Of Positivity, Optimism and Sanguineness

     A professor once announced to his students that he was taking a surprise test.  As they waited for the test to begin, he handed out the question paper, with the side with text facing down as usual.  After handing them all out, he asked the students to turn the page and begin.  To everyone's surprise, there were no questions, just a black dot in the center of the page.  Noticing the surprise on everyone's face, the professor said, "I want you to write what you see there."

     The perplexed students began working on the bizarre task. Once they were done, the professor took all the answer papers and began reading each one of them aloud to the whole class.  Every student described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After reading it all, the professor said to the quiet class:

"I am not going to grade on you this, I just wanted to give you something to think about.  No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot - and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate - nature renewing itself everyday, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see everyday.

However we insist on focusing only on the dark spots - the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend, and so on.

The dark spots are very small compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.

Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life.  Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with LOVE,"

     I read this story recently. So simple to understand, yes? But is it as easy to practise? We don't hesitate before throwing free advice to everyone who doesn't even ask for it: "Be positive in life!", "Don't compare yourself with others, you wil just be disappointed, you don't know what they had to struggle with".

     But when it comes to us, "Look you don't know what I'm going through, okay? If you had to go through what I have, you would have understood!"

     Why are most of us so good at preaching optimism but bad at practising it? Have you ever begun a Monday on a positive note, right after you open your eyes from sleep? Isn't the first thing that comes to your mind the most disturbing of all? Now if you start your day on a note like this, how can you expect the rest of your day to be good?

     Expectation.. That is another advice that is most commonly given - "Do not expect, you will never be disappointed." But is it possible to not expect anything at all? A slight bout of expectation always exists, followed by the sinking feeling of disappointment.

    So why are you reading this article that is just telling you things you already know and feel every day? Why not just stop and focus on the little joy you have left in life? Guess what, you can have more than a little joy. Ever heard of the term 'train of thought'? Can you take a guess at who the porter for that train might be? You are. Believe me, you can choose which thoughts you let on board that train. Some amount of bad thought is bound to come on board, but it is the power of the good thoughts, which does not let the bad thoughts go beyond the first halt that helps you see clearly. And when you see clearly, things get sorted automatically. You begin to see the right path ahead, and what follows, are the good things in life; the best outcomes of your actions.

     Now this might seem to you as another free advice, but trust me, it is being practised by yours truly. So what do you say, let's fill that train with only those thoughts that we want, and kick the rest back to the platform?

There Is A 'G' In 'Alphabet'!

     Innovation, Technology, Making The World A Better Place. 'Google' stands for all of these. The word, which had no meaning whatsoever about 17 years ago save for its phonetic similarity to the word 'googol' (10 to the power 100) which it was originally going to be called, is now a near inseparable part of our lives. With its numerous products to assist our daily activities, this brainchild of  Larry Page and Sergey Brin has earned its place among the greatest organizations in the world.

     In a recent turn of events, the company announced that it is no longer going to be called Google. WHAT?!

     Please excuse the dramatics, what I meant was that it is now creating a new publicly traded parent company called Alphabet Inc. to house all of its disparate businesses. This conglomerate will have Google as its largest subsidiary, and here's where we Indians have a second of pride, the executive who will replace Larry Page as Google’s CEO is an Indian - Sundar Pichai.

     This is the third time in a year that a person with an Indian-origin who started at the bottom has gone on to become the top executive of a tech-giant. It was only last year when Nokia and Microsoft appointed India-born Rajeev Suri and Satya Nadella, respectively, as their CEOs.

     I am not going to talk about how the restructuring of Google is similar to that of Berkshire Hathaway, or the transparency that it is supposed to bring in, nor am I going to sing praises for Mr. Pichai, who can be called the reason I, and billions of others are using Google Chrome, or how his management of Android is giving Apple a tough fight. There are, by now, thousands of articles on these and many more topics on the web and in print. Don't get me wrong here, I am not trying to undermine his efforts and success. No person in their right mind would do that. 

     Born in a humble family in Chennai, Pichai, who will be the first CEO of Google that isn’t a white man. An engineer from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, his family had to put everything they had on the line to facilitate his coming to America to study materials science and semiconductor physics at Stanford. From a product manager at Google to the SVP of Android, Chrome and Apps, and now CEO designate, he has seen it all. Kudos to that.

     What I really want to bring to the table is, what makes Indians the best choices for such positions? It cannot be a coincidence that the Indians who have been chosen to head these companies have all been really long term employees. 

     Indians have been known worldwide for their academic prowess and managerial skills. They have proved their ability to work and deliver under pressure, and have enabled the change of perception that Indians cannot lead, only follow. 

