They buy with gusto

Once while having a discussion on consumer behavior of rural people, Somun a very constructive thinker highlighted few points that i would like to mention here. Brand hardly matters for rural people, rather what appeals to them is" value pricing". They prefer smaller packaging ( sachets of shampoo and masala) because it is affordable for their wallet. Moreover he stressed on the fact of counterfeiting and cloning that actually affect the rural market t. I do agree with his arguments except one that rural customers are not brand loyal. Let me tell why?
Most purchases in rural customer's purchase basket tend to be unbranded. That's fine. But when they actually buy brand, they buy true brand. Rural customer trust brands as friends. The brand is perceived as a reliable mate, an entity that promises and delivers. Before buying they also have a pool of considerations and evaluate each and every options and go for the best one. Owning a good brand also gives them a social affiliation and status in that cohort. It differentiates the owner from the rest villagers in terms of esteem also, as Indian villages are still social strata bound. So they do not hesitate to spend in bulk to get the best brand and keep telling others about the benefits of that brand.

Are you a brand addicted?

Customer mind-set includes everything that exists in the minds of consumer with respect to brand: thoughts,feelings, experiences, images, perception and attitudes. Creating the right customer mindset can be critical in terms of building brand equity and value. But once the brand awareness is raised and brand attitude is created then you can't stop the brand growing exponentially. The degree of loyalty towards a brand is called brand attachments. Hard core loyals are dubbed as brand addicted. I find in very common among my friends. They are addicted to particularly some brands. If they have a plan to buy something in that segment then they will go for that brand only, never mind what other options they have. That's brand addiction. It is the reflection of an attitude that they form towards a brand. Overall evaluations of the brand in terms of its equity and satisfaction that it generates fuels the brand attitude and finally cause adherence leading to addiction. When i analyze myself then i find myself to be a hardcore loyal to few brands but in certain categories i belong to switch loyal( who switches to different brands according to value proposition). Now ask yourself. Are you brand addicted?

Brand appeals in sync with value pricing

The recent recessionary trend show us how big brands succumbed to the pressure and finally tumbled while smaller players survived. Its not that those brands succumbed were bad in strategies but what i feel their brand appeal was not in sync with pricing. Pricing is relative and when we use the term value pricing it can differ more. But what pertinent is how the consumer perceives the price of goods and commodities. So redefining value is very important for companies to sustain in the market. Do not get carried away by value that is defined by lofty advertisements and retail appeal. Get down to the basics and focus on basic brand appeal. Brand appeals needs to be in sync with value pricing. Reduce obscene margins that are typically made and taken for granted in categories. Brands must not distance themselves from customers by creating wall of unfair means. What is more important is mass appeal. You should not sacrifice width and breadth of appeal for mere margins. Bargaining power of consumer is increasing day by day. The awareness level among them is very high now a days. So if you adopt unfair pricing then the customer will definitely say bye bye to you. At the end of the day Brand appeals should sync with value pricing.

Lose the bargain but win the customer

I always admire one of my friend's bargaining skills ( where there is an option of bargaining ) during purchase, not because he used to grab the best deal but how he does it. During my last outing with him we went to a shop to buy some stuffs. The shop keeper asked a price of two hundred bucks for that. Then my friend started all the bargaining tricks and narrowed it down to one hundred and thirty bucks. Then the shopkeeper pleaded that he would hardly extract any profit out of it and asked to bind the deal at one hundred and fifty bucks.My friend said no and finally zeroed on one hundred and forty bucks. Shopkeeper agreed to it. My friend was elated with a sense of pride, again sealing the best deal. Then while returning he told me that the shop is the best one where we can find value for money. I simply nodded.

Now i knew that the product he bought costs only hundred bucks( same brand ) in my place. Shopkeeper set the price high and allowed the customer to bargain. When customer bargained and managed to get that at his best perceived value, he felt good. What i am trying to say is that the shopkeeper took his profit in a big way and customer thought he won also. So for them it was an win-win situation. Thus made the customer a repeat customer as well. All know repeat customer turns into loyal customer bringing the profit to the company. So the shopkeeper lost the bargaining battle but won a customer.

Oh..i forgot his birth day

Deepak: Stalin, you did not wish me on my birthday
Stalin : Oh, i am so sorry. Your birthday just went right.
Deepak: Anyways you forgot. That's the truth
Stalin : Why you removed your birth day stauts from Orkut
Deepak: I was just checking who were wishing without knowing it from Orkut, but i was expecting your call.
Stalin : I am really sorry. Belated happy birthday.

This is a part of my conversation with my friend Deepak two days after his birth day. No body can deny the fact that we are used to web,internet and social networking sites now a days. I can even say that we are totally dependent on internet. Previously we have to remember so many things , but now no need. On social networking sites friend's,relatives birth day keep coming and we simply by watching that wish them. But if someone will hide his/her birth day status, then we will not be able to wish him/her. There comes the problem. The person who may be expecting your wish will definitely feel bad. Because emotion plays a very crucial role in every human's life. Unintentionally we will keep hurting our beloved persons. What can i term this fault of human or technology?