What if your competitive advantage is easily replicated. Does it still remain one?
I read an interesting piece which said that the best competitive advantage lies in providing a unique customer experience. It is so easy to replicate a product, price off, promotional offer with the current technologies....but it is definitely not the same with customer experience.
An interesting example is that of a Harley Davidson. The product can easily be replicated, but what Harley sells is the sheer experience to dress in leather, ride through rough roads and not so frequented areas, with people frightfully looking on and STILL get noticed!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Reaching brands to rural India
A few days back, a friend mentioned that he would like to help rural India progress. His idea revolved around creating a device which helps the small retailer in rural India to place an order through the device, the order gets financed by a microfinancer who is linked to the device, and executed by the Company whose product he orders. The intent was to ensure credit availability to the small retailer in rural India and reach of brands to the end consumer.
This came back to me today whilst I read an article. Companies are now tapping Fair Price Shops in rural areas to service the end consumer. The intent is to develop these FPS into rural malls. Companies like HLL are also willing to pay higher margins to utilise this network. These swank rural malls would be used to vend not just the usual grocery items but also sim cards and other fmcg products. The minimum requirement from these FPS would be an area of 300-400 sqft.
Quite an idea!.....so instead of tying in with the retailers, how about tying in with the FPS outlets?
This came back to me today whilst I read an article. Companies are now tapping Fair Price Shops in rural areas to service the end consumer. The intent is to develop these FPS into rural malls. Companies like HLL are also willing to pay higher margins to utilise this network. These swank rural malls would be used to vend not just the usual grocery items but also sim cards and other fmcg products. The minimum requirement from these FPS would be an area of 300-400 sqft.
Quite an idea!.....so instead of tying in with the retailers, how about tying in with the FPS outlets?
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Face of the industry
The Market Research industry is just about Rs.490 cr, with a growth rate of ~30%. Of late a lot of business is being outsourced from overseas. The increased business from overseas can be attributed to a booming Indian economy, looking hard one would see that it is primarily due to India figuring among the "researched countries".
With expanding markets, there is a need to gauge the growing demand and understand sentiments, attitudes of people, thereby India figures as one of the countries which is under the magnifying lens. And also an age old advantage of a growing economy being less expensive than a developed one. With manday rates much lower than that found in most developed countries, most overseas set-ups prefer to use India for key process outsourcing.
High attrition rates, to the tune of ~30%, lend to its similarity to the IT or the ITeS industry. Sadly however, although the attrition rate matches up to these industries, the remuneration does not. And although agencies claim that they are introducing processes to make their companies employee friendly, the pressures to meet the bottomline are far higher than the need to ensure work-life balance.
With expanding markets, there is a need to gauge the growing demand and understand sentiments, attitudes of people, thereby India figures as one of the countries which is under the magnifying lens. And also an age old advantage of a growing economy being less expensive than a developed one. With manday rates much lower than that found in most developed countries, most overseas set-ups prefer to use India for key process outsourcing.
High attrition rates, to the tune of ~30%, lend to its similarity to the IT or the ITeS industry. Sadly however, although the attrition rate matches up to these industries, the remuneration does not. And although agencies claim that they are introducing processes to make their companies employee friendly, the pressures to meet the bottomline are far higher than the need to ensure work-life balance.
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