London-based research company ECA International says employees in India can look forward to robust salary rises even when almost a quarter of the world's companies, and 40 percent in the United States, plan to freeze salaries this year.
Companies in Venezuela are set to hand out the biggest pay rises this year, averaging 24 percent and up from 22 percent last year, followed by Argentina where pay is set to increase by 12 percent.
Pay in India will increase by 10.8 percent this year. Talent shortage is cited as a reason for the sustenance of a double-digit figure in India.
The survey was conducted in 53 countries and take a look at the results:
Top 10 Countries paying top salary hikes
1. Venezuela
2. Argentina
3. India
4. Vietnam
5. Egypt
6. Indonesia
7. Russia
8. Romania
9. South Africa
10. Latvia
While Japan is at spot no. 53 in the overall list.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Indiamart and the branding challenge
After a great run in India and ready to go global, Indiamart has suddenly found itself staring a big wall on its track. Currently, quite a few of buyers and sellers on Indiamart are in India. However, there has been constant interest from foriegn buyers and sellers from abroad to be part of Indiamart.com The only problem has been that owing to a brand positioning clash many companies do not want to become part of a site which has India in its name.
Well, to book a domain with a name like Globemart would not help as the hits and the high response from buyers and sellers around the world and particularly from India is on Indiamart and not on some new site which was unknown till now.
However, now the promoters Dinesh Agarwals and his team find it increasingly difficult to get a large number of conversions to jump onto the India brand if they are from other parts of the globe. The advertising agency and the A-team of the company is addressing the problem and is trying to arrive at a consensus as to how to leverage the brand and at the same time convert it into a global brand.
For one thing, Indiamart will not be able to have its cake and eat it too. It will either have to shed the India image or carry on with it and sacrifice its ability to attract buyers and sellers from a worldwide footprint .
The other option available to this company is to promote a site such as www.globaltrade.com and then redirects it to www.indiamart.com/global
So where do you think things went wrong. Is it at the domain registration stage or earlier? Jump in and let know your thoughts... what basic branding principles would have saved Indiamart from this chaotic situation?
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Well, to book a domain with a name like Globemart would not help as the hits and the high response from buyers and sellers around the world and particularly from India is on Indiamart and not on some new site which was unknown till now.
However, now the promoters Dinesh Agarwals and his team find it increasingly difficult to get a large number of conversions to jump onto the India brand if they are from other parts of the globe. The advertising agency and the A-team of the company is addressing the problem and is trying to arrive at a consensus as to how to leverage the brand and at the same time convert it into a global brand.
For one thing, Indiamart will not be able to have its cake and eat it too. It will either have to shed the India image or carry on with it and sacrifice its ability to attract buyers and sellers from a worldwide footprint .
The other option available to this company is to promote a site such as www.globaltrade.com and then redirects it to www.indiamart.com/global
So where do you think things went wrong. Is it at the domain registration stage or earlier? Jump in and let know your thoughts... what basic branding principles would have saved Indiamart from this chaotic situation?
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Friday, April 3, 2009
COKE : Setting the Record Straight ?
New Coke Ads titled `Setting The Record Straight’ will run tomorrow in major Australian newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Courier Mail and The Australian.
What’s the big deal about this? Well…Coke is expected to publish corrective advertisements in Australia after a panel said the soft drink company could have misled consumers with ads saying its products won't make them fat or rot their teeth.
Now the confession: The world's biggest soft drinks maker, said it did not intend for its ads to be misleading and it should have been more clear. “This process has reinforced in our minds that even where advertising messages are well-intentioned, it is important to consider the overall impression that the messages may convey,'' the new ad said.
So does Coke contribute to weight gain, obesity and tooth decay? The proof of the pudding is in drinking!!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
What’s the big deal about this? Well…Coke is expected to publish corrective advertisements in Australia after a panel said the soft drink company could have misled consumers with ads saying its products won't make them fat or rot their teeth.
Now the confession: The world's biggest soft drinks maker, said it did not intend for its ads to be misleading and it should have been more clear. “This process has reinforced in our minds that even where advertising messages are well-intentioned, it is important to consider the overall impression that the messages may convey,'' the new ad said.