     The West has realised that the cradle of future technology is on Indian soil, and that in order to get more Indians on board, they must have an exemplary Indian lead them, so as to attract more like him into their fold. If this is true, aren't they getting the better end of the deal? We have been battling a 'brain-drain' from India to the West for decades now. While the drain is due to better living conditions and perceived better opportunities abroad, it is impacting the huge number of untapped vistas we have here. 

     Opportunity is relative. While some may find more opportunity where most people have achieved success, others create opportunities where there has been limited or no success in recorded history. We have stark examples before us that prove this - right from a taxi service on your beck and call to a space shuttle that takes you to the moon and back; right from setting up a marketplace on the internet to an actual affordable market chain across the world; and finally from a search engine to a driverless car. 

     So congratulations Mr. Pichai on your remarkable achievement, we couldn't be any prouder. But for those of you who emulate him, remember, where we stay isn't so bad either. After all, the Americans did not invent the Alphabet!

There's Still Hope, Introverts!

"Your son really needs to speak up!"

"Why don't you join personality development classes?"

"Marketing? For an introvert like you? You should take up finance."

"You have a lot of great ideas. On paper they look superb. Just make sure you're vocal enough about them."

     Didn't quite catch what I was getting at? Or may be you did. The above four verbatim comments are few of the many that have tried to deride my personality as an introvert, self-centered, a recluse, and even a laconic social outcast. Yes, that climax got a bit out of hand, but that just about covers everything that many "introverts" like me are subjected to at different points of life. This is no self-establishing, putting-my-foot-down article; just a fresh look at what the world of marketing needs in terms of personalities.

     It isn't necessary that we fall into one particular personality category or type. We can be "divergent", showing traits belonging to more than one type. And that's what often confuses and even frustrates the conformist world around us. I'm not trying to imply that I'm remarkable, but just consider this for a moment: can a person enjoy both - socialising and solitude at the same time? It's quite possible, you know.

     I just finished reading a book called "Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain, thanks to a HBR article I stumbled upon. I couldn't help but connect with the book instantly, primarily because I am an introvert. 

     How often do we see extroverts getting all the attention and introverts being sidelined? More often than we can count, yes? And that's no one's fault. Extroverts have an involuntary longing for attention even while they work while introverts prefer concentrating in silence with less commotion around. Introverts prefer listening to talking, think, sometimes even over-think, before they speak, and attach a lot of importance to others' feelings, relationships and rules. In short, and I'm quoting the HBR article here, "introverts focus on the meaning of events around us, while extroverts focus on the events themselves".

     Then what was that I said about belonging to more than one personality types earlier? Does it apply to introversion and extroversion? Yes, it does. It's called being an 'ambivert', and these kinds of people are the future of marketing. Marketing needs more introverts, those who listen to the customers' needs, rather than just shove the product in their face, focus on customer relationships, which also needs them to be a bit extrovert, and ultimately drive long-term business.

     The customer is king, always has been, always will be, and is now more than ever before. Naturally listening to the customer becomes necessary and valuable. The consumer is spoilt for choice. Every day you have someone or the other advertising a price off, websites comparing prices of everything right from handbags to mobile phones to real estates, and the consumer, now more than ever, has a voice, all thanks to social media. Social media can make or break a brand, and the world is hooked to it. Feedback, complaints, online wars are an everyday occurrence now and how leaders react to feedback is often decisive. This is where the relationship-building and feelings-oriented traits of introverts come into play.

     

     We no longer live in a world where all advertisements are monologues. Advertisers are increasingly turning to video and image sharing websites to convey their offerings to their target audience. The "voice" that a customer has now is being tapped to make things go "viral", be it a response of a supposedly "dim" female celebrity, or a World Cup campaign. The patience that is paramount to listen to what the customer has to say exists only in introverts, which is why introverted marketers will be more successful in leaving the creation of their brand in the consumer's hands. According to Susan Cain, “An extrovert can quite unwittingly get so excited about things that they’re putting their own stamp on things and other people’s ideas may not bubble up to the surface.” Gone are the days where the brand manager is the whole and soul of the brand; he HAS to work in tandem with his consumers to decide where his brand is going.

     Most of us are familiar with the Pareto Principle, the law of the vital few, a common rule of thumb in business - "80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers". These "vital few" determine which brands are successful and which aren’t. It is essential to engage in deeper conversations with the few key consumers, which is a classic favourite of most introverts. This even helps forge strong ties and helps in long-term relationships.

