Surf. Surf. Surf. And yet you see nothing different amongst Indian News channels. One formula, multiple sentional stories or probably made in-house, replays till you yawn and drop; and different faces with honking vocal chords!!
This raises an interesting question - do audience want NEWS as NEWS or do they want it with spice and panneer? I think there is audience fatigue because of the kind of news we get today. NEWS channels know that and they try to beat it by 'having' or 'creating' a personality. And this personality brings in entertainment as a differentiator. Remember a news item about a cat which could ‘foresee’ death! Who's going to give who a break !!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
A strategic tool called Branding
Economic Times 21 Jul, 2008, 2355 hrs IST, Niranjan Mudholkar
Involving employees in the branding exercise will give them a sense of belonging as well as a sense of ownership and will prove very beneficial in retaining them. Attracting the right talent and retaining it is indeed a huge challenge for most SMEs. Just as people love to buy well-known brands, they also love to work for well-known brands. Sadly, SMEs are usually not looked upon as ideal employers even if they may have employee friendly policies.
“SMEs follow best of the class HR practices, employee welfare and provide extensive trainings but still end up loosing people to a large company thereby end up being training grounds for bigger brands,” says Mr Neeraj Mediratta, CEO, Ace Data. That’s an observation with which many SMEs would be able to relate to. That’s why he too insists that SMEs should focus on branding. Branding can do wonders in attracting (and retaining) the right people. “It has worked remarkably well for us. There are talents from biggies and giants of software industry joining us now,” states Mr Satish Chathanath, Head, Corporate Communications, Aspire Systems (India) Pvt Ltd.
By not creating a strong brand image, many SMEs could actually be losing out on good business opportunities even if they have the right products or services at a competitive price. “Being focused on the core area SMEs are able to maintain good quality of service delivery. Despite this, most of the large customers choose to go with a bigger brand and not a small company. Many a times the proposal from an SME is not looked at by an enterprise customer because the top decision makers have not heard of that name,” explains Mr Mediratta.
A good brand not only gives market recognition but also helps outshine competition. With globalisation, competition has now acquired wider dimensions and therefore branding makes all the more sense. “Every corporate has potential competition not only from the national and regional counterparts but also from the international players! Brand strength can alone help the company withstand the pressure of competition, sustain base and grow parallely,” remarks Ms Usha Periasamy, AGM (Brands and Communication), Royal Classic Polo Group. “It is even more critical for SMEs in the retail era where visibility directly or indirectly results in business. Branding thus is a crucial differentiator,” adds Mr Raghu B Viswanath, MD, Vertebrand Management Consulting Pvt Ltd.
Branding empowers a company to stand out in the commercial crowd and enhance its position; SMEs need to realise that branding can be used as a strategic tool for growing their businesses. “For a long-term and sustainable business, it’s very important to also pay attention to the brand. The brand is what will keep you top-of-mind, so that people will reach out to you when they have a need for you – creating a pull in addition to your push,” says Ms Kirloskar. “It is through its brand image that an enterprise will attract and, more importantly, retain consumer loyalty for its goods and services and thus bring very real and concrete value to its business,” adds Mr Rajesh, MD, Rajathi Group.
If business is about creating value, branding is about giving ‘meaning’ to that value. It ‘means’ what your business stands for. It means a lot!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Involving employees in the branding exercise will give them a sense of belonging as well as a sense of ownership and will prove very beneficial in retaining them. Attracting the right talent and retaining it is indeed a huge challenge for most SMEs. Just as people love to buy well-known brands, they also love to work for well-known brands. Sadly, SMEs are usually not looked upon as ideal employers even if they may have employee friendly policies.
“SMEs follow best of the class HR practices, employee welfare and provide extensive trainings but still end up loosing people to a large company thereby end up being training grounds for bigger brands,” says Mr Neeraj Mediratta, CEO, Ace Data. That’s an observation with which many SMEs would be able to relate to. That’s why he too insists that SMEs should focus on branding. Branding can do wonders in attracting (and retaining) the right people. “It has worked remarkably well for us. There are talents from biggies and giants of software industry joining us now,” states Mr Satish Chathanath, Head, Corporate Communications, Aspire Systems (India) Pvt Ltd.
By not creating a strong brand image, many SMEs could actually be losing out on good business opportunities even if they have the right products or services at a competitive price. “Being focused on the core area SMEs are able to maintain good quality of service delivery. Despite this, most of the large customers choose to go with a bigger brand and not a small company. Many a times the proposal from an SME is not looked at by an enterprise customer because the top decision makers have not heard of that name,” explains Mr Mediratta.
