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VInita Pothina Chowdary.

(Market Research Analysist)

Vinita began her career with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering. She had begun her career in sales with Avanti Business Machines. Moved to Chennai and worked as a shopfloor manager at Schneidtecnik India Ltd. She later joined ITW Signode as a product manager to understand the consumer better. Rural research is one of her specializations. Her clients include Hindustan Lever Ltd, Cadburys, Mahindra , P & G. Is an active member with save the rocks society- ecological cause. This was followed by a MBA in Marketing and Finance at Osmania University.

Currently operates as an individual consultant for a many a big market research and adv agencies. Has handled couple of international projects for APUSP and Asutralian Graduate School of Management. She is a regular business columnist with Andhrajyothy (market mantra) and Enadu. Also features on a popular ETV2 prog called poduputho pragathi.

Is it wrong to love one self and put our own interests above others??? Well whether its right or wrong we not sure but we sure do not want to portray this picture of “I me myself”. Its just that part of our culture and upbringing always wants us to say – as you please . And later feel bad /sad / unhappy. Why do we constantly do it- Take a simple example – you go out shopping with a colleague and you like a particular T Shirt on sale- but your friend also likes the same one and there isn’t another piece. You let your friend have it for courtesy. You go home and really feel bad. Added to this he wears it to office next day and every one is complimenting him regarding the same. You virtually want to kick yourself. The point is when it bothers you why do you have to do things just to portray a good image. If you really wanted to let your colleague have the T shirt then you should not have regret pangs later. Instead of your colleague feeling good – you keep the shirt and you feel good.

Its not wrong to be selfish. This is a very strong sentence but its true- as long as your are not damaging someone elses interest its ok. What is the idea of not respecting your own interests . We as Indians culturally are a very social country- we have sayings like – athidhi devobhava – are taught to be socially very pleasing & politically correct. As times are changing and individualism is increasing – to teach your children words like- adjust/ compromise are not relevant in the current day scenario. Take a case of a painful bachelor colleague who always comes in at dinner time- you are so nice to him – entertain him and after he goes your wife picks up a fight with you. Why!! Because your polite hints do not have an impact and you are not able to get yourself to be stern with him. The reality is unless you think your priorities are important – nobody else will think so. Stop feeling guilty to be nice to yourself. Listen to your inner self atma raman- he wants to be independent live life for himself.

This is a very famous American saying – you are your only best friend. Two decades earlier we laughed at it saying – they are so materialistic -but its proving out to be more and more true. Many might choose to disagree with above sentence but its quite true. Say a working woman leaves her job because her children are unable to cope – that is not putting others happiness before hers. Its her happiness to stay at home and take care of the kids. But if you take a transfer to a city where your old parents are – and then crib that we have lost our privacy and freedom – its not a good idea. See at a superficial level you think its your social responsibility to be there while emotionally you are feeling drained – Why – surely it would show in a few months or years and for the next 10 years you would complain that you lost opportunity for growth. I am no way advocating that taking up responsibility and adjusting for others is wrong. All I am reiterating is that do it if you want to otherwise – feel free to tell the other person that you do not like it. Since either which way it would ultimately show in your attitude and body language.

Make a head count of all the people in your office. Some people gets the choicest projects – never cancel or reschedule their holidays- people are afraid to mess with them. These type of people are prevalent in organizations of every type. Even the boss feels – oh this one is never accommodating – better ask someone else to do this unforeseen assignment . I do not say that these people are the best colleagues to work with but they are also the people who could not care less. Often they are branded as selfish and yet they have no qualms about it. In the long run they may lose out a little but are much happier on day to day basis. Most Corporates these days are advocating this rule of- do what you like. Say job rotation – training sessions – overall exposure in other fields - All these are part of the attempt to first let you figure out what you like . That not only helps you perform better but makes you a nicer person- there by improves corporate environment. Don’t you remember the situation for most of us in class 12^th – maybe you wanted to become a painter or writer but parents were very clear that you had to take up a professional course – they ofcourse meant well at that time and you were also confused. But many professionals in mid thirties are changing lines of work to suit their attitude or long suppressed desired careers- why ?? That is the entire reason why the American education system gives undergrad students an exposure to multiple subjects to enable them choose their preferred ones.

Remember the next time someone calls you selfish or self centered- take it as a compliment. Atleast you know your priorities right and you doing what you want or like . Nothing bad about wanting to please yourself first , as long as it does not really harm the other person.

Amit has just returned from a trip to the US and has this great idea to launch a new product which is not yet available in India- voice operated door locks. Calls up a his best friend kaushik who is in marketing and tells him about this amazing new idea he has in his mind. The friend listens patiently to the entire things and simply says – well it wont sell here- forget it. Has this not happened to so many of us that we have a brilliant idea for a new product to be produced and marketed but often do not know how to go about the entire thing.

