comparison to the business growth that is transforming the industrial landscape. The numbers thrown up by the survey show that about 80% of the Indian workforce does not possess identifiable marketable skills; only 25% of professionals are considered "employable" by multinationals and the difficulty of employers in India to fill job vacancies has increased to 67% in 2011 as compared to the data from past years. The second is attrition risk. In spite of early warning signals indicating an impending slowdown, most employment metrics continue to indicate that the war for talent is still fierce. This risk is not just restricted to losing talent but additionally, organisations have to absorb the attrition costs. This has led to several organisations continuously strengthening their internal HR processes to hold on to their critical people and create a war-chest of talent. The third talent risk is that of increasing employee costs. The double-digit salary hikes being continuously provided for the last few years are forcing organisations to build stronger mechanisms to keep employee costs under control. In terms of addressing the risk of attracting employable talent, many organisations from across sectors are exploring opportunities such as tying up with educational institutes to introduce curriculum aligned to the requirements of the industry, adopting government-owned Industrial Training Institutes, setting up large training infrastructure and creating a network of trainers to build skills internally, inducting students as interns to enhance their practical exposure needed before joining the industry, etc.

For managerial talent, companies are ensuring they identify a set of management and engineering institutes and run a focused and continuous campus brand-building programme to be able to attract the right talent. Many organisations are also experimenting with channels such as the social media to reach out to their target talent audience.

Organisations are devising retention strategies by understanding and answering certain key aspects about their target talent, first being "who" they want to retain. Secondly, "what" are the components that employees perceive as important to stay in the organisation.

Organisations are continuously identifying the requirements of their key talent and aligning their HR practices to enhance the value proposition they provide to employees in those specific areas, typically identified as: role, career, benefits, compensation and culture [3].

The $8 billion Essar group has for the first time in its history offered employee stock options (Esops) and stock appreciation rights schemes (Sars) to the top leadership team comprising 269 people from its listed as well as unlisted arms. The group is adopting these retention methods during a slowdown, a phase it considers an opportunity to create efficiencies [4].

Metal and mining companies are offering stock options as a tool to reward and retain senior management staff in difficult times, something the IT firms did all this while. Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Visa Steel are some of the companies, apart from Essar Steel, that have given out employees stock options (Esops). It's only recently that steel companies are exploring the Esop route [5].

A study the Ron Volper Group conducted, in 2011, across a range of industries, confirmed that the number one reason for "unforced turnover" is employee dissatisfaction with their compensation. Moreover, 80 percent of employees who voluntarily left their company took a higher paying position with another company.

Here's how you can use your compensation plan to retain and motivate employees and up your sales in a down market.

1. Pay employees salary and incentives. The companies with the highest employee morale and productivity pay a mix of salary and incentives. The salary compensates employees for performing all the tasks required of them and provides them with a consistent income. The incentive (which can be commission for salespeople and a bonus for others) motivates them to meet and exceed their goals and gives them the opportunity to increase their earnings.

Pay employees the salary portion of their compensation monthly or bi-monthly. Pay employees the incentive portion of their compensation as soon after they meet their goals as feasible. Thus, quarterly incentive payments are usually more motivating than annual payments and monthly incentive payments are often best.

2. Keep the incentive part of your plan simple. The test of a good compensation plan is that the incentive part measures no more than two to four performance factors, and all employees can accurately explain the plan in the time it takes to walk from the front door of your office building to your receptionist's desk.

3. Establish SMART goals. SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic and Time-bound.

For salespeople, that means establishing monthly and annual revenue goals and/or goals for opening new accounts. For other customer contact people, establish goals for the ratio of customer compliments versus complaints, and/or the number of customer complaints they resolve on the first phone call. For employees in accounts receivable, consider basing goals on how much outstanding revenue they collect against specific targets. For those in manufacturing, consider basing goals on the number of products they manufacture free of defects.

While it's okay to pay a small part of the incentives based on the team's overall results, most of the incentive should be based on individual results.

4. Determine what your competitors are paying. One way to attract and retain top employees-and keep them motivated is to pay them as much or more than your competitors. Every few years, you should determine what your competitors are paying and adjust your compensation plan accordingly. You can do this informally by asking employees with other companies that you interview about their compensation plan, or more objectively by hiring an outside consulting firm to benchmark your plan against others and advise you on how to adjust it.

5. Modify salaries based on employees' geographic location. While the incentive plan for employees working in different cities should not change, you should adjust the salary portion to reflect the local cost of living, so as not to penalize employees who live in more expensive cities.

