No, the analogy is not about failed attempts at invicibility. It's about back-tracking on the invincibility.
The
Titanic's claim wasn't an empty one. It was backed by solid technology.
If it were to hit something that broke the outer shell, the bottom of
the ship was compartmentalised in a way that the incoming water would be
passed through all compartments, ultimately levelling across the bottom
and not pulling the ship down to the bottom of the ocean.
Thus, even if it gets hit, the ship keeps moving.
Most
successful brands have such differentiating features - patented
technology, outstanding service, or even lowest-priced in the market.
But what happens when these brands hit an iceberg?
Is the differentiation well established among its prospective customers?
Is
it well communicated through the sales and distribution channels, so
that the team can truly survive the hit and simply continue on its path?
Or does it drop that great feature and become a copy of its competitor, only to fasten the sinking process?
Jun 11, 2015
Life in a non-Metro: Ch. 2 Time isn't money
This post is part of a series.
You can read the introduction, and chapter 1 here.
Chapter 2: Time Isn't MoneyMost consumers you come across in a metro will go to lengths to explain how fast their life is, and how little time they have. That would be true for non-metro consumers too... but only the explaining part.
Given that everyone is brought up with the adage of 'Aaram haram hai', people everywhere want to show that they are busy, but it takes only a little investigation to understand how relaxed life in a non-metro is.
Let's also understand why this is.
They save time on commute: In a non-metro town, people's residences are fairly closer to their workplaces. Moreover, the traffic jams aren't as bad or as frequent.
Their working hours are much shorter: Be it an industrialist, businessman, or employee, the non-metro person's scope of work is pretty much restricted to his own time zone, and perhaps to the head office that's located in Delhi or Mumbai. So it's fairly easy to complete a day's work within 8-10 hours (maybe even lesser, depending on your industry) and go home to eat dinner with family. (Yes, sigh!)
While they follow a 6-day week, Saturdays are either half-days, or pretty relaxed when otherwise.
So what would these people do with so much time at hand?
1. They socialise
Most people will be part of social groups, connecting to their communities, social and professional circles at coffee shops, restaurants, gyms, and clubs. They participate in their society's / housing colony's management, organise events and get-togethers. They attend many such events too. As a result, businesses don't mind having exhibitions and workshops on weekdays; they are able to attract a decent audience.
2. They compare before buying
Imagine having just one hour extra every evening. Would you still buying all your groceries, toys, and electronics from the single neighbourhood mega-store? People in the non-metros do the same. They visit multiple stores, multiple times, and make multiple calls to compare, negotiate, and get the best price.
3. They watch a lot of TV
The TV stays on for most part of the day. The lady watches many more soaps, even splitting them between afternoons and evenings if they overlap; the man watches news and sports and movies, and the kids would watch the cartoons.
Other implications:
1. When it comes to purchases, they are willing to wait to get a better deal.
2. As deliverers of service, they aren't punctual. They won't bother to be there at 3pm for a 3pm appointment. Most deliveries for most categories of goods are expected to be late, and are late too.
3. Perhaps as a consequence of this culture, as customers, they know that deliverers will over-commit and under-deliver. Hence, they create non-existing urgencies all the time to ensure that work gets done (and preferably, in time).
Interesting, isn't it? More about the non-metros in the coming posts.
Any unique observations, or anecdotes about the non-metros?
Do share in the comments.
You can read the introduction, and chapter 1 here.
Chapter 2: Time Isn't MoneyMost consumers you come across in a metro will go to lengths to explain how fast their life is, and how little time they have. That would be true for non-metro consumers too... but only the explaining part.
Given that everyone is brought up with the adage of 'Aaram haram hai', people everywhere want to show that they are busy, but it takes only a little investigation to understand how relaxed life in a non-metro is.
Let's also understand why this is.
They save time on commute: In a non-metro town, people's residences are fairly closer to their workplaces. Moreover, the traffic jams aren't as bad or as frequent.
Their working hours are much shorter: Be it an industrialist, businessman, or employee, the non-metro person's scope of work is pretty much restricted to his own time zone, and perhaps to the head office that's located in Delhi or Mumbai. So it's fairly easy to complete a day's work within 8-10 hours (maybe even lesser, depending on your industry) and go home to eat dinner with family. (Yes, sigh!)
While they follow a 6-day week, Saturdays are either half-days, or pretty relaxed when otherwise.
So what would these people do with so much time at hand?
