Marketing - Royal Resorts Style
There are classical examples of great and innovate marketing campaigns failed to adjudge the key factor of marketing, consumer behavior. It is good to pause as a consumer and think for a moment before trumpeting about the aggressive marketing techniques. I had a chance to experience as a consumer two different styles of marketing and a real eye opener of how simple things a make big difference in life.
It was my first holiday to Goa with my family, the land of sea, sun, fun and freedom. While looking for the food outlets at Mapsua , a biker stopped us introducing him as the representative of Royal Resorts and he had some gifts for us. He made my husband and my daughter open 2 gift coupons and said, “Your daughter has proven very lucky by winning a gift coupon of a holiday package from 5 star Royal Resorts”. He said he would like to take us to the resort at his expense and insisted us to join him. Although we had reservations to go with a stranger, my marketing curiosity took the lead. He took us to the resort and after a very warm greeting, one of their sales people took over the show. She took us a for a tour, then said there were some promotional offers which had to be closed on that day and keep an open mind to what they had to offer. We started the conversation and at one stage I felt this was a stereotype same as their competitors and expressed my opinion.
There you go, suddenly her smile vanished, she put an abrupt end to the talk and said not interested in wasting her and our time. Incidentally, she realized the value of time after we wasted two hours of our time and skipped the lunch for their marketing stunt. We were directed to another area where they quietly gave us a coupon to spent two nights holiday at their resort for two people. Generally, I am a customer who shows lot of patience to understand the client and love to learn from their marketing talks. For me that was unnecessary insult and a real waste of time to deal with overtly aggressive sales person.
If we are not their target customers, they shouldn’t have taken me and my family to their resorts.
If their purpose was to create awareness, the team should have the patience to explain and be polite till the end. A customer is customer. If not today, tomorrow he can become your target customer.
Finally, Sales should be always a team work starting from the person who brings the lead to the person who actually closes the deal.
It was a pleasant experience turned to unpleasant and I said a permanent adieu to Royal resorts.
Marketing - 21 coconut style.
Some people make real difference in life that was what Alex taught me, an ordinary Goan with extra ordinary warmth.
Once our stop by at the Candolim beach, I happened to occupy one of the beach chairs watching my children and husband playing, After half an hour a shy guy emerged “Mam , I own the beach restaurant 21- coconut and this chair belongs to me. If you use the chairs for long time you got to pay 100 rupees / hour or else you need to buy something from my restaurant “ . For me the better option was to get something from them. Although I was little hesitant about hygiene part of the beach side make shift restaurant, myself and children settled on tea. Then I noticed that he had an extra friendly demeanor with all his customers. While we were sipping my coffee he came with an additional plate of cake and told us that it was his birthday. Alex demonstrated about the specialty of his restaurant is the typical goan meal with fish curry and showed my kids the pictures he had clicked with the customers at his restaurant. Before we could leave the place, he gave us a 20 % discount on the bill. Although we could not make it for the fish fry and rice on that day, if ever I pass by Candolim, I would definitely make it to 21 coconuts for a fish masala lunch.
Probably, Alex would have had a birthday every day or one of his brothers.
Probably, the discount he gave us was little less than what he charged to the foreigners.
Regardless, he taught me the biggest lessons of marketing, the practical methods of customer attraction and retention.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Group 6 and MBA Coffee
This is the story of 3 long years in 2 minutes. The story of a six people armed with an MBA gun and a dream to succeed frequented the fisheries building. People with little bit of ambition and a life much larger than an MBA. As any other campus monument, the story also has a silent witness, the coffee shop down the fisheries building which overheard their achievements, frustrations, tragedies and comedies of Ignou MBA venture.
It was at the end of first semester at ignou that the group started evolving. All those great informal groups, innovative ideas and creative brains are discovered over the coffee/ tea. So it was their quest for this great refreshment and zeal for a group that took them to our famous coffee shop. In the beginning , the early birds of the semester occupy empty class rooms before the “counselor shows” at 6:30 PM .Then they had to see otherwise sober Mr.Amjad changing his colours or the counselors from neighboring classes driving them out, on which they had no control over. The fact is that, they used to be the regular noise makers and heart of heart they loved the freedom of being a student once again. Never mind the resultant public nagging. A student is a student regardless of his status, color, creed and of course the age.
