The Hindu Business Line : Tough-time marketing

Tough times are here. In my line of business, I have lost revenue heavily. My monthly turnover in terms of sales is down by 45 per cent for the last two months. Is recession here already? As a marketer, do I cut advertising?

- Rohit P. Bansal, Mumbai

Rohit, marketers in normal times are very intelligent beings. In tough times, some of us get rattled. Rattled by the consumer, rattled by the intermediary trade at large, rattled by the sales team in the marketplace, and more often than not rattled by the demands of the bottom line of marketing profitability and intent.

While the marketer gets shaken and stirred from all directions, many marketers seem to take the route of least resistance and the route that is more obvious than obvious.

The clarion call in every marketing boardroom: Cut the advertising!

In the bargain, brands suffer. Sales volumes may not feel an immediate impact with such quick knee-jerk moves, but brand image and everything a brand is and meant to represent in the medium- to long-term gets shaken a bit more than necessary.

Every commercial consumer society is a roller-coaster economy. There are times when the going is good and there are times when the going is bad, if not terrible. There are times when the economy is clocking double digit growth rates. There are times when interest rates are on a downward spree. When consumer sentiment is gung-ho and up. When buying more and more is a passion. This is the marketer’s delight. Never mind what you market, be it pantyhose or premium sedan.

Rohit, my simple but difficult answer: Don’t cut back on essential advertising. It will pay you back in the medium to long run. Stay in there.

How does one re-focus differently in the time of recession? What do I do different?

- Shaili Menon, New Delhi

Shaili, recession time marketing is a different kettle of fish altogether. Marketing and retail companies, big or small, need to unlearn a lot and learn a little. What is to be learnt is the art, science and philosophy of 1:1 marketing. 1:1 branding. 1: 1 advertising. And 1: 1 everything.

This is the time to get to know your consumer not as a statistic, but as Ms Kamini Batra who lives in GK-II or Mr Rajneesh Tyagi who lives in Abu Mohalla, Patpat Ganj. Get close. Get personal. Get very close. This will hold you in good stead.

Satyam the brand. What’s your view on it now?

- Somnath Singh, Hyderabad

Som, Satyam has been a brand of significant value thus far. With the recent set of issues that has cropped up, brand equity of the name and everything it stood for has been rattled.

Satyam as a name itself means a lot. The company leveraged its equity for a start from this generic meaning that packed the ethos of truth and integrity altogether. As it grew from strength to strength, the company and its operations gave the generic meaning of the name a lot back. The Golden Peacock award for Corporate Governance itself gave a lot back to the name Satyam started its operations with.

Brands operate in this manner. In the beginning, it is the name that gives meaning to the company. When a company grows in stature, the company gives back a lot of meaning to the name itself. So much so that the end meaning of the word itself is masked and owned by the company that starts running with it.

As of this point of time, the brand Satyam is a sullied one. Badly bruised. A negative name, even. A name that raises doubts in the minds of all those who come across it. The brand is so sullied that all those who work in the company, those who have been vendors to it, and indeed every entity that has something to do with the brand will be at the receiving end of negative consumer sentiment.

When you still see the glowsigns and billboards of Satyam all around, touting the story of integrity work, you laugh.

Brand value has undergone a depreciation which could be higher than the depreciation that the stock itself took as a beating on the NSE, the BSE and the NYSE alike. There is an urgent need to re-build lost equity and apply the balm of positive branding. The sooner it is attempted, the better.

People are brands as well. How must I manage my image? Any tips?

- Madhav Bhat, Mangalore

Madhav, image must not be managed artificially. You must be what you are. That is tip number one.

If you are a teacher who loves to party, so be it. Party. If you are a model and hate to party, so be it. Stay away. Just don’t pretend either way. Be real.

Just don’t try to engineer your image through Page 3 or page 17 or whatever. If you do this, you are going to be a brand without credibility and a brand without substance. Whatever you do, be a brand with substance. Not a hollow one.

Does the rural market offer opportunities for garment retailers? Any idea of potential?

- Karthika Ghosh, Kolkata

Karthika, the potential is as large as the number of rural youth that exist. Young people are the early adopters. Those below 35.72 per cent of our rural population are below the age of 35.

Therefore, total up the potential for a shirt and trouser alone! Multiply that by 2. And we have a big number! Organised retailers in the rural market are focusing on quasi-branded trousers that can sell at a price tag of around Rs 250.

Any brand will do, just as long it has a label and looks rugged enough. A brand-tag, a rugged product and good and affordable price tag opens the market potential like nothing else does. Go for it!

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. Email: askharishbijoor@thehindu.co.in)

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