1. They socialise
Most people will be part of social groups, connecting to their communities, social and professional circles at coffee shops, restaurants, gyms, and clubs. They participate in their society's / housing colony's management, organise events and get-togethers. They attend many such events too. As a result, businesses don't mind having exhibitions and workshops on weekdays; they are able to attract a decent audience.
2. They compare before buying
Imagine having just one hour extra every evening. Would you still buying all your groceries, toys, and electronics from the single neighbourhood mega-store? People in the non-metros do the same. They visit multiple stores, multiple times, and make multiple calls to compare, negotiate, and get the best price.
3. They watch a lot of TV
The TV stays on for most part of the day. The lady watches many more soaps, even splitting them between afternoons and evenings if they overlap; the man watches news and sports and movies, and the kids would watch the cartoons.
Other implications:
1. When it comes to purchases, they are willing to wait to get a better deal.
2. As deliverers of service, they aren't punctual. They won't bother to be there at 3pm for a 3pm appointment. Most deliveries for most categories of goods are expected to be late, and are late too.
3. Perhaps as a consequence of this culture, as customers, they know that deliverers will over-commit and under-deliver. Hence, they create non-existing urgencies all the time to ensure that work gets done (and preferably, in time).
Interesting, isn't it? More about the non-metros in the coming posts.
Any unique observations, or anecdotes about the non-metros?
Do share in the comments.
Jun 3, 2015
Industry Insider: The workings of a Research Agency
As students, the one thing we aren't exposed to during our curriculum is the
inner workings of companies. Yes, we do have 'industry interactions' and
'industry visits' but they don't explain the structure or the business model of
companies. For a course that will shape a substantial part of our working life,
this information is critical. And if you consider the no. of students who get
into MBA courses without any prior work-ex (like I did), the absence of this
information is nothing less than tragic!
Hence, this series.
In this post, we look at the workings of Research Agency:
Specialisations: Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research is about studies involving large samples sizes, data coding, and statistical analysis. Thus, as a 'quant' specialist, a person is expected to know how to design research studies, sampling, and questionnaires that can be codified into numbers, analysed using statitical tests and reported as charts and tables.
In stark contrast, Qualitative Research is about studies involving small sample sizes, tactical questioning, projective techniques, and analysis using psychological and cultural contexts. While most Market Research textbooks and courses dedicate only a couple of chapters / sessions to Qualitative Research, it is a large field of work in real life. The 'qual' expert is usually someone with an expert understanding of human behaviour, needs and motivations. Educational training in psychology and culture also helps.
The organisation structure
Big Department 1: The 'Field' team Consider your usual class or summer internship project that requires a 'survey' to be carried out. It is you and your team members who meet the respondents, ask the questions, and fill out the questionnaire. In real life, this is done by a separate department called the 'Field'.
Since the real-life quantitative research projects involve multiple cities, and going by truly random sampling, it is the 'Field' team that roams about in cities, goes door-to-door, meets people, and fills out the questionnaire. The actual people doing this are called 'Interviewers'. Most of the time, they aren't even employees of the research agency. They are freelancers, who get paid for each completed questionnaire. Most of them have completed education till higher secondary or graduation.
In case of qualitative research, the Field team is responsible for going door-to-door, 'recruiting' respondents who fit the definition of the target group for the study, and scheduling face-to-face interviews, or focus group discussions with the 'Research' team. More about the research team a little later.
Big Department 2: The 'Data Processing' team
Again, let's go back to our research project. After we complete our survey, we typically add all the data into an Excel sheet. The more enterprising ones among us will learn about a software called SPSS, and use that. In real life, this stage of work is done by the 'Data Processing' team, also called DP. So, once the questionnaires are filled, the DP team converts all questions and their responses into codes that are filled into a datasheet. Based on the structure of the expected responses, it is decided in advance on the kind of tabulation, cross-tabulation and analysis to be performed on this data. All this is done by the DP team using software that convert the raw data into tables and analytical outputs. These results are then shared with the 'Research' team. People who work in the DP team are usually graduates or postgraduates in statistics, and are also well-trained in operating the data analysis software. (One of the most common software used for advanced analytics is SAS)
Big Department 3: The 'Research' team
If you notice, the previous two departments don't do anything related to understanding why the research is being done, or what decisions will be taken using the findings of the study being undertaken. This work is done by the 'Research' team. People in this team are usually MBAs. It is the job of the Research team to meet clients, understand their business problems, convert them into research projects, design the entire study, decide on the sample size, and prepare the questionnaire. Additionally, this team takes care of briefing the 'Field' team, explaining to them the nitty-gritties of the questionnaire, and also of preparing the Data Analysis Plan that is shared with the DP team.