It was Mr. Manoj; the senior most male member of the group invited the ladies to the coffee shop. He paid a heavy price for his courtesy, by always getting the privilege to pay for the rest of the group. So the famous coffee shop lets us call it as MBA coffee shop does not need an introduction. It is one among those typical Kuwait restaurants that could sell Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Srilankan and Arabic food, all at the same time with the best rates available. It had the right ingredient of a meeting place, being close to ignou office, so far away from counselllors, a right sneak peek from those jealous husbands, wives, girlfriends and protective fathers.
The great MBA coffee shop marked the beginning of group 6 formations. With their suit, boot, style and white color complex, the group had the absolute of anonymity, among the workers who frequented the coffee shop. The group 6 consisted of the group entrepreneur Gurpreet, Group all rounder Govind, Math brain Ranjini, group DHL Robin, Management expert Manoj, the group advisor Jainy, and of course some occasional guest visitors (the regularly irregular lot).
One of the constructive discussions of the group was grading the counselors. “Who is the dictator? Who is sarcastic? Who is friendly, who is sincere? And who all are outstanding? And of course, who all can be replaced by ay one of the team members (No offenses please, these were the simple thoughts of some seniors)”. The shop also witnessed the groups’ management strategies of how to extend/ beat the assignment dead lines and how to negotiate the extension of fees schedules. Group always had a consensus on these two issues. The coffee shop had also witnessed generosity and great group sharing philosophies. Some of the core assignments were shared, copied and articulately reproduced by the team members (Author is also no exception).
It is the place where the group leader gave great lessons of how to write the best of the assignments, exams and projects and finally got over scored by his favorite disciple. And CPMs, Hypothesis, Chi square, the never to be tallied balance sheets, Drucker and Kotler etc got boiled over the tea (always after the exam). Those brilliant lads who had done well had the jubilation and those desperate ladies who failed to write well had the free consolations/counseling from the rest of the team. “Do not worry about the grades yar, we are here to pass the exam and take a MBA”, yet they worried about their grades and their neighbors grades. After all, we are all human beings and we call this jealousy in modern words as healthy competition.
Another significant experience from the coffee shop is that invariably, on all days, the future of management got chased out by the shop owner on the grounds noise pollution. An average MBA student brings 200 fills (usual menu tea and samosas) worth business at the expense of 45 minutes of noise pollution. (Thanks to the whole hearted laughter of some of the team members).Whereas, an ordinary worker brings at least 500 fills sales within 15 minutes. What a great management theory!!! Nevertheless, the MBA coffee shop had the courtesy to forget the previous day and the group had the tolerance to have the samosas again despite the repeated stomach cramps it gave.
Well the stories can go on…Today there is an Ignou management forum and some formal entities. However, the group 6 was the predecessor of current MBA forum, and the driving force behind some of the adult members like the author. In its own right, the MBA coffee shop and the 100 fills coffee will be the souvenirs of Group 6’s MBA experience.
It was at the end of first semester at ignou that the group started evolving. All those great informal groups, innovative ideas and creative brains are discovered over the coffee/ tea. So it was their quest for this great refreshment and zeal for a group that took them to our famous coffee shop. In the beginning , the early birds of the semester occupy empty class rooms before the “counselor shows” at 6:30 PM .Then they had to see otherwise sober Mr.Amjad changing his colours or the counselors from neighboring classes driving them out, on which they had no control over. The fact is that, they used to be the regular noise makers and heart of heart they loved the freedom of being a student once again. Never mind the resultant public nagging. A student is a student regardless of his status, color, creed and of course the age.
It was Mr. Manoj; the senior most male member of the group invited the ladies to the coffee shop. He paid a heavy price for his courtesy, by always getting the privilege to pay for the rest of the group. So the famous coffee shop lets us call it as MBA coffee shop does not need an introduction. It is one among those typical Kuwait restaurants that could sell Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Srilankan and Arabic food, all at the same time with the best rates available. It had the right ingredient of a meeting place, being close to ignou office, so far away from counselllors, a right sneak peek from those jealous husbands, wives, girlfriends and protective fathers.
