RE: Why I Left India (Again)

My response to an article by Sumedh Mungee on India Ink [NY Times]:

Sumedh’s rant on why he left India for good ends with “I’m glad I went back to India, and I’m glad to be back in the U.S. Life has come full circle but the center has shifted”. I looked him up on Twitter, and the first thing that jumped out at me from his public profile was his location “Bay Area, Bangalore, Pune”. Has to be the same guy. Sumedh’s post may not warrant another retort, but just like his coordinates I found his post wound up and inconclusive, so.

Sumedh said he was going back to an India that he’d seen in a movie and as described in a book/documentary. Sumedh’s claim “our move was a success by any metric” jumped the gun and within a year, he had to retract. An airplane-class Sumedh is flustered that bucketing of people (as airplane, scooter or bullock cart class) is done accurately in India and that treatment ensues accordingly. But really I think he’s a victim of his own thought and behavior.  His “et tu, airplane India?” confirms so. It would not be too difficult to not make that demarcation himself, would it? Then there is a long list of complaints/ implicit rationale for him to leave India, and for the last time this time. He ends talking about India’s growth as a nation and a heartfelt “I know India will rule the future”. Consolation for the cheesed off, may be.

Let’s go back to step 1. With all due respect, did he really forget what India was about? I think what we all tend to forget is everything is transient, times change, people do, even cultures do. But it seems like we can take the culture portion out of this picture if we purely go by the write-up. Folks that have lived in India long enough would not be zapped by Sumedh’s ‘findings’. Is it possible he is originally from Pune or elsewhere and Bangalore didn’t suit? So really, it all boils down to the bothersome scooter class and bullock cart culture which drove him (and his family) back. Just wow.

Question: Should Sumedh move within the US and far away from the Bay Area, will he still be happy? Let’s go back to step 1, again. Sumedh must have done all the due diligence before them moving ‘back to India’. Typically what drives one to take a decision like this apart from immigration constraints is, familial ties and cultural affinity. There could be feelings of not belonging or any prevalent personal issues. I wonder if Sumedh today considers his infrequent issues with the Indian scooter/bullock class a bigger decision point in life, than his rationale to move back to India. If yes, can he still cope with the reasons that drove him out of the US?

It’s not my business to judge what Sumedh did was right or wrong, but I have a view on the why. Some of Sumedh’s views are educational and thought provoking, because they highlight common human tendency to be volatile in thought; and in sum total his essay shows the proneness of the human mind to remain up in the air. I am certainly not on expert on Ecology, but I reckon satisfaction depends on making peace with you by prioritizing one need above the other, and not regretting the decision made thereafter. I will be least surprised if Sumedh packed his bags and left to India again because a natural decision point became priority. But for this to happen Sumedh and I will have to wait for that other movie to come out :-).

What India Inc. needs: Customer Service

Needs to offer, that is. Cakewalk, considering the gazillion call centers operated out of India, right? Wrong. It is a culture question, not infra.

Take another type of B2C interaction - Advertising. The following came after I expressed to Sainath Saraban what I thought of his review of an Airtel 3G TV commercial. I felt the ad was futile simply because it did not focus on the product’s USP. But Saraban told me the ad was part of a campaign so it ‘works’. Told him I disagreed, and he said:

Not sure if his last statement meant to acknowledge my thought or to simply shut me up. Anyway.

A childhood memory to boot. My grandmom until few years ago preferred purchasing fresh ground coffee powder from a vendor whose store was in the vicinity in the past. We moved homes to a different locality but she continued to purchase coffee powder from the same store. It wasn’t about the quest for perfect filter coffee taste, it wasn’t the price, It was the emotional connect that mattered to her the most.

Back to the ad, Mohan Agashe looking for an old acquaintance over Airtel’s efficient 3G network should have been the case, but seemed vis-à-vis social networking. As a reviewer I really was looking for Airtel in that facebook commercial. My takeaway from the ad is effective access of facebook, now on mobile networks. I would rather expect the enabler, the product, the brand to hog better part of that limelight. Many options to choose from – Idea, Docomo, Airtel, etc and how these compare with each other, the number game that a customer may factor in would be a discussion for another day.

Going by Saraban’s logic, Airtel would probably hold its own (and big) in the newly introduced 3G market segment by simply creating that connect. Of course, customer loyalty, quality, pricing – all remaining competitive. I must admit from my own experience that emotional connect elates a brand no less. This leads me into thinking about favoritism as a concept. How does one favorite a gupchup bandi (Pani puri stalls for the non Hyderabadis) or a Biryani joint? The taste, one may argue. Agreed. How does one favorite a grocery store? The distance, one may say. How about the Barber? Job well done. This Q&A activity can go on. In a random sample of individuals, each person would have a list of favorite vendors and this set of preferences differs from person to person. So really, it’s a many:many relationship. What I am getting at is each vendor is not an overall favourite; they just create that connect with certain few consumers who then become regulars in spite of access to other convenient options.

Advertisements are only a method of reaching a broader audience. Like any other, a commercial viewed/heard or an online banner ad clicked through does improve brand image, but it’s only the later portion of engagement that according to me seals the deal. Single purchase is seldom goal of a campaign, as much it may be about regularizing customers. Given that branding as a theory has changed from promoting universal appeal to tailoring the shout-out based on media used, target audience, product line up, geographies, yada, yada, yada, I feel it is really controlled by the consumer based on how they perceive it. So how to create a loyal customer base (that directly or indirectly generates revenue for your product/service) is directly and obviously dependent on how customers feel about the brand. They come back if they’re happy with the product and additionally the customer experience and satisfaction which help build that hunky dory relationship.