So does Coke contribute to weight gain, obesity and tooth decay? The proof of the pudding is in drinking!!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Employee Engagement - Nurture or Abandon?
Employee engagement – Now is the time to nurture not abandon
So you might have heard of this excellent employee engagement initiative practiced in a leading US firm. Let me illustrate it for all readers - 2 chairs are kept on the lawn, one chair occupied by an employee representative and another hung with a message board. Different employee topics for different days. Employees participated and shared their thoughts and concerns on issues ranging from management to work to co-workers.
Brilliant idea, isn’t it?
Those 2 lawn chairs measured the pulse of employee thoughts and fears. It helped employees to open up and speak out.
During recession or otherwise, I think an organization can do a world of good for itself and employees if it can engage employees through work and recognition. Engaged employees will do things in a better way and do better things more efficiently. What else can empower a business during a slowdown. Job cuts won’t do. It can only raise the mercury on insecurity. Probably now is the time to go face-to-face and do honest communication with your employees.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
So you might have heard of this excellent employee engagement initiative practiced in a leading US firm. Let me illustrate it for all readers - 2 chairs are kept on the lawn, one chair occupied by an employee representative and another hung with a message board. Different employee topics for different days. Employees participated and shared their thoughts and concerns on issues ranging from management to work to co-workers.
Brilliant idea, isn’t it?
Those 2 lawn chairs measured the pulse of employee thoughts and fears. It helped employees to open up and speak out.
During recession or otherwise, I think an organization can do a world of good for itself and employees if it can engage employees through work and recognition. Engaged employees will do things in a better way and do better things more efficiently. What else can empower a business during a slowdown. Job cuts won’t do. It can only raise the mercury on insecurity. Probably now is the time to go face-to-face and do honest communication with your employees.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Friday, March 20, 2009
Leading Green Brand !!
The global "green" enterprise IT study released by Strategic Oxygen and Cohn & Wolfe today reveals that Dell is the number one green technology brand, recognized for its extensive recycling program, the top ranked attribute sought by IT buyers. HP, IBM and Microsoft were noted for their energy efficient products and use of sustainable materials, while Apple held its position in the top five for designing products that are perceived to have a green look and feel.
"The technology brands that make the authentic connection between the environmental soundness of their products and their sustainable business operations and policies, will be long-term winners," says Claudia Carasso, managing director of the global technology practice at Cohn & Wolfe. "We also know that CIOs who are committed to green strategies depend more on blogs and forums than their non-green counterparts for gathering information on technology solutions. This is an important finding for product and service providers who are looking for current and credible ways to reach the coveted C-suite buyer."
GREEN MARKETING, is it????
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
"The technology brands that make the authentic connection between the environmental soundness of their products and their sustainable business operations and policies, will be long-term winners," says Claudia Carasso, managing director of the global technology practice at Cohn & Wolfe. "We also know that CIOs who are committed to green strategies depend more on blogs and forums than their non-green counterparts for gathering information on technology solutions. This is an important finding for product and service providers who are looking for current and credible ways to reach the coveted C-suite buyer."
GREEN MARKETING, is it????
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Monday, March 16, 2009
IPL & Voter Turnout
Amidst depressing news about the economy: bank closures, bailouts, rising unemployment, fraud, declining consumer confidence and the other long list of sad stories… there is one bright spot – Indian Premier League. Probably, the cricketing nations and especially the marketers in India would like to view the IPL season 2 as a mini stimulus package that could trigger consumer spending. Or is it consumer watching?
But the fate of IPL is now in the hands of the Indian Government. Because the home ministry stated its inability to provide security for the matches since the general elections are also scheduled around the same time.
So who will be the immediate beneficiary if IPL stalls – may be the news channels. The majority of the viewers might take a liking to national politics and probably cling on to the news anchors and analysts. People might get out of their favorite chairs and vote. Might participate and select a better leader to govern them.
