‘C’ FOR ‘CUSTOMISATION’

M. JANAKIRAMAN, CEO, BHARATMATRIMONY GROUP

“The financial turmoil may have impacted the budget of middle class weddings, in India but the search for a good groom or bride continues. So our online matrimonial search per se is not affected. These are the times when people actually sit back and think of getting married,” says Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO, BharatMatrimony Group, the market leader among Indian marriage portals.

So does that mean the company did not adopt any strategy to deal with the changing economic environment? No way! Janakiraman not only depended heavily on his shrewd strategies to reap profits, but also went the R&D way to ensure ample service innovations for his portal. He adds, “We even spent 40% of our overall revenues on marketing last year. After all, we are in a business where we lose customers once in every three months.” The matrimony portal has also increased it’s online advertising spending by as much as 10% in the last year.

But that would perhaps be a strategy adopted by every intelligent fish in the market. What extra did Jankiraman do? Well, it’s customisation! The company has rolled out a host of services catering to the needs of individual target segment of consumers, including divorcees, widows and widowers. They not only popped up a sub-arm named Elite Matrimony (with fees as high as Rs.100,000 and catering specifically to celebrities and HNIs), but also ushered in the new concept of ‘Facial Search’, wherein the company uses face recognition technology to assist customers in hunting for spouses that resemble their favourite celebrities.

Says Jankiraman, “This value add helps us go beyond the normal search of caste, age and religion for our customers.” Oh and by the way, Aishwarya Rai look-alikes top the searches in their facial recognition service!

Neha Saraiya

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Brewing up their mood 24X7

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The mere aroma of coffee may give your day a fresh start, but to make it perfect, much more is needed. Ask the brew masters at Barista Lavazza who swear by sustained focus on service, says Savreen Gadhoke

A college crowd, chilling out and gorging smoked chicken sandwiches; a mother-daughter duo enjoying mango smoothies to beat the heat after a wholesome shopping experience; a lovey-dovey couple cuddled on the couch and indulging in tall glasses of sinful Swiss Mocha Frappes; an executive having a meeting with his client over a cup of Cappuccino. Well, that’s the no-pressure environment that Barista Lavazza brew masters try to create everyday. And where the aroma of coffee is so strong, how could the Head–Marketing and Product Development not start his day with a cup of pure platonic coffee. And that’s exactly what Vishal Kapoor does, a cup of Cappuccino – his favourite, before kick-starting his long day to ensure the best possible services at Barista Lavazza.

When 4Ps B&M caught up with Vishal Kapoor at a Barista Crème outlet, he was possibly trying to figure out a possible leakage in the outlet’s products, service and image, the three ingredients, which as per Vishal, have steadily glorified Barista Lavazza in India since it was launched in 2000. Not to mention, the products and services delivered to the customers are something that the honchos at Barista are always proud of. But then, they really know their most important point of service and value it the most. “The definition of service is different for every industry. For us, it is ‘something’ that happens in the store. It makes people come back again and again,” Vishal avers to 4Ps B&M.

A typical day at a Barista Lavazza outlet starts sharp at 7 in the morning with the store manager going through a 25-point check list and the brew masters preparing for the long day ahead. (All the store employees are proudly called ‘brew masters’ and educated and trained about every possible detail about the products, food and beverage preparation, promotional schemes on offer, et al). From greeting the guest as he enters the café, to escorting him to his table, bringing him the menu and taking his order, checking up with him during the meal, bringing the cheque and getting the feedback form filled, all these form an essential part of services offered to the guests. The feedback is then processed into a database. However, the well trained brew masters perhaps are one of the best things for Barista as owing to their training they resolve most of the complaints at the ground level itself. “Common complaints received are like coffee is not hot enough or a cool drink is perhaps not too chilled. Customers don’t want a senior personnel to come and resolve their problems and our store managers are trained well to handle their problems. We want our customers to take back a pleasant and enjoyable experience,” says Vishal.

Product innovation is also something that the coffee retailer lays a strong focus on. Menus are updated regularly and three to four times annualy in Barista Crème and Espresso Bars. Seasonal menus too are quite a hit with customers. “We’d launched a Valentine special menu for couples in the month of February, which was quite successful. And currently we are running the ‘Escape to Italy’ menu to beat the summer heat,” avers Vishal. Interestingly, to cater to the kids coming to Barista with their parents, the outlets have now introduced a kids menu.

They claim that consistency in service is another determinant that has enabled Barista Lavazza to maintain a standard quality of its products and services. To provide good service to guests, employee satisfaction is of utmost importance. And for this, Barista Lavazza has its own traditional yet successful method of internal promotions. A brew master, depending on his performance and product knowledge is promoted from one level to another and from Espresso Bars to Barista Crème.

Suddenly we realised we had held up Vishal for more time than what he normally takes for his breaks. But before he went back to his work we could not stop ourselves from asking him that how does he manage to ensure the smooth running of each and every Barista Lavazza outlet in the metro city. With a smile, he tells us, “by personal visit to stores every eight to ten days along with the Associate Store Manager or the Marketing Manager.” Vishal adds that as per him, there are no Sundays in retailing and Barista encourages all its executives to personally visit all stores. So what are the key things that you do at a store, we asked Vishal and he rattled off a never ending list. “Checking branding and marketing of the store, inquiring about the food and beverages served, resolving issues, going through feedbacks, listening to suggestions...” Just hearing his long list tired us out and we looked longingly at the cup of piping hot cappuccino that a brew master was bringing across to our table... Now that’s service, we decided selfishly :-)

Savreen Gadhoke

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ADITYA AGARWAL, DIRECTOR, EMAMI

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5. Fevicol’s ‘Aisa jod lagaye, acche se accha na todh paaye’ ad campaign

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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A diamond is forever

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Brand: De Beers
Agency: HTA
A Diamond is Forever! These four words changed an industry, that hitherto only catered to a niche segment. The campaign, in fact pulled the heart strings of many buyers and the product saw a whopping 19% increase in sales when the campaign was launched in 1997. The campaign not only made HTA win the coveted “Gold Subhas Ghosal Trophy” for effective advertising for its client De Beers Consolidated Mines, but also helped it grab some accolades from the international Ad-Age magazine. In 2000, the magazine named the campaign’s tagline, ‘A diamond is forever,’ as the best advertising slogan of the twentieth century. Few things are really forever, and this campaign is surely one of them! Little wonder, that De Beers has retained this tagline till date.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).


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Divide and rule... happily ever after

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When Subhash Chandra decided to demerge Zee Telefilms into four different companies in April 2006, hardly anyone realised its impact. But with decidedly smaller units and a separate management focus for each of them, the move paid off handsomely. Explains a media analyst, “Before the restructuring, Zee’s entertainment channels were getting all the attention. Now each business has got a focussed management team.” Who says school drop outs (yes, Mr. Chandra was one) don’t know management?

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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