Choice is for Everyone
The rise of the customer has been talked about in endless periodicals, management texts, case studies, budget shows. No doubt, that the sense of power that the customer has been witnessing has no precedence in Indian market, however the choices is not just theirs.
The rising standards of living and increase in customer base gave rise to another kind of power- the power of the seller to choose his/her customers. The owner can allow/disallow who he wants to deal with. In his mind he is filtering customers as he seals the first deal- the bargainer, the shoddy dresser, the one time buyer, the definite future investor, the word-of-mouth spreader, the ka-ching customer, impulsive buyer – in short who to keep and who to avoid.
He can now choose and stick to ‘exclusive’ clientele who are good for business, the kind who will talk, bring in better deals and greater numbers of hassle free customers.
A phenomenon once restricted to exclusive desiner showrooms has been soaked up by the smaller establishments.
After all choice is for everyone.
Real Unreality
Any emotion encountered, either by way of personal experience or by being a spectator to emotions others display, finds its root to a simple question – What is the individual’s real world.
By real world I don’t mean the reality that exists now in my life, it’s not about what I can feel and touch right now.It’s more about the reality that exists in my mind – a carefully created ‘real’ life that I hold as a true image of how I want my life to be.
Emotions of joy, sorrow, jealousy go beyond mood swings, bad days, unpleasant encounters and great news.
I feel that each of us lives in a self-sphere:an invisible unconciously erected sphere which contains what we consider as our real life.This real life could include images/thoughts of how you always wanted life to be.
Anything that defies this ‘real’ life seems like a forced turn of events, it just doesn’t fit the scheme of things.
If it is a job in a farm and a beautiful country house you always wanted, then a job in the corporate world always feel ‘unreal’. It’s all about what you want this life to hold for you.
It’s that simple.
A Million Words
Print ad for the day.
Brand : The Economist
Agency: O& M , Singapore
What are we spending for?
Irrespective of salary scales we have all indulged in splurging.
Coffee shops that used to be hang-outs for the rich are now frequented by people from all backgrounds. These shops are common place and no longer hold the ‘exclusive’ charm, they offer pretty ordinary fare (stuff that definitely does not hit senses as well as a hot cup of filter coffee does) yet they charge exorbitant amounts.
We go to the malls spend in five figures on ridiculously expensive clothing for that ‘super dhamaka 50% off’. Buy gold despite the 15K point that it now touches.
Rush into EMI schemes to own a house worth 30 lakhs, in the bargain paying 45 lakhs. Products that warn to ‘come at a price’ are bought with the hope of gaining age defying beauty. The 400/- rupee buffet passes for a deal.
What are we paying for? The experience suddenly doesn’t seem worth it, all of it is very regular fare …
Just the thing the guy on the next table is sipping, Just the thing about a dozen people in office wear, Just another piece of jewel you will never use again, Just another meal away from home.
Just a thought …
Airtel-4U
Text messages changed a lot of things- the way people communicated, plans that mobile service companies launched and the way things got spelled.
The SMS boom however seems to have now fizzled out with trends like Orkut Scraps and Facebook messages.
So how do the mobile service providers cope with dwindling SMS “sales”, they cannot suddenly hike the calling rates (what with competitors offering everyday low prices). What they can therefore do is shoot arrows in the dark.
Case in Point: Airtels latest promotion for current subscribers called Airtel-4U.
The promotion begins with a message from Airtel congratulating you for being the chosen subscriber who gets a free funny SMS every morning. Sigh!!
Airtel chose me, so I should be feeling special right? Wrong, because all of the other Airtel subscribers I spoke to got the same message.Coincidence? Not likely.
What this promoion hence seems to be, is a desperate attempt to get SMS circulated, it’s a bulk SMS formula that they hope will click.
I have serious doubts about how this promotion will work, and in the meantime I wake up to really sad jokes.Chances of me talkin about this outside this post… Zero.
Not really what Airtel was aiming for I am sure.