The great MBA coffee shop marked the beginning of group 6 formations. With their suit, boot, style and white color complex, the group had the absolute of anonymity, among the workers who frequented the coffee shop. The group 6 consisted of the group entrepreneur Gurpreet, Group all rounder Govind, Math brain Ranjini, group DHL Robin, Management expert Manoj, the group advisor Jainy, and of course some occasional guest visitors (the regularly irregular lot).
One of the constructive discussions of the group was grading the counselors. “Who is the dictator? Who is sarcastic? Who is friendly, who is sincere? And who all are outstanding? And of course, who all can be replaced by ay one of the team members (No offenses please, these were the simple thoughts of some seniors)”. The shop also witnessed the groups’ management strategies of how to extend/ beat the assignment dead lines and how to negotiate the extension of fees schedules. Group always had a consensus on these two issues. The coffee shop had also witnessed generosity and great group sharing philosophies. Some of the core assignments were shared, copied and articulately reproduced by the team members (Author is also no exception).
It is the place where the group leader gave great lessons of how to write the best of the assignments, exams and projects and finally got over scored by his favorite disciple. And CPMs, Hypothesis, Chi square, the never to be tallied balance sheets, Drucker and Kotler etc got boiled over the tea (always after the exam). Those brilliant lads who had done well had the jubilation and those desperate ladies who failed to write well had the free consolations/counseling from the rest of the team. “Do not worry about the grades yar, we are here to pass the exam and take a MBA”, yet they worried about their grades and their neighbors grades. After all, we are all human beings and we call this jealousy in modern words as healthy competition.
Another significant experience from the coffee shop is that invariably, on all days, the future of management got chased out by the shop owner on the grounds noise pollution. An average MBA student brings 200 fills (usual menu tea and samosas) worth business at the expense of 45 minutes of noise pollution. (Thanks to the whole hearted laughter of some of the team members).Whereas, an ordinary worker brings at least 500 fills sales within 15 minutes. What a great management theory!!! Nevertheless, the MBA coffee shop had the courtesy to forget the previous day and the group had the tolerance to have the samosas again despite the repeated stomach cramps it gave.
Well the stories can go on…Today there is an Ignou management forum and some formal entities. However, the group 6 was the predecessor of current MBA forum, and the driving force behind some of the adult members like the author. In its own right, the MBA coffee shop and the 100 fills coffee will be the souvenirs of Group 6’s MBA experience.
Excerpts from the life of a working mother
The inspiration to write this message was the last semester of my MBA at Ignou. Sometimes it is grueling to manage a job, family, children and adult education. It is a great balancing act, but worth every minute.
Assignments - Last of the Legions
I have been obsessed with assignments for the past two and a half months and I cannot stop writing this for all working mothers (and good fathers as well) who is doing an EMBEEAEI. I had written all my university exams and certification without skipping any of my favorite TV shows and movies. But this one has been an amazing journey throughout.
The statistics:
I dried up 3 pen.
2 bundles of A4 sheets.
Wrote 32 questions and around 320 final pages.
Searched net around 75 hours.
Spent a total of 260 hours approximately. Some the assignments were written in single sit and it took nothing less than 8 hours for each .
The Lessons I can give:
How :
To make 20 chapattis in 20 minutes.
To make idlis and write assignments together.
To convert kitchen and bathrooms to learning centers.
To mange your time efficiently?( say you prayers in the car, eat assignments and food together etc)
The gains: My 4 year old daughter learned the importance of studies. She can spend hours in front of books. Queried the answer goes “I’m writing assignments"
I made my husband compassionate. He had been both father and mother for my kids in the last 1 month. One Friday he was going through the daily chore of a woman and exclaimed “I never knew you do all these on a day". "Yes, I do all these + do a mushrif job + write assignments"
My 7 year old daughter learned to make omelets and wash her clothes - quite and early achievement.
The management lessons:
Lesson 1 - Never let your Spouse (especially a husband) proof read your assignments. My school, my spelling, my college all was under question.”Are you writing a fiction or an essay" was his last question.
