AAP Lays New Rules for Governance

A lot has been written about political campaigns and digital ploys adopted by political establishments. Digital experts have been assigned the job of not only creating buzz in social media but continuously analyzing the digital sentiment. What has however not changed is the divide between expectation and satisfaction between voters and parties. This is especially true when one sees the old establishments relying on individuals to mobilize crowds and then deliver a monologue; something that every sensible voter can predict these days. What is ailing India, deriding opposition, foisting cases and the list goes on.  

 The newest member in the fray – Aam Aadmi Party - seemed to have grasped this pretty well. They have not only lowered their center of gravity (power to the people) but also created a mechanism to capture public opinions. The Hindu, reflected this very well in their Editorial today where it stated, ‘the idea of a referendum itself was refreshing as a method of seeking the people’s endorsement of the way forward in this complex situation. It is also a vital instrument of verifying public opinion that is missing from today’s democratic political practice in India. Mainstream parties seem to be increasingly out of sync with the dramatic changes on the ground that indicates the soaring aspirations of new social groups.’

The political leaders should perhaps take a cue from brand leaders. For both, it is a new world. With transaction-based interactions between brands and consumers shifting to relationship-based interactions, new skills and sensibilities are needed to effectively address consumers’ need. Less tangible factors like emotional intelligence and psychological insight are becoming crucial as traditional structures are crumbling and consumers’ voices are increasingly overshadowing organizations’ (read political parties).

Political heavyweights will take note that in the brave new world of social media, political agenda will increasingly be shaped by citizen’s opinion and demand—and is decreasingly under their control. The sudden rise of AAP is a perfect example of how citizens can become valuable allies when the party truly engages them to discuss ground realities instead of dodging issues or attempting to spin them. By opening up a space for real dialogue and actually listening to citizens, parties can learn more about what people really want, crowdsource ideas or gather insights that could help improve governance and citizens’ experience.

Time will tell if AAP can walk the talk. However, what is more apparent is the emergence of fundamental social activities like collaboration and co-creation.  Resting on the principles of generosity and openness, these activities will be the glue that binds disparate people while transforming and challenging existing governance models.

The Road is Filled with Idiots; Luck Eventually Runs Out

Shanti's eyes remained affixed on the ring. She tilted it sideways and ran her forefinger on the inside, feeling each letter engraved on it. It was a deliberate attempt to travel back in time. The ring had been a gift, a day before Diwali.  He had grasped her arm, pulling her to the room, away from his parents who were glued to the TV. Gently closing her eyes with his palm, he slowly took out a blue rectangular box hidden in his jacket. She could see the gold ring with little stones running by the side, sparkling the moment he opened it and allowed her to see it. As he gently pushed the ring onto her finger, she was overjoyed and tears welled up in her eyes.

It had been two years now. There wouldn't be another day like that, she knew as she carefully kept the ring aside and with it the memories. Rajiv, 29, was killed in a freak road accident. Shanti didn't dwell into the details. All she gathered was that a man driving a sedan had lost control of the vehicle and rammed into Rajiv, who was waiting for the signal to turn green. Hailing from a family with political leanings, the killer had ensured that the case was quickly wrapped up as just another accident. Newspapers had extensively covered the incident highlighting the injuries sustained by the killer. That lasted a day or two. Yet another death by accident was recorded in the police records.

Reports say that nearly 1.3 million people die every year on the world's roads and 20 to 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many sustaining a disability as a result of their injury. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years and cost countries 1-3% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Careful analysis of the highways in India would reveal absolutely no precautions by the authorities to curb speeding. Poor enforcement of helmet and seat belt wearing, speeding and inadequate ambulance facility for road crash victims in India has pushed up the total fatalities. With 1.43 lakh deaths in 2011, India tops the list of nations in total number of road deaths.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the death rate per 100,000 populations for road traffic accident has increased from 16.8 in 2009 to 18.9 in 2013. Statistics indicate that there is no guarantee that one will return home after a drive on Indian roads. No wonder tyre manufacturer CEAT chose to leverage the situation for its advertisement – ‘the road is filled with idiots.’ Most of us will find the ad funny but for people like Shanti, it is about reliving the horrific incident. If the government chooses to turn a blind eye, remember, it only makes matters worse. It reduces the luck factor. As they say, luck eventually runs out…

 

Treating Consumers as Individuals; why Colgate Remains the Preferred Brand

Thousands of entrepreneurs attempt to realize their dreams by giving rise to new products every year. Take for example, the case of Startup Village, a public – private technology incubator in Cochin (Kerala). Nearly 400 start-ups have been incubated so far since its launch in April 2012. Thousands of companies, as many products as well as brands are introduced in the now ‘one’ global market. It was around this conversation, a friend of mine asked if there is indeed potential for everyone to thrive. Only a fraction of them survive, I mentioned reading about it in a business book. ‘What differentiates the successful,’ he posed.  

Not that I am a marketing pundit but having heard this kind of talk from the wise, I thought of responding to his question. In the age of social media, when consumers tend to pry open businesses and its conduct, there is absolutely no significance of products. Not that it did in the era before social media. Back then, there was hope with marketers and technologists hoping consumers would go through the technology adoption lifecycle. Most tech marketers followed Geoffrey Moore’s bible – Crossing the Chasm, when deploying their go-to-market strategy.