6. Use merit increases to reward top performers. In a misguided attempt to keep all employees happy, many companies misallocate the funds they budget for annual merit increases by giving all employees essentially the same merit increases. Your first priority should be to retain and motivate star employees, your second priority to retain and motivate satisfactory employees. Therefore, award the largest salary increases to your stars, much more modest increases to satisfactory performers, and no increases to employees whose performance falls below expectations.

7. Provide employees with non-financial rewards. Besides cash, employees are motivated by other forms of recognition and rewards. For example, consider establishing an annual trip to reward employees who have achieved certain annual goals. Besides increasing motivation, company-sponsored trips build camaraderie and teamwork. How you train, develop and manage your employees also drives retention and performance. However, paying them as well as you realistically can — based on their performance — is one of the best ways to heighten their motivation [6].

Companies around the world are cutting back their financial-incentive programs, but few have used other ways of inspiring talent. A recent McKinsey Quarterly survey underscores the opportunity. The respondents view three noncash motivators—praise from immediate managers, leadership attention (for example, one-on-one conversations), and a chance to lead projects or task forces—as no less or even more effective motivators than the three highest-rated financial incentives: cash bonuses, increased base pay, and stock or stock options. The survey’s top three nonfinancial motivators play critical roles in making employees feel that their companies value them, take their well-being seriously, and strive to create opportunities for career growth. These themes recur constantly in most studies on ways to motivate and engage employees [7].

Employees, especially those with esteem and self-actualization motives want to be appreciated and rewarded, not necessarily with money, but openly acknowledging their achievements and contribution. Accordingly, motivation is founded upon satisfaction derived from a sense of achievement, recognition for achievement, responsibility and personal growth. A critical retention motivation for key employees is the visible appreciation of their contribution to the organization and respect for their skills. Management should, as part of its organizational culture, institutionalise the practice of appreciating and rewarding individual employees with outstanding performances that are above set standards or when valuable suggestions translate to increased productivity or profitability.

Organisations often adopt e-Learning when they are looking to decrease training costs. This is particularly true of organisations that have a large or geographically dispersed workforce. Many organisations, especially multi-nationals, are now using social networks, blogs, online communities, gaming and other collaborative learning technologies to create learning as well as comfortable work atmosphere and incentive for attracting and retaining talents. This results in better productivity and positive mood in the work place. Staff with tight schedules can nowadays roam the intellectual world courtesy of the internet and can foster passions or update skills instead of committing themselves to a strict academic timetable [8].

Training and development opportunity strongly influenced retention amongst employees. For employees to be effective in the performance of their jobs, they must be constantly trained and developed. Employees perceive investment in their training and development by employers as a strong sign of commitment on the part of management to retain them.

Motivating employees is a constant task that requires an understanding of employee psychology, as well as
an understanding of individual motivators. The key to motivation unlocks human potential. To be effective,
managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, employee motivation is one of the most complex management issues they face. As employees find an outlet for their creativity and satisfaction with their work, the work they perform becomes a more important part of their life. As a result, employees become more productive and experience higher rates of satisfaction with their employment. In the past, managers assumed incorrectly, that all it would take to motivate employees is to pay them more. It is conceivable for an organization to have more employees than a competitor yet produce less and have disgruntled, low-output employees even though the organization is paying their employees more than the competitor. The research has clearly shown that increased motivation and satisfaction can increase worker output. Organizations are beginning to understand that they are able to motivate increased productivity and employee satisfaction by means other than financial incentives. The foundation of good human relations, the interaction between employer and employees and their attitudes toward one another, is a satisfied work force. Job satisfaction is the degree of enjoyment that people derive from performing their jobs. Satisfied and motivated employees are more likely to have high morale, loyalty and commitment. As a result, they tend to be more dedicated and make larger contributions to the initiatives and goals of the organization. An organization’s level of understanding of how to motivate its employees can be considered directly related to the level of employee satisfaction and retention at the organization.

To keep employees and keep satisfaction high, organizations need to implement each of the three Rs of employee retention: respect, recognition, and rewards.

Respect is esteem, special regard, or particular consideration given to people. As the pyramid shows, respect is the foundation of keeping employees. Recognition and rewards will have little effect if organizations don’t respect employees.

Recognition is defined as “special notice or attention” and “the act of perceiving clearly.” Many problems with retention and morale occur because management is not paying attention to employees need and reaction. Recognition is an important factor for retention.

Rewards are the extra perks offered beyond the basics of respect and recognition that make it worth people’s while to work hard, to care, to go beyond the call of duty. While rewards represent the smallest portion of the retention equation, they are still an important one [9].