Fiction or essay I have put my soul in to it.
Lesson 2: Never let a father help the children with homework. They may bring home all red marks in their books.
Lesson 3: Never let your children know that you are doing assignments.
I happened to meet my daughters' teachers. The older one's teacher complained that she submitted her project last and the excuse was: "My mom is busy with assignments".
Small one was a step ahead. She told her teacher not to give her homework at all since her Mom is busy with assignments.
Lesson 4: Never let your spouse go to your study center.
My husband's theory until October 25 th was “What assignments and what Ignou, "Kucha likhneka or kuch dhenaka ".He took one set of my assignments to Mr. Amjad. Then I started seeing ghosts of Amjad, Rajan, Santana , Martin all in one.
The loss:
3 weeks I did not go to church.
I missed all social activities for the past 2 months.
I missed two vital appointments for my daughter.
My daughters have become cartoon addicted.
I have not called my families back in India for last 1 month.
I lost 2 kilos and last one week and was sleeping only 3 hours a day.
THE BIG GAINS: Still waiting for it. While I'm posting this, I just know the results of MS-63 only. Whatever be the results, I must say congratulations to my husband and daughters who took it all the way along with me."
Success cannot be bought. To achieve it, you must set yourself on fire."-Vinay Chhabra
Regards,
Jainy
Assignments - Last of the Legions
I have been obsessed with assignments for the past two and a half months and I cannot stop writing this for all working mothers (and good fathers as well) who is doing an EMBEEAEI. I had written all my university exams and certification without skipping any of my favorite TV shows and movies. But this one has been an amazing journey throughout.
The statistics:
I dried up 3 pen.
2 bundles of A4 sheets.
Wrote 32 questions and around 320 final pages.
Searched net around 75 hours.
Spent a total of 260 hours approximately. Some the assignments were written in single sit and it took nothing less than 8 hours for each .
The Lessons I can give:
How :
To make 20 chapattis in 20 minutes.
To make idlis and write assignments together.
To convert kitchen and bathrooms to learning centers.
To mange your time efficiently?( say you prayers in the car, eat assignments and food together etc)
The gains: My 4 year old daughter learned the importance of studies. She can spend hours in front of books. Queried the answer goes “I’m writing assignments"
I made my husband compassionate. He had been both father and mother for my kids in the last 1 month. One Friday he was going through the daily chore of a woman and exclaimed “I never knew you do all these on a day". "Yes, I do all these + do a mushrif job + write assignments"
My 7 year old daughter learned to make omelets and wash her clothes - quite and early achievement.
The management lessons:
Lesson 1 - Never let your Spouse (especially a husband) proof read your assignments. My school, my spelling, my college all was under question.”Are you writing a fiction or an essay" was his last question.
Fiction or essay I have put my soul in to it.
Lesson 2: Never let a father help the children with homework. They may bring home all red marks in their books.
Lesson 3: Never let your children know that you are doing assignments.
I happened to meet my daughters' teachers. The older one's teacher complained that she submitted her project last and the excuse was: "My mom is busy with assignments".
Small one was a step ahead. She told her teacher not to give her homework at all since her Mom is busy with assignments.
Lesson 4: Never let your spouse go to your study center.
My husband's theory until October 25 th was “What assignments and what Ignou, "Kucha likhneka or kuch dhenaka ".He took one set of my assignments to Mr. Amjad. Then I started seeing ghosts of Amjad, Rajan, Santana , Martin all in one.
The loss:
3 weeks I did not go to church.
I missed all social activities for the past 2 months.
I missed two vital appointments for my daughter.
My daughters have become cartoon addicted.
I have not called my families back in India for last 1 month.
I lost 2 kilos and last one week and was sleeping only 3 hours a day.
THE BIG GAINS: Still waiting for it. While I'm posting this, I just know the results of MS-63 only. Whatever be the results, I must say congratulations to my husband and daughters who took it all the way along with me."
Success cannot be bought. To achieve it, you must set yourself on fire."-Vinay Chhabra
Regards,
Jainy
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