A good brand not only gives market recognition but also helps outshine competition. With globalisation, competition has now acquired wider dimensions and therefore branding makes all the more sense. “Every corporate has potential competition not only from the national and regional counterparts but also from the international players! Brand strength can alone help the company withstand the pressure of competition, sustain base and grow parallely,” remarks Ms Usha Periasamy, AGM (Brands and Communication), Royal Classic Polo Group. “It is even more critical for SMEs in the retail era where visibility directly or indirectly results in business. Branding thus is a crucial differentiator,” adds Mr Raghu B Viswanath, MD, Vertebrand Management Consulting Pvt Ltd.
Branding empowers a company to stand out in the commercial crowd and enhance its position; SMEs need to realise that branding can be used as a strategic tool for growing their businesses. “For a long-term and sustainable business, it’s very important to also pay attention to the brand. The brand is what will keep you top-of-mind, so that people will reach out to you when they have a need for you – creating a pull in addition to your push,” says Ms Kirloskar. “It is through its brand image that an enterprise will attract and, more importantly, retain consumer loyalty for its goods and services and thus bring very real and concrete value to its business,” adds Mr Rajesh, MD, Rajathi Group.
If business is about creating value, branding is about giving ‘meaning’ to that value. It ‘means’ what your business stands for. It means a lot!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Be a contrarian
Creating a meaningful and sustainable brand experience matters to every organization whether it is big or small. But SMEs find it tough to create superior brand awareness and value in today’s cluttered, saturated, and price-driven marketplace.
The best branding approach for SMEs would be to move away from ‘Unique Selling Propositions’ (USPs) to ‘Unique Buying Tribes’ (UBTs). At Aspire Systems, we have successfully formed a unique tribe called ‘Producteers’ - they are not just software developer but specialist product engineers. It has worked remarkably well for us. There are talents from biggies and giants of software industry joining us now.
SMEs should shatter the myth that brand-building is a complex exercise that involves lots of funds. Brands may start out small, but their power and reach is only limited by our goals and creativity. At Aspire Systems, we have rigorously used one brand building tool with consistent results – and that is to be a ‘contrarian’.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
The best branding approach for SMEs would be to move away from ‘Unique Selling Propositions’ (USPs) to ‘Unique Buying Tribes’ (UBTs). At Aspire Systems, we have successfully formed a unique tribe called ‘Producteers’ - they are not just software developer but specialist product engineers. It has worked remarkably well for us. There are talents from biggies and giants of software industry joining us now.
SMEs should shatter the myth that brand-building is a complex exercise that involves lots of funds. Brands may start out small, but their power and reach is only limited by our goals and creativity. At Aspire Systems, we have rigorously used one brand building tool with consistent results – and that is to be a ‘contrarian’.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Sunday, August 3, 2008
HR - Priests or Police?
I think HR should be a judicious mix of both traits - Priests and that of Police. Priests understand the business from people's end of it. They care and listen out. They are patient, emotional, rational and effective communicators. But they are not the 'fun' providers, they know the difference between 'fun' and 'engagement'.
Whereas, Police can gauge the inner and unsaid work and beyond work culture in the organisation. They know when it is off track and where to tighten to get the team back on track. They measure and evaluate anything and everything that has an impact on the bottomline and employee's interests alone. But they refrain from framing and imposing rules for the sake of it. For example, a leading IT company in India says no to 'Corduroy pants'. Has a policy around it and spends precious time on communicating or rather nailing it across the org. Beats me.
When the traits of Priest and Police combine, the key employee engagement parameters like Career Development, Transparency, Decision Making, Communications, Rewards and Recognition and the likes get the right attention and in the right scale.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Whereas, Police can gauge the inner and unsaid work and beyond work culture in the organisation. They know when it is off track and where to tighten to get the team back on track. They measure and evaluate anything and everything that has an impact on the bottomline and employee's interests alone. But they refrain from framing and imposing rules for the sake of it. For example, a leading IT company in India says no to 'Corduroy pants'. Has a policy around it and spends precious time on communicating or rather nailing it across the org. Beats me.
When the traits of Priest and Police combine, the key employee engagement parameters like Career Development, Transparency, Decision Making, Communications, Rewards and Recognition and the likes get the right attention and in the right scale.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