How to Keep Your Top Talent from Being Poached

Identify your top talent.
This might sound like common sense, but most companies neglect this simple step. If you can identify a core group of individuals that are top performers, you can then work on a plan to keep them.
Learn what’s important.
Once you’ve identified your top performers, take the time to find out what they value. We tend to assume all employees value money the most, but that may not be the case. Many people value growth opportunity, training, schedule flexibility, etc. more than money. Use one-to-one reviews or surveys to discover what’s really important to your employees.
Value your team.
If your team feels undervalued, they will leave. Show your team that you care, reward hard work, celebrate achievements, and make sure your teams understands they are a valuable part of the company and essential to continued success.
Understand there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
One of the most important things to consider is that there is no magic bullet when it comes to employee retention. Different employees will value different things. What’s important is that you take the time to determine what your team does value, and create an environment in which they can thrive [10].

Online Marketing & CRM

2012-01-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

Internet and CRM

Trying to acquire new customers is more costly than keeping the ones already have. Relationship marketing is geared towards customers that are the most valuable for business. These customers expect great customer service and want to feel like they have some kind of relationship with the company in hopes that the company will make them feel like a valued customer. In turn, these customers are usually the most loyal and will spread the word about the business.

The way to execute a customer relationship program has changed in the last few years. Most businesses like to hand out discounts or special customer appreciation promotions as well as personalized customer service. Today, social media is helping corporations get closer to their customers in a way that is less expensive and more effective.

Change in technology and evolution of social relation online resulted in new way of marketing. Social Media has changed the way people connect, discover and share information. Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns Social media marketing is the way to use that technology to build relationships, drive repeat business and attract new customers through friends sharing with friends. This technique of marketing is better than traditional way of marketing especially for new emerging companies these companies get quick result and exposure through social media marketing. Millions of people daily visit social media sites and blogs which help companies in getting long tail traffic for a long period of time.

The luxury of staying at home, browsing the net and at the click of a mouse having your favourite book titles delivered at your doorstep is a tough model to beat. Which is why the trend of buying online is increasingly preferred by book lovers and retail stores are feeling the pinch.

Some of the leading book stores in the city have seen a decline in the number of walk-in customers to their shops.

The lifestyle of customers is changing and people find it convenient to browse at home and get the books delivered. The free shipping and huge discount margin offered is also another significant reason for their choice.

Chennai is the No. 1 destination for indiaplaza.com, in terms of book sales [1].

As buyers become more comfortable with the clickbuy-pay process, they have inched up the purchase ladder, from booking railway tickets or recharging prepaid mobile phones, to picking up more expensive items such as jewellery. While various branded jewellers have been selling their wares online for some years, a new segment is now emerging-online jewellers, who only sell via the Internet and have no retail stores. This means that they can cut down on high rental costs and operational expenses to offer hefty discounts to buyers . In fact, some of these online sellers claim to give discounts of up to 30% compared with the prices being offered in physical stores.

Most of these sites, such as Johareez (johareez.com) and JewelsNext (jewelsnext.com), sell across various categories, from silver anklets to diamond solitaires.

One reason for the growing popularity of online jewellers is that they can offer significant discounts. The e-commerce companies' savings come from the expenses they shave off on costs that go into renting and managing a swanky retail store. These discounts are in addition to the regular ones offered during festive and wedding seasons. Another advantage of shopping online is that these sellers have more variety compared with that in physical stores. Online jewellers also offer customisation options. For instance, CaratLane allows you to choose the type of diamond you want to buy depending on its cut, carat, colour and clarity, even your budget. Once you have picked the stone of your choice, you can choose the setting as well as the size.
Buying from these sites is as easy as that from any other online shop.

Nokia India and Indiatimes Shopping have launched Nokia’s online store, NokiaShop, to deliver mobile devices directly from manufacturer to the users. The online shopping portal will offer Nokia devices and accessories. A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) reveals that India’s e-commerce market is growing at an average rate of 70 percent annually and has grown over 500 percent in the past three years alone. Given the potential of e-commerce industry, Indiatimes and Nokia are confident of high growth in the mobile phone category within the next two quarters.

Nokia devices connect more than 1.3 billion people every day. Times Internet Limited (TIL) is the Internet and mobile venture of the media house Times Group. Indiatimes.com is TIL’s flagship brand and receives more than 1 billion page views per month. In the mobile space, Indiatimes is accessed by over 50 million consumers across all telecom operators in India [3].