So is 'shifting IPL dates' a ploy by election commission to increase the voter turnout? Stop kidding!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
But the fate of IPL is now in the hands of the Indian Government. Because the home ministry stated its inability to provide security for the matches since the general elections are also scheduled around the same time.
So who will be the immediate beneficiary if IPL stalls – may be the news channels. The majority of the viewers might take a liking to national politics and probably cling on to the news anchors and analysts. People might get out of their favorite chairs and vote. Might participate and select a better leader to govern them.
So is 'shifting IPL dates' a ploy by election commission to increase the voter turnout? Stop kidding!
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Are Business Buyers Emotional?
We need to dwell deep into the minds of business buyers to understand the intricacies of corporate decision making process. Let us imagine that we are in a court of law and two advocates representing emotional and rational clients argue the case…
Emotional Advocate: Companies don’t buy from companies. People buy from people.
Rational Advocate: Purchase decision depends on a matrix of tangible features and price.
Emotional Advocate: “Buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” says Malcolm Gladwell, author of the book titled Blink: The power of thinking without thinking.
Rational Advocate: Business decisions are not made by an individual. It is often done by a group of informed people.
Emotional Advocate: Even a big team can be overwhelmed by choices, features, data and metrics. No matter how disciplined a buying process is, human mind will use heuristics to simplify the decision making. It can be conscious or subconscious.
Rational Advocate: A group of number crunchers can analyze and interpret any complex data and store them within the confines of a spreadsheet.
Emotional Advocate: A business buyer may not be congratulated for making a good purchase decision. But a bad decision can put him/her in an ugly spot.
Rational Advocate: Exactly why business buyer will be overcautious and will not take a decision in haste.
Emotional Advocate: So, buyer weighs purchase decisions both rationally and emotionally. Since brands operate on an emotional level, by creating and sustaining the right brand associations in the buyer’s mind, business seller can close the deal in his/her favor.
Now after a bout of intelligent arguments let us hear what the Judges had to say: “In the industrial world, where rational purchasing decisions tend to be the rule, human factors can also play a critical role in differentiating products and services from the competition. Even if your company sells so-called ‘commodities’, the human factor is often an unexploited element that could strengthen your competitive position. At the end of the day, all business transactions involve people selling product and service solutions to solve other people’s problems.” – By Philip Kotler & Waldemar Pfoertsch – B2B Brand Management.
So, it is evident that business buyers are both rational and emotional. Court dismissed.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
Emotional Advocate: Companies don’t buy from companies. People buy from people.
Rational Advocate: Purchase decision depends on a matrix of tangible features and price.
Emotional Advocate: “Buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” says Malcolm Gladwell, author of the book titled Blink: The power of thinking without thinking.
Rational Advocate: Business decisions are not made by an individual. It is often done by a group of informed people.
Emotional Advocate: Even a big team can be overwhelmed by choices, features, data and metrics. No matter how disciplined a buying process is, human mind will use heuristics to simplify the decision making. It can be conscious or subconscious.
Rational Advocate: A group of number crunchers can analyze and interpret any complex data and store them within the confines of a spreadsheet.
Emotional Advocate: A business buyer may not be congratulated for making a good purchase decision. But a bad decision can put him/her in an ugly spot.
Rational Advocate: Exactly why business buyer will be overcautious and will not take a decision in haste.
Emotional Advocate: So, buyer weighs purchase decisions both rationally and emotionally. Since brands operate on an emotional level, by creating and sustaining the right brand associations in the buyer’s mind, business seller can close the deal in his/her favor.
Now after a bout of intelligent arguments let us hear what the Judges had to say: “In the industrial world, where rational purchasing decisions tend to be the rule, human factors can also play a critical role in differentiating products and services from the competition. Even if your company sells so-called ‘commodities’, the human factor is often an unexploited element that could strengthen your competitive position. At the end of the day, all business transactions involve people selling product and service solutions to solve other people’s problems.” – By Philip Kotler & Waldemar Pfoertsch – B2B Brand Management.
So, it is evident that business buyers are both rational and emotional. Court dismissed.
~ Satish Chathanath
Call : 9884011654
Mail : csadhy@yahoo.co.in
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