Does good customer service help always? Depends, according to me. If the goal simply is lead conversion that affects the bottom line, I guess excellence in customer service does not always ‘help’. If it is about forging a relationship so the customer will come back sooner or later to make a purchase or get one other to make that purchase , it ‘does help’, at the very least in spreading the prophecy of the brand. My previous blog spoke about the purchasing power of Indians and myriad pockets waiting to tap that money. Reuters’ recent article that Asia's wealthy park cash in cars, homes, art and wine and not so much in investments is only good news for the retail industry.

Seen from a 10,000ft view, what an irony that a country that is called the engine of ‘good customer service and satisfaction’ to customers all over the world through its gazillion call centers, has a pretty superficial outlook towards customer service for its own citizens?! For all that you know of a conventional Indian corporation, there is significant red tape to cut through, procrastination unparalleled, lack of a structured operational mechanism, petty politics or simply no enforcement of rules. Of course a lot of it is changing with corporations now being put on the world map, but we're not quite there yet. Good customer service is a culture that an individual must imbibe, a company must imbibe and eventually must spread to other retailers, service providers and any business that has anything to do with customer interaction. With customers taking to social media and internet forums to review their experience, companies are proactively approaching customers to have a chat. Good first step, by few.

India has begun browsing streaming videos over 3G network. It’s no surprise that India’s e-commerce market in 2011 is expected to hit Rs. 46,000 Crore. Spending power is not a permanent virtue of a country, but what may help sustain a relationship between a business and its customer is the love, or customer service in another language. The penny pinching Indian customer is going to find 5 options for anything they wish to purchase. While the product USP is one thing that appeals to them, it’s the plusses that is going to matter in the long term. Building a brand so the customers themselves can market will be an ideal goal to chase. Until next time.

Getting caught up with the Indian customer of 2011

What is so special about 2011, you may ask. It just so happens I have seen this customer for real; in the 80s, in the 90s, and through first decade of the new millennium, which puts me in a position to speak with conviction about him in the present. How each of *him* has changed over time is a complex topic to delve into, considering the eclectic mix of social strata, geographical distribution, etc. So I will categorically focus on type that most of you will relate with – the average Indian middle-class consumer. From Doordarshan to the omnipresent Nokia mobile phone to hosting Commonwealth Games, India has a come a long way. That the lattermost is known (or notorious) for the wrong reasons is a different story altogether. Thomas Cook India reported earlier last month that they are seeing a trend that Indians are no longer enamoured by the idea of shopping abroad. This is highly possible due to the Louis Vuittons, the BMWs and the Vertus now being available in Indian stores. Of course rich desis always existed, but the bigger insight is the increase in the number of desis with such disposable income.

When I earlier lived in Hyderabad, India, I remember my brother and I making frequent trips to the *factory outlets* every once in a while to find branded clothing for a fraction of the retail price. But I would think today’s bold and the bountiful youngster doesn’t care as much about finding stuff for cheap, at least ones born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It’s common knowledge that fashionistas don’t necessarily drive brands to a country; it’s the money pool that primarily does (once saleability is guaranteed), and does in hordes. It is the age old theory of competition driving competition, and no, the syndrome is not new to India. India as a country was lambasted always for driving up population figures. The naysayers didn't know then this was to become a strong-point for the nation. Don't appear perplexed, India's youth population percentage is among one of the highest in the world and the predominance is expected to last another four decades at least. Given this fact, burgeoning Taco Bell outlets and increasing iPad sales is no surprise. On a related note, experimentation of new product introductions now offers lesser risk simply because the youngster of today wants to try. Spa salons, parlours and nutrition-related services now have bigger presence. So much so that a pal of mine has also ventured into an Asian stir-fry restaurant business in Hyderabad, much like a Mongolian buffet that is much more popular in western nations , while ironically Mongolia is much closer to India. Entertainment is slowly spreading outside stronghold of cinema with concerts, shows and sporting competitions (read CWG, Asian Games, etc). The country is probably not ready for a Cirque du Soleil, but considering it already has a “Zangoora: The Gypsy Prince”, it sure is getting there.

The Indian mademoiselle, what about her? Sure! From Sati Savitri to Pratibha Patil and women CEOs, she’s really come a long way! With a potential to earn the same big bucks, guess who’s happy? The market, to have found more wallets! So here’s a significant chunk of people with money to spend on services, new products, and what have you. Thanks to Wikileaks and Swiss Banks, we know there could potentially be more money stashed away somewhere, that could help the Indian economy otherwise. While India grew, so did China, and the potential of many other nations. The super powers never stopped growing either, and although an exaggeration, India has eventually become everyone’s market place. It’s a noticeable fact that India makes things for cheap, but the bigger thing is India is open to purchasing stuff that is not necessarily cheap, irrespective of source.

In this game of many:many relationships, where the Indian buyer has significant number of options to choose from , what are some challenges the advertising industry faces? Marketing gimmicks always existed, but given the Diaspora of buyers grouped by parameters like age, culture, tastes, just to name a few, companies/sellers have to pick and choose their battles given their resource-based constraints and optimize who to pitch their offerings to. Newspapers, television ads, hoardings, SMSs, social media, e-commerce are already out there fighting for buyer’s attention, but what is their true potential? Where is all this heading, locally and globally? In my next..