After bringing about a lifestyle revolution in the West, online shopping websites are catching up in India too. With the rise of sites like HomeShop 18, eBay.in, Naaptol and Indiaplaza, people have stopped going out to shop for everything they need. These shopping websites are offering an interesting range of things at very tempting prices, and online innovations have done away with the fear of one losing their money in transaction. No doubt, these websites are mushrooming by the day and customers are spoilt for choice.
A recent survey by a website listed the following online shopping websites as amongst the top five in the same order: Flipkart, Fashion and You, eBay, BabyOye and Yebhi. Metrolife speaks to a few online shopping enthusiasts and finds out about their virtual shopping experience [4].

Naaptol Online Shopping Pvt Ltd, a leading player of the home shopping industry,announced plans to strengthen Customer Relationship Management (CRM) team. Naaptol.com currently services 50000 calls a day through trained and customer focused 24x7 call centre.

Currently, the management has 150 executives to support the customers, in eight different languages. The CRM team is dedicated to resolving any issue faced by the customers and take quick action under any condition.

Enhancing CRM team also boasts of company’s association with logistics partners such as Blue Dart, First Flight, Expressit and AFL, to ensure smooth deliveries.

Introducing reverse logistics method where customers can send back the parcel without any extra cost and get replacement or refund as suitable is a added feature [5].

While the second round of e-commerce activity in India started in all seriousness around 2007-08, it was only at the beginning of 2011 that trade pundits started talking with confidence about the return of e-commerce as a viable business activity. Some major e-commerce sites that had showninitial success in drawing consumers expanded operations and, like in the case of flipkart.com that started off as an online bookstore and expanded to consumer electronics, extended their propositions.

Everyone in the know started saying that this time around, consumers would respond positively to the online buying proposition as people beyond the metros and big cities could access products and services they had no access to earlier. This would be very unlike the first dotcom bubble that burst around 2000 because of poor ‘business’ blueprints.

This time around, besides the metros and large cities, small-town India has responded very positively and transaction sizes have been rising dramatically. Consumers across urban India, according to published reports, are not fighting shy of deal sizes that cross Rs 20,000-25,000 today. Earlier, they stayed in the Rs 2,000-5,000 range. According to a Vizisense study in 2011, adoption of e-commerce product sites is higher at 57% in urban India beyond the top eight metros’ 43%. For service sites too, the pattern is similar at 54% versus 46%.

Therefore, e-commerce seems to have become a very good business idea as India’s huge consumer population, aspiring for more and better if it can access them, is opening doors and prospects for online consumer-based businesses. With entry costs comparatively low, at least to start off with, the second half of 2011 and the beginning of the current calendar have seen the launch of a good number of new e-commerce sites spanning across an expanding pool of propositions.

Everyone wants to be a part of this race. Experiments by the dozen are emerging week after week. Consumers are spoilt for choice. There is, in many cases, an explosion of me-too e-commerce ventures, while in other cases, there is a genuine attempt to create differentiation and a long-term vision.

With angel funds and venture capital firms more than willing to look at e-commerce start-ups for funding, the fire is getting further stoked as even more new start-ups are cropping up in what industry pundits are still calling a nascent sector.

Top 5 industry trends in 2012:

Social Media – With social media sites like Twitter and Facebook having gained mass adoption, customers now have a new channel of expression and it will be important for companies to beef up their social media strategy and use these channels to engage customers on a regular basis. In addition, customer support and customer service through these social media channels will become imperative and companies will need to rethink their entire customer support strategy from ground up, keeping social media in perspective.

Mobile – The number of mobile users in India exceed number of internet users in India by a factor of 5. With smartphones becoming cheaper and 4G being launched in India, mobile internet usage will not only become affordable but also enable several users to access the internet for the first time on their mobiles. Mobiles therefore will very soon become a big channel not only for seeking information, but also for transactions.

Payments – The success rate of payment gateways in India is nothing to boast about. In the coming year, several new modes of payment like NFC, Mobile Wallets etc will get introduced which will not only make payments easier, but also enable transactions for a big segment of people who could not transact earlier. Ease of payments will overall be a significant contributor to the growth of e-commerce services in India.

Social CRM – A personalized experience to a customer will soon be a factor that will differentiate the service of one company from another. So far, websites are used to showing up the same offers, same results to each customer, but going forward, they will need to provide a custom experience to each customer based on what they have purchased in the past, the products that they are looking at etc. A social profile for each customer will also help customized and relevant marketing promotions to reach each consumer.

Hyper Local – Location based services are already catching up and the coming year will mark the tipping point for location based services. Companies will need to figure out their offering in the context of a location and ensure that the user is able to quickly find relevant products based on his current location [7].