The 'Researcher' is the central coordinator between the clients, the field team, and the DP team, and hence, is supposed to possess a fair understanding of the work environment of both the departments as well as the workings of the clients. The 'Researcher' is also the 'owner' of the project i.e. he / she is accountable for the quality of work, timeliness of execution, and profitability of the project.
In case of qualitative research, the 'Research' team designs the interview / discussion guide and the various stimulus to which respondents give responses, and most of the times, conducts the interviews and group discussions itself. It also prepares the final presentation, making connections between individual responses, group behaviour, and cultural insights. Thus, qualitative research is a lot less segregated work compared to quantitative research.
Does this paint a clear picture of the industry to a student? Do let me know.
If you have any queries, add them in the comments.
(Also posted on www.insideiim.com)
Hence, this series.
In this post, we look at the workings of Research Agency:
Specialisations: Quantitative and Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research is about studies involving large samples sizes, data coding, and statistical analysis. Thus, as a 'quant' specialist, a person is expected to know how to design research studies, sampling, and questionnaires that can be codified into numbers, analysed using statitical tests and reported as charts and tables.
In stark contrast, Qualitative Research is about studies involving small sample sizes, tactical questioning, projective techniques, and analysis using psychological and cultural contexts. While most Market Research textbooks and courses dedicate only a couple of chapters / sessions to Qualitative Research, it is a large field of work in real life. The 'qual' expert is usually someone with an expert understanding of human behaviour, needs and motivations. Educational training in psychology and culture also helps.
The organisation structure
Big Department 1: The 'Field' team Consider your usual class or summer internship project that requires a 'survey' to be carried out. It is you and your team members who meet the respondents, ask the questions, and fill out the questionnaire. In real life, this is done by a separate department called the 'Field'.
Since the real-life quantitative research projects involve multiple cities, and going by truly random sampling, it is the 'Field' team that roams about in cities, goes door-to-door, meets people, and fills out the questionnaire. The actual people doing this are called 'Interviewers'. Most of the time, they aren't even employees of the research agency. They are freelancers, who get paid for each completed questionnaire. Most of them have completed education till higher secondary or graduation.
In case of qualitative research, the Field team is responsible for going door-to-door, 'recruiting' respondents who fit the definition of the target group for the study, and scheduling face-to-face interviews, or focus group discussions with the 'Research' team. More about the research team a little later.
Big Department 2: The 'Data Processing' team
Again, let's go back to our research project. After we complete our survey, we typically add all the data into an Excel sheet. The more enterprising ones among us will learn about a software called SPSS, and use that. In real life, this stage of work is done by the 'Data Processing' team, also called DP. So, once the questionnaires are filled, the DP team converts all questions and their responses into codes that are filled into a datasheet. Based on the structure of the expected responses, it is decided in advance on the kind of tabulation, cross-tabulation and analysis to be performed on this data. All this is done by the DP team using software that convert the raw data into tables and analytical outputs. These results are then shared with the 'Research' team. People who work in the DP team are usually graduates or postgraduates in statistics, and are also well-trained in operating the data analysis software. (One of the most common software used for advanced analytics is SAS)
Big Department 3: The 'Research' team
If you notice, the previous two departments don't do anything related to understanding why the research is being done, or what decisions will be taken using the findings of the study being undertaken. This work is done by the 'Research' team. People in this team are usually MBAs. It is the job of the Research team to meet clients, understand their business problems, convert them into research projects, design the entire study, decide on the sample size, and prepare the questionnaire. Additionally, this team takes care of briefing the 'Field' team, explaining to them the nitty-gritties of the questionnaire, and also of preparing the Data Analysis Plan that is shared with the DP team.
The 'Researcher' is the central coordinator between the clients, the field team, and the DP team, and hence, is supposed to possess a fair understanding of the work environment of both the departments as well as the workings of the clients. The 'Researcher' is also the 'owner' of the project i.e. he / she is accountable for the quality of work, timeliness of execution, and profitability of the project.
In case of qualitative research, the 'Research' team designs the interview / discussion guide and the various stimulus to which respondents give responses, and most of the times, conducts the interviews and group discussions itself. It also prepares the final presentation, making connections between individual responses, group behaviour, and cultural insights. Thus, qualitative research is a lot less segregated work compared to quantitative research.
Does this paint a clear picture of the industry to a student? Do let me know.
If you have any queries, add them in the comments.
(Also posted on www.insideiim.com)
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