Launching a product has certain basic steps to be followed for any category- be it a soap, insurance, special school or a bank. One needs to remember that unless its done in a systematic and professional way the chances of failure before the product takes off itself is high. So before we go any further let us classify this into product launch and new product launch. Say we take Gillette disposable razors or Lux Liquid soap– are totally new concepts .But if we consider L&T John Deree tractors they are a new brand in already established market of mahindras and fergusons. So in case of novel products there is a slight procedural difference as to one extra stage called :

This can happen in two ways that is someone comes up with a new idea and then we follow the regular steps as mentioned below. But many a time companies consciously sit down to think as to what new products have to be launched to keep consumers with them. Consumers often get bored with old products so might just move over- before they do new ideas are generated from various sources. It could be from sales staff, trade associations, brain storming sessions, private research organizations. Hindustan Lever has this very successful method called ‘Clinics’ which are nothing but new idea generation techniques from the consumers themselves. These focus groups are conducted every month in various parts of the country. Roll on deodorants, post it pads, shampoo sachets are some of the popular examples of ideas from consumers themselves.

To get an idea is quite ok but it has to be checked out for functional, technical and financial feasibility. To simplify the same we go back to our idea of voice locks. Amit needs to make estimates of the money involved , the machinery and manpower required. Alternatively is he going to import those items from the US ? Hence what the formalities involved. He also needs to give the marketing angle a serious thought ie. Whether he is going to distribute in the present outlets or going to open up his own franchises. Simply putting it all the avenues for the smallest details and logistics are carefully examined and then evaluated. The good ideas are accepted and the bad ones are rejected.

Now that Amit has figured out how to go about all these practical issues he needs to check out how people are going to react to the idea. So the idea is tested in the primary fields like marketing and production . That is the idea is bounced across to people either in the form of interviews or group discussions. The outputs from these are often used as inputs for developing the idea into a concrete form. Some times focus group are conducted or alternatively surveys are undertaken just to see how people react to the idea fundamentally.

Great – now we now that people are positive about this novel locks we have to get down to actually producing one. Unless the prototype- a sample piece as we commonly refer to it as is out – the consumer cannot tell for sure whether he plans to buy it or no. Many a times people just love a new idea – but then if the end product is not what they had in mind its promptly rejected. So Amit now has to make a real voice lock and see how people are going to react to the same.

Checking out this product in a small way in the market is called test marketing. This is normally done in about 10 centers both in metros or mini metros. Hyderabad and Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh are hot favorites for many a test market studies conducted. During this stage there is a great deal of retailer push and often the prices are also very competitive and the promotions are very attractive. Often this is done in a time frame say 6-8 weeks. The things that are noticed here are whether it catches consumer attention and what is his desire to go and check the product out. Then comes the willingness of a consumer to actually pay a price and purchase the product.

This is the toughest and most difficult part of the entire process. Just an OK in the test marketing is not a indicator to success. To make a product commercially viable is whole new task by itself. One needs to figure out the distribution channels, the kind of correct pricing that would attract consumers. This followed by the right kind of communication via advertisements , the packaging of goods and the volumes that are required to keep a product at profitability level. The issue is a little complicated- if the price is high good volumes but less sale- and if the price is low there might be good sale but one needs enough numbers to keep the product going. That the reason why we seem to find so many new brands and products which come into the market and disappear within a couple of years. Even the marketer must have the ability to sustain the losses if the product does not take off- say Kellogs cornflakes came into India at a very high entry price. There were hardly any sales to begin with but the company was willing to bear loses for 10 years. But today within 5 years the brand is making money.

To get this entire procedure done up for you there are many professional agencies in the country. The top ones are Mcenzie, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Ernest and Young, S R Batliboi. They operate on a turnkey basis and hand over the entire project report inclusive of getting the right financial approvals from the bankers.

So next time you have a great idea do not get put down by people advising you against it – use the above fundamental steps to check it out by yourself before reaching a conclusive decision.

Next week we shall cover the case study of Santoor Advertising platform. How over the years it has stuck to its ‘MUMMY’ image yet managed to remain contemporary.

From time you can recollect the screaming - be careful with that money- mother – father or spouse . So its ingrained in our system to save- whether we actually do it or no is secondary. But latest financial reports indicate that saving is not the best thing to do with your money. Does it not seem controversial !!! Well sad yet true that world economics have indicated that the biggest winners are the spenders. What the essence of the article is that - saving which cannot be utilized by you is not worth the effort. Someone else enjoys the benefits while you are just happy calculating the profits. Here is how it goes…. Contributions made by an Indian Economist.

The habit of saving is not just with Indians but all Asians who earn well- china, Japan to cite a few examples. Japanese save so much that they have a trade surplus of about $400 billion . Yet their economy is one of the weakest and seems to be collapsing. Where are Americans are such large spenders- its just credit cards or plastic money as its popularly known as. The US just keeps importing and importing- their annual trade deficit is over $ 400 Billion. But their economy is the strongest in the world. The simple trick here is that everyone is borrowing and spending – they not only spend current earning without saving but also spend away their future earnings. They do not worry about the rainy day – then they can borrow some more as long as there is someone to lend. As for their old age – they have a very strong social security system which takes care of it.