     I don't mean to say that extroverts have no future in marketing. In fact, marketing is a field where it won't help you if you're rigidly introvert or extrovert. All I intend to say is introverts can offer more than they are generally thought of. And moreover, their traits are indispensable to business. So let's not confine them to departments where there is trivial human interaction, instead let's build a futuristic society with ambiverts who know when to speak up, and when to shut down.

Wake Up and Smell STARBUCKS!

     Starbucks Corporation, doing business as Starbucks Coffee, is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 23,187 stores in 64 countries. Their products are: roasted and handcrafted high-quality, premium priced coffees, tea, fresh food items and other beverages. They also sell coffee and tea products and license their trademarks through channels such as licensed stores, groceries etc.

     Starbucks primarily operates and competes in the retail coffee and snacks store industry. The core competence of Starbucks has been its ability to effectively leverage its cornerstone product differentiation strategies by offering a premium product mix of high quality beverages and snacks. Their brand equity is built on selling the finest quality coffee and related products, and by giving each customer a unique “Starbucks Experience”, which is supreme customer service, clean and well-maintained stores, thus building a high degree of customer loyalty.

     Its other core competence is its human resource management's values-based approach for building very strong internal and external relationships with suppliers, which drives the successful deployment of its business strategy of expansion into international markets, horizontal integration through smart acquisitions and alliances that maintains their long-term strategic objective being the most recognized and respected brands in the world.

     Starbucks, with its size and scale, has the power to take advantage of its suppliers but under its coffee and farmer equity program, it gives its suppliers a fair partnership status, which gives them moderately, low power. The suppliers in the industry also pose a low threat of competing against Starbucks by forward vertical integration, which lowers their power. Starbucks also forms a highly important part of the suppliers business, due its size and scope, which make the power of the suppliers lower. Thus, suppliers pose a moderately low bargaining power.

Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz

     Starbucks has a significant geographical presence across the globe, maintains a 36.7% market share in the United States and operates in over 60 countries. It is the most recognized brand in the coffeehouse segment and is ranked 91st in the best global brands of 2013. Starbucks effectively leverages its rich brand equity by merchandizing products, licensing its brand logo. Such strong market position and brand recognition allows the company to gain significant competitive advantage in further expanding into international markets and also register higher growth in both domestic and international markets.

     They give the highest importance to the quality of their products and avoid standardization even for higher production output. Starbucks has stores in some of the most prime and strategic locations across the globe. They target premium, high-traffic and high-visibility locations which has earned them a significant competence and advantage to be able to penetrate prime markets. Their stores are visually appealing, being designed to reflect the unique character of the neighbourhood they serve in and environmentally friendly. They provide free Wi-Fi, great music, great service, warm atmosphere and an environment of community meeting, which forms a wider part of the ‘Starbucks Experience’. The main aim here is to make their stores a ‘third place’ besides home and work.

     Starbucks is known for its employees. They are the main assets of the company and they are provided with great benefits like stock option, retirement accounts and a healthy culture. Thus, the effective management of its human resources translates into great customer service. Their stores are community friendly, by recycling and reducing waste, thereby building goodwill among communities where they operate.

     Just as Apple did with iTunes, Starbucks efficiently leverages technology with its mobile application ‘Starbucks App’ in both iOS and Android. They make significant investments in technology to support their growth every year. It has a cult following status among consumers and they have also implemented loyalty-based programs to drive loyalty with the Starbucks Rewards programs and Starbucks Card. The Starbucks Card is a value card program that provides convenience, support gifting, and increases the frequency of store visits by cardholders and integrated with their mobile application.

     The increasing saturation and of the US market makes its international strategy even more important. Starbucks has made an entry into many countries, with India recently joining the list with a joint venture. Starbucks sees a great growth potential in further expanding into emerging and developing markets. They leverage their size, experience, financial prowess and efficiencies. Starbucks recently started to expand their product mix by venturing into the Tea and fresh juice product offerings with a smart acquisition strategy.

 

     One of the key strategies that Starbucks followed since its inception is that of product differentiation with its premium product mix, locations, reputation in coffee beverages and supreme customer service that translated to building a premium valued brand that is costly to imitate for competitors. Starbucks also followed a shrewd strategy of strategic alliance and making smart acquisitions. Starbucks didn’t follow the franchising model and operated company oriented stores and joint ventures in international markets.

     Another crucial strategy for Starbucks’ growth has been expansion into key developed and emerging markets for geographical diversification, and it has been highly successful with operations spanning 64 countries. All these strategies have derived considerable competitive advantage for Starbucks over its competitors.

     Thus, Starbucks is an excellent example of spotting opportunities and making effective utilisation of the same. Their culture is thus that it can adapt to any environment which has helped them grow in so many markets. Efficient management of their human capital and their suppliers, their foray into technology and their supreme customer relationship management have ensured that Starbucks is here to play a long innings in the coffeehouse segment.