  

Social Media changed all that. Products are what a company makes but it can be easily copied. This implies that what consumers buy isn’t a product but a brand, an experience. More than ever, the brand has become a marketer’s tool for creating product differentiation. More than ever, the brand has to see consumers as an individual and deliver unique experience. The best example is Colgate. 'Brush your teeth the Colgate way, every day,' ends the long copy from a 1939 print advertisement for Colgate. And every day since then millions of Indians, young and old, have used this oral-care brand in various forms, everything from powder to paste, for generations. The question is how the brand ensures that it remains the consumers first brand encounter of the day – everyday.

  

A cousin of mine who is a school teacher in Thalasserry, Kerala is a regular user of Colgate toothpaste. She lives with her ailing mother, aged around 85, and doesn’t believe in elaborate shopping. She prefers the neighbourhood kirana store where she dashes for instantaneous shopping. On one such occasion, when she wanted to quickly grab two small tubes of the Colgate, the shopkeeper didn’t have the same on stock. A large tube would be inconvenient to use for her mother and so she went around asking for the smaller tube. To her dismay, it wasn’t available anywhere in the neighbourhood. Disappointed, she decided to hit social media to find out why her favourite brand wasn’t available in the neighbourhood. She had forgotten about it until her sister called up and informed that there was an executive from Colgate waiting for her. His visit not only addressed her immediate needs (in two days) but also ensured a loyal consumer for the company for life.

Beyond the product and a great brand experience at an individual level – no wonder Colgate is the undisputed leader.      

Conversation is the New Advertising

Popular social media sites Facebook and Twitter enable aggregation of related conversations. Example, favorite television shows to sporting events to the latest news. One who wishes to amass data on couch potatos can now do it effortlessly. For marketers, destinations like Facebook and Twitter are gold mines with specific details - how many people on Facebook or twitter talked about a particular subject, where exactly is the buzz, popularity among males or females, and age groups – all available in a jiffy. 

I was privy to a quick but slightly lengthy conversation about the best calling cards outside India. While several of them narrated their ordeal after using a particular brand while traveling abroad, some of them passed on suggestions of other brands adding their wonderful experience having used it. For marketers, it will help if they keep in mind that such conversations can be easily recalled these days by potential customers who increasingly rely on user reviews. An airline’s alleged fascist approach to some of its select passengers; ill-treatment of guests by a renowned hotel are conversations that are unbridled in the social media. Can marketers intervene and protect or promote their brand? Yes, of course. Having complained about a new Nokia smartphone that I had bought on social media, the company’s social media custodian quickly reached out to me to resolve the issue. The immediate response put me to ease and reinforced my trust in the brand. 

According to Nielsen’s 2012 State of the Media Report, 1 in 3 social media users now prefer to contact brands using social media rather than the phone. In this increasingly transparent world, businesses would do well if they lower their center of gravity to the digital realm. And, embrace a culture that encourages continuous engagement of customers and employees rather than a one-way communication. Forward looking businesses have a top-down approach to this. In an article that appeared in Forbes, CEO of Weber Shandwick had this to say. “To give you a sense of how valued a social CEO is, our global study found that 76 percent of executives think that it is a good idea for their CEOs to be social. Among their reasons for favoring their CEO’s social participation is how it reflects internally – 52 percent feel inspired by their CEO’s sociability. Looking externally, 69 percent say that it enhances the company’s market credibility. And in general, social CEOs are much more likely to be seen as good communicators than unsocial CEOs – 55 percent vs. 38 percent, respectively.”  

Four Tenets of Social Media – Creed, Seed, Deed and Indeed

Recently a CEO was seen with a new update on LinkedIn. He had updated his skills; some technical areas mentioned for members to be aware. Not that it is a grave error. From an external stakeholders perspective, it raises a simple yet niggling concern. Why is the leader of the organization updating his profile with new skill set? Shouldn't he be focusing on factors that would drive growth for the organization?  Leaders are traditionally conditioned to walk and talk about internal as well as external factors that would influence growth - of the people and the organization. From that perspective, is it good to be positioning self above the organization?

Roy, a friend of mine who is a digital native elucidated one of the best ways to be effective in social media. He likened this now ubiquitous platform to an offline CXO conference. He also armed me with a framework to be used in the new media; created with knowledge gleaned from observing CXO interactions during conferences.

Creed - this stands for 'who you are?' In a conference, you tend to have a brief description of yourself. Generally, it's short and sweet. You shake hands with one or two other leaders and tell them who you are, ie, which company, designation, areas of business (of the company). 

Seed - while you go around, you meet someone who is inquisitive about your business. There again, a well prepared leader will have a standard response. 'What you do' as a business by emphasizing on competitive differentiators, spelt out in 2 minutes will work well. What you do (your company) in max three lines should interest your peers in an event or on social media.

Deed - In a recent event, one of the leaders was heard saying - 'yes, I too went to the same college. I was a 'ctxt' scholar batch student.' There are times when you have to stand tall or differentiate yourself. That's when it is important to throw some accomplishments worth mentioning. It is important to ensure that what you are referring to is indeed a differentiator. Not to mention, authentic.

Indeed - In these days of continuous monitoring, what others say about you matters more than what you say or write about yourself. That's why calling out industry reports about leadership or peer reviews and recommendations matter. "We have been in India for only about two years, yet, you will recall top analysts ranking us as the fastest growing in the field,” relayed the leader of a young organization. 

There should be a purpose behind what we communicate. The tenets above will guide in creating messages effectively depending on the purpose and target audience.