Have we often not noticed that the shopkeeper initially gives credit to keep the customer buying from him. After a point of time the shopkeeper will exist only if the customer buys . And finally the customer debt becomes so large that he is forced to fund him. Ofcourse this is true only for those customers who regularly pay him amounts at regular intervals. Like the money lender who does not want his principal back – is always in search of customers who pay interest regularly. America is this happy customer who enjoys what the entire world is saving and pays interest. Their culture of habitual consumption has had the world habituated to the rest of the world feeding them. To simplify- its winter – every one wants a comforter(rug)- costs 200$- Asian lends American the money for 5$ per annum interest. the American thinks that he is enjoying the warmth of the rug at 5 $ and the asian thinks he is wise by not only by saving 200 $ but also earning an additional 5 $. Win win situation.

Take a guess – its Japan who has so far deposited many trillions of dollars in the form of securities followed by china whose stake is about - $160 billions. India is not far behind with over $50 billion. The answer to this is simply attitude of the people Has it not happened to you that you think some colleague of yours spends more than what he can afford. This is your thinking but the spender thinks – enjoy today when there are means to repay tomorrow. The logic America has succeeded is now they are so big that the lenders cannot afford to pull back as well. The reason being – which better place to invest all the money in. US has built a credit worthiness with the Asian money and yet people clamor to give them more and more

A nation cannot grow till its people spend- borrow and spend. Dr.Jagdish Bhagwati the famous Indian born economist in the US has told Dr. Manmohan Singh that Indians wastefully save too much. Ask them to spend and this will put India on growth curve. Firstly its not important how much you earn – its crucial how you spend. The key is one needs to know how to multiply their own money. Spending is not really as bad as it sounds- what’s important is that one first needs to find a sucker who has saved tons of money Keep investing into new interesting projects and have the capacity to repay at any point of time. If required go ahead one more step and offer him a partnership in your business- 9 out of 10 times the chances are he would say no – would rather be happy lending you money.

Borrowing is not really bad as quite a few of us believe but what’s important is how you make it work for you. If Ambani empire had to be built just on their own resources would have never touched the 100 thousand crores. Borrow money- multiply it enjoy the returns and pay a portion of it to the investor. Smart people use resources which are available round them – not try to reinvent them.

neeraja a hardworking lawyer who has been with a successful senior advocate arvind for the past 6 years. Slowly as the business began to grow – the number of juniors kept increasing . While the senior advocate was busy with clients and developing contacts. neeraja was involved with training the new comers and allocating work to them. She would often help them with arguments and preparation of suits. One fine day when an very complicated case came up for hearing – arvind picked one of the new – sharp junior to handle the case. neeraja was not only shocked but also felt cheated for being put aside. On questioning the senior simply said - well rupa is now better equipped to handle this kind of a case. Isnt it such a familiar situation?? This happens to so many of us at work – business- profession on a every day basis.

This is a truth which has an answer within the question. As the old saying goes only when a person trusts you can you dupe him. No I do not mean that one has to deceitful and crafty all the time. But one needs to be aware of all the landmines in the path . The mistake that most of us do while building our career is we believe that just keep working hard and assume the results would automatically keep flowing in . The bhagwadgita theory . This is not true any longer- along with work we need to constantly keep reviewing that why is it that we are retained by our employer for that particular assignment. The younger generation is much smarter and more focused on their ultimate goal. Hence they are always moving one step ahead before they are forced to move- hence the only way it can be done is to push you who are in that place. When I mean younger generation I do not mean age wise but junior in experience or capability.

There is a very popular Hindi saying which goes – in life there are two types of people- donkeys and horses- donkeys do work- horses eat gram- be a horse not a donkey. Net net it means be a smart worker and enjoy the benefits. Its just not enough to keep working and hoping the lord will take care. Western world says- Lord helps those who help themselves. Its not practical to say I cannot be bothered about what others are doing – I will do my work – that way you are shunning yourself with the reality of the world. Profession- job- business these days is definitely team work- there are people- and where there are people there will be politics. There is no escape from this reality. As The great Winston Chruchill said if you have 10 hrs to chop down a tree- then use 9 hour to sharpen the axe and one hour to do the actual cutting. Think hard and recollect the last time you had to do a difficult task did we follow this principle. We often get carried away with the idea that we ought to begin working as fast as possible only then the work gets over. No – stop - think – strategize and then proceed – then chances of successful completion are higher.

The rule of any growth is to train your colleagues and help develop a business- but why do the same people whom your nurtured stab you in the back.. Its not his mistake its your fault- one needs to ensure that knowledge is power- you must retain it also. Yes training is important but with diligence- what you slogged so hard to learn need not be handed over a platter to someone. A good teacher will only guide not empty his own booty of leanings. The new age management guru- Arindham choudhary say- always remember that you are employed or paid that money because you have a special capacity to do a particular work . If you end up being philanthrophic and distribute – you become penniless- you may do so if you have reached that stage- will Ravi Shankar be afraid of teaching sitar to his junior or will bill gates worry about juniors learning programming. So you need to improve your skill levels to ensure that you are always needed.

Remember that an integral part of daily work is to work on yourself towards some niche all the time. Keep developing a new technique – plan - skill. This will not only keep you in circulation but and you shall enjoy the journey as well. Do not be a poopu lo karuvepaaku – be integral.