Brands Product Strategy

We all know how dynamic the Mobile market is getting & we have many new players entering the game. The new game changers in this space are Mi & Motorola.

So what makes a product succeed in a new market?

How brands can make a comeback?

How Engaging with Customers is becoming a must for Brands?

I will try answering to these questions in this post.

It’s well said - “Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it”.

In today’s diverse market you can’t have a product for all. So be very clear with your Target Group & Market them the products with a strong message. Remember – Customers are Smart, so win their heart first the mind will be automatic taken care.

A product has 5 characteristics that engage a Buyer

1. PRICE

2. SERVICE

3. ACCESS

4. QUALITY

5. EXPERIENCE

PRICE:

There is only one price – Honest Price & that is the price a buyer things is right

SERVICE:

Basic level of service is expected. The question is how farther would you go?

ACCESS:

How easy should it be to access and navigate both offline & online?

Quality:

Consistently good or one off best ? Good enough is good enough for most


EXPERIENCE:
Intimacy matters. Buyers demand respect and being cared for

Three customer relationships levels – that define the depth of a buyer engagement:

(LEVEL 1):
Be considered little effort to maintain loyalty

(LEVEL 2):

Be favored – Deeper Engagement – Favored over Competition

(LEVEL 3):

Be desired. An Ideal state – Favoured + Desired

“Together they define an Engagement Plan & hence the Product Strategy”

Look at the below 2 charting a Product Strategy

 

So go back & have a look at your product strategy – Don’t try to perfect it as a product with all its imperfections can just be as perfect.

UnMetro – The Markets driving India

It was my absolute please to attend Dainik Bhaskar UnMetro Conference on 13^th Dec. A platform where I got to hear some inspiring UnMetro Case Studies from Marketers, incredible panel discussing the future of India being the UnMetros. 

Some take away & quotes from the event:

People nowadays are migrating from smaller towns to cities like Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad to earn their livelihood, whereas the rate of people migrating to the so-called metros has fallen sharply.

The non-metro customer today, demands the same luxury packages such as spas, five stars & international vacations that any of his affluent metro counterparts demand.

Trust is the key to success in the unMetros markets and people are open to talk and learn about new things.

The trend of e-commerce players partnering with retail brands is yet to evolve in unMetros

Consumer in future will reject a user inappropriate product. Affordability is no longer an issue for unMetros

5 reasons for the change in nonMetros – increasing awareness for education, health & wellness, growing need for personal grooming, improving hygiene & increasingly eating out & experimenting with food.

60% of my brands revenue comes from non-metro India

Women & Children in UnMetros India have become powerful as far as purchase decisions go.

The advantage in a small town is that the news spreads very fast, brands need to spend money in cultivating loyalty

Products must be hackable & customizable. Customers are getting smarter. They will not buy products just because their favorite celebrity is endorsing it.

Puma – “We have closed 7 stores due to unprofitably, all from Metros”

DHFL – “We target lower middle income group. We have differentiated Business Model to cater to different segments in Market”

CCD- “We are not in the coffee business; we are in the Time pass business. CCD is a place where people want to spend time with their loved ones, beverages accidentally surround them”

Toyota – “By the year 2015, non-metros will account for more than 60% of our sales!”

Puma – “e-Commerce allows us to reach 800 towns that we would have never had reached. It serves a long tail of towns”

Titan – “In the coming 5 years, e-Commerce will be big, Localization will be critical & technology will help us identifying customers with their name & purchase history”.

We at Huawei have always believed that making a common man a brand ambassador & word of mouth is the best marketing strategy. Thus Huawei Club where we are building an eco-system, engaging with Students, Developers, Designers to enrich our customers experiences.  

A brand essence doesn't and will not change, from market the way the message is communicated at times need to be tweaked accordingly to be effective. After the end of the conference, for it’s really difficult to distinguish metros & unMetros into separate categories.

In fact India outside the metros seems to be the emerging India.