Brand “Religion”

Have you ever thought? Which is first brand name in the world? Most probably it would be any oldest Religion. This Brand Religion is deeply rooted in human brain. Story of this brand transfer from one generation to another generation like no other brand can ever did, probably not will not be able to do in future. Here is what can we learn from brand Religion?

1. It spread awareness by hiring celebrities (Godmen) and media houses (religious institution)

2. It generated interest by giving a product benefit (promise of heaven, resolution of difficulties etc.)

3. It evoked desire by making example of people who did not join and suffered.

4. It generated action by making it easier to join. It had an amazing distribution network reaching grassroots villages, with service outlets manned by well trained staff.

Feature centric Vs Benefit centric

Features are something external, characteristic of product and services, appearance, its components and its capabilities. Benefits are value which you are offering along with your product and services.

Features are descriptive but Benefits are emotional. Many business owners talk about their work in the term of features it offers, but it`s much more power to talk about the benefits customers receive. Feature is tangible but Benefit is intangible in nature. Benefits add values to your product. What is Value, exactly? Here’s the basic definition.

val-ue: something desirable and of worth, created through exchange or effort. Value means helping people.

A feature satisfies the need of customers, but Benefits goes satisfies the hidden need. For example: You go to for horse riding to one of the ranch outside city which offer riding, lodging, food and thousand acres of riding facility, but these are things which they are offering, yes they are satisfying you needs but what benefits are you getting is Freedom to escape and be someone else. After hectic weekdays in office now you want to enjoy fullest it is not food and lodging which are satisfying you its benefit which gives customer a Freedom kind of sense which something beyond the basic needs. 

One day you daughter went to shopping and bought one wedding dress along with others accessories but not this feature attracts your daughter instead a emotional benefits that gives sense of special feeling on wearing dress. 

May be your product is full of features that you thinks is innovative and extra to what your competitors are offering but what is they are not give any benefits to your customers, What is they not feeing emotionally satisfied.

What about the new recipe book you have bought from the market, which has lots of simple recipes to make at home and those are easy too but exactly benefits you are getting from this book is that you are able to spend quality time with your family.

Decoy Effect

(The decoy effect is the phenomenon whereby consumers will tend to have a specific change in preference between two options when also presented with a third option that is asymmetrically dominated. An option is asymmetrically dominated when it is inferior in all respects to one option; but, in comparison to the other option, it is inferior in some respects and superior in others.)

Decoy effect plays an important role in pricing. Every day we come across such kind of product and service pricing where simply use of additional option create confusion in the mind of buyers. Human mind is always give preference to such option where one can compare the price of product and service with other available option. For example: You are searching for magazine for annual subscription and you find out following pricing:

1.Online subscription:  $75

2.Print subscription: $125

If you have to make a decision you simply go with option 1^st. Here no option for comparison so you directly make a decision. But, here is another option.

1. Online subscription:  $75

2. Print subscription:  $125 (Decoy)

3. Online and print subscription: $125 

So, now what would you do, yes you think  option 2, is not applicable because now at the same price you are getting both kind of subscription Online as well as Print, your mind directly choose option 3. Just use of additional option (Decoy) change you buying decision and you make a purchase as company need. What happened here human brain start comparing with other option which relatively less beneficial.

This kind of pricing strategy being used is all product and services.  

Second Example:  You are planning to go on vacation to and you approach to travel agent he gave you following option.

       1.   Rome:  4 places with breakfast and snacks including.

       2.   Paris: 4 places with breakfast and snacks.

Here, both the places are equally important as travel and tourist point of view, and you will not compare with the price and you directly choose any option according to your choice where you actually would like to go.   But,

What if one more option given to you?

1. Rome:  4 places with breakfast and snacks including.

2. Rome:  4 places without breakfast and snacks including.(decoy)

3. Paris: 4 places with breakfast and snacks.

Now, your mind starts comparing price with less attractive option. And you buy exactly same option what that travel agent wants you to buy.

Deliberate strategy Vs Emergent strategy

When you had been studying in college you were sure that you wanted to work in the same field which you had studied for. You had career plan for future, you were aware that what kind of job you would like most and enjoy doing it. You have already deliberately planned for you career, here you had deliberately planned what you wanted to become 10 to 15 years down the line and you did all the necessary planning to achieve your goal. You have all the data and research related to current trend in your field, but when you have been working for 5 years you realised that you wanted something different or you want change the industry want to work in other field which you had never thought of. Gradually, you started performing well in this field and you started liking your new opportunity.  This opportunity came in your way unintended which you had never planned of, it emerged from somewhere else and you took plunge in it and you realised that what you did is good and it’s paying off. This career shift was not initially anticipated or intended when you were in initial phase of planning your career.

In America when automobile industry was dominated by heavy bike like Harley Davidson at that time Japanese company Honda wanted to inter in the light bike market which is that time like suicide to inter in light bike because it was trend in America of having heavy bike and those bike which can give no problem in long ride. Engine should be power full in that case. But Honda executive thought that it would be good to inter in small bike segment because heavy bike was more costly and it is only for rich people so they planned about small bike which low cost as half of Harley Davidson and Triumph. Due to low cost it would be affordable to middle class families for their daily uses. So after lots of analysis and marketing research, they made lots of strategies to launch Honda Super Cub in America. But Honda Super cup bike hit the market it could not performed well as they deliberately planned it, all the research failed and Honda was about to shut the factory down. 

One day one of its employees wanted to go hilly area he took his Super cub bike and went to explore the hilly area. Due to hill area heavy bike was not an option. That employee easily went on riding on that area with his small super cup. Next day he showed this to his other top executives form the company that how this bike is useful for this kind of road and areas where heavy bike are totally fail.

Now company have gotten an idea to sell this bike in America, this ideas was never in the planning phase or when executive were drawing the strategies for their bike. But it emerged from somewhere else. This was not anticipated earlier and was unintended totally. After working on new emergent strategies and opportunities that bike did well in American small bike segments. 

These kinds of things could happen everywhere in every field, and in personal life and corporate life. For example if any start-ups came up with some new product or services according to their all research and analysis. But when that product hit the market it does perform well but may be something can be immerged out from this which would be best for their company. But the important thing is how you and your company open for new unanticipated ideas and strategies. How you and your company transform then self effectively to leverage new emergent opportunities with suitable emergent strategies? It’s depended upon the people and company how they formulate the Emergent strategies and transform it in Deliberate strategies.

It’s time to Recycle your Mistakes

Companies are taking lots of initiative to recycle from pin to computer but one more thing which we can recycle that is Mistake. Any mistake we do in organization or anywhere, If we have database  of all mistake and their appropriate solution then mistake can likely be minimize from happening. In places like hospital where mistake can be lead to lots of problem, here if we can recycle mistake then we can see some changes in people behaviour toward working style. Question is how we can recycle any Mistakes. There are many way but I would like to point out one which I think is more effective.

 If hospitals or any organization have common place where each and every employee update any kind of mistakes made by them and which are also accessible to any staff to look into. This database not only have the data of Mistake but also what action taken by the employee or their seniors to correct them also to make it sure that it will not repeat in future. By storing Mistake and their solution database can used in training for particular process.

But to implement RecycleMistake process one organization must have open culture to report the mistakes. It should not be treat as a proof against employee working style.