The Snapdeal Way: the story of identifying right business opportunities

With the evolution of e-commerce in India, the most talked about website has always been the market leader Flipkart. But doing equally well in terms of business and growing at a much faster rate is its competitor Snapdeal. A venture started by two twenty-four year old school friends, has indeed been a magnificently successful brand. They have played a major role in shaping the buying habits of today’s generation. They identified opportunities at every step, tweaked their line of business, diversified where they sensed high growth, made the best use of the funding they got from their investors and succeeded to be one of the biggest players of the Indian e-commerce industry.

Kunal Bahl, then 24 years of age, a management student from Wharton School of Business, decided to start a business with his school friend Rohit Bansal after a stint at Microsoft. Rohit, an IIT engineer was then working with CapitalOne. With a total work experience of 18 months between both of them, they quit their corporate lifestyle and decided to follow their childhood dreams. Life was easy and sorted for them; they had the best degrees and the best jobs with substantial packages. But they chose to go the hard way. That was the first time they spotted an opportunity. Indians are generally misers and they love to save money. They love to shop during monsoon sale, eat at restaurants that give discounts and prefer to buy the most cost-efficient car. So, basically Indians love discounts. This insight paved a path for the idea of a couponing and discounting business.

Snapdeal Co-founders: Kunal Bahl & Rohit Bansal

They launched MoneySaver, an offline couponing business in 2007. They were struggling at establishing this new idea and realized they had to seek investments. They started cold calling investors through their websites, as they weren’t sure who would be interested in investing in this kind of a business. IndoUS Venture Partners were their first investors in September 2009.

While their business was still juvenile, a couple of merchants working with them suggested that Kunal and Rohit could venture into the online market to carry their couponing business. This casual suggestion kept them thinking. Internet was still in its nascent stage in India. Online group buying deals were newly started by Groupon in the United States. It wasn’t a tested business and as the golden law persists, it is not necessary that a successful business at every corner of the world would be successful in India as well. So, there was a risk, but a bigger opportunity and the optimistic minds could not ignore it. They knew that they would get the first mover advantage to be pioneers in the online couponing and group buying deals segment. They brainstormed on how to go about it in January 2010. Soon after that, they registered a domain and that was all that the Engineer-MBA duo knew back then about an online business. On February 4, 2010 they took the brave plunge and launched Snapdeal.com under the company named ‘Jasper Infotech’. The site failed initially, and they made a lot of mistakes. But however, they were extremely agile, they obsessively tracked the customer preferences, and continued to rapidly revise and improve the platform. They evolved and learned from their mistakes and kept moving forward by taking intelligent risks and eventually things started working out well.

Snapdeal.com was started in February 2010 as a daily deals platform. They gave discounted deals on restaurants, beauty salons, spas, amusement parks and many other entertainment services. Various budding business happily collaborated with Snapdeal since the deals attracted customers and got them recognition. Soon, Snapdeal became a sensational success in the country. But they realized that the growth in the daily deals platform was slow and would get stagnant after a point. Ecommerce was a budding industry in India. It had already become popular in the developed countries. Websites like Ebay and Amazon had proved their mettle. In India, Flipkart had then just ventured into the ecommerce world and had got a decent response. The number of internet users in India was less, but the fact remained that the growth rate of internet in India was the highest.

This was spotted to be great opportunity by Kunal and Rohit. E-commerce was a risky industry since it was not easy to change Indian buying habits. But as it is said, big risk brings big money. Finally in September 2011, Snapdeal tweaked their line of business and became an e-commerce company via a marketplace model. The marketplace model is one in which the company does not own the inventory. It engages different retailers to sell their products. It had successfully been implemented by Ebay in the US. Flipkart on the other hand followed the Inventory-holding model of ecommerce, where in the company itself owned the entire inventory and sold it to its buyers. No other private retailers were involved. The move was fraught with risks at a time when most e-retailers in India were inventory-led, but going the marketplace way really jump-started Jasper Infotech, which runs Snapdeal.com, into the big league.

Today, Snapdeal locks horns with e-commerce biggie Flipkart and is nearing a billion dollars in sales. With 20 million registered users, Snapdeal is one of the first and largest online marketplaces in India offering an assortment of over 4 million products across diverse categories from over 20,000 sellers, shipping to 4,000 towns and cities in India. It has shown a phenomenal growth rate of 600% in the last one year.

From an offline couponing business to an e-commerce company nearing a billion dollar sales, the Snapdeal story narrates how young entrepreneurs can create new business opportunities and build a legacy.